1. Plug in a USB MIDI keyboard or pad controller, or pair a Bluetooth one in Settings → MIDI → Connect Bluetooth MIDI Device….
  2. A keyboard with pads plays two parts at once: the keys play the Keys screen's sounds — lit on the on-screen keyboard as you play — and the pads, in their drum mode, play the drums.
  3. Choose what each part plays in Settings → MIDI → Keys & Pads: press a key or hit a pad, and it shows what you played and what it plays — change it right there (the Keys screen, the Sampler pads, the Drums, or nothing).
  4. Pads playing the synth instead of the drums? Switch your controller's pads to their drum mode (most keyboards with pads have one): pads then send on channel 10, the drum channel.
  5. Hit harder, play louder: the synth, the drums and the sampler pads all follow how hard you play. (The screen can't sense that, so on-screen taps are always the same strength — press and hold a step for a loud or soft hit.)
  6. Sampler pads are notes 36 to 51, the usual layout of a 16-pad controller. With Hold to Repeat on, a held pad repeats as hard as you hit it.
  7. Playing the drums? Tap Record hits on the Beat screen, press Play, and play along — each hit lands on the nearest step at the strength you played it.
  8. Pads playing the wrong drums? Settings → MIDI → Drum Pads: pick your pads' layout (General MIDI, pads in order, or groovebox-style), or Learn — tap a drum, then hit the pad you want for it.
  9. Play a groovebox or synth from Blackcap: Settings → MIDI → Play Other Devices sends the drums, the synth or the chord player to it, in time with the song. Exports use Blackcap's own sounds, so record the device onto a track to keep its sound.
  10. Your keyboard's knobs turn the Keys sound's Tone, Character, Length and Room (most small keyboards' knobs work as they are). Settings → MIDI → Knobs → Learn: tap one, then turn the knob you want for it.
  11. The pitch-bend wheel bends notes you're holding; Settings → MIDI → Pitch Bend Range sets how far (up to two octaves). The mod wheel adds vibrato; on keyboards with aftertouch, pressing harder on a held key adds vibrato and brightness. Settings → MIDI → Touch matches how hard you play to your keyboard: Light, Normal or Firm.