A pattern can be looped cleanly in a musical way and still become too long.
That's precisely where the real problem often lies in practice. Because the The attention span of people, and therefore also of dancers, is limited.. If a pattern runs for too long, the tension drops. The energy in the room becomes flat. And what just worked well suddenly feels sluggish.
That's why the Caller's Caddy has long helped to keep track of the duration of a pattern.
So far, this has been done in two ways:
- The Permanent window becomes colored, if the planned time is exceeded.
- An additional option is available upon request. Beep from time X.
Both help. Because this way the caller notices in time:
Warning, this is getting too long now.
The only downside is: These aids are ineffective. only during the ongoing pattern.
The caller receives a signal when time is running short or has already expired. This is useful, but it remains a warning system during operation.
And this is exactly where something new comes in.
Instead of only pointing out an overdraft during the call, the caller's caddy can now help beforehand., to limit the pattern appropriately.
Previously: Endless loop as standard
In the Caller's Caddy, patterns have so far been primarily based on the classic Endless loop designed.
This still makes sense. Many callers deliberately want to remain open during a pattern call and decide for themselves when to end it. Therefore, patterns are used in... Planner and in the Playlist still comes standard with the infinity symbol registered.
This means that this pattern will continue indefinitely.
That won't change.
The only new feature is that you can now additionally specify, how long it should run approximately.
New: Controlled loops based on target time
With a Double-click on the infinity symbol A dialog box opens in the Loops column.
There you simply enter the desired target time for your pattern.
The Callers Caddy then calculates automatically, How many loops? are necessary for this.
So you don't have to calculate how many times the pattern needs to be repeated. You just specify the desired duration, and the computer does the rest.
Additionally, the Caller's Caddy shows you two close variations:
- one less loop
- one more loop
This way you can decide directly whether you prefer a shorter or a longer ending.
This is important because it's not always possible to achieve a desired duration down to the second. A loop has a fixed length. But you get an immediate practical selection, which you can work well with.
This is what it looks like in everyday life.
You'll encounter the new feature exactly where it's needed: in Planner and in the Playlist.
Here you can not only manage your music, but now also much better. Plan your time.
Patterns initially appear as usual. infinite. That's the normal starting point. However, if you already know during preparation that a pattern should only run for approximately a certain amount of time, you can change that with a double-click.
Then the dialog opens, you enter the target time, and the Callers Caddy calculates the appropriate number of repetitions.
This is how an open pattern becomes a plannable building block for your evening.
New duration column and total duration
To match this, there is now a new column in Playlist and Planner: Length of time.
There you can see directly how long a track actually runs – taking into account the set number of loops.
This is particularly helpful because it allows you to better assess not only individual patterns, but also the the entire course of the evening.
The playlist will now also include the Total duration summed.
This allows you to see much better how your music selection is structured over time and whether your evening roughly fits into the planned timeframe.
The real advantage
The great benefit lies not only in the technology, but in its impact on practice.
Up until now, the logic was more like:
„"Watch out, you've gotten too long."“
Now, an additional logic is being added:
„"Let's plan the pattern appropriately from the start."“
This transforms the previous warning signal into a tool for preparation.
So you don't only notice that a pattern is getting too long once it's running. You can take steps beforehand to ensure that it's shorter. not to get unnecessarily out of hand in the first place.
This should be of particular interest to many callers who want to remain flexible but still plan their evening a little more neatly.
It remains endless – but not only endless
The important thing to note is that the classic endless loop does not disappear.
It remains the standard and in many situations the right choice.
But now there is also a second option:
controlled loops with target time.
And it is precisely this addition that makes the difference.
Because not every pattern is meant to run forever. Some patterns are simply meant to run. exactly long enough last.