Topics

What is Anthem?
Starting Anthem
Creating a Score
Creating an Opus

What is Anthem?

Anthem is a integrated music processor for composing, scoring and sequencing with a built-in librarian that provides a total environment for your MIDI system.  Anthem uses standard notation as a way to conceptualize music ideas while providing a high resolution unlimited sequencer for uncompromised music production capability.

Anthem recognizes that there are two distinct ways to store information, each with its own powerful advantages.  Anthem's score is object-oriented and easy to modify .  Each symbol carries full MIDI information that can be expanded into graphs and tables of MIDI information that are easy to edit.   Anthem's sequencer  resolution is near the maximum resolution of MIDI itself.   This helps give a recorded sequence a natural feel.  Editing music with Anthem is made flexible by generalizing the Macintosh copy, cut and paste metaphor to provide for transfer of information between unlike objects.  For example, score information in the form of notes, measures, staves etc. can be copied into sequencer tracks even though the underlying data structures are different.  A patch name can be copied into a staff resulting in that staff having the information to play that patch.  This is a very powerful idea that is used consistently throughout Anthem to provide a very general and  flexible capability.

Anthem gives you four programs in one:

• The Score provides you with a full-featured scoring program with a  large symbol set and printing capabilities.  In addition the score is a powerful sequencer in its own right with the ability to record keyboard data and  a complete MIDI playing capability that follows repeat signs and multiple endings.  A magnifying tool lets you view the score at any resolution.

• The Sequencer provides you with a full-featured sequencing program with unlimited tracks, one millisecond resolution independent of tempo, and complete punch and overdub capability.   In Anthem, a sequence is a list of tracks that is organized into sections which in turn are organized into an "Opus" of related works.  With a single keystroke you can play your music at any level and copy, cut and paste to organize you work in any order at any level.

• The Patch Librarian allows you to create a permanent document for each MIDI device that you use.  In a  Patch Librarian document you will organize patch, note and controller data by name .  Once this is done you will only have to copy and paste patch names to instruct scores how to play their notes under the MIDI Manager.  If you have installed OMS 2.x, you will be able to subscribe to Patch Librarian documents and select patch and note names using popup menus.  Anthem can also subscribe to documents created by other patch librarians and editors.  
 
• The Instrument allows you to record, in an unlimited number of note ranges or "zones",  various ways of using MIDI data.  For example, in an instrument you can permanently record how to send MIDI data in zones to the instruments in your studio.  Sequencer tracks can then refer to Instrument files by name to setup complex MIDI routing schemes.

• Anthem provides user-defined Fader Panes for recording continous controller data into sequence tracks;  real-time control of MIDI devices ; and initialization of Score voices with controller data.

Starting Anthem

To Start Anthem
• Double click on the Anthem icon.

This starts Anthem.  Use the menu bar to open one of the four types of documents that Anthem supports.

If the document you want to work with is displayed in a folder on the desktop, you can double-click the document icon and open the document in one step.

Creating a Score

Selecting "New Score" in the menu bar displays the score window.  

Creating an Opus

Select "New Opus " under the "Opus" menu to create an opus.  An opus is a hierarchical list of sequences.  Open an Opus when you want to create and manipulate sequences.  A score can be turned into a sequence by simply pasting a score into an open sequence list.  A sequence can be turned into a score by pasting a sequence into a score.