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MODEDIT VERSION 3.01 DOCUMENTATION COPYRIGHT 1991-2 NORMAN LIN ================= TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= 0. License/Warranty/Disclaimer 1. Introduction 1.1 What is ModEdit? 1.2 What is needed to run ModEdit? 2. Getting started 2.1 Quick start 2.2 Setup 2.3 ModEdit's user interface 2.3.1 Main Menu 2.3.2 Dropdown and Popup Menus 2.3.3 Scroll Lists 2.3.4 Dialog Boxes 2.4 Configuration 3. Nomenclature/concepts 3.1 Note unit 3.1 Pattern 3.3 Sequence 3.4 Sample 3.5 Integrating note units, patterns, sequence, and samples 4. Using ModEdit 4.1 Samples: Choosing your instruments 4.1.1 What are samples? 4.1.2 The "sample directory" 4.1.3 Manipulating samples 4.1.4 Attributes of samples 4.1.5 Creating your own sample files 4.2 Entering music 4.2.1 Editing patterns Preliminaries about the editor Parts of the editor screen Moving around the pattern editor Entering notes Duration Editing the sample field Editing the effect field Copying patterns Transposing patterns Editor view options Playing music from within the editor 4.2.2 Sequencing/creating patterns 4.2.3 Other edit options 4.3 Hearing your music 4.3.1 Playback within ModEdit 4.3.2 MODPLAY: External playing 4.4 Recording Modules 4.5 Saving and loading Modules 5. Reference 5.1 Pattern editor quick reference key summary 5.2 Effect list quick reference chart 5.3 MODPLAY 5.4 MODOBJ 6. The future ======================================= 0. MODEDIT LICENSE/WARRANTY/DISCLAIMER ======================================= THIS PROGRAM IS NOT FREE SOFTWARE! ModEdit is ShareWare, which is essentially "try before you buy" software. This program and accompanying documentation are Copyright 1991-2 by the author (Norman Lin). You are granted a limited license to use this software for a trial period of 30 (thirty) days. After this trial period, if you continue using the program, you are legally and ethically obligated to pay for the software (see below). You are encouraged to copy and distribute the UNREGISTERED version of this program so that others may try it out, provided that (1) no profit is made from such copying and distribution, and (2) the program is distributed in UNMODIFIED FORM with ALL ACCOMPANYING EXECUTABLE AND DOCUMENTATION FILES. You are prohibited from distributing ModEdit if you do not adhere to both above guidelines; you are prohibited from modifying the ModEdit program or documentation. If you register ModEdit, the registered version may NOT be distributed or duplicated except for personal archival and backup purposes. Possession of the registered version by anyone other than the registree is prohibited. Protect your investment -- don't distribute the registered version. ModEdit may not be used for any commercial purposes without my prior express written permission. ModEdit may not be distributed for use with any for-profit products (software, hardware, or other; including but not limited to commercial software, shareware, D/A converters, etc.) without my prior express written permission. There is no warranty of any kind; this software is provided on an "AS-IS" basis. The author of this software (Norman Lin) shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever that may result, directly or indirectly, from the use of this software or documentation. Neither is the author obligated to provide any updates or modifications to the program whatsoever. By owning a copy of and/or using ModEdit, you agree to all the above terms. REGISTRATION ------------ If you use ModEdit beyond the initial trial period, you must register. Legal and ethical issues aside, why should you register? I'm sure this question crosses the mind of every shareware user. You should register because I believe that ModEdit is the best and easiest to use MOD editor. I've spent many months of my life designing, programming, and tweaking ModEdit. I've looked at other editors and listened to user suggestions. Since version 1 was released, I've constantly been making improvements to the program. With your support, it can evolve even further. NOTE: To register, please fill out and mail the enclosed registration form. Basic registration ------------------ Basic registration is $15 (U.S.). This entitles you to legally use ModEdit, as well as to receive a personal user identification and registration code. Your userid and registration code will allow you to use the registered version of the program with the following enhanced features: o Real time recording from the computer keyboard o Automatic saving of all samples in a MOD o EGA/VGA 43/50 line support o Track tracing (following a song during playback) In addition, registration will let me know that you are interested in ModEdit. I read every letter mailed to me, even though I might not have time to respond. Your feedback is important! Level 2 Registration -------------------- For a registration of $25 (U.S.) (to cover diskette, packing, mailing, and labor), I will mail you a diskette containing the latest (registered) version of ModEdit, as well as various sample/Module files that will fit on the diskette. *PLEASE* specify what kind of diskettes you need (3.5" or 5.25", high or low density). Better still, mail me a formatted diskette and I will put the program on it. I also have a soundcard with a digitizer, so if you want custom sample files, this can be arranged. ADDRESS FOR REGISTRATION ------------------------ Send all registrations, comments, or queries about ModEdit to: Norman Lin P.O. Box 2724 Norman, OK 73070-2724 U.S.A. Internet email addresses: PREFERRED: norlin@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu ALTERNATE: nlin@alliant.backbone.uoknor.edu narc@obelisk.okc.ok.us narc@obelisk.pillar.com narc@wuntvor.norman.ok.us narc@wuntvor.pillar.com REGISTRATION FORM for MODEDIT 3.01 Name: ___________________________________________________ (first) (last) Address: ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ CITY STATE COUNTRY ZIP E-Mail address (if any): ___________________________________ TYPE OF REGISTRATION: (check one) ( ) Basic registration: $15.00 U.S. enclosed ( ) Level 2 registration: $25.00 U.S. enclosed For level 2 registration only: Type of diskette: ( ) 3.5" ( ) 5.25" Density: ( ) Low ( ) High GENERAL INFORMATION: Where did you hear about ModEdit? _____________________________________________________________ Comments/suggestions about ModEdit: _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Would you like to be informed of future ModEdit releases? ( ) Yes ( ) No Please mail this completed form, along with payment, to: Norman Lin P.O. Box 2724 Norman, OK 73070-2724 U.S.A. ================ 1. INTRODUCTION ================ 1.1 WHAT IS MODEDIT? --------------------- ModEdit is a music editor/sequencer for the IBM PC family of computers. It allows you to write music with 4 tracks of digitized instrument sounds. The file format used is the "Amiga Module" format (so called because it originated on the Amiga line of computers). ModEdit can load and save Modules, meaning that Modules (or simply MODs) created by other programs (even on other computers such as the Amiga) can be used by ModEdit, and that the Modules created by ModEdit can be used by any program that can use Modules. 1.2 WHAT IS NEEDED TO RUN MODEDIT? ----------------------------------- To run ModEdit, you need: - An IBM or compatible, 640K recommended. - A 10MHz+ 286 or better processor strongly recommended for playback. - The executable editor program MODEDIT.EXE. ModEdit requires no special video card; it works with monochrome, CGA, EGA, or VGA displays. It also does not require any sound card; it can output music through the PC speaker (though quality will vary depending on how fast your processor is). Supported sound cards include: - SoundBlaster(tm) / compatible cards - Disney Sound Source(tm) - Covox Sound Master II(tm)/Speech Thing(tm) - Any sound card with a D/A converter on an LPT: port (This includes soundcards you can build yourself. See MODPLAY documentation for more information.) ModEdit's playback routines are done with MODOBJ, a .OBJ file that contains functions for playing back Modules. MODOBJ is written by Mark J. Cox. More information on MODOBJ may be found in section 5.4. =================== 2. GETTING STARTED =================== 2.1 QUICK START ---------------- If you're impatient, and think you know what you're doing, you can "quick start" ModEdit by typing "MODEDIT" after unpacking the ModEdit archive. It's strongly recommended, though, that you take the time to read this documentation. 2.2 SETUP ---------- Your ModEdit archive file should contain the following files: - MODEDIT.DOC : This file. - MODEDIT.EXE : The executable ModEdit module editor, unregistered version. - REGISTER.EXE: Executable program to be run if you choose the "basic registration" option. It will create an executable file MODED-R.EXE which will be the registered version of the ModEdit program. - REGISTER.DAT: Data used by the REGISTER.EXE program. - REGISTER.FRM: Registration form for ModEdit 3.0. - *.MOD : Example module(s). - *.SAM : Various digitized sample files for incorporation into your own music. To run ModEdit, first unpack the archive file, preferably into its own subdirectory if you have a hard drive. 2.3 MODEDIT'S USER INTERFACE ----------------------------- ModEdit functions are selected using an intuitive and flexible window system with mouse support. If you've never used this kind of menu system before, you will probably want to read through the following walk-through of the menu system. If, on the other hand, you have experience with "point-and-click" type dropdown menu interfaces, you can quickly skim this section and just dive right into using ModEdit. The user interface is quite intuitive to use, even for first time users. Main program functions are selected via a main menu at the top of the screen, and secondary program functions are selected through a series of dropdown menus, popup menus, scroll lists, and dialog boxes. Details of each follow. Instructions on user interface interaction using the keyboard are presented following the word "KEYBOARD:". Instructions for mouse users follow the word "MOUSE:". 2.3.1 Main Menu ---------------- ModEdit's main menu is a line at the top of the screen, which appears as follows: |File| Edit Sample Play Record Configure Other On the screen, one option will have a colored "highlight bar" as its background; this option is the currently selected option. It is shown above by the vertical bars |. KEYBOARD: From the keyboard, you can access the main menu simply by depressing the ALT key and then pressing the letter that matches the highlighted letter in the menu item. (Highlighted items are shown in capital letters above). For instance, "<ALT-F>" would access ModEdit's "File" options, while "<ALT-C>" would select "Configure." Once you are in the main menu, you may use <LEFT ARROW> and <RIGHT ARROW> to select the option to the left/right of the one currently selected. For instance, if "Sample" is selected, pressing <LEFT ARROW> would take you to "Edit." MOUSE: With a mouse, you can access the main menu by moving the mouse cursor to be on top of the desired main menu option, then pressing the left mouse button. 2.3.2 Dropdown and Popup Menus ------------------------------- A dropdown menu and a popup menu are essentially the same form of input: a window containing a list of options to select, and a highlight bar indicating which option is currently selected. A dropdown menu "drops down" beneath the main menu, since it involves selection of options directly related to the main menu options. A popup menu "pops up" at a different time in the program (usually when you, the user, press a particular function key needing you to choose among various options), but it operates in the same way. The following discussion focuses on dropdown menus, but operation of popup menus is identical. All of the options in the main menu have several sub-options that may be selected. After selecting the main option, an appropriate dropdown menu will appear beneath the main menu. You then choose the sub-option that you need to perform. For example, if you selected the "File" option with <ALT-F>, the screen would appear as follows: |File| Edit Sample Play Record Configure Other +---------------+ *|New module | |Load module | |Save module | |DOS shell | |---------------| |Exit | +---------------+ The dropdown menu will have a highlight bar on the currently selected option. Due to printing limitations, the highlight bar is depicted above with a star *. KEYBOARD: With the keyboard, to move the highlight bar, press the up or down arrow keys. After selecting the desired option, press <ENTER> to accept your choice. By pressing the right or left arrows, the right or left dropdown menus of the corresponding main menu options will be displayed. Additionally, each option within the dropdown menu will have one letter highlighted. By pressing this letter, that option in the dropdown menu is selected. This often saves time. MOUSE: With a mouse, move the mouse cursor on top of the desired dropdown menu option and press the left mouse button. 2.3.3 Scroll Lists ------------------ A scroll list is very similar to a popup or dropdown menu; it is a list of items from which you choose (e.g. filenames on disk). A highlight bar indicates the currently chosen option. A scroll list differs from a popup/dropdown menu because it (a scroll list) may contain more items than can be displayed at one time on screen. If you move the highlight bar up off the top or down off the bottom of a scroll list, new items will "scroll" into display from which you may choose. A scroll list looks like the following: +-...AMS\MODEDIT\MENG\-+ | BASS.SAM 3010 ^ Up arrow | BBYBDRUM.SAM 2240 # | BBYBDRUM.SAM 2240 # | BBYBDRUM.SAM 2240 # | BBYBDRUM.SAM 2240 # | BBYBDRUM.SAM 2240 # | BBYBDRUM.SAM 2240 # | BBYBDRUM.SAM 2240 # | GRANDP4.SAM 13412 v Down arrow +----------------------+ KEYBOARD: From the keyboard, operation of a scroll list is identical to that of a popup/dropdown menu. MOUSE: With a mouse, operation of a scroll list is identical to that of a popup/dropdown menu, with the additional feature that clicking on the arrows at the right hand side of the scroll list will scroll the highlight bar up and down. 2.3.4 Dialog Boxes ------------------ Whenever ModEdit requires you to type in information, a "dialog box" will appear on the screen. Since ModEdit deals with different sorts of information, different functions will cause different dialog boxes to appear on the screen. The exact operation of each dialog box is detailed in the description of each function. All dialog boxes, however, share some common features, which are discussed below. Sections: A dialog box contains 2 sections; a text input section and a button section. To shift from section to section, press the <TAB> key. (Note that the <TAB> key also moves among buttons; see below.) Text input section ------------------ For each item of input ModEdit requires, one text field will appear in the dialog box. KEYBOARD: Within each text field, simply type in the required information. The previous value (if any) of a particular field is automatically displayed. If you wish to keep or modify the previous value, press an editing key to edit the field. If you wish to discard the previous value and enter a completely new one, you may simply start typing; the old value will disappear. Standard editing keys (left/right arrows, <INSERT>, <DELETE>, <BACKSPACE>) apply to the input. To move between fields, you may use the following keys: <UP ARROW> to take you to the previous field, and <DOWN ARROW> or <ENTER> to take you to the next field. If you attempt to move to the next field when you are on the last field, you will move to the button section of the dialog box. MOUSE: You must, of course, use the keyboard to type in the requested information; however, clicking the left mouse button when the cursor is on a particular text field will move you to that text field. This can be useful when several fields appear and you only wish to modify one. Button section -------------- A button is an option at the bottom of a dialog box, enclosed within brackets []. Buttons perform an action on the input fields at the top of the dialog box. The most common buttons are [OK], which accepts the input, or [Cancel], which discards the input. KEYBOARD: To move among buttons, you may use the <TAB> key, which steps through the buttons then eventually returns to the top of the dialog box, or you may use the left/right arrow keys to cycle through the buttons. MOUSE: Click the left mouse button on the desired button to select that action. Note: to escape from a dialog box and discard the input, you may press the <ESCAPE> key. Here is an example of a simple dialog box with 1 text field and 2 buttons: +------------------Load Module--------------+ |Filename: _ | Text section +-------------------------------------------+ | [OK] [Cancel] | Button section +-------------------------------------------+ 2.4 CONFIGURATION ------------------ Now that you know how to move around in ModEdit, you can configure ModEdit to your particular system and preferences. Select the "Configuration" option from the Main Menu. You will be presented with the Configuration Submenu; from here you may set various options about ModEdit, such as colors, directories, etc: +---------------------+ |Colors | |Directories | |Playback device | |Address of LPT ports | |Mixing speed | |Protracker mode | |Display size 80x25 | |Save configuration | +---------------------+ The ones you need to set right now are the following: - Module directory: this is where ModEdit will look for your Modules (i.e. songfiles). This option is under the "Directories" option of the Configuration Submenu. - Sample directory: this is where ModEdit will look for your sample files. This option is also under the "Directories" option of the Configuration submenu. - Playback device: this is the device to which ModEdit will play music/samples. It defaults to the PC speaker, but can be a D/A converter on an LPT port or a variety of other output devices. (See the MODPLAY documentation for information on how to build a D/A converter.) Note that if you have a D/A converter on a nonstandard LPT port as the playback device, you should enter the address of your LPT port via the "Address of LPT ports" option on the Configuration submenu. This is also how you use sound cards with D/A converters on custom ports (e.g. the Covox SoundMaster II(tm)); you select "D/A on LPT" as the output device, and set the "Address of LPT port" as the address of the D/A converter on your sound card. Playback goes to the address you specify as LPT1; LPT2 is only used if you have 2 D/A converters and wish to have stereo playback. - Mixing speed: this essentially tells ModEdit how fast your CPU is; it determines the quality of the sound output. Mixing speed defaults to 10000. If you have a slow computer, decrease mixing speed (minimum 5000) so that your computer will keep up and not crash. If you have a faster computer, increasing the mixing speed will increase sound quality (up to a point), but will slow down the other operations of ModEdit during music playback. When you're done configuring ModEdit, select "Save Configuration" to save the current settings to a configuration file. Next time you start up ModEdit, the configuration file will be read and the defaults set according to your specifications. The configuration file is saved to the current working directory; this will be the directory that you were in when you started ModEdit. In order for the configuration file to be read upon startup of ModEdit, it must be in the current directory when ModEdit is executed. ========================= 3. NOMENCLATURE/CONCEPTS ========================= To use ModEdit, it is necessary first to understand some general terminology and concepts dealing with Module construction. 3.1 NOTE UNIT -------------- The fundamental building block of patterns. It consists of three parts: 1) A musical note and octave (e.g. C#3 or A 2) 2) A "sample" or "instrument" code that determines what instrument sound will be associated with the given musical note 3) An effect number and argument, which jointly determine "how" the note is to be played (i.e. loud, soft, arpeggiated, etc.) A note unit may either be "empty" or "non-empty". An "empty" note unit is one that does not contain component (1) above; that is, it contains no instruction telling the computer to play a note. A "non-empty" note unit is one that does contain component (1); that is, it contains an instruction telling the computer to play a note at a specified pitch. The concept of "empty" and "non-empty" note units defines the interval of time between successive notes. This is explained in more detail in the editing section. 3.2 PATTERN ------------ A collection of four independent tracks, each containing 64 contiguous note units (many of which may be empty). It is the fundamental building block of songs created with ModEdit. By arranging note units within a pattern/several patterns, you can create musical motives. Patterns are numbered starting with 0 and may go up to 63 (i.e. 64 patterns max). 3.3 SEQUENCE ------------- An arrangement of patterns. By arranging patterns into a sequence, you can group musical motives into a song. The sequence may be up to 128 patterns long. A given pattern can appear in the sequence more than once, if desired -- this means that for repeated musical passages, you need not create another identical pattern; you simply place the same pattern number in the sequence. 3.4 SAMPLE ----------- Also interchangeably called "instrument." It is a collection of digitized data which mimics a particular instrument (e.g. flute, piano, guitar, etc.). Samples make your music sound "real" as opposed to "computerish" (simple square wave beeps). Up to 31 distinct samples may be used in a Module, affording a wide range of orchestrational possibilities. The samples are identified by a single character code, A-Z or 0-4, which means there are up to 26+5 = 31 samples available. Although 31 "slots" exist for samples, not all sample slots have to be filled; some may be empty, or "unallocated." If a sample slot has a sample loaded into it, it is said to be "allocated." 3.5 INTEGRATING NOTE UNITS, PATTERNS, SEQUENCE, AND SAMPLES ------------------------------------------------------------ A complete song, therefore, consists of a number of PATTERNS, each of which contains 64 NOTE UNITS (some empty, some non-empty). These patterns are SEQUENCED into a particular order, which defines the song the listener will hear. The SAMPLE that is associated with each note determines the timbral quality (sound) that the note makes as it is played. ================= 4. USING MODEDIT ================= 4.1 SAMPLES: CHOOSING YOUR INSTRUMENTS --------------------------------------- 4.1.1 What are samples? ------------------------ To reiterate, samples are the "instruments" that make your music sound real. Up to 31 distinct samples may be present in a Module, and each is uniquely identified by its sample code, A-Z or 0-4. A sample defines the sound that a note makes when it is played. The first step in creating a Module should be loading in at least one sample. After all, you need samples in order to hear your music at all. 4.1.2 The "sample directory" ----------------------------- Samples are stored as digitized sound files on disk; each sample is stored in its own individual file. Since you can have many sample files, ModEdit allows you to specify a "sample directory" where your sample files are stored. For instance you could set the sample directory to A:\, which would make ModEdit look for sample files by default on A:\. This would allow you to store sample files on diskettes. Alternatively, you could make a subdirectory on your hard drive, and set the sample drive/directory there, so that your sample files would not clutter up other directories. If a sample directory is not specified (either by hand or through the configuration file) it defaults to the current working directory. 4.1.3 Manipulating samples --------------------------- To manipulate samples, select "Sample" from the main menu. The "Sample" dropdown menu looks as follows: +-------------------+ | Load sample | | Preview sample | | Save sample | | Attribute edit | | Play sample | | Release sample | | Save all samples | | Clear all samples | +-------------------+ These functions are described in detail below. Load ---- This function loads a sample into a particular slot. If another sample was already loaded into that slot, it is discarded. Once a sample has been loaded into a slot, that particular slot may then be referenced in the editor to access that sample. Upon selecting "Load", you will see the sample scroll list. This list contains all sample slots (identified by the code A-Z or 0-4), the name of the samples loaded into those slots (if any), and a list of "attributes" for each sample (see section below on "attributes"). If a sample's slot has a star (*) next to it, that sample has not been allocated; that is, that sample slot is empty. If there is no star next to a sample's slot, that sample has been loaded (allocated). A highlight bar indicates which sample slot has been selected. Once you've moved the highlight bar to the desired sample slot, press ENTER or click on the left mouse button to choose that sample. You will then be asked for the filename of the sample you wish to load. If, instead of a filename, you enter a pathname, then a directory scroll list will popup, and you may select the sample file you wish to load from the list. After selecting a filename, that particular file will be loaded into the previously selected sample slot. Any errors during loading will be reported to you. Loading a sample sets the attributes as follows: (see section below on "attributes" for a description of attributes) - Name: The filename on disk of the sample file - Volume: 64 (the maximum) - Loopstart, Looplength: Both set to 0 - Tuning: Set to "C 2" (range is set to C 1-B 3) - Finetune: Set to 0. Loading a sample also sets the default sample for the editor to be that sample. See section 4.2.1, subsection "Preliminaries about the editor," and subsection "Editing the sample field," for a detailed explanation of the "default sample." Preview ------- Previewing a sample is very similar to loading a sample. First you select the desired sample from the sample scroll list. Then you enter a PATHNAME (not a filename) on the diskette that you wish to preview samples from. ModEdit will then scan for all sample files in the directory you specified, and will present them on a scroll list of filenames. After selecting a filename, that sample is loaded into the selected slot and is automatically played. You are then free to select another filename from the scroll list. By moving through this scroll list and selecting different filenames, you can hear several different samples without repeatedly having to invoke the "Load" function. Once you find a sample file that you like, press the ESC key to quit previewing. The last sample you selected stays loaded in the selected sample slot. Save ---- Selecting "Save" allows you to save a sample to disk. Note that the sample attributes are NOT saved into the sample file. After selecting save, you will be presented with the sample selection scroll list. Select which sample you wish to save from the list. Obviously, you can only save samples which are allocated (i.e. the ones without a star * next to their code). You will then be prompted to enter the filename to save the sample to. ModEdit will attempt to make a reasonable guess at a valid DOS filename from the sample's name attribute, but it's not always possible to do this automatically (since sample names are often edited -- see section on "attributes" below). Edit the given filename if you need to, then press ENTER or click on the [OK] button. The sample (without attributes, remember) will be saved to disk. Attribute edit -------------- This function first allows you to select a sample from the sample scroll list, then pops up a dialog box allowing you to alter the attributes of the selected sample. See the section below on "attributes." Play ---- After you select a sample from the sample scroll list, this function plays the selected sample to the output device (see "Configuration"). Press any key to stop sample playback. Release ------- After you select a sample from the sample scroll list, this function frees the memory allocated to the selected sample. The sample that was previously in that slot is no longer usable. Confirmation is asked before releasing a sample. Save All -------- This function is similar to "Save", but it saves all the allocated samples in memory to disk. This is useful for quickly extracting all samples from a MOD. You will be presented with a list of all allocated samples and proposed filenames to save the samples as. Edit the filenames so that they are all valid DOS filenames, then click on the [OK] button. The samples will then be saved to the filenames you entered on the screen. Any errors in saving any of the samples will be reported. Clear All --------- This function is similar to "release" sample, but it releases all samples in memory. It asks for confirmation before releasing all samples, since this is a potentially destructive function. 4.1.4 Attributes of samples ---------------------------- As mentioned above, the sample scroll list displays the sample "attributes." Sample attributes define certain characteristics of the sample. You may edit any of these attributes by pressing "A" from the "Sample" menu. NAME: The first attribute of a sample is the name. ModEdit by default sets the sample name attribute to the sample filename on disk. This is for clarity and it is recommended that you have meaningful sample names. You are, however, free to edit the name attribute to anything you want, up to 22 characters long. Some composers edit all the sample name attributes to form a message containing composer information or the like. This makes later identification of samples difficult. VOLUME: The second attribute is the volume. Whenever a note unit is played, the sample that is used to play that note can have a volume from 0 through 64 (64 being loudest). You may specify the volume for this note unit explicitly through the effect field with command "C" (see "Effects" below). If you do not specify a volume, the sample is played back with the volume specified by its volume attribute. LOOPING: The third and fourth attributes jointly determine "looping" of the sample. Some sounds, such as a piano or a snare drum, have a definite start and end point. Such samples are generally not looped (though they could be for special effects or something similar). On the other hand some sounds, such as a flute or a sine wave, do not have a definite "ending" point; the sound is a constant waveform that only changes in frequency as different notes are played. Such sounds are often looped. A "looped" sample is one that will continuously be played without stop. Sample looping is defined by a "loop start" attribute and a "loop length" attribute. The "loop start" attribute is a number that represents an offset from the beginning of the sample; it is from this point that sample looping begins. The "loop length" attribute is a number that represents the length of the section to loop. A diagram will make this clearer: +---Loop Length----------+ | | | This section is played | v continuously v -Sample data stream--------========================== ^ ^ ^ | | | | Loop Start | | | +--------------Sample Length------------------------+ The portion of the sample data stream beginning at the loop start and ending at loopstart + looplength is played continuously, allowing "ringing" or continuously sounding notes. This looped portion of the data stream is represented above by the "=" symbol. The best way to get a feel for sample looping is to experiment with the loop bytes and listen to the results (e.g. with the "<P>lay" option in the "Edit Sample" menu). TUNING: In order for ModEdit to display notes properly, all samples must be "tuned". This is a change from earlier verisons of ModEdit, which did not provide for sample tuning. If samples are not tuned properly, the onscreen note display will be inaccurate. ModEdit has 2 tuning attributes for each sample. The first tuning attribute is the large-scale tune attribute, or simply the "tune" attribute. This attribute is a note and an octave that define the "base" pitch of that particular sample; the note and octave are the pitch that the sample makes when played back with the "P" command (section 4.1.3). An external tuning source, such as a piano or other musical instrument, could be useful here. Most samples are tuned to "C 2"; therefore, ModEdit by default sets the tuning attribute to "C 2". Some samples, however, are tuned to other notes, and these samples must be tuned manually. Again, if this tuning attribute is not set properly, the notes displayed on the screen will be inaccurate (for instance, a "C 2" on the screen might give you an audio note "D 2" out of the speaker, or something similar). The tune attribute determines the "range" of a sample. The "range" of a sample is defined to be the 3 octave range with the tune attribute pitch in the middle. For instance, if a sample is tuned to C 2, its range is C 1-B 3. You are actually free to enter notes outside of this range; ModEdit can handle notes from C 0 to B 9. However, if you choose to enter notes outside of a sample's range, the resulting Module may not be playable from other MOD players/editors (though ModEdit will handle it fine). Also, some special note effects (see "Effects") simply cannot be applied outside of a sample's range. Keep these factors in mind when you're entering music. Beware: If 2 samples have different tune attributes, then loading one in place of the other will cause your music to sound dissonant, because the notes played with one sample do not correspond with the notes played by the second sample. (Additionally, since the samples are tuned differently, they have different ranges -- see preceding paragraph). Therefore, it's usually best not to interchange samples with different tune attributes. If you need to, though, you can transpose the notes associated with that sample up or down to compensate for the difference in tuning. See section 4.2.4 for information about transposing notes. The second tuning attribute is the "finetune" attribute. This attribute is an integer from -8 to +7 that "nudges" the sample frequency slightly up (positive numbers) or slightly down (negative numbers) when it is played back. It alters the sample frequency less than a half step. So, the general procedure for tuning samples is: 1) Adjust the (large scale) tune attribute to the note that is closest to the note that the sample makes when played back. Usually you'll be able to find an exact note and octave that fit the sample's audio output. 2) If the note obtained by playing back the sample is somewhere "between" two notes (for instance, slightly higher than "C 2" but slightly lower than "C#2"), use the finetune attribute to adjust the sample playback so that the note it produces falls exactly on a musical note. 4.1.5 Creating your own sample files ------------------------------------- Sample files are, again, digitized sound information stored in a file. Many different formats exist for storing sound information in a file. The .SAM format is very simple; it contains raw, 8-bit, signed digital data, with no header. If you have sound files in other formats, many conversion utilities exist that can convert from one format into another. Again, you need to convert your sound file into a raw, 8-bit, signed, headerless format in order for it to sound correct in ModEdit. If a you load in a sample of your own and it sounds very "noisy" or filled with static, then either (1) the data is not raw (e.g. it is compressed in some form) or (2) the data is not signed. To remedy (1) you must find an appropriate sound file conversion utility. To remedy (2), you can add 128 to each byte in the sample file by 128, subtracting 256 if the result is over 255. This changes the data from signed to unsigned (or vice versa) and is often the problem. 4.2 ENTERING MUSIC ------------------- After you've loaded in a sample (or several samples), you're ready to enter music. ModEdit 3.0 supports a flexible, intuitive, powerful piano-roll format for entering music, entirely different than all other MOD editors that I know of. 4.2.1 Editing Patterns ----------------------- The main building block of Modules is the pattern. Musical notes in Modules are entered into patterns. From the main menu, choose the "Edit" option, which will display the Edit Submenu. ModEdit intially places one pattern in memory (in fact there will always be at least one pattern in memory). So, to start editing, select the "Edit Pattern" option. The pattern that is selected for editing is the "current pattern"; you may only edit one pattern at a time. To change the current pattern you may use the "<" and ">" keys; "<" takes you to the previous pattern in the sequence table; ">" takes you to the next pattern in the sequence table. Initially, of course, there will be only one pattern in the sequence table so "<" and ">" cannot change the pattern being edited (initially). You are now in the ModEdit pattern editor. The editor screen looks something like this: (Editor Status Line) +Pattern: 0( 0):0 -Track 1 2 3 4 Samp A:NONE + |Samp| | |Eff.| | |Arg1| (Sample and Effect information appear here) | |Arg2| | |Beat| | +-----^---------------------------------------------------------------+ |B 2 | ^ >A#2 | | |A 2 | | |G#2 | | |G 2 | | |F#2 | (Notes appear here) | |F 2 | | |E 2 | | |D#2 | | |D 2 | | |C#2 | | |C 2 |Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxv +<---------------------------No effect ---------------------->+ (Note status line) Preliminaries about the editor ------------------------------ A few general comments are in order. Each pattern has 4 tracks; only one may be edited at a time. Although you may only edit one track at a time, you still may view the notes in all 4 tracks at once. Optionally, you may also choose to view only one track at a time. Since only one track can be edited at a time, only the sample and effect information for the current track is displayed. To view or change the sample/effect information for another track, you first need to edit that particular track. The term "default sample" is used below, and is defined here. As mentioned in section 3.1, each note unit has associated with it a sample code. When entering notes in the editor, it's often convenient to have the computer enter a sample code automatically when you enter a note (rather than you repeatedly having to enter a note and a sample). Therefore, the concept of a "default sample" arises; the "default sample" is the sample code that the computer automatically enters when you enter a note. Parts of the editor screen -------------------------- There are 4 major parts of the screen: the editor status line, the note status line, the sample/effect area, and the note area. Each is described below. EDITOR STATUS LINE: This line displays position information, as well as the default sample. After the word "Pattern:", the current pattern number is displayed outside parentheses, the current sequence position is displayed inside parentheses, and the current note offset (0-63) within the current pattern is displayed after the colon. After the word "Track", the track currently being edited is highlighted (only one track may be edited at a time). After the word "Samp:", the current default sample for the editor is displayed. NOTE STATUS LINE: This line displays human-readable information about the current note that the cursor is on. It displays first the sample name associated with the current note, then the effect name of the effect associated with the current note. SAMPLE/EFFECT AREA: This area displays coded information about the sample and effect for ALL note units in the pattern. Each note unit (0-63) in the pattern has one column in the sample/effect area. The top row in each column is the sample code for that note. The second row in each column is the effect code for that note; the third and fourth rows, the effect arguments. The last row in each column shows the beats of notes in the pattern. If there IS a note at a particular column, a note symbol appears in the beat column for that note. If there is NOT a note in a particular column, the note symbol does not appear. NOTE AREA: This area displays the notes in a pattern. Notes within the current track are represented with bold, solid squares (represented here by 'X'). Notes for tracks other than the current track are represented with dim squares (represented here text by ':'). The duration of each note is shown by its length; duration for notes within the current track is shown with slightly bold squares (represented here by 'x'); duration for notes in tracks other than the current track is shown with very dim squares (represented here by '.'). The highness or lowness of notes is represented by the vertical position of the note squares in the display. Moving around the pattern editor -------------------------------- Each pattern consists of 64 note units for each of 4 tracks. The 64 note units go horizontally across the screen. The pitch of each note is shown by its vertical position in the editor screen, as per the "note ruler" on the left hand side of the screen. For instance, a "C 2" note would appear as: +Pattern: 0( 0):0 -Track 1 2 3 4 Samp A:NONE + |Samp| | |Eff.| | |Arg1| | |Arg2| | |Beat| | +-----^---------------------------------------------------------------+ |B 2 | ^ >A#2 | | |A 2 | | |G#2 | | |G 2 | | |F#2 | | |F 2 | | |E 2 | | |D#2 | | |D 2 | | |C#2 | | |C 2 |Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxv +<---------------------------No effect ---------------------->+ Notice that the pitch range of the screen is limited to 16 halfsteps (more if you have registered the program and are in EGA/VGA 43/50 line mode). Therefore, to view pitches higher or lower, it is necessary to scroll up or down in the window. Movement around the screen is quite simple: <LEFT> / <RIGHT>: Move to next/previous note unit in pattern. <UP> / <DOWN> : Move cursor to a higher/lower pitch. <PGUP> / <PGDN> : Move cursor one screenful up/down. <HOME> / <END> : Take cursor to beginning/end of pattern. 1 2 3 4 : Change current track to 1 2 3 or 4 If you have a mouse, clicking on the arrow symbols at the corners of the editor screen will move the cursor in the indicated direction. Entering notes -------------- To enter a note, move the cursor to the desired position within the pattern (horizontally) and to the desired pitch (vertically). Then simply press <ENTER> or <SPACE>, or, with a mouse, click the left button. If there was previously a note at that position, it is replaced by the new note. To remove a note, move the cursor to the desired position within the pattern (horizontally) and press the <BACKSPACE> key. Notice that you do not have to move the cursor to the pitch value of the old note. This removes the note but does not affect the rest of the pattern. The right mouse button also performs this function. The note unit then becomes empty. To remove a note AND shift all remaining notes in the current track and pattern to the left by one space, use the <DEL> key. To insert space into the current track of the current pattern (i.e. increase the space between notes), use the <INS> key. It's often useful to be able to hear what a note will sound like before you enter it. Pressing "X" allows you to hear the pitch that the cursor is on, using the default sample. You can move the cursor up and down, pressing "X" repeatedly until you find the pitch you need, then press ENTER or SPACE to enter that pitch for the note unit the cursor is on. Duration -------- Entering a note as shown above puts a note and octave into the note unit that the cursor is on. (Remember, a pattern consists of 64 contiguous note units.) This makes that note unit non-empty. Recall, non-empty note units tell the computer to play a sample (instrument) when it encounters that position. What about empty note units, then? Empty note units tell the computer to do nothing. The previous non-empty note units, then, keep on playing (until the sample length has been exhausted) during the empty note units. So, duration of a non-empty note unit is, effectively, the space between that non-empty note unit and the next non-empty note unit. Note that if a sample has been played completely through before the next non-empty note unit in the pattern, silence will result. (If this doesn't make sense, just experiment; that's the best way to get a feel for this.) Example: (X represents non-empty note units; x, empty) Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxxxx Above represents a series of 4 notes, the last 2 of which are twice as long as the first 2 (8 note units as opposed to 4 note units). If you wish to enter music from a standard musical score, you must decide on how many note-units (i.e. squares or X's in the diagram above) you wish to allocate to each "standard" musical note. For instance, you could choose 4 x's to be a quarter note; then an 8th note would be 2 x's, and a half note would be 8 x's. This choice is completely arbitrary. Usually, 4 squares for a quarter note is a good choice. Example: One possible choice for entering standard music Whole --------- 16 squares Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Half ---------- 8 squares Xxxxxxxx Quarter ------- 4 squares Xxxx Eigth --------- 2 squares Xx Sixteenth ----- 1 square X Editing the sample field ------------------------ You will notice that when you enter a note, not only does the note appear, but also a code in the sample field above appears. This code is the "default sample" that was mentioned above. You may change the default sample either from the "Edit" submenu, or by pressing the F5 key in the editor. By default, the default sample will NOT overwrite an existing (i.e. non-zero) sample number. For instance, say that the default sample is 3, and you enter a note "C 1" in an empty note unit; then the sample number of that note unit will become 3. Later, you change your default sample to 4, and change this "C 1" to a "D 1". The sample number will stay 3, since the default sample, by default, does not have "precedence" over an existing sample number. This is so that you may change existing melody lines without altering the sample number. You may change this precedence by going to the Edit Menu. If the default sample has "precedence," it will always overwrite an existing sample field. This is useful for entirely rewriting tracks, samples and all. Again, pressing F5 in the editor will allow you to change the default sample. You'll want to change the default sample when your lead line changes instruments, when you switch from entering a lead track to a percussion track, etc. -- basically, whenever the music you're entering switches from predominantly one instrument to another. You may also edit the sample field manually by pressing "S". This will popup a sample scroll list, from which you then select the particular sample that you wish to be associated with the note unit that the cursor is on. Note that it is possible for a note unit to have a non-empty note field, but a null (empty) sample field. This can happen if you set the default sample to none and edit an empty note unit, or if you manually change the sample field to none. The end result is a note with no associated sample. I call such notes "orphaned" notes. You generally should avoid orphaned notes. They may play correctly, since the sample number that will be used during playback will most likely default to the last sample number that was used in that track. It's best explicitly to associate a specific sample number with each non-empty note field. Additionally, you need to beware of using samples that you haven't loaded. For instance, you may you may edit the sample field to be any say, "sample code Q" even if you have not yet loaded a sample into position Q. If you forget eventually to load a sample into position Q, you may (probably will) get very strange results during playback which may crash your computer. So, always make sure that, when you're ready to play your music, you are only using samples you have loaded. Editing the effect field ------------------------ The effect field consists of 2 parts: a command and an argument. The command can one of 16 values: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F. These commands control various aspects of note and song playback. An effect command generally takes effect starting immediately with the note field associated with that effect. The argument is one byte long and is represented in hexadecimal. A hexadecimal byte is a base 16 representation of a number that consists of an "upper nybble" and a "lower nybble", each of which may take on a value of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, or F. Values from A - F correspond to the decimal values 10 - 15. Certain commands listed below use the 2 nybbles separately (e.g. arpeggiation). In this case, the 1st nybble is one argument, and the 2nd nybble is the 2nd argument. Other commands treat the 2 nybbles jointly as one byte (e.g. speed). In this case, the decimal equivalent of the hexidecimal number is calculated by: (upper nybble * 16) + lower nybble. So, for instance, an effect of "F 1D" would mean set the song speed ("F") to 29 (1*16 + D = 1*16 + 13 = 29). Here's a list of effects and their required argument byte. "xy" for the argument byte means each nybble is treated separately; "xx" means they are treated jointly as one byte. 0 -- AREPEGGIATION Format: 0 xy Plays its associated note in arpeggiated fashion; that is, it rapidly steps the note between 3 pitch values: the original pitch value, the original pitch value + "x" number of halfsteps, and the original pitch value + "y" number of halfsteps. 1 -- SLIDE UP Format: 1 xx Slides pitch up; slide speed is determined by the xx argument (remember, it's in hexadecimal). Slides cannot occur outside of a sample's range (see section on "attributes" above). 2 -- SLIDE DOWN Format: 2 xx Just like SLIDE UP except it slides the pitch down. Slides cannot occur outside of a sample's range. 3 -- SLIDE TO NOTE Format: 3 xx Similar to slide except it slides the pitch TOWARDS the pitch of the associated note field (commands 1 and 2 only specify a speed, not a destination). xx is the speed to slide the pitch. If "xx" is "00", the slide continues in the same direction with the same speed. Slides cannot occur outside a sample's range. 4 -- VIBRATO Format: 4 xy Performs "vibrato" on a note (wavering effect). x is the vibrato speed; y is the vibrato depth. If "xy" is "00", vibrato continues with the sampe speed and depth. 5 -- CONTINUE SLIDE TO NOTE + VOLUME SLIDE Format: 5 x0 or 5 0y Continues the "slide to command" selected by effect 3, while simultaneously sliding the volume either up or down. x is the speed to slide the volume up; y is the speed to slide the volume down. Slides cannot occur outside a sample's range. 6 -- CONTINUE VIBRATO + VOLUME SLIDE Format: 6 x0 or 6 0y Continues the "vibrato" selected by effect 4, while simultaneously sliding the volume either up or down. x is the speed to slide the volume up; y is the speed to slide the volume down. 7 -- TREMOLO Format: 7 xy Vibrates the volume of the note. x is the speed of the tremolo; y is the depth. 9 -- SET SAMPLE OFFSET Format: 9 xx Plays the associated sample starting from a specified point, rather than starting from the beginning of the sample. The sample offset is xx * 256; that is, the offset is $xx00 (hex). A -- VOLUME SLIDE Format: A x0 or A 0y Slides the volume either up or down. If x is specified and y is 0, the volume is slid up at speed x. If y is specified and x is 0, the volume is slid down at speed y. B -- POSITION JUMP Format: B xx Breaks the pattern (i.e. stops playing it at its current position) and jumps to position xx (hexadecimal!) in the pattern sequence table. C -- SET VOLUME Format: C xx Sets the volume for its associated note unit to xx. Note that it only takes effect with its associated note unit, not subsequent notes. Valid volume range is 00 - 40 (hex). D -- PATTERN BREAK Format: D xx Breaks the pattern (i.e. stops playing it at its current position) and goes on to the next one in the pattern sequence table. The next pattern starts playing at row xx. xx is a decimal number from 0 to 63. E -- MISCELLANEOUS COMMANDS Format: Ex y Several commands are accessed through the "E" command. The first argument, "x" determines which of these miscellaneous commands is to be executed. The second argument, "y", is the argument to the chosen command. E1 y: Fine slide up. Similar to effect 1, "slide up", except it only slides the note up once; it does not continue sliding during the length of the note. y = slide speed, hex 0 to F. E2 y: Fine slide down. Similar to effect E1, except it slides down. E3 y: Glissando control. When glissando is enabled, "slide to note" (effect 3) will slide a half-step at a time, instead of a smooth slide. y=1 means glissando on; y=0 means glissando off. E5 y: Set finetune. y is the finetune value, as a signed 2's complement number. That is, if y is 0 to 7, the finetune value is y. If y is 8 to F, the finetune value is y-16 (that's y minus sixteen). Positive finetune values make the pitch slightly higher; negative, slightly lower. E6 y: Pattern Loop. If y is 0, the current row is marked as the start of the loop. If y is 1 through F, then the pattern jumps to the start of the loop y times. E9 y: Retrigger note. y is the "tick" at which the note will be retriggered. The number of "ticks" per note is determined by the speed of the song (command F). EA y: Fine volume slide up. Similar to normal volume slide up, except it only slides the volume once (not during the entire length of the note). y is the slide speed. EB y: Fine volume slide down. Similar to fine volume slide up, except it slides down. EC y: Cut note. Cuts the note at tick number "y", giving very short notes. The number of ticks per note is determined by the speed (command F). ED y: Note delay. Delays playing of the note until tick number "y". EE y: Pattern delay. Delays playing of the pattern for "y" notes before continuing playback. F -- SET SPEED Format: F xx Sets the speed of the song; hex values 00 - 1F are "internal" values, with lower numbers being faster. Values 20-FF are BPM (beat per minute) values. The best way to understand what exactly these effects do is just to experiment and listen. Copying patterns ---------------- Often it's useful to copy a pattern to another one. To do this, press "C" or "c" within the editor. "C" will copy an entire previous pattern to the current one; "c" will only copy one track from a previous pattern to the current one. Note that the source pattern is copied to the current cursor position in the current pattern; this means that if you want to paste a pattern in the middle of another pattern, you can do so by moving the cursor to the middle of the current pattern. After pressing "C" or "c", a dialog box will appear in which you enter the source pattern, offset within the source pattern, and source track (if applicable) for the copy. Then, clicking on [OK] performs the copy. If, instead of typing in the source pattern, you'd like to select it from a scroll list, you can do so by clicking on the "Select Source" button at the bottom of the copy dialog box. The Pattern Sequence Table will then appear, and you can choose the source pattern directly from the table. See the section below on "Sequencing/Creating Patterns". Transposing patterns -------------------- To transpose a pattern within the editor, you may use the F7 and F8 keys. F7 will transpose the current track up one half step; F8, down one half step. Notice that these keys only apply starting from the cursor position and going to the end of the current pattern. Therefore, you can transpose part of a pattern or all of a pattern. To transpose more than one pattern, you should select the "Transpose patterns" option from the Edit Submenu (see "Other Edit Options" below). Editor view options ------------------- Three keys, "V", "D", and "H" are discussed here; they all affect what parts of the MOD you see onscreen. "V": View sample. By pressing "V" in the editor, the sample selection scroll list will appear. You may select a sample from this list, after which the ONLY notes that will be displayed in the editor will be notes associated with the selected sample. This is useful if a track or some tracks contain several different, interlaced melody lines scattered among a few instruments. By viewing only one instrument, you can reduce the complexity of the onscreen display and follow just one instrument line at a time. Beware that editing while viewing only one sample can be dangerous, because you run the risk of overwriting notes that you can't see. To alleviate this, the sample/effect information for "invisible" notes during a view are highlighted. Selecting "<<NO SAMPLE>>" after pressing "V" will turn off the view feature and all notes for all samples will be displayed. "D": Duration toggle. Pressing "D" in the editor toggles on and off the showing of note durations. Note duration in a MOD, you will recall, is defined by the interval from one non-empty note unit to the next non-empty note unit. This duration is shown on screen as dim blocks, and is very useful for seeing the rhythmic structure of a piece. However, if a melody line is distributed over 2 or more tracks, it can be difficult to follow because the note durations for the current track clutter up the screen display. By toggling the note durations off, only the non-empty note units will be displayed. This can greatly reduce the clutter on the screen and is, again, most useful when you want to follow the action of 2 or more tracks at once. Example: With durations on With durations off Xxxx X Xxxx X Xxxx Xxxx X X "H": Hide track toggle. Pressing "H" will toggle a track between hidden/non hidden status. A hidden track will not be displayed unless it is the current track. Hiding tracks is useful when you only want to work with one or two tracks and don't want the screen to be cluttered by the other tracks. A hidden track will have parentheses () around its number in the editor status line. Playing music from within the editor ------------------------------------ You may hear your music from within the pattern editor three ways. First, you may press the "N" key, which plays the note unit the cursor is on. First, you may press the "T" key, which plays the track the cursor is located in. You may press the "P" or the F10 key, which plays the entire pattern. By pressing the F4 key in the editor while music is playing, the cursor will "trace" the song as it's played back; that is, the cursor will show the position currently being played within the Module as the song is being played. (Registered version.) These functions are useful for immediately hearing what your music sounds like, allowing you to make changes and hear the results. 4.2.2 Sequencing/creating patterns ----------------------------------- One pattern is not enough to enter any song of reasonable length. Therefore, you need to be able to create more patterns, as well as to sequence these patterns into a coherent order. This is done with the "Sequence/create/choose" option under the Edit submenu. The Pattern Sequence Table is a scroll list, and will initially look like: +------+ |000:00| +------+ The left number represents the POSITION within the sequence table. The right number represents the PATTERN NUMBER that is at that position. There is a maximum of 128 positions within the table. The highlight bar represents the current pattern. It is the pattern that is edited when you are in the pattern editor. To change it, use the up and down arrow keys. This scrolls you through the current pattern sequence, thereby changing the current pattern. Creating a pattern or modifying the sequence are done with the same dialog box. To create a pattern and insert it after the current position, press ENTER. A dialog box will appear; it serves 2 purposes. First, you can enter a pattern number, which will change the pattern number at that position within the table. Second, you can click on the [Create Pattern] button at the bottom of the dialog box, which will then create a NEW pattern and insert it after the current one in the sequence. To insert or delete patterns into your song, press INS or DEL, repsectively. A "00" pattern will be inserted into the sequence, which you can then edit to be whatever pattern number you want. You need to be aware that when you save a Module (see "Saving and loading Modules" below), the highest pattern number that will be saved is the highest pattern number that was USED in the pattern sequence. For instance, say you created 38 patterns (0 - 37), but in your sequence you only used patterns 0 through 20. If you attempted to save the song, patterns 21 through 37 would not be saved. This is a limitation imposed by the Module format. Be sure, therefore, that when you save a Module that the highest pattern number in the sequence table corresponds to the highest pattern in memory. This usually isn't a problem, since creating a pattern automatically puts it into the sequence table. 4.2.3 Other edit options ------------------------- In addition, the Edit menu has a few other options for your convenience. "Transpose pattern" allows you to increase or decrease the pitch of notes in a pattern by a certain number of half-steps. You may transpose all tracks or only one track. Additionally, you may transpose all samples in the pattern/track or only 1 sample. This is useful if you want ony to transpose a particular INSTRUMENT. "Erase all patterns" does just what it says -- erases all patterns from memory. It asks for confirmation before it wipes the pattern memory. It's useful if you want to start over with a new song but keep the current samples in memory. "Highlight notes" allows you to specify the starting note to be highlighted in the editor window, as well as the increment between highlighted notes. Highlighted notes in the editor are simply for reference, so that you can tell at a glance where you are within the pattern. The default highlight start line is 0, and the default increment is 4. 4.3 HEARING YOUR MUSIC ---------------------- 4.3.1 Playback within ModEdit ------------------------------ The simplest way is to choose "Play whole song" from the "Play" option on the main menu. You may also choose "Play part of song" to play back only a part of the song. During playback, regular processing continues, so you can actually edit a MOD while it's playing. (See section on "Recording" below.) During playback, you can jump forward or backward in the song by selecting the appropriate options under the Play menu. You can also alter the volume by selecting "Volume". To stop playback (it loops forever until you stop it), select the "Stop" option. Also, as mentioned previously, you may use the N, T, or P keys from within the pattern editor to play a note, track, or song, respectively. 4.3.2 MODPLAY: External playing --------------------------------- To play modules outside the ModEdit environment, simply choose the "Save Module" option of the File Submenu to save your song to a Module. It's best to save it with an extension of ".MOD," so that MODPLAY and ModEdit can automatically locate it. The resulting Module on disk can be played via the external Module Player MODPLAY, by Mark J. Cox. Consult the MODPLAY documentation for specific instructions on using MODPLAY. 4.4 RECORDING MODULES ---------------------- ModEdit 3.0 allows you to play along with a Module in real time, using your computer keyboard as a piano keyboard. To use the real-time recording functions, first select the sample you want to do the recording with, with the "Sample to record with" option of the Record Submenu. Next, select which track you wish to record in, with the "Track to record into" option. Next, start the MOD playing by selecting one of the appropriate options under the Play Submenu. Then, while the MOD is playing, select either "Play without recording" or "Record from keyboard" options. The first option will let you play along with the MOD and hear the results in real time, but will not actually store your notes into the MOD. The second option (available in the registered version) will not only play the notes you strike, but will also store them into the MOD. This often makes music entry much easier and faster -- not to mention more enjoyable. The layout of the keyboard, as a piano, is shown on screen during recording, and is as follows: F#2 G#2 A#2 C#3 D#3 F#3 G#3 A#3 2 3 4 6 7 9 0 - F2 G2 A2 B2 C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3 Q W E R T Y U I O P [ C#1 D#1 F#1 G#1 A#1 C#2 D#2 S D G H J L ; C1 D1 E1 F1 G1 A1 B1 C2 D2 E2 Z X C V B N M , . / If you'd like to "synchronize" your playing with the start of the Module playback, select "Synchronous start" from the Record submenu. Then, the instant you hit a key to start recording, the Module will reset itself to the beginning, so that it begins "synchronously" with your input. 4.5 SAVING AND LOADING MODULES -------------------------------- ModEdit can load in standard 15 or 31 instrument Modules. This means you can edit a very large portion of existing Amiga Modules (since the Module format comes from the Amiga). ModEdit looks for Modules in the "Module directory," which you may set/change via the Configuration Submenu. Loading a Module is straightforward; choose the "Load Module" option of the File Submenu, specify the path/filename, and the Module will be loaded into memory. Any errors during loading will be printed to the screen. Saving a Module is equally simple; simply choose the "Save Module" option of the File Submenu. Technical note: ModEdit only saves 31 instrument Modules, even Modules that were originally loaded as 15 instrument modules. Since the 15 instrument format is supported for loading, compabitility is maintained. ============= 5. REFERENCE ============= 5.1 Pattern editor quick reference key summary ----------------------------------------------- Category Key(s) Function -------- General F1 Help F2 Sample editing F3 Sequence/create/choose pattern Playback F10/P Play entire song from cursor T Play track from cursor N Play note at cursor X Hear note at cursor F4 Trace playback (registered ver.) F6 Playback volume F9 Stop playback Viewing 1 2 3 4 Switch to track 1 2 3 or 4 D Toggle durations on/off H Toggle current track hidden/shown V View only one sample Movement < > Previous/next pattern in sequence Arrows, Move within pattern PgUp, PgDn, Home, End Editing Space, Put note at cursor position ENTER Ins/Del Insert/Delete note in pattern BS Remove note at position c/C Copy part/all of another pattern e/E Set/clear effect for a note S Set sample for a note Z Zap (erase) a track F7/F8 Transpose a track up/down F5 Choose default sample 5.2 Effect list -- quick reference ----------------------------------- Effect #/Description Format/Argument -------------------- --------------- 1: Slide Up 1 xx xx=speed 2: Slide Down 2 xx xx=speed 3: Slide To Note 3 xx xx=speed 4: Vibrato 4 xy x=speed y=depth 5: Slide To+Vol Slide 5 x0/5 0y x=upspeed OR y=downspeed 6: Vibrato+Vol Slide 6 x0/6 0y x=upspeed OR y=downspeed 7: Tremolo 7 xy x=speed y=depth 8: <<no effect>> 9: Set sample offset 9 xx Play sample from offset $xx00 A: Volume Slide A x0/A 0y x=upspeed OR y=downspeed B: Position Jump B xx xx=pattern position C: Set Volume C xx xx=volume(00-40 hex) D: Pattern Break D xx Skip to pos xx in next pat E1:Fineslide up E1 y y=slide speed E2:Fineslide down E2 y y=slide speed E3:Glissando control E3 y y=0/1 (off/on) E5:Set Finetune E5 y y=finetune value E6:Pattern loop E6 y y=0/1-F (start/# of loops) E9:Retrigger note E9 y y=tick to retrigger note EA:Fine vol slide up EA y y=slide speed EB:Fine vol slide down EB y y=slide speed EC:Note cut EC y y=tick to cut note ED:Note delay ED y y=ticks to delay note EE:Pattern delay EE y y=notes to delay pattern F: Set Speed F xx xx=speed(00-1F) 5.3 MODPLAY ------------ MODPLAY is an external Module playing program by Mark J. Cox. MODPLAY can play Modules created with ModEdit, outside the ModEdit environment, often with higher quality than from within ModEdit (MODPLAY devotes the entire processor to playing, but ModEdit allows you to continue other functions while playback takes place). It is available at many ftp sites, one of which is wuarchive.wustl.edu (in mirrors/msdos/sound). The latest version is 2.19b. 5.4 MODOBJ ----------- MODOBJ is a .OBJ file that allows you to play Modules within your own software. It is also written by Mark J. Cox, and may be obtained via anonymous ftp on ftp.brad.ac.uk, in directory /misc/msdos/mp. Mr. Cox's email address is m.j.h.cox@bradford.ac.uk. ModEdit uses a special version of MODOBJ. ============== 6. THE FUTURE ============== ModEdit 3.0 is, of course, the third major incarnation of my ModEdit software. It is, I believe, the first MOD editor to use a more natural piano-roll style interface for entering notes. It has evolved significantly since version 1 was released long ago. ModEdit 3.0 will probably be the last major release of ModEdit. I unfortunately do not have as much time to work on it as I used to. I still may make minor enhancements to the program such as: - Real time recording from MIDI devices - Printout of a MOD With enough support from users, though, I may be persuaded to make other enhancements to the program. Let me know. Once again, my address for registration and other inquiries or comments is: Norman Lin P.O. Box 2724 Norman, OK 73070-2724 U.S.A. Internet email addresses: PREFERRED: norlin@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu ALTERNATE: nlin@alliant.backbone.uoknor.edu narc@obelisk.okc.ok.us narc@obelisk.pillar.com narc@wuntvor.norman.ok.us narc@wuntvor.pillar.com