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Tunes
User's Manual
Version 3.00
Copyright 1989, 1993
All Rights Reserved
Jeffrey R. Dmochowski
P.O. Box 7405
Endicott, NY 13760
GETTING STARTED 1
Tunes 1
An Interesting Bit of Tunes History 1
What's the Catch? 1
Bonus Products 2
Tunes Technical Support 3
Installing Tunes 3
A QUICK TOUR 3
Overview 3
Starting Tunes 3
The Tunes Screen 3
Menu Bar 4
Using Pull Down Menus 4
Menu Items 4
The Computerized Fretboard 5
The Computerized Keyboard 6
Scales 6
Degrees 6
Working with Scales 7
Chords 8
Chord Inversions 8
Working with Chords 9
Editing 11
Playing Songs 14
Tracks 15
Saving Songs 16
Obtaining More Songs 16
USING MIDI 17
Overview 17
Playing Songs 17
Recording Songs 18
Using Overdub 19
ADVANCED FEATURES 19
Stepping Through Songs 20
Using Automatic and Manual Rewind 21
Alternate Tuning 22
Automatic Inversion 23
CUSTOMIZING TUNES 23
Menus 24
Windows 25
Functions 25
Options 26
MENU REFERENCE 27
Files Menu 27
Load Option 27
Save Option 27
Rename Option 27
Delete Option 27
Clear Option 27
Quit Option 27
Guitar Menu 28
Scale Option 28
Tunes User's Manual ii
Chord Option 28
Notation Option 28
Tuning Option 28
Title Option 28
View Option 29
Guitar Option 29
Range Finder Option 29
Fret Numbers Option 29
Edit Option 30
Print Option 30
Keyboard Menu 30
Scale Option 30
Chord Option 30
Notation Option 30
Octave Option 31
Title Option 31
Auto Inversion 31
Range Finder Option 31
Key Labels Option 32
Edit Option 32
Print Option 32
Tracks Menu 32
Active Option 32
Rename Option 32
Play Menu 32
Real Time Option 32
Step Time Option 33
Audio Option 33
Rewind Option 33
Tempo Option 33
Time Signature Option 34
Time Resolution Option 34
Metronome Option 34
Destination Option 34
Record Menu 35
Record Option 35
Overdub Option 35
Lead In Option 35
Metronome Option 35
TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE 36
APPENDIX A - Key Combinations 36
APPENDIX B - Foreground Colors 37
APPENDIX C - Background Colors 38
Tunes User's Manual iii
1. GETTING STARTED
Tunes
Thank you for downloading Tunes! Tunes opens up an
entirely new dimension to computer music and MIDI
enthusiasts. Tunes enhances traditional guitar and
keyboard music theory with an entertaining new
audio/visual approach on your IBM PC or PS/2.
Imagine having every note of a difficult guitar riff or
rhythm playing before your eyes using Tunes' on-screen
guitar! Or how about just stepping slowly through a
classical piano piece one note at a time, forward and
backward, for a more in-depth study. These are just a
few of the incredible new features found in Tunes
version 3.0!
With an optional Roland MPU-401 interface, you can
create your own compositions using the software's
built-in 64 track sequencer. Since the program
supports standard MIDI files, you can share songs with
other programs that support this popular standard.
Tunes can also display and print any one of hundreds of
different chord and scale charts with just a click of
the mouse. You can even build your own reference
charts using the program's edit function.
Tunes' intuitive user interface coupled with context
sensitive help screens make it an incredibly easy
program to use!
An Interesting Bit of Tunes History
Over the past five years, I have enjoyed developing and
enhancing Tunes in my spare time into the program you
have now. While I have considered marketing Tunes
commercially, I believe that the costs involved add so
much to the price of the software while adding little
value for you, the end user. So I've decided to
distribute Tunes as shareware!
What's the Catch?
There is none! I've provided the complete Tunes
software package including user's manual for you to
enjoy. If you find Tunes to be of use to you, then I
encourage you to support its continued shareware
Tunes User's Manual 1
development by sending your completed registration form
along with a registration fee of $15. Registered users
receive technical support and choice of one of the
following bonus products, FREE!
Bonus Products
Rock and Blues Guitar. The Rock and Blues Guitar
Course is an educational, multi-media approach to
guitar instruction designed to work with Tunes
software. Each lesson provides textual instruction, an
on-screen fretboard picture which illustrates the
details of the exercise such as finger positions and an
interactive example that Tunes plays on your on-screen
guitar and your MIDI instrument (or computer speaker)
just like a music teacher! This three sided approach
provides a comprehensive and fun way for the musician
to advance at his or her own pace. While the course is
tailored to rock and blues guitar styles, many of the
general concepts will apply to other guitar styles as
well as the piano or keyboards.
Midi Explorer. This bonus product is a useful utility
for the electronic musician or MIDI enthusiast! Have
you ever wondered just exactly what's inside your
favorite standard MIDI files or needed to make major
modifications quickly and easily? If so, Midi Explorer
is your answer. The program can convert all the MIDI
values and events in any standard MIDI file into an
easily understood text (ASCII) format which can be
viewed or modified using your favorite text editor.
After the file has been modified, Midi Explorer can
convert it back into a standard MIDI file! You can
even integrate your favorite editor with Midi Explorer
so that you never have to exit the program in order to
edit a text file.
Tunes Latest Version. Make sure you're using the
latest, feature-packed version of Tunes! Due to the
costs involved in uploading new versions of Tunes to
the many on-line services and computer BBS's across the
country, the most recent version of Tunes tends to
outpace the versions available for downloading
electronically. Choose this bonus product to receive
the most up-to-date version of Tunes that's available!
Tunes User's Manual 2
Tunes Technical Support
I enjoy keeping in touch with registered users of Tunes
and receiving your feedback on the program! Please use
the evaluation form, EVALUATE.PRT, to send me your
comments, ideas, opinions and problem reports. If
you're experiencing problems, try to include as much
detail as possible including type of computer, monitor,
printer, whether you're running under DOS, Windows or
OS/2 etc. You can also reach me via e-mail at
tunes30@aol.com on the America On Line system.
Installing Tunes
Tunes includes an installation program which will
install Tunes to your fixed disk and customize
TUNES.PRO to match your computer system. Use the
following procedure to install Tunes from diskette:
1. Insert the Tunes diskette in drive A.
2. Type A:INSTALL A: C:\TUNES
If you have not used INSTALL to copy the Tunes files to
your fixed disk, make sure you are using the correct
TUNES.PRO. For computers with color monitors, copy
COLOR.PRO to TUNES.PRO. For computers with monochrome
monitors, copy MONO.PRO to TUNES.PRO.
2. A QUICK TOUR
Overview
This section provides a quick tour of many of Tunes'
basic features from displaying and editing scales and
chords to playing multi-track songs using your on-
screen guitar and keyboard.
Starting Tunes
1. Type cd \tunes If you installed Tunes into a
different directory, use that
2. Type tunes directory name instead.
The Tunes Screen
When you start Tunes, your screen should look like
this:
Tunes User's Manual 3
+-----------------------------------------------+
| +-------------------------------------------+ |
| | Menu Bar | |
| | Message Line Current Song | |
| +-----------------+--------+----------------+ |
| +-----------------| Pull |----------------+ |
| | | Down | | |
| | | Menu | | |
| | | | | |
| | +--------+ | |
| | | |
| +------------- Fretboard Window ------------+ |
| +-------------------------------------------+ |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| +------------- Keyboard Window -------------+ |
|+++++++++ Titlebar and Function Keys ++++++++++|
+-----------------------------------------------+
Menu Bar
The Tunes screen is divided into three windows. The
Status window, the Fretboard window and the Keyboard
window. The Status window at the top of the screen
contains the menu bar, which displays the names of all
pull-down menus. The Status window also contains a
message line for displaying messages to the user as
well as the current song indicator which shows the name
of the song which is loaded into memory.
Using Pull Down Menus
To display a pull-down menu, highlight the desired menu
using the mouse then click the left mouse button (or if
you don't have a mouse, press the Left Arrow and Right
Arrow key, then press Enter). You could also have
typed the menu's speed key which corresponds to the
capitalized letter in the pull-down menu name.
Menu Items
To choose a menu item, use the mouse to highlight it,
then click the left mouse button (press the Up Arrow
and Down Arrow key, then press Enter). A menu option
may also be selected by typing the first letter of the
option name. If the first letter is not unique, the
first unique combination of letters in the option must
be typed. For example, in the case of a menu with both
Tunes User's Manual 4
a Refresh and Rename option, you would have to type ref
to select Refresh. To close a menu, click the right
mouse button (press Escape).
Some menus will have a special symbol to the left or
right of a particular menu option. A check mark to the
left of an option indicates that the option is selected
or active. An asterisk to the left of an option
indicates the option is disabled and therefore cannot
be selected. A double arrow to the right of an option
indicates that another menu, a cascading menu, will be
displayed when that option is selected.
The Computerized Fretboard
The following diagram depicts the Tunes fretboard:
+- Fret 0 or Nut
| +- Fret Numbers
| |
| 1 3 5 7 9 12
E o +-----------------------------------------------+
B o |---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
G o |---+---+---+---+- Fretboard ---+---+---+---+---|
D o |---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
A o |---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
E o +-----------------------------------------------+
| | +RangeFinder+
| | |
| | +- Range Finder
| +- Open String Indicators
+- Tuning Indicators
Each horizontal line on the fretboard area represents a
string on the guitar while each vertical line
represents a fret. The double vertical line represents
the nut or fret 0 of the guitar. If the range finder
is activated, it is displayed along the bottom of the
fretboard and indicates the portion which will be
displayed or active. The open string indicators are
displayed vertically alongside the nut and show which
of the strings can be played open (unfretted). The
tuning indicators are displayed alongside the open
string indicators and show the current tuning of each
string. Fret numbers are always displayed along the
top of the fretboard when activated.
Tunes User's Manual 5
The Computerized Keyboard
The following diagram depicts the Tunes keyboard:
+- Key Labels
|
C3 C4 C5
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ +-+ | |
| | | | | | Keyboard | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
+--- RangeFinder ---+
|
+- Range Finder
The keyboard area represents a two and a half octave
portion of a full size piano keyboard. Like the
computerized fretboard, if the range finder is
activated, it is displayed along the bottom of the
keyboard and indicates the range of keys where notes
will be displayed. Key labels are displayed along the
top of the keyboard and indicate the location and
octave of each "C" note.
Scales
A musical scale is a progression of notes played one
after another in an ascending or descending pitch.
Scales are usually played in a particular key signature
meaning that only the notes which make up the key
signature are played in the scale. For example, the
key of C major is made up of the notes: C,D,E,F,G,A and
B. To play the C major scale, the musician would start
on C and play each note one at a time until the next C
is reached (one octave higher). This is the familiar
"Do, Re, Me" scale that many beginning music students
learn.
As another example, consider the key of G major:
G,A,B,C,D,E and F#. The key of G major is made up of
the same notes as C major except that all F notes are
sharped (F#).
Degrees
Often, each note of a particular scale is assigned a
number or degree. in order to help play the scale and
derive chords from that scale. For instance, the notes
Tunes User's Manual 6
of the C major scale: C,D,E,F,G,A and B are assigned
the degrees: 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7 respectively. We'll
talk more about degrees in the section on chords.
Working with Scales
First, we'll apply a C Minor scale to the fretboard.
1. Click on the Guitar By selecting the Guitar
menu (press the Left menu, you now have access
Arrow and Right to all the features which
Arrow until Guitar can be applied to the
is highlighted, then guitar fretboard
press enter)
2. Choose the Scale A cascading menu appears
option from the showing the key signature
Guitar menu (press options for scales
s).
3. Choose the C option Another cascading menu
(press c). appears showing the
different types of scales
which can be displayed
4. Choose the Minor A message is displayed in
option (press the the message area showing
Down Arrow key until all the notes in the C
the Minor option is Minor scale and the
highlighted, then fretboard is updated to
press enter). visually show the
positions of the notes.
Now lets change the notation used on the fretboard from
simple dots to the actual note value.
1. Click on the Notice that the open
Guitar menu string indicators show
(press g). the actual note value
instead of just the
2. Choose the open string indicator.
Notation option
(press n).
3. Choose the
Letters option
(press l).
Tunes User's Manual 7
To focus on a particular range of the fretboard, we can
activate Tunes' Range Finder
1. Click on the Now its easy to see
Guitar menu how to play a C Minor
(press g). scale within the first
three frets by
2. Choose the starting on the C at
RangeFinder the third fret of the
option (press r). fifth string and
playing up to the C at
3. Choose the the third fret of the
Display option second string.
(press d).
Before we move on to chords, if you have a printer
connected to your computer, you can get a print of the
C Minor scale diagram.
1. Click on the A print of the scale
Guitar menu is sent to the printer
(press g). connected to LPT1.
You can change the
2. Choose the Print printer port using the
option (press p). Tunes profile.
Chords
A musical chord is a group of notes that are played
simultaneously in order to produce one musical tone.
This group of notes is derived mostly from the notes
contained in the chord's root scale. For instance, a C
major chord is derived from the first, third and fifth
degree notes of the C major scale.
When Tunes displays a chord on the fretboard, a mark is
made at a particular string and fret to indicate that
the note found there is included in the currently
displayed chord.
Chord Inversions
Tunes displays all possible locations of the chord on
the instrument, that is, the locations of all possible
inversions of the chord. This is very advantageous as
it allows the musician to easily investigate different
inversions of the same chord until the chord with the
Tunes User's Manual 8
desired flavor or mood is located. Tunes also lists
all the notes comprising the chord (or scale) in the
message area when a chord (or scale) is selected.
Note that in order to assure that a complete chord is
being played, the musician must include at least one of
every different note which makes up the chord. For
example, since the C major chord is composed of the
notes: C,E and G, at least one of each of these notes
must be included in the formation chosen in order to
assure a complete C major chord is played. When the
musician chooses a certain combination of all the notes
displayed on the fretboard, a particular inversion of
the chord is formed. The following figure depicts
three common inversions of a C major chord derived from
the guitar between frets 0 and 3.
E +---------G-------------------------------------+
|-C-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
G |---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
|---+-E-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
|---+---+-C-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
E +---------G-------------------------------------+
+RangeFinder+
E +------------- +---------G--- E +-------------
|-C-+---+---+- |-C-+---+---+- |-C-+---+---+-
G |---+---+---+- G |---+---+---+- G |---+---+---+-
|---+-E-+---+- |---+-E-+---+- |---+---+---+-
|---+---+-C-+- |---+---+-C-+- |---+---+---+-
E +------------- +------------- +-------------
Tunes shows the musician the first diagram, depicting
all possible inversions of the chord. You can use
Tunes' editing features to create and save your own
customized chord charts like the three shown above.
Working with Chords
Now we will use Tunes to find three different
inversions of the C major chord on the keyboard.
First, display a C major chord on the keyboard.
Now lets display a C Major chord on the keyboard.
1. Click on the First we will display all
Keyboard menu possible locations of all
(press k) the notes contained in a
C major chord on the
2. Choose the Chord keyboard.
option from the
Tunes User's Manual 9
Keyboard menu
(press c).
3. Choose the C option
(press c).
4. Choose the Major The musician uses this
option (type ma). diagram to aid in
isolating a useful
inversion (or subset) of
a these notes.
+-----------------------------------------------+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ | +-+ |
| C | | E | | G | | | C | | E | | G |
+-----------------------------------------------+
1. Click on the Use the Range Finder to
Keyboard menu (press reduce the entire chord
k) to just its first
inversion, the notes C,E
2. Choose the Range and G.
Finder option from
the Keyboard menu
(press r).
3. Choose the Display
option (press d).
+-----------------------------------------------+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ | +-+ |
| C | | E | | G | | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------+
+----- RangeFinder ---------+
1. Press the Up Move the Range Finder up
function twice two keys to locate the
(press PF9). second inversion of C
major.
+-----------------------------------------------+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ | +-+ |
| | | E | | G | | | C | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------+
+----- RangeFinder ---------+
Tunes User's Manual 10
1. Press the Up Move the Range Finder up
function twice two more keys to locate
(press PF9). the third inversion of C
major.
+-----------------------------------------------+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ +-+ | +-+ +-+ | +-+ |
| | | | | G | | | C | | E | | |
+-----------------------------------------------+
+----- RangeFinder ---------+
Editing
Tunes provides an edit capability so that you can
change the values of the notes displayed on your
computerized instruments. As an example, you may want
to pick an inversion of a certain chord, add fingering
notation to it, give it your own name and save it to
disk.
1. Click on the Guitar Display a C Major chord
menu (press g) on the fretboard.
2. Choose the Chord
option (press c).
3. Choose the C option
(press c).
4. Choose the Major
option (press m).
E +---------G-------------------------------------+
|-C-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
G |---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
|---+-E-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
|---+---+-C-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
E +---------G-------------------------------------+
+-RangeFind-+
1. Click on the Guitar The edit option allows
menu (press g) you to use the mouse (or
the arrow keys) to move
2. Choose the Edit around the guitar
Tunes User's Manual 11
option (press e). fretboard.
3. Click on the G note Select a location of the
on the first string fretboard to edit. Here
(press the Left, we will pick a particular
Right, Up and Down inversion of the C major
Arrow keys, then chord by eliminating the
press Enter). two G notes on the first
and sixth strings.
4. Choose the Note
On/Off option (press
enter).
5. Click on the G note
on the sixth string
(press the Arrow
keys, then press
Enter).
6. Choose the Note
On/Off option (press
enter).
E +-----------------------------------------------+
|-C-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
G |---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
|---+-E-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
|---+---+-C-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
E +-----------------------------------------------+
+-RangeFind-+
1. Click on the C Note Edit the three notes on
on the second string the guitar to reflect the
(press the Arrow actual fingering of the C
keys, then press Major chord.
Enter).
2. Choose the Alpha Tunes' edit function
Fingers option allows you to add other
(press a). types of notation to the
fretboard such as
3. Choose the Index alphabetic fingering,
Finger option (press numeric fingering and
i). muted notes.
4. Click on the E Note
on the fourth string
(press the Arrow
keys, then press
Enter).
Tunes User's Manual 12
5. Choose the Alpha
Fingers option
(press a).
6. Choose the Middle
Finger option (press
m).
7. Click on the C Note
on the fifth string
(press the Arrow
keys, then press
Enter).
8. Choose the Alpha
Fingers option
(press a).
9. Choose the Ring
Finger option (press
r).
10. Press the Stop Leave Edit Mode
Editing function
(press PF3).
E +-----------------------------------------------+
|-I-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
G |---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
|---+-M-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
|---+---+-R-+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
E +-----------------------------------------------+
+-RangeFind-+
1. Click on the Guitar Give the modified C Major
menu (press g) chord a new title and
save it to disk for later
2. Choose the Image use.
option (press i).
3. Choose the Title
option (type ti).
4. Type My C Major. The title beneath the
fretboard changes to the
5. Press Ctrl+End to title you specified.
delete to the end of
the line, then press
enter.
Tunes User's Manual 13
6. Click on the Files
menu (press f).
7. Choose the Save
option (press s).
8. Choose the Fretboard
Image option (press
f).
9. Type MY_CMAJ.FB,
then press enter.
Playing Songs
Tunes can play songs which are in Standard MIDI File
format. Standard MIDI Files are an Industry wide
standard method of representing music (songs) within a
computer file. Tunes has the ability to both read and
write Standard MIDI Files. This enables you to play
songs recorded on any other program which supports
Standard MIDI Files! In addition, the songs you record
using Tunes can be understood by any other program
which supports Standard MIDI Files.
1. Click on the Files
menu (press f)
2. Choose the Load Load the Demo music file
option (press l). supplied with Tunes into
memory.
3. Choose the Music
option (press m).
4. Click on DEMO.MID The current song area in
(press the Up and the upper right corner of
Down Arrow keys the screen displays the
until DEMO.MID is song which is loaded into
highlighted, then memory.
press Enter).
Now let's increase the size of the Range Finder to 4
frets.
Tunes User's Manual 14
1. Click on the Guitar
menu (press g)
2. Choose the Range
Finder option (press
r).
3. Choose the Size
option (press s).
Increase the size of the
4. Type 4, then press Range Finder to 4 frets.
enter.
Now the song can be played using one of the Audio
options.
1. Click on the Play Play the Demo song using
menu (press p) your computer's built in
speaker. Since the
2. Choose the Audio speaker can only play one
option (press a). note at a time, the song
may sound a little
3. Choose the Speaker strange. We will discuss
option (press s). playing songs using MIDI
instruments in a later
section.
4. Click on the Play
menu (press p).
5. Choose the Real Time
option (press r).
Tracks
Until now, we assumed we were playing the entire song
when we selected one of the play options. However,
Standard MIDI Files allow a song to be made up of many
smaller independent pieces. These pieces are known as
tracks. Typically, most songs are broken down into
tracks by instrument. For example, a song may consist
of a lead guitar track and a guitar bassline track
which make up the song. The Tunes Demo song contains a
number of independent demonstration tracks.
1. Click on the Track The Tunes Demo song
menu (press t) contains a number of
independent demonstration
2. Click on track two tracks. The first track
(press the Down is the active track or
Arrow key, then the one which is played
press Enter). when you select the play
option. Use the active
Tunes User's Manual 15
3. Choose the Active option to make the second
option (press a). track active.
4. Click on track two
again (press Enter).
5. Choose the Rename Track names are arbitrary
option and can be easily
renamed.
6. Type Track Two.
7. Click the right
mouse button (press
Esc.) Exit the track option.
Saving Songs
Now we can save the song, with its new named track two,
to disk using a new file name.
1. Click on the Files Give the song a new name
menu (press f) and save it to disk.
2. Choose the Save
option (press s).
3. Choose the Music
option (press m).
4. Type MYDEMO.MID and
press Enter.
Obtaining More Songs
Tunes contains 10 songs representing a wide variety of
musical styles for you to experiment with. This is
enough to get you started but you'll more than likely
want to obtain your own music files pertaining to your
particular needs. Standard MIDI Files are available
through numerous sources. Music magazines are a good
way to find out about the many companies which sell
music files on diskettes. Check out the advertisements
in popular music magazines such as Keyboard or
Electronic Musician. If you have a modem for your
computer, obtain the phone numbers for some of the
computer bulletin board services (BBS's) in your area.
Tunes User's Manual 16
Good BBS's usually have a music library full of
favorites. There are also many nationwide BBS's which
specialize solely in music. Finally, commerical on-
line services such as America On Line and CompuServe
are also good sources of music files. You can obtain a
start up kit in many bookstores and computer software
stores. Once you get started, you should be able to
find enough tunes to keep you playing for a long time!
3. USING MIDI
Overview
The MPU-401 is a MIDI processing unit originally
developed by Roland to attach MIDI instruments to IBM
compatible computers. The MPU-401 is the industry
standard but many other MPU-401 compatible MIDI
processors are now on the market.
With an MPU-401 attachment, Tunes can play your songs
on any MIDI instrument as well as visually on your
computerized fretboard and keyboard. Tunes can also
visually display what you are playing on-screen while
you are playing it on your MIDI instrument! In fact,
you can even record your own songs both audibly and
visually using Tunes' powerful sequencing features. As
you can see, an MPU-401 is not required to use Tunes
but it does open up a new world of possibilities!
Playing Songs
When we play the Demo this time, let's send the audio
output to the MIDI out port of the MPU-401.
1. Click on the Files Load the Demo song into
menu (press f) memory if its not already
loaded.
2. Choose the Load
option (press l).
3. Choose the Music
option (press m).
4. Click on DEMO.MID
(press the Arrow
keys, then press
Enter).
Tunes User's Manual 17
5. Click on the Play
menu (press p).
6. Choose the Audio Set the audio output to
option (press a). MIDI to send MIDI output
to the out port of the
7. Choose the MIDI MPU-401. If you can not
option (press m). hear the demo song begin
played, make sure it is
8. Press the Play attached correctly to
function to play your MPU-401 and that it
the song (press is set to receive channel
PF4). one or OMNI mode.
9. Press the Stop
Playing function to
stop play (press
PF3).
Recording Songs
Tunes has the capability to record MIDI instruments
attached to your MPU-401.
1. Click on the Files Clear the song currently
menu (press f) loaded in memory. Track
one is set to active by
2. Choose the Clear default after you clear a
option (press c). song
3. Choose the Music
option (press m).
4. Click on the Record
menu option (press
r).
5. Choose the Record
option (press r).
6. Press the Stop Now play anything you
Recording function like on your MIDI
to stop recording instrument and it will be
(press the PF3 key). recorded on track one.
7. Press the Play You can now play back
function (press the what you just recorded.
PF4 key). Tunes rewinds the track
for you automatically.
Tunes User's Manual 18
Using Overdub
Overdubbing is a powerful feature of Tunes which allows
you to play one track while recording another at the
same time. This lets you keep multi-track songs in
sync.
1. Click on the Track
menu (press t).
2. Click on track two Make track two active.
(press the Arrow This is the track which
keys, then press will be recorded.
Enter).
3. Choose the Active
option (press a).
4. Press the Esc key. Leave the track list.
5. Click on the Record
menu (press r)
6. Choose the Overdub Play track one while
option (press o). recording anything you
like on track two.
7. Click on track one
(press the Arrow
keys, then press
Enter).
8. Press the Stop
Overdubbing function
(press PF3).
9. Press the Play You can play back what
function (press you just recorded using
PF4). the play function.
4. ADVANCED FEATURES
Overview
This section presents a few of Tunes' more advanced
features. The Step Time feature on the Play menu
allows you to move forward and backward through songs
one note at a time for a complete analysis. By
Tunes User's Manual 19
turning off Automatic Rewind, you can play and step
through a certain part of a song as many times as you
like until you're comfortable with it. The Tuning
feature on the Guitar menu allows you to apply custom
tunings to your fretboard. Finally, the Automatic
Inversion maps the full range of your MIDI keyboard to
the two and a half octave range of the on-screen
keyboard.
Stepping Through Songs
Tunes has the capability to let you step through a song
one note at a time both forward and backward. This
powerful feature allows you to analyze even the most
intricate songs. Selecting the Step Time option will
rewind the active track and put Tunes into Step Time
mode. In this mode, you can use the Previous and Next
function keys (PF7 and PF8 keys) to step forward and
backward through the song.
1. Click on the Files Load the DEMO song if its
Menu (press f). not already loaded.
2. Choose the Load
option (press l).
3. Choose the Music
option (press m).
4. Click on DEMO.MID
(press the Up and
Down Arrow keys
until DEMO is
highlighted, then
press Enter).
5. Click on the Play
menu (press p).
6. Choose the Step Time Use the Previous and Next
option (press s). functions (PF7 and PF8
keys) to step through the
7. Press the Stop song's construction.
Playing function to
stop step time mode.
(press PF3).
The Time Resolution option on the Play menu controls
the time duration which Tunes uses to determine if two
musical events have occurred at the same time. Due to
speed limitations of the MIDI channel, notes which you
Tunes User's Manual 20
thought you played at the same time on your MIDI
instrument may actually be recorded with a slight
difference in timing. This difference in timing makes
the notes appear sequential instead of simultaneous
when using Tunes' Step Time feature. To correct for
this, you can increase the value of the Time
Resolution. The Time Resolution specified how many
internal clock ticks must occur between two or more
musical events before Tunes treats them as separate
events instead of simultaneous events.
Generally, if all the notes of known chords in a song
are not being displayed simultaneously during Step Time
playing, the Time Resolution can be increased so that
Tunes displays them on the screen simultaneously.
Using Automatic and Manual Rewind
In the previous examples, when you used the Play, Real
Time or the Play, Step Time options, the song always
played from the beginning since the Automatic Rewind
option was set. If you turn Automatic Rewind off, you
can start and stop a song as many times as you want in
both real and step time without returning to the
beginning! For example, you may want to play a song,
stop it, pick up where you left off, stop it, step
forward or backward a few notes, then pick it up again
in real time.
1. Click on the Play Load the DEMO song if its
Menu (press p). not already loaded and
turn off the Automatic
2. Choose the Rewind Rewind option.
option (press rew).
3. Turn off the
Automatic Rewind
option (press a).
4. Press the Play Now play the song in real
function. (Press time and stop it
PF4). somewhere in the middle.
5. Press the Stop
function. (Press
PF3).
6. Press the Step When you play the song in
function (Press step time, you begin to
PF5). step through the song
from where you stopped
play!
Tunes User's Manual 21
7. Press the Next
function and Prev
function to step
through this portion
of the song. (press
PF7 and PF8).
8. Press the Stop Now exit step time play.
function. (Press
PF3).
Tunes makes analyzing your favorite songs a snap! With
Automatic Rewind turned off, you can use the Manual
Rewind option on the Play menu or the Rewind function
(PF6) to return to the beginning of the song.
Alternate Tuning
Throughout the previous exercises, Tunes' fretboard was
tuned to what is known as standard tuning. This is the
standard E,A,D,G,B and E tuning which most guitarists
begin with. However, Tunes allows you to change the
tuning of your fretboard to any alternate tuning that
you choose. Of course, this new tuning is then
reflected in your scale and chord diagrams and even in
the songs you play! Now let's tune the fretboard to an
alternate tuning.
1. Click on the Guitar
menu (press g).
2. Choose the Tuning
option (press t).
3. Choose the 6th
String option (press
6).
4. Choose the Tune Down The tuning indicators at
option (Use the the top or nut of the
arrow keys to guitar have changed to
highlight the Tune indicate that the E
Down option, then string has been tuned
press enter) down to a D sharp.
5. Click on the Guitar
menu (press g).
6. Choose the Tuning
option (press
enter).
Tunes User's Manual 22
7. Choose the 6th
String option (press
enter).
8. Choose the Tune Down The E string is now tuned
option (press down to a D note. This
enter). open tuning is called
dropped D tuning.
Automatic Inversion
The Automatic Inversion option controls how Tunes
handles musical events which occur outside of the
portion of the piano keyboard which is currently
displayed. Turning Automatic Inversion on allows Tunes
to display notes which occur outside of the viewable
portion of the keyboard just as if they had occurred in
the closest viewable octave. This means you don't have
to change the root octave of the keyboard in order to
see all the notes when playing a song.
When playing chords, this has the effect of creating an
automatic chord inversion which is displayed in the
closest viewable octave. The best way to understand
this feature is to turn it on, start recording and
experiment playing chords around the edges of the
displayed portion of the keyboard!
5. CUSTOMIZING TUNES
Overview
Tunes provides a customization profile which allows you
to override the values used for colors, speed keys,
labels and defaults of many features of the program.
If the Tunes customization profile, TUNES.PRO, exists
in the directory you start the program from, the values
described in the profile will override the default
values coded in Tunes. Tunes does not require the
existence of the separate customization profile in
order to function correctly.
Important! Make a backup copy of TUNES.PRO before you
modify it.
Tunes User's Manual 23
The customization profile is simply an ASCII text file
which can be modified using any text editor. Tunes
looks at the profile line by line searching for a
feature description enclosed in brackets such as [Files
Menu]. Once Tunes locates a valid feature descriptor,
the remainder of the line is searched for the
parameters which control different aspects of that
feature such as a foreground color of [Blue], which
specifies the that the foreground of the feature should
be displayed as blue. The parameters for a particular
feature must reside on the same line as the feature and
the order in which they appear is significant.
Menus
The following menus can be customized in the Tunes
profile.
■ Files Menu
■ Guitar Menu
■ Keyboard Menu
■ Track Menu
■ Play Menu
■ Record Menu
■ Help Menu
You can change the following parameters which are
associated with menus.
1) The particular key which accesses the cascading
menu chain. Valid key combinations are listed in
the appendix.
2) The label displayed along the top of the screen.
This can be any text string.
3) The foreground color of the menus. This can be
any of the foreground colors listed in the
appendix.
4) The background color of the menus. This can be
any of the background colors listed in the
appendix.
5) The border color of the menus. This can be any of
the foreground colors listed in the appendix
6) The foreground color of selected options. This
can be any of the foreground colors listed in the
appendix.
7) The background color of selected options. This
can be any of the background colors listed in the
appendix.
Tunes User's Manual 24
Windows
The following windows can be customized in the Tunes
profile.
■ Status Window
■ Guitar Window
■ Keyboard Window
You can change the following parameters which are
associated with windows.
1) The label displayed under the window. This can be
any text string.
2) The foreground color of the window. This can be
any of the foreground colors listed in the
appendix.
3) The background color of the window. This can be
any of the background colors listed in the
appendix.
4) The border color of the window. This can be any
of the foreground colors listed in the appendix
Functions
The following functions can be customized in the Tunes
profile.
■ Help Function. This function brings up context
sensitive help.
■ Record Function. This function starts recording.
It is the same as selecting the Record option from
the Record menu.
■ Stop Play Function. This function stops Tunes
when playing the active track.
■ Stop Record Function. This function stops Tunes
when recording the active track.
■ Stop Edit Function. This function stops Tunes
from editing the fretboard or keyboard when in
edit mode. The mouse and arrow keys now control
the menu bar instead of the editing cursor.
■ Play Function. This function starts playing the
active track. It is the same as selecting the
Real Time option from the Play menu.
■ Play Steptime Function. This function plays the
active track in step time mode. It is the same as
selecting the Step Time option from the Play menu.
■ Rewind Function. This function rewings the active
track to the beginning. It is the same as
selecting the Manual Rewind option from the Play,
Rewind menu.
■ Steptime Next Function. This function advances
the song one note when playing music in step time
mode.
Tunes User's Manual 25
■ Steptime Previous Function. This function moves
the song one note backward when playing music in
step time mode.
■ RangeFinder Up Function. This function moves the
Range Finder up the fretboard on fret.
■ RangeFinder Down Function. This function moves
the Range Finder down the fretboard one fret.
■ Quit Function. This function exits the current
Tunes session. It is the same as selecting the
Quit option from the Files menu.
You can change the following parameters which are
associated with functions.
1) The particular key which activates the function.
Valid key combinations are listed in the appendix.
2) The function label displayed in the titlebar.
This can be any text string.
Options
The following options can be customized in the Tunes
profile.
■ Fast Screen Option. This option is used to
control whether Tunes will bypass normal DOS BIOS
services when writing to the screen. By directly
writing to video RAM and bypassing BIOS, screen
output can be significantly increased. However,
by enabling this option, Tunes may not be
compatible with all combinations of hardware and
software.
■ Sound Effects Option. This option is used to
control whether Tunes will product sound effects
on the PC's speaker.
■ Printer Port Option. This option is used to
specify which parallel port Tunes is to send
printer output.
■ MPU Interrupt Option. This option is used to
specify which hardware interrupt has been assigned
to the MPU-401 when it was attached to your
computer.
You can change the following parameters which are
associated with options.
1) The value associated with the option. Values are
expressed as integer numbers. For options which
only have two values, on and off, a value of [on]
indicates the option is turned off while a value
of [off] indicates the option is turned on.
Tunes User's Manual 26
6. MENU REFERENCE
Files Menu
Load Option
The Load option allows you to load a music file,
fretboard image file or keyboard image file from disk
into memory. A cascading popup allows you to specify
which of these types of files you wish to load.
Save Option
The Save option allows you to save all your music
tracks, the fretboard image or the keyboard image to a
file to your disk. A cascading popup allows you to
specify which of these types of files you wish to save.
Rename Option
The Rename option allows you to rename a music file,
fretboard image file or keyboard image file which
resides on your disk. A cascading popup allows you to
specify which of these types of files you wish to
rename.
Delete Option
The Delete option allows you to delete a Music file,
Fretboard Image file or Keyboard Image file which
resides on your disk. A cascading popup allows you to
specify which of these types of files you wish to
delete.
Clear Option
The Clear option allows you to clear the music,
fretboard image or keyboard image which is loaded into
memory. Clearing the music in memory erases all the
tracks of the loaded music file and resets the active
track to track one. Clearing the fretboard image
resets all notes on the fretboard to note off.
Clearing the keyboard image resets all notes on the
keyboard to note off.
Quit Option
The Quit option ends the current Tunes session. If you
have made any changes to the music loaded into memory,
Tunes will ask you to either save or discard these
changes before exiting.
Tunes User's Manual 27
Guitar Menu
Scale Option
The Scale option allows you to change the type of scale
displayed on the guitar. This option has two cascading
menus which let you specify both the key (A, A# etc)
and the actual type (Major, Minor etc) of scale which
is to be displayed.
Chord Option
The Chord option allows you to change the type of chord
displayed on the guitar. This option has two cascading
menus which let you specify both the key (A, A# etc)
and the actual type (Major, Minor etc) of chord which
is to be displayed.
Notation Option
The Notation option controls the manner in which
information is displayed on the guitar. This option
has a cascading menu which lets you specify a notation
of Dots, Letters, Degrees or Tablature. The Dots
option causes Tunes to display a diamond shape at each
note on the guitar which is set to note on. With the
Letters option, notes are indicated using the actual
note identity (A, A#, B etc). The Degrees option
indicates notes using the degree or number of each note
with respect to major scale. The Tablature option
indicates notes by displaying the fret number where the
note is to be played.
Tuning Option
The Tuning option allows you to change the tuning
associated with each string of the guitar. This option
has two cascading menus which let you specify which
string (1st, 2nd etc) and also how you want to tune the
string (Up or Down). The current tuning is always
displayed beside the nut of the guitar. The Standard
Tuning option controls whether the tuning you specify
is applied to the guitar. With Standard Tuning set to
on, the custom tuning you specified is disabled and
standard tuning is used on the guitar. With Standard
Tuning set to off, the custom tuning you specify is
used on the guitar. This feature allows you to toggle
easily between a custom tuning and standard tuning
instead of having to re-tune each string.
Title Option
Tunes User's Manual 28
The Title option allows you to change the title
displayed under the guitar.
View Option
The View option controls whether the guitar is
displayed with top of the fretboard (nut) oriented
toward your right or left. Switching the orientation
of the fretboard will reverse the ordering of the
strings. For example, when viewing a right-handed
guitar with the fretboard to your right (as if watching
someone play), the low E string will appear along the
top of the guitar's fretboard. The same guitar viewed
with the fretboard toward your left will have its low E
string along the bottom of the fretboard.
Guitar Option
The Guitar option controls whether a right or left
handed guitar is displayed. When viewing a right-
handed guitar with the fretboard to your right (as if
watching someone play), the low E string will appear
along the top of the fretboard. However, when viewing
a left-handed guitar with the fretboard toward your
right, the low E string will appear along the bottom of
the fretboard.
Range Finder Option
The Range Finder option controls how much information
is presented on the guitar and also where this
information is located along the fretboard. This
option has a cascading menu which lets you specify
whether the rangefinder is displayed, its size (in
frets) and its movement along the fretboard. The
Display option controls whether the Range Finder is on
or off. When the Range Finder is on, it will be
displayed along the bottom of the guitar and only the
notes which fall between the frets on the Range Finder
will be displayed. This feature allows you to
concentrate on a particular area of the fretboard
without being distracted by notes outside of the area
of interest. The Size option controls the size in
frets of the Range Finder. The Move option is used to
change the location of the Range Finder along the
fretboard.
Fret Numbers Option
The Fret Numbers option controls whether fret numbers
are displayed along the top of the fretboard.
Tunes User's Manual 29
Edit Option
The Edit option allows you move about the fretboard,
turn individual notes on and off and also change the
notation associated with a particular note. After
entering edit mode, use the Left Arrow and Right Arrow
keys or the mouse to change your location on the
fretboard. Use the Enter Key or click the left mouse
button to select a particular note for editing. A
popup menu will be displayed to perform the editing
function. Use the Stop Editing function key or click
the right mouse button to leave edit mode.
Print Option
The Print option sends a printout of the current state
of the guitar to the printer. The destination printer
port (LPT1 through LPT3) is controlled by the Printer
Port option in the Tunes profile.
Keyboard Menu
Scale Option
The Scale option allows you to change the type of scale
displayed on the keyboard. This option has two
cascading menus which let you specify both the key (A,
A# etc) and the actual type (Major, Minor etc) of scale
which is to be displayed.
Chord Option
The Chord option allows you to change the type of chord
displayed on the keyboard. This option has two
cascading menus which let you specify both the key (A,
A# etc) and the actual type (Major, Minor etc) of chord
which is to be displayed.
Notation Option
The Notation option controls the manner in which
information is displayed on the keyboard. This option
has a cascading menu which lets you specify a notation
of Dots, Letters or Degrees. The Dots option causes
Tunes to display a diamond shape at each note on the
piano which is set to note on. With the Letters
option, notes are indicated using the actual note
identity (A, A#, B etc). The Degrees option indicates
notes using the degree or number of each note with
respect to major scale.
Tunes User's Manual 30
Octave Option
The Octave option controls which octave will be used as
the root octave or starting point of your on-screen
keyboard. The keyboard area can be shifted up or down
to better view the notes being played in a particular
song. The Lower option causes Tunes to map the lowest
(leftmost) white key on the on-screen keyboard to C2 or
two octaves below middle C. The Standard option is
selected when Tunes starts up and it causes Tunes to
map the lowest white key to C3 or one octave below
middle C. This options puts Middle C at the
approximate center of your on-screen keyboard. The
Middle option causes Tunes to map the lowest white key
to C4 or middle C. The Upper option causes Tunes to
map the lowest white key to C5 or one octave above
middle C.
Title Option
The Title option allows you to change the title
displayed under the keyboard.
Auto Inversion
The Automatic Inversion option controls how Tunes
handles musical events which occur outside of the
portion of the piano keyboard which is currently
displayed. Turning Automatic Inversion on allows Tunes
to display notes which occur outside of the viewable
portion of the keyboard just as if they had occurred in
the closest viewable octave. This means you don't have
to change the root octave of the keyboard in order to
see all the notes when playing a song.
Range Finder Option
The Range Finder option controls how much information
is presented on the keyboard and also where this
information is located along the keyboard itself. This
option has a cascading menu which lets you specify
whether the rangefinder is displayed, its size (in
white keys) and its movement along the keyboard. The
Display option controls whether the Range Finder is on
or off. When the Range Finder is on, it will be
displayed along the bottom of the piano and only the
notes which fall between the keys on the Range Finder
will be displayed. This feature allows you to
concentrate on a particular area of the keyboard
without being distracted by notes outside of the area
of interest. The Size option controls the size in
Tunes User's Manual 31
white keys of the Range Finder. The Move option is
used to change the location of the Range Finder along
the keyboard.
Key Labels Option
The Key Labels option controls whether each C key
(octave) will be labeled along the top of the keyboard.
Edit Option
The Edit option allows you move about the keyboard,
turn individual notes on and off and also change the
notation associated with a particular note. After
entering edit mode, use the Left Arrow and Right Arrow
keys or the mouse to change your location on the
keyboard. Use the Enter Key or click the left mouse
button to select a particular note for editing. A
popup menu will be displayed to perform the editing
function. Use the Stop Editing function key or click
the right mouse button to leave edit mode.
Print Option
The Print option sends a printout of the current state
of the keyboard to the printer. The destination
printer port (LPT1 through LPT3) is controlled by the
Printer Port option in the Tunes profile.
Tracks Menu
Active Option
The Active option allows you to change the selected
track. This is the track which will be played or
recorded when using those functions.
Rename Option
The Rename option allows you to label a particular
track with a descriptive text name.
Play Menu
Real Time Option
The Real Time option allows you to play the active
track of the currently loaded music file on the guitar
or keyboard. The music is played visually by
displaying the notes on screen and also audibly using
Tunes User's Manual 32
your MIDI instrument or your computer's speaker. The
music is played visually on the instrument specified by
the Destination option of the Play menu. Audio output
is controlled by the Audio option of the Play menu.
Every time you select this option, the active track is
automatically rewound to the beginning before play
begins.
Step Time Option
The Step Time option allows you to step forward and
backward through the active track while visually
displaying the notes on screen. The Next and Previous
function keys are used to move to the next and previous
notes in the track while in Step Time mode. Every time
you select this option, the active track is
automatically rewound to the beginning before entering
Step Time mode.
Audio Option
The Audio option controls what type of audio output is
generated when songs are played in Real Time. This
option has a cascading menu which lets you specify no
audio output, MIDI output or Speaker output. The No
Audio option is used to disable all audio output. The
MIDI option specifies that MIDI data for the track
begin played is to be sent to the MIDI out port of the
MPU-401. This option will only be enabled if Tunes
detected a MIDI Processing Unit attached to your
computer. The Speaker option indicates that the track
is to be played on your computer's built in speaker.
The speaker cannot play more that one note at a time,
so chords will sound different compared to playing on a
MIDI instrument.
Rewind Option
The Rewind option controls when automatic and manual
rewinds are performed on the active track. The
Automatic Rewind option specifies that the song is to
be played from the beginning whenever the song is
played in real time or step time. Disabling the
Automatic Rewind option allows you to pick up play
(real time or step time) from where the song was last
stopped. The Manual Rewind option rewinds the active
track to the beginning.
Tempo Option
Tunes User's Manual 33
The Tempo option allows you to specify the number of
beats per minute which will be used when playing or
recording music.
Time Signature Option
The Time Signature option allows you to specify which
time signature you would like to use when recording or
playing music. 2/4 time specifies one metronome click
every quarter note with two clicks per measure. 4/4
time specifies one metronome click every quarter note
with four clicks per measure. 6/4 time specifies one
metronome click every quarter note with six clicks per
measure. 4/8 time specifies one metronome click every
eighth note with four clicks per measure. 4/8 time
specifies one metronome click every eighth note with
four clicks per measure. 6/8 time specifies one
metronome click every eighth note with six clicks per
measure. 8/8 time specifies one metronome click every
eighth note with eight clicks per measure. 12/8 time
specifies one metronome click every eighth note with
twelve clicks per measure.
Time Resolution Option
The Time Resolution option on the Play menu controls
the time duration which Tunes uses to determine if two
musical events have occurred at the same time. Due to
speed limitations of the MIDI channel, notes which you
thought you played at the same time on your MIDI
instrument may actually be recorded with a slight
difference in timing. This difference in timing makes
the notes appear sequential instead of simultaneous
when using Tunes' Step Time feature. To correct for
this, you can increase the value of the Time
Resolution. The Time Resolution specified how many
internal clock ticks must occur between two or more
musical events before Tunes treats them as separate
events instead of simultaneous events.
Metronome Option
The Metronome option controls whether the audible
metronome on the MPU-401 will be used when playing
music. This option will only be enabled if Tunes has
detected a MIDI Processing Unit attached to your
computer.
Destination Option
Tunes User's Manual 34
The Destination option controls whether visual output
when recording or playing music will be displayed on
the guitar, the keyboard or both instruments.
Record Menu
Record Option
The Record option allows you to record musical
information on the active track of the currently loaded
song. When recording, Tunes will store all incoming
MIDI information from the MIDI in port of the MPU-401
to the active track. Tunes will also display what is
being recorded on screen. This option will only be
enabled if Tunes has detected a MIDI Processing Unit
attached to your computer.
Overdub Option
The Overdub option allows you to play one track while
simultaneously recording another track of music. When
overdubbing, Tunes will store all incoming MIDI
Information from the MIDI in port of the MPU-401 to the
active track. Tunes will send MIDI information from
the track you select after selecting this option to the
MIDI out port of the MPU-401 so you can keep the
recording track in sync with the playing track. This
option will only be enabled if Tunes has detected a
MIDI Processing Unit attached to your computer.
Lead In Option
The Lead In option allows you to specify how many
measures Tunes will count before actually starting to
record MIDI information during a recording session.
This feature allows for a period of time to get ready
before record starts.
Metronome Option
The Metronome option controls whether the audible
metronome on the MPU-401 will be used when recording
music. This option will only be enabled if Tunes has
detected a MIDI Processing Unit attached to your
computer.
Tunes User's Manual 35
7. TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE
Q) Why won't my chord and scale diagrams print
correctly?
Not all printers can print the IBM extended character
set. The diamond shape which is displayed when dot
notation is selected can also be a problem on some
printers. Try changing the selected notation to either
letters or degrees before printing. Another option is
to try using your printers alternate character set by
starting Tunes with the following flag: TUNES /G1.
Q) Nothing prints at all when I select the Print
option. Why?
Most likely, Tunes is sending the print output to the
wrong printer port. Check to make sure the Printer
Port option is set correctly in the Tunes profile.
Q) I can see songs being played on-screen but I can't
hear them on my MIDI instrument. Why?
There are a number of possible causes for this. The
first thing to check is that your MIDI instrument is
set to receive the correct MIDI channel. Most of the
demonstration songs provided with Tunes are set to play
on Channel 1. You could also try setting your
instrument to OMNI on, which will allow it to receive
all MIDI channels. Next, check to make sure the Play,
Audio option in Tunes is set to MIDI output. Also
check to make sure that the MPU Interrupt level
specified in the Tunes profile is set to the same
interrupt you specified when installing your MIDI
interface. Finally, check to make sure your MIDI
instrument is cabled correctly to your computer's MIDI
interface.
APPENDIX A - KEY COMBINATIONS
Unshifted Shift Alt Ctrl
A [A] [A] [a-A] [c-A]
B [B] [B] [a-B] [c-B]
C [C] [C] [a-C] [c-C]
D [D] [D] [a-D] [c-D]
E [E] [E] [a-E] [c-E]
F [F] [F] [a-F] [c-F]
G [G] [G] [a-G] [c-G]
Tunes User's Manual 36
H [H] [H] [a-h] [c-H]
I [I] [I] [a-I] [c-I]
J [J] [J] [a-J] [c-J]
K [K] [K] [a-K] [c-K]
L [L] [L] [a-L] [c-L]
M [M] [M] [a-M] [c-M]
N [N] [N] [a-N] [c-N]
O [O] [O] [a-O] [c-O]
P [P] [P] [a-P] [c-P]
Q [Q] [Q] [a-Q] [c-Q]
R [R] [R] [a-R] [c-R]
S [S] [S] [a-S] [c-S]
T [T] [T] [a-T] [c-T]
U [U] [U] [a-U] [c-U]
V [V] [V] [a-V] [c-V]
W [W] [W] [a-W] [c-W]
X [X] [X] [a-X] [c-X]
Y [Y] [Y] [a-Y] [c-Y]
Z [Z] [Z] [a-Z] [c-Z]
0 [0] [0] [a-0] n/a
1 [1] [1] [a-1] n/a
2 [2] [2] [a-2] n/a
3 [3] [3] [a-3] n/a
4 [4] [4] [a-4] n/a
5 [5] [5] [a-5] n/a
6 [6] [6] [a-6] n/a
7 [7] [7] [a-7] n/a
8 [8] [8] [a-8] n/a
9 [9] [9] [a-9] n/a
F1 [F1] [s-F1] [a-F1] [c-F1]
F2 [F2] [s-F2] [a-F2] [c-F2]
F3 [F3] [s-F3] [a-F3] [c-F3]
F4 [F4] [s-F4] [a-F4] [c-F4]
F5 [F5] [s-F5] [a-F5] [c-F5]
F6 [F6] [s-F6] [a-F6] [c-F6]
F7 [F7] [s-F7] [a-F7] [c-F7]
F8 [F8] [s-F8] [a-F8] [c-F8]
F9 [F9] [s-F9] [a-F9] [c-F9]
F10 [F10] [s-F10] [a-F10] [c-F10]
Esc [escape] n/a n/a n/a
APPENDIX B - FOREGROUND COLORS
Mono Monitors
Black [black]
White [white]
Light White [lwhite]
Tunes User's Manual 37
Color Monitors
Black [black]
Blue [blue]
Green [green]
Cyan [cyan]
Red [red]
Magenta [magenta]
Yellow [yellow]
White [white]
Light Black [gray]
Light Blue [lblue]
Light Green [lgreen]
Light Cyan [lcyan]
Light Red [lred]
Light Magenta [lmagenta]
Light Yellow [lyellow]
Light White [lwhite]
APPENDIX C - BACKGROUND COLORS
Mono Monitors
Black [black]
White [white]
Color Monitors
Black [black]
Blue [blue]
Green [green]
Cyan [cyan]
Red [red]
Magenta [magenta]
Yellow [yellow]
White [white]
Tunes User's Manual 38
