Crawly Crypt Collection 1/crawlyvol1.bin/sound/cosh_seq/tutorial.txt

Text File | 1990-09-23 | 11KB | 273 lines

  ACCOMPANIST  Tutorial
  ---------------------
   This is a tutorial document which gives a gentle  introduction
to ACCOMPANIST.


  Introduction
  ------------
  ACCOMPANIST is a MIDI Sequencer.  It is a program that runs  on
the Atari ST, and controls one or more MIDI boxes. There are many
different  kinds  of  MIDI box,  but most of  us  have  just  one
Keyboard + Synthesiser. This has a simple keyboard, together with
some clever electronics to produce different kinds of sounds.  It
may also have some built-in drum sequences.  From now on, I shall
use the word Synthesiser to refer to your MIDI box.

   If you haven't bought your MIDI equipment yet,  you can  still
have  fun  with ACCOMPANIST by using the ST  sound  channels  for
output.  Skip to Start-Up.

   Choosing MIDI equipment is not easy,  so I have included a few
hints at the end of this tutorial.


  Connecting Up
  -------------
  The first task is connect the ST to the Synthesiser,  using two
MIDI leads.  Connect the MIDI OUT socket on the ST to the MIDI IN
socket  on  the  Synthesiser,  and the MIDI  OUT  socket  on  the
Synthesiser to the MIDI IN socket on the ST.

  A further MIDI box, such as an Expander, which has no keyboard,
would need a third MIDI lead, which should connect the Expander's
MIDI IN socket to the MIDI THRU socket of the Synthesiser.


  Start-Up
  --------
    Start ACCOMPANIST by double clicking on SEQUENCE.PRG. After a
few seconds ACCOMPANIST'S desktop appears on the screen,  see Fig
1.

     Switch on your Synthesiser,  and play a few notes  to  check
that the Volume is turned up to a hearing level.


  Load & Play
  -----------
   Now you can listen to some music. Use the mouse to select Load
in  the  File Menu.  Use the standard File Selector to  select  a
piece  of music in the MUSIC Folder.  If you have  a  Synthesiser
connected,  choose any piece,  otherwise load the Entertainer, or
Well Temper'd Clavichord,  which only use the ST sound  channels.
You  will  see lines of music appear in the Map box  at  the  top
right of the screen, see Fig 2.

    Click on PLAY in the Play/Record box at the bottom centre  of
the  screen.  You  will  hear the Metronome coming  from  the  ST
Monitor,  which  'burps like a frog',  according to  ST  Format's
reviewer  Jon Bates!  Your Synthesiser should start  playing.  If
not,  check  the  connections and volume levels.  If  this  still
fails,  your Synthesiser may be set up to recieve on a  different
MIDI Channel, see below.


  Changing the start point
  ------------------------
   You can start the music playing anywhere by changing the start
time,  called the Marker.  This is under  the PLAY icon. Click on
the bar number, which is the left hand number, and roll the mouse
while holding the left button down.  Try different directions and
see what happens.  You will see the bar number changing,  and the
Time Cursor moving across the Map box. When you release the mouse
button, you will see the litle Marker box move under the Map.


  Alterations while Playing
  -------------------------
    You can change the Tempo while playing.  Click on the  up  or
down  arrows in the Conductor box to the left of the  PLAY  icon,
and hold the button down.

     You can also switch Voices off and on,  by clicking  on  the
Voice  number to the left of its name.  When the number is  dark,
the Voice plays, and when it is feint, the Voice is silent.

    Now Load and Play some of the other pieces of music.


  Simple Recording
  ----------------
   Now you've heard ACCOMPANIST playing,  you will want to record
your own music.  First clear out what you have previously loaded,
by selecting Clear in the File Menu.

  Now select the first Voice in the Voice box at the top left  of
the screen,  by clicking on its name.  It appears inverted. Click
on RECORD,  wait for the Metronome to sound the one bar count-in,
then start playing.

   When you have finished, click on STOP. You will see some music
lines in the Map box.  If not,  check the connection between  the
ST's MIDI IN socket and your Synthesiser's MIDI OUT socket.

   Click on PLAY to hear what you recorded.  If you like what you
hear,  then click on COMMIT in the Commit box, at the bottom left
of the screen.  Otherwise, click on UNDO then COMMIT. This allows
you  to  choose  whether to keep what  you  have  recorded.

   Many different operations in ACCOMPANIST can be viewed  before
and after, by clicking on UNDO/REDO. When you have finally chosen
which you like, then click on COMMIT.


  Quantization
  ------------
   When you have recorded something that you like,  you can  tidy
it  up by selecting Quantize in the Blocks Menu.  A Dialogue  box
appears,  see  Fig  3.   If you have been playing  crotchets  and
quavers, then click and roll the /4 in the bottom left box to /8,
in the same way that you changed the Marker's bar  number.  Click
on OK.   When the Dialogue box has disappeared,  click on PLAY to
hear the result. If you like it, click on COMMIT as before.


  Editing Music
  -------------
    What usually happens to me,  is that  after  Quantizing,  the
music sounds much better, except for a few bad patches. These are
where  my playing was so bad that the Quantizer moved  the  notes
the  wrong way,  or I have forgotten that there were  some  semi-
quavers, and I have quantized into quavers.

   If there are several wrong notes in a bar, the simplest way to
change  them  is to play the bar again using PUNCH in  the  punch
box,  at the bottom right of the screen.  Before you do this, you
have to set the start and stop times for the time interval to  be
replaced.

   Click on the music line in the Map for the Voice to be changed
under  the bar number to be replaced.  A black  box,  called  the
Fragment  appears,  and the Punch-In & Punch-Out times below  the
PUNCH icon change. If you get it wrong, try again. Try dragging a
box as well.

  Now click on PUNCH.  The Metronome counts in the bar before the
Punch-In  time,  also playing what you have recorded  previously.
When it reaches the start of the bar you want to change,  play it
again.

   To hear the result, click on AUDITION, and if you like it then
click on COMMIT. Otherwise UNDO it, and have another go.


  Editing Notes/Chords
  --------------------
   If only a single note or chord is wrong,  then AUTO-PUN(CH) is
a simple way to change it.  If the note is a quaver,  then change
the Map resolution by rolling the /** at the top of the Voice box
to /8.  The Map expands.  Click on AUTO-AUD(IT) in the Punch box.
Now  click on the line of music in the Map box,  where you  think
the bad note is.  The Fragment's black box appears, and the times
in the Punch box change. You hear the Fragment being played.

    Keep clicking on the line of music until  you have found  the
Note/Chord that is wrong,  then click on AUTO-PUN(CH).  Now  play
the  correct Note/Chord.  Use AUDITION,  as above,  to  hear  the
result.


  Sections
  --------
  Under the Map,  you see the word Section.  Click on this,  then
select  Change  in the Section Menu.  The  Section  Dialogue  box
appears,  see Fig 4.  You can alter the Time signature,  Tempo as
you  wish,  by clicking and rolling the mouse.  Try changing  the
Time signature, click on OK, then PLAY. You will see the new Time
signature in the Conductor box.

  Some pieces of music have several sections with different  Time
signatures and Tempi. You can open a new Section for each one.


  Voice Copy
  ----------
   It is often convenient to make a copy of a Voice in  order  to
try something new. To do this, select Copy in the Voice Menu, see
Fig  5.  Set the source and destination Voices on the  left  hand
side,  then click on OK. Use UNDO/REDO as required before COMMIT.
You can merge many Voices into one,  and copy parts of one  Voice
to another.


  Block Editing
  -------------
  The Block Menu contains various features for  copying,  moving,
transposing all or parts of a piece of music.  Select  Transpose,
and put the music up a tone by changing the To note at the bottom
to D.


  MIDI Channels
  -------------
   You should be able to get quite a long way without  having  to
worry about MIDI channel numbers.  However,  if your  Synthesiser
wont  play,  then it may be because it is set up to recieve on  a
different MIDI channel.  All ACCOMPANIST's music uses channel  0.
Also,  you may have a Multi-Timbral device,  which means that  it
can play several different instruments at the same time.

  You  can  change the MIDI channel  that  a  Voice  outputs,  by
clicking  on the Voice name,  and selecting Change in  the  Voice
Menu.  The Voice Dialogue box appears, see Fig 6. The output MIDI
channel is at the top right,  and is currently set to  **,  which
means use the input channel.  Click and roll to get channels from
0 to 15.

   Unfortunately,  different people talk about MIDI  channels  in
different ways.  Some use 0 to 15,  others use 1 to 16. Selecting
Midi-base  in  the Options Menu allows you  to  tell  ACCOMPANIST
which to use.


  More about MIDI
  ---------------
   If  you  want to learn more about MIDI,  the  Sound  on  Sound
magazine gives a good coverage of the MIDI scene.  They also have
an  excellent list of books about MIDI and related  matters.  You
can contact them on 0480 61244.


  Buying a Synthesiser
  --------------------
   If you are thinking of buying a MIDI Synthesiser,  prices  for
new  models  start  at under £200.  You will  be  overwhelmed  by
jargon,  and its worth clarifying a few terms here:-

    Polyphony  -  this  means  how  many  notes  can  be   played
at the same time.

    Multi-timbral - this means that more than one instrument  can
be  played  at once using different MIDI channels,  eg  my  CASIO
HT3000 is 3-Timbral. I can play 4 notes together on a Piano, plus
3 notes on a Harpsichord,  plus 1 note on a Bass. So, in total it
has a polyphony of 8.  This is fixed polyphony. Some Synthesisers
can allocate notes to channels flexibly, as required.

    Velocity Sensitive - this means the harder you hit the  keys,
the louder it sounds.

     Weighted  keys - this means that the keys should  feel  like
proper Piano keys (they never quite manage it).

    You must decide what combination of these features  you want.
Needless to say, the more you want, the more it will cost!



   Conclusion
   ----------
  This tutorial has introduced the basic features of ACCOMPANIST,
and should allow  you to have a lot of fun. Now you can try other
features such as Filters, or changing the Metronome. If something
unexpected happens and you can't work it out,  then as the saying
goes 'If all else fails,  read the instructions!'.  The manual is
in the MANUAL.TXT file on the disk.
  Good luck.