Music Composer is a MIDI Synth sequence editor. With this program you can create a program from scratch. Load an existing sequence and edit that. You can add notes, delete notes, modify note volumes, and change the note channels. You can add notes via a MIDI keyboard or use the keyboard on the screen to add notes exactly where you want them. You can also add and modify all types of MIDI messages including system exclusive messages.
MENU OPTIONS
FILE MENU
About
Window gives name and version of program. Also author's name and copyright information.
Show icons
Shows and gives names for all of the icons used in the program.
New
Set to create a new sequence.
Open
Open a sequence file from disk. Including the instrument bank and wave. If you don't want to load the instrument bank and wave hold down the command key.
Open Instrument
Open a instrument bank and wave. If you don't want to load the wave file hold down the command key.
Open wave
Open a wave file.
Import sequence
A sequence file created with this program can have up to 64 blocks. Each block is like a separate sequence file without the header information. When you import a sequence file you create another block and add that file to blocks that already exist.
Close
Close a new desk accessory window.
Save
Save the sequence file currently in memory.
Save as
Save the sequence file currently in memory. Allowing you to rename it.
Revert to saved
Revert the sequence to the lasted saved sequence.
Delete sequence
Delete a sequence file that is not locked.
Initialize disk
This will initialize 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 inch disk only if you need them to save your work to. If the disk to be initialized was already initialized once it will just be erased.
Page setup
This function does not work in this version.
Print
This function does not work in this version.
Quit
Exit this program.
EDIT MENU
Undo
Does nothing in this program
Cut
Copies the selected information to an internal clipboard only. It then deletes the selected information. You can cut tracks, measures, beats and single notes. See the section on COMPOSER SPREAD SHEET for more detailed information on this and the other edit functions.
Copy
Copies the selected information to an internal clipboard only. Without deleting it from the spread sheet cells. You can copy the same as in the cut above.
Paste
Paste the information from the internal clipboard to the spread sheet cells at the point of the selection. If more then one cell is selected then it is pasted starting at the upper left cell of the selection. If tracks are pasted then the tracks pasted to are erased then the items are pasted to the tracks. If rows are pasted then the rows beneath that are moved down (or MIDI notes and messages are moved up in clock ticks).
Clear
Clears the selected information from the spread sheet cells
Change instrument
Changes the instruments (channels) in the selected area.
Move Instrument
Move instrument only works when an entire single track is selected. See the section on COMPOSER SPREAD SHEET for more details on selecting an entire cell. You can move all the instruments of a certain number to any of the 8 tracks.
Block
This controls the creation, deletion and editing of the sequence blocks. A dialog window is created with several options. Delete block deletes the block number chosen with the scroll bar beneath it. Edit block sets the spread sheet cells to edit the block number beneath it. When this button is chosen the dialog window is removed and you are ready to edit that block. Block count tells you how many blocks there presently are. New block creates a new sequence block. When this button is chose the dialog window is removed and you are ready to edit that block. Continue removes the dialog window without changing which block you were editing.
Key equivalents:
Delete block -- DELETE KEY
Edit block -- E KEY
New Block -- N KEY
Goto stop
This will take you to the place in the spread sheet where the music stop playing. Or if the music is still playing to where it played the last note.
Fade in
The volume of notes and volume control will "fade in" in the selected area.
Fade out
The volume of notes and volume control will "fade out" in the selected area.
Play zone
The notes in the selected area will be played.
Find system exclusive
This will bring the spread sheet to the next MIDI system exclusive message.
SETUP
MIDI
This control MIDI input and output. A dialog window is created with several options.
Choose one of the Omni, Poly, and Multi radio buttons for the mode. Omni means all MIDI message channels (instruments) are accepted through MIDI and forced to one channel (the basic channel). Poly means only those MIDI messages that match the basic channel are accepted. Multi means all MIDI message channels are accepted without being changed.
Choose a basic channel with the scroll bar.
With SysEx in checked when a system exclusive message is received it will be recorded in the spread sheet cell.
MIDI in and MIDI out control whether MIDI in or out is enabled.
Vel Comp adds the value to the volume of the incoming MIDI note message.
Keyboard equivalents:
Omni -- O KEY
Poly -- P KEY
Multi -- M KEY
SysEx in -- S KEY
MIDI in -- I KEY
MIDI out -- X KEY
Sequencer
This controls the sequencer functions.
The clock can be set to internal or MIDI port.
Count off beats lets that many beats "count off" after the play or record button is pressed before playing or recording starts.
With metronome check a metronome plays to the beat.
With Key start pressed playing or recording doesn't start until after a key up (note off) MIDI message is received.
This program will recognized MIDI START, CONTINUE and STOP messages. What the MIDI record and MIDI play radio buttons do is decide whether these messages are for recording or playing. If you click on the radio button that is chosen then both will be not chosen.
When a recording is made, it must be merged with the present sequence block. Also when a paste is down that must be merged with the present sequence block. If there is a MIDI system exclusive message in the sequence block then "Fast merge" must be UN-CHECKED or the merge will not go correctly.
Beat to controls the timing of the beats. The beat time effects the metronome as well as how many notes appear in a beat in the spread sheet. See COMPOSER SPREAD SHEET for more information.
Key equivalents:
Internal -- I KEY
MIDI port -- X KEY
Metronome -- M KEY
Key start -- K KEY
MIDI Record -- R KEY
MIDI Play -- P KEY
Beat to -- 1 - 5 KEY
Track out
Track out controls where the output of the sequencer goes for each track. A dialog window is created allowing you to chose.
Track to channel
Track to channel will map each track of the sequencer to a certain instrument. A dialog window is created allowing you to set this. If that channel is set to 0 then it will play what the MIDI instrument says.
Volumes
Volumes brings up a dialog window that lets you chose the volume that each instrument is played at through the sequencer. It also lets you choose the system volume.
MUSIC
Player
Player brings up a dialog window letting you choose which blocks to play when. You can choose the number of play positions up to 128. For each play position (up to the number of play positions) set a sequence block number. You can play the same block several times. With loop checked when the last play positioned is played it will "loop" to first and start again.
Key equivalents:
Loop -- L KEY
Play block
Play block plays the sequence block that you are editing
Kill all notes
Kill all notes will stop any hung notes from playing.
INSTRUMENTS
Choose an instrument for the basic channel
Key equivalents:
Instruments 1-10 -- OPTION KEY 1-0
Instruments 11-16 -- OPTION KEYPAD 1-6
KEYBOARD
This is the keyboard on the screen. With it you can play and record notes from instruments. You can set the keyboard volume and whether the first key on the left is C1 or C2. In recording mode you can record a single note. The note recorded will be the last note played before you press Done. For every note recorded there is a MIDI note on and note off. The time till the note off is when you released the last key. To exit recording mode without recording a note press the cancel button.
To enter the recording mode you start at the spread sheet. While holding down the COMMAND KEY double click in an empty cell at the beat and track where you want the note to be. You will be taken to the keyboard in recording mode. When you press Done you will be take back to the spread sheet and the note will be in the spread sheet.
Key equivalents:
C1 -- 1 KEY
C2 -- 2 KEY
COMPOSER SPREAD SHEET
The composer spread sheet is where you do your editing, recording, and playing of sequence files.
At the top are several controls. Starting at the left are the play tracks. For each box that is checked that track will play. You can choose which tracks to play or not when recording and playing.
Below that is the record track. You can choose only one of these to record your MIDI input to. If you select the track that is already chosen then it is not selected.
You can set the play tempo with the tempo scroll bar.
The Play button plays the sequence file according to the settings in the Player dialog window.
The Record button starts recording MIDI input. It records into and plays the present sequence block set for editing. The track set for recording is erased then the recorded input is put in that track.
The Stop button stops playing and recording.
The Continue button continues playing from where you last stopped playing.
If you hold down the OPTION KEY and choose the Continue button you will continue recording. This option doesn't erase the recorded track. It starts playing - recording at the beginning of the present sequence block set for editing. You can then start recording where you here you left off.
While music is playing and/or recording most of the functions of the program are still available to use. I wouldn't recommend cutting, copying, pasting, or clearing anything at this time. The program could crash. Also if there is a MIDI system exclusive message some where in the sequence I be very careful doing anything with the program. If you are doing anything with the program when it gets to the MIDI system exclusive message the playing might hang.
Key equivalents:
Play tracks 1-8 -- 1-8 KEY
Record tracks 1-8 -- 1-8 KEYPAD
Play -- P KEY
Record -- R KEY
Continue playing -- C KEY
Continue Recording -- OPTION-C KEY
Stop -- S KEY
Below The above controls are the 8 track names. Four tracks can be shown at once. To see other tracks use the scroll bar at the bottom. You can change the track names by clicking on the track name. This will bring up an edit window allowing you to change the name.
SPREAD SHEET CELLS
Below the track names are the spread sheet cells. This is where the MIDI notes and messages appear and are edited.
Structure of the spread sheet cells
There are 8 tracks. Four tracks can be seen at once. To see the other tracks use the scroll bar at the bottom of the window. Twelve cells at once can be seen for each track. To see other cells use the scroll bar at the right of the window. The 12 cells are divided into 2 beats or chords.
There are 6 cells per beat. When MIDI notes or other messages appear in a beat they start at the top of the beat and go down. If there are more notes or messages then 6 per beat then the notes and messages pass 6 will not be seen. If that is the case here is what you can try to see more of the notes or messages.
Many sequence files created have all the instruments (channels) in one track. You can use Move instrument to move some instruments to other tracks. You can go to the setup menu and choose Sequencer. Change the beat to to a faster beat. This will mean less notes or messages per beat. If you still think there are notes or messages that are not seen you can cut and paste notes to another track. See Editing cells below for more details on this.
Selecting cell(s)
There is a color bar just below the track names. If you click there and entire track will be selected. If you hold down the mouse and drag it you can select several tracks. If you move pass the right or left edge of the window the tracks will scroll.
If you click on the color bar on the left all the tracks in that row will be selected. If you hold down the mouse and drag it you can select several rows. If you move pass the top or bottom of the spread sheet cells then the spread sheet will scroll.
You can select an individual cell by clicking on that cell. If you hold down the mouse and drag it you can select several cells. If you move pass the boundaries of the cells the spread sheet will scroll.
The edit menu commands Change instrument, Fade in, Fade out, and play zone work on entire beats. Therefore although only one MIDI note or message in a beat is selected, all the notes or messages in that beat will be effect by the action of the menu command.
Editing cell(s)
The Undo function in the edit menu does nothing to the spread sheet cells. To cut or copy select the area then choose the edit menu command. If you are cutting or copying more then one track (but not choosing the tracks by the color bar at the top of the spread sheet cells) All of the MIDI note or message items in the bottom selected beat area might not be cut or copied. You can possibly avoid this by dragging the mouse to select the next empty row below where you want to cut or copy.
This paragraph describes why you might not copy what you selected. It gets a bit technical so you can skip it if you want. When MIDI notes and messages are created two things they are given is a track and a time stamp. The track is really a conceptual thing and has not much to do with how a note plays. But it does make editing sequences easier. The time stamp tells when to play the note or message. The spread sheet is separated into beats and tracks. Lets say a beat is 96 clock ticks long (This is set by the beat to in the setup menu sequencer window). Each beat would start at 0, 96, 192, 288 etc. The time stamps on the notes and messages could be anything (1, 103, 219, 307). The notes and messages within a beat fall within a 96 tick range. The notes and messages in the sequence are ordered by time stamp and not track. If you try and select say only two cells in a beat the program will count tell it reaches the third item in a beat range then it will cut or copy up to that. Track 1 might have time stamps of 0, 10, and 20. Track 2 has time stamps of 15, 30, 40 the program would stop when it found the third item in track 1 and would not find the second item in track 2. It has to stop here to keep the relative timing of the items the same.
To edit an individual MIDI note or message double click on a single cell.
To add a MIDI message double click on an empty cell.
To add a MIDI note hold down the COMMAND KEY while double clicking on a empty cell. See KEYBOARD for further details of recording a single note.
When you double click on a cell an edit MIDI item dialog window appears. In this dialog window there are 4 items that can be edited. The type (see list later). The channel (instrument). The Data1 and the Data2. An icon appears next to the type scroll arrow. And the name of the type appears next to the word type. Data1 may also have a an icon and it name is just below the type name. For some of the MIDI types certain things can not be edited. In most cases the scroll arrow next to that item is deactivated. If you double clicked on an existing MIDI item then the type scroll arrow is deactivated. Some MIDI items are not editable and will not bring up a dialog window when you click on them (see list below).
When you click on an system exclusive item or choose the OK button when the data type - system exclusive - is showing then you get the MIDI system exclusive message editing dialog window.
If this is a new MIDI system exclusive message then the byte # scroll arrow is deactivated. You choose each byte value (C - 127) then use the Add byte button to add the byte to the system exclusive message. You can then choose another byte value and repeat. The byte count shows how many bytes are in the message. You can have a total of 16,375 bytes in one message.
If you double clicked on an existing MIDI system exclusive message then the Add byte and Cancel buttons are deactivated. You can't add any more bytes to the message but you can edit the bytes that are there. Just choose the byte # then edit that byte.
Remember if you have a MIDI system exclusive message in a sequence block to not check Fast merge in the sequence controls window in the Setup menu. If you need to have a MIDI system exclusive message in a sequence block it is best if you put it in as the last thing. If it came with the sequence file or came in through the MIDI port you can always Cut it out and create a new sequence block and paste it there for safe keeping and then paste it back to were it was when you are through editing and testing the sequence.
Key equivalents:
Add byte -- A KEY
List of MIDI messages and what in them can be edited.
