GFmusic GFmusic 4.2 4.2 Sequencing For Thinking Musicians COPYRIGHT (C) 1988 ___________________ Gerald H. Felderman Tampa, FL ________________________________ All Rights Reserved ___________________ Release 4.2 ___________ 12/89 _____ ******************************************************** ________________________________________________________ Please note that the Table of Contents and Index are at the end of __________________________________________________________________ this file and they will print last. ___________________________________ ******************************************************** ________________________________________________________ Read This Read This ________________________ ________________________ Before you go any further, it is absolutely necessary that you understand the following : It is possible to use GFmusic as a simple multi-track tape recorder. However, it is much, much more than that. It is a full featured and rather sophisticated sequencer. Experience has shown that it is unlikely that one would be able to simply start the program and begin using it effectively right away. In its simplest form, GFmusic can be used as a basic 26 track sequencer. Many of you may want to initially use it this way while you are reading the manual and getting the hang of using its full functionality. To do this see the table of contents to find the section "Getting Started, Using GFmusic As A Simple 26 Track Sequencer". A sequencer with a lot of power and features takes some time to learn but will serve you well for a long time. The point is, it will take a little time to become effective with this, or any sequencer of equal capability. If you are familiar with Dr. T's KCS, you are most of the way there already because for both sequencers, the approach to sequencing is similar. If not, you will (if you are a little patient) be pleasantly surprised. However, the most productive way to learn is the following: Before you do anything, read the manual at least once, very carefully and thoughtfully before you ever 'fire up' the program. Next, go thru the manual slowly and carefully, following along with the exercises. The manual is tutorial in style and is primarily a teaching aid. It will step you thru all of the features of GFmusic as well as it's operational principles. It also serves as a reference via the index and table of contents. The manual is over 150 pages so plan on spending at least 3 hours for the first reading and about 10 to 20 hours over the course of at least a week for the tutorial (less for those familiar with Dr. T's). And then, after using GFmusic for a week or so, come back to the manual and read it again. I promise you, it will be time well spent. While you are going thru the manual, contemplate how you might use the features for your own composition, arrangement, and performing. GFmusic Reference 2 After making a backup copy of the GFmusic diskettes, make sure that you save the originals with the labels intact. You may need them to obtain replacements and/or discounts on further products. Finally, this sequencer is the result of MANY hours of labor. Software is not free. It is the result of someone's effort. I appeal to your sense of fairness in how you treat this product. GFmusic Reference 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ________________________ ________________________ "Dr. T's" and "KCS" are trademarks of Dr. T's Music Software Inc. There is no affiliation between GFmusic and Dr. T's. MPU 401 is a trademark of Roland Corp. IBM, PC-AT, PC-XT, and PC-DOS are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Side Kick is a trademark of Borland International. GFmusic was developed mostly with TURBO PASCAL from Borland International. In addition, a Programmer's tool kit available from Music Quest Inc. was also used. The executable file GFmusic.EXE contains run time routines that are the property of Borland International and Music Quest Inc. GFCONFIG.EXE contains run time routines that are the property of Borland International GFmusic Reference 4 WARRANTY AND OTHER WARRANTY AND OTHER LEGALESE LEGALESE ________________________ ________________________ The diskette(s) supplied with GFmusic is warranted to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 60 days. If you experience a problem with the diskette in this period of time, simply return it and GFmusic will refund or replace the diskette at its option. Additional warranty/guarantees may be found on the READ.ME file on the GFmusic program disk. GFmusic disclaims all other warranties, expressed or implied, and will in no event be liable for any loss of any kind. In addition, suitability of GFmusic for any purpose rests solely upon the customer to determine. GFmusic Reference 5 INSTALLATION INSTALLATION ________________________ ________________________ GFmusic is distributed on 5.25" and 3.5" floppy disks. Installing GFmusic is very easy. The first thing you should do is make a backup copy of the floppy disks that you received with GFmusic. GFmusic disks are not copy protected. To run GFmusic from a floppy drive, do the following : Put the disk with GFmusic programs into the floppy disk drive. If the drive you put the disk into is the "A" drive, type in "A:" and press enter. If it is the "B" drive, type in "B:" and press enter. This will put you 'in' the drive where GFmusic resides. Make sure you have a screen with a black background. If not, issue DOS CLS command, or change your prompt string to specify a black background. Now type in GFmusic and press Enter. To run GFmusic from a hard disk you will first need to copy the files from the GFmusic floppy to your hard drive. Do the following (assuming your hard disk is the "C" drive) : Type in "C:" and press enter. Then type in "CD\" and press enter. This will put you in the root directory of the "C" drive. Put the GFmusic disk in the "A" drive and type in "A:INSTALL". This will invoke a batch file that will create "A:INSTALL" ___________ a subdirectory named GFmusic. Then it will copy all files from the floppy disk to that subdirectory on the hard disk. To start GFmusic, type in "CD\GFmusic" and press enter. Is the screen background black? If not, see above for CLS and/or prompt string. Then type in "GFmusic" and press enter. Then type in "GFmusic" and press enter. GFmusic Reference 6 Color VS Monochrome Color VS Monochrome ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ GFmusic will run on an IBM PC or compatible with either color or monochrome monitors. For color, CGA is supported and GFmusic also works fine with EGA and VGA. In addition, color adapter cards that support these will also work, if they are IBM compatible. In general, any color system that claims color compatibility with CGA, EGA, or VGA will work fine. Monochrome is also supported. The program is written to support the IBM Monochrome Video Adapter but any compatible Monochrome Adapter will also work. Specifically, the Hercules Monochrome Card (or a compatible) will work. GFmusic is designed to automatically detect the type of Video Adapter you have installed in your computer based on your computer returning the correct information when "asked" about what type of Video Adapter is installed. If your PC is IBM compatible, there will be no problem and GFmusic will adjust to your display (Monochrome or Color). Finally, the manual is written as though you have a color system. For those of you with Monochrome, you should have no problem following along, especially if you follow the recommended practice of running the program while reading the text of the manual. In general, however, expect to see data entry fields in reverse video as opposed to a red background. Blinking is blinking whether color or monochrome. On the Play screen, you will see use of bright and underline as opposed to the use of color. Again, it should appear obvious to you what is going on if you run the program and do the exercises while following along with the text of the manual. For those of you with color, you can change your colors if they are difficult to see on your monitor. In a few pages this will be explained. GFmusic Reference 7 Your Midi Interface Your Midi Interface ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The above is how you install and run the GFmusic program which is designed to run on an IBM PC or PC/XT with a ROLAND MPU 401 Midi Interface. However, many of you will have 'clones' or 'compatibles' of the PC and/or MPU 401. Unfortunately, a few 'compatibles' are not so compatible. The subject can be confusing at best. Usually, incompatibilities result from the computer and/or Midi Interface using conflicting interrupts and/or I/O port addresses. To help alleviate this problem, some Midi Interface makers allow you to configure your Interface to use different Interrupts and Port addresses. However, to make this work, it requires that the software also be 'configurable' to the same addresses. GFmusic is flexible in this area. However, some 'compatibles' just can't be gotten along with. If you have not yet purchased a Midi Interface, look for one that is able to be reconfigured. In any event, GFmusic comes configured as though you were using a true IBM PC and a true ROLAND MPU 401 Midi Interface. But you can change the configuration, at least with respect to the Interrupts and Port Addresses from a software point of view in a manner much the same as you change these values with different Midi Interfaces. Some Midi Interfaces allow you to set the Interrupt and Port Addresses via switches on the Circuit board. If you have to do this you will also need to do the equivalent with GFmusic so that the software and hardware are synchronized with each other. To reconfigure GFmusic you will need to run program GFCONFIG and tell it what the new Interrupt is, and what the new base Port Address is. To do this, do the following : First, 'go to' the drive and/or directory where the GFmusic programs are. If you have the GFmusic program disk in the "A" drive, then type in "A:" and press enter. If you have installed onto a hard disk, type in "CD\GFmusic" and press enter. In either case, the next thing you need to do is to type in "GFCONFIG" GFCONFIG and press enter. This will start the configuration program. This program will first ask you for a new Interrupt value. You need to respond with a single digit (e.g. "7" or "2") and then press enter. Next, the program will ask you for the new base Port Address. Respond with 3 hex digits (e.g. "330" or "300" or "2A0", etc.) and press enter. The program will then reset the values in a file called "GFmusic.CFG". What values should you set ? We can't tell you that. However, they MUST BE THE SAME AS YOU SET ON THE MIDI INTERFACE YOU ARE INSTALLING. MUST BE THE SAME AS YOU SET ON THE MIDI INTERFACE YOU ARE INSTALLING. See the documentation for your Midi Interface. If it is unclear, call GFmusic Reference 8 the manufacturer and ask for an explanation or call the place where you purchased it. Even after you change the settings on the Midi Interface and reconfigure GFmusic accordingly, there is no guarantee that you will be successful. The source of the problem may be one of hardware manufacturers not being truly 'compatible'. In most cases however, the problem is a conflict between different 'add in' boards that may have been put in your PC. You may need to carefully read the documentation for whatever boards are in your PC (especially boards you put in your PC to support a mouse !!!!). The best way to do things is to eliminate all extra boards in your PC, then put in the Midi Interface. After you get this setup working, then add back in the other boards one at a time. If you end up with a problem, at least you know where the conflict is. When you start GFmusic, the first thing it tells you is how it is configured. I.e. what Interrupt it expects the Midi Interface to use and what Base Port Address it expects. GFmusic is distributed with these values initially set to $02 and $330 respectively (i.e. the 'ROLAND MPU 401' values). So, if you use GFCONFIG to reconfigure these values, you can verify they were set correctly just by starting GFmusic and reading the first message. _________________________________________________________________________ | | GFmusic is also available for the Optronics Basic Midi I/O interface | | available from Optronics Technologies. The Optronics interface is a | | low-cost interface that can be reconfigured to alternate IRQ and | | Ports. There is no difference in GFmusic functionality regardless | | which interface is used. Call Optronics at (503) 488-5040. | | | | GFmusic is also available for the CMS-404. | | _________________________________________________________________________ | | | | GFmusic can be configured for any of the interfaces supported by | | running program GFCONFIG. | | _________________________________________________________________________ | | GFmusic Reference 9 Changing Colors Changing Colors ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ For those of you who are using GFmusic with a color system, you'll be glad to know that you can change the colors. The colors that GFmusic is initially configured with were chosen to be clear and pleasing on most monitors. However, not every monitor displays colors the same. That is, some colors will show up well on some monitors and not so well on others. To attack this problem we provide a means for reconfiguring colors. First, you should use GFmusic for awhile and if there are situations where some information is difficult to see, make a note of what the "offending" color is. Then, to change that color, run the GFCONFIG program as described above. When you run GFCONFIG, one of the questions it will ask is whether you have a color monitor. If you do, reply "Y". Then a series of messages in different colors will be displayed with a number next to them. Enter the number of the "offending" color. You will then be asked for the number associated with the color you want to change it to. Enter that number. The messages will then be redisplayed and you will be able to see how the replacement color will look. You can continue to changes colors at will. The colors can be changed for both foreground and background. The background color is used on most screens and is initially set to Red. That is, places where you enter information appear as red boxes. The background colors can also be changed. When you run GFCONFIG the program will first give you the opportunity to change foreground colors (i.e. the colors of the text that appear). When you are done setting foreground colors, you can then change background colors if you desire (i.e. the colors of the "boxes" in which text appears). In any event, it will appear obvious to you what is going on when you run GFCONFIG. GFmusic Reference 10 Connecting Your Equipment Connecting Your Equipment 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � Synthesizer � � PC � � � � � � � � Midi IN �<<컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � Midi Out � � � � � � � � � � Midi Out 냐컴컴컴컴컴컴컴�>>� Midi In � � � � � � � � Midi Thru � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � 컴컴컴컴컴v컴컴컴컴커 � � � Midi In � � � � Synthesizer or � � Sound Module � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � Controller � � PC � � Keyboard � � � � � � Midi IN �<<컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � Midi Out � � � � � � Midi Out 냐컴컴컴컴� � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � 컴컴컴컴컴-컴컴컴컴커 � � � 읕컴컴>� Midi In � � � � � � Synthesizer or � � Sound Module � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 HOW TO USE THIS HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL MANUAL GFmusic Reference 11 ________________________ ________________________ The basic philosophy behind this manual is 'learn by doing'. You should FIRST READ THE MANUAL FROM FRONT TO BACK. Then go to the beginning and start again. This time actually perform the exercises. Much of the text assumes that you have followed prior instructions and are able to look at the screens and interact with the program while reading along with the text. GFmusic is a sequencer with a robust set of features. Do not expect to learn it all in just a few minutes. However, if you are patient enough to hold yourself back and follow along with all of the exercises and text, you will be exposed to all of its capabilities. While you may not use all of the features immediately in your songs, you will have been exposed to them. And when you need them, you will at least remember that they exist. At that point you can use the Index to find the information you need. Information about all of the features is spread throughout the manual due to its tutorial style. However, when you start using GFmusic you should find its HELP features effective (but not flashy). Finally, please take the time to stop, look around, and think about what you see on the screens. Don't just rush thru the tutorial. If you stop to take the time to look around and think, you will discover a lot about this program that may not be put down in words here. This is especially true of error messages that may appear from time to time. This sequencer is a tool. Hopefully, you will find it a very good tool. But it is not a magic wand. Included in the text are "screen prints". They are there to be helpful on your first pass thru the manual and for later reference. However, they don't do justice to the screens so you should still display the screens on your monitor as you go thru the manual the second time. GFmusic Reference 12 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION ________________________ ________________________ What Is A Sequencer? What Is A Sequencer? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ A sequencer is a combination of hardware and software that allows you to record and play back a series of notes and other commands (such as synthesizer program changes). Most sequencers today are software (programs) that run on a general purpose personal computer. In order for the computer to communicate with the synthesizer, a Midi interface is used of which a variety are available from different manufacturers. A simple sequencer functions much like a multi-track tape recorder where you can record a track, and then play it back while recording yet another track. I.e. overdub one track on top of another. A smart Sequencer should have capabilities far beyond the simple multi-track features mentioned above (and yet it should support even those simple functions). For example, the smart sequencer should allow you to easily edit all sequence (track) events so that you can change such things as the notes played, the velocity and duration of the note, or edit program changes (commands to the synthesizer to change programs). It should allow you to copy sequences (tracks) and merge them together (sometimes called bouncing tracks). Probably the most important feature a smart sequencer should have is the ability to loop sequences, and to create CONTROL SEQUENCES. A CONTROL SEQUENCES control sequence is one that starts other sequences (such as one that contains a bass line) at chosen times and has those sequences "loop" (repeat) the number of times you choose. But don't be fooled..... A lot of sequencers claim to support 'looping'. However, their interpretation of 'looping' may be quite limited. The smart sequencer should have a sequence editor that allows such things as automatically correcting the timing of notes (often called "autocorrect" or "quantize"), and it should be able to do things such as transposing the pitch of all or selected notes, transpose the velocity of Note-On events, etc. The above is a quick sketch of only some of the capabilities a smart sequencer should have. Being easy to use is also another feature you should look for. Of course, the more features a sequencer has, the more you will have to learn. But then, the more you will benefit. GFmusic Reference 13 RELATIONSHIP TO KCS RELATIONSHIP TO KCS ________________________ ________________________ GFmusic is NOT a clone of Dr. T's KCS. On the other hand, both NOT ___ products approach sequencing in a similar fashion with respect to Control Sequences, and looping. The methods used in both products really have their roots in common computer practice. For you computer buffs, one can think of each sequence as merely a task or subtask. And if one task starts another, the starting task may elect to wait for the task to complete, or let it run asynchronously. And what does each task do ?? It merely executes instructions. While a computer executes instructions like add or subtract, the sequencer tasks simply execute a different set of instructions like..... turn on a note, send a program change, set the tempo, or even start another task. And also pervading this tasking concept is an equally basic concept that EVERYTHING happens some number of time units after a prior event occurred. These two principles are so basic to the structure of these sequencers that once you get the hang of it, it is easy to move between Dr. T's and GFmusic. Constructing a sequencer around these principles is quite different and much more powerful than merely treating a sequencer like a tape recorder. In fact, it verges on being a form of computer programming itself. With respect to the Event editor, IBM's SPF Editor and features (found on mainframe computers) really served as the basic model for GFmusic's event editor although it was trimmed down and adjusted to fit the situation. For example, the use of the command line, an edit profile, the way scrolling is performed, how the screen is composed of 'formatted fields' that you can tab to, etc. are rooted in the IBM SPF and 3270 arena. The "things" being edited are defined by the MIDI Spec with some additions to support the principles mentioned previously. Some features found in other sequencers were left out of GFmusic. For example, STEP TIME..... With a good event editor there is no need for Step Time entry of notes. The editor makes it easier. Step Time entry was left out of GFmusic but you'll find the editor makes manual entry of notes easier than entering via Step Time. Or, another way is to simply play the notes at whatever speed you want, and then use the editor to set the timing. And many features are distinctly different and/or unique. For example, GFmusic does not distinguish between play and record modes. They are one and the same. I.e. you are always 'recording' whether or not anything is playing. If you want to save what you recorded, you tell GFmusic with a keystroke and it then requests further information (such as the name of the sequence). Other sequencers always seem to want to know ahead of time whether or not to record. GFmusic Reference 14 GFmusic GFmusic Requirements and Features Requirements and Features ________________________ ________________________ Requirements Requirements ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ IBM PC PC/XT PC/AT or compatible running DOS 2.1 or higher. 512K of memory 1 floppy disk drive (minimum and a hassle) 2 floppies are recommended (or a hard disk). Monochrome (Hercules or IBM) or Color (CGA/EGA/VGA) ROLAND MPU-401 or compatible Midi Interface. Or, The Optronics Midi Interface. Or, the CMS-404 Interface. GFmusic Reference 15 Features Features ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Up to 255 TRACKS (Sequences), 7,000 events per track. All 255 TRACKS TRACKS are DR. T style with added features. 25,000 total TRACKS are DR. T style with added features. events with 640k of memory. A Programmer's Interface for easily developing your own Programmer's Interface general or Editor commands in ANY language. ANY language. System Exclusive data record and play. System Exclusive Will use Midi Running Status for extra performance. Running Status External or Internal Midi Clocking Midi Clocking Full tempo control from events within sequences tempo control Supports LIBRARIES of EXTERNAL SEQUENCES (Tracks) so that LIBRARIES of EXTERNAL SEQUENCES you can create files of often used sequences (such as drum patterns, bass lines, chord progressions, etc.) and include them in your songs. Supports CONTROL SEQUENCES Dr. T Style. Supports CONTROL SEQUENCES Dr. T Style. Start other sequences and have them LOOP (repeat). A Control Sequence can start another sequence and forget it, or wait for the started sequence to finish looping the designated number of times specified when it was started. When starting a sequence, the control sequence can specify pitch and/or velocity transpositions to take place in the started sequence. Control Sequences can start other Control Sequences. Control Statements can reside in any sequence. You can mix control statements with Midi events such as Note-On events. GFmusic Reference 16 EDIT ANY PART OF ANY EVENT in any Track. Easy to use FULL EDIT ANY PART OF ANY EVENT FULL SCREEN EDITing....not line-by-line. SCREEN EDIT UNDO the effects of commands. UNDO Quantize event Start Time and/or Duration of notes Quantize TRANSPOSE Pitch, Velocity, or Duration. TRANSPOSE COPY, DELETE, ERASE, INSERT EVENTS COPY, DELETE, ERASE, INSERT EVENTS EXPAND/COMPRESS TRACKS EXPAND/COMPRESS TRACKS HIDE/UNHIDE and THIN controller events. HIDE/UNHIDE THIN POWERFUL PLAY FEATURES POWERFUL PLAY FEATURES Start a sequence or groups of sequences from the computer keyboard. PLAY PAUSE FEATURE allowing you to pause a song by PLAY PAUSE FEATURE simply pressing the space bar. To start where you left off just press the space bar again. TRANSPOSE FROM COMPUTER KEYBOARD. You can transpose TRANSPOSE FROM COMPUTER KEYBOARD pitch and/or velocity of notes in sequences from the computer keyboard while they are playing. CHANGE TEMPO from the computer keyboard during play. CHANGE TEMPO FAST FORWARD and SKIP TO MEASURE to make overdubbing FAST FORWARD SKIP TO MEASURE easier. MUTE and SOLO Sequences during play and/or Overdub MUTE SOLO GFmusic Reference 17 EASY TO USE RECORDING EASY TO USE RECORDING "Punch in" is dead. OVERDUB is the way to record. OVERDUB Metronome via PC speaker available. Metronome via PC RECORD FILTERS for Pitch Bend, Control Change, and RECORD FILTERS After Touch. You can record these events or have them filtered out during recording. ECHO on any Midi Channel for use with Controller ECHO on any Midi Channel keyboards and Sound Modules. Supports full DOS PATHNAMES for loading and saving songs and sequences. Load multiple songs at the same time. Load a library of Drum Load multiple songs at the same time patterns, or bass lines. Load individual sequences from any song. Save individual sequences as separate files. Sequences can contain events on any and all channels. I.e. a Sequences sequence is NOT limited to 1 Midi Channel. NOT limited to 1 Midi Channel. GFmusic Reference 18 GETTING STARTED GETTING STARTED ________________________ ________________________ GFmusic Reference 19 Terms and Meaning Terms and Meaning ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In order to make this manual meaningful, it is necessary to define some terms. SONG SONG A song is a collection of sequences and other information such as the tempo it should be played with, whether clocking is external/internal, etc. A song has a name associated with it and ultimately some computer files where it is stored and loaded from. A song can have a name of up to 8 characters. SEQUENCE or TRACK SEQUENCE or TRACK A sequence is a collection of EVENTS. There are many types of events such as Note-On, Note-Off, Program Change, Set Tempo, Start a Sequence, etc. Some of these events are Midi events and some exist purely to provide functionality to GFmusic. A sequence always has a name associated with it and it is by name that you reference a sequence in order to edit, copy, delete, load, save, and start a sequence. A sequence name can be up to 15 characters and can contain embedded blanks. A sequence is sometimes called a "track". EVENT EVENT An event is information that describes something that is to happen. An event always has a start time. It may also have other attributes depending on what type of event it is. For example, a Note-On event has not only a start time, but other information such as which note is to be played, the duration of the note, and the velocity of the note. The Note-On event corresponds directly to "Midi". GFmusic also has an event called a Sequence Start event which has nothing to do with Midi per se. A sequence start event contains information that describes the sequence to be started, when it's to be started, whether the started sequence will have any transpositions imposed upon it (e.g. play all notes 1 octave higher), and whether the 'starter' will simply start the other sequence and forget it, or wait for it to complete before continuing on to its own next event. There are many different types of events of which the above are only examples. GFmusic Reference 20 Starting GFmusic Starting GFmusic ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ When running GFmusic, you should always 'be in' the disk/directory where GFmusic resides. If you are running off of a floppy disk drive using the original (or better yet, a backup) floppy disk, then 'go to' the disk where GFmusic is. E.g. if you have the GFmusic disk in the A drive then type in "A:" on your computer keyboard. If you have the GFmusic disk in the B drive then type in "B:" and press enter. Now type in "GFmusic" and press enter to start the program. If using floppy drives it takes about 50 seconds from the time you see the copyright notice to the time the Main Menu appears. If you have a hard disk and have followed the installation instructions you should type in CD\GFmusic and press enter. This will take you to the proper subdirectory where GFmusic resides. Now you can type in "GFmusic" and press enter. The reason that you must 'be in' the disk/directory where GFmusic resides is because GFmusic will look for some of its own files on the current drive/directory. Later you will learn how to make use of GFmusic's Default Song Directory and its Startup Directories but for now, just make sure that you are "in" the disk/directory where GFmusic programs and files reside. When you see the copyright notice, press Enter to get to the GFmusic Main Menu. GFmusic Reference 21 figure 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � MAIN MENU � � � � 1. PLAY/RECORD 11. SAVE SEQUENCE � � 2. EDIT SEQUENCE 12. SET TIME/ECHO � � 3. DELETE SEQUENCE 13. PRINT SEQUENCE � � 4. SPLIT FUTURE 14. MEMORY STATS � � 5. COPY/MERGE SEQUENCE 15. TOGGLE UNDO � � 6. LOAD SEQUENCE 16. LIST SEQUENCES � � 7. LOAD SONG 17. EXECUTE USER PGM � � 8. DIRECTORY SEQUENCE � � 9. DIRECTORY SONG � � 10.SAVE SONG � � � � � � � � 99. Exit Release 4.0 � � � � � � � � 旼컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � �1 � DEFAULT SONG DIRECTORY � � � � 읕컴컴� 좔컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 쳐컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � Every Screen will have its messages come out on this line � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� GFmusic Main Menu GFmusic Reference 22 Main Menu & Screen Main Menu & Screen Basics Basics ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ From the Main Menu you can see all of the things you can do. The best thing to do right now is to actually create a song in order to see how things work. But first, you need to know how to find your way around and how to enter instructions for GFmusic. GFmusic uses 'full screen' data entry. That is, you enter information into fields on the screen and when you are done, you press ENTER to tell GFmusic that you are done entering the information and that you want it processed. Information is entered into fields on the screen. The fields can be identified by the fact that they have a background color of red. They will appear as red rectangles on the screen. The Main Menu that you are looking at now contains two fields. The cursor should be in the first one (lower left corner of the screen). Sometimes the information that you must enter has to be numeric. The main menu is one such case. If you enter 'xx' into the first data entry field (the red box in the lower left corner) and then press ENTER you should get an error message. If you try to enter information anywhere but in a red box the PC will beep and you will get an error message. Try it. To get the cursor back to the entry field use the arrow keys or the TAB or HOME keys. When you press the TAB key the cursor will be placed into the next field. When you press the BACKTAB key (shift/TAB) you will go the previous field on the screen. The HOME key will take the cursor to the first field on the screen. The arrow keys work as you would expect. The F9/F10 keys move the cursor to the first field on the next line. For those of you familiar with IBM 3270 terminals, this is the same as the New Line key on those terminals. You should get used to using F9/F10 as it will prove very useful, especially with the event editor. The following table describes how the keys are used. Make a copy of it and keep it handy until you become proficient. GFmusic Reference 23 Keys & Usage Keys & Usage KEY USAGE ---------- --------------------------------------------- F1 HELP F2 Pick From a List Key HOME Moves cursor to first data entry field on screen ENTER/Return Tells GFmusic to process what you have entered. Note: F4..F8 will also do the same but stick with ENTER. TAB Moves cursor to next data entry field BACKTAB Moves cursor to previous data entry field ARROW KEYS Move cursor left/right or Up/down as expected. ^right and ^left will move the cursor at double speed. DELete key Deletes character above cursor and shifts rest of field to the left. INSert key Toggles insert mode on/off. When insert is on then characters will be inserted as you type. END key Erases all characters above and to right of cursor. ESCape key Press once to exit from screen/function you are in. PgUp/PgDn Data entry key. Used in edit and play mode for paging up or down thru a track (Edit) or thru the display of Play Keys (Play). F9 and F10 New Line key. Moves the cursor to first field of the next line. The above applies to all screens EXCEPT the PLAY/RECORD Screen. Key usage for the PLAY/RECORD FEATURE is explained later. PLAY/RECORD is different for a reason and will be covered later. GFmusic Reference 24 To get more familiar with how the keys work, key in "5" in the data entry field on the main menu. This corresponds to asking for the COPY/MERGE SEQUENCE function. Although no sequences currently exist, you can go to that screen and play around with the keys to see how they work. After entering "5" on the main menu, press ENTER. Next you should see the COPY/MERGE screen. Try out the different keys and see what they do. Enter some names in the fields and press ENTER. Since no sequences currently exist you will get error messages but that is OK. When your are done press ESCape. This will take you back to the Main Menu. The ESCape key is how you always exit a function/feature that you are done with. E.g. you pressed ESCape to return to the Main Menu from the COPY/MERGE screen. Press F1 to obtain HELP for a screen. If the screen supports picking from a list, use F2 to obtain the list. Now you should be on the Main Menu again. Enter '1' in the red box followed by a space and press ENTER. This will take you to the PLAY screen. We are going to record a sequence and play it back. GFmusic Reference 25 figure 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 쿖 SEQUENCE NAMES SEQ NAME________ --WAIT/FROM-- REM MUTE VEL PIT� 쿌 � 쿍 � 쿎 � 쿏 � 쿐 � 쿑 � 쿒 � 쿓 � 쿔 � 쿕 � 쿖 � 쿗 � 쿘 � 쿙 � 쿚 � 쿛 � � � 쿘EAS = 0 FILTERS=> 1=BEND 2=CTL=CHG 3=AFT-CHNL 4=AFT-POLY� 쿍PM = 120 TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE � 쿘IDI CLK = 0 � 쿐CHOCHNL = 0 SKIP MEASURE = 0 SKIP ACTIVE = FALSE � 쿦POSE NOT ACTIVE PAUSE=TRUE � 쿣EL= 0 PITCH= 0 RECORD MEMORY USED = 0 � 탠컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캐 �**LOAD MODE ** A..Z LOADS. PGUP/PGDN FOR PLAY KEYS, ENTER PLAYS � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Play Screen Upon First Entering Play/Record You are in LOAD MODE GFmusic Reference 26 Play/Record - Introduction Play/Record - Introduction ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Play and record functions take place on the same screen. I.e. on the PLAY/RECORD screen. The PLAY/RECORD screen is the only screen that does not have data entry fields like the rest of GFmusic. In fact, there is not even a cursor present. This is because while in PLAY/RECORD mode the cursor would move around the screen as it continually updates information. On some monitors it can be quite distracting. In PLAY/RECORD it is necessary to be able to have things happen quickly. I.e. we want things to happen (such as starting a sequence) with just one or two keystrokes. As you work with GFmusic you will see why this becomes an advantage. Depending on the type of graphics adapter and/or monitor you have, you may notice some 'flicker' or 'snow' when in Play/Record. This problem is strictly a function of the hardware since we have tested GFmusic on some equipment that is rock solid (no flicker or snow) while on others there is significant flicker. We have found, however, that when the screen flickers, you tend not to look at it except when needed. Also, you don't have to look at the screen as much as you think because much of what you are doing is by ear, not by sight. PLAY/RECORD has two modes of operation.... LOAD MODE and EXECUTE PLAY/RECORD has two modes of operation.... LOAD MODE and EXECUTE MODE. MODE When you first enter PLAY/RECORD you are in "LOAD MODE". This is where you would normally tell GFmusic what sequences you want to start. To do that you would press a key (A..Z) that corresponds to the sequence to start. Such a key is called a PLAY KEY. Not all sequences need to have a PLAY KEY associated with them. However, in order to start a sequence from the computer keyboard, it must have a PLAY KEY. You will learn later how to assign a PLAY KEY to a sequence. Since you have just entered PLAY/RECORD you are in LOAD MODE (see the flashing message at the bottom of the screen). Right now no sequences exist so there are no sequences to load in preparation of playing them. Just press ENTER. This tells GFmusic to leave LOAD MODE of PLAY/RECORD and to start playing/recording (EXECUTE MODE). Since there are no sequences to play, you will hear nothing. However, you can record. Go ahead and start playing something on your synthesizer. As you play you will hear the metronome. To turn off the metronome just press the END key. To turn it back on press the END key again. Turn off the metronome for now. As you play your synthesizer you will see some numbers in the lower right corner of the screen increase. This is the record memory used. There is GFmusic Reference 27 room in the record buffer for 14,000 true Midi Events. When the record buffer fills up, recording will stop (but any currently playing sequences will continue). For now, go ahead and play something simple such as a scale. When you are done your music exists only in a record buffer. Now you need to get it processed into a sequence. We will do that in just a minute but first press the LEFT ARROW key. Notice that the record memory counter went back to zero. Pressing the left arrow is like rewinding the tape recorder. You are now ready to record again. Play the scale again. This time when you are done press the RIGHT ARROW key. This tells GFmusic that you are done recording and that you want to create a sequence out of the record buffer. Left Arrow <--- = Reset Record Buffer to zero. Right Arrow ---> = Process recorded music. Echo Channel Echo Channel _ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ If you are using a Controller Keyboard, you will need to use the ECHO Channel feature in GFmusic. Basically, since the Midi Out port of the Controller Keyboard is connected to the Midi In of the PC (401), there is no way to have the messages transmitted to an attached Sound Module unless the PC (i.e. GFmusic) Echos the Midi Messages it receives... i.e. sends a copy of these messages to the Midi Out of the PC that is connected to the Midi In of a Sound Module. GFmusic will echo the Midi messages it receives to the PC's Midi Out port if you tell it to. To do this, you go to option 12 of the Main Menu (Set Time / ECHO by entering "12" on the Main Menu screen). When you do this, you will then be presented with the SET TIME/ECHO screen. One of the fields on that screen is "ECHO CHANNEL". Enter a number here that corresponds to a Midi Channel (1-16) and GFmusic will echo Midi messages on that specific channel on the Midi Interface Out port. If you enter a number greater than 16, then GFmusic will echo whatever comes in on the Midi In port, to the Midi Out port without modifying the channel information. Entering a value of zero tells GFmusic not to echo. All you need to do is to make sure that the Sound Module is set to receive on the same channel that you specify on the SET TIME/ECHO screen. Generally, if you will need to use the echo feature, setting the echo channel to greater than 16 (echo as is) is the most common and useful method. Then, you set the channel information via the Controller Keyboard directly. See the diagram at the end of Section 1. GFmusic Reference 28 When you save a song, the echo channel in effect is also saved with the song. And, when you later LOAD that song, the echo channel will be set to whatever it was when you saved it. It is possible to set the echo channel and/or turn off echoing via commands within a sequence. You will learn more about this later. For now, if you are using a Controller Keyboard that does not produce sound, you should set the ECHO channel via option 12 of the Main Menu. Then attach the Midi Out of the PC Interface to the Midi In of the sound module that you will use to produce the sound. Make sure that the channel settings on the SET TIME/ECHO screen and the sound module are the same. GFmusic Reference 29 figure 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � PROCESS RECORDED DATA � � � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � SEQUENCE NAME 쿞CALE 1 � � � COMPUTER PLAY KEY 쿌 � A..Z � � SET 1ST EVENT TIME = 0 쿧 � Y/N � � REPEATS �2 9 � 1-999 � � ALLOW TRANSPOSE 쿧 � Y/N � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � � � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 Process Recorded Data Screen Preparing To Create Your First Sequence/Track GFmusic Reference 30 Process Recorded Data Process Recorded Data Screen Screen ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Where were we ???????...... Oh yes... you had just recorded a scale and pressed the Right Arrow key ( ---> ). After you press the right arrow you will be presented with the PROCESS PROCESS RECORDED DATA screen. You are about to create your first sequence. RECORDED DATA First you will need to assign a NAME to the sequence. Call it 'SCALE 1'. Put 'SCALE 1' in the red box next to the SEQUENCE NAME title. A sequence name can be up to 15 characters and may contain embedded blanks. Press F9/F10 to move the cursor to the next box where you will assign a PLAY KEY for this sequence. You can also use the TAB key to move the cursor to the next field. The COMPUTER PLAY KEY field is where you tell GFmusic what key will The COMPUTER PLAY KEY field is where you tell GFmusic what key will be pressed on the computer keyboard to start this sequence. It can be be pressed on the computer keyboard to start this sequence It can be A to Z. A to Z. A sequence can only be started from the computer keyboard if it has a PLAY KEY assigned to it although it can be started from another sequence regardless of PLAY KEY assignment. The idea here is to be able to start a sequence from the computer keyboard by pressing just one key. For the sequence just recorded, assign it a PLAY KEY of "A". That is, later on, all you will have to do is press A to start this sequence. Sequences can NOT have duplicate PLAY KEYs assigned. I.e. Sequences can NOT have duplicate PLAY KEYs assigned two sequences can not have the same PLAY KEY. Place an "A" in this field and press F9/F10 or TAB to get to the next field. A special note. Avoid assigning "Z" as a PLAY KEY for a sequence. This is because GFmusic uses it as a "work" PLAY KEY when you "play from edit". More on that later when EDIT is discussed. When you entered EXECUTE mode by pressing ENTER from LOAD MODE, a clock started ticking. When you pressed the first key on the synthesizer GFmusic recorded that note and tagged it with a time. All subsequent notes recorded were also tagged with a time. If you had waited 30 seconds before playing the first note, then the first event would have a start time of '30 seconds'. At this point, however, you can have GFmusic give a start time of zero for the first event. What this will mean is that when you go to play it (or start the sequence from another sequence), the first note will be sounded right away instead of 30 seconds later. Sometimes this will be what you want, sometimes you'll want the delay in the sequence to remain, and sometimes you will have to EDIT the sequence to set the start time to a particular value. For now place a 'Y' in the SET 1ST EVENT TIME = 0 field. Press F9/F10 or TAB to get to the next field (or TAB will also do). GFmusic Reference 31 The cursor should now be in the REPEATS field. Put a number in here. This number is how many times this sequence will play if you start it from the computer keyboard. For this exercise enter a 2 here. Press F9 or F10 to move the cursor to the ALLOW TRANSPOSE field. This field tells GFmusic whether all transpositions are to be ignored. For example, when playing back a song, you may want to play it in a different key. The easiest way to do this is to transpose the pitch of the control sequence that you will probably create for the song. When you transpose a sequence, any sequence it starts is also transposed by the same amount. However, for some sequences you may not want to allow transposes; especially for sequences that contain drum patterns. Transposing these sequences may cause undesirable results on a drum sequence. To avoid this problem, you can indicate to GFmusic that under no circumstances is it to perform any transpositions on this sequence. However, for now, enter an "Y" in this field. I.e. you will allow transpositions. All fields should now be filled in. To recap, you have assigned the recorded data a sequence NAME, you have determined whether you want the FIRST EVENT TO HAVE A START TIME OF ZERO, you have assigned a PLAY KEY to the sequence so that it can be started from the computer keyboard, you have specified how many times the sequence will REPEAT when started from the computer keyboard, and you have indicated whether transpositions will affect this sequence or whether you want GFmusic to allow transpose requests. Now just press ENTER. The recorded data will be processed as a sequence which you can invoke from the computer keyboard. The next thing you will see is the play screen again. In the top left corner you will see the name of the sequence next to the character "A". In addition, it appears in RED. More on the color meaning later. However, the characters on the left (A thru P) indicate the PLAY KEYS and the sequences associated with them. Notice that the name of the sequence you just recorded shows up next to "A". That is because you assigned a PLAY KEY of "A" to the sequence. Now press the PgDn key. You will see the left column change to see the PLAY KEY assignments for PLAY KEYs K thru Z (right now there are none). Press PgUp and see PLAY KEY assignments for A thru P again. You are ready to play back the sequence. To do this, press "A". Something to remember at this point. When in GFmusic, make sure that the Num Lock key is off. If it is not, keystrokes will be mis-interpreted. When you pressed the "A" key the sequence you recorded should have started immediately. And, it should have played twice because you set the number of REPEATS to 2. On the 2nd repeat you may have noticed a delay. This is because when the sequence ended the first time it may GFmusic Reference 32 not have been the exact length necessary to start the second time on the right beat. More on this later. Now record another sequence. This time with the metronome. Turn on the metronome (press the END key until it comes on). Play in time with the metronome. Not a lot of notes. In fact play 8 Middle C notes in time with the metronome. Remember you can start again by pressing the left arrow key.... this will reset the record memory to zero. After playing 8 notes, press the right arrow key to process the recorded data into a sequence. On the PROCESS RECORDED DATA screen give it a name of '8NOTES'. Assign a PLAY KEY of "B". This time set REPEATS to 999. Again put a Y in the SET 1ST EVENT TIME = 0 field. Set ALLOW TRANSPOSE to "Y". Press ENTER to process the 8NOTES sequence. GFmusic Reference 33 figure 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � PROCESS RECORDED DATA � � � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � SEQUENCE NAME �8NOTES � � � COMPUTER PLAY KEY 쿍 � A..Z � � SET 1ST EVENT TIME = 0 쿧 � Y/N � � REPEATS �999 � 1-999 � � ALLOW TRANSPOSE 쿧 � Y/N � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � � � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 Process Recorded Data Screen Preparing To Create Your Second Sequence/Track GFmusic Reference 34 You should be back at the play screen again. You can turn off the metronome (END key). Now press the B key and your 8NOTES sequence should start. Since it will repeat 999 times this will give you a chance to see how other features work while listening to the 8NOTES sequence. Let 8NOTES play and follow along with the exercises that follow. When you pressed the Right Arrow key, GFmusic processed what you had played into a sequence. Now, all sequences MUST end with a Null Event (i.e. an event that does nothing) so GFmusic appended a Null Event onto the end of the sequence it created from the notes in the record buffer. In addition, while processing the record buffer into a sequence, GFmusic will initially make the sequence a whole number of measures long. However, you can easily set any sequence to the exact length you need by using EDIT. The way the sequence is initially made a whole number of measures is ......... The time of the last Null Event (generated as part of processing the record buffer) is given the Start time of the previous event + the duration of the note played in that event. Then, if that results in the sequence ending exactly on the measure, nothing more is done. Otherwise, the time of the Null Event is increased to the next measure boundary. This is done so that usually, you can start the sequence you just recorded from the computer keyboard and have it loop in a 'smooth' manner. As you read this manual, you will develop more of a feel for timing and why this is done. Right now, this is probably all Greek but later, please come back to this point and ponder it. Also, when you record sequences, go into Edit on them to see how GFmusic created the last event for you. Again, this may not mean anything right now, but later, come back and revisit this section and these last few paragraphs. This means that when recording, don't 'hold' a note longer than it should be. If anything, make the last note(s) slightly 'shorter' than they would normally be. For example, if the last note should end at exactly the end of a measure, and you hold it slightly too long, then GFmusic will initially make the sequence 1 measure longer than you intended. I.e. it will round up to the next measure based on the start time and duration of the last note played. So, if anything, end the note just shy of the measure boundary. Later, you can easily EDIT the sequence to make it exactly the length you require. Again, you will understand this more later. GFmusic Reference 35 GFmusic Reference 36 A SPECIAL WARNING A SPECIAL WARNING ABOUT TEMPO CONTROL ABOUT TEMPO CONTROL ________________________ ________________________ On the following page, there is a discussion of how to change the tempo during Play/Record. This is done using the UP and DOWN arrow keys. There is a bug in the way some PCs were made. The impact is as follows..... During Play/Record you use the up and down arrow keys to control tempo. On some PCs, if you press one of these keys and keep it pressed down long enough, your PC may "lock up" and you'll have to power off and then power on again. There is, however, a simple way to avoid this. When controlling tempo via the UP and DOWN arrow keys, don't keep them pressed down. Press it, then release it completely before pressing it again. You can do this very rapidly and you'll still be ok. But if you press it and keep it pressed down, you run the risk of your PC locking up. Also note that to change the tempo rapidly, you can use the left and right bracket keys ( [ and ] ). These keys will change the tempo by 50 beats per minute with each press. In fact, pressing any key and keeping it held down during play/record runs the risk of locking up your PC. Most people will not be affected by this problem but it does affect some PCs. Again, to avoid the problem, just don't keep a key held down during Play/Record. You can press the keys rapidly, just don't keep them held down. Tempo Tempo ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ While the 8NOTES sequence is playing, press the UP ARROW multiple times. Notice the tempo increasing. Press the DOWN ARROW key multiple times. The tempo decreases. On the left side of the play screen toward the bottom you will see "BPM =". The number there is the tempo in Beats per minute. Look at the number while pressing either the up or down arrow. This is how you can set the tempo manually. You can also set it up, down, or to a specific value from within a sequence but that is for later. You will often adjust the tempo manually with the up/dn keys to determine how fast you want a song to play. Then, the common technique is to add a BPM event to the Control Sequence that starts the song in order to set the tempo automatically at the beginning of GFmusic Reference 37 the song. More on this later. Also note that when you save a song, the current tempo at the time you save it is also saved along with the song. Later, when you load that song, the tempo will be set to what it was when you saved it. Later on you will learn more about this when the SET TIME feature is discussed. There is also another method of changing the tempo from the computer keyboard. This is the FAST FORWARD feature. With the 8NOTES sequence playing, press the right bracket (i.e. ]). This will increase the tempo by 50 BPM. Press it again and it increases another 50 BPM. Continue pressing it and it will eventually increase the tempo to a maximum of 350 BPM. I.e. you can press the ] key multiple times in succession and the music will play much faster. Pressing the [ key will reduce the tempo by 50 BPM with each press down to a minimum of 60 BPM. Remember, ] = +50 BPM, [ = -50 BPM Measure Measure ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Above the BPM field on the screen is the MEAS = field. This shows you how many measures have elapsed since leaving LOAD MODE and entering EXECUTE mode. Pause Pause ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Press the space bar. The music should pause. Press it again and it will pick up again at the point you paused it. The space bar pauses whatever is playing. When you PAUSE, the PAUSE=TRUE message near the bottom of the screen will change color and start blinking. Transpose Transpose ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Press the HOME key (number pad 7). You will see a message. When you see the message, press "P". This will set real time transpose to affect the pitch. Now press F1. The pitch was lowered by 1 step. Now press SHIFT and F1 together. The pitch went up 1 step. Press GFmusic Reference 38 SHIFT F2. The pitch went up 2 more steps. In play mode, the function keys control the transpose amounts. F1 is down 1 step, F2 is down 2 steps, .... F10 is down 10 steps. Shift F1 is up 1 step, .... Shift F10 is up 10 steps. Try it while the sequence is playing. When you pressed the HOME key and followed it with a "P", a line near the bottom started blinking and indicated that "note transposition" was now in effect. This line indicates whether transpose is active and which of two transpose parameters will react to the function keys. You can only transpose one parameter at a time. Either pitch or velocity. To change from pitch transpose to velocity transpose press HOME again and when you get the message at the bottom of the screen, press "V" for velocity. If you don't have a velocity sensitive synthesizer or sound module you can ignore this test. If you do, press the function keys to transpose the velocity up and down just like you did for pitch. A shifted function key transposes velocity up and an unshifted key shifts velocity down. At the bottom of the screen you will see a line that contains "VEL=" and "PITCH=". These values are the current velocity and pitch transposition values in effect for real-time transposition. Activate pitch transposition (HOME followed by P) and press some function keys. Notice that the value next to PITCH= will change. Not all sequences will be impacted by transpositions from the computer keyboard. Only "Affected" sequences will be impacted. When you When you record a Sequence, GFmusic initially makes it an "AFFECTED SEQUENCE". record a Sequence, GFmusic initially makes it an "AFFECTED SEQUENCE" One way to identify an "affected" sequence is that it shows up in RED on left side of the play screen where you see the PLAY KEYs associated with sequences. The ones in BLUE ARE NOT "affected sequences". On Monochrome systems, the "affected sequences" show up as bright and underlined. ONLY AFFECTED SEQUENCES WILL REACT TO TRANSPOSE COMMANDS FROM THE ONLY AFFECTED SEQUENCES WILL REACT TO TRANSPOSE COMMANDS FROM THE COMPUTER KEYBOARD. Remember however that if you have set ALLOW COMPUTER KEYBOARD. TRANSPOSE = "N", then transpose will never affect the sequence. So the question becomes, how do you turn on/off this attribute ?? You can do this in two ways. First, you can change it by editing the sequence (but that is for later). Second, you can add it or delete it from the affected sequence list during PLAY/RECORD (in either EXECUTE or LOAD MODE). To add it you press the "+" key followed by the PLAY KEY associated with the sequence. I.e. the SHIFTED EQUAL SIGN or the BIG + key on the keyboard. To delete/drop it from the "affected list" you press the "-" key (minus sign) followed by its PLAY KEY (A..Z). Go ahead and try this with the two sequences you just recorded. When you press the +/- keys notice the message at the bottom of the screen. Also note how the color of the PLAY KEY column for these sequences changes. RED means that it's in the affected list. BLUE means it is not in the affected list. Whenever you add a sequence to the affected list it will take on whatever active transpose values are current. I.e. whatever is in PITCH= or VEL=. When you delete it from the affected list, all keyboard transposes for that sequence are deleted. GFmusic Reference 39 When you are putting a song together you may want to try different transpositions. For example, you may record a bass line but often want to try it an octave higher or lower depending on what voice you will use on the synthesizer. In order to try out different voices you will want to be able to play it in different octaves because different voices sound better in different octaves. Or you may want to try an entire song in a different key. The easy way to do this is to drop all sequences from the affected list except for the MAIN CONTROL sequence, then transpose pitch up or down via the PLAY/RECORD screen, and finally start the control sequence. Transposes "cascade" (are inherited). If you transpose the pitch of sequence A by two steps, then all sequences it starts will also be transposed by two steps plus whatever transpositions are contained in the sequence start command in sequence A. To clear transpose, press HOME followed by a space (or any key other than V, P, or N). Then read the message at the bottom of the screen. Another way to clear transpose is to press ^HOME (CTRL and HOME together). This will clear all computer keyboard transpositions in all sequences. In addition, it will clear any MUTES in effect. When using keyboard transpositions, it is best to keep it simple. Work on only one sequence at a time. Remember, you can clear all transpositions by pressing HOME followed by a space (or ^HOME by itself) and then adding the sequence you want to the affected list by pressing + followed by the PLAY KEY for the sequence you want to transpose. To hear the sequence as originally recorded, simply delete it from the list by pressing '-' followed by the sequence's PLAY KEY. Or, clear all keyboard transposes by pressing ^HOME. GFmusic Reference 40 Mute And Solo Mute And Solo ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Now with the 8NOTES sequence playing, press the DELete key and then press B. Notice that the sound stops. This MUTEs the sequence. Observe high up on the screen under the MUTE column. When a sequence is muted the MUTE field will blink TRUE in RED. THE SEQUENCE IS MUTED, IT IS NOT STOPPED!! It is still playing along in time, it is just not sending out the notes. Press DELete then B again and the sequence will be unmuted. Pressing DELete followed by the PLAY KEY for a sequence toggles MUTE for that sequence. Think of DELete as saying "DELete this sequence from sounding". You can MUTE a sequence whether or not it is currently playing. If you mute a sequence that is not playing, when it is started (either at the computer keyboard by pressing the PLAY KEY or if some other sequence starts it), it will play along in time but the notes will not be sent out. In addition, the MUTE flag is stored with the sequence and stays with that sequence for eternity until you unmute it. I.e. if you leave play/record and come back to it later, the sequence will still be muted. In fact, if you save the song and later reload it, it will still retain the MUTEed characteristic. So, before you leave Play/Record, or before you save a song, you may want to clear all MUTEs by pressing ^HOME in play/record to clear all mutes. Another important note. ^HOME clears all mutes AND transpositions. To simply clear all mutes and leave transpositions alone, just press the INSert key twice or the DELete key twice. This will clear all MUTEs and leave current Transpositions (note or velocity) alone. Now a final important note regarding mutes. MUTES WILL CASCADE !!. If you mute a sequence that starts another sequence, then the started sequence(s) will also be muted !! This is an important and valuable feature. Often you will create control sequences to control things like Bass Lines, Chords, etc. These control sequences will start the sequences that actually play the notes. So in order to mute all of the various Bass Lines, you would mute the sequence that starts them. Since MUTEs CASCADE, if you mute the control sequence, the sequences that it starts will also be muted. You will learn about control sequences later and you should make a note to come back to MUTE and SOLO later to reread this section related to CASCADING MUTES and SOLOs. GFmusic Reference 41 Solo is kind of the mirror image of Mute. I.e. when you want to solo, what you do is mute all other sequences except the one you want to hear. To do this you press the INSert key followed by the Play Key for the sequence to Solo. This will silence all other sequences except for the one associated with the PLAY KEY. I.e., it MUTEs all sequences (whether or not they have a play key) except the one you are SOLOing. Again, the MUTE characteristic will stay with all those other sequences so when you are done, you probably want to clear all MUTES before leaving Play/Record. In any event, you'll see RED TRUE BLINKING for all of the muted sequences so you will probably not forget. You can think of it this way..... "the INSert key followed by the Play Key for a sequence INSerts only that sequence for playing". SOLOs will also CASCADE !! If you SOLO a sequence, all sequences will be Muted (silenced) except the one you SOLO and whatever sequences the SOLOed sequence starts. Often you will want to play a song and at a certain point, only hear the Bass Line. Since you will often have a control sequence controlling the Bass Lines, what you Echo Channel _________________________________sequence. In this way, all sequences would be silenced except the Bass Control sequence and whatever sequences it starts. By SOLOing the Control sequence you effectively silence all sequences except those that play the various Bass Lines (assuming all Bass Lines were started from the Bass Control sequence). Later, when you learn more about control sequences, come back here and reread the sections on MUTE and SOLO. To clear all mutes (whether caused by Mute or Solo), all you do is press INSert twice or press DELete twice. Echo Channel Echo Channel ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ When you are putting a song together, if you have sound modules, you will often want to see how something sounds thru them as you play, and often you will be playing along with parts of a song you have already recorded. To do this, you specify an ECHO channel. When an echo channel is specified (option 12 of Main Menu) then GFmusic will send anything it receives on the PC's Midi In, and send it out the Midi Out GFmusic Reference 42 with a channel assignment of whatever you had specified. Thus, you could be playing on a keyboard that is sending on channel 1, but when GFmusic echos it, you can have any Midi channel assigned to the messages. Or, you can have GFmusic echo the input "as is" (without reassigning the channel). Near the bottom of the Play/Record screen you will see the current Echo channel assignment. If it is zero, then echoing will not take place. If it is 1-16, then all input is echoed on that specific channel. If it is greater than 16, then all input is echoed "as is". GFmusic Reference 43 Skip and FFWD Skip and FFWD ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ SKIP to measure allows you to skip quickly to a specific measure when you leave LOAD MODE and start EXECUTE Mode. On the bottom left of the Play/Record screen you will see two things. First, you will see what the SKIP MEASURE setting currently is. This is the measure that GFmusic will skip to when leaving Load Mode, if SKIP is in effect. Second, you will see a message indicating whether SKIP is active or not. You use SKIP when you want to overdub to a specific bar/measure but don't want to wait for the song to get there by starting from the first measure. To invoke SKIP you do the following : To invoke SKIP you do the following : Press the = key (the equal sign). When you do this in LOAD MODE, you will be prompted to enter the measure to skip to. E.g., you might respond with 11, meaning that when you leave LOAD MODE after loading a sequence and then pressing enter, GFmusic will skip to the 11th bar without playing the first 10. I.e. it gets you to your overdub point much quicker. When you press the = key in EXECUTE mode, what you are doing is telling GFmusic that the current measure is what you want to set the SKIP Measure to. I.e. later you will want to go right to this measure when you leave LOAD MODE. I.e. you press the = key when you 'hear' your overdub point (or better yet, 1 or 2 measures before the overdub point). In both cases, when you press the = key, the SKIP Measure is set and SKIP is set active. When SKIP is active, then whenever you leave LOAD MODE on your way to EXECUTE, GFmusic will skip to the SKIP Measure. You can toggle SKIP active without disturbing the SKIP Measure setting. To set SKIP inactive (SKIP active = False), just press the < key or the comma key (it is the same key, the only difference is whether you've got the shift key held down). To set it active (SKIP Active = TRUE), press the > or period key (again it's the same physical key). The effect is the same whether in LOAD MODE or EXECUTE MODE. Again, you will use SKIP to get to your overdub point faster. Note that when you leave LOAD MODE and SKIP is active, you will get a blinking message at the bottom of the screen indicating that GFmusic is SKIPping to the SKIP measure. The terminal will then appear to lock up until GFmusic finds the measure. How long this takes depends on how many measures it has to go. With a sequencer like GFmusic it is not instant because it has to go thru a lot of calculation. Why ?? Because how you get to the measure is more than just a little complicated, especially considering that sequences can start other sequences (as well as playing notes). I.e. how you get to the SKIP GFmusic Reference 44 measure is important, considering that sequences can start other sequences. If your PC has a 286 or 386 processor, it won't take long. If it is a 'standard' XT, the time it takes is longer and in either case depends on how many measures you have to skip to, and how complex the structure of your song is (taking into account control sequences, etc.). A "Cousin" to SKIP is Fast Forward, discussed above under TEMPO. They sound like names, don't they ? Both SKIP and FAST can be helpful in getting you to your overdub point faster. Forcing Remaining Repeats To 1 Forcing Remaining Repeats To 1 ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Now press ^B (hold down the CTRL key and then press B). Notice that the REM for the sequence goes to 1 immediately. Holding down the CTRL key and pressing the PLAY KEY for a sequence simultaneously will set the remaining repeats to 1..... i.e. put the sequence into its last loop. By now the sequence has stopped. See the top row in white for the column "REM". Sequence Status Line Sequence Status Line ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ While you were doing the above you probably noticed that high up on the screen a line appeared when you started the sequence and that the values under VEL and PIT changed when you transposed velocity and pitch. This is the "sequence status line". When a sequence is playing, the total of all transpositions impacting that sequence shows up in these columns. The total of all transpositions is the sum of those imposed on a sequence started by another sequence plus whatever transpositions are invoked from the computer keyboard (like you did) if any. I.e., transpositions "cascade". It may not be obvious, but "cascading" is important in order to keep the song "in key" when doing transpositions, especially from the computer keyboard. There are other things to observe on the line that appears when you start a sequence. For example, when the sequence is first started there will be a number under the REM column (see top line on monitor). This number starts out with the number of repeats specified when the sequence is started. If it is started from the computer keyboard, the number of repeats (initial value of REM) is what you filled in for REPEATS on the PROCESS RECORDED DATA screen. If you start a sequence from another sequence you specify how many times to repeat (loop). If GFmusic Reference 45 another sequence had started our sequence, then REM would start out with the number of repeats specified in the control sequence when it started the sequence. REM stands for REMaining repeats (or REMaining loops). As the sequence plays, REM is decremented with each iteration of the sequence. I.e. REM shows you how many loops a sequence has left. When it goes to zero, the sequence will stop and the entire line will be blanked/zeroed out. Also notice that when the sequence started, its name appeared under SEQ NAME. On the top line you will see the character string "WAIT/FROM". This shows whether a sequence was started from another sequence, or whether it is waiting for a sequence that it started to finish. More on this later. Midi Clk Midi Clk ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ At the bottom left of the screen you will see "Midi CLK =". This indicates whether Midi clocking is Off, External, or Internal (O, E, or I). The default is Off when you first start up GFmusic. More on this later when setting of timing parameters is discussed. Filters Filters ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Finally you will see some lines near the bottom (in white) pertaining to "FILTERS". When recording, you have the option of filtering (throwing away) various Midi information. The reason that you would want to throw this information away is because these Midi messages are generated so frequently by some keyboards that they would consume vast quantities of memory if they were to be recorded. For example, some keyboards will generate after-touch information in great quantities. Try an experiment. Turn off the filters so that GFmusic will allow recording of this information. Each filter can be toggled on/off by pressing a key associated with it. "1" Toggles the filter for pitch bend. "2" toggles the control-change filter. "3" toggles the After- Touch-Channel filter. "4" toggles the After-touch-poly filter. Toggle the filters by pressing 1,2,3,4 so that each filter says FALSE (i.e. GFmusic will not filter these out). Now play your keyboard and use the pitch bend wheel. See how quickly the record memory is used up (see lower right on PLAY/RECORD screen). Depending on your synthesizer, you may see memory used up very quickly when you play just a single note. Normally the playing of a single note will use up 2 units of record memory. However some keyboards generate After Touch information and a single note may use up many more units of record memory. If you have a controller wheel (maybe a mod wheel or breath GFmusic Reference 46 controller) try activating it and using it while in EXECUTE mode and see how quickly record memory is used up. Play around in PLAY/RECORD for awhile. Try going to LOAD MODE and selecting the sequences you recorded and then press ENTER to start them. You can see if you are in LOAD MODE by looking at the message at the bottom of the screen. If it says "***LOAD MODE *** ....." (it will blink) then you are in LOAD MODE. When you press ENTER from here you will go to EXECUTE mode. To get to LOAD MODE from EXECUTE mode you do it by pressing ESCape. At this point in the learning process, whatever you do, you should read the messages that will appear at the bottom of the screen from time to time. By thinking about what you have done in conjunction with the message content, you will quickly develop a grasp of what is going on. Note: getting the hang of play mode and edit mode will be the most difficult part of learning GFmusic. It is here where the most functionality is. In Play Mode, everything is done with one or two keystrokes so that it can occur quickly. Because of this it may seem cryptic at first. It will take you a little while to get the hang of things. A helpful tip.... try doing things while the music is paused. To pause the music, just press the space bar. Now to recap. You get to PLAY/RECORD from the main menu by selecting option 1 and pressing ENTER. When you first get to PLAY/RECORD you will be in LOAD MODE where GFmusic is waiting for you to specify the sequence(s) to initially load. You can select sequences to load at this point by pressing the PLAY KEY associated with the sequence(s). To see all of the PLAY KEY assignments look on the left side of the screen. To see the rest of them try PgUp and PgDn keys. Next, press ENTER and the sequences you selected in LOAD MODE will start in unison. You will then be in EXECUTE mode. _________________________________________________________________________ | | You can also start sequences in EXECUTE mode but if you want to have | | more than one sequence start simultaneously, you should select them | | from LOAD MODE and then press ENTER... or use the following technique | | ......... | | _________________________________________________________________________ | | In EXECUTE mode you can pause by using the space bar, then load the sequences you want via PLAY KEYs, and then press the space bar again and the sequences will take off in unison. You don't have to "load" a sequence to go from LOAD MODE to EXECUTE Mode. The purpose of LOAD MODE is to : GFmusic Reference 47 Allow you to pre-load sequences so that when you press ENTER ____________________________________________________________ (go to EXECUTE mode) the following occurs : ___________________________________________ The pre-loaded sequences will start in unison. ______________________________________________ Everything will start at Measure 1 / Step 1. ____________________________________________ Allows you to use SKIP to Measure _________________________________ Allows for more control of Overdubbing (related to 1 and 2 __________________________________________________________ above). _______ In EXECUTE mode there are many things you can do. A summary of the keys that accomplish these things is listed below : GFmusic Reference 48 Play/Record Key Usage Play/Record Key Usage Key Usage Key Usage ___ _____ F1 HELP (when transpose not active) A..Z Starts/Loads tracks for PLAY KEYS ^A..^Z ** Immediately puts track in last loop. INS then A..Z Solos the track associated with Play Key. DEL then A..A Mutes the track associated with Play Key. INS then INS Clears all Mutes everywhere. DEL then DEL Clears all Mutes everywhere. Up/Down Arrow Changes tempo. Left Arrow ** Resets record buffer to zero (rewind). Right Arrow ** Process record buffer into a track. HOME Activates/Deactivates real-time transpose. HOME/P or HOME/N activates xpose of pitch. HOME/V activates xpose of velocity. ^HOME Clears all transposes and mutes. F1..F10 ** Decrements currently active transpose. Shift F1..F10 ** Increments currently active transpose. 1,2,3,4 Toggles filters. PgUp/PgDn Scrolls Play Key assignments. SPACE Bar ** Pauses/Resumes play. END ** toggles metronome. + Add a sequence to the affected list. - Drop a sequence from the affected list. Follow +/- key with a Play Key. = (equal) In LOAD MODE will prompt for a SKIP Measure. In EXECUTE mode sets SKIP measure to current. < or comma Deactivates SKIP but leaves the SKIP measure as is. > or period Activates SKIP. ] rt sq bracket Tempo up by 50 BPM [ left sq bracket Tempo down by 50 BPM ** means valid only in EXECUTE mode. All others are active in both modes (LOAD and EXECUTE). GFmusic Reference 49 USING GFmusic USING GFmusic AS A SIMPLE AS A SIMPLE 26 TRACK SEQUENCER 26 TRACK SEQUENCER ________________________ ________________________ It is inevitable that many of you will want to start using GFmusic immediately. Using GFmusic as a simple 26 track sequencer is a way to do this. However, you should note that using GFmusic this way is only good in the short run. In the long run, you should study the manual and use its Control Sequence features to make full use of GFmusic. With this in mind, let's continue. When using GFmusic as a simple sequencer, what you are doing is using it as a simple Midi Multi-track Tape Recorder. That is, you simply record a track by playing something on your synthesizer. Then, you can play that track back while recording the next track. Then you can play both of those tracks while playing/recording the next track. You can continue to do this until you run out of tracks. You can, however, merge ("bounce") tracks. GFmusic allows you to record up to 255 sequences (tracks). However, in order to manually play a track you will need to assign a "Play Key" to that track. Play Keys are computer keyboard keys that you assign to a sequence (track). The reason you assign a Play Key to a sequence is so that you can manually start them (play them back). For example, if you record a sequence that is a bass line, you could assign it a play key of "B". Then, if you want to overdub to that sequence, you would play it back by pressing "B" on your computer keyboard. It would then start to play. While it is playing you can record the next sequence (track). The easiest way to see how this works is to try it. First, start the GFmusic program. Put the GFmusic disk in the "A" drive. then type in "A:" and press enter. This puts you "in" the drive/directory where GFmusic resides. If you are using a hard disk, type in "C:\GFmusic" and press enter (assuming "C" is your hard disk). Next, type in "GFmusic" and press enter. The GFmusic program will start executing. Keep pressing enter at the appropriate prompts until you reach the Main Menu. When you reach the Main Menu, type in "1" and press enter. This will take you to the Play/Record screen. At this point, GFmusic is waiting for you to load a sequence to play. That is, you are in "LOAD MODE" GFmusic Reference 50 of the Play/Record feature. Since you have no sequences (tracks) recorded yet, you will have nothing to load. Now prepare yourself. Press enter and you will leave LOAD MODE and enter EXECUTE Mode of the Play/Record feature. Nothing will be playing. However, GFmusic is recording. Go ahead and play something. For the purpose of this discussion, play a simple bass line that lasts about 12 bars. As you play, you will notice the Record Memory Used number in the lower right corner increasing. When you are done playing the bass line, press the Right Arrow key. When you pressed the Right Arrow key, a screen appeared with the title "Process Recorded Data". On this screen type in a name in the "Name" field and press the TAB key. The tab key will take you to the "Play Key" field. Put an "A" in this field and press enter. What you have done is assigned a name and a Play Key to the sequence (track) you have just recorded. When you pressed enter, GFmusic processed the Recorded Data and made a sequence (track) out of it. The next thing you will see is the Play/Record screen again. Now press ESCape and you will be back in LOAD MODE of Play/Record. At this point you now have a sequence to load. Press "A" (the Play Key you assigned to the recorded sequence) and GFmusic will "Load" that sequence in preparation of playing it. What you are going to do next is to overdub to that sequence. Now press enter and the sequence you just recorded will begin playing. It may not start immediately because you may have waited some time after entering EXECUTE mode before you actually started playing your synthesizer. In any event, wait until you hear it and then start playing a melody on your synthesizer while the bass line is playing. When the bass line ends, press the Right Arrow key again to process the melody into a sequence. When you press the Right Arrow key, you can assign a name to the melody sequence (track) and also assign a Play Key to it. Let's assume you assigned a "B" to the Play Key for the melody. After entering a name and Play Key on the Process Recorded Data screen, press enter. The melody you just played will then be processed into a sequence and you will then appear back at the Play/Record screen. Again press ESCape and you will be back in Load Mode. Now you have two sequences to "load" (the bass line and the melody). The bass line had a Play Key of "A" and the melody had a Play Key of "B". To get them to play back simultaneously, press "A" and then press "B". When you do this you will see some information appear on the play screen indicating that these sequences (tracks) have been loaded. Now if you press enter, they will both play back simultaneously. At this point you could overdub yet another track and process it into a sequence by pressing the Right Arrow key. In other words, you can use GFmusic as a simple 26 track Midi Tape Recorder. Why 26 tracks ? Because GFmusic only recognizes 26 Play Keys (A to Z). You can, however, bounce tracks, edit them, transpose them while they are playing back, etc. At this point, you should read GFmusic Reference 51 up on the Play Screen some more as well as on Save Song and Load Song. The point is, you can treat GFmusic as a Midi Multi-track tape recorder. You will still need to read the appropriate sections of the manual to find your way around, but you do not have to concern yourself immediately with the subtleties of timing and control sequences. At this point read the rest of the manual but don't concentrate too much on "Timing" or "Control Sequences". As you work with GFmusic and read/reread the manual those concepts will sink in. Concentrate on the mechanics of recording, playing, overdubbing, saving songs, and loading songs. But keep in mind that the real power behind GFmusic will eventually depend on your understanding Timing and Control sequences. There is no substitute for experimenting. Here's a helpful hint. When initially experimenting, play very short pieces on your synthesizer. The purpose is to learn how to use GFmusic. You will initially make mistakes so do not get frustrated by playing 200 bars of complex music only to "lose" it because you made a mistake. Play a short piece and process it into a sequence. Then overdub to it by playing it back and playing along with it. A final note. When you first start GFmusic, the fields on the Process Recorded Data screen are initialized as though you are using GFmusic as a simple 26 track sequencer. GFmusic Reference 52 GETTING STARTED - GETTING STARTED - PART B PART B ________________________ ________________________ By now you have a basic grasp of PLAY/RECORD. There are still a lot of things to learn but for now you will learn the easy stuff. GFmusic Reference 53 DIRECTORIES & PICKING DIRECTORIES & PICKING FROM FROM LISTS LISTS ________________________ ________________________ The Default Song Directory The Default Song Directory ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Before we get too deep into things, now is a good time to explain about directories and pick lists. You may have noticed that on the Main Menu there is a field for the Default Song Directory. For all file operations, the Song Name you specify is prefixed by the Default Song Directory (unless you explicitly specify a drive or directory). This includes LOAD and SAVE of songs and tracks, and the directory of songs and tracks (8 and 9 on the Main Menu). Suppose you keep all of your songs on your C drive (hard disk) in directory \MYSONGS. Then you could put "C:\MYSONGS" in the Default Song Directory field on the Main Menu. Then when you load or save a song you only have to enter the song name (e.g. HOUNDDOG) in the Song Name field. You can override the Default Song Directory at any time by specifying a Drive and/or alternate directory. For example you could specify "A:HOUNDDOG" and the song would be loaded from the root directory of the A drive because you specified a Drive. Or, you could have entered "\MYSONGS\OLDROCK\HOUNDDOG" in the Song Name field and the song would be Loaded/Saved to "\MYSONGS\OLDROCK\HOUNDDOG" because you explicitly specified a directory. In this case the current drive would be used. Basically, it works just like the DOS DIRectory command. GFmusic Reference 54 GFmusic Startup Directories GFmusic Startup Directories ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Throughout this text you will see instructions that tell you to start GFmusic by "going to" the disk/directory where GFmusic programs and files are located before starting GFmusic. This is because GFmusic looks for its own files in the current disk/directory. You can, however, override this by specifying directories when you start GFmusic. For example, if you start GFmusic from the DOS prompt by entering "GFMUSIC \GFMUSIC \USERCODE" then GFmusic will know to find its own files and programs in the \GFMUSIC directory (current drive assumed) and GFmusic user written code (Programmer's Interface) in the \USERCODE directory. In this way you can start GFmusic from anywhere. All you really have to do is put the directory where GFmusic.EXE resides in the AUTOEXEC.BAT path statement. Picking From A List Picking From A List ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Another thing to be aware of right now is that in many cases you can Pick from a List. To pick from a list just press F2. In the case of Load Song or Load Sequence, you use wildcard characters in the Song Name field to narrow down the search (just like DOS DIR command). Also remember that Default Song Directory rules apply here also. For example, If I set my Default Song Directory to "C:\MYSONGS" and I enter "EL*" in the Song Name field for either the Load Song or Load Sequence function, then I would press F2 and pick from a list that corresponds to DIR C:\MYSONGS\EL*. For the Delete Sequence, Copy/Merge, Edit Sequence Selection, Save Sequence, and Print Sequence, the list you are given is always all sequences/tracks currently in memory. For the Edit Detail screen, you are presented a list of "generic" Editor Commands to pick from (very helpful until you learn all of the commands). You should definitely get into the habit of using the Pick From A List Feature (press F2). Also, read the HELP text for each screen. You will find more information on there related to use of the Default Song Directory. GFmusic Reference 55 figure 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SAVE SONG � � � � � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � NAME OF SONG 쿎:\MYSONGS\DEMOSONG � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � � LOAD SONG � � � � � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � NAME OF SONG 쿌:TIMEAFTR � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 � � USE FREE SEQ OR CLEAR (F/C) 쿎� � � 읕� � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 56 Save Song Save Song ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ First let's learn how to save a song. Previously you created a couple of small sequences in PLAY/RECORD. Now it's time to save these as a song. From the main menu, pick option 10 and press a ENTER. This will take you to the SAVE SONG menu. All you need to do here is indicate a path and name to save the song under. Standard DOS paths are supported. For example, suppose you want to save what you have under the name "DEMO". You could just type in DEMO in the song name field and press ENTER. This would cause GFmusic to create three files called DEMO.SNG , DEMO.SEQ , and DEMO.TIM on the current disk/directory. If you had previously set up a directory for your songs you could have saved the song there. You could have created a subdirectory called SONGS on the C drive by using the DOS Make Directory command. (MD SONGS). If you had done that you could now save DEMO by entering C:\SONGS\DEMO C:\SONGS\DEMO If "C:\SONGS" were the Default Song Directory then you could just enter "DEMO" and the song files would be created in that subdirectory. A song can have a name of up to 8 characters. DOS naming conventions apply. Whenever you save a song, GFmusic will end up creating files with the name you specify followed by a .TIM, .SNG and .SEQ extension. If you are working with a hard disk drive, you will find it easier to set up subdirectories for your songs and to use the Default Song Directory. If you try to save, and the song currently exists on disk, GFmusic will prompt you for whether you want to replace it. Try the help feature for this screen. Press F1. To leave SAVE SONG, press ESCape. Remember to save your songs. When you exit GFmusic (via option 99 on the Main Menu) your work is not automatically saved. If you want to keep whatever changes you have made, use Save Song before exiting. GFmusic Reference 57 Load Song Load Song ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Option 7 on Main Menu. Since you have saved the song, let's reload it from disk. Go to LOAD SONG from the Main Menu by selecting option 7. There are two fields on this screen. The first is where you enter the name of the song that you want to load. The second is whether you want to clear memory, or load into 'free slots'. For the name, you can use the same name that you did when you saved the song. E.g. DEMO or C:\SONGS\DEMO. Try the help feature for this screen by pressing F1. When you load a song, you must choose Clear or Free (C or F). When you choose Clear (C), GFmusic simply clears all memory in preparation for loading the sequences of a song. This option of LOAD SONG is quite simple and straightforward. When you choose the Free option of LOAD SONG, things are a little more complicated, but offer some distinct advantages in some situations. When you choose FREE, GFmusic will load the sequences of the song even if you currently have one in memory. What the program will do is look for free slots into which it will load the sequences. This can be very useful when you have a 'song' that contains, for example, a number of Drum patterns, or generic bass lines, etc. In this way you can load the 'Drum' song on top of what you are currently working on. Where you may run into a problem is if there are duplication of either Names or PLAY KEY use between the current song and the one you are loading in using the Free option. If both songs (the one currently in memory and the one you are loading) have sequences with the same name, you will only be able to edit one of the sequences where there is a name conflict. Which one ?? There is no way of knowing. If sequences in memory have the same PLAY KEY assigned as sequences in the song you are loading, then that PLAY KEY will only activate one sequence. Which one ??? Usually the last one loaded but there is no way to really tell without going into the play option and seeing which PLAY KEYs are assigned to which sequences. On the other hand, even if there are name conflicts, when the second sequence is loaded, GFmusic will resolve sequence references so that if one sequence starts another, it will pick the correct one even if two or more sequences have the same name. In this way, you can load more than one song into memory and if there are no PLAY KEY conflicts between sequences you want to start from the computer keyboard, you can play one song followed by the next, followed by the next, etc. This can be useful for live performance..... you can load multiple songs initially and start them from the computer without having to take time out after each song to load the next one. The thing to GFmusic Reference 58 remember, however, is that if you do this, you want to make sure that the sequences you want to start from the keyboard all have different PLAY KEYs assigned to them. Probably the best benefit is that you can create 'songs' that are collections of things you will use often in many other songs. The most obvious example is drum patterns. You may elect to make a 'song' of numerous Rock Drum patterns that you can load in using the 'Free' option of LOAD SONG. Or you may do the same thing for chord progressions for Blues. The key is to make sure that all sequences in such 'songs' have names that won't be used elsewhere. With respect to PLAY KEYs, you may want to set aside a range of keys for drums (say M thru Z). Or you may elect to not assign any play keys at all until you get ready to actually use the sequence. You can also get a list of songs to pick from by pressing F2. To get a list, you must fill in a search criteria in the Song Name field. It's like the DOS DIR command and remember that Default Song Directory rules apply. For example, if your Default Song Directory were "C:\MYSONGS" and you entered "ELT*" in the Song Name field then you would be presented with a list of songs to pick from. I.e. all the ELT* songs in C:\MYSONGS. It would be as though you had issued the DOS Directory Command DIR C:\MYSONGS\ELT*. PLAY KEYs can be assigned as part of the Edit function, not just when you first create a sequence via Play/Record. GFmusic Reference 59 figure for save sequence and load sequence 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SAVE SEQUENCE � � � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � SONG FILE NAME FOR SEQUENCE �\BLUEBASS\BLINE1 � � � � 旼컴컴컴켸 � � NAME OF SEQUENCE TO SAVE 쿍LUES-BASS-1 � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � � LOAD SEQUENCE � � � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � NAME OF SONG �\BLUES\BLUES1 � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴� � � ORIGINAL NAME 쿎HORDS-BLUES � � � � � � � LOAD AS NAME 쿻ew name or blank � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 60 Load Sequence Load Sequence ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In addition to being able to load a song, you can also load a specific sequence from any song. For example, suppose you had a sequence of chord progressions called "CHORDS-BLUES" in a song named "BLUES1". And suppose further you were in the process of creating song "NEWBLUE" and you wanted to utilize the "CHORD-BLUES" sequence in the new song. One could go to the LOAD SEQUENCE feature and load just that sequence into memory to be used in the song you are currently working on. Specify the name of the song and the name of the sequence you want to load. Example : song name ----> C:\BLUES\BLUES1 sequence name ----> CHORDS-BLUES name to load as --> On the LOAD SEQUENCE screen you specify the name you want the sequence to be called after it is loaded. If you leave it blank, the original name will be used. If the name currently exists, then you will be notified and the sequence will not be loaded. While loading, if there is a PLAY KEY associated with the sequence being loaded and there is a conflict, the sequence will be loaded but no play key will be assigned (and you will be notified). You can use the "pick from list" feature for the Load Sequence function. For Song Name you fill in a search criteria just like you do for Load Song (see previous page). Then press F2. You will be presented with a list of songs to pick from (just like Load Song). Pick the song that contains the track you want to load and press Enter. You will then be presented with a list of tracks for that song. Pick one and press Enter. The next thing you'll see is your Load Sequence screen with Song Name and Original (track) Name filled in for you. GFmusic Reference 61 Save Sequence Save Sequence ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ You can save a single sequence. In essence, what you are doing is creating a song (on disk) that has just one sequence. At a later time you can load the entire song (with only one sequence) using the FREE option of LOAD SONG, or, you can use the LOAD SEQUENCE feature. Using the FREE option of LOAD SONG is probably more convenient when loading a song with only one sequence. In this way you can create libraries of individual sequences that you can load into new songs you create. However, when using the Load Song Free option, Play Key or Name conflicts are not checked for. Example : song name ----> C:\BLUEBASS\BLINE1 sequence name --> BLUES-BASS-1 This will create song BLINE1 that has only one sequence (BLUES-BASS- 1). Remember that for Song Name the Default Song Directory rules apply. For the Track name you can pick from a list of tracks currently in memory simply by pressing F2. If you were to save sequence BASS-1 into song BLUE-1, it would NOT add BASS-1 to BLUE1. IT WILL COMPLETELY REPLACE SONG BLUE1. So that when done saving the sequence, BLUE1 will only contain 1 sequence (BASS-1). It would NOT contain what it had before plus BASS-1. I.e., Save Sequence simply creates a 1 sequence song consisting of only the sequence in memory that you want to save. GFmusic Reference 62 figure 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � � COPY / MERGE � � � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � SOURCE SEQUENCE NAME 쿏RUMS-A-PART � � � 쳐컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � � TARGET SEQUENCE NAME 쿏RUMS-NO-RIDE � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컨 � � � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 63 Copy & Merge Copy & Merge ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Simply specify the name of the sequence you want to copy from, and the name of the sequence to copy to. If the target sequence already exists, you will be prompted as to whether you want : To merge the sequences Replace the target sequence with the source (from) sequence Append the source sequence at the end of the target sequence When you merge sequences together, the result is a mixture of events based on the start time of the events in the source and target sequence. The timing relationships are adjusted so that if you play a sequence that was created as the result of the merge, it would sound the same as if you played each of the two original sequences separately, but started them at the time. You can think of merging/copying sequences like 'bouncing' tracks on a tape recorder. For either the source or target Sequence name, you can pick from a list of tracks currently in memory. Just place the cursor in either field and press F2. Delete Sequence Delete Sequence ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Option 3 of Main Menu Not much to say here. Specify the name of the sequence to delete. If it exists, you will be prompted to verify that you want to delete it. If it does not exist, you will be informed of that also. This one is so simple there is not even a sample screen. To pick from a list of tracks just press F2. GFmusic Reference 64 Print Sequence Print Sequence ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Option 13 of Main Menu Again, not much to say here. You can specify the name of a sequence to print, or enter an "*" to indicate that you want all sequences printed. You can pick from a list on this screen also. List Sequences List Sequences ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Option 16 of Main Menu This gives a summary of sequences currently in memory. Try it. Directory Songs Directory Songs ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ You specify a search criteria for songs on disk and then press Enter. Default Song Directory rules apply. Some examples are: C:\SONGS\* Override of Default Song Directory. \SONGS\ELT* Another Default override. ELV* Will use Default Song Directory. Directory Sequences Directory Sequences ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Option 8 of Main Menu Similar to Directory Songs except that it gives you the chance to see which sequences exist in the songs that meet your selection criteria. Use the above (Directory Songs) as a guide and try it. You will find it self-explanatory. Read the messages as you use it. GFmusic Reference 65 Toggle Edit Undo Toggle Edit Undo ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Option 15 on Main Menu When GFmusic is started, it looks to see if there is enough memory available to create an EDIT "UNDO workspace". The UNDO workspace requires enough memory to hold 7,000 events. Also, when GFmusic is started, it will inform you if it has allocated the UNDO workspace. You can toggle use of the UNDO workspace by simply selecting option 15 of the Main Menu. When you do this, if the UNDO workspace has been allocated, it will then be freed. If the UNDO workspace has not been allocated, or if it has been freed, then selecting option 15 will cause GFmusic to attempt to allocate it (if enough memory is available). When the UNDO workspace is freed, its memory becomes available for additional sequences and events. If you are short on memory and an UNDO workspace has been allocated, you can choose option 15 from the Main Menu. This will free up memory for an additional 7,000 events. For more information on UNDO read section 10. Memory Statistics Memory Statistics ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Option 14 on Main Menu With this option, you can get some information on how much memory you have used, and how much is available. The most important piece of information is how much memory is left for new events. This information is in red. You can also see some basic information on each sequence. Try it. Pick option 14 on the Main Menu and press ENTER. Then see what you get. Keep pressing Enter/Return to get back to the Main Menu. Using Side Kick Using Side Kick ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ When you create a song, you may want to create some text where you keep some 'setup' notes about the song. GFmusic does not provide this GFmusic Reference 66 but on the other hand, it does work with SIDE KICK and may well work with other similar packages (some of which are public domain). So you may be able to use these types of packages to create your setup text and other notes. These packages do require memory and if you get too many of them running at once, there may not be enough memory for GFmusic to run (especially if you are using a Vdisk). Note. Side Kick will not come up while you are on the Play/Record screen. GFmusic Reference 67 MORE MORE ON THE ON THE PLAY SCREEN PLAY SCREEN ________________________ ________________________ GFmusic Reference 68 On the installation disk there is a demo song under name GFDEMO1. the purpose of this song is to be instructional, not great music. Right now go ahead and load it. Get to the Main Menu. You can do this by pressing ESCape until you see it. From the Main Menu pick option 7 (LOAD SONG). For the name of the song put in GFDEMO1 (the O is an "OH", not a zero). For the Free Or Clear option, put in a "C" (clear memory before loading). Finally, press ENTER. After the song is loaded, press ESCape to get back to the Main Menu. Now choose option 1 (PLAY/RECORD). Set up your synth to receive on channel 1 and also set it up for a "piano" sound (program/patch). You should now be looking at the PLAY/RECORD screen. You are in LOAD MODE at this point and GFmusic is waiting for you to pick some sequences to initially load. Look at the left side of the screen where you will see the play key assignments for the sequences. For play key "K", there is an associated sequence named MAIN CONTROL. Press "K". GFmusic will now load the MAIN CONTROL sequence. It loaded MAIN CONTROL because when you pressed "K", the program found that the "K" key was associated with that sequence. GFmusic Reference 69 figure Play Screen after loading MAIN CONTROL from LOAD MODE Play Screen after loading MAIN CONTROL from LOAD MODE 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 쿖 SEQUENCE NAMES SEQ NAME________ --WAIT/FROM-- REM MUTE VEL PIT� 쿌 CHORDS 1-12 5 MAIN CONTROL 999 FALSE 0 0� 쿍 BASS 1-10 � 쿎 � 쿏 BASS 11-12 � 쿐 BASS CONTROL � 쿑 � 쿒 � 쿓 � 쿔 � 쿕 � 쿖 MAIN CONTROL � 쿗 TEMPO CONTROL � 쿘 MELODY � 쿙 � 쿚 BASS 1-10 ORIG � 쿛 � � � 쿘EAS = 0 FILTERS=> 1=BEND 2=CTL=CHG 3=AFT-CHNL 4=AFT-POLY� 쿍PM = 120 TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE � 쿘IDI CLK = 0 � 쿐CHOCHNL = 0 SKIP MEASURE = 0 SKIP ACTIVE = FALSE � 쿦POSE NOT ACTIVE PAUSE=TRUE � 쿣EL= 0 PITCH= 0 RECORD MEMORY USED = 0 � 탠컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캐 �**LOAD MODE ** A..Z LOADS. PGUP/PGDN FOR PLAY KEYS, ENTER PLAYS � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 70 Now look at the screen. On the 2nd line you will observe : Under the SEQ column you will see a number. That number is the sequence number associated with the sequence MAIN CONTROL. The program deals in numbers. When you create a sequence, a number is assigned to it. However, you will never have to deal with numbers, only names. Under the NAME column you will see "MAIN CONTROL" (the name of the sequence you asked for by pressing the Play Key associated with it). Under The WAIT/FROM column there is nothing right now but as a song plays, this column will change. More on this later. Under the REM column you will see 999. This is the number of REPEATS that REMain. We can assign REPEATS when we create a sequence either via EDIT functions or by processing music recorded from the PLAY/RECORD functions. Remember, REPEATS is the number of times the sequence will loop if it is started from the computer keyboard. REM starts out with the REPEATS and is decremented by one at the completion of each loop. Under MUTE you will see "FALSE". This is the MUTE flag talked about earlier. Finally, there are columns for VEL and PIT. These columns will contain the Velocity and Pitch transpositions imposed upon a sequence when it plays. For MAIN CONTROL these values are zero. Remember, you are in LOAD MODE at the current time and GFmusic is waiting for you to tell it what sequences to 'pre-load'. We will only load MAIN CONTROL. Now press ENTER and you will leave load mode and enter EXECUTE mode. By now you should be hearing the music and observing a number of changes occurring on the screen. Examine the screen. If the metronome is sounding, press the "END" key to toggle it off. GFmusic Reference 71 Play Screen after starting play of MAIN CONTROL and then using the PAUSE feature (pressing the space bar). On your screen the items may show up in different locations. figure 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 쿖 SEQUENCE NAMES SEQ NAME________ --WAIT/FROM-- REM MUTE VEL PIT� 쿌 CHORDS 1-12 5 MAIN CONTROL BASS CONTROL+ 999 FALSE 0 0� 쿍 BASS 1-10 8 MELODY MAIN CONTROL 1 FALSE 0 0� 쿎 3 CHORDS 1-12 MAIN CONTROL 1 FALSE 0 0� 쿏 BASS 11-12 4 BASS CONTROL BASS 1-10+ 1 FALSE 0 0� 쿐 BASS CONTROL 2 BASS 1-10 BASS CONTROL 1 FALSE 0 0� 쿑 � 쿒 � 쿓 � 쿔 � 쿕 � 쿖 MAIN CONTROL � 쿗 TEMPO CONTROL � 쿘 MELODY � 쿙 � 쿚 BASS 1-10 ORIG � 쿛 � � � 쿘EAS = 0 FILTERS=> 1=BEND 2=CTL=CHG 3=AFT-CHNL 4=AFT-POLY� 쿍PM = 120 TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE � 쿘IDI CLK = 0 � 쿐CHOCHNL = 0 SKIP MEASURE = 0 SKIP ACTIVE = FALSE � 쿌CTIVE = **NONE** PAUSE=TRUE � 쿣EL= 0 PITCH= 0 RECORD MEMORY USED = 0 6 � 탠컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캐 쿛LAY STARTED � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 72 You will notice that a number of other sequences have started. Press the space bar and the music will pause. Find MAIN CONTROL (the first row under the white headings). In MAIN CONTROL's WAIT/FROM column you will see the name of another sequence followed by a "+". That signifies that MAIN CONTROL has started that sequence and is waiting for it to complete. MAIN CONTROL has started other sequences also, but the WAIT/FROM field will only indicate the sequence it is waiting on to complete. Look around the screen. You will find a row with information for a sequence named BASS CONTROL. BASS CONTROL was started by MAIN CONTROL and is waiting for some other sequence to complete. To see what sequence BASS CONTROL is waiting on, look in the WAIT/FROM column for BASS CONTROL. There you will see the name of the sequence followed by a "+". A name followed by a "+" in the WAIT/FROM column indicates that the sequence under NAME is waiting for the sequence under WAIT/FROM to complete. If there is a name in the WAIT/FROM column that is NOT followed by a "+", then the WAIT/FROM value is the name of the sequence that started the sequence. The maximum number of sequences you will see information for on this screen is 16. That is because ONLY 16 SEQUENCES CAN BE ACTIVE AT THE ONLY 16 SEQUENCES CAN BE ACTIVE AT THE SAME TIME. So, if you have a control sequence that immediately starts SAME TIME. two sequences that each in turn start 7 sequences, you would get an error message on the PLAY/RECORD screen indicating that too many sequences were active concurrently. However, If the control sequence started two sequences that each in turn started 6 sequences, everything would be ok because the total number of sequences in this case would be 15. (1 + 2 + (2 times 6)). The limit is 16 is for concurrent playing of sequences. I.e. only 16 can be active at the same moment. A song can certainly have more than 16 sequences, but only 16 may be active at any one time. It is not a limitation you are likely to encounter in practice, but if you do, you can circumvent it by merging sequences together using the COPY/MERGE feature. Again, it is unlikely this limitation will impact you. Now press the space bar again to release the song (it was paused). Look at the bottom right corner of the screen. There you will see a series of red bars and dots that are 'flashing'. There are 32 of these. When one of these is a '.' it represents a note slot that is free. If it is a '|' it represents a note slot that is used. As a sequence plays a note it will use up one of the 'note slots' for the duration of the note. When it comes time to turn off the note (based on duration that you will learn of later), then that note slot is freed up for another note-on event. So, GFmusic will allow UP TO 32 NOTES TO BE "ON" AT THE SAME TIME. If your song / sequences attempt to have more than 32 notes 'on' at the same time, then some notes will not get played. You will not get an error and the song will play along as normal, but some of them will not get played. Also in the lower right corner you will see a number next to the string "NOTES=". This number is the most note slots used concurrently since entering EXECUTE mode. I.e. the "high water mark". It is reset GFmusic Reference 73 to zero when leaving LOAD MODE and entering EXECUTE mode, or when pausing a song (via the space bar). The information talked about above and shown on the screen is useful when you have made a mistake in a control sequence. The most common mistake made in a control sequence is not "waiting" on a sequence when you should have. And, the activity on the screen as a song plays can be entertaining. At this point, you have learned a lot about the PLAY/RECORD functions. What would be good now is to use the demo song that is playing and try starting individual sequences, try pitch and velocity transpositions while the song is playing, adding/deleting sequences from the 'affected list', etc. I.e. try all of the things talked about so far. The demo song, while it may not be great music, is simple enough for you to readily hear the effects of real time transpositions, tempo changes, etc. At the same time, it contains and demonstrates all of the features that you can use; especially with respect to control sequences. Don't forget to try out the MUTE and SOLO features. You probably won't remember all of the features available in Play/Record, so use HELP to jog your memory. To get HELP, press F1. In order to be useful to the most numbers of people, the demo song (GFEDMO1) uses Midi Channel 1 and will play up to 6 notes concurrently. One note for the bass line, 4 notes for chords, and 1 note for melody. It is probably best to setup your synthesizer for something like Piano and set it to receive on channel 1. You might try overdubbing to the demo song. Use the record features talked about earlier. For example, Mute the MELODY sequence and record/overdub your own melody. Again, when in LOAD MODE, you don't have to pre-load a sequence(s) before going into EXECUTE mode. Try this..... go back to LOAD MODE (ESCape if in EXECUTE Mode) and simply press ENTER WITHOUT PRE-LOADING ANY SEQUENCES. You will then go into EXECUTE mode with nothing playing. Now press "K" and the song will start. LOAD MODE is a convenience. It is not always necessary to Pre-load a sequence there before going to EXECUTE Mode. In fact, to record the very first sequence of a new song you would have to go directly from LOAD MODE into EXECUTE Mode where you would then record the first sequence of a song. GFmusic Reference 74 EDIT EDIT ________________________ ________________________ GFmusic Reference 75 Edit - General Edit - General ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Edit and PLAY/RECORD is where you will spend much of your time with GFmusic. It is here where the functionality is. The editor is a "FULL SCREEN" editor. That is, you make all of your changes on a screen, and then press ENTER to tell GFmusic that you want them processed. Remember, F9 and F10 takes you to the first field on the next line. Load the demo song GFDEMO1. To do this choose option 7 from the main menu. Since this song is on the GFmusic disk (or if using a hard disk it is in the same directory GFmusic is in) all you have to do on the LOAD SONG screen is put GFDEMO1 in the song name field and put "C" in the free or clear field and press ENTER. After the song is loaded, press ESCape to get back to the Main Menu. Then do the following : Get to the EDIT SELECTION screen via option 2 from the Main Menu. On the Edit Selection Screen, enter "MAIN CONTROL" and press ENTER. I.e. we want to edit sequence MAIN CONTROL. You can also pick from a list by pressing F2. Next you will see the EDIT screen. If we had specified a nonexistent sequence on the EDIT SELECTION screen, then GFmusic would have created one with that name and initialized it with a few "Null Events" (you will learn about them later). If we had simply made a mistake, we could use the CANCEL command on The EDIT screen when it was displayed and the newly created sequence would have been deleted. We will discuss the EDIT features shortly, but first a general discussion of the song GFDEMO1 is in order. GFmusic Reference 76 GFDEMO1 - How It Was Created GFDEMO1 - How It Was Created ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ GFDEMO1 is a sample song intended to show most of the features of GFmusic and to provide insight into how you might put a song together. Here is the way GFDEMO1 was created. First, the SET TIME option was selected from the main menu. On the SET TIME screen the following was specified : 192 steps per measure 2 steps per Midi Clock 4 beats per measure Midi Clock Off (O) 120 Beats Per Minute Later, read the section on timing for more information on this feature and how it relates to sequences and events. But for now, just follow along. The second thing that was done is that the PLAY/RECORD feature was selected from the main menu (option 1). No sequences existed at this point so LOAD MODE was skipped and EXECUTE mode was entered by pressing ENTER. The metronome was on and a 1 bar bass line was played on the synthesizer. The bass line was then processed into a sequence by pressing the RIGHT ARROW key. The right arrow key caused the PROCESS RECORDED DATA screen to be presented and there the following was specified : A name of "BASS 1-10 ORIG" A play key was assigned "Y" (yes) in ZERO 1ST EVENT field ALLOW TRANSPOSE was set to "Y" (yes) Then ENTER was pressed and GFmusic created the sequence BASS 1-10 ORIG. At this point, I had a bass line. It was rough, and I wanted to clean it up but I also wanted to leave it as recorded so you could look at it later. So I made a copy of it. I ESCaped (pressed the ESCape key) until I got to the main menu and then used the COPY/MERGE function (Main Menu option 5) to make a copy of BASS 1-10 ORIG. I named the copy BASS 1-10. BASS 1-10 will be the first 10 bars of a 12 bar blues progression. I then went into EDIT on BASS 1-10 and 'cleaned' it up so that the timing was better and I also made sure that the sequence was exactly 1 bar long. I.e. I made sure that The measure/step field for the last event indicated MEASure 2 and STEP 1. The intent was to use only 1 bass line (that was only 1 measure long) for the first 10 bars by having a bass control sequence start it with the proper transpositions at the proper measure. GFmusic Reference 77 Next, I recorded the bass line for bars 11 and 12. I went to the PLAY/RECORD screen and recorded 2 bars of bass line that I wanted for the last two bars of the 12 bar blues progression. I named it BASS 11-12. After recording this sequence and processing it by using the right arrow key, I then ESCaped my way back to the Main Menu and selected EDIT (option 2). At the EDIT SELECTION screen I specified sequence BASS 11-12. I was then presented with the EDIT screen where I 'cleaned up' this sequence. Now I had two bass lines. One for the first 10 bars and one for the last two bars. Now I needed a control sequence for them. I could have started the bass lines from the main control sequence I would create later, but I elected to create a control sequence just for controlling the bass line sequences. In this way I could show you how higher level control sequences can invoke (start) lower level control sequences. In addition, this would allow me to conveniently MUTE/SOLO all Bass Lines my Muting or Soloing the BASS CONTROL Sequence. So, next I created a sequence called BASS CONTROL. I did this by going to the EDIT SELECTION screen and specifying sequence BASS CONTROL. Since it did not exist, GFmusic created the sequence with a small number of Null Events in it. I then put into BASS CONTROL the proper sequence start commands that would play all 12 bars of bass. When you look at BASS CONTROL you will see that it does the following : Plays BASS 1-10 4 times without any transpositions ____________________________________________________ Then plays BASS 1-10 2 times transposing it up 5 steps _______________________________________________________ (notes). ________ Then plays BASS 1-10 2 times without transposing ________________________________________________ Plays BASS 1-10 1 time transposing it up 7 notes ________________________________________________ Plays BASS 1-10 1 time transposing it up 5 notes ________________________________________________ Plays BASS 11-12 1 time with no transpositions. _______________________________________________ Now I had all of my bass lines and their control sequence. I then went back to PLAY/RECORD and started BASS CONTROL. As it played the 12 bars of bass, I played the chords on my synthesizer (all 12 bars). I then processed the recorded data into a sequence and named it CHORDS 1-12. Again, I left PLAY/RECORD and cleaned up the timing of this sequence by using the autocorrect (quantize) features of the EDITor. Now I had bass and chords. All I needed now was a control sequence. So I created sequence MAIN CONTROL via the editor and into it I put the correct sequence start events to invoke BASS CONTROL and CHORDS 1-12. I also put in an event to set the synthesizer to 'piano' so that GFmusic Reference 78 when I play it back it will pick the correct synth patch/program. Now I had a main control sequence that would play my bass and chords for me. The Edit Screen for MAIN CONTROL shown below has the PROG event that set the synthesizer to "Piano". On the distribution disk for GFmusic, the MAIN CONTROL sequence does not have the PROG event so that it will play on everyone's synth. So when playing GFDEMO1, you must manually set your synth to "piano". Keep this in mind when reading the text and looking at an actual Edit Screen for MAIN CONTROL. I played MAIN CONTROL from edit (that you will learn of later) and while in PLAY/RECORD, I recorded a simple melody 12 bars long. I processed that into a sequence called MELODY. I then ESCaped my way back into EDIT (because I had invoked PLAY/RECORD from EDIT) and inserted yet another sequence start event for the MELODY sequence I had just recorded. The only thing that remained was to clean up the timing of MELODY since I do not play well. So I left edit of MAIN CONTROL via the END command so that my work would be saved and then edited MELODY. While editing MELODY, I cleaned up the timing a little and made sure it came out to exactly 12 bars long. Now I was done. I saved my work and ended edit via the END command. Finally, I went back to PLAY/RECORD to see how the whole thing sounded. The point is........ with a sequencer that supports control sequences, you can put a song together with bits and pieces. Most music is repetitive. For example, a bass line in bars 5 and 6 is the same as bars 1 thru 4 except that it is transposed up some number of steps. This is an important concept to grasp especially as it relates to GFmusic. Record a part of a song only one time and then invoke it when needed with a sequence start command. GFmusic Reference 79 figure CONTROL A Control Track 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SEQUENCE # 5 NAME MAIN CONTROL � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � CMND =>� � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � 쿐VENT TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL MEAS ST � 쳐컫컴컴컴컴컴컴컫컴쩡컴컫컴컴컫컴컴컫컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컴컴캑 � 1쿛ROG � � 48� 0� 0� 1� 0� 1 1 � � 2�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 3쿘ELODY � 0� 8� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 4쿎HORDS 1-12 � 0� 3� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 5쿍ASS CONTROL+� 0� 4� 1� 0� 1� 0� 1 1 � � 6�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 7�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 7 1 � 읕컨컴컴컴컴컴컴컨컴좔컴컨컴컴컨컴컴컨컴컴좔컴컨컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 80 At any rate, you should now be viewing the EDIT screen. The EDIT screen consists of two main parts : The Command line (The 1st red rectangle, top of screen) The Edit-Detail area (The area below the Command Line with all the red boxes). The Edit-Detail area contains EVENTS. EVENTS can be of many different types that you will learn about later. You use the editor to modify, copy, delete, and create events. You can do this in two ways. By changing attributes of events directly in the Edit-Detail area. Via commands from the command line. Edit Operation Edit Operation ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The editor will always operate in the following order : Items in the Edit-Detail area are checked for errors first. If an error is found, the event number is set to blink and an error message is issued. See left column for the event number. All events have an event number. As you add and delete events, the event numbers are adjusted. If no errors are found, then any changes that may have been in the Edit-Detail area are captured and the command line is then processed. If an error in the command is detected, a message is issued and no further action takes place. The command line is the long red rectangle at the top of the screen. It is on the command line where commands such as "DEL 1 5" are issued (delete events 1 thru 5). When you are done editing a sequence, you exit by issuing an END command. This is the graceful way to end edit and doing it this way will save whatever changes you have made. To exit without saving any changes, use The CANcel command, or just keep pressing ESCape. GFmusic Reference 81 The Command Line And Commands The Command Line And Commands ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ First, a general discussion of the command line. Commands can consist of just the command, or the command followed by up to 3 numbers. Some commands require 1 number, some 2 numbers, and some 3 numbers following the command. When entering a command and its parameters, the command and all parameters must be separated by one or more spaces. When processing commands, if the command you issue requires 2 numbers and you have issued it with 3 numbers, only the first two numbers are processed. The 3rd number is ignored. After processing your command, the editor will leave your command on the command line as you entered it, but it will replace the 1st character with a "?". Whenever the 1st character of the command line is a "?", the editor will ignore whatever is on the command line. This is a handy feature because your last command is retained on the command line for your convenience but is not processed until you change the "?" or type in a new command. Many commands require the second number to be an event number. Often you want that number to be the last event number. For commands such as these, if the second number is greater than the last event number, the command will be processed as if you entered the last event number. For example, If we have a sequence with 222 events and we want to delete events 100 thru the end, we could enter "DEL 100 222" on the command line. However, if we don't know what the last event number is, we could enter "DEL 100 9999". Use a maximum of 4 digits on any number associated with a command. When in Edit, you can get HELP at any time by pressing F1. In addition to HELP, you can pick from a list of "generic" commands by pressing F2. At your first opportunity you should try both the HELP and pick from list features for Edit (F1 and F2). Remember, before a command can be processed, the data in the Edit- Detail area must pass muster first. We will come back to command line processing later after we learn about the types of events and the Edit-Detail area. GFmusic Reference 82 Events And Edit Detail Events And Edit Detail ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ You should be looking at the EDIT screen for sequence MAIN CONTROL. A brief discussion of fields on the EDIT screen follows. Read thru it but don't study it. Later we will discuss in detail every facet of the sequences as found in GFDEMO1. The columns in the Edit-Detail area are : EVENT TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL MEAS STEP Look for them on the screen. EVENT EVENT This is the event number for the event. You will use this number in many commands issued from the command line. The EVENT field is 'protected'. I.e. you can not change it. TYPE TYPE What 'type' of EVENT it is. For example, a Note-On event, a Sequence Start, etc. Details for all possible event types will follow later. NOTE NOTE For Note-On or Note-Off events, this is the note to turn on/off. It can range from C in octave 1 thru G in octave 9. Indicate sharps or flats by using # and - (pound sign and minus) respectively. GFmusic will always show notes with the # designation. Thus, you could enter a note of D-, and the next time it is displayed it will be displayed as a C#. The Sequence Start event uses the NOTE field for different purposes. This will be discussed later. val val This is the value field. This field is used by many different types of events. For example, the PROG event uses it for the program (or patch) number. DURAT DURAT This is the DURATion field. For Note-On events, the value in this field specifies how long the note should be sounded for. Again, this field may be used by other event types for other purposes. TIME TIME All events have a Time associated with them. This field indicates when the event should be processed and is the time since the prior event was activated. For event 1 of a sequence, this time is the time since the sequence was started. GFmusic Reference 83 See the section on timing also. This is an important concept that you should learn well. CH CH This is the CHannel field. This field applies only to Midi events and is the Midi Channel that is associated with the event. If your synthesizer is set to receive on channel 1 then Note-On events that you want to be processed by your synthesizer should also have 1 specified in CHannel field in the sequence(s). The same holds true for PROGram changes, pitch BENDs, etc. When you record (via PLAY/RECORD) and create a sequence, this field will be the CHannel number that your synthesizer associated with the notes and other Midi events (such as program changes) that it sent out. CHannel can be from 1 thru 16. VEL VEL This is the velocity field. It applies only to Note-On, Note-Off, and Sequence Start Events. It is the velocity associated with the Note- On or Note-Off event, or, the velocity transpose to use when you start another sequence with a Sequence Start Event. MEAS and STEP MEAS and STEP This is a protected field and is calculated by GFmusic. See the section on timing..PA GFmusic Reference 84 EDIT Part B EDIT Part B A DISCUSSION OF MAIN CONTROL A Control Track figure 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SEQUENCE # 5 NAME MAIN CONTROL � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � CMND =>� � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � 쿐VENT TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL MEAS ST � 쳐컫컴컴컴컴컴컴컫컴쩡컴컫컴컴컫컴컴컫컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컴컴캑 � 1쿛ROG � � 48� 0� 0� 1� 0� 1 1 � � 2�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 3쿘ELODY � 0� 8� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 4쿎HORDS 1-12 � 0� 3� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 5쿍ASS CONTROL+� 0� 4� 1� 0� 1� 0� 1 1 � � 6�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 7�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 7 1 � 읕컨컴컴컴컴컴컴컨컴좔컴컨컴컴컨컴컴컨컴컴좔컴컨컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 85 MAIN CONTROL - A Discussion MAIN CONTROL - A Discussion ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ You should have selected EDIT (option 2) from the Main Menu and on the EDIT SELECTION screen specified MAIN CONTROL as the sequence to edit. Now you should be looking at the EDIT screen for sequence MAIN CONTROL. MAIN CONTROL is a control sequence. Its main purpose is to start c other sequences. You can think of it as the Conductor of an Orchestra. What follows is a discussion of each event in MAIN CONTROL The first event is a PROGram event (shown above but not in GFDEMO1 as distributed). This event sends out a Midi program change that sets a program on the synthesizers that respond to it. To send out program changes (sometimes called "patch changes") to your synthesizer you would have a program change(s) in one or more of your sequences. To put a PROGram change in your sequence you do the following : Enter PROG in the TYPE field for the event. PROG In The value field you enter the program number. The Midi spec specifies that a program change can range from 0 to 127. In the TIME field goes the "time" (see discussion of timing) The headings on the EDIT screen are there for the most common event type. That is, Note-On events. However, because there are so many different types of events, some fields on the screen have to do double duty. So, the value field is used for PROGram number for the PROG event. The same holds true for other event TYPEs as you will see later. Which fields to put the parameters in for the different event types was chosen based on a combination of logical meaning (e.g. for sequence start DURATion is used for repeats) and/or ease of entry. The second event is a "Null Event". A null event does not do anything. You specify a null event by entering "*" in the TYPE field. No other fields apply except the TIME field. You need to specify a TIME. Every event has a time. The main use for a null event is as a timing placeholder. For example, suppose you recorded a sequence and you wanted to 'delete' a note but not otherwise disturb the timing of other events (e.g. notes) in the sequence. You could simply change the TYPE field for that event from Note-On (TYPE of blank) to "*" (null event). The note would not be there but the timing of the sequence with respect to all other events would remain the same. E.g. suppose you wanted to change a chord from C7 to C. Just change the event for the A# note to a null event. GFmusic Reference 86 The third event is a sequence start event. It starts sequence MELODY and does NOT WAIT for it to complete. When a sequence start event starts another sequence it specifies how many times it wants that sequence to repeat. This is done by specifying a repeat (or loop) count in the DURATion field. In this example, MELODY is to repeat 1 time. So, this event will start MELODY and continue on with its business (the next event). Notice the value field for event 3. It contains a number. When you create a sequence start event you DO NOT enter anything in the value field. Instead, after you press ENTER and the information is processed, the editor will put a number here. It is the Sequence Number. Ignore this. GFmusic deals in numbers, but you only have to deal in names (at least as far as sequences and songs go). The fourth event is also a sequence start event. This time the sequence started is CHORDS 1-12. Again, the sequence is started with a repeat count of 1 (in the DURAT field) and then MAIN CONTROL goes on to the next event. The fifth event is also a sequence start event. This time MAIN CONTROL starts BASS CONTROL and waits for it to complete before going on to the next event. That is, it is a sequence start with a wait. MAIN CONTROL will go no further until BASS CONTROL has looped 1 time. To specify "wait", add a "+" after the name of the sequence that you are starting. DO NOT LEAVE ANY SPACES BETWEEN THE + AND THE LAST CHARACTER OF THE SEQUENCE NAME !!!! At this point, BASS CONTROL will process its own events. Since we specified a repeat/loop count of 1 (in the DURAT field), after BASS CONTROL processes all of its events 1 time, then MAIN CONTROL will be invoked again at event number 6. Events 6 thru 18 are Null Events. They will do nothing. It is important to remember that all sequences must end with a NULL EVENT (* in TYPE). The editor will make sure you do this. MAIN CONTROL has a TIME of zero in all of its events. This is not always the case with control sequences. However, in the case of MAIN CONTROL, it works because it merely starts sequences and eventually waits for some of them to complete. Sometimes you may want to start a sequence a specific length of time after starting some other sequence. In these cases you will have sequence start events with a non-zero TIME. In the case of MAIN CONTROL, when it starts the sequences MELODY, CHORDS 1-12, and BASS CONTROL, it does so with a zero TIME from one sequence start to the next. The effect is that of starting each of these sequences at the same time. This is the most common way of starting sequences. GFmusic Reference 87 When we start MAIN CONTROL from PLAY/RECORD, it will loop 999 times. The first time it is started, it will start 3 sequences. One of the sequences it starts (BASS CONTROL) will also start sequences. So let's go on and examine BASS CONTROL which itself is a control sequence that is started from a higher level control sequence (MAIN CONTROL). GFmusic Reference 88 Relationship of track starts in demo songs. figure MAIN CONTROL started from � Play/Record via � a Play Key � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴탠컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � � � MELODY BASS CONTROL+ CHORDS 1-12 � � � 旼컴컴컴좔컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � BASS 1-10+ BASS 11-12+ started from BASS CONTROL multiple times with different transpositions. GFmusic Reference 89 figure A DISCUSSION OF BASS CONTROL - ANOTHER CONTROL TRACK A DISCUSSION OF BASS CONTROL - ANOTHER CONTROL TRACK 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SEQUENCE # 4 NAME BASS CONTROL � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � CMND =>� � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � 쿐VENT TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL MEAS ST � 쳐컫컴컴컴컴컴컴컫컴쩡컴컫컴컴컫컴컴컫컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컴컴캑 � 1쿍ASS 1-10+ � 0� 2� 4� 0� 1� 0� 1 1 � � 2쿍ASS 1-10+ � 5� 2� 2� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 3쿍ASS 1-10+ � 0� 2� 2� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 4쿍ASS 1-10+ � 7� 2� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 5쿍ASS 1-10+ � 5� 2� 1� 0� 1� 0� 1 1 � � 6쿍ASS 11-12+ � � 0� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 7�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 7 1 � 읕컨컴컴컴컴컴컴컨컴좔컴컨컴컴컨컴컴컨컴컴좔컴컨컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 90 BASS CONTROL - A Discussion BASS CONTROL - A Discussion ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Leave EDIT on MAIN CONTROL by pressing ESCape. This is the non- graceful way to end EDIT. You will get a message. Read it and press ESCape. If you want to save any changes you may have made in EDIT, you should exit via the END command. A more thorough discussion of all commands is for later. You should now be back at the Main Menu. Notice that "2" is still in the data entry field of the Main Menu. Since we want to get back to EDIT, just press ENTER. At the EDIT SELECTION screen, change the name to BASS CONTROL and press ENTER. You will then see the EDIT screen for the BASS CONTROL sequence (as shown above). BASS CONTROL is also a control sequence. It starts the bass line sequences that contain the actual notes. We still have not even seen a Note-On EVENT. The first EVENT is a sequence start event with a WAIT. It starts sequence BASS 1-10 with a repeat/loop count of 4 (in the DURATion) field and waits for it to complete before going on with the next EVENT. Remember, WAITed sequence starts can be identified by the "+" at the end of the sequence name in the TYPE field. The second event again starts sequence BASS 1-10. This time it starts it with a repeat count (DURATion field) of 2. More importantly, the NOTE field contains a 5. This means that when BASS 1-10 plays, it will play all notes 5 steps higher. If we wanted it to play 7 notes lower, we would have entered "-7" in the NOTE field. When we start a sequence, we can also specify a transposition value for VELocity (either + or -). For those of you with velocity sensitive keyboards or sound modules, you can use this feature to great effect. The next 4 events are all sequence start events with a WAIT (follow the sequence name to start with a +, DO NOT LEAVE A SPACE BETWEEN THE DO NOT LEAVE A SPACE BETWEEN THE LAST CHARACTER OF THE SEQUENCE NAME AND THE +). LAST CHARACTER OF THE SEQUENCE NAME AND THE +). The last events are all Null Events (* in TYPE). Again, all sequences must end with a Null Event. So we can see that by using a control sequence and transpositions when we start a sequence, we can get a lot of music out of just a few notes. Specifically, BASS 1-10 is used over and over in the 12 bars blues simply by starting the basic bass line with the proper pitch transposition. Now let's look at a sequence with notes in it. Type "END" on the command line and press ENTER. At the main menu select option 2 and press ENTER. On the EDIT SELECTION screen, enter CHORDS 1-12 and press ENTER. GFmusic Reference 91 Or, you can press F2 on the EDIT SELECTION screen to pick the track to edit from a list. GFmusic Reference 92 figure A DISCUSSION OF CHORDS 1-12 - A SEQUENCE WITH NOTES A DISCUSSION OF CHORDS 1-12 - A SEQUENCE WITH NOTES 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SEQUENCE # 3 NAME CHORDS 1-12 � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � CMND =>� � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � 쿐VENT TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL MEAS ST � 쳐컴컫컴컴컴컴컫컴컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컫컴컴컫컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컴컴캑 � 1� � E5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 1 1 � � 2� � G5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 1 1 � � 3� � C5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 1 1 � � 4� � E5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 2 1 � � 5� � G5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 2 1 � � 6� � C5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 2 1 � � 7� � G5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 3 1 � � 8� � E5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 3 1 � � 9� � C5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 3 1 � � 10� � C5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 4 1 � � 11� � E5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 4 1 � � 12� � G5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 4 1 � � 13� � F5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 5 1 � � 14� � C5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 5 1 � � 15� � A5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 5 1 � � 16� � C5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 6 1 � � 17� � F5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 6 1 � � 18� � A5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 6 1 � � 19� � E5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 7 1 � � 20� � G5 � | 190� 0� 1� 64� 7 1 � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 93 CHORDS 1-12 A Discussion CHORDS 1-12 A Discussion ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ You should now be looking at the EDIT screen for CHORDS 1-12. EVENT 1 has a type of blank. A blank TYPE is a Note-On event (when manually entering notes in edit you could also use a type of "ON"). A note-on event results in sending a Midi Note-On command 'down the wire' to the synthesizer(s) at the other end. The NOTE field specifies which note to sound. It can range from C1 (C in the 1st octave) to G9 (G in the 9th octave). You will normally record tracks via the PLAY/RECORD function and later EDIT the track. When you create a track this way, what you will see are the notes that you played/recorded. The 1st event will sound E in the 5th octave. The note will last for 192 steps (the DURATion field). In this case, 192 steps of duration is the same as one measure/bar because of the way we setup the timing parameters on the SET TIME option (discussed later). The TIME field of event 1 is 0. That means that it will start zero steps after the prior event was started. Since it is the first event, a zero TIME means that it will sound the note as soon as the sequence is started. The CHannel field (CH) contains a 1. This means that this Midi event will be 'tagged' with a Midi CHannel of 1. Synthesizers on the 'wire' that are setup to respond to channel 1 will sound this note when it is played by the sequencer. The VELocity field (VEL) has a value of 64. VELocity only has meaning for Note-On and Note-Off events (and almost all manufacturers do not use Velocity as part of Note-Off). The meaning (how the synthesizer will react) of VELocity varies from synthesizer to synthesizer (and even from program to program on the same synth). See the manual for your own synthesizer/sound modules. If you have a velocity sensitive keyboard, when you record a sequence you will see different values in the velocity field when you EDIT the sequence you record. In this case all of the notes have a VELocity of 64 because it was played on a Casio CZ-3000 which is not velocity sensitive. I.e. it always sends out 64 as the value for velocity. The last two fields on the screen are MEAS and STEP. In this example the first note is to be played at MEASure 1 and STEP 1. Since this sequence was recorded with 192 steps per measure, event 4 will be played on the beat for measure 2. Now look at events 2 and 3. They both have a TIME of zero. That means they will sound zero steps after the prior event. Ultimately, this means that the first 3 events (notes) will sound simultaneously.... i.e. we are playing a chord. Isn't it amazing that I was able to get all three notes to sound at exactly the same time ??? No.... I used the autocorrect feature of EDIT after I recorded it. But that is for later. GFmusic Reference 94 Now look at event 4. This note will sound 192 steps after the prior event. And events 5 and 6 have a start time of zero so they will sound at the same time as event 4 (another chord). Since I recorded at 192 steps per measure, notes 4-6 will all sound EXACTLY at the beginning of measure 2 (now that is good playing). GFmusic Reference 95 Scrolling Scrolling With PgUp & PgDn With PgUp & PgDn ________________________ ________________________ On the screen, you can only see 20 events at a time. To page thru the sequence use the PgUp and PgDn keys. Try it. Now try entering "TOP" on the command line and press ENTER or PgUp. The editor will take you to the top of the sequence. Try entering BOT (for bottom) on the command line and press ENTER or PgDn. The editor will take you to the BOTtom of the sequence. Now try this; Get to the top of the sequence. Then put the cursor on the same row/line as event 10 and press PgDn. The editor will position event 10 at the top of the screen. Now put the cursor on event 25 and press PgUp. The editor will position event 25 at the bottom of the screen. You can control which event is at the top or bottom of the screen by positioning the cursor on the desired row for the event and using PgUp or PgDn. For long sequences, there is also another handy feature. On the command line, you can enter a number and then use the PgUp or PgDn keys. If the Command Line begins with a valid number (integer) instead of a command (e.g. 100) and you press PgDn, then the editor will page you down 100 events. If you were to enter "100" on the command line and press PgUp, the editor would page up 100 events. If the number is out of range, the editor will take you to either the beginning or ending of the sequence. When pressing PgUp or PgDn and nothing applies (i.e. no TOP or BOT or no valid number on the command line) then the editor will page you up/down 19 events (1 less than a full screen). Try it. Now go to the bottom of the sequence. Notice the last event (event 38). It is a Null Event (all sequences MUST end with a Null Event). A null event does nothing..... but, the TIME field of the null event is important. This null event has a time of 192, and it has it for a reason. If it had any other value, the sequence would not be exactly 12 measures long. That may be ok if the sequence will only repeat 1 time and the start of other sequences do not depend on when this sequence ends. But if the sequence loops, or the start of other sequences depend on it being a specific length (say exactly 12 bars long), then the time of the last null event is important. For example, if this sequence were not exactly 12 bars long, and I had started it with a wait from a control sequence, then when this sequence ended and the control sequence started the next sequence, it may start the next sequence too early or too late. So..... timing is important, and the TIME of the last Null Event is just as important as the timing of all other events ! Now let's look at a sequence with a command that controls Tempo. GFmusic Reference 96 figure TEMPO CONTROL - A SEQUENCE THAT USES THE BPM EVENT 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SEQUENCE # 7 NAME TEMPO CONTROL � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � CMND =>� � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � 쿐VENT TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL MEAS ST � 쳐컫컴컴컴컴컴컴컫컴쩡컴컫컴컴컫컴컴컫컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컴컴캑 � 1쿍PM � � 100� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 2쿘AIN CONTROL+� 0� 5� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 3�* � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 4쿍PMUP � � 30� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 5쿘AIN CONTROL+� 0� 5� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 6�* � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 7쿍PMUP � � 30� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 8쿘AIN CONTROL+� 0� 5� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 9�* � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 0쿍PMUP � � 30� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �11쿘AIN CONTROL+� 0� 5� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �12�* � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �13쿍PMUP � � 30� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �14쿘AIN CONTROL+� 0� 5� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �15�* � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �16쿍PMDN � � 30� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �17쿘AIN CONTROL+� 0� 5� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �18�* � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �19쿍PMDN � � 30� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � �20쿘AIN CONTROL+� 0� 5� 1� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � 쳐컨컴컴컴컴컴컴컨컴좔컴컨컴컴컨컴컴컨컴컴좔컴컨컴컴컴컴켸 TEMPO CONTROL - A Discussion TEMPO CONTROL - A Discussion ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ By now you should know how to get into EDIT on a sequence so go into EDIT on TEMPO CONTROL. Event 1 has a TYPE of BPM. BPM stands for Beats Per Minute. You can control the tempo of a song from your sequences. Event 1 has a VAL value of 100. This is really a BPM value. For the BPM event we use the VAL field for entering the tempo we want (in beats per minute). Acceptable values are 60 thru 240. The event TIME is like any other event. It specifies when this event is to take place. The other fields have no meaning. Just enter BPM in TYPE, the tempo you want in GFmusic Reference 97 the VAL field, and the time you want the event to occur in the TIME field. Event 2 starts MAIN CONTROL that we looked at earlier. And it starts it with a WAIT (a + immediately following the sequence name). So, event 1 sets the tempo to 100 BPM and then immediately starts MAIN CONTROL and waits for MAIN CONTROL to complete 1 loop. After MAIN CONTROL finishes 1 loop, event 3 will be started. Since it is a null event nothing will happen. Then zero steps after the null event (i.e. at the same time) event 4 will be 'executed'. Event 4 is a BPMUP event. BPMUP means take the current tempo and increase it by the value in the VAL field. If this results in a setting > 240, then the tempo will be set to 240 BPM. Again, as soon as the tempo is set up by 30, MAIN CONTROL will be started with a WAIT. Later on, in event 16 we see a BPMDN event. This sets the tempo (in beats per minute) down by the value in the VAL field. So, you can set the tempo to a specific value, or up/dn by a value. To create the effect of gradually increasing/decreasing tempo, use this technique. Create a sequence that does a BPMUP by some value every so often and have your control sequence invoke it for however many repeats needed (a sequence start with no wait). E.g. The sequence may have only two events. The first event can be a BPMUP of 1 with a time of 48. The second and last event would be a NULL EVENT with a time of zero. If you had started this sequence from some other sequence with a repeat count of 100 the tempo would increase by 1 every 48 steps (or every quarter note if 192 steps per measure and 4 beats per measure were specified in the SET TIME feature). So after 100 iterations (25 bars) the tempo would have increased by 100 beats per minute. Now think about this, The first event (BPMUP) could have a time of zero and the null event a time of 48 and the effect would be the same. At this point, let's look at the PROfile screen. You probably did not know that one existed. Put the cursor on the command line (the easy way is to press the HOME key) and type in PRO followed by a space and press ENTER. The HOME key will position the cursor on the first 'field' of the screen. In the case of the Edit Detail screen, that is the Command Line. GFmusic Reference 98 figure THE EDIT PROFILE SCREEN 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SEQUENCE PROFILE � � � � � � 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � SEQUENCE NUMB �5 � � � SEQUENCE NAME 쿘AIN CONTROL � � � � � � � MUTE 쿙 � � � VELOCITY XPOSE �0 � � � � � � � NOTE XPOSE �0 � � � ALLOW TRANSPOSE 쿧 � � � COMPUTER PLAY KEY 쿖 � � � REPEATS �999 � � � XPOSE AFFECTS 쿧 � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � EXT FILE NAME � � � � BEGIN EVENT # � � � � END EVENT # � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 � 좔컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 99 Edit PROfile Edit PROfile ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Looking at the Screen : SEQUENCE NUMB SEQUENCE NUMB This is a protected field and is for informational purposes. Each sequence has a number assigned to it. This is the number for this sequence. SEQUENCE NAME SEQUENCE NAME The name of the sequence that you assigned during PLAY/RECORD PROCESS RECORDED DATA, or if you created the sequence directly by asking to EDIT a sequence that did not yet exist. You can change the name of the sequence by changing it here. If another sequence starts this sequence, it will be automatically adjusted to start the new Name. MUTE MUTE Remember when you muted the sequence during PLAY/RECORD ?? This is its value when you last left PLAY/RECORD. VELOCITY XPOSE, NOTE XPOSE VELOCITY XPOSE, NOTE XPOSE Remember the velocity and/or note transpositions during PLAY/RECORD ?? These are their values and you can set/reset them here. However, normally you do this during PLAY/RECORD. If you change them here it may become confusing. ALLOW TRANSPOSE ALLOW TRANSPOSE If set to 'N', then GFmusic will NEVER perform any transpositions when this sequence is played. Useful for drum patterns. Discussed previously under PLAY/RECORD. COMPUTER PLAY KEY COMPUTER PLAY KEY The key (A..Z) that when pressed during PLAY/RECORD will start this sequence. If blank, then no play key is assigned. You can set the play key here for the sequence. In fact, whenever you create a control sequence, you will usually come here and assign a PLAY KEY by setting this field to A..Z. Otherwise, you could not start the control sequence from the computer keyboard. GFmusic Reference 100 REPEATS REPEATS How many times this sequence will repeat/loop when started from the computer keyboard. You can set/reset this value here. XPOSE AFFECTS XPOSE AFFECTS If "Y" then this sequence is in the 'affected list'. If not, then it is not. You can set it here. Also discussed earlier during the PLAY/RECORD discussion. To change the values, make the changes and press ENTER. When done, press ESCape to get back to the EDIT screen. Now you know a lot of how GFmusic works. Next there is a discussion of timing. We will come back to EDIT later. The last 3 fields on the Profile screen have to do with EXTERNAL sequences. They are used for having pre-defined sequences loaded automatically when a song is loaded. Their use is discussed later in the section of the manual covering EXTERNAL SEQUENCES. GFmusic Reference 101 TIMING TIMING ________________________ ________________________ Timing is a subject that you should thoroughly understand in order to use GFmusic (or any sequencer) effectively. At first it can be somewhat confusing but if you stick with it and experiment, you will master it. First, the basic concept to understand is that ______________________________________________ unlike real life, a sequencer deals in finite _____________________________________________ increments of time. In real life a note can be _______________________________________________ played at any time. In "Computerland", a note(s) _________________________________________________ can only be played during a 'window' of time. _____________________________________________ However, computers can process data so fast with ________________________________________________ windows so small that for all practical purposes ________________________________________________ the human ear can not usually distinguish the _____________________________________________ difference in time between one window and the _____________________________________________ next. _____ The way a sequencer works is to break up each measure into a specific number of 'steps'. If you attempt to break up the measure into too few steps, the music doesn't have enough 'resolution' to sound 'realistic'. For example, if we only break up the measure into 4 steps then we could not play notes on anything less than the 'quarter note beat'. I.e. eighth notes could not exist. On the other hand, if you attempt to break up the measure into too many steps, the computer will spend so much of its resources just keeping track of where it is, it could not get around to playing the notes. So the idea is to strike a balance such that we break up the measure into enough windows to sound realistic, but not so many steps such that the computer spends all of its time doing housekeeping chores as opposed to playing music. In addition, we need to break up a measure into a number of steps that makes sense. Some numbers of steps per measure make more sense than others. For example, if a measure consisted of 100 steps, then a half measure (half note) would consist of 50 steps, a quarter note would consist of 25 steps, and an eighth note would consist of 12.5 steps. A half step doesn't make much sense as the computer would have to ultimately choose a whole number of steps. I.e. the eighth note would have to played at either step 12 or 13. The half step difference may even sound odd to the ear. On the other hand, If we choose 96 steps per measure, the measure breaks up nicely all the way down to the 32nd note level (a 32nd note would be 3 steps long). And dividing up the GFmusic Reference 102 measure into 192 steps breaks up even better as shown by the following table : _________________________________________________________________________ | | Whole Note 192 Steps | | Half Note 96 Steps | | Quarter Note 48 Steps | | Eighth Note 24 Steps | | 16th Note 12 Steps | | 32nd Note 6 Steps | | 64th Note 3 Steps | | | | _________________________________________________________________________ | | With 384 steps per measure (2 times 192) we can get down to a meaningful 128th note. With 768 steps per measure we can get down to a meaningful 256th note. Of course, somewhere along the line it gets rather pointless. There are other breakups of the measure that make sense. All examples here will use 192 steps per measure. 192 steps are used in examples because the very popular Dr. T sequencer often uses 96 steps in their examples and 192 steps is simply twice that (i.e. provides twice the resolution). Those of you familiar with Dr. T's sequencer will feel right at home here. How fine should you set your resolution? In other words, what should you set Steps Per Measure to? It depends on a number of factors but mostly it depends on whether you are using Midi Clocking, and most of all, the speed of the processor in your PC. Timing studies of GFmusic indicate that it will easily run at 192 steps per measure even at very fast tempos and with "dense" music on an IBM PC or compatible running at normal speed (4.77 MHz). Most newer PC clones will run at 8 MHz or even faster (often called 'Turbo Mode'). These machines will be able to process sequences using 256 or 384 steps per measure rather easily and can go faster than that depending on how 'dense' the music is. If you have a PC with a '286' processor, you can set Steps Per Measure much higher. For a 286 processor, 768 Steps Per Measure is "loafing along". The maximum setting for Steps Per Measure is 2048. If you are using external Midi Clocking then 96 Steps Per Measure (4/4 time) is the best resolution possible. This is not because of any restriction of GFmusic. It is because the Midi Spec says that when running with Midi Clocking, each clock tick will represent 1/24th of a Quarter Note's worth of time. So, even though you may set up GFmusic and your sequences with much finer resolution, the external clock source (usually a drum machine) will only be able to resolve to 24 steps per quarter note. And if GFmusic is driven by that source GFmusic Reference 103 (External Midi Clocking), then that's the best resolution possible. Again, it's because of the limitations of Midi; Not because of any GFmusic limitation. Although we realize that many Steps Per Measure settings are possible, for our examples we'll use 192 steps per measure. If we are in 4/4 time, then each quarter note will be 48 steps long, each 1/8th note will be 24 steps long, etc. How much time that is depends on the tempo. The slower the tempo, the longer the amount of time for each step. But really you don't have to worry about this aspect. All you have to remember at this point is how many steps constitute a measure (whole note), 1/4 note , 1/8th note, etc. For 4/4 time, 192 steps per measure is a good setting. Where do we set this ?? On the SET TIME screen which is option 12 of the Main Menu. At this point you should go to this screen by selecting option 12 from the Main Menu. GFmusic Reference 104 figure figure SET TIME SET TIME 쳐컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SET TIME � � � � 旼컴컴컴� � � STEPS / MEASURE �192 � � � STEPS / MIDI-CLOCK �2 � � � BEATS / MEASURE �4 � � � MIDI-CLK EXT/INT/OFF (EIO) 쿚 � � � BEATS / MINUTE �120 � � � ECHO CHNL (0=OFF, 1-16, >16=AS IS) �0 � � � 읕컴컴컴� � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 On this screen you will see that you can enter values for : Steps / Measure Steps / Midi-Clock Beats / Measure Midi-Clock Ext/Int/Off Beats / Minute Echo Channel On this screen we would set the Steps/Measure field to 192 and Beats/Measure to 4. The Beats/Minute field is 'tempo' but does not really affect what we are talking about now. The other fields will be explained later. Now load song GFDEMO1. The timing parameters are saved with a song and GFDEMO1 was created/saved with 192 steps/measure. After loading GFDEMO1, go into EDIT on Sequence CHORDS 1-12. GFmusic Reference 105 figure EDIT DETAIL SCREEN FOR TRACK CHORDS 1-12 EDIT DETAIL SCREEN FOR TRACK CHORDS 1-12 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SEQUENCE # 3 NAME CHORDS 1-12 � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � CMND =>� � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � 쿐VENT TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL MEAS ST � 쳐컴컫컴컴컴컴컫컴컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컫컴컴컫컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컴컴캑 � 1� � E5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 1 1 � � 2� � G5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 1 1 � � 3� � C5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 1 1 � � 4� � E5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 2 1 � � 5� � G5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 2 1 � � 6� � C5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 2 1 � � 7� � G5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 3 1 � � 8� � E5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 3 1 � � 9� � C5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 3 1 � � 10� � C5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 4 1 � � 11� � E5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 4 1 � � 12� � G5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 4 1 � � 13� � F5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 5 1 � � 14� � C5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 5 1 � � 15� � A5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 5 1 � � 16� � C5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 6 1 � � 17� � F5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 6 1 � � 18� � A5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 6 1 � � 19� � E5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 7 1 � � 20� � G5 � � 190� 0� 1� 64� 7 1 � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � SEQUENCE # 3 NAME QUARTER NOTES � � � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � CMND =>� � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � 쿐VENT TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL MEAS ST � 쳐컴컫컴컴컴컴컫컴컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컫컴컴컫컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컴컴캑 � 1� � C5 � � 48� 0� 1� 64� 1 1 � � 2� � C5 � � 48� 48� 1� 64� 1 49 � � 3� � C5 � � 48� 48� 1� 64� 1 97 � � 4� � C5 � � 48� 48� 1� 64� 1 145 � � 5�* � � � 0� 48� 0� 0� 2 1 � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 GFmusic Reference 106 Looking at the EDIT screen for CHORDS 1-12 (preceding page) notice the MEAS and STEP fields for each event (right side of screen). The first 3 events all start at time zero and have a MEASure of 1 and STEP of 1. The MEAS and STEP fields are calculated and shown on the EDIT screen as if that sequence were the only thing ever played. I.e. this sequence may be played at measure 14 when actually played, but when shown on the edit screen it is shown as if it were the only sequence in the song. Now notice events 4-6. They have a MEAS and STEP of 2 and 1 respectively. This is because they all start 192 steps after the 1st 3 events and 192 steps is one measure long (because we said so on the SET TIME screen). Sequence CHORDS 1-12 has all of its events on a MEASure boundary because each chord is exactly 1 measure long. Now END edit for CHORDS 1-12 and edit sequence QUARTER NOTES (see figure 2 pages back). Notice that the TIME field for each note is 48 (corresponding to 1/4th of a measure or 1/4th of 192). Also notice that Event 2 has a MEASure of 1 and a STEP of 49. That is, event 2 (the 2nd note) starts at step 49 of the first measure. STEP 49 is really the beginning of the 2nd beat of the measure. For 4/4 time using 192 steps per measure, events starting on the '1/4 note boundary' will start on STEP 1, 49, 97, and 145. You will quickly master these numbers although at first you may find it difficult. The 1/8th note 'boundary' is STEPS 1,25,49,73,97,.....169. Again, you will master these numbers also. The half note boundary is STEPs 1 and 97. Or you can think of it this way...... for quarter notes, the first quarter uses STEPS 1 thru 48 so the second quarter note will begin at 49 (1 higher than 48) and contain 48 steps (or steps 49 thru 96) All boundaries start at an odd number.So how do we set things up for 3/4 time ?? Easy. If the song you are creating is in 3/4 time then the time you want to set on the SET TIME screen is 3 times 48, or 144. And beats/measure would be set to 3. 2/4 time ?? Set Steps per measure to 96 (2 times 48).5/4 time ?? Set Steps per measure to 240 (5 times 48). 3/8 time ?? Set Steps per measure to 72. I.e. if a 1/4 note is 48 steps then a 1/8th note is 24 steps. 3 beats per measure is 3 times 24. All of the above assume that a quarter note is 48 steps long. If you are strictly using the sequencer as a kind of high tech tape recorder, then the above does not really matter. You simply record and overdub to your heart's content. However, if you want to correct the timing of the sequences and/or have them loop, then you will need to know how steps per measure impacts the MEAS and STEP calculations in edit. Because it is in EDIT that you will correct the timing so that a sequence is the exact length you need for your song. One of the most important things you will do is to give the last event (always a Null Event) the proper start time to make the sequence the correct length. GFmusic Reference 107 For example, if you want a sequence to be exactly 4 bars long then the MEAS STEP fields of the last event should have values of 5 and 1 respectively. If your song/sequences shift time signatures then you will have to manually reset the steps/measure on the SET TIME screen before editing sequences with different time signatures in order to get the correct MEAS and STEP readouts. In order for the timing to work correctly, the BEATS / MEASURE field on the SET TIME screen also needs to be set correctly. It should divide evenly into STEPS/MEASURE. As a general rule though, simply set it to what you think it should be based on the time signature the song is in. For example, if in 4/4 time (4 beats per measure with each 1/4 note getting one beat) just set BEATS/MEASURE to 4. If 3/4 time, set STEPS/MEASURE to 144 (3/4ths of 192) and BEATS/MEASURE to 3. Think about it and experiment. The following table is provided for common time signatures for your convenience. They are based upon providing good resolution for a PC running at normal speed (4.77 MHz). If you are using a clone that will run faster ('Turbo' mode), or have a machine with a 286 or faster processor, you could double the STEPS/MEASURE value, but your ear may not be able to distinguish any difference. One thing to remember.... If you originally develop/record a song with one setting of STEPS/MEASURE and later change it, you will have to change the tempo or use the Expand/Compress feature of edit to either lengthen or compress each sequence by the same factor that you changed STEPS/MEASURE by. If you are using Midi-clocking to control a drum machine (Midi clock Internal), or are using a drum machine to control the sequencer (Midi clock External), then you will also need to set the STEPS/Midi-CLOCK correctly as well. The Midi spec says that if you are using Midi Clocking, then you should send (or expect to receive) 24 Midi Clock 'signals' per quarter note. If a quarter note is 48 steps, then you should set STEPS/Midi-CLOCK to 2 (48/24). Just remember, determine how many steps per quarter note and then divide by 24 to get the STEPS/Midi-CLOCK value. This only applies if you are using either external or internal Midi-clocking. Also, 24 should divide evenly into the step value for a 1/4 note!!! For now keep everything simple. Experiment later. Use the following table for your timing settings. They are for a PC/XT running at normal speed. For Turbo XTs try doubling the values in the STEPS/MEASURE and STEPS/Midi-CLOCK columns. For a 286 you can multiply these column settings by 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. Leave the other column settings the same. The demo songs included with GFmusic use the values in the table below. GFmusic Reference 108 SET TIME Screen Values Time Signature Steps/Measure Beats/Measure Steps/Midi Clk Time Signature Steps/Measure Beats/Measure Steps/Midi Clk 4/4 192 4 2 3/4 144 3 2 5/4 240 5 2 2/4 96 2 2 3/8 72 3 2 Midi clocking is a subject that you should also know about. GFmusic supports Midi clocking from either an external source (usually a drum machine) or will provide clocking for an external device (again, usually a drum machine). The way Midi clocking works is this : 24 times per quarter note the drum machine or sequencer will send out a Midi clock 'signal'. This tells other devices on the line that 1/24th of a quarter note's worth of time has elapsed. The 'receiver' of the clock signal would then advance its clock by that amount of time. GFmusic will both send and react to Midi Clock signals while in play/record. To have it send/provide the Midi clocking you should set the Midi-CLOCK EXT/INT/OFF field to "I" on the SET TIME screen (option 12 of the main menu). To have GFmusic react to Midi Clocking from another device such as a drum machine then set this field to "E" (for External). The last possible setting is "O" (for Off). Something to note here with respect to Drum machines. One thing you may want to do is have all of your drum patterns as sequences within GFmusic. In this way you do not have to worry about clocking and a lot of the setup that you may have to go thru with the drum machine. One way to do this is to connect your drum machine to GFmusic and have the drum machine play the patterns while GFmusic records. When recording drum patterns this way you will want to have either the drum machine or GFmusic provide Midi clocking in order to get the pattern recorded with the correct timing. If you have a drum machine that will send or react to Midi Clocking, connect it to the PC and try different settings of STEPS/Midi-CLOCK and Midi-CLOCK EXT/INT/OFF while playing song GFDEMO1. When you save a song, all of the timing information that you see on the SET TIME screen is saved along with the song. If you later LOAD the song using the Clear option of LOAD, this information is read in and replaces whatever the current settings are. Loading a song using the Free option, or loading an individual sequence from a song will NOT disturb current timing NOT settings. Here is the way GFmusic operates when it is providing or reacting to Midi Clocking : GFmusic Reference 109 If GFmusic is providing the clocking (Midi Clocking is Internal), it will send a Midi Start command when you leave LOAD MODE and enter EXECUTE mode. When in EXECUTE mode, if you press the space bar (to pause the song) then GFmusic will send a Midi STOP command. When you press the space bar again to have the song continue, then GFmusic will send a Midi Continue command. When you leave EXECUTE mode (by pressing ESCape) and go back to LOAD MODE, then GFmusic will send a Midi STOP command. When GFmusic is reacting to Midi Clocking (Midi Clocking is External, such as when the Drum Machine is providing the clocking) then the following occurs : When you leave LOAD MODE and enter EXECUTE mode, then GFmusic waits for a Midi Start command before playing anything. When the Midi Start command is received then the sequences that were loaded in LOAD MODE will start. After receiving the START command, then if a Midi STOP command is received the following happens : First, all sequences are stopped. Then, if a Midi Continue is received, the song picks up again where it left off. However, if a Midi START command follows the STOP command, then GFmusic will advance to the beginning of the next measure and continue playing. Depending on your familiarity with Midi, this may/may not mean much to you. However, if you are new to Midi, it will eventually sink in, especially if you research Midi by reading the many publications available on it (both periodicals and books). In addition, at this point it may still be somewhat fuzzy, but after you gain more experience with GFmusic you should come back and reread this section. You probably noticed that the Set Time Screen is where you set the Echo Channel. Echo Channel is discussed elsewhere. See the index. GFmusic Reference 110 THE METRONOME THE METRONOME ________________________ ________________________ Now just a short word about the metronome. The built in metronome uses the speaker on the PC. If there is little or no play activity then the metronome works reasonably well. However, when playing music with more than a minimal amount of 'activity', the metronome may become unreliable. This is because play processing takes priority with GFmusic, and if push comes to shove, the metronome will not be sounded because the sequencer thinks it is more important to play the music at the correct time. If you have a "Turbo" clone or 286 machine, it stays more reliable (again, depending on processor speed and music "density"). If you have a drum machine, a better technique is to create a sequence called METRONOME and include it in all of your songs. This sequence is simply a beat with a drum. It is completely reliable, and, much more pleasant to listen to than the PC speaker. If you do not have a drum machine you can still create a metronome sequence. You may want to use a high note on the synthesizer for the note to sound as the metronome. In either case, you can create METRONOME as a sequence and then save it as an individual sequence (maybe use a song name of METRO). Whenever you get ready to put together a new song, load sequence METRONOME from song METRO using the LOAD SEQUENCE feature that was discussed earlier. I.e. option 6 from the main Menu. GFmusic Reference 111 RESOLUTION RESOLUTION - - HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? ________________________ ________________________ When you look at the specs for all of the sequencers available you will see claims about "resolution" and usually you'll see manufacturers claiming 300 ppq, or 600 ppq, etc. It is confusing at best. Ultimately, resolution boils down to how fine an increment the computer can break up a unit of time into .....AND STILL GET THE JOB .....AND STILL GET THE JOB __________________________ DONE. DONE. _____ And what is the job? That depends on the sequencer. Does it provide you with MUTE and SOLO in REAL TIME (while you are playing)? Does it allow you to transpose pitch and velocity in real time? Does it account for the fact that sometimes you never want a track transposed (such as a drum track)? Does it let you control the tempo in real time? Does it provide filters while recording? Does it provide echo? Does it provide track control and looping Dr. T style? Will it send using Running Status? In other words, features are all part of the job of sequencing. And every feature like the above requires computer resources. The object is to provide the features that make sequencing worthwhile and at the same time provide enough resolution for the music to reproduce realistically. But how much resolution is enough? Is 1/24th of a quarter note enough (the Midi clocking standard)? How about 1/48th of a quarter note? 1/96th of a quarter note? Could we even distinguish the difference in start time and/or duration of 64th notes vs 128th notes either alone or in the context of a song? The answer is simple. Weigh the features but make sure your ear casts the final vote. GFmusic Reference 112 EDIT AGAIN EDIT AGAIN ________________________ ________________________ GFmusic Reference 113 We are back to the topic of EDIT again. The first subject is the different commands that you can issue from the Command Line and what they do and how you might use them. Then the different TYPEs of events are covered in detail. You are encouraged to try out these commands on a sample sequence that you create yourself. Keep the sequence simple and short so that you may readily see the effects of the commands. You may want to use two sequences. One that is a series of chords, and another that is a single note melody line. Commands Commands ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Commands are entered on the Command Line (the first red rectangle at the top of the EDIT screen). Commands come in 3 'flavors'. Commands with no parameters Commands with two parameters Commands with three parameters Please note that you can use either the short or long name for the command. E.g. PRO or PROFILE for the 'Profile' command. The GFmusic commands are many and varied. Do not expect to learn them all immediately. However, there are two features at your disposal to help you. First is using the HELP feature by pressing F1 while in EDIT. The second useful feature is the Pick From List capability. When you are in the Edit Detail screen you can press F2 (the pick from list key) and you will be presented with a list of commands in "generic" format. Just use the cursor keys to position to the appropriate command and press ENTER. GFmusic will then take your selection and "paste" it on the Edit Detail Command Line. You should definitely try both of these features often while in Edit until you get the hang of things. Remember, F1 for HELP and F2 for picking an Edit Command from a list. GFmusic Reference 114 COMMANDS WITH NO PARAMETERS COMMANDS WITH NO PARAMETERS To issue these commands simply put the cursor at the beginning of the Command Line (use the HOME key), type in the command followed by at least one space, and press ENTER. Anything after the first blank/space is ignored. CALCON and CALCOFF CALCON and CALCOFF ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ When you start GFmusic the Editor will calculate the MEASure and STEP fields for the Edit screen. For long sequences this can be a time consuming process. You can instruct GFmusic to not make these calculations by issuing the CALCOFF command (type CALCOFF on the Command Line and press ENTER). You will see that the MEASure and STEP fields are always set to 1. When editing a long track you may want to turn off measure and step calculations except when you really need to see what MEASure and STEP really are. To turn measure and step calculation back on use the CALCON command (CALCON on the Edit Command Line). You can also press ^ENTER and that will force CALCON. Try using CALCOFF and CALCON on long tracks to see the difference. How to create a long track? Just take any track from the demo songs and use the Repeat command discussed later. PRO or PROFILE PRO or PROFILE ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Entering this command takes you to the EDIT PROFILE screen where you can change or set things such as the sequence Name, the PLAY KEY, etc. See previous discussion of the EDIT PROFILE screen. To exit the EDIT PROFILE screen press ESCape. GFmusic Reference 115 S or SAVE S or SAVE ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Use the SAVE command to save whatever changes you have made to the sequence thus far. If the sequence looks OK as is and you are about to use a command that may have an undesirable effect, issue the SAVE command before issuing the next command. Then, after issuing the next command, if what you get is not desirable, you can CANcel, and then re-enter Edit for the sequence to get back to it as of your last SAVE command. Note that END does a SAVE before exiting EDIT. _____________________________________________________ | | Save or End in Edit only saves the work for that | | sequence to memory. It does not save anything to | | disk !! From time to time you should save your | | work to disk via SAVE SONG (option 10 from the | | Main Menu). And, before/after working on a song, | | you should make a backup of it. | | _____________________________________________________ | | E or END E or END ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ END will end EDIT and take you back to the Main Menu. END does a SAVE before exiting. CAN or CANCEL CAN or CANCEL ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ CANcel will get you out of EDIT without saving whatever changes you have made since the last SAVE command (or since entering EDIT). You can also press ESCape 2 times and achieve the same effect. TOP TOP ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ GFmusic Reference 116 TOP will position the first event at the top of the screen. Use TOP with either ENTER or with the PgUP key. GFmusic Reference 117 BOT or BOTTOM BOT or BOTTOM ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ BOTtom will position the last event at the bottom of the screen. Use with the ENTER key or with PgDn key. L or LIST L or LIST ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ LIST Sequences from Edit_SEQUENCES - List from Edit}Often you want to see a list of the other sequences that exist in the song while you are in EDIT. Simply issue the List command. This is handy when you want to create a sequence start event but do not remember the exact name of the sequence you want to start. POSITIONING EVENTS WITH PGUP/PGDN POSITIONING EVENTS WITH PGUP/PGDN ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ While this is not a 'command', it is helpful information that should be known and is repeated here. You can easily control which event appears at the top and/or bottom of the EDIT detail screen. To move an event to the top row of the screen, position the cursor anywhere on the row for the event you want to appear at the top of the screen and press the PGDN key. That event will move to the top of the screen. To have an event appear at the bottom of the screen, position the cursor on the row that you want at the bottom of the screen and press the PGUP key. You can also move forward/backward thru the sequence a specific number of events by putting a number on the command line and pressing PgUp or PgDn. GFmusic Reference 118 COMMANDS WITH TWO PARAMETERS COMMANDS WITH TWO PARAMETERS ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ These commands require that you enter two numbers (integers) after the command. Separate the command and each parameter (number) by at least one space. I or INSERT I or INSERT ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Use this command to insert events into the sequence. The format is : I howmanyevents afterwhichevent I 2 10 inserts two events after event 10 I 2 0 inserts two events at start of track The events inserted are Null Events with a TIME of zero. DEL or DELETE DEL or DELETE ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ DEL will delete events from the sequence. The general format is DEL firsteventtodelete lasteventtodelete DEL 4 10 deletes events 4 thru 10 DEL 8 9999 deletes events 8 thru end of track. ERASE ERASE ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Erase and Delete are very similar, with one very important difference. Unlike delete, ERASE will take all of the values of the TIME field for GFmusic Reference 119 each event to be deleted, and add them to the TIME field of the event just after the last one to be deleted. I.e. it preserves the relative timing of the remaining events in the sequence. The general format is: ERASE firsteventtoerase lasteventtoerase Why would we ever use ERASE ?? Suppose you have a sequence (e.g. some sort of melody) and you want to make a change to a couple of bars in the middle of the sequence. You might ERASE the events that correspond to the measures you are going to replace. In this way, since the relative timing of the other remaining events is preserved, the result would be 'silence' in place of the events you erased. Now you could overdub to this sequence and only play the measures corresponding to the 'silence'. When you PROCESS RECORDED DATA (create the sequence by pressing the right arrow) make sure you specify "N" in the SET 1ST EVENT TIME TO ZERO field. If you do this, you can now MERGE the newly recorded sequence back into the one where you ERASEd the notes. P or PLAY P or PLAY ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ This is a command that you will use often. When you want to play a sequence while in EDIT (or part of the sequence), enter the following command on the command line : PLAY firsteventtoplay lasteventtoplay numberofrepeats PLAY 4 10 2 will play events 4 thru 10, 2 times as if they existed in their own sequence. In fact, what happens is that events 4 thru 10 are put into a sequence called ***TEMP*** and a Null Event with TIME of zero is tagged on at the end. This sequence is assigned a PLAY KEY of Z and a repeat/loop count of 2. The editor then invokes the PLAY/RECORD feature and automatically loads and starts the temporary sequence. However, the EDIT screen is retained for you to view while the temporary sequence is playing. You are actually in Play/Record and all of its features are available to you. IF YOU PRESS ANY KEY DURING PLAY FROM EDIT, IT WILL BE INTERPRETED AS A PLAY/RECORD "COMMAND" AND THE PLAY/RECORD SCREEN WILL IMMEDIATELY APPEAR.!!! The best way to see what is going on is to actually try playing from EDIT. Note.... To get back to EDIT, just press the ESCape key (ESCape always returns you to the previous function) and you'll see your EDIT screen again. YOU WILL USE THIS FEATURE OFTEN AND YOU SHOULD GET THE HANG OF IT AND WHAT IT PROVIDES YOU. GFmusic Reference 120 REMEMBER, WHEN YOU PLAY A RANGE OF EVENTS IT'S JUST AS IF THOSE EVENTS EXISTED IN THEIR OWN SEQUENCE. THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE MADE IS PLAYING PART OF A CONTROL SEQUENCE WHERE THERE ARE NO WAITS ON A SEQUENCE. THE EFFECT IS TO RAPIDLY START MANY COPIES OF THE SEQUENCE IN THE 'PLAY RANGE'. THE RESULT IS AN ERROR AT PLAY TIME. By using play from EDIT, you can make changes to a sequence and not have to back all of the way out of EDIT to hear the effect. And yet, when you do play from EDIT, you have all of the capabilities of Play/Record at your fingertips, including Transpose, changing the tempo, recording, etc. DO NOT OVERLOOK THE POWER OF THIS IMPORTANT FEATURE !!!!!!! CHR or CHANNELROUND CHR or CHANNELROUND ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ This command stands for CHannel Round-Robin. It is great for Multi- timbral synthesizers. The format of the command is CHR beginningchannel endingchannel CHR 1 4 This command works on ALL Note-On events in the entire sequence. What happens is this. All Note-On events are assigned the beginning thru ending channel in a round-robin fashion. Suppose you recorded a sequence of chords that can be 3 or 4 notes each. You want use the Multi-timbral features of your synth where you have assigned channels 1 thru 4 the 'violin' voice. After recording the sequence, you can issue the CHR 1 4 command. The first Note-On event will be changed to use channel 1, the second will use channel 2, the third will be assigned channel 3, the fourth is assigned channel 4, the fifth event is then assigned channel 1, the sixth is assigned channel 2, and so on for the entire sequence. If you have a multi-timbral synth you will certainly use this feature. Another common use is changing the channel assignment in an absolute fashion. Suppose you want to set the channel to 3 for all Note-On events. Just issue the following command CHR 3 3. I.e. the beginning and ending channel can be the same. LEGATO or SDT or SETDURATIONTOTIME LEGATO or SDT or SETDURATIONTOTIME ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ GFmusic Reference 121 This command is for 'single note' sequences where you only want one note to sound at a time. Suppose you record a melody sequence and your intent is to never have more than one note sound at any one time (Legato). But as happens when recording, the fingers don't always leave the key of note 1 before note 2 is pressed. So use the LEGATO/SDT command. The format is : SDT firsteventtoinclude lasteventtoinclud LEGATO firsteventtoinclude lasteventtoinclude SDT 20 25 or LEGATO 20 25 This will set the duration of all Note-On events in the event range of 20 thru 25 to be exactly as long as the amount of time between the start of the event and the start of the next event. I.e. it 'takes the finger off the key' exactly when the next key is pressed. Another thing you may want to do is this : After issuing this command, use the TD (transpose duration) command to shorten the duration of all notes by some small amount (e.g. 2 or 4 steps). This is because some synths will not issue the attack part of a note unless there is a minimum amount of time between notes. This is especially true when in monophonic mode, or, for a single channel in multi- timbral mode. Where there are rests between notes, you may have to shorten the duration of some notes after issuing an SDT command, or, issue multiple SDT commands as required..pa GFmusic Reference 122 COMMANDS WITH THREE PARAMETERS COMMANDS WITH THREE PARAMETERS ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ QD (Quantize Duration) QD (Quantize Duration) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ This is one of the 'autocorrect' (or quantize) commands. The general format of this command is QD beginevent endevent autocorrectamount ACD 4 9999 24 or QD 4 9999 24 This would look at events 4 thru the end of the sequence and for the duration of all Note-on events, set the Duration of the note to the nearest 8th note (assuming 192 steps per measure). For example, if the duration of a note were 28, then it would be set to the nearest multiple of 24, which would be 24. If the duration of the note were 37, it would be set to 48. If the duration falls at exactly the half- way point, it is rounded up. QT (for Quantize Time) QT (for Quantize Time) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ This command is exactly like QD above except that it works on the TIME field of NOTE-ON AND NULL events in the specified range. ACT 4 50 48 or QT 4 50 48 The above would set the TIME field to the nearest multiple of 48. Assuming STEPS/MEASURE of 192 this is like saying "Set the start time of all Note On and Null events in event range 4 thru 50 to the nearest quarter note boundary". Only Note On and Null events are considered. All other event types are ignored ! In this way you are able to correct the timing only of notes. Null events are also included because many people will erase notes (see ERASE), use Null events as a rest indicator, and of course, because the last event in a sequence is always a Null event and affects overall timing of a song. GFmusic Reference 123 When you have controller events (e.g. Pitch Bends or After Touch) mixed in the sequence the use of QT will cause some of those events to be shifted AFTER notes that they had previously come before. This usually does not present a problem and your sequence will sound just fine. When you have controller events in the sequence, using QT is just like HIDEing the events first, then Quantizing the time, and then UNHIDEing the controller events. QA (for Quantize All) QA (for Quantize All) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ This command is just like issuing QD and QT back to back with the same parameters. ACA 1 9999 48 or QA 1 9999 48 The above is the same as issuing the following two commands: QD 1 9999 48 QT 1 9999 48 C or COPY C or COPY ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Copy a range of events AFTER some other event. The format is COPY beginevent endevent eventafterwhichtoinsert COPY 1 10 45 copies events 1 thru 10 and inserts them after event 45. R or REPEAT R or REPEAT ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Repeat a range of events a number of times. The format is : REPEAT beginevent lastevent numberoftimestorepeat R 1 10 2 will result in events 1 thru 10 repeated as a block 2 times. I.e. 3 copies of 1 thru 10 will exist after the repeat. The original 1-10, and then the 2 copies of 1-10 will follow. GFmusic Reference 124 TV or TRANSPOSEVELOCITY TV or TRANSPOSEVELOCITY ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Transpose Velocity. Format is TV beginevent endevent amount TV 1 9999 40 would increase the velocity of all Note-On events by 40. TV 1 9999 -20 would decrease the velocity of all Note-On events by 20. If the resulting transposition results in a velocity of > 127 then the event is given a velocity of 127. If less than 1, then the event is given a velocity of 1. TD or TRANSPOSEDURATION TD or TRANSPOSEDURATION ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Transpose the duration of events. Format is TD beginevent endevent amount TD 1 10 2 would increase duration of Note-On events in event range 1 thru 10 by 2 steps. TD 1 10 -2 would decrease them by 2. TN or TRANSPOSENOTE TN or TRANSPOSENOTE ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Transpose Note. Format TN beginevent endevent amount GFmusic Reference 125 TN 1 9999 2 would increase the note value of all Note-On events by two steps. e.g. a C would become a D, a E would become F+. TN 1 9999 -2 would decrease the note value by two steps. XD or EXPANDDURATION XD or EXPANDDURATION ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The first of the 3 Compress/Expand commands. Format is XD beginevent endevent factor To make all durations of all Note-On events half of what they are you would type in this on the Command Line : XD 1 9999 .5 To make all durations of Note-On events twice their current value you would enter XD 1 9999 2 To make them 2 and 1/2 times their value XD 1 9999 2.5 XT or EXPANDTIME XT or EXPANDTIME ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Expand/Compress Time Format is: XT beginevent endevent factor To lengthen a sequence's time by two (make it take twice as long to play) you would enter XT 1 9999 2 The above would NOT affect the duration of the notes. I.e. Each NOT measure would now be two measures long but the notes would still have the same duration (a quarter note would still be a quarter note). To make a sequence half as long...... XT 1 9999 .5 GFmusic Reference 126 GFmusic Reference 127 XA or EXPANDALL XA or EXPANDALL ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Same as issuing XD followed by XT with the same parameters. XA 1 20 .5 is the same as XD 1 20 .5 followed by XT 1 20 .5 When expanding / compressing a sequence you will usually want to compress/expand both duration and time. GFmusic Reference 128 EVENT TYPES EVENT TYPES ________________________ ________________________ The different TYPEs of events that may exist in a sequence will be TYPEs _____ discussed next. Each event TYPE will be described and its 'requirements' will also be detailed (i.e. what values go in the other fields on the EDIT detail screen). The corresponding Dr. T event types are also given. But first, some general comments. When you manually enter an event into the edit detail area, the different fields will need to have specific values (or ranges) depending on the event TYPE that you enter. If an error is made, then the screen will be redisplayed with an error message and the EVENT number will be blinking. In other cases, you will simply get a general message ("BLINKING FIELDS IN BLINKING FIELDS IN ERROR"). This error message is a general one that comes from the ERROR software that processes the screens for GFmusic. When the screens were defined, general editing criteria were specified for some of the fields. For example, a field may have been defined such that it must be numeric and within a range of 1 to 16. If you enter data into the field that does not meet the criteria then a general message is issued and the field is set to blink. Note : if you can not see any blinking fields and you get the error message, then look for a blank field. I.e. the program is blinking the field in error but the field is blank, so you can't see the blinking. In any case, the messages, or the content of the field that is blinking should make finding and correcting the error easy. Remember, no commands will be processed until all events in the edit detail area pass all edits. Note : The DURATion field must always have a number in it. If DURATion does not apply to a particular event then put/leave a zero in the DURATion field. GFmusic Reference 129 figure figure FOLLOWING IS FOUND IN GFDEMO1 ON YOUR PGM DISK FOLLOWING IS FOUND IN GFDEMO1 ON YOUR PGM DISK 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � SEQUENCE # 3 NAME ALL EVENTS � � 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � CMND =>� � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � 쿐VENT TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL MEAS ST � 쳐컴컫컴컴컴컴컫컴컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컫컴컴컫컴컴쩡컴컫컴컴컴컴캑 � 1쿍PM � � 120� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 2쿍PMUP � � 10� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 3쿍PMDN � � 10� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 4�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 5쿍END � �8192� 0� 0� 1� 0� 1 1 � � 6�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 1 1 � � 7쿌TC � � 64� 0� 0� 1� 0� 1 1 � � 8쿌TP � � 64� 64� 0� 1� 0� 1 1 � � 9� � C5 � � 192� 192� 1� 64� 2 1 � � 10� � D5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 3 1 � � 11� � E5 � � 190� 192� 1� 64� 4 1 � � 12쿚FF � G5 � � � 0� 1� 64� 4 1 � � 13쿛ROG � � 12� � 192� 1� 0� 5 1 � � 14쿎TRL � � 127� 127� 0� 1� 0� 5 1 � � 15쿐CHOON � � 0� 0� 0� 3� 0� 5 1 � � 16쿐CHOOFF � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 5 1 � � 17쿏ATA � � 255� 0� 0� 0� 0� 5 1 � � 18쿞EQNAME � 12 � 1� 0� 192� 0� 12� 6 1 � � 19쿞EQNAME+ � -12 � 2� 0� 192� 0� -12� 7 1 � � 20�* � � 0� 0� 0� 0� 0� 7 1 � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 The above excerpt from a sequence EDIT screen shows all event types. GFmusic Reference 130 Editor Field Values by Event Type Editor Field Values by Event Type The following table summarizes valid field values by event. The following table summarizes valid field values by event. ___________________________________________________________ TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL TYPE NOTE val DURAT TIME CH VEL _________________________________________________________ ATC n/a 0-127 n/a 0-32000 1-16 n/a ATP n/a 0-127 0-127 0-32000 1-16 n/a BEND n/a 0-16383 n/a 0-32000 1-16 n/a BPM n/a 60-240 n/a 0-32000 n/a n/a BPMDN n/a 1-240 n/a 0-32000 n/a n/a BPMUP n/a 1-240 n/a 0-32000 n/a n/a CTRL n/a 0-127 0-127 0-32000 1-16 n/a DATA n/a 0-255 n/a 0-32000 n/a n/a ECHOON n/a n/a n/a n/a 1-16 n/a ECHOOFF n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a ON C 0 1-32000 0-32000 1-16 1-127 to G 10 OFF C 0 n/a 0-32000 1-16 1-127 to G 10 PROG n/a 0-127 n/a 0-32000 1-16 n/a * n/a n/a n/a 0-32000 n/a n/a seqname +-127 n/a 1-999 0-32000 n/a +-127 or seqname+ DURATion always requires a number. Use zero if n/a GFmusic Reference 131 NOTE ON TYPE = ON NOTE ON TYPE = ON ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The Note-On event is certainly the most common. It represents the 'sounding' of a note (or the pressing of a key on the synthesizer). The most common way of entering Note-On events is by recording a sequence with the PLAY/RECORD feature. However, you can enter notes manually via the editor. Or you can change notes in a sequence (or any of the parameters associated with a note) with the editor. Like all event types, there are other parameters associated with the event and these parameters must have values within specific ranges. When you enter a Note-On event, you can put 'ON' in the TYPE field, or, just leave the TYPE field blank. A blank TYPE field is assumed to be a note-on event. Permissible values for other fields are : The NOTE/OCT combination specifies exactly which note is to be played. It can range from C0 to G10. The DURATion field indicates the duration of the note (how long it will sound). The value is in steps. If we had set STEPS/MEASURE to 192, then to get a 1/4 note we would enter 48 in this field. Duration must be greater than zero and less than 32,001. At 192 steps per measure that is enough for a note to sound for 166 measures !! The TIME field indicates when the note will sound. It represents the number of steps since the prior event was 'executed'. For example, a value of 192 in the TIME field would indicate that the note would sound exactly 1 measure after the previous note/event started (at 192 steps per measure). The CH (CHannel) field indicates which midi channel will be associated with the note. Your synthesizer must be set to process the same channel as the note in order for it to sound on the synth. The VEL (VELocity) field contains the velocity value for the note. Dr. T equivalent is ON NOTE-OFF TYPE=OFF NOTE-OFF TYPE=OFF ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ GFmusic Reference 132 This event will turn off a specific note at the time indicated. Dr. T equivalent is OFF. Since GFmusic allows durations of up to 32,000 there is probably no need for using this event type. PITCH BEND TYPE=BEND PITCH BEND TYPE=BEND ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ You would not normally ever enter Pitch bend events manually. It takes so many of them to be meaningful to a synthesizer that entering or changing them manually would be tedious at best. However, when recording, if the Pitch bend filter is off (allowing recording of pitch bends) then pitch bends will be recorded in the sequence as they are sent out by the synthesizer. As an experiment, you may want to try recording a short sequence using pitch bends and then go into edit on the sequence to see what it produces. The pitch bend feature of synthesizers produces a lot of events...look into the HIDE and UNHIDE editor commands. One technique that some people use is to record a sequence without pitch bends, and then record a second sequence with the first sequence playing. The second sequence that is recorded is simply pitch bend changes. Then, a control sequence can play them both back simultaneously. Or, you can have the sequence with the notes in it start the sequence with the Pitch Bends. And, the Pitch Bends don't clutter the Edit Screen with the Note-On Events (although HIDE/UNHIDE is available). _____________________________________________________ | | A tip.... you can "detune" a sequence or synth by | | including a single Pitch Bend Event with a small | | value in a Sequence. What value? Just record a | | sequence with a small "detuning" by using the | | Pitch Bend wheel and see what you get...i.e. edit | | the sequence after you record it...don't forget to | | turn off the BEND FILTER before recording!! | | _____________________________________________________ | | Dr. T equivalent is PB. PROGRAM CHANGE TYPE = PROG PROGRAM CHANGE TYPE = PROG ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ GFmusic Reference 133 You will use program changes frequently. A Program change normally selects a 'voice' or 'patch' on the synthesizer. Put them in your sequences when you want to set the synthesizer to a specific 'voice' or patch/program. Some synthesizers need a little time between the program change and any following notes. I.e. on some synthesizers, program changes are not 'instant'. Because of this, sometimes you will have to change programs during 'dead' time in a song. The key here is to experiment. Dr. T equivalent is PG. GFmusic Reference 134 CONTROL CHANGE TYPE=CTRL CONTROL CHANGE TYPE=CTRL ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The control change event varies in usefulness depending on the brand/model of synthesizer. What the control change 'controls' will vary between synthesizers. Check the manual for your synthesizer/sound module. Some synthesizers will send out control changes but not respond to them. The control change has two parameters, each may have a value of 0 to 127. The meaning varies between synths. Check your manuals. Do some experimentation. Try recording with the control change filter off. Dr. T equivalent is CC for type. AFTER TOUCH CHANNEL TYPE=ATC AFTER TOUCH CHANNEL TYPE=ATC ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Yet another parameter that varies from one synthesizer to another. Experiment with your own equipment. This type of event is often filtered. Dr. T equivalent is AT. AFTER TOUCH POLY TYPE=ATP AFTER TOUCH POLY TYPE=ATP ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Yet another parameter that varies from one synthesizer to another. The key again is to experiment with your own equipment. This event type is normally filtered during recording. Most synths use After- Touch-Channel if after Touch is provided at all. GFmusic Reference 135 BEATS PER MINUTE TYPE=BPM BEATS PER MINUTE TYPE=BPM ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The BPM event is how you can set the tempo from within a sequence. Permissible values (in the VAL field) are 60 to 240. A common way to implement this event is to include it at the beginning of your highest level control sequence. BPM corresponds to Dr. T pitch bends on channel 16. If you use these, you will either have to calculate the equivalent or play with it to determine what to set BPM at to get the same value as Dr. T PB on 16. BEATS PER MINUTE UP TYPE=BPMUP BEATS PER MINUTE UP TYPE=BPMUP ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ This event type is used to increase the tempo as opposed to setting it to a specific value. The value you put in the val field is how many Beats Per Minute that you want to increase the tempo by. BEATS PER MINUTE DOWN TYPE=BPMDN BEATS PER MINUTE DOWN TYPE=BPMDN ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ This event is used to decrease the tempo. The value you put in the val field is how many Beats Per Minute that you want to decrease the tempo by. GFmusic Reference 136 NULL EVENT TYPE=* NULL EVENT TYPE=* ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The NULL event does nothing in a sequence. However, it does affect the timing (start times) of other events because it has a TIME value. _____________________________________________________ | | The last event in all sequences MUST be a Null | | Event. | | _____________________________________________________ | | Dr. T equivalent is the DE event. SEQUENCE START SEQUENCE START TYPE=Sequencename/Sequencename+ TYPE=Sequencename/Sequencename+ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The sequence start event is used in a sequence to start other sequences. The TYPE field is where you specify the sequence to start by entering the name of the sequence. If you append a "+" to the end of the sequence name (in the TYPE field) then that tells GFmusic that you want to WAIT for the started sequence to end before continuing on with the next event. The "+" must immediately follow the last character of the sequence to start. The DURation field is where you specify the number of repeats/loops for the started sequence. You can impose a pitch and/or velocity transposition on the started sequence by entering values in the NOTE and VELocity fields respectively. Remember, if you specify a transposition for the started sequence, then that transposition will 'cascade' (or be inherited by any sequences that the started sequence starts). Dr. T equivalent is the sequence start event. GFmusic Reference 137 DATA BYTE TYPE=DATA DATA BYTE TYPE=DATA ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The Data event is how you can have GFmusic transmit specific bytes via the midi interface. A byte can have a value of $00 thru $FF which is the same as zero thru 255. To specify the byte to send, enter a number of zero to 255 in the VALue field. Like all events, the TIME field still applies. Dr. T equivalent is the 'single byte event'. Dr. T uses an "*" in type to denote this type of event where in GFmusic the "*" in TYPE represents a NULL EVENT (Dr. T DE event). SET ECHO CHANNELS SET ECHO CHANNELS TYPE=ECHOON or TYPE=ECHOOFF TYPE=ECHOON or TYPE=ECHOOFF ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ GFmusic Reference 138 With these two event types, you can set the Echo channel from within a sequence using ECHOON, or you can turn off echo via the ECHOOFF event. You might use this for live performance where you have a number of different sound modules, a Controller Keyboard, and are using GFmusic. With these events, you can have your sequences switch your Controller Keyboard between the sound modules (assuming that they are assigned different Midi channels). Of course, the keyboard does not have to be a Controller keyboard, it can be any synth. _____________________________________________________ | | One thing to watch out for. If you use this | | technique and your sequence changes echo channels | | while you still have a note held down, you may end | | up with a stuck note on the sound module you are | | echoing to. One way to avoid this is to have the | | sequence send a patch change (PROGram change) just | | prior to switching echo channels because on many | | synths and sound modules, a patch change | | automatically turns off all notes. Or, have the | | sequence send a "All Notes Off" control change | | just prior to switching channels. See sequence | | ECHO ON 5 and ECHO OFF in demo song GFDEMO1. | | _____________________________________________________ | | GFmusic Reference 139 EXTERNAL SEQUENCES EXTERNAL SEQUENCES ________________________ ________________________ External sequences are very rare in sequencers. And yet they are very valuable. An external sequence is a sequence (track) that exists in a separate file (song) and which is AUTOMATICALLY brought in when you load a song. For example, if you define a sequence (track) as external, then when you load a song, GFmusic will load the sequence data from the file (song) where the external sequence resides. Suppose that you have a song that consists of 100 different sequences and that all of these sequences are drum patterns. Also suppose that the name of this "song" is ROCKDRUM and that it also contains sequences named PATTERN1, PATTERN2, PATTERN3...... When you create new songs that need one of these PATTERNs you can have them automatically loaded when you load the new song. It is easier to see what is going on via an example. So, load song GFDEMO3 and look at the screens while you read the following text. GFDEMO3 is very much like GFDEMO1 except that the MAIN CONTROL sequence will start sequence BLUES CHORDS instead of sequence CHORDS 1-12. After loading GFDEMO3, go ahead and edit sequence MAIN CONTROL and notice the Sequence Start Event for BLUES CHORDS. It looks just like any other Sequence Start event. Now go and edit the sequence named BLUES CHORDS. After that, go to the EDIT PROfile screen for BLUES CHORDS by typing in PRO on the command line and pressing enter. On the EDIT PROfile screen notice the last 3 fields on the screen. They are labeled : EXT FILE NAME BEGIN EVENT # END EVENT # EXT FILE NAME is the name of the song file that contains the sequence to load and currently contains "GFDEMOEX". GFDEMOEX happens to be a song that contains only 1 sequence (BLUES CHORDS). It could have contained more sequences. When GFmusic was loading GFDEMO3, it noticed that the sequence BLUES CHORDS contained something in EXT FILE NAME. Specifically, it contained "GFDEMOEX". So GFmusic went to GFDEMOEX and looked for sequence BLUES CHORDS When it found it, it loaded that sequence from GFDEMOEX. Also note that EXT FILE NAME only contains "GFDEMOEX"....i.e. a disk drive and directory is not GFmusic Reference 140 specified so the current ones are taken. I.e. where the GFmusic programs are located. Now notice that you can also specify a beginning and ending event number. These exist to load part of an external sequence. If you want only part of an external sequence then you specify a beginning and ending event number. If you want the entire sequence (the normal case), then specify zero in these fields, or specify 1 for beginning and 9999 for the ending event number. If you specify only part of a sequence then you'll want to make sure that the ending event number is a NULL EVENT. If not, the sequence will still be loaded but if you go to play it you may have problems. Normally you will specify a drive and/or directory as part of EXT FILE NAME. In other words, you will usually have all of your External sequences on specific disks and directories. For example, you may have all of your External sequences on the C drive in subdirectory \EXTERNAL. If this were the case, then all external references (EXT FILE NAME) would begin with C:\EXTERNAL. For example: C:\EXTERNAL\ROCKDRUM C:\EXTERNAL\BLUEBASS. Presumably each of these songs would contain multiple sequences (tracks). Don't get the idea that external sequences have to exist in their own songs such as a "song" that contains nothing but drum patterns. External sequences are simply sequences (tracks) like any other. The essence of external sequences is that one song gets some of its sequence data from some other song. When you are creating a song and want to reference an external sequence, it will initially not exist in your new song. There are two solutions. First, you could edit a new sequence and for a sequence name you would supply the same name as the sequence in some other song (from which you want to get the sequence events). When you do this, GFmusic will create the new sequence with 15 NULL events. You would then go to the Edit PROfile screen for the newly created sequence and supply a song file name for EXT FILE NAME. The EXT FILE NAME will be the name of the song from which GFmusic should obtain the sequence data for the newly created sequence that you are currently editing. Finally, you will END edit, SAVE the new song, and then immediately LOAD the new song. When reloading it, GFmusic will bring in the external sequence in place of the one you created via EDIT. Or, you can load the sequence from the other song via the SEQUENCE LOAD feature. Then edit the sequence and on the EDIT PROfile screen GFmusic Reference 141 specify the EXT FILE NAME (it will be the same one as you used for SONG NAME on the Load Sequence screen). Remember, when you load a song that references an external sequence, GFmusic will obtain and load the events from the EXTERNAL song file. These events will actually be brought into memory. You can edit these events just like any other sequence. However, when you save the song, they are not saved anywhere....not anywhere at all. So don't think that if you change the sequence that it will be saved to the external song. On the other hand, one nice thing about external sequences is that if you change a sequence that is referenced by other songs, then when those songs are loaded, they will always get the most recent version. In this way you can create and maintain libraries of drum patterns, bass lines, chord progressions, program changes, synthesizer setups, etc. When you change these songs/sequences, all songs that reference these sequences will also obtain the changes when they are loaded. Please note that Default Song Directory rules apply. For this reason it is probably best that when you specify the name of the External Sequence, you fully qualify the file name. For example, "C:\DRUMS\ROCKPAT1". Your best bet is to keep it simple and always load the entire sequence (specify 1 and 9999 in begin and end event). A final note..... External sequences can only be used with the Clear memory option of Load song. GFmusic Reference 142 UNDO UNDO ________________________ ________________________ When you perform various editing operations, you may want to "UNDO" them. I.e. their effects may be undesirable and you want to get back to the way things looked before you issued the command. To do this, just put the cursor on the command line in edit, type in "UNDO", and press enter. This will "UNDO" the last operation. For UNDO to work, it needs an UNDO workspace. When GFmusic is first started, it will allocate memory for this workspace if enough is available. If it is not available, you will be notified. UNDO works with the following commands (i.e. can UNDO their effects) : Insert DELete ERASE CHR (channelround) LEGATO / SDT QD/QT/ACD/ACT (Quantize) Copy Repeat THIN TV, TD, TX (Transposes) XD, XT, XA (Expand/Compress) After you issue one of these commands, and UNDO is active, then issuing the UNDO command will put things back like they were before the command was issued. UNDO requires memory for 7000 events. If you start running short on memory and UNDO is active, you can turn UNDO off and free up its memory for your sequences. Option 15 on the Main Menu. Please note that when you issue one of the above commands, you can scroll thru the sequence (PgUp and PgDn, TOP, BOT) and even play from edit. Then, if you don't like the results, UNDO it. Also note that merely making changes in the edit detail area will not be undone by UNDO. UNDO is for use with the above commands only, not for UNDOing manual changes to the edit detail area. GFmusic Reference 143 HIDE AND UNHIDE HIDE AND UNHIDE ________________________ ________________________ When your sequences have controller events in them such as Pitch Bends, After Touch, or Control Changes, there are often so many of them that you can't "see" what your sequence looks like when in edit. To see what I mean, just record a sequence with Pitch Bends, After Touch, and/or Control Changes (mod wheel is one) in them. Don't forget to turn off these filters when recording (on the play/record screen). Then edit the sequence. The first thing you'll notice is that there are many more controller events than Note On events. And it's difficult to see whether the Note On events are lining up on the proper boundaries (see the Measure/Step columns on the edit screen). But there is a way around this. You can HIDE controller events. Just put the cursor on the Command Line (press HOME) and type in "HIDE" and press enter. See what happens.... Now you see the sequence without the controller events. Where are the controller events ? They are in the UNDO workspace in their own "sequence" just as though they were "unmerged" from the original sequence. Since HIDE uses the same workspace as UNDO, if you make any gross changes (e.g. Quantize) you can not UNDO them. So, if you want make use of UNDO, just make sure that there are no hidden events. Of course, if you don't have enough memory for the UNDO workspace, or if you have UNDO toggled off, then HIDE will not work. How do you get the controller events back? Just put the cursor on the Command Line and type in UNHIDE and press enter. The hidden controller events will then be merged back. Remember, UNDO will not work if you have hidden events. Another thing.... If you HIDE events and then make changes that will affect the timing (such as a compress/expand command), when you later UNHIDE the controller events the sequence may not sound as you expect. For example, suppose your sequence has Pitch Bends and you HIDE them. Then you compress the sequence by issuing the following command : XA 1 9999 .5 After you UNHIDE the events, the Pitch Bends may not apply to the notes they were originally "associated" with. Why? Because XA moved the event times "earlier" in time but since the Pitch Bends were hidden, they were not affected. So after you UNHIDE, some Pitch Bends will come after notes they were previously before. Think about it. GFmusic Reference 144 You can still use compress/expand, quantize, etc. Just make sure there are no hidden events when you do this. Issue the command and then hide the events to see the impact. GFmusic Reference 145 THIN THIN ________________________ ________________________ When you record a sequence with controller events (Pitch Bends, After Touch, or Controller events like the Mod Wheel), the number of events you get is usually many more than you need. Each of these controller events takes up memory and also time on the Midi channel when you play your song. But you can do something about it.... you can THIN these events. Record a sequence with controller events (such as Pitch bends). Then edit the sequence and notice how many events there are (put BOT on the Command Line and press PgDn). Now type in THIN and press enter. GFmusic has just eliminated half of the controller events. Now play the sequence and see how it sounds. It probably doesn't sound much different. Type in THIN again and GFmusic will eliminate half of the remaining controller events. When GFmusic is thinning, and the result of the THIN would completely eliminate all controller events BETWEEN notes, then the event is not eliminated. Also, All Pitch Bends with a value of 8192 are left alone as are After Touch and Controller events with a value of zero. These are the "off" positions for these controller events and we always want to leave them in. You can UNDO a THIN operation. For best results, THIN, Play from edit to see if it sounds OK, and if not, perform an UNDO. If it sounds OK, keep on thinning. GFmusic Reference 146 PERFECT TIMING PERFECT TIMING ________________________ ________________________ Perfect Timing is a Play/Record Feature that most people will not use but you should be aware of existence and what it is used for. First some background. If you have a song that is particularly complex and/or "dense", and if you are running on one of the older PCs that run at 4.77MHz, then you may want to use Perfect Time once in a while. What happens is this. If your song has points in it where a lot of tracks start at the same time along with a lot of notes sounding at that same time, then the PC may not have enough horsepower to perform all of its tasks fast enough. What you may observe in these circumstances is a small delay. On a "Turbo" PC, or on a 286/386 machine there is enough horsepower so that it is highly unlikely for this to happen. At any rate, most songs are "dead time" where nothing is happening. What Perfect Time does is make use of this "dead time" to pre-process the events for the Real-time Play/Record part of the code. To use Perfect Time you do the following... You go into Play/Record LOAD MODE where you initially have GFmusic pre-load tracks. After pre-loading a track(s) you would normally press ENTER and GFmusic would then start playing/recording. I.e. you go to EXECUTE MODE. When in EXECUTE MODE you can pause, transpose, mute, change tempo, etc. by pressing the appropriate keys on your computer keyboard. However, to use Perfect Time, instead of pressing ENTER to leave LOAD MODE and enter EXECUTE MODE, you press ^ENTER (i.e. the Ctrl key and the ENTER key simultaneously). When you press ^ENTER you go to Perfect Time mode instead of EXECUTE MODE. When you first go to Perfect Time mode, GFmusic will start processing the events for the track(s) you pre-loaded. It interprets the events and places them into a buffer that the actual Play/Record code will retrieve them from. This buffer is large enough for 255 events. As the buffer fills, you will see a counter at the bottom right of your screen changing. This counter is the number of events placed into the buffer. When the buffer is full, a message will appear that tells you to press any key to start play/record. Your song will now start playing. As the events are taken out of the buffer and sent to the Midi Out port, another routine adds new events to the end of the buffer. The object is to buffer events during the "dead time" of the song (when nothing is happening). Also, in Perfect Time, the real- time part of the code does not interpret events such as sequence start events, or transpose notes, etc. All of that logic is performed by GFmusic Reference 147 the "dead time interpreter." All the real-time code has to do is send bytes out the Midi Out port at the proper time! Of course, it has to process incoming data also but that is usually a relatively trivial task (although you can contrive situations where it's non- trivial). In this way, the dead time is utilized by one set of code so that the Real-Time code has little to do except pump out data at exactly the right time. But there is a cost to this efficiency. The cost is this: You can not use most play/record features from your computer keyboard such as being able to change tempo, mute or solo sequences, transpose pitch or velocity, etc. The only things you can do are Process Recorded Data (the right arrow key) and reset the record buffer to zero (left arrow key). IF YOU PRESS ANY OTHER KEY IF YOU PRESS ANY OTHER KEY __________________________ THEN GFmusic WILL DROP YOU OUT OF PERFECT TIME MODE AND PUT YOU BACK THEN GFmusic WILL DROP YOU OUT OF PERFECT TIME MODE AND PUT YOU BACK ____________________________________________________________________ INTO LOAD MODE. Also, the screen is not updated except for the INTO LOAD MODE. _______________ current measure, echo channel, and number of events in the Record Buffer (yes, YOU CAN OVERDUB TO YOUR TRACKS THAT ARE RUNNING IN (yes, YOU CAN OVERDUB TO YOUR TRACKS THAT ARE RUNNING IN ________________________________________________________ PERFECT TIME MODE). PERFECT TIME MODE). ___________________ As your song plays in Perfect Time mode, you will see two numbers at the bottom right of the screen changing. These are which event in the buffer the real-time routine is currently playing, and slot in the buffer the "dead time interpreter" is waiting to fill. Note that during busy passages, even these numbers will not get updated. The object with Perfect Time is to play in perfect time, not to have a perfect display or have all features available. Again... you pre-load the track(s) you want to start in LOAD MODE and then press ^ENTER to take you to Perfect Time mode where those tracks are played. Before they are played, the Perfect Time code will pre- process the first 255 events and place them into a buffer. When the buffer is full, you get a message, press a key, and the song starts playing. You can overdub to the song as it plays in Perfect Time. Note... in reality, you can press any key even before the buffer fills and play will start... however, the buffer will not be full. If the dead time interpreter can stay ahead of the real-time play routine then there's no problem... if not then things will be no better than if you used the normal play/record method. It only takes a few seconds to fill the buffer so you are probably better off waiting. However, it doesn't hurt to experiment. Even with Perfect Time available to you, it's possible to contrive a situation where the computer can not keep up with your demands. The computer has a finite capacity. Again, in all probability owners of "Turbo"/286/386 machines will not ever have to use Perfect Time although as an experiment you may want to test the limits of your machine by contriving extremely dense sequences and running them the normal way (EXECUTE MODE) and then in Perfect Time. GFmusic Reference 148 GFmusic Reference 149 RUNNING STATUS RUNNING STATUS ________________________ ________________________ GFmusic can play your songs with Running Status. This is a very important feature not found on other sequencers. When a synth or sequencer sends a Note On or other Midi event, the message consists of 2 or 3 bytes. The first byte is a status byte and usually contains the Midi "command" (e.g. Note On, Note Off, etc.) and the Midi channel. The following 1 or two bytes are the data bytes associated with the status byte. With running status, if a status byte is to be the same as the previously sent status byte, then the device (synth or sequencer) can elect to omit the sending of the status byte. By using Running Status, you can effectively reduce outbound traffic on the Midi connection by 30% (more when you are sending a lot of controller data such as Pitch Bends and After Touch). Every synth and/or sequencer should be able to respond to Running Status correctly if they adhere to the Midi Standard. GFmusic is initially configured with Running Status set to false (i.e. Running Status will not be used). However, you can change GFmusic to send using Running Status. Just run program GFCONFIG. One of the questions it will ask you is whether you want to change the current Running Status configuration. If you answer "Y", you can change it. Also note that when GFmusic is started, it will display a message stating how running status is currently configured. To run GFCONFIG, see instructions in section 1 for Installation - Midi Interface. GFmusic Reference 150 SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE ________________________ ________________________ With GFmusic you can record and play back System Exclusive data. Very few Sequencers provide this capability at all. There is currently a restriction with respect to SysEX data in that when you record it, you can only record a maximum of 7,000 bytes of data at a time. That is because the maximum size of a sequence is 7,000 events and for SysEx data, each byte is recorded as an event type of DATA. This means that in some cases you may not be able to dump your entire Synth into a sequence. However, many synths will let you dump individual patches as sysex data and normally these are relatively small. Examples are the Korg 707 and the Casio CZ line of synths. This also appears to be true of many (if not all) Yamaha synths. In other words, in most cases, you can use GFmusic as a patch editor... if you know what you are doing. Since each synth is different, it is impossible to provide a general technique to use. You will have to determine how to do this yourself. See your reference for your particular synth. Again, if you know what your are doing, this feature can be very useful. On your GFmusic distribution disk, song GFDEMO1 has some Casio CZ-3000 examples and the file GFDEMO1.NOT has some notes on what is going on with these sequences. They should at least provide a starting point for you. GFmusic Reference 151 THE THE PROGRAMMER'S PROGRAMMER'S INTERFACE INTERFACE ________________________ ________________________ Now here is a feature that many of you programmer types will love. GFmusic provides an interface such that you can run other programs from GFmusic. These programs can simply be things like DOS utilities (like copy a file), or, they can be programs that provide new commands or Edit routines for GFmusic. This is because we provide the documentation and hooks a programmer needs to write these routines. You can write your own routines (in any language) or run routines written by others. The GFmusic Programmer's guide provides the following : Complete GFmusic file specs. ____________________________ Complete Specs on how to write your own commands ________________________________________________ and/or Event Editor functions in ANY language. _______________________________________________ Complete examples written in Turbo Pascal and C. ________________________________________________ The GFmusic Programmer's Guide is included in the full version. All materials are provided on disk. Call for more details. GFmusic Reference 152 HINTS HINTS ________________________ ________________________ This section of the manual contains a collection of helpful hints, and miscellaneous information. The screen looks kind of funny. GFmusic wants a black background.... before starting GFmusic issue a DOS CLS command, or change your prompt string to specify a black background. When you create a song, one of the most important things you will need to know is how to control your synthesizer(s) from the sequences that you create with GFmusic. In general, controlling your synthesizer boils down to use of Control Changes and Program Changes (Event TYPEs of CTRL and PROG as seen from the EDIT point of view). In addition, some synthesizers require you to manually set up some configurations. For example, some synthesizers require you to manually put the synth into multi-timbral mode and to manually select the starting channel. Other synthesizers allow you to do this completely via Midi commands (events in your GFmusic sequences). Unfortunately, there are so many types of equipment and they are each so different that it is not practical to document them here. In addition, new equipment comes on the market so often that the task becomes even more impractical. However, some general guidelines are useful. First, you will need to read all of the documentation that comes with your synthesizer. In some cases, the manufacturer does not include the documentation you need with the equipment but they have it available if you write or call them. Or, the store where you bought the equipment may have detailed documentation on how the equipment works with respect to operating it via Midi commands (i.e. via a sequencer). Another source of information is friends and/or acquaintances that use the same or similar equipment with sequencers. E.g. the general techniques used with the Casio CZ line of synths is the same with respect to the effects of sending Control Changes and for sending program changes to the synth. So, if you know someone that is using a Casio CZ-101 with a sequencer, the techniques they use will often apply directly to the Casio CZ-3000 or CZ-5000. The same is true for various machines from other manufacturers. Don't be afraid to play detective and to experiment. Again, calling the manufacturer is helpful. They often have additional documentation that is very useful and which they will either give to you free or for a nominal charge. Once again, your local music stores often have such documentation that GFmusic Reference 153 they may let you copy, or at least read it in the store so that you can jot down notes. Once again, if you know someone that uses a sequencer, talk to them. They have probably developed some insight and useful techniques. Also, see if you can review the documentation/manuals for their sequencer. It may have some valuable information that you can apply directly to your GFmusic songs. Usually, most users of GFmusic will create one or more control sequences for their songs. The control sequence will normally perform some initial setup using both Control Changes (TYPE of CTRL) and Program Changes (TYPE of PROG) to initialize the synthesizer(s). As an example, see sequence MAIN CONTROL for song GFDEMO2 (i.e. load song GFDEMO2 and go into EDIT on sequence MAIN CONTROL). GFDEMO2 is essentially the same as GFDEMO1 except that it uses the multi-timbral features of a Casio CZ-3000 or CZ-5000. The first thing that MAIN CONTROL does is to setup multi-timbral mode for 6 channels. The assumption here is that the CZ-3000 was manually set to Mono/Multi- timbral mode starting at Channel 1. Then, MAIN CONTROL sets the 'patches' to use on each of the multi-timbral channels via PROG events. The 2nd event is a PROG on CHannel 1 that tells the CZ-3000 that the voice associated with CHannel 1 is to be set to a Bass sound. If you to look at sequences BASS 1-10 and BASS 11-12 you will see that all of those notes go out on CHannel 1. Next you will see that events 3-6 (in MAIN CONTROL) are PROG events that set the patches for channels 2-5 to be one of the CZ-3000 string sounds. CHannels 2-5 are the ones that will be used for sequence CHORDS 1-12. They all have the same patch (PROG) and if you look at sequence CHORDS 1-12 you will see that the events there had their CHannels assigned in round-robin fashion with the CHR command of EDIT. I.e. CHORDS 1-12 plays chords, and each Note-On event uses one of the channels 2-5. Again, the way the CHannels were assigned was via the CHR command of EDIT. Finally, event 7 of MAIN CONTROL is yet another PROG event that sets the voice on the Casio for channel 6 to an Organ. Now, if you look at sequence MELODY you will see that all Note-On events there use channel 6. Again, it was possible to assign all notes to channel 6 by using the CHR command of EDIT. I.e. when MELODY sequence was recorded, the notes may have come in on channel 1. But, since we want to use multi- timbral features, we needed to reassign the channels, in this case to CHannel 6 via the CHR command. The rest of sequence MAIN CONTROL simply starts other sequences as it does in song GFDEMO1. The main point here is that you will generally use CTRL events and PROG events to setup your synth(s) in preparation for playing the notes. In the manuals/documentation for your synthesizers, they will probably talk in terms of what "Control Changes" and "Program Changes" are supported, whether the synth will send and/or receive it, and what the effect is on the synth when it is received. These translate to CTRL and PROG events respectively in GFmusic. GFmusic Reference 154 Note that to make effective use of multi-timbral features, you will most likely use the CHR command of EDIT. I urge you to record something and use the CHR command against the recorded sequence to see the effect of this command. Other helpful hints : Some synths start numbering their patches at 1 instead of 0. E.g. for the DX7, specify a PROG value of 1 less than the DX7 program number to get what you want. I.e. a PROG of zero will give you program 1 according to DX7 documentation. Use Midi cables. Not just any 5 pin DIN connector will do. You will save yourself a lot of grief by making sure that you get the correct cables. If you have a drum machine, you may find it more useful to dump the drum patterns into GFmusic sequences (i.e. record the drum patterns as GFmusic sequences). Then use the drum machine as a 'dumb' sound module. In this way you can keep the entire song on disk and often have better control over your song. Also, you will have less problems this way because you simply don't have to bother with External/Internal Midi clocking. I.e. with the drum patterns in GFmusic sequences, you can run with Midi Clock Off. With Midi Clock Off (see SET TIME screen), GFmusic sends events based upon an internal clock and neither responds to, nor sends Midi Clock commands. When possible, run with Midi Clocking Off. It simplifies matters. When you play a sequence does it 'go crazy' and spew out notes ?? You probably have a sequence that starts another sequence. The 'starter' is probably not waiting for the started sequence to finish. Do your sequences and Drum Machines get 'out of synch'?? Your sequences are probably not the proper length. When you record a sequence, you should normally EDIT it to ensure that it is the correct length. Most (although not all) sequences you create should be an exact number of measures long. If your Drum Machine plays the pattern too quickly/slowly then you probably are using either External/Internal Midi Clocking and do not have the correct number of steps per Midi Clock. Again, if you dump your drum patterns into sequences and control everything from GFmusic (i.e. run Midi Clocking OFF) then this problem should never occur. GFmusic Reference 155 When you record drum patterns from a drum machine or music from another sequencer, you should put GFmusic into EXECUTE mode (not LOAD MODE) BEFORE YOU START THE DRUM MACHINE, OTHER SEQUENCER, OR EVEN PLAYING MANUALLY. The reason is that if you don't, you will end up recording only 'parts of notes'. E.g. only the Note-off portion of a Note-On/Note-off combination. While things will still work, if you go to edit such a recorded sequence, the editor will complain about things such as a duration of less than zero for a note, or that a Note-On event has a velocity of zero when in fact these are merely misinterpretations of 'partial events'. To avoid this, always start recording before you ever start playing your keyboard, or before starting the drum machine or sequencer you want to record from. Another thing that you may run into with respect to recording is that when you process the play buffer into a sequence, you may get a message to the effect that 'NOTE ON FOUND WITH NO CORRESPONDING NOTE- OFF, DURATION SET TO 1'. All this means is that you stopped the recording process after a Note-On was received but before the Note-Off portion of 'note' was received. This is most common when recording drum patterns from a drum machine or a piece from another sequencer although it can even occur if you press the right arrow key (process recorded data) before you let up on the key of the synth. Your synthesizer does not respond to program changes ?? A number of possibilities exist : If multi-timbral mode, are you sending the program change out on the proper channel ? Does your synth have program changes disabled (i.e. will not react to Program changes via Midi) ?? Some synthesizers 'come up' this way when powered on. When recording, Midi Control Changes are not recorded: Look in your manual. Will it send all Control Parameters ? Is the Control Change filter true or false on the PLAY screen ? To record Control Changes, the filter for CTRL must be FALSE. When playing, Midi Control changes are ignored by synthesizer. Look In your manual. Does your synth respond to them ?? Some synths will send them but do not respond to them. Others will respond but you first have to manually enable that feature by pressing a button. GFmusic Reference 156 You can record sequences but get nothing out of the synthesizer when you play it back. Is the synthesizer setup to receive on the same channel that it sent on ?? Are you using Midi cables or some other type of cable ? When I go to play, nothing happens. Are you using External clocking ? Have you started the device that is providing the clocking ? Does the Play Screen indicate that sequences are starting, looping, etc. If so, then is your equipment connected correctly ?? Is your equipment set to receive on the proper channel(s) ? When a sequence plays back, it sounds 'flaky'. If the synth is in Mono mode, and notes overlap, then the synth may not start the 2nd note at the 'attack' phase. See command SDT. On some synths, it takes time for a PROGram change to take effect. When I start a control sequence, the play screen fills up and I get an error message about not enough slots. You need a WAIT in the 'starter'. I.e. a control sequence is looping, has zero in the TIME fields, and is not doing a WAIT when it starts a sequence. How do I MOVE events in a sequence ?? COPY them to the target location and then DELete them. This is easy since the COPY command remains on the command line with a "?" in the 1st position. Just change "?OPY" to "DEL ". When you first go into Play/Record do you get a message that your Midi Interface is not installed ? Is it installed ? See the section on installation. GFmusic Reference 157 The computer keyboard keys don't work as advertised..... Are you sure your num-lock key is off ? To simulate Step Time entry, just play at the speed you are comfortable with, and then use the editor to clean up the timing. You will soon get comfortable with the numbers that mean quarter note, half note, etc. and with the numbers that correspond to the different boundaries (quarter note, half note, etc.). Use a Null Event for Rests. Don't forget to use SKIP and/or Fast Forward as an overdubbing aid. Sometimes you may even want to create special control sequences that play just the combination of sequences you want to overdub to. Create a song called EMPTY that doesn't have any sequences (tracks). Then if all you want to do is clear memory (delete all sequences), simply load song EMPTY with the Clear memory option of Load Song. GFmusic Reference 158 Table Of Contents Table Of Contents Acknowledgements 4 Legalese 5 Installation 6 General 6 Color vs Monochrome 7 Your Midi Interface 8 Changing Colors 10 How To Use This Manual 11 Introduction 13 Relationship To Dr. T's 14 Overview of GFmusic and Req'ts 15 Getting Started 19 Terms - What They Mean 20 Starting GFmusic 21 Main Menu & Screen Basics 23 The Play/Record Screen 26 Echo Channel 28 Process Recorded Data 29 Tempo 37 Measure 38 Pause 38 Transpose 38 Mute and Solo 41 Echo Channel 42 SKIP to Measure and FFWD 44 Force Remaining Repeats to 1 45 The Sequence Status LIne 45 MIDI CLK 46 Record Filters 46 Play/Record Key Usage Chart 49 GFmusic As A Simple 26 Track Sequencer 50 Getting Started - Part B 53 Directories and Picking From Lists 53 Save Song and Load Song 55 Save Sequence and Load Sequence 60 Copy/Merge 63 Delete Sequence 64 Print Sequence 64 List Sequences 65 Directory Songs/Sequences 65 Toggle Edit UNDO 66 Memory Stats 66 Using Side Kick 66 More On The Play Screen 68 EDIT 75 General 76 GFDEMO1 - How It Was Created 77 Edit Operation - High Level 81 The Command Line and Commands 82 Events and Edit Detail 83 EDIT Part B 85 MAIN CONTROL - A CONTROL SEQUENCE 85 BASS CONTROL - Another Control Sequence 90 CHORDS 1-12 - A Sequence With Notes 93 TEMPO CONTROL - A Sequence with the BPM Event 97 The EDIT PROFILE Screen 99 Timing 102 General 102 Standard Values 108 Midi Clocking Operation 109 Metronome 111 Resolution 112 Edit Again - Commands 113 CALCON/CALCOFF 115 PROfile 115 SAVE 116 END 116 CANcel 116 TOP and BOTtom 116 Scrolling with PgUp and PgDn 118 Insert Events 119 DELete Events 119 ERASE Events 119 Play from Edit 120 Channel Assign (CHR) 121 LEGATO 121 Quantize/AutoCorrect 123 Copy Events 124 Repeat Events 124 Transpose Commands 125 Expand/Compress 126 Event Types 129 External Sequences 140 UNDO 143 HIDE / UNHIDE 144 THIN 146 Perfect Timing 147 Running Status 150 System Exclusive 151 Programmer's Interface 152 Hints 153 ACA 124 ACD 123 Affected Sequences 39 After Touch 135 ALLOW TRANSPOSE 100 ATC 135 ATP 135 Autocorrect 123 BLINKING FIELDS IN ERROR 129 BOTtom 118 Boundaries - notes. 107 BPM 37 BPM Events 97 BPM/BPMUP/BPMDN 136 CALCOFF 115 CALCON 115 CANcel 116 CHannel 94 Channel Assignment 121 CHR 121 Color 7 Colors - changing 10 Commands 114 Commands - Edit 82 Control Change 135 Control Sequence - discussion 91 Control Sequence - Discussion of 86 Controller Event 135 Controller Events 144 Controller Events - THINning 146 COPY 124 Copy Sequence 63 CTRL event 135 DATA Event 138 DELete 119 Delete Sequence 64 Directories 53 Directory Songs/Sequences 65 Dr. T's 14 Drum Machines 108, 109, 155 Duration - needs a number 129 Echo 42 Echo Channel 28 Echo Channels 138 ECHO Events 138 Edit BOTtom 118 Edit Cancel 116 Edit Channel Assign 121 Edit Commands 82 Edit COPY 124 Edit DELete 119 Edit Detail Area 86 Edit End 116 Edit ERASE 119 Edit eXpand/Compress 126 Edit Insert 119 Edit LEGATO 121 Edit LIST 118 Edit PLAY 120 EDIT PROfile 99, 115 Edit Quantize 123 Edit Quantize All 124 Edit Repeat Events 124 Edit TOP 116 Edit Transpose 125 Edit Transpose Duration 125 Edit Transpose Note 125 Editor - Operation 81 END 116 ERASE 119 Event Types 129 Execute Mode 27, 71 Expand/Compress 126 EXT FILE NAME 140 External Sequences 140 Externals - Loading 141 Fast Forward 37 FFWD 37 Filters 46 Help 82 HIDE 144 Hints 153 Insert 119 Installation 6 Key Usage 32 Key Usage - Computer 23 Key Usage - Play/Record 49 LEGATO 121 List Sequences 65 LIST Sequences from Edit 118 Lists 53 Load Mode 27, 47, 71 Load Sequence 60, 61, 62 Load Song 55 Looping 101 Maximum Concurrent Tracks 73 Meas/Step - Calc 115 Measure 37 MEASure and STEP 94 Memory Stats 66 Merge 73 Merge Sequence 63 Metronome 27, 111 Midi Cables 155 MIDI Clocking 46, 108, 109 Midi Clocking - how works 109 Midi Interface - Not installed msg 157 Midi Interface.i.MIDI IRQ 8 MIDI Port 8 Monochrome 7 MOVE 157 Moving Events 157 MPU 401 8 Mute 70, 100 Mute - Cascading 41 Note Off 132 Note On 94 NULL Event 86, 137 Numeric Fields 32 OptronicsYour Midi Interface 8 Overdub - techniques 158 Overdub and ERASE Events 119 Pause 38, 73 Perfect Timing 147 PgDn 118 PgUp 118 Picking from lists 53 Pitch 71 Pitch Bend 133 Play 26 Play from Edit 120 Play Key 27, 31, 100 Play Key - Avoid Z 31 Play Keys - Play Screen 32 Play/Record 26 Play/Record - Key Usage 49 Play/Record - Perfect Timing 147 Positioning Events on Edit Screen 118 Print Sequence 64 Process Recorded Data 31 PROfile 115 PROfile - Edit 99 PROG 133 PROGram change 86, 133 Programmer's Interface 152 QA 124 QD 123 QT 123 Quantize 123 Quantize All 124 Quantize and HIDE 144 Quantize Time 123 Record 26, 31 Record - tip 35 Record Buffer 27 REMaining Repeats 45, 70 REPEAT 124 Repeats 32, 70, 101 Resolution 112 Rewind 27 Running Status 150 Save Sequence 60, 61, 62 Save Song 55, 57, 58 Save.i.Edit Save 116 Scrolling 95 SDT 121 Sequence Load - Externals 141 Sequence Name 100 Sequence Number 100 Sequence Start 137 Sequence Start Event 87 Set 1st Event Time to zero 31 SHELLing to DOS 152 Side Kick 66 SKIP 44 Solo 42 Solo - Cascading 41 Sound Modules 28 Start track with WAIT 87 Start Track/Sequence 87 Starting Sequences - Play Key 31 Starting Sequences Simultaneously 47 Statistics 66 STEP TIME - simulating 158 Steps Per Measure - Max 103 Stopping a Sequence 45 SYSEX 151 System Exclusive 151 TD 125 Tempo 37, 97 Tempo - Changing with BPM Event 98 Tempo Control via BPM 136 THIN 146 TIME 86, 94 TIME and NULL Event 96 TIME field with value of zero 94 Time Signatures - shifting 108 Timing 102 Timing - Perfect 147 Timing - Resolution 112 Timing - Standard values 109 TN 125 TOP 116 Transpose 71, 101 TRANSPOSE - ALLOW 100 Transpose - Allow/Disregard 32 Transpose - Cascading 40, 45 Transpose - Clearing 40 Transpose - During Play 38 Transpose Duration 125 Transpose Note 125 Transpose Velocity 125 Transpose with Sequence Start 91 TV 125 TYPE of event 129 UNDO 66, 143 UNDO and HIDE - relationship 144 UNHIDE 144 VELocity 71, 94 WAIT 87 Wait/From 46, 70