Quick Start

On this page

• Interface Overview

• Basics of Use

• Tap Controls

• Shortcuts

• Navigation

• Sharing Your Showdata

Now that you have RMS Coach® fully installed, let's explore the robust features available at your fingertips!

Interface Overview

1. Metronome - Activating this icon turns on a metronome click during playback.

2. Meter - Shows the current meter at the playhead (the red line) in the Timeline.

3. Location - Shows the current location of the playhead, by measure number and beat.

4. Transport - Controls for starting and stopping playback.

5. Tempo - Shows the current written tempo and tap rhythm value as well as the current user defined tempo. You can click the circular arrow key to revert to written tempo.

6. Key - Allows the user to quickly move the key of the song up or down, and you can use the circular arrow key to revert to default.

7. Timeline - Shows a general overview of the form of the song, as well as the current location and any edits made to the form, such as (cuts, vamps, attaccas, etc).

8. Songs - Shows the list of songs for the given show. If you are in trial mode, unavailable songs will be grayed out.

9. Parts - A list of vocal parts for the selected song, as well as an accompaniment piano track. Parts can be muted or assigned different instruments, or made softer or louder.

10. Markers - A list of significant spots within the current song and their location, allowing for quick jumps within the song.

Basics of Use

RMS Coach® is designed for intuitive use, but with a depth of customization for more advanced users. If you want to learn more about these features, jump to the INTERFACE AND EDITING section of the manual.

Click the Play button to start music, or hit the Spacebar in rhythm to set a tempo yourself. Click on other songs or markers to navigate to different areas of the score. Or click in the timeline to jump to a different part of the song. Adjust the part faders to bring them up or down in volume. Adjust the tempo slider to speed up or slow down playback.

Tap Controls

RMS Coach® v2 adds a powerful new tool familiar to users of Sinfonia® - the ability to "play" the music live, in a tempo of your choosing!

By tapping the spacebar at your desired tempo, you propel the song according to your individual interpretation. The process is analogous to conducting in the traditional sense; as you beat time, RMS Coach® responds. You can speed up and slow down to follow the performers. You can create deep rubato passages or taut accelerandos. 'Playing' is an essential way to breathe life into your rehearsals with RMS Coach® .

Try playing a song in tempo. To start, simply navigate the playback cursor to where you want to play from, and tap the Spacebar in rhythm to have the software follow along. To know what rhythm you should be playing, look at the note value next to the tempo indication along the top of the program window. This tells you if you should tap along in quarter notes, or eighth notes, or whatever note value is appropriate for that measure of music.

When you "play" RMS Coach® , tempo changes are immediate and you can start and stop on a dime, just like you would if you were playing any other musical instrument. It may take a minute to get a feel for this! But like anything, practice makes perfect.

Note that you can trigger automatic playback by pressing the play button with the mouse or by pressing the F8 key.

Shortcuts

RMS Coach® comes with a default set of shortcuts to make navigation and control easy.

Navigation

You can jump to any marker or location within the Timeline by simply clicking on the desired spot.

You can also jump to a specific measure number or marker by simply typing on the keyboard. When you start typing using the alphanumeric keys, a "Go to…" dialogue will pop up. Once you have input the measure number or marker name, hit Enter once to "arm" the relocation, and then hit Enter again to jump to that spot.

RMS Coach® has the ability to dynamically recognize marker locations and will autocomplete as you type. This often allows you to jump to a specific spot with only a few keystrokes.

Sharing Your Showdata

RMS Coach® provides an easy and powerful new way to share edits with other members of your production. Under the "Tools" menu there is an option to "Share Show Data". You'll be asked to give a brief description of your show, which could be something like 'Act 1 Edits 10-30-26'. Next your edits will be sent up to the cloud. You'll be informed your show was successfully uploaded and given the opportunity to copy an invitation to send your cast. Note: The invitation is for users creating and sharing their own original content in RMS Coach. For groups booking licensed shows with us (Cinderella, Cats, etc), all your cast must do to access your edits is (provided they've already installed and unlocked the software) open RMS Coach and click Tools > Show Management.