Singing

   SING allows you to test and improve your singing ability through the
following vocal training functions:

   PRACTICE        -  Displays a real time pitch graph display while you sing
   SING SONG       -  Lets you test and improve your singing of songs
   SING EXERCISE   -  Leads you through a sequence of vocal exercises

   GET             -  Get a song or disk from a file
   TRANSPOSE NOTES -  Transpose song up or down in pitch using arrow keys
   SETUP EXERCISE  -  Select voice played and sung and control exercises

   These functions require a Tandy 1000 SL/TL series compatible computer and a
high quality electret microphone such as the Radio Shack model 33-1060.  For
best results, use the windscreen supplied with the microphone and hold the
microphone approximately one inch or less from your mouth.

   Before using the SING functions you can use the GET, TRANSPOSE NOTES, and
SETUP EXERCISE options included on the SING menu to retrieve a song or
exercise from disk and adjust its pitch to a range comfortable for your
voice. Retrieve the song/exercise with GET.  Then check the pitch of the
song/exercise by playing several notes with the spacebar.  If the pitch is
too high or too low for your voice, you can use TRANSPOSE NOTES to raise or
lower it in single note steps, or you can use the CLEF control in the
second screen of SETUP EXERCISE to raise or lower it by a full octave (See
the help item for the SETUP screens).

   The PRACTICE option provides a real time pitch graph display useful for
self paced learning of songs or exercises.  By comparing the solid black
line representing your pitch to the dashed line representing the note being
played, and by listening carefully, you can learn to recognize when you are
singing on-key.  You can hit Enter to play the note above the cursor while
singing the note.  You can also play through the song a note at a time while
singing by hitting the Spacebar.  On difficult parts of the song you can
back-up using the left arrow or Page Up keys and then sing those parts over
until you master them.  As you begin to feel comfortable singing the song,
you may want to hit the = key to have the computer play the notes for you at
normal speed while you sing.

   As you sing, remember to listen to the sound of the notes and the sound of
your voice.  After you use the pitch graphs for a while you will begin to
recognize when you are singing correctly from the sound of your voice.  It's
a subtle process but a powerful one.  With just a little practice, you will
begin to hit notes correctly the first time, before you even look at the
display.  When this happens, you are on your way to mastering your singing
voice.

   As you become more proficient, you should concentrate on the quality of
your pitch.  Try to transition smoothly from one note to the next on the
graphs, and to sing steady tones that result in smooth, flat lines.

   If you're a more experienced singer, you may wish to experiment with
vibrato effects which show up as wavy lines.  You may also wish to try the
sight-singing or harmony exercises included on the disk.  If you wish to try
sight singing or harmony with songs, you should load the song with GET and
then select SETUP EXERCISE and adjust the controls.  Note however that if you
select the Harmony position on the setup screen and the song does not contain
a harmony voice, no music will be played by the sing functions.


   When you are ready to try singing an entire song you can use the SING SONG
option.  SING SONG displays two lines of the song at once just like the PLAY
function on the main menu.  This allows you to look ahead in the song and see
the notes on the next line as you sing.  The Enter key, Spacebar, and = keys
work the same in SING SONG as they did in practice, but the display is
different.  When you sing a note correctly, a check mark will appear above
the note.  When you are off-key, a horizontal line will be drawn above or
below the note to indicate whether you are sharp or flat, and by how much. 
When you use the = key to play and sing the song, the program will display a
summary of how many notes were correct when you reach the end of the song, or
when you stop part way through.

   The last option on the SING menu, SING EXERCISE, is intended for use with
optional vocal training exercises, but it can also be used to practice
singing songs one line at a time.  When you select SING EXERCISE, the program
will play the current line of the song or exercise to let you hear the notes,
and then play the first note of the line again to give you a reference
pitch.  On the count of four, you should begin singing while the program
plays the line again.  At the end of the line, the program will check to see
how many notes you sang correctly. If you sing all notes correctly, you will
be rewarded with a tone and will be shown a summary of your current score
before the program advances to the next line.  If you miss one or more notes,
a vertical line will be drawn on the pitch graph through the notes missed,
and the program will play the notes you sang together with the proper note
pitch so that you can hear the difference.