ZOMG, MIDI Tempo Sync is a Thing (Yeah, Really)

OnSong can yeet the current tempo of your song as a MIDI MSB/LSB control change, & it can also sit there & listen when another device sends one back. Wild, right? So like, if your tempo's chillin' at 96, OnSong sets the first MSB MIDI command to 0 & the second LSB to 96. Math! They combine to equal 96. If you bump it to 130, OnSong sends MSB 1 & LSB 2. Since the MSB is basically the value times 128, boom—that's 130 (128 + 2). You're welcome for the free MIDI lesson, bestie.

Sync Mode Shenanigans

Pick how OnSong & your other gear blab about tempo. The Lead & Follow sections only show up when you actually turn 'em on (shocking, we know).

• Off — doesn't send nothin', doesn't listen to nothin'. The factory default, baby.
• Both — OnSong's all chatty & also listens. It's like having a friend who actually pays attention.
• Lead — OnSong talks. Everyone else shuts up & listens.
• Follow — OnSong just vibes & adopts whatever tempo everyone else is pushin'.

Lead: The "I'm Talking Now" Section

These settings control how OnSong flexes its tempo on the world.

Channel

Pick a channel or literally all of 'em to broadcast your tempo drip. Every time you mess with the tempo in OnSong, the MIDI values get fired off to tell all your compatible apps & hardware they need to get with the program. Set the channel to Off if you want OnSong to stop tattlin' on itself.

Repeat

By default, OnSong sends the tempo MIDI commands exactly once when you load the song (it's polite like that). But if you're the type to constantly fidget with tempo, or if your MIDI gear throws a tantrum & needs to hear it again & again, you can make it repeat. Your options: Continuously (yikes), Once (default, aka "chill"), Twice, 3 Times, 4 Times & 5 Times.

Delay

This is how long OnSong sits there twiddlin' its thumbs after the tempo changes before it actually tells anyone. Because patience is a virtue, or something. Options: None (default, aka "RIGHT NOW"), 1 Second, 2 Seconds, 5 Seconds, 10 Seconds, 15 Seconds, & 30 Seconds.

Interval

This is the time between each repeat of those MIDI commands. It only shows up when Repeat is set to Twice or more, or Continuously—so you won't see it while Repeat is chillin' on Once. If you pick more than one send & it was set to Never, it defaults to every 2 seconds. Your flavor options: Never, or every 1, 2, 5, 10, 15 or 30 seconds.

MIDI Commands

By default, OnSong ships tempo changes as Control Change events on CC 106/107. Since literally nobody agreed on a standard for this, you might gotta customize it. Throw in your MSB & LSB controllers separated by a space, like "CC106 CC107." Don't bother with the actual values—the value sent is the tempo itself, divided up according to the MSB Tempo Value (see below, nerd).

MSB Tempo Value

This gnarly number decides how OnSong carves up your tempo across two MIDI events. See, MIDI maxes out at 128 values, & tempos often laugh in the face of 128 BPM. So we use this MSB/LSB vibe that's like, super common in MIDI. Default is 128. So if you wanna send 156 BPM, the first MIDI event gets a "1" (which means 128) & the second gets the leftover—156 minus 128, which is 28. The device receivin' it adds 'em back together: 1 times 128 plus 28 equals 156. Boom. MIDI nerds will have this number in their docs somewhere, & it's usually 100 or 128.

Follow: The "Sit Down & Listen" Section

These settings control how OnSong eavesdrops on tempo from other devices (party crashers welcome).

Channel

Pick which channel (or all of 'em) OnSong should spy on for incoming tempo. Set it to Off if you want OnSong to ignore everyone. (Rude, but sometimes necessary.)

MIDI Commands

The MSB & LSB controllers OnSong listens for, like "CC106 CC107." By default, it copies whatever Lead is using (because OnSong's lazy like that).

MSB Tempo Value

The magic number that smooshes those two incoming values back into a tempo. By default, it matches the Lead setting. But here's the thing—it has to match what the sending device uses, or OnSong will read every tempo completely wrong & you'll wonder why your drummer is now playing in a different dimension.

If Lead & Follow are using the same channel & controllers, a spicy warning pops up below this section. If they're literally the same device, or if MIDI is bouncing around via Virtual MIDI or a network jam, OnSong might hear its own tempo echo back & freak out a lil'.