User Guide

ThumbJam User Guide

Getting Started
The first thing to do is just play around! There are a lot of features in ThumbJam, but you can
ignore most of them in the beginning. To play just use your fingers to tap or drag around in the
play area, the notes go from low at the bottom to high at the top. Each instrument may have
other controls such a volume or pan (moving the audio between left and right), or vibrato.
Sometimes tilting the device back and forth will control volume, sometimes it might bend the
pitch of the note. Shaking will usually let you perform vibrato. Small text indicators on the
screen tell you what controls are active for that instrument. You can use up to five fingers (or
thumbs!) simultaneously to really make a lot of noise.

Changing Instruments
The first thing to know is how to switch to different instruments. Just hit the Sound button in
the upper left corner, then hit the first item Change Instrument. This brings up a list of the
built-in instrument presets which you can scroll through and select. It also contains any saved
presets that you create when you create or modify an existing instrument, but we'll get to that
later.

Every instrument preset has a certain properties it was saved with, such as the scale, the key,
the note range, effects, etc. You can change any of these things and then save a new preset so
you can get back to it quickly later.

Changing Scales
One of the first things you might want to change are the scale and key. To change to a different
scale, just hit the Sound button, then the Change Scale item. This brings up a panel with a
list with the hundreds of available scales to choose from. Because there are so many, they are
organized into categories which you can scroll through by sliding your finger on the right side
of the list. Several of the common western scales are in the first section called Common, and
other familiar ones may be found in the Modal category. Here it pays to experiment by trying
out many different scales, to see what best fits your mood. This is made easy because there is
always a Play Area to the right where you can always play your current instrument with
whichever scale you have selected.

To save a particular scale to a list of favorites, select a scale and hit the + button. It will be
added to the favorites list which is accessible by selecting Favorites from the choice box at the
bottom.

Changing Keys and Range

Next you might want to change the key or the note range of the instrument. To accomplish this
hit the Sound button then the Key Controls item. This brings up (or hides) a sidebar on
the left with many useful controls. You can leave this bar up if you find yourself using the
features on it often. From top to bottom the buttons are:

• Toggle Key popup - this shows or hides the current key selector. The current key is
highlighted in yellow. You can leave it shown if you plan to switch keys often while
playing. Also in this popup is a button that splits the play area horizontally so that two
separately controllable note ranges or keys can be available simultaneously. Whichever
side is touched most recently is modified by the key-change buttons or the octave span
controls described below.
• Sustain (Sust) button -- when pressed this key acts very much like a piano's sustain
pedal and will allow any notes still held or played after to continue sustaining even after
releasing the note. Releasing the hold button releases any held note. In addition this
button has a locking feature, if you slide the button up while held it will allow any
currently sustaining notes to stay that way even when you let go of the hold button. Just
slide the switch back down to release all sustained notes when locked. Note that many
sounds will not sustain forever because their samples are not looped artificially, but
some instruments will.
• Glide/Retrigger toggle -- this is a quick way to switch between two of the options you'll
find on the Edit->Sample page. The two settings affect how the instrument responds
when dragging a finger around. When the stair-step icon is shown it is in Retrigger
mode, which means dragging switches to a new note immediately without any pitch
bending or sliding. When the slanted line is shown, it is in Glide mode, which will
cause the note to smoothly transition to the next note in pitch. There are several
parameters discussed later that change how this note switch occurs exactly in the Edit-
>Sample page.
• Octave Span control - these two buttons let you adjust how many octaves are shown on
the play area. Hitting the + button increases the octave span, the '-' reduces it.
• Current Octave - the two buttons at the bottom of the sidebar control which octave the
notes start at. This lets you shift up and down by an octave at a time.

Looping Controls
The obvious one first, Record Loop lets you start to record your own playing on the current
instrument. When there are no loops yet created, this puts it into a pending state where it is
waiting for you to start recording by touching your first note. Once you do, two buttons appear
to let you either Cancel the recording or to Finish it.

When you hit Finish it will immediately start looping, so it is important to hit Finish on your
first loop at the right time with the music. It automatically determines the tempo based on the
length of your loop and an estimated number of bars. Currently it assumes 4 beats per bar, but
this will be adjustable in the future.

For additional loops, recording is a little different. The current setting of the Quantize
Start option affects how recording begins. The Quantize start control is available from the
control panel accessed with the Settings button. When Quantize Start is On it will wait until
the initial loop's start point to actually start recording. With it Off, it will act similarly to how it
did initially, waiting until your first touch to begin which could be anytime. In both cases the
length of the final loop after you hit Finish will be rounded up to the next bar boundary. In this
way the loops will always be in musical sync, always a multiple of the bar length.

To aid in recording additional loops it gives you a beat's worth of slack when you are finishing
the loop record, so you won't get an extra unwanted bar of recording when you hit finish a little
late. It will truncate the loop length automatically to where you meant it to be.

Your additional loops do not need to be the same length as the initial one, they may be longer
or shorter, but they will always be multiples of the bar length. For instance, your initial loop
could be a short 1 or 2 bar drumloop, but your bass loop could be 8 or 12 bars in length.

This gives you a lot of flexibility, and even lets you experiment with loops lengths that aren't a
multiple of each other, so they may slide across each other over time but still be rhythmically
musical because they are all multiples of a bar. Don't be afraid to try things!

A new feature for the faster devices (excludes iPhone 1g,3g, iPod 1g,2g) is the ability to record
a loop using the microphone, either built-in (for iPhone or iPad) or using the headset mic or
external mic accessory (all devices). You will see a button in the upper right corner after
Record Loop is first chosen from the menu. It becomes the Finish Record button once record is
started.

Metronome and Loop Settings

The metronome is handy for keeping you in time with a tempo you select ahead of time. To
change the tempo, either press and drag the tempo change button up and down to raise or lower
the tempo, or tap it in time with the tempo you desire. You can only set the tempo manually
when there are no active loops. The metronome makes an accented sound on the first beat of
every bar.

The Settings button beneath the metronome on/off switch brings up a panel that lets you
configure other useful looping-related options. You will see a replicant tempo control button
here which acts identically to the one in the main Loop menu. There is also a metronome on/off
switch near the bottom, along with a volume control for the metronome and a choice of click
sounds.

The Beats/Bar control lets you set how many beats are contained in a single bar. For
instance, the default value of 4 is equivalent to a time signature of 4/4, a value of 3 is 3/4 (waltz
time), etc.

The Quantize Start option was described in the Loop recording section above, it requires loop
recording of additional loops to start simultaneously with the initial loop. When the metronome
is enabled, having quantize start turned on will then generate a 1 bar count-in when you hit
record to make the initial loop. Otherwise it will start when you first touch a note.

The Factor of 2 Loop Lengths option forces additional loop lengths to be power of 2
multiples of the initial loop, or power of 2 factors. For instance, if the initial loop is 2 bars,
additional loops can be 1 bar, or 4 bars, or 8 bars, or 16 bars.

The Fixed Loop Length lets you specify ahead of time how long of a loop you want to
record (in bars). When enabled, once recording is started there is no need to finish the record
manually, it will do it for you. You can change the value anytime so the next loop you record
can be a different fixed length, if desired.

Currently there are three choices for the metronome sound, and a volume control to adjust to
your preference.

Loading and Saving Loops

The Load button allows you to load previously saved loops or loop sets to start off with.
Because ThumbJam provides a way to upload audio files from your computer (discussed later)
these could be anything, from drum loops to entire songs. They may also be a set of loops
previously saved from within the app that you wish to restore and continue working on. In
addition you may also load audio session recordings that you have previously made (sessions
discussed later).

The chooser window that comes up allows you to browse each of these categories and choose
which to load. Normally any selection you make here will replace any current loops loaded
with only the loop or loop set you select. However, if you enable the Add to current
set option at the bottom of the browse window it will add them as additional loops to the
current set. Pressing the Edit button will allow you to delete any loops, loop sets, or session
audio files from your device.

The Save button brings up a text entry popup to name and store the currently running loops as
a new (or existing) loop set. If you are saving for a second time and use the same name it will
save over the existing.

Mixing Loops
Pressing the Mixer button brings up the loop mixer. From here you can change the volume,
mute, or delete individual loops. The X button will delete a loop. The slider adjusts a loop's
volume, and the [speaker] toggles whether the loop is heard.

The Master Loop Level slider control at the top will adjust all loops' volume in a relative
fashion. If the master loop level is lowered 4dB, then all the loops will be lowered 4dB from
wherever they were currently. This feature allows you to lower the total level without
disturbing the relative levels between loops.

There are also buttons to pause/play, load, save, and clear all loops here that do the same
function as the buttons on the main Loop menu.

Other Looping Features

The Play/Pause button pauses or resume playback of all existing loops.

The Clear Loops button clears all existing loops. It confirms your intentions with a popup
before actually clearing them. Note that you can delete individual loops from the Mixer.

The Delete Last button removes the most recently recorded loop. It does not ask for
confirmation, so be careful!

Session Record
In ThumbJam you can make a recording of everything you hear by using the Session Record
feature. By turning on the switch it begins recording to a new stereo WAV file. Everything you
play, including active loops, is recorded for as long as the Session Record switch is on. You
can get to these via WiFi Transfer (discussed later) or for auditioning from the loop load
feature.

Customizing an Instrument
You aren't limited to the settings defined in the factory default instruments. You can tweak
many parameters that affect how an instrument sounds, the interactive expression controls, and
the effects. All of these things, plus the key and scale chosen may be stored as new user presets
for loading the same way the factory instruments are. It all starts from the Edit button. The
Save Preset button lets you save all the current parameters to a new or existing preset that
will be selectable in the Change Instrument window.

Sample

The Sample edit page has controls for changing the actual instrument sample set to use if you
want to start a preset from scratch. Normally you will want to start from one of the factory
defaults and then change the other items. Below is a description of all the parameters found on
the Sample page:

Sample Set Button

This button displays the current sample set used in this instrument. Pressing it brings up a list
window of all the available sample sets to choose from. These include the built-in sounds plus
any that you have downloaded or created from scratch. For those that you have downloaded or
created, you can edit the individual sample parameters by hitting the disclosure button on the
right side of each item. More details about that are described later.

Attack Time
This adjusts the fade-in time applied to every note played. Increasing this gives a soft feel to the
start of the note.

Release Time
The release time adjusts the fade-out time for a playing note after a finger is lifted or dragged to
a new note. This is important to maintain a realistic sound for many instruments, but you can
experiment with it to obtain either a chopped sound if reduced, or a sustained effect if
increased.

Release Stops Note

When this is on, a note is stopped when a finger is released or dragged away. This is the
normal setting for most melodic instruments. If turned off, the entire duration of the note's
audio sample will be played irregardless of when the finger is released. This is useful for drum
or percussion samples, and other times you always want the full sustain of an instrument. This
option is not available for instrument samples that are looped.

Polyphonic
The default for most instruments is On, this control determines whether multiple notes can be
played at once (with multiple fingers). When turned off, it is in monophonic mode where only
note is played at a time, and any new touches will stop the previous note first. However, this
can be useful for lead sounds, because when Glide mode is on (see below) the sound will
transition between the notes that can play with multiple fingers. The most recent touch gets
priority, but if your other fingers stay down and the most recent touch is released, the previous
recent touched note will then be played.

Drag Changes Pitch

There are three different modes for how the instrument responds to fingers being dragged
around in the play area. Retrigger simply releases the currently played note and starts a new
note wherever the touch is next. Glide transitions the note smoothly in pitch to the next note.
Off does nothing when a finger is dragged, the initially touched note is played until the touch
is lifted. There are several options that affect how both retrigger and glide work that are
discussed below.

Legato
This option is available only in Retrigger mode. When Off, new notes are triggered and the old
note is released when dragging. When On it attempts to transition to the next note by
maintaining the same sample and position within the playback of that note, only changing the
pitch. If the new note is too far out of range, it might switch to a new sample. In other words,
this allows for more natural transitions in some instruments.

Sample Lock
This option is available only in Glide mode. When Off (the default) new samples are switched
to as you glide out of the note range of the current one. When On, the same sample that was
used on the initial touch is used no matter how far you drag it. This can be an interesting effect
for some instruments, or just unpleasant in others.

Continuous Glide
This option is only available in Glide mode. When Off the notes are transitioned to smoothly
using a fixed time specified in the Glide Interval slider. It always glides directly to/from notes
in the current scale. However, with the Continuous Glide enabled, you can control the glide
with your finger and the time interval is ignored. If you stop moving your finger the note will
snap to the nearest note in the scale. This way you can have that continuous glide feel, but still
always end up in tune.

Retrigger/Glide Time Interval

Both Retrigger and Glide mode note transitions can be limited in how fast it switches to the
next note. Similar to the way that humans can only play an instrument so fast physically, this
control enforces a limit to make playing the instruments more realistic when dragging a finger
around the play area. This is also useful with drum sounds. The factory defaults were carefully
chosen for each instrument to make them sound realistic, but you are free to change it, to obtain
super-human speed or slow things down. The lower the time interval, the faster notes will be
allowed to transition when dragging quickly.
In Glide mode, this controls how quickly each note glides into the next one as well.

Humanize Amount
This adds a certain amount of random variation in the retrigger time to reduce the machine-gun
effect. It is a subtle touch, but can be more pleasing.
Editing Controls
The Control tab can be accessed by hitting the Edit, then Controls item. Here you can change
how the instrument responds to shaking, tilting, or dragging horizontally in the play area. There
are five different controls:

Volume
The volume of all the currently playing notes can be adjusted on the fly either by so-called
Vertical Tilt, or the X-axis. Vertical Tilt is the motion of tilting the device toward you and away
from you, as you would do when picking it up off a table. When horizontal (screen facing the
ceiling) the volume will be the lowest, and when facing you at roughly 45 degree angle it will
be the loudest. Choosing X-Axis instead lets you control volume of a certain note by how
close it is to center of the screen. It will get quieter towards each left or right edge. The Min
slider lets you adjust how quiet it will be allowed to get.

Pan
Pan control is how the sound is mixed between the left and right speaker or headphone. It can
be set as X-axis, Y-axis, or Horizontal Tilt. X-axis control is defined by where a
finger is from left to right on the screen, as you would expect, left pans the sound to the left,
etc. Y-axis changes panning as the finger goes up/down (with pitch) where up pans to the
right and down pans to the left. H. Tilt (horizontal tilt) pans as you tilt the the device left
and right.

Vibrato
The vibrato control can be enabled for shake, and modulates the pitch of the instrument up and
down along with the shaking. The harder you shake the more the pitch will be bent in either
direction as you move. The Max Depth control adjusts the sensitivity of pitch bending
relative to the shaking. A higher depth will increase the range of the bend given the same
shaking force.

Tremolo
Similar to vibrato in options, tremolo modulates the volume of the instrument up and down
along with shaking. In order to get the most realistic sounding response from instruments, both
vibrato and tremolo are usually used together.

Pitch Bend
Pitch bending in a fixed manner can be done with either vertical or horizontal tilting. V. Tilt
is he motion of tilting toward or away from you. H. Tilt is tilting left and right. In both
cases the pitch bend is applied relative to how the device was held when the note was started.
Any further tilt from that position will begin the pitch bend up or down. The bend is reset
whenever note is retriggered to make it easier to use. Also, only the most recently hit note is
bent using this control. The Bend Limit control affects the maximum number of notes that the
tilt motion will bend the note.
Effects
ThumbJam includes both Reverb and Delay effects to make the sound more engaging. The
reverb effect is global, it is applied to everything that is played, including loops. The delay
effect is only applied to the currently loaded instrument and the delay-affected sound is
recorded into loops.

When Reverb is enabled there are two controls that affect it, Room Size and Level. Room
Size adjusts the apparent largeness of the reverberation, from small and subtle to large and
cavernous. The Level control acts a lot like traditional mix control going from a dry sound to a
fully wet reverberant sound as you increase it.

Delay gives the sound a repeating echo that fades away over time. The Delay Time control
affects how quickly the sound repeats and is represented in milliseconds. However, this delay
also supports a Tempo Sync feature so the delay can also be specified in terms of the current
loop tempo to increase musical usefulness. When there is an active loop and the tempo is set,
and Tempo Sync is enabled, the delay time is adjusted with the secondary slider in terms of
16th notes.

The Feedback control affects how the quickly the repeated echo fades away, the lower the
value the quicker the echo will fade. In fact, 0% will not repeat at all beyond the initial echo,
and 99% will almost repeat forever. The Level control affects the overall volume of the echo.
When thhe Ping-Pong switch is enabled, the echo will bounce back and forth between the
left and right speaker to give the sound more motion.

Creating Instruments
ThumbJam lets you record new samples and build an instrument with them directly inside the
app! Just go to Sound->Create Instrument to get started. First, choose whether this will be a
melodic instrument (pitched) or percussive with independent samples (One-shot). If you
choose Pitched, each sample will have a properly set base note matching the pitch that it
represents. When playing, the app chooses the closest sample in pitch to start with and then
adjusts the playback rate to get the actual played pitch. In this way you get realistic sounding
instruments across a wide pitch range.

To record a sample from the built-in microphone (on iPhone or iPad) or with a plugged in
external headset microphone or attached mic device, just hit the Record button. With the Auto
option enabled it will not start recording until you make a noise, and it will automatically stop
recording when you become quiet again. This feature works best when you are in a quiet
environment. If you want full control over the starting and stopping, just switch Auto off and
each press of Record will start and stop the recording.

As you record samples they will show up in the list below. ThumbJam attempts to guess what
the pitch of your sample is but is not always accurate. To adjust the pitch and the samples start,
stop and looping parameters select the sample in the list and the sample editing pane will
appear. The controls are as follows:

• Looped switch defines whether the sample should

automatically repeat when the note is held. Otherwise, playback of the note will end
with the length of the sample.
Test button will playback the current sample in its natural state taking into account any
changes that are made. This is how you can audition the position, length and gain changes.
Start controls the relative start position of this sample within the recorded file when the note
is first played
Loop Start controls the position of the beginning of the loop within the recorded file. When
a looped note is held, this is where it will return when it reaches the end.
Stop controls the end position of this sample within the recorded file.
Legato Start controls the relative start position of this sample within the recorded file
when the Legato option is enabled and the note is triggered while dragging. Sometimes it
sounds better to skip a little of the initial attack portion in this situation.
Gain controls the volume level of this sample relative to the others in the set.
Pan controls the default pan position of this sample, which is used when panning is not
controlled another way in the interface.
Root Note specfies the note name of the pitch that this sample represents.
Root Octave specfies the octave number of the pitch that this sample represents. It is
important that the note and octave match the actual note that was recorded in the sample.
Fine Tune allows you to calibrate the actual pitch of the sample in the case that the recording
is not perfect. You can adjust it +/- 50 cents to match.
You can also import audio files using the WiFi Transfer interface or AudioPaste to use as
samples in a new instrument. Instead of Record, press the Import New button to bring up a
file browser of all available samples. There are two categories, Uploaded and Recorded. The
Uploaded section contains any samples transferred via WiFi or pasted in using AudioPaste.
The Recorded section lets you grab samples from other instruments you have previously
created.

You can audition the samples to choose which you would like to choose, and you can select
multiple simultaneous samples to import together. When you upload a ZIP file of samples from
the WiFi interface it will create a folder with those samples and these are represented in the file
browse interface with [ ] and indentation. If you select one of the folder names it will select (or
deselect) all files beneath it.

If the files are named using a specific convention, the appropriate note they represent will be set
automatically. For instance, if the last portion of the filename before the file extension is _C2
the sample will be set as a C note in octave 2. Accordingly, a _FS4 represents an F# in the 4th
octave. An example of a full filename would be piano_E3.wav.

Additionally, if your audio file is in the AIFF format and encoded with the pitch and looping
information (the SMPL chunk) those values will be automatically used to fill in the appropriate
fields in sample editor.

Samples may also be deleted from the device in the browsing interface, by pressing the Edit
button then tapping the red delete icon on the entry and confirming.
Preferences and Miscellaneous Settings
The Prefs button brings up a menu with the following miscellaneous items:

Volume / iPod
Here you will find a master system volume control (same as the hardware volume) which
controls the level of all audio on the device. Also available is an App Vol Boost slider
which applies extra gain to the ThumbJam generated audio only, however it can lead to
distortion and clipping, so it is only recommended if you need to increase the level relative to
any iPod music you might be playing.

The Force to Mono switch, if enabled, prevents any left-right panning to occur even if the
preset has a panning control set to X-axis. This is useful when plugging your device into a
single channel in an amplifier or PA system.

The button with an image of a CD and musical note brings up a playlist selection window
allowing you to build a custom playlist from your iPod music library to play along with in the
app. Play, pause, skip forward and skip back buttons are along the bottom to control the
playback of music you select. If you are playing music in the iPod application before you start
ThumbJam, it will continue playing while inside the app.

The Silence All button will stop any playing loops and silence any sustained notes in case
things get a little out of hand.

WiFi Transfer
This is where you enable the local web server that gives you access to the web interface
allowing you to upload and download loops, instruments and sessions. You must be on a WiFi
network for this feature to operate, it will not function on a 3G cellular network. Just switch the
Enable Server switch to ON, and type the web address displayed on the page into your
web browser on a computer on the same network.

The web interface is split into different sections for each type of content that can be transferred.

Instruments (SampleSets)
Here is where SampleSets may be uploaded or downloaded. Information about each are
shown, along with links to download or delete them from the device. To upload an instrument
that was obtained from the forums or created externally by a user, just choose the file, and
press the Upload button. This should be a ZIP archive containing the proper instrument
description files and audio files. For more information about the format see the online Forums
at http://thumbjam.com .
Recorded Instruments
This section allows you to download or delete any instruments that were created or recorded in
the application. They are listed separately from the downloaded/uploaded samplesets.

Samples
If you have individual audio files you would like to use as samples when creating a new
instrument in the app, upload them here. You can upload a ZIP file of multiple audio files or a
single audio file that may be later imported into a new instrument. If you name these files so
that they end with an _ followed by the note name and octave like example_A4.wav or
example_DS2.wav (D sharp), they will be automatically configured when imported into a new
instrument.

User Scales
You can create your own custom scales in either the Scala format [.scl] or ThumbJam native
format [.sxml]. The Scala file format is described at http://www.huygens-fokker.org/scala/.

Loops and Loop Sets

Here you can upload and download or delete any loops or loop sets. A LoopSet should be a
ZIP file containing a previously exported loop set from ThumbJam which contains some
metadata files along with the audio files.
For uploading audio loops, you can either upload a ZIP file containing one or more audio files,
or a single audio file. These loops are then available to load and play along with from within the
Loop menu in ThumbJam.

Sessions
A session is a stereo WAV file recorded in the app using the Record Session feature. They are
named with a date and timestamp and may be downloaded or deleted from this interface.
Copy/Paste
ThumbJam supports copying and pasting audio files between other applications on the device
that support it. It uses Sonoma Wireworks AudioCopy and AudioPaste as well as Intua's
convention for using the general pasteboard.

To copy audio to a pasteboard for later pasting into another app, press the Copy button from
the Copy/Paste control panel. This will bring up an interface to browse all the audio files
available for copy within ThumbJam. You can browse the loops inside any saved Loop Sets,
individual loop files that were uploaded into the app, recorded sessions, or any samples that
were created or uploaded previously. If you have an active loop recorded and playing, you need
to make sure to save it as a loopset before trying to copy it. Selecting an item will audition the
audio so you can verify it is the correct choice. Pressing the play/pause button in the lower right
will stop or restart playback, as will selecting the item again. Once you find the file you want to
copy, press the Copy Selected button in the lower left. The audio file will be copied to
both the Sonoma Wireworks pasteboard as well Intua's general pasteboard. Sonoma's
pasteboard will hold up to 12 items, so you can copy multiple items before switching to another
app to paste.

To paste audio from one of the pasteboards, press the Paste button. An interface will come up
allowing you to choose the source, which can be any one of the entries on Sonoma's
Pasteboard or the general pasteboard. The file can be pasted into ThumbJam as either a new
loop or a new sample, chosen from the Paste to entry. The interface also lets you specify a
number of loops, but there is generally no reason to use more than 1 in ThumbJam because it
has built-in looping support. Press Paste and the file will be imported into the app, showing
up with an appropriate timestamped name in either the Loops area or the Samples area for later
use.

Remote Control
OSC / MIDI Output

These features allow you to use ThumbJam as a live musical controller on a WiFi network to
play software instruments, sequence MIDI events, etc on your computer.

Send MIDI switch enables the MIDI output over WiFi. It uses the DSMI standard to
broadcast MIDI messages over the local network to any listening computers. Visit http://
dsmi.tobw.net to read about how you can use it on Mac, Windows or Linux, and download the
DSMIDIWifi server for your platform at http://code.google.com/p/dsmi/downloads/list (look
for the DSMI Server). Setting it up couldn't be easier, you just run the server on your
computer, and it will create virtual midi device which your apps can listen to.

You'll notice that latency and performance might not be ideal if you are using a regular WiFi
router. To get it the best performance and lowest-latency you'll want to setup a direct wifi
network from your computer. Sometimes called Ad-Hoc, it is usually easy to set up.

On a Mac
Click on the Wifi menubar (the bars) and choose Create Network... make up a name and hit
OK. Then on your device, go to the main Preferences app and choose Networking, and pick
that wifi network you just created. Now you have a direct wifi connection between the device
your laptop and it is much more playable. The downside is that your laptop and device now
have no internet if it was using wifi for that before.

On Windows
Coming soon....
On Linux
Coming soon....
The MIDI events it sends by default are note on/off messages (with velocity), damper pedal
CC when the sustain button is used, and optionally pitch bend, channel volume, and channel
pan if enabled by the switches at the bottom. Also, an all-notes-off message is sent when the
all-off button is pressed from the main play area. This is readily available because of the
tendency to drop the occasional note-offs over the wifi network leaving stuck notes on your
computer.

MIDI Channel/OSC ID setting picks the MIDI channel to send messages on. This lets you
have multiple devices feeding the same computer to control different things.

The Send OSC switch enables broadcasting of different OSC messages for note events,
volume, panning, pitch bend to the port specified. To change the port, press the gear button.

OSC Interface

The # below in the OSC paths represent the OSC ID set above. The messages it sends right
now are:

/tj/#/note
Where is the midi note number of the pitch, velocity
is from 0->1 and on/off is either 0 for note-off and 1 for
note-on.

/tj/#/pan
Where is between --1.0 for full left and 1.0 for full
right.

/tj/#/bend
Bend is -1.0 -> 1.0

/tj/#/vol
Where is 0.0 -> 1.0

/tj/#/damper <0/1>
Where 1 is pedal down (active) and 0 is up.

/tj/#/alloff
Sent when the panic/alloff button is pressed in the GUI

Bluetooth Collaboration

This feature allows multiple nearby devices to share a common tempo, scale and key which can
be especially useful if jamming together when using speakers or plugged into a PA system.
To connect devices, one should be designated the Leader. When a device is selected as a
follower it will search the local area for any leaders and allow you to connect to it.

Once the Follower is joined with a Leader any changes to the currently active loop tempo, scale
or key on the Leader should be reflected in any of the Followers that have enabled it.

Options
This is a miscellaneous set of parameters that control various aspects of the software.

Resource Usage Options

To reduce CPU usage and make less cabable devices more responsive, it may sometimes be
desirable to lower the quality of reverb. The Auto setting automatically reduces the quality if
utilization becomes too high.

The Graphics Update selection is another means to reduce CPU usage when more
responsiveness is desired. Turning it to Off will eliminate any updates when playing or
dragging notes, and no loop position animations will occur.

Note Labels

The Show Note Names option enables/disables the display of the note names on the play
area. The Use Interval Names shows the musical numeric interval of the notes relative to
the current key instead of their normal names.

Other

The Check for news option allows you to disable the automatic downloading of any
updated news items from the ThumbJam server. It is recommended to leave this enabled, so
you are notified when new instruments or other useful updates or tips are available.

The Play loops when backgrounded option is available when running on iOS4, and
controls whether you want any playing loops to continue to play in the background when you
close or switch to another app.