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RISC World

Rhapsody3

RISCWorld

Chapter 6

6.1 Playing your music

One way to play your music is to use the main score menu. You can choose to play from the very start, from the cursor, from the first bar which is visible in the score window (Here), from any numbered bar or from a rehearsal figure.In the last two cases the options lead to a writable icon into which you can enter the appropriate number or letter.

Another way is to use the Play icon in the main panel. Clicking with Select plays from the start, clicking with Adjust plays from the cursor. When the score is playing, this icon turns red and playing can be stoppoed by clicking on it again.

Alternatively, and this is particularly useful when editing a bar, play can be started from the cursor by pressing <P>. <Shift> P starts playing 5 bars further on while <Ctrl> P starts playing 5 bars earlier. Pressing <P> while a score is being played stops the score playing while <Shift> P and <Ctrl> P cause play to skip 5 bars forward or back respectively.

6.2 Play options

Certain options can be selected while a score is being played. These are available from the main score window. Each score has its own play options and these are saved whenever the score is saved.

First you can elect to output through the MIDI system (if you have a MIDI interface fitted). This option leads to a single item Clock, which you can set and reset. When ticked, MIDI clock signals will be transmitted along with the notes. If your MIDI instrument has a built in sequencer or a rhythm section, it may be possible to synchronise it with Rhapsody, greatly enhancing your compositions.

Alternatively, you can play through the internal voices by selecting the Speaker option. You can, of course play through both systems simultaneously (but you may find that the internal voices do not play at quite the right pitch). Make sure that you have selected at least one of the first two items otherwise you will not hear anything at all.

When the Scroll option is selected, the score will scroll by as the score is played. Owing to the complexity of Rhapsody's redrawing routines, a smooth scroll is not possible. Instead the score scrolls when play reaches the end of the window, rather like turning a page.

The next item is Beat. This provides a kind of metronome. It is most often used when capturing notes in real time (see the previous chapter). It leads to a little window which enables you to determine whether the beat is played through the internal speaker or the MIDI system. If the latter, you can specify which channel it is to be played on and which note is to be used. Many synthesizers have a special 'drumkit' voice in which each note sounds a different percussion instrument. C4 is middle C.

The last item in the top section is Repeats. When selected, all repeat bars, dal segnos and the like will be observed. If you want to play the score straight through without repeats (eg to check the notes), deselect this option.

Beneath this is a group of five items which enable you to change the overall tempo of the piece. The last item is a writable icon which you can set to virtually any tempo value. The five default values are as follows:

  • Very slow - 50%
  • Slow - 75%
  • Normal - 100%
  • Fast - 125%
  • Very fast - 150%

All the play options can be changed while the score is being played. The tempo options take immediate effect but the others are delayed for a couple of bars as Rhapsody is always playing two bars ahead.

If you want to play a limited number of staves, remember that you can set one or more staves to SOLO either from the Reassign Stave Data window or the Stave Data Panel. For more details on how to do this, see page 49.

RISCWorld

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