Shareware Overload Trio 2/Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO/dir31/sboom101.zip/SONIC.DOC

Text File | 1994-06-28 | 23KB | 558 lines

                                           Sonic Boom By Tobias Downer 1994
                                               CompuServe E-Mail: 74364,471

 Sonic Boom Version 1.01 Documentation

Contents

1-1  ....... Introduction
1-2  ....... System Requirements
1-3  ....... Compatibility

2-1  ....... Command Line Option
2-2  ....... Loading The Example Song
2-3  ....... Samples, Modules and Patterns
2-4  ....... The Main Screen

3-1  ....... Loading A Sample
3-2  ....... Editing A Sample
3-3  ....... Saving A Sample
3-4  ....... Editing A Module
3-5  ....... Special Commands
3-6  ....... Playing A Module
3-7  ....... Changing The Pattern
3-8  ....... Playing The Whole Song
3-9  ....... Toggling Channels
3-10 ....... Saving A Song
3-11 ....... Loading A Song
3-12 ....... Clearing The Memory
3-13 ....... Copying A Module
3-14 ....... Keyboard Functions

4-1  ....... Sampling Hints
4-2  ....... Configuration Notes
4-3  ....... About The Program
4-4  ....... History
4-5  ....... General Information





1-1  Introduction

Sonic Boom is a music making program for the Sound Blaster card.  It can
take real sampled sounds and play them back at different frequencies
through eight channels.  You can mix trumpets, pianos, drums, or any sound
you can produce, together into a musical song.  Below is a list of
features:

* Produces High-Quality Stereo digital music
* Mix up to eight channels of sounds at once
* Replay a sample at any frequency with separate volume levels for each
   speaker
* Music is produced and replayed in a modular fashion
* Similar system to music "Trackers" first produced on the AMIGA
* Import and Export VOC files
* View/Edit the samples that are loaded into the program
* Graphic User Interface
* Real-time Volume Fade commands
* Real-time Frequency Slide command



1-2  System Requirements

- 386 or better processor
- MCGA / VGA or better graphics card
- Microsoft or compatible mouse
- Sound Blaster or Compatible Sound Card (See Section '1-3 Compatibility')
- About 200K of free conventional memory



1-3  Compatibility

The program supports the original Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster PRO and
Sound Blaster 16.  The program will also probably work on most Sound
Blaster compatible cards, although this version has only been tested on my
Sound Blaster 16.  If the program doesn't work (or does) with your card,
then please tell me.  I will try to make any necessary changes in the next
version.  My CompuServe E-Mail number is at the top of this document.  I
would like to know if the PRO works with Sonic Boom because strangely,
Creative Labs didn't make the SB16 backward compatible with the PRO so I
had no way of testing the PRO Option.



2-1  Command Line Options

To start the program, simply change to the directory in which you installed
the Sonic Boom files to and type 'SONIC' at the DOS Prompt.  It will auto-
detect the sound card you have installed.  DO NOT start this program from
Windows.

Below is a list of command line options:

SONIC [/?] [/SB] [/SBPRO] [/SB16]

/?        Gives a brief description of the command line options
/SB       Forces the program to start up in Mono Sound Blaster mode
/SBPRO    Forces the program to start up in Stereo Sound Blaster Pro mode
/SB16     Forces the program to start up in Stereo Sound Blaster 16 mode

e.g. To auto-detect your sound card type:
     SONIC

     To force the program into Stereo Sound Blaster Pro mode type:
     SONIC /SBPRO

Note: I do not recommend forcing the program into a more advanced card than
you have installed.  If your card is a Sound Blaster PRO or Sound Blaster
PRO compatible you should only use options /SB or /SBPRO.



2-2  Loading The Example Song

This section shows you how to load the example song I have included.

Once the program has loaded you should be greeted by a title screen.  Click
on the 'Load Track' button.  You should now see a file list of the current
directory.  Click on the file titled 'EXAMPLE.SB' or type this through the
keyboard.  Now Click on the 'Load File' Button or press ENTER.  Click on
the 'OK' button and the song will load into memory.  To hear the song,
click on the 'PLAY ALL' button.  To stop the song, click the 'QUIET!'
button.



2-3  Samples, Modules and Patterns

This section is a description of how music is created with Sonic Boom.

To produce music you need some sampled sounds (I have include a few).  A
sampled sound is a recording of a real sound which are usually obtained
through a microphone with some recording software.  Your sound card should
come with some recording software, check the sound card manual for details
on how to produce .VOC files.

Samples can be played back at different frequencies with Sonic Boom.  If
you play a sound at a higher speed than it was originally sampled at, it
will change to a higher pitch.  Using this method you can accurately change
a sample to play at different notes along the scale.

Once you have all the sounds you want in your song, you can start to
produce music.  This is achieved through writing modules for your song.
A module is a series of samples played in an order to make up part of your
song.  If you have played the example song, you will see the screen scroll
through each module as it plays the song.  You may notice that it repeats
some modules.  It would be very inefficient if your whole song was just one
module because parts of the song are often repeated.  Each module is 64
Rows long and contains eight channels, which means you can mix eight sounds
simultaneously.

All the modules must then be set into a specific order to finish your song.
For example: You may want to start you song with module 0, play module 2
and 3, and finish your song with module 1.  You specify the order of the
modules through a 'pattern' which is a list of all the modules to play.



2-4  The Main Screen

The main screen is the first screen you see when you load the program.  It
is divided into three sections.  The main window which is at the top of the
screen, the command bar which is at the very bottom of the screen, and the
lower screen which contains all the buttons to perform the functions.

The main window changes when you choose different buttons.  Normally it
shows the current module that is being edited, but changes to a file list
if you execute a Load or Save option, or displays the current sample if you
choose to edit a sample.

The command bar shows the current information about editing.  The 'Right
Vol:' and 'Left Vol:' shown the current volume settings.  'Sample Num:'
shows the current sample number, 'Module:' shows the current module that is
being edited, and 'Free Memory:' shows the amount of memory free.  If there
are arrow buttons next to these, the value can be altered.



3-1  Loading A Sample

You can scroll through the samples currently in memory by clicking on the
'Sample Num:' arrow buttons located at the bottom of the screen.  If you
have loaded the example song, you will notice that samples 0 and 1 are blue
and the other samples are red.  When the number is blue, it means there is
a sample loaded at this number.  Red means the slot is free for a sample to
be loaded here.

To load a sample, simply click on 'LOAD SND', choose a file to load from
the list and click on 'LOAD FILE'.  If you want to load a .VOC file, click
on 'LIST *.VOC' and the file list should show all .VOC files in the current
directory.  You can change the slot in which to load the sample by clicking
on the 'Sample Num:' arrow buttons.  If you want to hear the sound before
you load it, click on 'HEAR FILE'.  This option currently only plays the
sample at a frequency of 11052(F-2) at full volume.

You can also load RAW files.  Click on 'List *.*' and select the file you
wish to load.  I find this option useful for importing samples from other
computers.



3-2  Editing A Sample

Basic sample editing commands are included with this version of Sonic Boom.
You may view any sample you load into memory.  To view a sample, click on
'LOAD SND'.  The main window will display a graphic representation of the
current sample.  To change the current sample, click on the arrow buttons
next to 'Sample Num:'.

You may zoom in any out of the sample by clicking the zoom buttons (they
look like two arrows pointing toward or away from each other located at the
right of the screen).  You may also scroll through the sample by pressing
the left or right arrow keys or clicking on the left or right buttons.

To delete a section of the sample, highlight a section of the sample by
pressing the left mouse button at the start of the section and dragging
right to the end of the section.  The section should by highlighted in
blue.  To delete, hit the DEL key or click on the 'DELETE SEC' button.

You can also loop a section of the sample, which means the same part of the
sample will be played forever.  Select the part of the sample you wish to
loop using the same method described in the paragraph before.  Click on the
'MAKE LOOP' button.  To delete the loop you have created, click on the 'DEL
LOOP' button.  Examine the example song to see how a loop works.

If you load a RAW sample, it may sound very bad and loud.  When you edit
the sample, if most of the sample is drawn along the top and bottom try
clicking on 'MODIF 128'.  This may make the sample sound better.

You may also remove an entire sample from memory if you wish.  To do this,
click on 'REMOVE SND'.  This will remove the current sample from memory.
The 'REMOVE SND' button is located on the main screen.



3-3  Saving A Sample

To save a sample, click on 'SAVE SND'.  Choose the sample you wish to save
by clicking on the 'Sample Num:' arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Type the name of the file you wish to save.  If you want to save the sample
as a .VOC file, click on 'LIST *.VOC'.  Click on 'SAVE FILE' or press ENTER
to save the sample.



3-4  Editing A Module

The program always starts with a free blank module.  You can create new
modules with the 'CREATE MOD' button and delete modules with the 'DELETE
MOD' button.  The modules can be scrolled through with the 'Module:' arrow
buttons.

Use the arrow keys to move around the current module.  Up and Down arrow
keys will decrease and increase the current cursor module row.  Left and
Right arrow keys will decrease and increase the channel you are editing.

Once you have loaded a sample, you can add its sound to a module.  For
this, the PC Keyboard is used to simulate a Musical Keyboard.  Below is a
map of how the PC keyboard is laid out.  The musical notes are shown by
scale letter (A to G) and octave (i.e. C-2 = Note:C and Octave:2).  A
higher octave is a higher pitch.


Musical Note:       C#2   Eb2         F#2   G#2   Bb2
PC Key:              3     4           5     6     7
Musical Note:    C-2   D-2   E-2   F-2   G-2   A-2   B-2   C-3
PC Key:           W     E     R     T     Y     U     I     O

Musical Note:       C#1   Eb1         F#1   G#1   Bb1
PC Key:              S     D           G     H     J
Musical Note:    C-1   D-1   E-1   F-1   G-1   A-1   B-1   C-2
PC Key:           Z     X     C     V     B     N     M     ,

When the PC Key is pressed, the sample is played and included into the
current module.  The current sample is added (Specified through 'Sample
Num:') at the current volume (Specified though 'Left Vol:' and 'Right
Vol:').  As an example, move the current sample to 00, press 'T' which is
note 'F-2'.  The cursor should move down a line and the text ' 00 F-2 '
should appear where the cursor was.

If you want to change the settings of the sample you have added to the
module, move the cursor over to the sample you wish to change.  The command
box located at the bottom right of the screen may look this:

---------------
| Command     |
| Standard    |  + -
| S:00        |  + -
| V:30, 30    |  + - + -
| F:11052     |  + -
---------------
(The + and - characters represent up and down arrows)

In the command box, 'S: nn' represents the sample, 'V: nn,nn' represents
the left and right volumes, and 'F: nnnnn' represents the frequency of the
sample.  You may change any of these values by clicking on the arrow
buttons located right of the value you wish to change.

If you wish to get the volume settings from the command box and put them in
the current volume settings, click on the 'G VOL' button.

You may also copy and paste single commands from the module window.  This
is achieved by moving the cursor over to the command you wish to copy and
clicking on the 'COPY' button.  Then move the cursor over to the position
to paste the command and click on 'PASTE'.



3-5 Special Commands

Sonic Boom also has the ability to execute special commands.  The playing
of a normal sample is represented by the word 'Standard' in the command box
(see diagram above).  You may change this to other commands by clicking on
the arrow buttons right of the word 'Standard'.  Below is a description of
the commands currently available:

Fade In    Changes the channel volume to 0, 0 and gradually fades the
           sample in to the volume specified in 'V: nn,nn'.  The speed at
           which the sample fades in is specified through 'S: nn' where a
           larger number fades in slower.

Fade Out   Fades the channel volume from its current setting to 0, 0.  The
           speed at which it fades out is specified through 'S: nn'.

Stop       Stops any sound coming from that channel.

Slide To   Slides the frequency from the current channel frequency to the
           frequency specified in 'F: nnnnn'.  The speed at which it slides
           is specified through 'S: nn'.

Fade To    Fades the volume from the channels current volume settings to
           the volume setting specified in 'V nn, nn'.  The speed at which
           the volume is faded is specified through 'S: nn'.

End Mod    Ends the current Module.

Chng Spd   Changes the speed at which the module plays.  The speed is
           changed through 'S: nn'.  0 is the fastest and 5 is the slowest.
           The default speed is 2.
           Speed 0: 32 rows a second are executed
           speed 1: 16 rows a second are executed
           speed 2: 8 rows a second are executed
           speed 3: 4 rows a second are executed
           speed 4: 2 rows a second are executed
           speed 5: 1 row a second is executed

Note: For Fade In, Fade Out, Fade To and Slide To, these commands are only
executed when the module is actually playing.  When the module stops
playing, these commands stop operating.

For an example of these commands, study the example song I have included
with the program.  See section '2-2 Loading The Example Song'.  This
demonstrates all of the commands apart from 'Fade To'.

If you have difficulty setting the correct frequency for the `Slide To'
command, here is a quick tip:  If you want to slide the frequency to a
specific note, then insert the note you wish to slide to and change that
notes command to `Slide To'.  The correct frequency for the note will be in
the Frequency (F:) field.



3-6  Playing A Module

If you want to play a module, select the module you wish to play.  The
current module can be changed by clicking on the arrow buttons next to
'Module:'.  Once you are on the module you wish to play, click on 'PLAY
MOD' or press F5.



3-7  Changing The Pattern

The pattern is the order in which the modules are played.  To change the
pattern, click on 'LINK MODS'.  The main window may look like this:

                    +
                    00  01  02  03
<-                  NA  NA  NA  NA  ->
                    -
(+ and - represent up and down arrow buttons)

NA means that there is currently no module being played at this position.
To add a number into the pattern, click on the up or down buttons.  This
will scroll through the modules to play at this position.  To move on to
the next position, click on the right arrow button.

To see an example of a pattern, load the example song (see Section '2-2
Loading The Example Song').  Try changing the values to different modules.

Note: When the Module player encounters NA it will stop playing the song.
It will also stop playing the song if the pattern contains a module that
does not exist.



3-8  Playing The Whole Song

Once you have finished writing your song, click on 'PLAY ALL' or press F4.
This will run through the entire song.  To stop the song playing, click on
'PLAY ALL' again or click on 'QUIET!'.



3-9  Toggling Channels

While a module or a song is playing, you may want to turn off some
channels.  To do this, simply click on the channel in the main window that
you wish to turn off.  The channel should then be highlighted in red.  If
you want to switch the channel back on, click on that channel again.



3-10  Saving A Song

To save a song, click on 'SAVE TRACK'.  Type the filename to call the song
and click on 'SAVE FILE' or press ENTER.



3-11 Loading A Song

To load a song, click on 'LOAD TRACK'.  Select the file you wish to load
and click on 'LOAD FILE' or press ENTER.



3-12 Clearing The Memory

You may want to clear the memory of all the modules and samples.  Click on
'CLEAR ALL' to perform this function.  You are given options to clear all
the modules and then to clear all the samples.



3-13 Copying A Module

A complete module may be copied to another.  Go to the module you wish to
copy from by clicking on the Module arrow buttons next to 'Module:'.  Now
click on 'COPY MOD' and select the module you wish to copy to.  Select 'OK'
and the module will be copied to its new position.



3-14  Keyboard Functions

Some of the functions can also be accessed through the keyboard.  Below is
a list of all the keyboard functions:

Key Press       Function
--------------------------------------------------------------------
   F2           Decreases the current octave.  All new samples
                inserted into the module will play an octave lower.
   F3           Increases the current octave.  All new samples
                inserted into the module will play an octave higher.
   F4           Same as clicking on the 'Play All' button.
   F5           Same as clicking on the 'Play Mod' button.
 F7 / F8        Increase / Decrease current left volume.
 F9 / F10       Increase / Decrease current right volume.
 <SPACE>        Blanks the command the cursor is over in the module.
 <DELETE>       Deletes the command the cursor in over and moves the
                entire channel up one space.
 <INSERT>       Inserts a blank space where the cursor is and moves
                the entire channel down one space.
 <ARROW>        Moves the module cursor in the direction pressed.
 <PAGE UP>      Moves the module cursor up a page.
 <PAGE DOWN>    Moves the module cursor down a page.
 <HOME>         Moves the module cursor to the top of the module.
 <END>          Moves the module cursor to the bottom of the module.
  + / -         Increase / Decrease current sample number.
 <ESC>          Same as clicking on the 'Quit' button.



4-1  Sampling Hints

When sampling your own sounds, it is important that you match the sampling
frequency to the frequency table internal to Sonic Boom.  For example, if
you wanted to sample a trumpet sound you could set your sampling software
to record at a frequency of 8268 and then play the trumpet at C.

Below is a list of notes, and frequency values:

Note      Frequency
 C          8268
 D          9313
 E          10408
 F          11059
 G          12461
 A          13932
 B          15659

To get a good reproduction of a sound, I recommend setting the sampling
software to 11059 and playing an F on the instrument you are recording.



4-2  Configuration Notes

The program should accurately auto-detect the sound card you have installed
but it still needs three other pieces of information to run.  These are the
Port Address, DMA and IRQ numbers of your card.  If the 'BLASTER='
environment string exists then the information is retrieved from here.  If
this does not exist then the file 'CONFIG.INF' is read.  This contains the
information Sonic Boom requires.

If the program does not work, try changing the values in 'CONFIG.INF' to
the correct setting for your card.



4-3  About The Program

I first had the idea to write Sonic Boom after I had first developed all
the sound routines.  At first, I only intended to create basic digital
sounds over multiple channels for a game I was writing, but the sound
reproduction was so good I wrote a music program instead.  The program took
about three weeks to write after I had developed all the sound routines.

This is the first full program I have released so I don't know the reaction
people will have with it.  If you like it, hate it or think it needs major
improvements then please write and tell me.  In the future I may release
programs to play the songs in the background of DOS, or an .OBJ file for
programmers.  If you have any suggestions or need some help, my CompuServe
number is at the top of the document.



4-4  History

Version 1.00          Released 14 June 1994
 Fixed bug with playing Linked modules that don't exist
 (Still don't know whether the SB PRO works with it yet!)
 Made some very slight internal speed ups
 Four external files are included into the .EXE file
 You can now run SONIC.EXE regardless of current directory
 Included a README.TXT and QSTART.DOC helper file
 Wrote section '3-14 Keyboard Functions' into the documentation
 Wrote section '4-4  History' into the documentation
 Increase/Decrease Octave option added (Press Key F2 or F3)

Version 1.01          Released 28 June 1994



4-5  General Information

This program is freeware.  You may freely distribute it to whoever you wish
provided all the files (CONFIG.INF, EXAMPLE.SB, QSTART.DOC, SONIC.DOC,
SONIC.EXE, SONIC.SPR) remain together, intact and unmodified.

The author of this software (Tobias Downer) shall not be liable for any
damages whatsoever that may result, directly or indirectly, from the use of
this software or documentation.