Using Foot Pedals to Take Control

Foot pedals are a great way to control Song Master Pro hands-free. Selecting the right pedal for your needs is crucial, so let's first explore some of the available options.

If you are in the market for foot pedals, the following overview may be helpful. If you already have a pedal, then you may want to skip to Using Foot Pedals with Song Master Pro

Foot Pedals Overview

Foot pedals aren’t exclusive to musicians; they are used in a variety of industries. For instance, medical professionals use them to control devices, such as turning them on or off or adjusting chair height. Before the recent rise of AI and advanced speech-to-text technologies, audio transcribers used foot pedals to control the playback of dialogue when converting it to text. When searching for foot pedals online, you'll likely find pedals designed for these specific tasks. However, most pedals designed to work with computers are general enough to be compatible with Song Master Pro.

General Categories of Foot Pedals

There are many foot pedals available for the computer and it’s important to understand a bit about how they work. The mechanisms by which they control an app fall into several general categories:

1. Secondary Keyboards: Some pedals act like secondary computer keyboards, sending key press events to the app. The advantage of these pedals is that they work with almost any app. The main disadvantage is that key events are handled by the OS which forwards them to the active app--which may not be the app you want it sent to.
2. MIDI Pedals: Since these pedals send MIDI messages, they can be sent directly to a specific app, regardless of whether it is the active one. However, they may require additional setup and customization.
3. OSC Support: Similar to MIDI pedals, some pedals designed for musicians are capable of sending Open Sound Control (OSC) messages. OSC messages are more flexible than midi and are specific to the apps that support them.
4. HID Controllers: These pedals function similarly to keyboards, mice, or video game controllers.
5. Proprietary Protocols: Some pedals use proprietary communication protocols that work only with specific devices or apps.

Most pedals on the market for musicians send key events and/or MIDI messages. Song Master Pro works with any pedal that uses either of these methods and is also fully compatible with devices that support OSC messaging.

Connecting a Foot Pedal

Foot pedals today typically communicate with a computer via USB (wired) or Bluetooth (wireless). If you have an older MIDI foot pedal, it may require a MIDI cable.

When shopping for a new foot pedal, the decision between USB and Bluetooth comes down to your needs and budget. Bluetooth pedals are generally more expensive, but they offer the convenience of wireless use, however, you'll need to monitor its battery level. USB pedals, on the other hand, don’t require batteries and use power from the computer.

Foot Pedal Layout

Foot pedals come in a variety of layouts, from single-pedal units to multi-pedal setups. Pedals (or foot buttons) used for page turning typically have two buttons: one for the previous page and one for the next.

For controlling Song Master Pro, it’s recommended to use a pedal with at least three buttons:

• The left pedal moves the playhead back one bar.
• The middle pedal starts and stops playback.
• The right pedal moves the playhead forward one bar.

With additional pedals, you can control looping, playback speed, and more.

Using Foot Pedals with Song Master Pro

Let's dive into how you can control Song Master Pro using foot pedals that first send key events and then we'll look at how to set up and configure a Midi pedal.

Key Event Pedals

The benefit of key event pedals is that they will usually work as soon as you plug them in. Pedal manufacturers typically assign specific key events to each pedal. For instance, audio transcription pedals usually have three buttons configured to send commands for media rewind, play/pause, and fast forward. If your pedal works this way, it should function with Song Master Pro right out of the box.

If your pedal doesn’t work as expected or if you’d like to assign different commands to the pedals, you can either configure the pedal directly (consult the manufacturer's manual) or use Song Master Pro's Key Commands editor to map key events from the pedal to the corresponding Song Master commands.

Assigning Key Commands

The process of assigning a pedal’s key event to a command is the same as assigning a key event from your keyboard to a command.

To assign key events from a foot pedal to Song Master Pro commands, follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings dialog (Edit | Settings on Windows, Apple | Settings/Preferences on macOS).
2. Click on the Key Commands tab.
3. Find the command you want to assign to the pedal. The most relevant commands are in the Transport group, but also check commands under Looping and Playlist.

4. Click the “+” button next to the command you want to assign. A dialog will pop up, prompting you to press the pedal you want to use for this action.

5. Press the pedal, then click OK to save your selection. If the key is already assigned to a command, the command will be displayed in the dialog. You can assign multiple keys to the same command.

MIDI Pedals

Now let's look at how to setup and assign commands to foot pedals that send midi commands.

To use a MIDI pedal with Song Master Pro, you’ll need to first tell Song Master Pro about the device and then you'll be able to assign specific MIDI messages to the pedal actions.

1. Go to the Edit menu and select External Connections, then click on the MIDI Map tab.

   

2. If you haven't yet connected your MIDI foot controller to Song Master, click the MIDI Input Connections button (at the top of dialog) to open the MIDI Receive Connections editor.

   

   Click the Add Connection button.

   

   In the Name column, enter a descriptive name for the pedals (e.g., “Foot Pedals”).

   Then select the corresponding MIDI device in the Device Name dropdown.

After entering the device, you can map each pedal to the desired command in Song Master Pro.

3. In the Midi Map tab's list, find the command you want to assign, then click its corresponding "+" button. This will open a dialog where you can set the MIDI message that the pedal will send.

4. Make sure the name of the midi connection ("Foot Pedals") is selected in the drop down above the Midi Learn button

We don't need to worry about most of the fields here since we can use the MIDI Learn button to have Song Master fill in the fields using the next midi message it receives from your foot controller.

5. Click the MIDI Learn button and then press the foot pedal that you want to execute the command. Song Master Pro will use the midi message your pedal sends it to fill in the values.

Repeat this process for each pedal on your controller.

Midi Example

In the example below, we assign the following:

• Middle Pedal: Play/Resume (Program Change message 8)
• Left Pedal: Goto Previous Bar (Program Change message 9)
• Right Pedal: Goto Next Bar (Program Change message 10)

Note: After clicking the Midi Learn button, we press the pedal we want to assign the command to.

Note that the program change values for your foot pedal will be different than the ones for our pedal.