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COMMODORE 64/128K
User Manual
98 pgs911.95 Kb0

Rain Bird COMMODORE 64/128K User Manual

THE MUSIC SYSTEM
COMMODORE
64/128K
ADVANCED
D64 ATTACHED
TO THIS PDF
Additional design/help/support/encouragement from:
Brian Jones (ISLAND LOGIC) Keith Shaw (SYSTEM) Sue Shaw (SYSTEM) Steve Swallow (SYSTEM)
ii
AMS DEVELOPMENT TEAM ii
INTRODUCTION 2
EDITOR 10
KEYBOARD 37
SYNTHESISER 44
MIDI 63
THE PRINTER MODULE 73
LINKER 81
INDEX 86
APPENDIX 93
CONTENTS
THE MUSIC SYSTEM
ADVANCED
COMMODORE
64/128K
2
The Music System TMS is a comprehensive microcomputer-based music program for creating, editing, playing and printing music. The system allows easy input and storage of music which can then be played back through the Commodore 64 internal sound system, or through an external MIDI keyboard/synthesiser. Music can be printed out in proper musical notation together with lyrics.
The music is entered in various ways: through an extremely versatile EDITOR in written music format (note at a time). Via an on-screen piano KEYBOARD emulator, or via an externally connected MIDI keyboard. Each of these three input modes can create music files compatible with all other modules. The LINKER can connect these music files together to form much larger compositions. An understanding of the power as well as the limita­tions of TMS can be gained through experience with the EDITOR module. This module provides a central reference for the rest of the system, its highly flexible step by step music input producing very accurate results.
The types of sound that can be generated are almost unlimited due to the flexibility of the SYNTHESISER module. This allows you to create the shapes of the sounds simply and quickly. The sound shapes (ENVE­LOPES) are incorporated into the music using the EDITOR, KEYBOARD or MIDI modules, to give you amazing versatility over your compositions.
INTRODUCTION
The six modules are directly accessible from the CONTROL SCREEN. Each module is identifiable by its own symbol or icon. When applicable data files are preserved when moving from module to module.
Editor Keyboard Synthesiser
Linker Printer Midi
3
TMS is loaded from disk via the Commodore 1541 disk drive after typing LOAD“TMS”,8,1 and pressing RETURN. The Commodore 64 also allows you to enter LOAD“*”,8,1 (RETURN). After the Island Logic/System Copy­right screen has appeared the main TMS program will load automatically. The loading will stop at the CONTROL SCREEN waiting for you to select a module. When moving from one module to the next, you must always pass through this screen. The highlighted icon is the one which may be run. Press SPACE or SHIFT SPACE to select the next icon. Keep pressing to get back to the original. Once selected the required module can be run by pressing RETURN. Make sure that the TMS system disk is in your disk drive before trying to load a module, otherwise an error message pop-up will appear.
In general SPACE is used throughout the system to move a highlight or select an operation.
When in the module return to the CONTROL screen by pressing function key F5 to activate the command line pop-up. Use SPACE to move the highlight bar over the EXIT command (eg. EXIT KEYBOARD) and press RETURN. A short cut back to the CONTROL SCREEN can be achieved via the COM CLR/HOME key pair. The COM key or Commodore key is at the bottom left of the keyboard. Make sure the TMS system disk is in the disk drive before leaving a module.
Moving around the MUSIC SYSTEM
TMS CONTROL SCREEN - EDITOR ICON SELECTED.
THE MUSIC SYSTEM
4
In each of the modules the command line provides easy access to the available functions of TMS. Any command line pop-up menu can be activat­ed by pressing one of the four commodore function keys, and de-activated by pressing the same function key. Try selecting each of the command line pop-ups.
The command line
You will notice that each of the pop-ups except INFO F7 has a horizontal HIGHLIGHT bar or cursor which can be moved by pressing the SPACE bar. This highlight cursor can also be moved in the opposite direction by holding down SHIFT while pressing the SPACE bar. The highlight cursor is used to select the function you intend to use.
Menu auto-scroll
In some cases, when the highlight reaches the bottom of a pop-up menu, the menu itself will automatically scroll up, displaying new functions. It is important to remember this feature. If you are looking for a particular function and can’t see it within the selected pop-up, scroll the highlight cursor up or down to auto-scroll the menu itself. You may reset the menu after an autoscroll by pressing the function key to pop-down the menu window and pressing the same key again to pop it back up.
Info Files Values Commands
f1
f3
f5
f7
Info Files Values Commands
f1
RETURN
SPACE
SPACE SHIFT
Catalogue
Load
Save
Rename
Pop-up/pop-down Activate selection
↓ Down
↑ Up
5
The menu scrolls in a loop, a broken line showing the top of menu.
The SHIFT SPACE key combination causes the reverse to occur. When the highlight reaches the top of the pop-up window the menu auto scrolls down.
Each item within the VALUES pop-up represents a value that can be changed. For example when TEMPO or KEY SIGNATURE are selected, the value can be changed using either the Q or W keys. These keys are used throughout the system to change values.
The INFO pop-up only provides information and you can not directly change it. Quantities such as available space, the size of individual voices, and the values of important controls are displayed. This is the information that you will often need to check during the operation of TMS.
Info Files Values Commands
Key signature
Save
Time signature
Tempo
Resolution
Volume
Filter
Voice
F # 6 sharps
Save
4/4
Presto
Expert
15
3
3
f3
Pop-up/pop-down
SPACE
↓ Down
Highlight bar
Tempo
Save
Resolution
Volume
Filter
Voice
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Key signature
Presto
Save
Expert
15
3
3
F # 6 sharps
Auto scroll
Top of menu
6
The FILES pop-up and the COMMANDS pop-up both expect you to activate a selected function by pressing RETURN. Often the action of pressing RETURN will produce one or more secondary pop-ups either as a second interactive window, or as simple messages or warnings. Remember, press­ing the same function key will close down the window.
FILES
The most important function of the COMMAND LINE is to control the loading and saving of files. Depending upon which module you are in, TMS uses up to six different types of file.
Music files - Prefix m. Music as created by the EDITOR, KEYBOARD, or converted from MIDI. Music files can be loaded into the LINKER, MIDI, SYNTHESISER or PRINTER.
Sound files - Prefix s. Created and/or edited by the SYNTHESISER and are used by the EDITOR, LINKER and KEYBOARD modules. Each sound file can store 15 different instrument sounds.
Info Files Values Commands
Track Events
Free 9999
9999
9999
9999
9999
9999
9999
1
2
3
4
5
6
Info Files Values Commands
f5
RETURN
Save
Pop-up/pop-down
Activate selection
SPACE
Select command
Clear all tracks
Metronome
Voice monitor window
Exit midi
Delete track
7
Midi files - Prefix x. Created via the MIDI module, and require an external midi keyboard and interface. Midi files are easily converted to TMS music files for use by the EDITOR and back to MIDI files for playback through a MIDI.
Linker files - Prefix l. These files can only be created and used by the LINKER. They use music ( m. ) files to produce much longer and more complex compositions than the EDITOR or KEYBOARD alone can provide.
Notepad files - Prefix n. These are special files that are used by the EDITOR to allow you to ‘cut and paste’ sections of music between voices or even between music files
Text files - Prefix t. These files are created and used by the PRINTER module: they are files of Lyrics that are normally associated with specific music files.
It is very important that you ensure, when loading and saving files, that the file is of the correct type. It is possible that two or more files can have the same file name but different file types. ie. s.jazz is a sound file whereas m.jazz is a music file.
Examples x.rock midi file m.sonata music file s.piano sound file l.bigtune linker file t.words text file n.goodbit notepad file
FILES options
To CATALOGUE the files available to the module you are in, first select the FILES pop-up by pressing f1. Then move the highlight, using the SPACE key, to select CATALOGUE. Press RETURN and wait a few moments. If the disk contains any available files, then these will be displayed within a CATALOGUE pop-up. Press RETURN to close the pop-up.
To LOAD a file, select the FILES pop-up f1, move the highlight bar to LOAD press RETURN. After a few moments a pop-up will appear with a catalogue of files available to the module. Move the highlight over the file you wish to
8
load and press RETURN. After a short delay the file will be loaded into the module. If the filing system can’t find a file or encounters some other problem, a pop-up message will occur.
To SAVE a file select the FILES pop-up f1 move the highlight to SAVE and press RETURN. A small save pop-up will occur and wait for you to type in
afilename.The←keycanbeusedtochangethefiletype.Makesurethat
you use the correct file type. If you try to save a musical composition as a sound (s.) file, then the current sound set will be saved, and not the music. When you have entered a file name next to its correct file type prefix, press RETURN and the file will be saved to the current disk. You cannot save files to the TMS system disk. It is write protected. You will need a new disk to save new or edited files.
To RENAME a file select the FILES pop-up and move the highlight to RENAME (as above) and press RETURN. A catalogue will be displayed. Move the highlight to the file you want to rename, press RETURN and type in the new name. Press RETURN and the file will be renamed. You may use the CATALOGUE option to check the renamed file.
You may DELETE a file in the similar way. A catalogue will allow you to select the file you wish to delete.
Load sound 2
m.sonata
m.rockroll
m.jazz
s.woodwind
music
s.effects
Rename
m.rockroll
m.jazz
s.woodwind
m.reggae
s.effects
m.sonata
Rename
m.sonata
Save music
m.
SOUND 1
SOUND 2
↕
←
←
CHANGE FILE TYPE
midi
sound
linker
notepad
9
TMS may not function correctly if additional, or worse still exotic hardware add-ons, are connected to your Commodore 64. The disk filing system may not operate correctly when used in areas with a poor or fluctuation mains power supply. Large magnetic fields generated by some TV’s and loud­speaker systems could also create problems. Keep your disk drive in good condition and operate it away from the above mentioned demons.
Filing Errors
If the disc drive reports any problems during filing operations, these will be shown as “Disk Error XX” pop-ups. Look in your 1541 Disc Drive manual to find out the nature of the error. (Refer to “DOS ERROR MESSAGES”)
The most likely errors are:
1) Disc Error 21 - No disc in the disc drive! It can also mean that your disk is unformatted; or, more seriously, your disc drive is faulty.
2) Disc Error 26 - This happens if the disc is “write-protected”, and probably means you are trying to save files to the System disk.
* Do not attempt to VALIDATE a disk which contains TMS files, as this may result in the files being erased.
* All TMS filing operations only work on TMS files, so, for example, non­TMS files will not be displayed in the catalogue, and cannot be renamed, deleted etc.
* New discs must be “formatted” on the CBM64 before they can be used to store files. If you have a new (unformatted) disc, then before loading TMS, put the new disc in the disc drive and type:
OPEN 15,8,15,”NEW0:name,ID” <return> CLOSE 15 <return>
N.B. Refer to the “NEW” command in your Disc Drive User’s Manual.
Audio Link. With care you can easily connect your Commodore and TMS to your HI FI, with spectacular results. Connect your HI Fl lead to pins 2 and 3 of your video DIN. (C64’s programmers reference guide.) Shield to pin 2 and core to pin 3.
WARNING
10
The EDITOR module provides all the facilities of a wordprocessor; writing, displaying and editing music rather than words. The EDITOR can of course play the tunes as well! Tunes may be entered directly on the staves, played and edited using the very comprehensive facilities available within the EDITOR. The EDITOR also provides the unique function of displaying and editing tunes entered via the KEYBOARD and MIDI modules. There is even a command for ‘tidying up’ the results of your accomplishments with a keyboard! The EDITOR also provides the finished files for the PRINTER module and can also create tunes and backing tracks for both the SYN­THESISER and MIDI modules.
EDITOR
The EDITOR displays notes within the selected four octave range on treble and bass staves together with the appropriate key and time signatures. One of the three voices may be displayed, scrolled through (with or without playing) or edited at any time. You may flip instantaneously between voices at exactly the same point in a tune and play selected voices together from any note. The barmeter device shows you exactly where you are in a tune.
Music can be transposed instantly into any available key with the insertion of the appropriate accidentals. Music can be entered in practically any time signature with the facility for automatically entering barlines and ties where necessary. Most common musical notation is catered for including triplets, ties and repeats. The versatile loop sections may be used and edited in this module.
Editor
11
The EDITOR features many powerful facilities for editing musical composi­tions. There are block move, copy and delete facilities just like most wordprocessors and even a notepad for storing sections of music for later use. The EDITOR also includes many MACRO editing facilities for the more advanced user.
The EDITOR screen
The EDITOR module can be selected from the CONTROL screen by highlighting the EDITOR icon and pressing RETURN.
The screen consists of a large Voice Monitor Window (VMW) at the bottom displaying the notes in any one of the voices; a barmeter followed by the barnumber, volume, envelope and notename devices. A Free Space device also appears in the top left of the VMW. You can return to the CONTROL screen by accessing Commands: Exit Editor or pressing COMM-HOME.
The following sections briefly describe each of the EDITOR devices. Move on to ‘Entering and playing notes - a quick guide’ if you really want to start composing straight away! (p.14)
VMW
The Voice Monitor Window displays a part of the tune stored in memory. A tune can have up to three voices and the VMW can show a small part of
Info Files Values Commands
1
2
3
125 15 15 40
12
one of those voices. The window can be flipped between voices by pressing
1, 2, or 3. The notes in that voice can be scrolled through the window using [ and ]. You can also hear them as they scroll by using SHIFT-RUN/STOP.
The diagram below shows the VMW looking into part of Voice 2.
Inside the VMW there is a white vertical band called the note cursor. This marks the ‘current note’ - the one that can be edited or sounded. When notes scroll past they sound when they reach the cursor column. When flipping between voices the current note in the new voice is the one that would have been playing at the same time as the current note in the previous voice. If there wasn’t a note playing then it will go to the last note in that voice. You can therefore flip easily between voices knowing that the notes ‘line up’. The VMW also displays the appropriate key and time signatures selected from Values.
Free Space
The EDITOR free space device is within the VMW and shows you how many notes you can add to your tune before running out of space. It also takes into account the space you have used up for your notepad. Look at Info to see what the notepad size is.
Barmeter
The EDITOR barmeter indicates the overall length of each voice relative to the others. Each voice is expanded to include all repeats. The barmeter cursor shows you where you are within a tune and moves left and right as you scroll backwards and forwards through a voice. The highlighted voice
Voice 1
Voice 2
Voice 3
[ ]
Free 792
13
number on the left indicates the current voice being displayed on the VMW. If you flip between voices then the barmeter cursor will not move unless the new voice is shorter. You can move the barmeter cursor quickly through a tune using SHIFT-[ and SHIFT-]. When you release the keys the note cursor will point to the new section of music in that voice.
The small playback indicators on the righthand end of the barmeter are highlighted when voices are selected for playback. They remain highlighted until switched off. SHIFT-1 is used to switch voice 1 on or off, SHIFT-2 to switch voice 2 etc. Any combination of voices may be played back (includ­ing none!) irrespective of the current voice displayed on the VMW.
The playback indictors also show whether a voice is being played as a whole voice or as a loop section. An S indicates a loop section. Loop sections are intended to be used for repeated rhythm tracks, bass lines and accompaniments and are set from Values.
Bar number
The bar number device indicates the number of the current bar displayed by the VMW. Unlike the barmeter, repeats are ignored. When flipping between voices the bar number might not necessarily remain the same since it only counts the barlines and not the duration of the notes.
1
2
3
1
S
2 3
Barmeter cursor
Current voice on VMW
1 2 3
Active playback voices
SHIFT
[ ]
SHIFT SHIFT
16
14
Volume and envelope
These devices display the volume and envelope associated with the current note on the VMW. The volume setting is an additional volume and can only be used in voice 1. The overall (or global) volume is set from Values. The envelope number for the current note is changed using Z and X.
Notename
For those of you who can not remember F-A-C-E or Every-Good-Boy­Deserves-Favours the notename device displays the octave, notename and accidental for the current note on the VMW. The key signature and any previous accidentals in the bar are taken into account. The notename for a rest is blank.
Entering and playing notes - a quick guide
The Editor is a very powerful composing tool with many facilities. This section is intended as an introduction - as you become more familiar with the basic commands you can launch yourself into the advanced editing facilities, set up the user parameters from Values, attack macros and get to grips with the notepad… adjust barlines… clock tidy… etc.
Notes are always entered directly on the treble and bass staves at the note cursor. If there are no notes in the voice the current note is shown in blue. If there are notes already there, you may delete all notes by accessing Commands: Clear music. A blue note has not yet been stored in memory.
A
Voice 1 volume
2
10
3C
f
S
Z
X
<>
<>
Envelope
↑
=
Pitch
15
It always appears at the end of a voice ready to be entered. The pitch, duration and envelope of this note can all be changed before it is entered.
Enter the note by pressing RETURN. If autosound is on the note will be heard. The newly entered note moves to the left and a similar note appears under the note cursor. Again this note may be edited and entered into memory by pressing RETURN. If you want to hear the note before it is entered press *. This is very useful when changing envelopes.
Once a note has been entered you can easily edit it by moving the note to the cursor position and changing the pitch, duration, etc.
This time the note will appear black because it is a real note stored as part of the voice. You can press * to preview the note and press RETURN to move on to the next one. You could just as well press [ or ] to move onto another note.
To remove a note (it must be a real one!) move it to the cursor column and press DEL. To add another note to the end of a voice, scroll to the last note and press RETURN. A blue note will appear again for you to edit and enter as before.
As more notes are added to a voice barlines will begin to appear automati­cally according to the time signature. You may even find that some of the notes are automatically tied across a barline for you! In other cases you might be told that the bar is too long and the notes can not be fitted in. Press
↑
=
Pitch
Z X
<>
Envelope
Q
Duration
W
<>
[ ]
*
Sound note
RETURN
Enter note
Scroll music
16
SPACE and change the duration of the note so that the bar will be the correct length. The autobar and autotie parameters may be switched off in Values if necessary.
Having entered some notes move to the beginning of the voice and play the notes in that voice by pressing SHIFT-RUN/STOP. The notes will play and scroll right to the end. You can stop them playing by pressing RUN/STOP again. You can start and stop playing at any point in the voice. Notice how the barmeter keeps track of the notes you have entered in the voice and how the barmeter cursor shows where you are as you scroll through. You can move through a voice more quickly using SHIFT-[ and SHIFT-] to fast rewind and fast forward. This time the notemeter cursor moves left or right without the music scrolling. Let go of the keys and the VMW will update itself to the new part of the music. Look at the barnumber device to see which bar you have reached. You can jump straight to the beginning of the tune by pressing COMM-[ or to the end of the voice by pressing COMM-]. Remember that you have to press RETURN to get a blue note at the end again.
So far you have only used one voice and we’ll assume that you have been entering notes in voice 1. Press 2 and you will be at the start of voice 2 - at a blue note again because no notes have yet been entered. Check that the barmeter shows number 2 highlighted on the left. Enter notes in exactly the same way as before until both voices are the same length. You can flip to voice 1 by pressing 1 and back again with 2. Move to the start of voice 2 and press RUN/STOP. Both voices will play together without scrolling the music. Press RUN/STOP again to stop playback before the end of the tune. If both voices do not play then check that the playback indicators are all highlighted (on). On pressing RUN/STOP only those voices set for playback are heard. If none are on then you will not bear anything although the tune will actually be playing! Press SHIFT-1 to switch voice 1 on/off; SHIFT-2 for voice 2, etc.
[ ]
Scroll left
Fast rewind
Move to start
Play voice
SHIFT [
SHIFT
SHIFT
RUN
STOP
]
]
[
C
=
C
=
RUN
STOP
Scroll right
Fast forward
Move to end
Stop playback
17
Try adding a third voice in the same way as above but this time experiment with the envelope settings. Each note can have a different sound envelope attached to it. There are 15 envelopes available in sound set 1. Use Z and X to change the envelope number. Remember that you can preview the sound with * before entering it. You can always return to any note and change its envelope setting again. A whole sound set containing another 15 envelopes can be loaded into the EDITOR and this could change the sound of all the notes already entered.
Your new tune can be saved in the normal way through Filing. Press f1, select the Save option and press RETURN. Type your filename and press RETURN again. Remember that you need your own data disc in the disc drive and not the A.M.S. disc when you save a file. Your tune will remain in memory after saving it. A new tune could also be loaded but remember that this will delete your current tune and replace the sound set.
More on editing
Accidentals
Accidentals can be added to any note by pressing the relevant key. Notes are automatically put in the correct key according to the selected key signature so there is no need to put in sharps and flats where they are already shown in the key signature. If you require a note to be a natural, press U. Press J to cancel any accidental and therefore leave the note in the selected key.
In the EDITOR music is entered in proper musical notation. The usual convention of only showing accidentals once in a bar is adhered to. If a particular note, say C is made sharp (C#) any further C’s at that pitch will be assumed sharp for the rest of that bar unless cancelled by a natural or any other accidental.
The EDITOR also uses double sharps and double flats. They do not appear in the most commonly used key signatures and are only usually used when
L K J H G U
18
transposing tunes from one key to another (see the section on key signa­ture for more details on transposition).
Rests
The current note can be switched to a rest by pressing SPACE. A rest can be switched back to a note by pressing SPACE again. Whilst switched to a rest the duration can still be set using Q and W. Any note below middle C will be switched to a rest on the bass stave, otherwise it will appear on the treble stave. Rests can be moved up or down between the staves. Rests can be tied together although, since there is no sound, it is not really necessary!
Ties
A real (black) note at the cursor may be tied to the previous note if it is of the same pitch. Blue notes can not be tied directly - they must be entered first. The envelope number (and volume) of the second note in the tie is taken from the first note. The tied pair will sound and move as one note with a duration equal to their total duration. A tie is removed by pressing T again. Notes may be tied across barlines but not across repeat markers (or loop sections).
Triplets
Semiquavers, quavers, crotchets, minims and semibreves can be changed into a set of three notes with the same overall duration called a triplet. If you want three crotchet triplets, set the current note to a minim and press R.
Switch
T
Switch
SPACE
R
Switch
3
19
Press R to turn the three notes back to a minim again. Once entered, the pitch, envelope (and volume) of any of the notes may be changed. You cannot change the duration! You can not delete any single note in a triplet… the entire triplet will disappear! Barlines cannot be inserted within a triplet.
Barlines and repeats
Pressing 4 will enter a barline to the right of the current note/rest. Barlines may be entered at any point in a voice except between triplets and in front of the very first note. In fact, there are no restrictions on the use of barlines in the EDITOR. Other barline symbols are entered in the same way and although there are no restrictions on their use, unusual positioning of repeat symbols will produce unusual results! Barlines can be removed by pressing
0.
Barlines are entered automatically at the end of a voice if the autobar facility is on. This is set in Values. If the autotie facility is also on, then the EDITOR will usually be able to make each bar the correct length according to the time signature. This is often accomplished by splitting the entered note into two parts and tying across the barline. With autobar on, the EDITOR will not automatically enter a bar of incorrect length at the end of a voice: Another method of checking and automatically entering barlines is via Commands: Adjust barlines.
After complete bars have been entered, changing the duration of a note within a bar will make the bar length incorrect according to the time signature. The EDITOR does not check for this directly since you may actually want to insert a 3 beat bar in a nominally 4/4 time signature. However, you can easily check each voice for correct barlengths using Commands: Check barlines. When notes are deleted the attached barline or repeat symbol is also deleted. The start of repeat symbol (key 5) is implied at the beginning of each voice and by inserting an end of repeat symbol (key 6) further on in the voice the tune will repeat from the beginning again.
1
2
loop section
4
5 6 7 8 9 0 £
20
Repeats cannot be nested. However, the tune will not stop playing whatev­er you enter in the way of repeats, first and second time bars. Here are some examples of what will happen:
The first time bar symbol (key 7) marks the start of a first time bar. In fact, there can be any number of bars before the end of repeat symbol. If you forget to put in the repeat symbol after the first time bar symbol it will just be ignored. The second time bar symbol (key 8) is normally used to mark the end of a first time bar. The double bar symbol (key 9) and behaves just like a normal barline. The final symbol (key £) marks the start of a loop section. These are described fully in ‘Loop Sections’. However, if a voice is played as a whole voice (with Section off) then these markers behave as normal barlines.
When playing and scrolling through a single voice with SHIFT-RUN/ STOP the repeat markers and 1st and 2nd time bars are ignored. The notes on the stave play purely in the sequence they appear. When playing voices with RUN/STOP all repeat symbols are obeyed. The EDITOR keeps a note on whether you are first or second time through a particular repeat section. You can often see this from the position of the barmeter cursor which counts the voice in expanded mode. When playing all voices from within a repeat section that section will not be repeated again if you are second time through. If you have scrolled into the repeat section in that voice it is
plays A-B, B-C, B-C, C-D, C-D
Note that the symbol at B acts as a ÕÓ where necessary
plays A-B, B-C, B-C
A
B
C D
A B C
A
B C D
plays A-B, A-B, B-C, B-C, C-D
21
assumed that you are first time through. However, if you have entered from another voice perhaps without a repeat section then you could quite likely be second time through. This feature allows for flipping between voices and ending back at the same point irrespective of repeats in any or all of the voices. When scrolling past an end of repeat symbol (1st time through) the barmeter cursor will jump forwards indicating that the second time through that section has been missed out.
Pressing SHIFT together with ↑ will increase the pitch of a note by 1 octave assuming that the new note is still within range and there are no accidentals in effect in that bar. Press SHIFT-= to go the other way. This command is particularly useful when used as a macro command for transposing sec­tions of a voice by an octave (see Commands: Set macro).
Inserting notes
Notes can always be added to the end of each voice if there is sufficient free space. Look at Info to see what is available and how much has been used in each voice. Notes can be inserted into a voice by pressing +. An extra note is generated at the cursor position and the notes are pushed one space to the right. The extra note will be identical to the original one. You can change the pitch, duration, etc. in the normal way. Note that the bar you are in might not now contain the correct number of beats. + is inactive at the 2nd and 3rd parts of a triplet. At the 1st triplet note, + inserts a single note of the same duration as the whole triplet. Whole sections may be inserted in a voice using the notepad facilities (see Files - notepad).
↑
=
SHIFT
SHIFT
Insert note
+
22
Deleting notes
Notes may be deleted forwards or backwards from the cursor position. DEL deletes the current note and the notes to the left are pulled in by one space. If DEL is kept depressed the effect is to ‘suck in’ the notes from the left eventually arriving at the start of the voice. – deletes in the other direction and if kept depressed will delete all notes to the end of the voice. The delete operation removes any barline symbol which is to the right of the current note.
You cannot delete ONE part of a triplet… all three notes will be erased. A blue note at the end of a voice cannot, of course, be deleted since it is not yet stored. To delete large sections of a voice access Commands: Block delete. Use Commands: Clear music to delete all voices.
Volume
Due to the nature of the CBM64 hardware it is only possible to sound all notes at one particular volume at any time. This means that you cannot set different voices at different volumes directly. However, TMS does allow you to change the volume of a tune in a number of different ways.
Firstly there is an overall volume control in Values. This is called the global volume since it affects all notes alike. Secondly you can give each note in VOICE 1 an additional volume called the voice 1 increment. When voices are played back together the actual volume is equal to the global volume (from Values) PLUS the voice 1 increment (for the note playing in voice 1 at that time). If there is not a note playing in voice 1 then there will be no increment. However, it doesn’t matter if voice 1 is turned on or off - the increment is still added. When voices 2 and 3 are played and scrolled, TMS
Delete left
DEL
Delete right
–
A
Voice 1 volume
S
< >
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can not take account of what’s happening to the volume in voice 1 because of repeats, etc. In this case the actual volume is equal to the global volume plus the volume increment for THE FIRST NOTE in voice 1.
It does mean that you are able to add dynamics to voice 1 and the rest of the tune will follow suit. The volume device is only active in voice 1 where the volume increment of each note can be set to between 0 and 15 using A and S. If the note volume plus the global volume is greater than 15 the volume device is shown in blue. This is because the hardware will not accept a volume greater than 15. If you set the global volume to 0 you have the whole range of dynamics available to you in voice 1 and hence in the rest of the tune. However, perhaps the best way to start is to set the global volume to say 7 and use volume increments of between 0 and 8 for dynamics.
Despite having to play the notes in all voices at the same volume at any particular time there are two ways of changing the effective volume be­tween voices. You can choose or define a filter (in the SYNTHESISER) which reduces the actual volume of a note. Since the filter can be on or off in any voice this gives a fair measure of control. Finally changing the shape of a note - the ADSR part of the envelope can considerably soften the note.
Markers
One or two markers may be used in each voice to assist in the editing of a tune. Markers are inserted under the current note by pressing M and deleted by pressing M again. Pairs of markers are required to define a section of a voice by many Commands including Macros. They are also particularly useful for labelling the start of a particular section of a voice. If you need to play and scroll a single voice from a set point several times, position a marker there and use the < key to locate it again. A marker to the right of the cursor can be found by pressing >.
Switch marker on/off Marker
M
~
24
If markers are set they are displayed under the bass clef as either | or } depending on whether the marker is to the left or right of the cursor. You can therefore always see at a glance where the markers are.
There are other commands for moving markers. Accessing Commands: Markers to ends moves the markers to the start and end of the voice, and Commands: Delete markers removes both markers from the current voice. You can move either marker to the cursor using the following:
Moving the cursor
The note cursor is initially in the centre of the screen. For convenience it can be moved left or right.
Loop sections
Loop sections are an important feature of TMS. They can be created in the EDITOR or KEYBOARD as part of a normal music file. They are intended
Find marker left
<
Find marker right
>
One marker to left of cursor
~
|} }| }
|
Cursor between two markers
Both marker to right of cursor
Cursor at right hand marker
Move marker left of cursor to cursor position
<
Move marker right of cursor to cursor position
>
SHIFT
SHIFT
Move cursor to left
CTRL
[
]
Move cursor to right
CTRL
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to be used for repeated rhythm tracks, bass lines, etc. and are especially useful in the SYNTHESISER sequencer, KEYBOARD and MIDI for real time backing tracks. A loop section is a section of a voice or whole voice which when played as part of a tune keeps on repeating until the whole tune has finished. If all voices with notes in are loop sections then once started they will all repeat indefinitely until playback is halted.
There may be up to 20 different consecutive loop sections within each voice. This means that a whole voice of say 20 rhythm patterns can be loaded in or constructed enabling you to literally dial up a different rhythm accompaniment whenever you need to.
Every voice can be considered as a single loop section and can be set as such in Values. A start of loop section marker (|) is implied at the start of every voice. A | is not required to end a loop section. To set up more than one loop section enter a loop section marker by pressing £. Look at Info to see how many sections there are in a voice. A | placed after the last note will give an extra loop section containing no notes. If Section is not set in Values (Info will say Section is off) the | markers are treated as normal barlines. If Section is set to all then the whole voice is treated as one loop section and repeats indefinitely. The playback indicators on the barmeter will also display an S if section is set.
If the current voice has Section set then the note cursor will always be within that loop section. The section, bounded by |, start or end of voice, is treated EXACTLY as if it was a whole voice and all editing commands are available within it. The VMW will show any notes in neighbouring loop sections (if any) but these will not be accessible.
The next start of loop section marker, if any, may be switched to a normal barline by pressing 4 and the loop section will be extended to the next | or end of voice whichever is reached first. The Section number remains the same and the number of Sections decremented. A | may also be inserted within a loop section. In this case the Section number and number of Sections are incremented by one.
£
Delete loop section marker
0
Enter start of loop section marker
26
The beginning of loop section marker which is implied in section 1 (start of voice) cannot be accessed since it belongs to the last note of the previous loop section. If Section is changed in Values the note cursor will move to the start of the specified loop section. If you want to browse through available loop sections set Section off.
If Section is set the barmeter displays the length of that voice as the length of the particular section irrespective of the length of the entire voice. Because loop sections can be repeated several times (it might even consist of just one note!) the barmeter cursor can go past the end of a loop section bar. It is assumed that the loop section continues until the end of the longest voice (or loop section). Do not worry because the EDITOR knows exactly how many times the loop section has been repeated and will always enter the loop section at the correct point when flipping between voices .
You can scroll backwards and forwards through a loop section or use SHIFT-[ and SHIFT-] to fast rewind and fast forward. However, you will never get beyond the bounds of the loop section and might not even be able to reach the end of a loop section if the barmeter cursor reaches the end of the longest voice. Press COMM-] to go to the end of the loop section the FIRST TIME THROUGH. The barmeter cursor will actually jump back­wards! COMM-[ is equivalent to moving to the start of the voice.
Markers are available within loop sections. As there are only two per voice, any markers set in a previous loop section will be deleted and hence available in the current loop section. Accessing Commands: Markers to ends places the markers at the ends of the loop section.
Normal repeats are active within a loop section. The start of loop marker (|) acts as a ||: if necessary just like at the beginning of a voice. Part or whole of a loop section may be copied or moved to the notepad (see Commands). Any | markers are converted to double bars (||) to avoid problems caused by moving too many loop sections. These will need to be switched back to | if the number of sections is less than 20.
A final point. If all voices are loop sections then play continues until aborted by RUN/STOP. In this case the barmeter cursor moves to the position of the last note played in the LONGEST SECTION. The corresponding notes in other voices will not necessarily be the last notes played unless all the loop sections are of the same length.
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Apart from the normal filing problem and status information, the Command line is used to set user parameters and access the many Commands available within the EDITOR. These are described below.
Files f1
Apart from the loading and saving of music files and sound sets, the EDITOR has access to notepad files. The notepad can be used to store all or part of a voice. Often it is used temporarily to move sections from one voice to another or to swap parts around within a voice (see Commands). However, the notepad can also be used to store and retrieve whole voices such as rhythm tracks and even to merge two music files together (see Hints and Tips).
A notepad file is loaded in the normal way. They can be recognised by their n. prefix. Notepads can range in size from ‘1 to 999 notes and will only be loaded if there is sufficient free space available. If the notepad is already in use then a warning is given before replacing it. None of the music parame­ters such as key signature or time signature are changed when a notepad is loaded. You will therefore have to be careful about key signatures since the music in the notepad could have been originally written in a different key.
The current notepad may be saved on disc at any time. It might be a good idea to make a note of the key signature it was composed in. You can always of course, load it in separately, move it to a voice, transpose it and save it as a notepad file once more.
The current notepad is erased when any music file is loaded. It is therefore important to save the notepad file before replacing the music file.
THE EDITOR Command line
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