manual/include/automating-midi---pitch-bending-and-aftertouch.html

<p>
  Adding pitch bending or aftertouch can add a lot of subtlety to an otherwise
  plain sounding midi region and help humanize it.
</p>

<figure>
  <img src="/images/MIDI_pitch_bending.png" alt="Automation: pitch bending">
  <figcaption>Automation: pitch bending</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>
  Pitch bending and aftertouch both work the same way, through automation, by <kbd class="mouse">right</kbd>
  clicking the MIDI track's header <kbd class="menu">&gt; Automation &gt; Bender (or
  Pressure) &gt; the channel to bend</kbd>.
</p>

<p>
  Using the Draw tool, as for all the automation, allows to create a gradual
  change from one drawn point to another. A line in the center produces no
  change to the pitch, while a line above the center will bend the pitch to a
  higher note and a line going under the middle will bend the pitch to a lower note.
</p>

<p>
  The pitch change depends on the synth-plugin used. Common ranges are an
	change of either &plusmn; 1, &plusmn; 2 or &plusmn; 4 semitones
	for the range 0 to 16383. The range is usually defined by the soundfont
	for each instrument.
	A value of 8192, which is also the default, means no pitch change.
</p>

<p>
  Aftertouch works very similarly, though the values are between 0 and 127. It
  should be noted that aftertouch differs from velocity, as aftertouch allows to
  slightly change the timbre or create a vibrato, while the velocity sets the
  power with which the note is played (e.g. on a keyboard, the key is hit).
</p>