The best way is the way that gets you the drum groove that you want play along with...

You can touch the "+" in the next available PART of your PERFORMANCE to ADD a Drum Kit PART.
You can have that Kit play any of the 3200 Drum Arpeggio Phrases in the internal Preset Arpeggio library.
You can import .mid data to create the Arp Phrase; or you can create your own drum phrases and convert them to Arpeggio phrases.

An Arpeggio phrase is a set of MIDI data that can be triggered by the keyboard and control playback of a PART. Arpeggios come in different varieties: Fixed Note and Original Note.

Fixed Note phrases will playback exactly as you play them when converted to an ARP Phrase. This is ideal for drum/percussion and triggering audio loops.
Original Note phrases will adjust to the musical key of the notes used to trigger them. This is used for bass and chordal phrases.

You can choose to create your own MIDI data and have the MONTAGE convert it into an ARP phrase or you can search and select a drum groove from the on board phrases.

Add a Drum Kit
Touch the "+" in the first available PART to ADD a PART...
"Part x - Performance Merge" appears on the top line of the Category Search.
Set Bank = as you may desire to narrow your search
Touch "Drum/Perc"
Select a Drum Kit... you can play the kit via the keybed, by using the "Mute - Org" option in the lower left corner (by muting the original sound you will only hear the sound of the Kit you are ADDing).
Pick a Drum kit > Press [ENTER]

you can now go about assigning or selecting an Arpeggio Phrase.
Press [EDIT]
Press the [PART SELECT x] button to select the Drum Kit Part
The lower COMMON button will light
Touch "Arpeggio" > "Common"

Make sure the "Arp Part" is On (green)
Set hold to "On"
If you set "ARP PLAY ONLY" = ON, the drums will only sound in response to the Arp information (not your key presses). Meaning touching the keys will (trigger) start the Arp pattern when the MASTER ARP Switch is ON.

Touch "Individual" to see the grid where you select the eight phrases you can associate with this PART.
Touch and entry to see the pop-in menu for "SEARCH"

Hint:
Rather than searching through endless phrases, I recommend you select a Kit in the general area of what you are thinking. For example, if you are looking to to Jazz then by all means select a Jazz Kit (it will most likely have a Jazz Arp already assigned). If you are looking for a Rock groove, select a Rock Kit, If you are thinking Hip Hop, select a HipHop Kit.

It can be very tedious auditioning scores of phrases. Sometimes it is best to narrow the search by finding something close then branching out from there. Each Drum Kit has some kind of arp phrase assigned to it - of course you can freely assign any arpeggio to any kind of Kit. But it makes it quicker to find things by selecting the TYPE of kit that sounds like it might work for what you want to do

I was slow to answer because I was having deja-vu and looking for a recent time this same question was asked. Didn't dig that up - so just adding:

1) When you press [+] to add a new PART, choose the "Drum/Perc" main category and then the "Drums" sub-category. I'm not sure if later firmware shored up the sub-categories so you can pick your style (hip-hop/RNB, jazz/world, electronic, etc).

2) When presented with the list of drum kits, pick one that seems to fit your genre. There's one called "T's EDM Kit" which would be for electronic dance music, "R&B Kit 1", "Hip Hop Kit 3", "Pop Latin Kit" -- you get the idea. Pick by a name that matches your genre.

3) Each kit carries with it a built-in arpeggio. You just need to do basically 2 things after adding the kit:
a) Make sure the drum PART's arpeggio setting is turned on AND make sure the master arpeggio switch is turned on. When you click on the drum PART to edit, you can go to the "Arpeggio" -> "Individual" touchscreen menu and make sure the "ARP Part" AND "ARP Master" boxes at the top-left of the screen are blue-green color instead of grey. NOTE: while on this menu you can also look at the ARP name for each slot (1-8) and see if the names match basically the "groove" you're going for.
b) By default, you may notice after turning on ARP that you have to hold down keys in order for the drums to keep playing. They may not automatically keep playing after you lift up off all the keys. This may not be what you want - so setup the "hold" to ON. Do this by going to touchscreen menu "Arpeggio" -> "Common" and look for the "Hold" section - select the "On" setting.

After pressing [PERFORMANCE] (HOME) your ARP SELECT switches (which are Number C [9-16] buttons = the last row of 8 buttons on the far-right of your instrument) can be used to switch between arpeggios (variation 1-8).

Bad Mister wrote:

The best way is the way that gets you the drum groove that you want play along with...

You can touch the "+" in the next available PART of your PERFORMANCE to ADD a Drum Kit PART.
You can have that Kit play any of the 3200 Drum Arpeggio Phrases in the internal Preset Arpeggio library.
You can import .mid data, you can create your own drum phrases and convert them to Arpeggio phrases.

An Arpeggio phrase is a set of MIDI data that can be triggered by the keyboard and control playback of a PART. Arpeggios come in different varieties: Fixed Note and Original Note.

Fixed Note phrases will playback exactly as you play them when converted to an ARP Phrase. This is ideal for drum/percussion and triggering audio loops.
Original Note phrases will adjust to the musical key of the notes used to trigger them. This is used for bass and chordal phrases.

You can choose to create your own MIDI data and have the MONTAGE convert it into an ARP phrase or you can search and select a drum groove from the on board phrases.

Thanks Bad Mister! I added the drums pretty easy. 🙂

Hello - side tracked again! Interesting sideline - I'd been half thinking about a form of accompaniment, and a drum track would do the trick ... BUT ... BM, you say there are 3200 Arpeggios to choose from - but where are they and how do I find them, please? All I can get is the standard Arp assigned to that drum kit (and Scenes|), and I haven't found any way to change it. Obviously there is a way ... ??

Hello BM - this rang a bell when I wrote the question - I have failed to equate 'Motion Sequence' with 'Arpeggios' so I think I've answered my own question - can't get to Montage right now, but I'll check it out tomorrow. Sorry ...

Of course, there is a [CATEGORY SEARCH] for Arpeggios (purple).

When you move the cursor highlight over an assigned Arpeggio Name, you can press [CATEGORY SEARCH] to set the parameters for finding different Arp phrases.

Press [EDIT]
Press [PART SELECT x]
Touch “Arpeggio” > “Individual”
Highlight the Arp Name by touching that box, a pop-in menu for SEARCH or if you know the Number, you can enter it directly.

Rod,

I'm assuming you're still talking about drum kits and their assigned percussion. When you pick a drum kit - you narrow the field down. Although you can use any Drum/Percussion ARP for any kit - each is really designed "like a glove" for one kit in mind. For instance, take a look at the "MA_StandardRock" pattern in the data list. The last column shows "Power Standard Kit 2" - which is the "fits like a glove" kit which would be used with this arpeggio. So if you don't like the "Power Standard Kit 2" drum kit sound - then this may not be the best arpeggio to use. No rules here - but there may be something which intends to hit a cowbell and hits a bass drum instead when using the "wrong" kit paired with an ARP that expects to use a different kit.

Also, each of these kits has a time signature. If your tune is in 3/4 - then this ARP is not suitable as it's 4/4. So time signature has a way of narrowing the field down as well. How long the phrase is (4 bars, 1 bar, 7 bars, 3 bars) before it repeats may matter to you. So that's a way to narrow the field down.

There's lots of useful additional information in the data list which can help guide you to what may best work for what you need. I'm not saying to use it exclusively - but the information is not laid out right in front of you, in the same way, when using the Montage directly.

Bad Mister wrote:

The best way is the way that gets you the drum groove that you want play along with...

You can touch the "+" in the next available PART of your PERFORMANCE to ADD a Drum Kit PART.
You can have that Kit play any of the 3200 Drum Arpeggio Phrases in the internal Preset Arpeggio library.
You can import .mid data to create the Arp Phrase; or you can create your own drum phrases and convert them to Arpeggio phrases.

An Arpeggio phrase is a set of MIDI data that can be triggered by the keyboard and control playback of a PART. Arpeggios come in different varieties: Fixed Note and Original Note.

Fixed Note phrases will playback exactly as you play them when converted to an ARP Phrase. This is ideal for drum/percussion and triggering audio loops.
Original Note phrases will adjust to the musical key of the notes used to trigger them. This is used for bass and chordal phrases.

You can choose to create your own MIDI data and have the MONTAGE convert it into an ARP phrase or you can search and select a drum groove from the on board phrases.

Add a Drum Kit
Touch the "+" in the first available PART to ADD a PART...
"Part x - Performance Merge" appears on the top line of the Category Search.
Set Bank = as you may desire to narrow your search
Touch "Drum/Perc"
Select a Drum Kit... you can play the kit via the keybed, by using the "Mute - Org" option in the lower left corner (by muting the original sound you will only hear the sound of the Kit you are ADDing).
Pick a Drum kit > Press [ENTER]

you can now go about assigning or selecting an Arpeggio Phrase.
Press [EDIT]
Press the [PART SELECT x] button to select the Drum Kit Part
The lower COMMON button will light
Touch "Arpeggio" > "Common"

Make sure the "Arp Part" is On (green)
Set hold to "On"
If you set "ARP PLAY ONLY" = ON, the drums will only sound in response to the Arp information (not your key presses). Meaning touching the keys will (trigger) start the Arp pattern when the MASTER ARP Switch is ON.

Touch "Individual" to see the grid where you select the eight phrases you can associate with this PART.
Touch and entry to see the pop-in menu for "SEARCH"

Hint:
Rather than searching through endless phrases, I recommend you select a Kit in the general area of what you are thinking. For example, if you are looking to to Jazz then by all means select a Jazz Kit (it will most likely have a Jazz Arp already assigned). If you are looking for a Rock groove, select a Rock Kit, If you are thinking Hip Hop, select a HipHop Kit.

It can be very tedious auditioning scores of phrases. Sometimes it is best to narrow the search by finding something close then branching out from there. Each Drum Kit has some kind of arp phrase assigned to it - of course you can freely assign any arpeggio to any kind of Kit. But it makes it quicker to find things by selecting the TYPE of kit that sounds like it might work for what you want to do

How do you keep the drum arp playing after you release your notes? Is there a setting where once you trigger it, it's "On" and you play along? Currently I added the New Oak Custom Kit and it only plays when I'm playing the keyboard and stops when I stop.

Thanks!

In this thread:

b) By default, you may notice after turning on ARP that you have to hold down keys in order for the drums to keep playing. They may not automatically keep playing after you lift up off all the keys. This may not be what you want - so setup the "hold" to ON. Do this by going to touchscreen menu "Arpeggio" -> "Common" and look for the "Hold" section - select the "On" setting.

Make sure the "Arp Part" is On (green)
Set hold to "On"
If you set "ARP PLAY ONLY" = ON, the drums will only sound in response to the Arp information (not your key presses). Meaning touching the keys will (trigger) start the Arp pattern when the MASTER ARP Switch is ON.

Jason wrote:

In this thread:

b) By default, you may notice after turning on ARP that you have to hold down keys in order for the drums to keep playing. They may not automatically keep playing after you lift up off all the keys. This may not be what you want - so setup the "hold" to ON. Do this by going to touchscreen menu "Arpeggio" -> "Common" and look for the "Hold" section - select the "On" setting.

Make sure the "Arp Part" is On (green)
Set hold to "On"
If you set "ARP PLAY ONLY" = ON, the drums will only sound in response to the Arp information (not your key presses). Meaning touching the keys will (trigger) start the Arp pattern when the MASTER ARP Switch is ON.

Thanks Jason! Sorry I missed that one! 😮 😀

Hello BM and Jason - many thanks! Finally got on with it this afternoon, and golly! - what a choice one has! Makes my one-finger efforts a bit more interesting ... took a while to find that 'Velocity' = Volume, and a bit longer still to equate 'Unit' with Time Signature. Why not just use the conventional terms? Anyway, all now transcribed into my own Procedure Note, so hopefully I can pick up later and progress from there. Being able to add an accompaniment was one of the deciding factors in buying a Montage in the first place, but it's such a captivating machine it's taken me 13 months to get round to it ...

Playing along with the arps is one of the great things that Yamaha has for its boards, and Montage just rocks in this area. The Guitar arps, especially the Mega arps are amazing. Drum arps are a given and there are so many styles. I typically play left hand bass, piano type parts, and right hand chords, and riffing...., having the machine play along with a guitar, drums, and maybe a few more instruments as I play, and improvise.... is such a creative inspiration. This works great from classic rock, to the latest EDM sounds. If you start with a drum sound the arps they assign are very good, and then you can add in your keyboards as second tracks... This way you get the scene assignments without setting them up. Changing the arps as you are playing is very effective, and you can change them via scene buttons on left, or or the arp buttons on the right. Arps are definitely worth playing with and exploring....like having some of the best studio musicians in your hip pocket.

Hello Mitchell - good thinking! Fitting an Arp to a song can be difficult - but fitting a song to an Arp should be simpler. I think! Well worth a go - I'm not a musician, as I have often said, so a lot of stuff that comes easy to a musician is a lot less so to me!

@Rod

took a while to find that 'Velocity' = Volume, and a bit longer still to equate 'Unit' with Time Signature. Why not just use the conventional terms?

I'll start with, at least to me, the more straight forward example.

Velocity isn't called volume because that would be incorrect. Just like we don't call all bread "bagels" and all vehicles "dragsters". Because a hoagie isn't a bagel and an 18-wheeler isn't a dragster (most of the time).

Call up the "Init Normal (AWM2)" performance by going to [CATEGORY SEARCH], picking the "Init" main category then finally the suggested performance. Mash down on the piano keys like a feather. Mash down like a madman. There's absolutely no change in volume. If you perceived any change in volume - then this is psychological because there just isn't any change in volume. Although Montage is registering all the velocities (1-127) - there is no volume change.

Montage has two sensors that "trip" when the key travels on its axis in a downward trajectory. The key travels as such as a consequence of your "pressing" the piano key. The two sensors are designed to "trip" at two different angles of rotation along the axis of the piano key. The time between the first sensor "tripping" and the second sensor "tripping" is regarded as the velocity of key travel and is normalized to values from 1-127 depending on how you have your velocity curve set.

Volume relating to velocity is a programmable response to the piano key velocity. Volume can have no change or a drastic change. Sometimes velocity is used just for "on" and "off" (not volume). So when a velocity threshold is exceeded - some sound will come out - but perhaps no such sound will come out if below the threshold. You can program ARPs that produce specific velocities and then have a PART which responds to specific velocities as one way to setup time-based features like picks scraping against strings vs. string vibration sounds in a guitar. So absolutely velocity is not the same as volume. Sometimes volume changes with velocity - sometimes it doesn't.

I do wish "unit multiply" was termed a bit easier to remember. I have to fiddle with it to remind myself of what happens with smaller percentages vs. larger ones. This takes all of but maybe a few seconds - not long at all. But "time signature" isn't a great term for unit multiplier. If it takes you a long time to figure out what Unit Multiply does - maybe mark the page in the reference manual which states:

Common Clock Unit (Common Unit Multiply)
Adjusts the Arpeggio/Motion Sequencer playback time for the entire Performance.
This parameter is applied to the Part when the Unit Multiply parameter for Arpeggio/Motion Sequencer
of the Part is set to “Common.”
By using this parameter, you can create a different Arpeggio/Motion Sequencer type from the original
one.
Settings: 50% – 400%
200%: The playback time will be doubled and the tempo is halved.
100%: The normal playback time.
50%: The playback time will be halved and the tempo doubled.

.... or - basically the same thing:

Unit (Part Unit Multiply)
Determines the Unit Multiply setting of Arpeggio and Motion Sequencer for each Part in the selected
Scene.
Settings: 50% – 400%, Common
200%: The playback time will be doubled and the tempo is halved.
100%: The normal playback time.
50%: The playback time will be halved and the tempo doubled.
Common: The value set in the Unit Multiply common to the all Parts will be applied.