Practice freely or in blocks

These two modes organize your practice around the metronome. They don't need a MIDI file and don't compare your notes against a piece. Use them for scales, technique, reading or any exercise you're working on.

Start a free practice

1. Open the Free Practice panel from the top bar.
2. Set the tempo in BPM. You can also tap it in by pressing TAP several times at the speed you want.
3. Choose the time signature.
4. Set the Count-Off before you start: none, one bar or two bars.
5. Check the metronome level in Mixer.
6. Click Start.
7. Wait for the count-off and play the exercise.
8. Adjust the BPM during practice if you need to change speed.
9. Click Stop when you're done and check History.

If you don't want to keep this record, turn on Don't save this session under the panel's More settings before you start. This option refers to the practice history, not to saving the .mdss project.

Create a sequence of blocks

Each block sets a tempo, a time signature, a number of bars and a number of repeats. Medussa counts those bars and moves on according to the sequence you set up.

1. Open Blocks from the top bar.
2. Click Add Block.
3. Set its BPM, time signature, number of bars and repeats.
4. Add more blocks and set up each one.
5. Review the order and the duration summary.
6. Under How to practice, set the Count-Off before the first block.
7. Turn on Also before each block if you want that count-off on every block, and Stop after each block if you'd rather review each one before moving on.
8. Click Start.
9. Follow the block counter and the repeats until the sequence is complete.

Example: build up speed on a scale

Play the same scale in all three blocks. If you need to rest or review a result between speeds, turn on Stop after each block: when each one ends, Repeat and Next appear. Blocks describe practice time; they don't automatically select bars from a song.

Save and reuse the sequence

1. Type a name for the plan in the panel's field.
2. Click the save button under Saved Presets to keep it inside the session.
3. Save the session too, with Cmd+S.
4. To reuse it, select it in the list; Custom lets you edit the blocks freely.
5. To save it to a separate file, use Practice > Blocks > Save Preset…; to bring it back, Practice > Blocks > Load Preset….

Practice, history and recording are different things

Starting a practice logs its duration and stats, unless you turn that off. It's not the same as pressing REC to get an editable take in the piano roll. If you want to record a MIDI performance, use MIDI recording.

If you want Medussa to play reference notes and score you against them, continue with Guided training. To review what you practiced, go to History.