MUSIC MAKER HELP All credit
goes to Jeremiah Hughes, who is the author of Music Maker and this document.
Draw Mode
This mode allows you to place and
erase notes. To place a note, move the cursor to where youd like the note to start
and press and hold the left mouse button. Then drag the cursor to the right to the desired
note length (each column represents 1/16 note). Once you release the mouse button the note
will be placed. To erase a note, move the cursor to the column where your note is and
click the right mouse button. To see what instrument a note is, move the cursor to the
column where the note is. The instrument number and name will be displayed above the music
area on the left side.
Start / Insert Position Mode
Clicking on the music area in
this mode places the red column. This determines what part the song will start playing
from when you press the play button. Also this is the position where notes will be added
or erased when you use the Paste and Insert Space functions. You can also place the red
column by clicking on the black bar above the music area while in any mode.
Select Area Mode
This mode allows you to isolate a
specific area for editing. The selected area will be highlighted in blue. Click with the
left mouse button and drag to the right to select an area. After an area is selected you
can extend it by clicking to the right of the selected area. If you click to the left of
the selected area, you will deselect the previously selected area and start a new
selection. Clicking anywhere in the music area with the right button while in this mode
will deselect everything.
Copy Selection
If there is an area currently
selected (highlighted in blue), this function will copy that area into memory.
Cut Selection
This will cut out the selected
area and copy it into memory.
Paste (Overwrite)
This function will paste from
memory to the music area starting at the red columns position and overwrite the
notes that were there previously.
Paste (Insert)
This will insert a space the size
of the area to be pasted before pasting it and will not overwrite any notes.
Insert Space
You can insert one blank column
at the red columns position with this button.
Return to Start
This returns the red column and
the screens position to the beginning of the song.
Play
This plays the song starting from
the red column. The song automatically stops when it reaches the last note.
Stop
Click this button to stop the
song while it is playing.
Tempo
This sets the tempo, or beats per
minute, that the song is played at. For example, the default of 120 plays 120 quarter
notes per minute, or 2 quarter notes per second. The range for Tempo is 20-300.
Instruments
Select from 128 melodic
instruments (0-127) and 47 percussive instruments (128-174). Selecting an instrument will
change the current instrument for the currently selected track. Next time a note is placed
it will be in the newly chosen instrument. If there is a selected area (blue highlight),
all notes in that area on the current track will be changed to the new instrument.
Percussive instruments (128 174) do not change tone so it doesnt matter what
row you place them on.
Edit Track
Use these buttons to select which
track you want to edit. You can only place notes on one track at a time. The notes of the
currently selected track will be in front of all other notes and appear darker. All other
tracks will be dimmed. You cannot edit a track that is hidden.
Hide Tracks
Use these buttons to hide up to
seven tracks. When a track is hidden it will not be visible on the screen and cannot be
altered in any way. This is useful if you, for example, want to copy the baseline of a
song but not the melody. You can temporarily hide all tracks but the baseline, copy and
paste it, then unhide all tracks. You cannot hide the track that is currently selected for
editing.
Transpose
If youd like your song to
be in a higher or lower key, use the Transpose function. Clicking once will raise or lower
every note one semitone. If you have an area selected in blue only those notes will be
affected.
Use Alpha Blending
When this option is selected the
red, blue and green highlighting bars will be semi-transparent rather than a crisscrossing
pattern. This takes more processing time and also may not work on some computers.
Reverse Notes
This reverses the song so that it
is backwards compared to the original. If an area is selected in blue, only that part will
be reversed.
Flip Notes
This basically flips your song
upside down. The notes are still the same distance apart from each other vertically so
they harmonize with each other, but the high notes are now low and the low notes are high.
If an area is selected in blue, only those notes will be flipped. |