Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/discs/mag_discs/volume_6/issue_08/perform/MIDIScores/MusicInfo

Text File | 1993-02-26 | 13KB | 310 lines

                  Words & Music welcomes you to Serenade

The demo files in the Serenade package were supplied by Words & Music and
come from our large collection of MIDI files. We have selected a wide range
of material and, as you can see - and hear! - Serenade can be used for all
types of music.

This document contains more information about the files and how to get the
most out of them quickly. You may like to print it out for easy reference.


Getting Started

All our files are supplied in Standard MIDI File format (Clares may have
changed the format of the demo files to Serenade format). This format is
very useful for transferring files between different sequencers and even
between different computers.

Some of the files have been mapped to GM (General MIDI) so if you have a GM
synthesiser you can 'load and go' without having to enter Program Changes or
select suitable sounds on your musical instrument. If you don't have a GM
instrument, don't worry. All the tracks in the files are named to indicate
the instrument used.

To get a file up and running quickly, assign all the tracks (except drums!)
to a piano sound. Then substitute other instruments either by selecting them
on your musical instrument or by inserting Program Changes into the music.
Alternatively you can use Serenade's Track Sheet Parameters to choose
different instruments. You may then wish to make more subtle changes to the
music by adjusting volume and velocity levels and pan settings.


Standard MIDI Files

All programs, including sequencers, save their data in their own special
format. This allows them to use whatever features they wish as no other
program is going to have to interpret it. In the music world, this restricts
music files to the sequencer they were created on.

The MIDI File Standard was developed to allow music to be ported from one
sequencer to another, even to a sequencer on another computer. Most of the
major and current sequencers handle Standard MIDI Files very well although
anomalies can occur in certain programs and on certain computers.


GM/GS - What it's all about...

You can load a MIDI File into your sequencer and play back the notes but
unless you use the same musical equipment as the person who arranged the
file, the sounds will be totally different.

GM (General MIDI) seeks to overcome this problem by specifying a list of
sounds which will respond to certain Program Change numbers. For example,
Program 1 (or 0 depending on whether your system counts from 1-128 or 0-127)
selects a Grand Piano, 15 selects Tubular Bells, 41 selects a Violin and so
on.

GM also uses Controller messages for effects such as Pan, Volume, Sustain
and so on, although most of these messages are standard MIDI messages which
non-GM instruments also respond to.

Roland developed a super-set of GM called GS which uses extra Control
messages for Reverb and Chorus and which allows access to variations on the
main (or Capital) set of tones. If an instrument doesn't have these
variations it falls back to the Capital tones so the result should still be
close to the original.

Most modern synthesisers have a Drum Voice which turns the keyboard into a
drum kit. The GM specification includes a Drum Map which determines the drum
sounds which are assigned to the notes (technically, the MIDI Note Numbers).

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If You Have Enjoyed These...

The files supplied with Serenade come from our much larger collection of
MIDI files. If you enjoyed them you may be interested in obtaining more
files to play. Yes, here's the advert...

At the last count we had well over 500 files. Over half are classics but we
also have a disc of Drum Patterns and a mammoth collection of festive
Christmas tunes.

Our policy is to give value for money and each of the discs in our latest
collection contains over 30 files. The Drummin' and Christmas discs contain
160 and 102 files.


The Classic Collection Volume 1

Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 (all four movements); extract from Beethoven's
5th Symphony; Shostakovich's 5th Symphony 2nd Movement (uses all 16
channels!); Mozart 40; Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca; Chopin's Fantasy
Impromptu; Habanera; Anitra's Dance; Ave Maria and more...

The Classic Collection Volume 2

Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (all three movements); Gershwin's Rhapsody
in Blue (full Piano/Clarinet arrangement); Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (all
three movements); Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; Suite Antique by John Rutter;
Widor's famous Organ Toccata; Air on a G String; Fur Elise; Flight of the
Bumble Bee and more...

The Classic Collection Volume 3

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (all 16 movements); Bach's
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (all three movements); Entry of the Gladiators;
Hooked on Classics; extract from Beethoven's 3rd Symphony (Eroica); Chopin's
Krakowiak Rondo (a 'live' virtuoso performance lasting over 13 minutes!);
Blue Danube Waltz; Funeral March of a Marionette (Alfred Hitchcock's theme
tune); Debussy's Arabesque No.1; Trumpet Voluntary and more...

It's Ragtime!

A collection of over 20 Rags on one disc arranged mainly for piano, some
with an orchestral accompaniment. It includes The Black & White Rag (Pot
Black TV theme), The Entertainer, The Maple Leaf Rag, The Blue Goose Rag,
Billy Joel's Root Beer Rag and many more.

This collection really makes your 'Piano' talk. We like playing them using a
Honky Tonk piano sound - or try using two different pianos and detuning
them!

Christmas MIDI Song Collection

The Christmas MIDI Song Collection contains over 100 tunes for the festive
season on disc in MIDI file format. There are Christmas songs, Carols and
medleys plus festive classical pieces by Bach, Beethoven and other great
composers. It contains over 600K of data - hours of listening pleasure.

Keep on Drummin'

Keep on Drummin' is a collection of 160 drum patterns on disc in MIDI File
Format. They are arranged into 16 Styles:-

Afro        12/8 Blues          4/4 Blues         Disco
Fills       Funky               Heavy             Hip Hop
House       Latin               Motown            Reggae
Rock        Rhythm 'n' Blues    Rock 'n' Roll     Shuffle

As well as containing a collection of 'Killer Grooves', there are also lots
of good, useable, down-to-Earth patterns suitable for a wide range of songs
and tunes.

There are two and four-bar patterns plus many which are 12 or 16 bars long,
making it very easy to select individual bars for assembling your own drum
track.

All this and bass lines too!

Several patterns also have an accompanying bass line which suggests the sort
of music lines which work well with them. Use them 'as is' or edit them to
suit your own music.

The technical bits...

The drum pattern files are configured to the General MIDI (GM) standard
which ensures compatibility with the greatest number of synths and
expanders. These include Roland╒s Sound Canvas range (whose drums are based
on Roland╒s MT-32), the Yamaha TG100, Korg╒s 03R/W and so on. But the
patterns will work with any instrument which has built-in drum sounds.

The package contains full written documentation including an explanation of
GM and drum maps. There╒s a GM drum map diagram for the drums used in the
patterns along with a full explanation of how to use them with other, non-GM
equipment - don't worry, it's easy!


      * New Files * New Files * New Files * New Files * New Files *

The following discs are new additions to the catalogue. All the files are
mapped to the GM/GS standard and will play 'instantly' on any GM/GS
instrument.

Each of these discs also comes with a four-page leaflet which gives more
detailed information about each file.

The Classic Collection Volume 4

Extract from Mozart's Kyrie Eleison (popularised by many TV and films)
arranged for five voices; Purcell's Trumpet Tune (no, not the one he didn't
write - that's on Classics Disc 3); Mozart's Divertimento in F for String
Quartet; Tchaikovsky's Russian Dance and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
(full, orchestrated arrangements) from The Nutcracker Suite; the theme from
Swan Lake; the Rondo from Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; Mendelssohn's
Opus 25 (a gigantic piano piece lasting over 18 minutes)  and more...

The Classic Collection Volume 5

Erik Satie's three Gymnopedies (Gynmopedie 1 became very popular when it was
used on a TV advert); Debussy's Arabesque 2 and Danse; Spring from Vivaldi's
Four Seasons; a collection of four virtuoso Hungarian Dances; an orchestral
arrangement of Handel's Water Music; Beethoven Opus 6 for piano duet;
Haydn's London Trios; 10 favourite pieces from Schumann's Opus 68 (which
includes The Merry Peasant, A Soldiers' March, The Post Horn) and more...

The Classic Collection Volume 6

Mozart's Piano Sonata in C major No. 15 (one of the most famous of all
Mozart's Piano Sonatas); Badinerie from Bach's Overture (Suite) Nr. 2 for
flute and strings (a well known flute tune although not everyone knows where
it comes from); Chopin's famous Polonaise in A; Spanish Guitar Collection (a
superb and novel collection of 10 virtuoso pieces for Spanish Guitar - if
your instrument has a guitar sound you must try these); Mozart's 1st
Quartet; a collection of Mozart's early works and more...

Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier

The Well-Tempered Clavier is the title of two sets of Preludes and Fugues,
each set consisting of 24 Preludes and 24 Fugues in all the major and minor
keys. Together, the two sets are familiarly known as The Forty-Eight
although Bach applied the title to the first book only and these are the 48
pieces on this disc.

He described it as; 'for the use and profit of young people who are desirous
of learning, as well as for the amusement of those already skilled in this
study'. It was also obviously designed as a practical demonstration of the
advantage of Equal Temperament.


The Files and GM

Although GM is generally considered to be a 'good thing', not every musician
has a GM instrument. Bearing this in mind, our files contain the minimum of
control information so A) the tracks are easy to edit and B) they won't
drastically affect users without GM equipment. You can easily insert
additional information in your sequencer's editor if required.


Some Technical Info

For the technically-minded, most of the files are in MIDI File Format 1
which puts each MIDI channel on its own track. The Carols and Christmas
tunes on the Christmas MIDI Song Collection are in MIDI File Format 0 which
puts all MIDI channels on one single track. The Classical pieces are in
Format 1.

Most of the Keep On Drummin' patterns have individual drum sounds on
separate tracks for ease of editing although all drums are on MIDI channel
10. The Bass lines are on a separate track and MIDI channel.

All discs come with full printed instructions.


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                                How To Order

Here is a list of available titles:-

The MIDI Classic Collection Volume 1
The MIDI Classic Collection Volume 2
The MIDI Classic Collection Volume 3
It's Ragtime! Keep On Drummin'
Christmas MIDI Song Collection
The MIDI Classic Collection Volume 4
The MIDI Classic Collection Volume 5
The MIDI Classic Collection Volume 6
Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier

All files are in Standard MIDI File format on Acorn Archimedes discs.

All discs are ú10.95 each but Words & Music is offering a special discount
to Serenade owners so the more you buy the cheaper they are:-

No. of   Price        You      Star
Discs                 Save    Savers
  1      ú10.95
  2      ú20.90        ú 1
  3      ú30.85        ú 2
  4      ú38.80        ú 5      *
  5      ú48.75        ú 6
  6      ú58.70        ú 7
  7      ú68.65        ú 8
  8      ú77.60        ú10      **
  9      ú86.55        ú12      ***
 10      ú94.50        ú15      ****

          All prices are fully inclusive of p&p and VAT

This offer applies only to UK users. Overseas users please add ú6 to total
order value and ensure cheques are drawn on a UK Bank.

Orders are normally despatched within 24 hours of receipt but please allow
14 days for delivery.

VERY IMPORTANT - We also supplies files for the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga
and IBM PC so PLEASE STATE the computer format you require (just in case
some non-Archimedes people are reading this!).


Please send your Cheque or Postal Order to:
 Words & Music, 26 Newark Drive, Whitburn, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, SR6 7DF.

Unfortunately, we can't accept credit card orders but do phone if you have
any queries.
             Tel: [phone]
             Fax: [phone]

PLEASE NOTE: we're not a technical helpline for Serenade - although if we
know the answer we'll tell you! Any queries about Serenade should be
addressed directly to Clares.

Happy Serenading.

                                                Th-th-th-that's all folks!!

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