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Risc World 5
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Risc World 5.iso
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SOFTWARE
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Issue5
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Rhapsody
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Updates
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Text File
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1994-07-21
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9KB
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231 lines
Updates to Rhapsody 3 (version 3.00)
Version 3.00
Slurring over bar lines
======================
The manual states (page 104) that it is not possible to make a slur
cross a bar line. This restriction has been removed. The same applies
to beams. Normally, Rhapsody will terminate a beam at a bar line but
it is now possible to FORCE a beam over a bar line. If you come across
an old score with some spurious beams in it, you will probably find
that it is due to an unwanted force-beam marker.
Version 3.01
Enharmonic change icon
======================
A new icon has been added to the Quick Edit Panel. It is dark blue and
shows the letters 'en'. When it is clicked, the nearest note to the
cursor is changed enharmonically - that is to say, a note like F# is
changed into a Gb. Rhapsody takes into account the current key
signature in doing this but it does not take into account any
accidentals which appear earlier in the same bar which might affect
the proper choice of accidental, nor does it change any subsequent
accidentals in the bar. That is up to you. Double flats and sharps are
not used, nor are they changed. The notes D G and A are also left
unchanged.
Volume changes
==============
The manual (page 33) is not very clear about the way volume changes
differ under MIDI and the internal voice system. With MIDI, things
should work as you expect - that is to say, it should be possible to
achieve smooth crescendos and decrescendos either on individual staves
or globally.
With the internal voices, it is not possible to achieve a smooth
crescendo or descrescendo on an individual stave because the volume of
an individual note cannot be changed while the note is playing. The
individual stave volume changes therefore work by changing the
effective dynamic level of the note. This only takes effect when a new
note is played. Semiquaver runs should sound OK but sustained notes
will not.
It is, however, possible to change the overall volume of the whole
sound system while notes are being played so if you use global volume
changes with the internal voices, sustained notes will get louder and
softer. The trouble with this is that the changes are not very smooth.
The fault for this lies in the sound system, not in Rhapsody.
Even with MIDI voices, I have experienced problems with gradual
changes in volume. My Roland U110, for example, does not seem to like
volume change messages coming too close to note-ON messages and seems
to respond with 'spurts' of sound. Other keyboards respond
differently. If you have problems too, please contact Clare's.
Changing Tone files
===================
It was envisaged that most users would want to create a single tone
file suitable for their setup and use !Config to install it into
Rhapsody. If, however, you have more than one different setup, you may
want to install a new tones file while Rhapsody is running. This can
now be done by dragging the required tones file onto the Rhapsody icon
on the icon bar. The only restriction is that the new file must not be
longer than the old one. If the file is not a tones file, an error
message will be displayed as soon as the file is next used eg when you
open the Reassign window.
Versions 3.10 - 3.13
Swung quavers
=============
A new entry has been added to the'Play options' menu which causes all
quaver rhythms to be played as 'swung' triplets.
Global Text entry
=================
An extra flag has been added to the text entry panel allowing you to
enter text on all staves simultaneously. This is extremely useful for
tempo markings and choral works. The text is not printed on braced
staves except the top one; this is so that tempo marks appear only
once for instruments such as organ and piano. One advantage of global
text is that it uses up a lot less memory in each slot.
Da Capo and other repeat signs
==============================
These signs can now be dragged around the score like other symbols and
can be positioned anywhere in the score. Note that ordinary repeats
are not played during a Da Capo repeat in accordance with the standard
practice of a classical Minuet and Trio movement.
Positioning of Da Capo signs etc.
=================================
It sems that in most classical music, the convention is to place these
signs beneath the stave, but in many modern books they are placed
above the stave. A Print Option has been added so that you can decide
for yourself.
Bar numbering
=============
It is conventional not to number 1st time bars when printing bar
numbers on a score. This can sometimes lead to problems, however when
large sections of music are included in the 1st time bars. A Print
Option has been included to allow you to determine whether or not to
include the 1st time bars in the bar numbers on the formatted score.
Note that the blue numbers on the edit score window have always
included the extra bars and are not affected by this option.
Note types
==========
Other note types can now be entered individually. The space in between
the main notes and the additional subchoices now displays the kind of
note head that will be entered. The four types of note head may be
obtained by clicking on this icon. Note that if the main selection is
changed, normal notes are automatically selected.
New dialogue box
================
When attempting to load a new score with the Preview window open, an
error message is displayed. This has been replaced with a dialogue box
which warns you that the Preview window is open. If you go ahead with
the load operation, the Preview window is now closed automatically.
Dragging a block
================
The program has been altered so that unwanted blocks do not appear so
readily. Also, when dragging with the ADJUST button before the left
hand end of a block, the right hand end of the block now remains in
place instead of jumping to the original start.
Copying and clearing a stave or block
=====================================
The options available have been rationalised and extended. You can now
copy and clear either 'Everything', 'Up stems', 'Down stems', 'Notes
& rests' or 'Text' only from either a whole stave or a block.
'Everything' includes clefs and key signatures but 'Notes and rests'
does not. Note that when copying a single line of text only, the text
is put at the height of the cursor arrows. This enables you to
duplicate text on the same stave.
As before, if you click on 'Copy' or 'Clear' (ie without opening the
submenu) you will copy or clear everything.
Copy/merge and Copy/insert
==========================
These two items now appear on the main 'Block' menu instead of in a
submenu. Remember - Copy/insert simply copies a complete block of data
from one place to another and therefore requires all the staves in the
score to be included.
The % sign
==========
This sign (which has been added to the last group of icons in the Main
Panel) is used to mean 'repeat the previous bar'. It may be added,
dragged and deleted in the usual way. Unfortunately, owing to the way
Rhapsody is written, it is not possible to take account of the sign
when playing. To make a playable version of the score, a routine has
been added to the 'Block' menu which expands (ie writes out in full)
the % signs within the block. The sign can also be used therefore as a
useful short cut when entering or editing a score.
The 'Expand %' routine works as follows. When the % sign is found in
the middle of a bar, the routine will copy (ie merge) the notes in the
previous bar into the empty bar. If the bar before the % sign is
empty, nothing will be copied. If the % sign is placed on a bar line,
it will copy the notes in the previous two bars into the two empty
bars on either side of the sign.
Version 3.20
Guitar chords
=============
Guitar chords can now be dragged and copied like other musical
symbols. In addition, guitar chords are transposed whenever a score,
stave or block is transposed. This is achieved in the following way.
When Rhapsody encounters a guitar chord, it looks through the list of
currently defined chords. If it finds the identical chord, it
substitutes another one from the same 'page' of 12 chords. The
advantage of this method is that standard chords will be transposed
with the correct fingering. The disadvantage is that non-standard
chords will not be transposed at all. It should be noted that Rhapsody
assumes that the relevant 'page' of chords contains a complete set of
similar chords in the correct harmonic sequence.
J.O.Linton
19 July 1994