The software includes its own on-line documentation. All objects, menu options and dialog boxes are self-documented. When you point to any object with the cursor, an explanation is displayed in the help window. The document you are reading describes everything that is not described in the help window.
 
You'll find here the basic concepts of music theory, a set of questions and answers, a concrete example to use with the software and some thematic chapters.

In addition, more than 100 interactive video tutorials, available from the "Windows>Tutorials" menu, explain the basic and advanced features. You can search the tutorial list for a topic by typing its name.  For example, "staves" will show tutorials that deal with staves.  The tab key will jump to the next tutorial in the list.

You are invited to view the "How to view video tutorials." video tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

The document you are reading right now covers topics not directly related to objects in the program. You will find here basic ideas of music notation, a step-by-step concrete example, tips to use the software better, a set of frequently asked questions, and thematic chapters.

You are invited to view the "How to use the integrated help system: help line, search the manual by keywords. " video tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu option in the program.)

Important: At the end of this document is the Software license chapter. You must read it before using the software.

.

Melody Assistant (shareware - US $25 / Europe: 20 €)

Enables you to enter, play and print musical scores with astonishing ease. But its capabilities are much greater: a digital sound database is integrated so you can hear your tunes with high-quality sounds, even if you do not own professional hardware or an external MIDI keyboard.
With this technology, you will also be able to record your own sounds and use them as instruments in your tunes.
An extended "Gold" sound database, even more complete, can be ordered.
Guitar, Bass and Harmonica players will also be happy with Melody Assistant, since it is possible to calculate tablatures and chord diagrams automatically from a tune.

Question: What is meant by "shareware"? You can try Melody Assistant free. If the program meets your requirements, you can then order a personal registration number (for US $25 or 20 euros if you live in Europe) and access the software's most advanced features. In this documentation, the options available only to registered users are clearly indicated.

Harmony Assistant (commercial product - US $85 / Europe: 70 €)

Harmony Assistant can be considered Melody's "big brother". All the Melody Assistant features are, of course, included, but a wide range of new tools are added: full-page editing, engraver mode, chord grid calculation, automatic generation of harmony accompaniments or rhythm patterns, redefined or user-defined music styles, integrated scripting language, etc. Again, features only available in Harmony Assistant will be clearly indicated in this documentation.

Question: Is Harmony Assistant "shareware"? No. It is a commercial product, which can be ordered for US $85, or 70 euros if you live in Europe. You can test the amazing harmonizing capabilities of Harmony Assistant by downloading a trial version. With the trial version, you will only have a reduced sound database, and you will not be able to save or print your musical documents. You will, however, be able to take a look at all features to ensure that they meet your requirements.

PDFtoMusic (US $49 / Europe: 40 €) and PDFtoMusic Pro (US $199/Europe: 199 €)

OMeR (shareware - US $25 / Europe: 20 €)

OMeR converts a printed musical score into a music file you can hear, modify and print with Melody Assistant or Harmony Assistant.
If you often transcribe printed scores to Melody Assistant or Harmony Assistant, and you own a scanner, OMeR will greatly ease your task.
OMeR will drive your scanner, collect one or several pages and analyze them to generate a musical document usable directly in Melody or Harmony.

Virtual Singer (shareware - US $25 / Europe: 20 €)

Plug-in for Melody or Harmony. With Virtual Singer your computer will sing lyrics in different languages.

GOLD Sound Base -  (CD-ROM: US $37 / Europe: 30 € , Download: US $25 / Europe: 20 €)

The Gold Sound Database is a set of high-quality digital sounds, designed to be used in the Myriad software programs. The Gold Sound Database includes all the sounds of the General Midi 2 specification, as well as many additional sounds.
Thus, the Gold Sound Database improves not only the quality of tunes the software plays, but also the quality of WAV, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis or MP3 files the software exports.

A. Launching the software

When you launch the software, you are asked to select a language. Choose "English".

With Melody Assistant, you can print a registration form, i.e. order one of our products, or enter your personal registration number (received after you purchased the software), or continue. Choose "Continue".

With Harmony Assistant, in evaluation mode, choose "Continue".

Note: These choices will not have to be made with a registered version of Melody Assistant, or a complete version of Harmony Assistant.

This brings you to the software's main screen.

At the top of the screen is a menu bar containing the main options. Scattered on the screen are a number of floating palettes which allow quick access to most of the tools.
You can change each floating palette's location by dragging its title.

Note: the floating palettes’ positions are memorized each time you quit the software. They will be recalled next time you launch it.

Click on its little gray square to close a floating palette. You can make it appear again by selecting it in the "Windows" menu.

Tip: Command key + click on a palette's title to change its orientation (vertical or horizontal). The help window can be resized. To do this, drag the little black rectangle on the window's bottom-right corner.

You are invited to view the "How to setup palettes to avoid overlapping with document windows." and "How to create an user palette. " video tutorials. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Finally, the main window shows a sample tune, automatically loaded when the software is started.

To help you learn all the software tools and options, a help window (yellow rectangle) continuously displays explanations of each object as the cursor runs over them.

Tip: The help window also gives the meaning of menu titles and options. So place it where it can be seen even when a menu is open (for example, at the bottom of your screen).

B. Listening to a tune

Find the tune playing tools floating palette:

Note:  Since the icons' appearance can be easily changed by you (see the General Setup), pictures shown here may be slightly different from what you see on your screen. You are invited to view the "Using another icon set." video tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Start playing a tune by clicking:

Tip: The space bar also starts and stops a tune.

Select the model "Very simple (One staff only)" in the list.

We will add a bass clef to this model. Click on "Change orchestra".

Your new document window is now ready, with an empty score. In "Simple staves" select "Simple staff (Bass clef)".

Click on ">>Add>>" then "Ok". The new staff was added.

Click on "Create" a new blank document was created. It is displayed on a new window and ready to receive your changes.

You are invited to view the "How to create a document model (template)." video tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Tip: A long floating palette ("Actions" palette) contains shortcuts to the most common menu options.

You are invited to view the "Score input. Adding notes, rests, staff. Changing key and time signature. Selecting an instrument. Changing tempo. Adding bar line. Automatic beaming setup." video tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

eighth note 

Tip: If you have trouble inserting notes where you want them, you can increase the display scale. There are several ways to do this: Select the Windows>Scale menu option and choose a scale factor, or Click on the magnifying glass in the editing mode floating palette and click on the score, or Hold the mouse button down while clicking on the magnifying glass and move the cursor up. If you use the magnifying glass tool, do not forget to return to note insertion mode (click the icon with a pencil and a note).

Now select a quarter note in the floating palette.
Drop it, again on the E line, to the right of the first two notes.

You now have a group of three notes in the first bar: two eighths and a quarter on the E line.

Drop the dotted eighth note in the second bar, after the notes already placed, on the bass C leger line (one line below the bottom line of the staff).

Click again on the dot in the floating palette to deselect it. This returns you to non-dotted note duration.
Continue to drop successive notes:
In the second bar:

Important: If you make a mistake when dropping a note, select the lightning icon in the Edit floating palette, click on the incorrect note to delete it, and come back to insert mode (icon with a pencil and a note). You can also use the Edit>Undo menu option to undo the last performed operation. Alternatively you can select the lasso icon and physically move a note by clicking on it, holding down the mouse button, repositioning the note and releasing the mouse button.

Tip: In insert mode, you can quickly change to delete mode by holding down the Command key (Ctrl on PC), or to select mode by holding down the Option (Alt) key.

Hint: Save your work frequently with File>Save (Caution: Document saving is not available with the evaluation version of Harmony Assistant.)

To the left of the staff, little icons can be used to perform various actions on it.

Hint: If you cannot see these icons, then you are probably in page mode, and "display handles" mode is off. Switch to scroll mode or activate the control handles ("Score" menu).

Click on the little "instrument editing" icon  .
The instrument selection window opens. In the top-left corner is the current instrument name: here "Piano". Select this name and replace it with "Music box".

In the bottom of the window are two lists for selecting the instrument sound. The left one contains the sound set (sounds are organized by theme). Click on "Chromatic percussion".
In the right list are the names of sounds in this group. Select "Music Box".

Note: These names follow the General MIDI standard.

Hint: have fun browsing the lists and trying the available sounds. Then come back to "Chromatic percussion" - "Music box".

Play your melody again 

Changing the name of a staff

Note: Some of these actions, like instrument selection, can be accessed faster by clicking on the icons below the black triangle.

Resizing the staff

We are now going to resize the screen area reserved for the top staff. Click on the horizontal red line below the staff configuration icons in the staff margin and drag the cursor down.
The space allotted to the first staff is enlarged, and the second staff (bass clef) is shifted down. When you think that the allocated space is wide enough, release the mouse button (try, however, to have both staves visible on screen).

You will have noticed that the treble staff remained at the top of its area. To center it, drag the lower red triangle down. The staff is then repositioned within its enlarged space.

            __ treble G __
               treble F
            __ E __
               D
            __ C __
               B
______________ A ________________ Topmost line
               G
______________ F  ________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________ Bottom line

In the first bar, we're going to begin with a  C major chord in its 2nd inversion, that is to say: G, C and E.

Select a half-note  and drop a G into the first bar of the bass staff (see above to get the position of G on the staff).
Then drop a C above this note. To help you, when moving the mouse, the note to be dropped must show a + symbol which indicates that this note will be dropped in the same column as an existing note.
The C appears in the same column as the G: these two notes will be played at the same time. Then place an E (two leger lines above the topmost line of the staff), also in the same chord. Your chord is complete.

.

Tip: Rather than entering the same three notes again, you could use the copy/paste option: Choose the Selection (lasso) tool in the floating edit palette. Click to the left of the chord already placed on the staff and keep the button pressed down. Drag the mouse to the right so that the selection encompasses the chord. Release the mouse button Select Edit>Copy (Command-C) Click in the place you want this chord to be duplicated (to the right of the first one) Select Edit>Paste (Command-V) Do not forget to return to note insertion mode (pencil and note icon).

Tip: If you used the copy and paste options to insert the second chord, you can simply select "Paste" again.

In the third bar, place an F major chord, made of A, C (as above) and F.
Next place a C major chord, identical to those in the first bar.
The third bar is complete.

In the fourth and last bar, place a D minor chord, made of A, D and F.
Then select a quarter note duration .

Place a G chord (G-B-D) and an inverted G chord (B-D-treble G)

If you did not make a mistake, you should have something like this:

Play the tune 

At present, the chosen instrument is called Bass. To the right of the instrument name, click on the downward-pointing gray arrow to open a menu.
The list of instruments already created opens.
Select "New instrument".
Give a name to your new instrument. Call it "String Ensemble".
In the sound lists, select "Ensemble" and "Slow strings"
Confirm this window with OK. You have just created a new instrument with a new sound.

This instrument will be used by the bass staff.

Play your tune to try the new instrument 

Switching to user mode

Preparing for recording

Recording

Click the  icon to access the digital recording window.
On the right, the VU-meter allows you to adjust the input level.
When you are ready, click  to start recording (5 seconds).
When it is completed, click OK (and if necessary stop your audio CD).
 

Hint: Play an accurately tuned note, a C if possible.

 

Listening to the recorded sound

After recording, return to the sound definition window, and you can "see" what you recorded. Straight horizontal lines correspond to the moments during which nothing was played.
To hear the sound you recorded, click If you are not satisfied, you can record the sound again.

Isolating the sound

You must now isolate the interesting part of the recorded sound. To do this, click and drag from the beginning to the end of the section you want to keep. The selected area appears on a colored background.

Tip: Use the zoom slider to enlarge the sound display scale.

 

Click  to listen to your selection.
When you are satisfied (you must only hear one note, with no preceding silence), open the Action pop-up menu, and select 'Crop'.

Entering the input note

Tip: When you click "Try" and hold the mouse button down, the note heard must be a C.

Confirming and listening

Confirm your changes with OK. This returns you to your musical document.
You can hear your new user instrument by playing the tune .
 

Click where you want the text to be inserted. A window opens and you can type in the desired text and select its color, font, size and style.
For example, enter "Jingle Bells" and select the Times (or Times New Roman) font with a size of 32, bold, red.

Tip: The "Ab" icon (at the bottom) allow text to be displayed over the other elements without erasing them.

You can drag the text frame, resize it (by dragging its bottom-right corner) or edit it again (double-click).

To place a graphic, the operation is more or less the same. Select "Graphics" (the icon with a square, circle and triangle) and click where you want your graphic to be inserted.
In the window, select the shape to be inserted by using the horizontal scroll bar (for example, the ribbon) as well as its color (green) and confirm.
The chosen graphic appears at the desired place.

Tip: You can also place graphics created in a drawing program by clicking "Other" in the graphics selection box and choosing a BMP file (or PICT on Macintosh).

Tip: At the bottom of this window, you can read information about the file, including the time spent on this tune. Interesting, but also depressing at times!

A print preview appears and you can see what the printed page will look like.
By clicking the "Options" button, you can then choose what you want to be printed. Check Print infos on first page and deselect the other options. Finally, on the list at the bottom, ensure that your two staves (Main and Bass) are marked with a little printer icon.
OK this box and select your usual printer settings.
Then click on "Print page".

Note: It is only possible to print one page with the trial version of Harmony Assistant. With an unregistered version of Melody Assistant, you can print, but a message will remind you to register for a modest sum if you enjoy this software. Of course, this message will disappear as soon as your copy is registered.

Note: You must not confuse this feature with zooming (or scaling), which enlarges or reduces all symbols to make them more readable on screen: printing is not affected by the zoom setting, and notes that appear too close or overlapped keep their relative distance.

Individual setting:
At the top of your main window the ruler (gray bar) indicates bar numbers. When you point to the line in the ruler separating two bars, the cursor changes. By dragging this line, you can change the width of the individual bar.

Global setting:
Select more than one measure by clicking on the ruler and change the size of one measure in the selection. This size will be applied to all the selected bars.
 

Tip: Bars are displayed on screen side by side, making a continuous "ribbon" from the first to the last. As the printed page width is not infinite, they will be printed in strips one below another. On screen, a vertical yellow line shows where the staff is cut into strips while printing.

You are invited to view the "Creating automatic accompaniments and rhythms from a melody with Harmony Assistant " video tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Note: These areas are only displayed when they are enabled in the Options menu.

Click in the accompaniment array cell above the first bar.
The accompaniment definition window opens. Click on "New" and give a name to this new accompaniment (for example "Bass line"). Then click the "Edit" button.

This brings up a window with tabs for defining the details of the accompaniment.

Open the "Instrument" tab and select the pre-defined "Bass" instrument.
 

Note: Click on "Edit" to define a new instrument or to modify an existing one, just as in "regular" staves.

Her you can define the sequence or the chord type to be followed by the accompaniment while the tune is playing.
Select "according to pattern" and select the "ChaCha:Bass" pattern from the right-hand list. Click "OK" for this window, and for the accompaniment window.
Your accompaniment is created.

Note: Accompaniments are played only when the "Accompaniments active" icon (tune playing floating palette) is selected.

We are now going to extend this accompaniment to the four bars of the tune.

Tip: While defining the accompaniment, at the bottom of the main window you can directly enter the first and last bars to which the accompaniment should be applied.

Click on the first bar in the rhythm array (green area). The rhythm definition window opens. Select "Loop1" in the list of available rhythms and confirm with "OK".

The "Loop1" rhythm has been inserted in the rhythm array, but only for the first bar. As you did before, extend this rhythm to cover the four bars of your tune.

Play the tune  : your rhythm is heard with the music.
 

Note: Rhythms are played only when the "Rhythms active" icon (tune playing floating palette) is selected

We advise you to load and carefully examine the examples.

You are invited to view the "Creating automatic accompaniments and rhythms from a melody with Harmony Assistant" video tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

This section of the manual deals with the graphical appearance of the document.

First you will be introduced to the basic concepts of music notation.

Then you will learn how to create a new document from a template.

Several kinds of notation will be mentioned, as well as special kinds of staves: tablatures, multi-voice staves, gregorian notation.

Then, the miscellaneous music symbols that can be related to a staff will be reviewed: break symbols, clefs, key changes...

A dedicated chapter will describe in detail the text objects related to staves: how to input and use them.

Lastly, we will study the free objects and the other tools that help you to improve the score appearance.

We are now going to review the basics. If you are already familiar with musical theory and vocabulary, you can skip this chapter. 

Note: Of course, the whole of music theory cannot be explained here. To go deeper into this field, you are invited to refer to a specialized book on the subject.

The staff is made of five grouped horizontal lines:

On each staff, notes can be placed. A note defines the sound to be played at a given time by the instrument of the staff. Notes can be placed on or between the lines.

A note, by its appearance and location, defines three parameters:

Staves are divided into bars, separated by vertical lines placed regularly on the staff. Bars split staves into regular intervals.

Finally, on the left of each staff is a clef. A clef gives several pieces of information:

- Its shape determines where the notes fall on the lines.
Thus, the treble or G clef (upper staff) says that the bottom line corresponds to an E, the space between the two bottom lines to an F, the above line (around which it curls) to a G, and so on for A, B, C, D, E, F, G...
The treble clef symbol is:

With a bass or F clef, the bottom line corresponds to a low-pitched G, and from bottom to top, A, B, C, D, E, F ...
The bass clef symbol is:

- On the right of the clef are two numbers, such as . These indicate the time signature, i.e. the length of each bar. 4/4 means that a bar contains four beats and the value of each beat is a quarter note. Thus the length of the bar is a whole note or two half notes.

Accent

Accidental

Appoggiatura

Arpeggio

Bar

Bar line

Chord

Dot

Dynamics

Enharmony

Flat (b)

Ghost rest

This notion is specific to Harmony and Melody, and does not exist in regular musical theory.

A ghost rest is a rest used to make up a bar during editing. It indicates an incomplete bar, in which notes can still be added.
It is drawn as:

A ghost rest graphically shows the time remaining in a bar. You can transform ghosts rests to rests by using the staff menu (black triangle in the staff margin), option "Change ghost rests to rests".

 

Tip: ghost rests can be made invisible using an option in Configuration>Global Setup.

Gruppetto

Inversion

Key signature

Musical scales are defined by their key signature. The various degrees of the scale are often flat or sharp. To avoid writing accidentals, sharps or flats are only written once, after the clef.
C# major or A# minor These symbols become the default sharps or flats for the line of the staff they are drawn on.

For more information, refer to the Key signature chapter.
If you are using Harmony Assistant, see also the modal array in the Frequently Asked Questions chapter

Natural

Note

Note: the same note can sometimes be written in different ways. See Enharmony.

- Note duration
The shape of the note indicates its duration. In decreasing order:

• whole note (semibreve),
• half note (minim) = 1/2 a whole note,
• quarter note (crotchet) = 1/2 a half note,
• 8th note (quaver) = 1/2 a quarter note,
• 16th note (semiquaver) = 1/2 an 8th note,
• 32nd note (demisemiquaver) = 1/2 a 16th note...

These lengths can be combined with the tie option in the Edit menu. By tying a half note with an 8th note, for example, a note with a duration equal to the sum of these two lengths is obtained.
Dotted notes indicate a duration of one-and-a-half times the written duration. For example, a dotted quarter has the same duration as a quarter plus an 8th note.

It is also possible to use triplets (their duration is equal to 2/3 of the written note).

- Notation:

Notes are written on a staff or stave.
Notes in the same column are played at the same time.
To beam the notes together, select them with the lasso tool and choose "Beam" in the "Edit" menu.
Beamed notes indicate to the performer that they will be played in the same "phrase". In this case beams replace the hooks.

When different notes are beamed together, determining their respective duration becomes a little bit more complex. For example:

To determine the duration of a given note, look for the maximum number of beams in contact with its stem. This indicates the note's duration.

It is also possible to place signs indicating that no note is to be played during an interval of time. Such signs are called rests.

Nuance

Octave

Range

Rest

Tip: In the floating palettes, rests are organized in the same order as notes. Thus, a minim rest is located at the same place in its palette as the minim note.

Sharp (#)

Scale

Note: a scale is called major when its third degree is major, and minor when its third degree is minor.

Staff

Sound

Tablature

Tessitura

Tonality

Transpose

Trill

Triplet

Tuplet

Velocity

Introduction

When selecting "File>New", you can select the kind of musical document you want to create from amongst a list of pre-defined templates.
This template list is sorted by family or by theme, to ease your search.

Little icons can appear after the template name. Here is their meaning:

• A note: the template already contains notes, i.e. one or more pre-written staves are provided with this template.
• A drummer: the template already contains one or more complete drum tracks.

Creating user-defined templates:

It is easy to create user-defined templates for Harmony-Melody. These new templates will appear in the list when selecting "File>New":

• Create a new musical document you want to be used as a template
• Select "File>Export>Harmony-Melody Model"
• Move to the Models folder, and if necessary enter the subfolder you want your new template to be stored in
• Give a name to your template file
• A dialog window opens. You can define for your new template:
• Its complete name, in the different languages known by Harmony-Melody. If you do not know the translation in other languages, leave these fields blank.
• Its priority, to sort templates belonging to the same sub folder. If you want your template to appear at the top of the list, enter a high value. If you prefer it to appear at the bottom, enter a low value.
• A check box "Ask for key signature". When this box is checked, a key signature for the piece will be requested every time a new musical document is created from this template. When unchecked, every new musical document uses the key signature defined in the template.

You are invited to view the "How to create a document model (template). " tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Some hints:

To make your template files easier to use, try to follow these simple rules:

• Give a comprehensive name to each staff
When creating a new staff, a name like "Staff x" is chosen automatically. Rename your staves by using the contextual menu , "Rename" option. Enter for example the name of the instrument playing this staff (Example: Piano 1 or SoloViolin).


• Check the instrument related to each staff
Ensure that the sound used for this staff is correct (contextual menu , "Edit related instrument" option). Avoid for example assigning a violin sound to a staff called "Piano"...


• Check your printing setup
Printing options for your template (margins, indenting, etc.) have to be defined properly. Also check any staff groups (brackets and braces in staff margins).


• Reduce the number of bars
Delete empty bars at the end of a tune if not strictly necessary (Edit>Bar>Delete). If the user of your template wishes to add bars, he just has to insert notes after the last bar.

Score display

Harmony Assistant lets you choose between two display modes for your music score: scroll mode and page mode.

In scroll mode, staves are displayed one above the other, and bars are displayed in an infinite area from left to right. The right edge of the page (where printing will have to skip to the next line) is displayed as a vertical colored line.
This display mode, which has been used from the very first version of the program, is still available.

In page mode, the score is displayed exactly as it will be printed, from the first to the last page, as paper sheets put side by side on a virtual desktop.
 

You are invited to view the "Scroll mode, page mode, display control handles in Harmony Assistant. " and  "Harmony Assistant: Navigate in Page Mode. How to input a score? " video tutorials. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

You can edit scores in a similar way in both of these modes.
Switching from one mode to another is performed through "Score>Page mode".

The display mode and current display zoom are stored in the document file. Thus, when loading a file, you start up with the last-used display options.
When a new document is created from a template, page mode is set by default.
You can specify whether scroll or page mode is set when loading or creating a document. See "Configuration>Global Setup", "Load" tab index.
 

Note: Since in page mode, the document is displayed just as it will be printed, you can only edit staves which are marked as "printable"; the other ones are not displayed on the page at all. Similarly, if you define bar printing bounds, only the printed bars can be edited in page mode.

Page size

By default, the area for a page in page mode is the printing area (depending on the selected printer). In some cases, however, it can be useful to work on a different page area.
In particular, it can be useful if you wish to publish your music scores on the Web using the Myriad Music Plug-in.

For example, if you want choir members to refer to the same printed score, you must be able to say "fourth bar of the third page" and have everybody understand which bar you are talking about.
But if a member printed his score in "landscape" format instead of "portrait", or if the print area is smaller on his printer than on yours, the page setup may be different.

The "Score>paper size setup" menu option enables you to select a specific page area, instead of using the current printer settings (by selecting "use instead" mode).
From then, when somebody prints your score on his printer, you can specify that a scale adjustment has to be performed so that the whole page area is used ("Fit in paper while printing").
If the printer area is very different from the original  (for example printing in portrait instead of landscape), strong distortions can occur.
To avoid them, select "Ratio observance".

You can specify the way pages will be displayed in the virtual desktop:

• Pages can be placed side by side in groups of two as in a book. This display shows the way pages will be read by the performer when playing this score.
• A space for a flyleaf can be kept. Then the first page of the score is displayed alone.

Screen DPI

By default, screen pitch is assumed to be 72 DPI (dots per inch), which is equal to 28 dots per centimeter.
In page mode, with a display scale of 100%, you should see the page at real size on screen. (put a real paper sheet on your screen to be sure).

Very often, screen pitch is greater than 72 DPI.  In that case the displayed area for the sheet will appear smaller than the real paper.
You can adjust this setting in the software to get the right size on screen by using "Score>Paper size setup", then the "Screen setup" button.
Put a graduated ruler against your screen and move the slider until the displayed size perfectly matches the ruler.
From now on, page mode displayed will be an accurate representation of what will be printed.
This setting applies to all documents.

Control handle display

When control handle display is on ("Score>Display control handles"), a set of control handles shows the following values on screen: staff heights, location of staff elements in the staff area, bar widths, bar margins, location of page header and footer, etc. These control handles are not printed.

You can click and drag these control handles to change their values. When moving a control handle, page display is recalculated in real-time.

So do not be surprised if, for example, a staff moves up when changing its height: it is due to the page setup values you have set.

Shortcuts

In page mode, in the bottom left corner of your document window, a set of icons lets you access the most common page setup commands. The number of the first displayed page is also shown. Click on this number to change it and, in doing so, view another page of your document.

Palette

A palette specific to page mode (see "Windows" menu, "Psge mode tool") shows your document in a schematic way. The display area is shown and you can move it around.

Symbol spacing modes

Harmony Assistant enables two different modes for note spacing: arithmetical and engraver modes.
This spacing mode is independent from the document display mode (scroll or page display mode).

In arithmetical spacing mode, notes and rests are separated by a distance that is proportional to their duration. For example, there is twice as much distance after a half note as after a quarter.

In engraver mode, the distance between symbols can be freely adjusted.
 
 

Arithmetical mode	Engraver mode
For example, here is how a half note and a series of shorter notes are displayed in arithmetical mode. As you can see, there is a wide empty space after the half, and the sixteenths are highly compressed.	Here is the same bar in engraver mode. Spacing is not proportional to note duration. Display is nicer and well spaced out.

Whatever the spacing mode you chose, notes at the same time position will be aligned from one staff to another.
Bar display scales are calculated according to the shortest note to be displayed in this bar, for all displayed staves.

There can be a difference between the computed display scale in scroll mode and page mode: in scroll mode, all staves are displayed, so all staves are used in the bar scale calculation. Gregorian and drum grid staves don't follow the engraver mode.
In page mode, only the staves marked to be printed are taken into account.
It therefore may be necessary to adjust the paging in page mode.

Selecting the spacing mode

The choice between arithmetical and engraver spacing mode can be made in the "score" menu. In the same menu, you can set up parameters for engraver mode.
You will select the display size for the different note lengths.
The unit describes the relative size of a displayed note length, compared to the others. It approximately matches the distance in pixels between notes, for a document display scale of 100%.
 

Note: When engraver mode is on, a <E> is displayed in the title bar of the document.

Setting up the engraver spacing mode

You can select each note size, in relative unit:

• Distance after a whole note or longer
• Distance after an half note
• etc
• Distance after a 16th or shorter.
• When notes of short duration are not beamed together, an additional distance can be added to separate them.
• Before each note, a fixed distance is added, independent from the note duration
• When an accidental is displayed, an additional distance is also added.
• Grace notes (appoggiatura) also add an additional distance.

On the left of this dialog window, predefined parameter sets can be selected. You can add your own sets.

Loading and creating documents

When importing a file (MIDI, TAB, KAR, ABC,...), creating a new document from a template or loading a file created by a previous version of the software, the spacing mode will be forced to the value you defined in global setup, "Load" thumb index.

In scroll mode under Harmony Assistant and Melody Assistant, or in page mode with handle display under Harmony Assistant, the miscellaneous items that define a staff can be moved.
Handles show current sizes and positions. Clicking and dragging these handles change sizes and positions.

Here is an example of display:

Changing bar size

You are invited to view the video tutorial: "Bar size change. Scale, left margin, right margin."

Changing vertical positions

The selection modes

You are invited to view the "How to use discontinuous selection" video tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Only two notes are selected by chord.

Note : The discontinuous selection is available starting in Melody Assistant 7 and Harmony Assistant 9.

Creating a discontinuous selection

Removing a symbol from selection

Selecting several symbols in one click

Applying actions

Moving a group

Special paste

Special consideration

Introduction

A view is a different way of displaying a same document. This display can be stored in the document itself, and saved with it.
The user can switch quickly from one view to another, add or delete views. There is no limit for the number of views that can be related to a document.

For instance, by using views, an orchestra score can be easily created. This score file contains a general view, displaying all the performers' staves, then one view for each kind of instrument.
Of course, this can be printed.

Note : Views related to a document need page mode: they are therefore available only in Harmony Assistant. If, with Melody Assistant, you load a score that contains views, only the general view will be available. A message will warn the user about it.

Settings

Music symbols as notes, dynamics, clef changes, keys, time signatures, etc, are common to all views. For instance, if you change a note pitch, it will affect all views.

A view is primarily defined by its name, the staves it contains, and by its  properties.

Staves: Each staff in the document can be displayed or not in a view. It is the basis of the notion of view. A view can contain as many staves as you wish. A same staff can only be displayed once in each view.

Tempo display: Tempo marks in the score will be displayed on the first staff of this view

Global dynamic display: Global dynamics (that apply to all staves in a score) will be displayed on the first staff of this view.

Global text display: Text objects related to staves will be displayed on the first staff of this view.

Title, Composer, Remarks: A view can set its own header ("File > Title, Composer, Remarks" menu option). This is especially useful if the printing options ask for displaying this information at the beginning of the document.

Page settings: In page mode, the exact preview of what will be printed is displayed on screen. A view can define its own page settings ("File > Printing options" menu item). For instance, the printing scale, group captions, margins, page header and footer, etc, can vary from one view to another

Engraver mode: Each view can define its own engraver mode settings ("Score > Engraver mode setup" menu item). Note spacing  rules can then be different from one view to another.

"Views" menu

The view menu enable to edit (thus, create) views, to switch between views or to select directly a view to work on it.

Creating and editing views

Document staff list

Staff names are displayed in the order of their presence in the document. Because a same staff can only be included once in each view, staves are displayed in grey when already present in the view.

Select a staff and click the "Add to view" button to add this staff to the current view, or double-click the staff to add. You can select several staves through Shift+Click to add several staves in a row

The Create view from staves button will wipe out the view list then create one view for each staff.
The Create view from groups button will wipe out the view list then create one view for each staff group.

Document view list

When a view is added to the document, it appears here. The view order can be changed: click a view name and drag it in the list to change its position.

Several buttons enable to apply actions to the view list: create a new view, change the view settings, duplicate the selected view, delete the selected view, delete all views, change the printing options of the selected view.

To copy the settings or the printing options to all view, right-click a view and select the action to be applied in the contextual menu.

You can select several views through Shift+Click then apply actions to all the view by right-clicking an item in the list.

View staff list

It's the list of staves in the selected view. A button enables to delete the selected staff from the view. This doesn't delete this staff from the document.

Text objects in views

Free objects in views

Music performance

Printing

Tips

Introduction

Target management

Note: To create or delete quickly a target in a bar, right-click the ruler and select "Target" in the pop-up menu..

Captions

Tie

• Split a note into two parts: double-click a note and select the duration of the first part of the tie
• or Merge two notes: select them and apply "Edit>Action>Tie"
  

You are invited to view the "How to tie notes." video tutorial. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Slur

You are invited to view the "Adding and deleting slur", "Relate a double slur to a note" and "Playing slurs" video tutorials. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Beam (hitch)

• Automatic beaming. This mode can be selected by document, in the "Options" menu. When this mode is active, beams are calculated automatically. You can intervene on this calculation by defining how note groups will be beamed in the time signature edit box.
  
  
• Manual beaming. When the automatic beaming is deselected, beaming is manual. To beam two notes together, select them then "Edit>Appearance>Beam". You can also double-click the first note head then use the "Beamed" check box to beam it with the next note.
  
  
• Special beaming. This tool, available in the "Miscellaneous" tools palette, enable to beam together any notes, even if they belong to different staves, and this, in a widely user-definable way. Once this tool activated, click the first note head or stem end, then the second note.
  By double-clicking the special beam or the first note, you can edit the beam settings.
  
  
  • Number of beams in the first part of the beaming
  • Number of beams in the last part of the beaming
  • Ratio between the first part and the last part
  • Beam width
  • Offset between two beams
  • Beam origin
  • Tuplet group end
  If a special beaming is used, it overrides the automatic or manual beaming. To delete a special beaming, use the delete tool ("Edit tools" palette)

You are invited to view the "Hitching notes. Automatic and manual hitching. Time signature setup." and "Special beam. Beaming notes owned by different staves. " video tutorials. ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Introduction

The classical notation of musical notes on a staff requires the performer to relate the written note to the way of playing that note on his instrument.

In tablature, notes are written in a simpler way that shows directly how to play them on the instrument. It eases the work of the performer.

Three kinds of tablature can be used in Harmony-Melody: tablatures for fretted string instruments (Guitar, Bass, Banjo...), for Harmonica (diatonic and chromatic), and for diatonic accordion (Harmony Assistant only).
 

Note: Harmony-Melody can automatically compute tablatures for various instruments: Guitar, Bass, Lute, Harmonica, Accordion... You can even define your own instruments, save them into independent files, and share them with other users.

Creating a tablature

In Harmony-Melody there are several ways to display a staff with a tablature:

Standard staves do not have an associated tablature. To add a tablature to a standard staff, select Edit tablature in the staff contextual menu or click on the little "Tab" icon in the staff margin, and select the kind of tablature you want to use.

Standard staves with associated tablature display notes in the classical way, and also display the associated tablature. When you insert a note, tablature is computed again. To avoid this, select "Priority to tablature" in the staff contextual menu. The staff becomes then a "Tablature" staff with a visible classical (standard) staff.

It is however possible to "freeze" the fingering calculation, in a note basis, in non-priority tablatures. The note contextual menu (right click or Shift click) enables to do this. A "frozen" note won't be computed and will always keep the fingering that the user set.

When a note is moved or inserted on the standard staff, its fingering is automatically computed. It's the same for transposition of pitch shifting.
When a note is moved or inserted on the tablature part, it is automatically "frozen".

A "frozen" note is displayed in a specific color (in scroll mode or in page mode when control handle are displayed). This color can be changed in the global setup, "Appearance" topic.

Tablature staves with associated standard staff staff appearance is the same as the one above. You cannot insert notes into the classical staff, however, but only into the tablature. You can switch back to a standard staff with associated tablature by unselecting "Priority to tablature" in the staff contextual menu. The tablature will then be recalculated.

Tablature staves display the tablature only. You can activate the classical staff display by modifying the staff display mode (staff contextual menu); you get a tablature staff with an associated standard staff. You can then change the staff type, to get a standard staff with an associated tablature.

• Tablature can be associated with a standard (classical) staff; it then displays notes in tablature format according to the existing notes in the standard staff
  
  To associate a tablature with an existing staff, select "Staff>Tablature" then the target staff.
  
  You can insert notes into either the standard staff, and the fingering is automatically recomputed
  
  
• A "Tablature staff" displays notes only as a tablature. When you insert a note, it always stays  at the string and cell you selected. To create a tablature staff, select "Staff>Add staff" then select the "Tablature" staff type.
  

Note: Regular notation can still be displayed. This can be done through the tablature display option window.

 

Principle

When a taut string vibrates, the frequency of the sound produced is inversely proportional to the length of the string.
Some instruments are based on this principle, for example the harp or piano. In these cases, the large number of strings necessary to give an adequate number of notes leads to a bulky instrument.

To avoid this, it is necessary to be able to produce several notes with a single string.This is made possible by shortening the string before making it sound. It is the principle used in the violin: the performer puts his fingers where necessary to generate the correct note. It needs however great accuracy in fingering.

Another kind of instrument, called a fretted string instrument, uses an ingenious system to shorten the strings in a simpler way for the performer.
A series of strings is held taut over a neck. Each string produces a specific pitch (frequency) when plucked. On the neck, there is a series of metallic bars called frets.

When the finger presses a string behind a fret, the string is held against the fret and so shortened: the note generated is more high-pitched.
Frets are placed so that each corresponds to a semitone. That is all.

Presentation

The music is presented in a tablature. There are as many horizontal line in a tablature as there are strings, with the highest pitched (treble) at the top.
Each note is written as the number of the fret at which it is played. An open string is notated 0, the first fret 1 and so on.

The performer reads the tablature from left to right, each note being written on the corresponding string and fret. When two notes are displayed in the same column, they are played at the same time.

There are often several positions on the neck at which the same note could be played. Hand and finger positions must then be optimized to avoid unnecessary movement up and down the neck. The software computes the simplest path to play the given notes.

You are invited to view the "Working with tablature and priority to tablature mode. " video tutorial ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

Inserting notes

To insert notes into a tablature, several methods are available:

You can select the fret with the keyboard (numerical pad), then click on the required string. A list of keyboard keys for tablature editing is provided in the keyboard configuration (they can be redefined).

You can click on a string with the Shift key held down (or with the right mouse button). You can then select the fret in the pop-up menu.

Selecting instrument

A list of about fifty predefined instruments is available in Harmony-Melody.
You can also define your own: click "Other" and choose for each string:

the note pitch for the open string

the number of frets for this string

the first usable fret for this string: on some instruments, such as the banjo, one string is shorter than the others.

Tablature computation

Tablature computation,  i.e. the association between a note and the corresponding string-fret pair, is largely configurable.

For each note, the context is analyzed and all possible fingerings for this note are evaluated. A difficulty value is calculated for each of them. The higher the value, the worse the fingering.
You can define the penalties (positive values) or advantages (negative values) that will be applied.

If a note cannot be played, it is displayed as a question mark.
 

• You can set a capodastro: this is a kind of clip fixed across the fingerboard to shorten the instrument neck temporarily. You can select the fret number at which this clip is set.
• Maximum gap: this is the distance in frets between the two extreme fingers of the hand. When the distance that has to be spanned  on the neck becomes greater than this value, the fret changing penalty is applied.
• Fret changing penalty: this penalty enables you to limit moves up or down the neck. The higher the value, the fewer the movements on the neck.
• Empty string penalty: a penalty applied when a string is played open. If, however, you want to favor open strings, set a negative penalty (an advantage).
• String changing penalty: used to limit moves across the neck. The software gives preference to staying on the same string instead of playing the note on a different one. It favors moves of the hand along the neck. A negative value does the opposite.
  



Note: Using "negative penalties" can slow down the tablature calculation process.

• Calculation depth: Notes are processed in groups of specifiable length. A group of notes also ends when a rest is found, because it is presumed that a rest gives the performer time to move his hand on the neck. If this value is high, computing time may be longer.
• Arpeggio with the right hand: Sometimes, notes are played rapidly by using a right hand arpeggio rather than fret changes with the left hand.In this case, beamed notes with a duration of less than an eighth note are considered to be a chord.



Note: When tablature is being computed, the mouse pointer becomes a watch with "Tab". You can cancel calculation by pressing the Apple/Command key (Mac) or Ctrl (PC) and clicking.

 

Baroque tablature

Baroque tablature  uses letters instead of numbers. An open string is marked with an 'a', the first fret with a 'b' then the characters r,d,e,f,g,h,i,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z.
To avoid confusion some letters like c and j have been omitted or replaced. In particular, note that the letter "r" is used for the second fret instead of "c": this is because during the baroque period the printed letter "c" looked like a modern "r".
Baroque notation only displays the first (highest) six strings on the tablature grid, although an instrument like the Baroque Lute can have up to 14 strings.
Bass strings lower than the sixth are written below the bottom line of the tablature, and are differentiated by a / symbol drawn before the fret letter. The seventh string just uses the fret letter, then there is one '/' for the 8th string, two '/' for the 9th, three '/' for the 10th, then the number '4' for the 11th, '5' for the 12th...
When you click with the Shift key depressed (or right-click) below the sixth string, Harmony-Melody lists all available choices in the pop-up menu.
 

Mountain or Appalachian Dulcimer tablature

The mountain dulcimer is a fretted instrument that generally has 3 strings and about 20 frets. The fret spacing follows a diatonic scale and is therefore irregular (it can be either one semitone or one tone).
To define your own Dulcimer tuning, select "Other" in the tablature selection window and switch to "Dulcimer" mode (pop-up menu at the bottom of the window).

Principle

A harmonica  is a wind instrument which emits sounds by the vibration of little blades or metal reeds.
Each hole of the instrument can be used to make from 2 to 4 different notes. A different blade (i.e. a different pitch) is selected according to whether the performer blows or draws in the hole.

To select a given hole, the performer covers unwanted holes with his tongue. He can also blow or draw in several holes at the same time, to play a chord.
When blowing or drawing in several consecutive holes, the performer can cover one or several contiguous holes so as not to play them.
All these techniques are used by the program to compute harmonica tablatures.

Advanced techniques enable a blade to be played at a different and higher pitch than normal: this is the overbend.

Some harmonicas have 4 blades for each hole, and a bar called a slide enables the player to select the blades to use.

Harmonicas are split into two big families: chromatic and diatonic.

Chromatic harmonicas can play any semitone over several octaves, but the diatonic harmonica can only play a given set of notes. Diatonic harmonicas are tuned for a specific key, which is generally written on the top of the instrument.
 

Selecting the instrument

Harmony-Melody offers a choice of five predefined harmonicas.
You can also define a custom harmonica: click "Define" and enter the note pitch for each hole.
A harmonica can have up to 20 holes on two rows.
Some harmonicas (mostly chromatic) number in a special way the first holes.
Instead of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 etc.  1', 2', 3', 4', 1,2,3 is used. You can define the hole at which numbering restarts from 1.

Tablature computation

Tablature computation, i.e. the association between a note and the corresponding hole-breath pair, is configurable.

Allow bends: make the pitch vary from the more high-pitched blade (with a tongue effect) almost down to the more low-pitched.
Allow overbends:  with the more low-pitched blade, plays the more high-pitched blade note + one semitone.
Optimize for breath:  it is generally preferable to optimize for breath rather than for hole changes: it is easier to change hole than to change from blow to draw.

Display type

There is no real standard for displaying harmonica tablature. Breath indications can be written in many different ways. Harmony-Melody allows you to choose among the most common systems.

Adding notes

To add notes to a tablature, select a note duration (using the note palette or a keyboard shortcut) and ensure that the editing mode is note insert mode.

Select a cell (you can use keyboard shortcuts 0-9, *; /...) or click the tablature staff with the Shift key depressed to make the possible cell list appear in a popup menu.

Move mouse pointer over the tablature. If you selected the "two lines according to breath" mode, cursor location indicates whether note is drawn or blown. Otherwise, you have to use keyboard shortcuts to specify breath.

Bend, overblow and other effects can be selected through a keyboard shortcut too. By default, no key is defined by the program. Select "Configuration>Edit keyboard" to relate keyboard keys to commands you need for editing a tablature.

You can delete or move a note the same way you do it on a regular staff .

Introduction

A diatonic accordion is made of three parts: bellows are located in the central part. They produce the air movement when the instrument is pushed (bellows compression) or pulled (bellows extension).

The performer's right hand moves over a set of buttons. These buttons are numbered according to their location in row and column. Each button, when pushed, can generate two notes: one when the bellows are compressed, the other when the bellows are stretched.

The performer's left hand can use another set of buttons. Some of them play a chord (several notes), others only a single note called "bass". Here again, the bellows movement changes the pitch of played note(s).

Each kind of accordion can have a different number of buttons, and a different tuning (played notes for each button).

Right hand (plays the melody)

Tablature display can follow either of two standards: column system or push/pull system.
The number written on the tablature is always the row number of the button to use. The first one is the topmost row of the instrument.

 
. column system:
Each tablature line matches a button column.
If the button number is underlined, it means the button is played "pulled". If not underlined, it means the instrument is pushed.

. push/pull system:
The instrument is pulled when the button number is written on the upper line of the tablature. It is pushed when the number is written on the bottom line.

Button columns are indicated by as many apostrophe marks as the column number:

    - no apostrophe mark for first column,
    - one  apostrophe mark for second column,
    - two apostrophe marks for third column (if any).

Left hand (accompaniment)

Notation for this hand is the same whatever the notation system is (push/pull or by column).

It is displayed as a list of chords or bass notes. Chords are displayed lowercase and basses in capitals.

Adding notes

Select a button line (you can use keyboard shortcuts 1-9, *, /...) or click the tablature with the Shift key depressed to make the possible rows appear in a popup menu.

Move the mouse cursor over the tablature.

If you are in column system, cursor location indicates the note column. You can use the keyboard to specify push or pull.
If you are in push/pull system, cursor location indicates push or pull. You can use the keyboard to specify the column number.

By default, no keyboard shortcuts are set. Select "Configuration>Edit keyboard" to link useful commands to your keyboard keys.

You can delete or move a note the same way you do it on a regular staff

Tablature calculation mode settings

 
When entering an accordion tablature manually (priority to tablature), you are responsible for checking the push/pull coherence between right and left hand.

Selecting an instrument

Harmony is shipped with some predefined accordion kinds. You can choose them from the list, or you can define a completely different instrument or tuning by clicking "Other".

For the left hand, you must enter for each button the list of note pitches which will be played when the instrument is pushed or pulled.
The chord root note must be entered first in the list. Other notes are written after this one, separated by commas or slashes.
Octave number is important, and must be entered for each note in the form: C3 or A4
You must also enter the bass note or chord name to be displayed in the chord line. Usually, it is the regular name of the chord (uppercase) or of the bass note (lowercase).

For the right hand, for each button, you must enter the note pitch when the instrument is pushed or pulled.
Octave number is important, and must be entered for each note in the form: C3 or A4
Name of each column will be displayed in the tablature margin in "column mode".
 
 

Questions/Answers

 

Question: How to specify the right hand fingering?

Use the "Mark tools 3" palette or double-click on the note to edit it.
 

Question: How to force Basses/Chords for the left hand?

Edit the chord display mode of the staff, and deselect automatic computing. You can then click the chord line to change bass and chord names.
 

Question: How to remove Bass/Chord display for the left hand?

Edit the chord display mode of the staff, and deselect chord display.
 

Question: How to open the chord display window for a staff?

Two solutions:

•  Staff contextual menu (little black triangle in staff margin), "Chord display" option
• Tablature settings window, "Edit left hand" option.

Staves (voices) included in a single multi-voice staff do not display one below the other anymore, but one on top of the other.
Inserting or deleting a note in one voice does not affect notes in other voices.

This kind of display is especially useful when writing, for example, both a bass line and a melody on a single staff.

Here is an example of a multi-voice staff display. To be more comprehensible, notes from the first voice have their stems drawn upwards and are colored blue, and those from the second voice have their stems drawn downwards and are red. 

This example shows a multi-voice staff made of two voices, but you can define as many voices as you want.

To merge several staves on which independent voices are written, select these staves and use "Edit>Mult-voice staff>Merge"

The reverse operation can be performed with "Edit>Mult-voice staff>Unmerge" and splits a multi-voice staff into several staves.

In the multi-voice staff margin, you can see a new icon:

It permits selection of the active voice in a multi-voice staff and the quick addition of a new voice. This icon only appears on multi-voice staves.

When inserting a note or applying an operation on the selection range, you must define which voice you are working on.
The selected voice becomes the active voice. Its notes are displayed as usual, while notes from other voices are drawn gray.
In a multi-voice staff, either one voice can be active or all voices.

When all voices are active, operations on the selection range apply to all voices, but notes are inserted into the first voice only.
 

Note: In a multi-voice staff, staff background is defined by the first staff. The name of a multi-voice staff is the name of the staff corresponding to its first voice.

If you intend to merge staves with tablatures, you must define a tablature for each of the merged staves.

 

Hint: Generally, voices in a multi-voice staff are identified by their stem direction. When inserting notes, select the stem direction matching the required voice in the "Note display" tool palette.

Colors enables to learn or pratice guitar (or any other fretted string instrument) much easier and faster than in black and white.

Using colors unveils a lot of information, and understanding notions that often remain vague for many guitarist becomes obvious.

And when understanding is here, learning and improvement become easier and faster, like a train that only has to follow the track.

You will find below a quick explanation of this concept. For more information, you can download "Les grands principes de guitare-et-couleurs" (in French only) from this page (or by clicking this link).

This booklet shows that, thanks to an original creative and educational concept based on colors, you can learn then improve more easily and more durably the miscellaneous essential notions a guitarist needs to master, regardless of their style.

If you haven't any background, you might not size up what such a concept can bring you. But if you already tried to learn guitar from scratch, or  wished to improve your knowledge, or tried to compose, improvise, or reproduce a tune by ear, you will undoubtedly perceive the interest.

Doing better, faster and easier is eventually our common goal, isn't it?

Depending of the kind of target you aim, two color codes can be used: the absolute or relative color code.

The absolute color code

Why "absolute"? Because each note matches one and only color:

• C in red

• D in brown

• E in salmon-pink

• F in light-green

• G in light-blue

• A in purple

• B in pink

Thus, in any key signature, these colors will always be related to the same notes:

This code is especially useful for those who widh to learn notes on the guitar neck, or locate them instantly.

The relative color code

This is the most used because its applications are numerous.

In this color code, called "relative", colors don't match a specific note (C, D, E, etc) but its interval from the rootnote (third, fifth, etc.).

For instance, a major third (two tones interval) will be colored in burgundy, a perfect fifth (3 tones and a half) in orange...

If necessary, the "+" or "-" symbol will be added. For instance, "-" will be added to specify a minor third

This relative color code will be preferentially used when displaying chords, scales, arpeggios, etc, because it oferr much more capabilities than the absolute colors.

Why "relative"? Because the note that matches a given interval is not always the same: it is relative to the current key signature.

For instance, in C major, the root note is C. The note located at a perfect fifth interval is G, displayed in orange. But if we change the key signature to E major, the perfect fifth, still orange, won't be G anymore but B.

This relative nature is extremely useful, because it enables to keep the same code for any key signature. So if you know where the third, fifth or 7th are in a chord or a scale for a given key signature, you'll also know it when you change the key signature.

It is the same spirit as the the Nashville notation, for instance.

Here is the map of "relative colors":

• The root note is always black
  

• The 2nd / 9th is light-green, with a "-" symbol if minor

• The third is burgundy,  with a "-" symbol if minor

• The forth is plain blue.

• The fifth is orange, with a "-" symbol if diminished, and "+" if augmented.

• The sixth is sky-blue.

• The 7th is light yellow, with a "+" symbol if major

Here is a map, that also highlight the fact that some intervals can have "synonymous" colors.

For instance the interval of augmented 2nd (2+) is 1 tone and a half, like the minor third (3-). And you can view, on the same comumn, its octave doubling (9+).

Color chord diagrams

Here is an example of a gregorian staff made with Harmony-Melody:

Some pieces of gregorian music are provided in the Demos folder ("Gregorian" subfolder).

Basics

Gregorian notation was designed primarily to commit to paper the sacred chants of the beginning of the second millennium.

The scale used is, in modern notes: C, D, E, F, G, A. The intervals between these notes are the same as in modern notation.

Notes are written on a 4-line staff. Each staff corresponds to a single singer, so there are no chords on such staves (a normal human being has difficulty in singing several notes at the same time!)

Only note pitch is written, the choir master (or singer) is left free to choose duration. In some cases, however, indications of longer or shorter notes can be given.

Places where the singer can breathe (rests) are written too.
These are equivalent to pauses and rests in modern notation.

Because we are talking about chants, lyrics are almost always associated with the staff.

Each lyrics word (or syllable) matches one or several notes (up to 4).

All notes sung on the same word or syllable are grouped into an entity called a Neume.

Neumes

The neume is the foundation of Gregorian notation.

A neume is defined by:

• the notes composing the neume (from one to four)
• the intervals between these notes (upward or downward)

 

A neume always starts at the beginning of a syllable.

A neume is always read from left to right (like in modern notation) but from bottom to top when notes are written on the same column.

For example:

Here are three notes in modern notation. Pitch is increased from the first to the second, and increased again from the second to the third.

It follows that there are 1+2+4+8, i.e. 15 different neumes. Each one has its own name.
 

Note: Neume names are given only for information. It will not be necessary to know these names to work with Harmony-Melody.

Indicators of note duration

Generally, notes are of equal duration. It is possible, however, to provide information about note duration on the score.
A longer note will be marked with a dot (punctum mora) as in modern notation.
A shorter note (liquescens) will be indicated by a smaller square. Generally this note is located at the end of the neume, and changes its name.

Accidentals

Two accidentals can be found in gregorian notation: flat and natural. Accidentals are notated in the same way as in modern music.

Clefs

There are two kinds of clef:

C clef:

(C is located on the line marked with the arrow)

(F  is located on the line marked with the arrow)

These clefs can be placed on any line of the staff, to indicate which line equates to the  named note.
Key signatures (accidentals just after the clef) are rare but possible: sometimes you will come across one flat as a key signature.

Breath

Breath indicators are the equivalent of pauses and rests in modern notation. They are written as a vertical bar.

Custos

Custos are little notes written on the staff, at the right hand edge of the paper. They forewarn the singer what the first note on the next line will be. Melody-Harmony generates and displays custos automatically.

Editing

General points

All regular editing operations can be applied to a gregorian staff (Cut, Paste, Transpose, Insert, etc.). However, you can only cut & paste entire neumes.

Menu and palette

In the "Edit>Actions" menu, two commands have been added. The first one splits a neume into individual notes, the second one merges individual notes into a single neume.

A gregorian tools palette has been added to the "Windows" menu. A description of of its elements is given in the help window.

Creating a gregorian staff

Create a new document and select its type as "Gregorian model".
You can also add a new staff to an existing document, and change its type to "Gregorian".

Selecting the clef

Select the clef change tool and click in the gregorian staff. Select then the C or F clef and the base line of the clef.

Adding a note

Select a note duration in the Gregorian tools palette (dotted punctum, punctum or liquescens) and move over the gregorian staff.
The help line displays:

• The type of neume located under your mouse pointer (with the included note pitches)
• The kind of neume you will obtain if you add the note.

If the neume already contains 4 notes, this fact is displayed in the help line; if you try nevertheless to add a new note to a 4-notes neume, an error message is displayed and the note is not added.

To add a note to the beginning of a neume, click before the neume on the right line.
To add a note to the end of a neume, click after the neume on the right line.
To add a note in the middle of a neume, click at the right location in the neume.

Tip: Notes are sometimes graphically very close together within a neume. To be sure to click at the right place, increase the display scale of your document.

Adding a rest

Select a rest in the palette and move over the gregorian staff. Click to insert a rest (breath). Click several times to increase the breath duration.

Deleting a note or a rest

Select the delete tool (lightning bolt) and click on the note (rest) to be deleted. If you click on a neume, only the note that is pointed at will be deleted from the neume.
 

Limitations

• In order to synchronize several gregorian staves (or a gregorian staff with a regular staff), you need to select a time signature for the document. With a 16/4 time signature however, you can write 32 puncta in a single bar.

 
• Neume graphical location within the bar is not completely free. You will not be able, for example, to add a punctum just after a 4-note neume: the area used by a neume is always the sum of the corresponding puncta.

 
• It is possible to cut and paste between gregorian and modern staves. However, some groups of notes (for example, chords) can generate strange results on a gregorian staff.

---

It is a 3-note neume, going up then down, so it is a Torculus.

Break types:

Note: Unlike in most other music programs, in Harmony-Melody break symbols (barlines, part markers, jumps and conditional actions) are performed by the program when playing music, even when these symbols are nested or associated in complex ways.

Name	Symbol	Type	Description
Piece start	(at bar start)	Barline	Specifies this bar is the first one to be played.
Piece end	(at bar end)	Barline	Specifies this bar is the last one to be played.
Repeat start	(at bar start)	Barline	Start of a bar group to be played several times.
Repeat end	(at bar end)	Barline	End of a bar group to be played several times.
Part start	(at bar start)	Part marker	Next bars will be played only at given times (numbered under the half-bracket)
Part end	(at bar end)	Part marker	End of a previous part.
Segno	(at bar start)	Jump target	"Jump to Segno" (D.S.) target
Coda	(at bar start)	Jump target	"Jump to Coda" (Da Coda) target
Fine	Fine (at bar end)	Conditional action	Stops if last time.
Da Coda	Da  or  (at bar end)	Jump/Conditional action	Jumps to coda  if last time.
Da Segno	D.S. or  (at bar end)	Jump	Jumps to Segno
Da Capo	D.C. (at bar end)	Jump	Jumps to piece start
Da Segno al Fine	D.S. al Fine (at bar end)	Jump	Jumps to Segno , and stops at next Fine symbol.
Da Capo al Fine	D.C. al Fine (at bar end)	Jump	Jumps to piece start, and stops at next Fine symbol.
Da Segno al Coda	D.S. al  (at bar end)	Jump	Jumps to Segno , and continues playing till a jump to Coda  (Da ) is found.
Da Capo al Coda	D.C. al  (at bar end)	Jump	Jumps to piece start, and continues playing till a jump to Coda  (Da ) is found.

How to insert a break symbol?

Note: In a single bar, the number of simultaneous break symbols is limited: - Only one "barline" at the beginning of the bar (ex: or ) - Only one "barline" at the end of the bar (ex: or ) - Only one "part marker" at the beginning of the bar ( ) - Only one "part marker" at the end of the bar ( ) - Only one "Jump target" at the beginning of the bar (Segno or Coda) - Only one "Jump or conditional action" at the end of the bar (ex: Fine, D.S., D.C. al...)

How to edit a break symbol?

With the "lasso" tool, double-click on the break symbol to edit. The break edit window opens.

In this window, you can change the appearance of this symbol in the score, as well as how to play it.
In the bottom of this window, explanatory text tells you the action which will be performed when the music is played.
 

Warning: While editing a break symbol, you must ensure that the graphical display (text and symbols to be displayed on the score) matches the performed action, so that your score remains readable.

Text related to break symbols

Tag	Display
$S	segno symbol
$C	coda symbol
$[	begin part symbol
$]	end part symbol
$#	part number
$N	measure number
$P	time counter
$T	suffix and "times", used with $P
$xxx	where xxx is a floating point value. Scale display for $S, $C, $[, $]. Default value 1.0
$$	$

Text	Display
Da Segno $S Al Fine	Da Segno Al Fine
Da $C	Da
Da $2.0$C	Da
$[$#	1.2.3.

Bar beginning barlines:

Piece start barline  shows the first bar to be played. Usually, only one piece start barline can be included in a single score. If several of them are inserted, only the first one is taken into account.

Repeat start barline  shows that the following bars have to be repeated several times. Repeat number is specified by the matching repeat end barline.

Other barlines at the beginning of  a bar (double, dotted, bold or invisible barline) have no effect on how the piece is played.

For each of these barlines at the beginning of a bar, you can open the editing window (double-click on barline with "lasso" tool) to select:

• Bar number this barline is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score above the barline
• Location of this barline:
• Bar start: barline is displayed at the very beginning of the bar
• After clef: barline is displayed after the clef, time or key signature
• After margin: barline is displayed at the first location usually occupied by the notes in this bar

Bar end barlines:

Piece end barline  tells the performer to stop playing when this symbol is reached.
In the editing window (double-click on barline with "lasso" tool) you can only select:

• Bar number this barline is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score above the barline

• Bar number this barline is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score above the barline
If you write $P in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the number of repeats to be performed.
• A frame under the text input area previews the text that will be displayed on the score
• Number of repeats to be performed (default: 2).

Inserting and editing

The part start marker allows you to specify that the following bars are played only at given times. Time numbers for which this part is to be played are displayed under the half bracket, separated by dots.
A part ends at the next part end marker, or when a new part start marker is encountered.
You can select, in the editing window (double-click on part start marker with "lasso" tool):

• Bar number this symbol is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score above the barline
  
If you write $[ in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the  symbol.
If you write $# in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by list of time numbers for this part
• The time number array for playing this part (check box list)

part end marker 

• Bar number this symbol is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score above the barline
  
If you write $] in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the  symbol.

Combining with repeats

Part markers are usually combined with repeat barlines.
If, for example, you need a set of bars to be repeated three times, with three different endings, you must write:
 

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
		1.		2.		3.

• First and second part ends have been omitted. They could have been written (at end of bars 4 and 6) but are optional because another part starts just after this.
• In order to make the music loop once again after part 2, a new repeat end symbol  had to be inserted at the end of part 2. Repeat start  at the beginning of bar 1 therefore matches two repeat ends.
• Marking part 3 (start and end, at bar 7 and 8) is optional: once part 2 has been performed, we restart at bar 1 for the 3rd time. That time, neither part 1 nor part 2 will be played. Performance then continues after the end of part 2, at bar 7, whether part 3 is marked or not.
Thus the following scheme is functionally equivalent:

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
		1.		2.

Jump targets

Written at the beginning of a bar, these symbols let you specify a jump to this bar while playing the piece:

Segno

If reached while the piece is played linearly (without jump), this symbol has no effect. It is used only when a jump to segno is performed (see below).
In the editing window (double-click on Segno with "lasso" tool)  you can select:

• Bar number the Segno is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score.
If you write $S in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Segno symbol .
If you write $N in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Segno number.
A frame under the text input area previews the text that will appear on the score
• Segno number. This lets you insert several segno symbols on a score without possible confusion.

Coda

• Bar number the Coda is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score.
If you write $C in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Coda symbol .
If you write $N in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Coda number.
A frame under the text input area previews the text that will appear on the score
• Coda number. This lets you insert several coda symbols on a score without possible confusion.

Conditional actions

Written at the end of the bar, these symbols affect the way piece is played only when certain conditions are fulfilled.

Fine
Specifies the end of the piece. However, performance stops only if:

• either it is the last time this bar is played
• or a jump with conditional activation (D.C. al Fine or D.S. al Fine) has been performed earlier

• Bar number the Fine symbol is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score.
A frame under the text input area previews the text that will appear on the score
• Action to be performed (default, "Music stop") *
• Condition to activate (default: none) *
• When the action has to be performed (default: last time) *

Da Coda (Da )

Jump to the bar containing the coda symbol . However, this jump is performed only if:

• either it is the last time this bar is played
• or a jump with condition activation (D.C. al Coda or D.S. al Coda) has been performed earlier

• Bar number the Fine symbol is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score.
If you write $C in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Coda symbol .
If you write $N in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Coda number to jump to.
A frame under the text input area previews the text that will appear on the score
• Action to be performed (default, "Go to Coda") *
• Coda number to jump to.
• Condition to activate (default: none) *
• When the action has to be performed (default: last time) *

Unconditional jumps

Written at end of a bar, these symbols jumps to the specified location.

Da Capo (D.C.)

Jump to the first written bar.
In the editing window (double-click on D.C. symbol with "lasso" tool)  you can select:

• Bar number the D.C. symbol is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score.
A frame under the text input area previews the text that will appear on the score
• Action to be performed (default, "Go to 1st written bar") *
• Condition to activate (default: none) *
• When the action has to be performed (default: Always) *

Da Segno (D.S. or Da )

Jump to Segno.
In the editing window (double-click on Coda symbol with "lasso" tool)  you can select:

• Bar number the D.S. symbol is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score.
  
If you write $S in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Segno symbol .
If you write $N in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Segno number to jump to.
A frame under the text input area previews the text that will appear on the score
• Action to be performed (default, "Go to segno") *
• Segno number to jump to.
• Condition to activate (default: none) *
• When the action has to be performed (default: Always) *

Jumps with condition activation

These actions perform a jump (like D.C. and D.S. above), but once this jump made, the "last time indicator" for  Fine or Da Coda is activated.
Thus we can write:

D.C. al Fine (Da Capo al Fine)

Jump to the first written bar, and continue playing till the next Fine symbol is reached (music stops here).

D.C. al Coda (Da Capo al Coda)

Jump to the first written bar, and continue playing till the next Da Coda symbol is reached (jump to coda  is then performed).

D.S. al Fine (Da Segno al Fine)

Jump to Segno, and continue playing till the next Fine symbol is reached (music stops here).

D.S. al Coda (Da Segno al Coda)

Jump to Segno, and continue playing till the next Da Coda symbol is reached (jump to coda  is then performed).

In the editing window (double-click on symbol with "lasso" tool) for any of these symbols, you can select:

• Bar number the symbol is inserted in
• Text to be displayed on score.
  
If you write $S in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Segno symbol .
If you write $C in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the Coda symbol .
If you write $N in the text, this keyword will be replaced on score by the symbol (Segno or Coda) number to jump to.
A frame under the text input area previews the text that will appear on the score
• Action to be performed *
• Segno or Coda number to jump to.
• Condition to activate *
• When the action has to be performed (default: Always) *

Examples of use

Here are some examples of how jump and conditional action symbols are processed while music is played:
 

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
		Da		D.S. al

1	2	3	4
	Fine		D.C. al Fine

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Da		1.		2.

• Fine
• Da Coda
• Da Capo (D.C.)
• D.C. al Coda
• D.C. al Fine
• Da Segno (D.S.)
• D.S. al Coda
• D.S al Fine

Parameters

Bar number

Specify to which bar this break symbol will belong.

Text

Shows the text to be displayed on score.
In the break symbol editing window, you can preview what will appear on the score in the gray frame under the text box.
A set of keywords lets you make special symbols appear in the displayed text. Here is the complete keyword list:

• $S is replaced by the Segno symbol 
• $C is replaced by the Coda symbol 
• $N is replaced by the Segno or Coda (or even bar) number to jump to
• $[ is replaced by the part start marker 
• $] is replaced by the part end marker 
• $# is replaced by the list of times the symbol is processed (if "When" field is: According to array)
• $P is replaced by the time or the number of times (for other values in  "When" field)
• $T is replaced by the ordinal suffix for the time value.
For example, if the time number is 3, $T will be replaced by "rd time". Thus, $P$T will be replaced by "3rd time"
• $$ is replaced by "$"
For example, if you write:
$P$T, jump to $S$N
If the time number is 3 and Segno number is 2, the following will be displayed on score:
3rd time, jump to 2

If the time number is 3 and Segno number is 5, the following will be displayed on score:
1st time, jump to 5

Warning: In order to enable a human performer to read your score, you must explain how a user-defined break symbol is processed in the text displayed on score. For example, if you define a break symbol to jump to bar #5 the 3rd time, enter text like: $P$T, go to bar#$N which will be displayed on score as: 3rd time, go to bar#5

Action

This is the action to be performed when this break symbol is processed. It can be one of the following:

• Music stop
Music performance stops here


• Go to bar
Jump to the bar (bar number can then be input).


• Go to first written bar
Jump to the first written bar in score (bar #1).


• Go to first played bar
Jump to the first played bar in score: either the bar with a piece start symbol  or bar #1 if no such symbol is found in score.


• Go to Segno
Jump to segno  (Segno number can then be input).


• Go to Coda.
Jump to Coda  (Coda number can then be input).



Activation

Lets you activate a condition, so that the music will stop at Fine or jump when Da Coda is reached.

• None
No activation is performed.


• Activate Coda jump
Next Da Coda (jump to coda) will be performed.


• Activate Fine
Next Fine will be performed (and music will stop).


When

Enable to process the break symbol only at given time number, or a given number of times:

• Always
Break symbol is always performed (unconditional break)


• Several times:
Break symbol is performed a given number of times in a row, and not after that.
In this case, the number of times can be input.


• Each
Break symbol is performed every "n" times.
For example, if you enter 3, the break symbol will be performed the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th... times only.


• According to array
You can select exactly which times the break symbol is performed, by checking the appropriate boxes in the array.


• Last time
Break symbol is performed only the last time this bar is played.

A few examples

Simulating a repeat

By using user-defined breaks, repeating several times a set of consecutive bars can be performed without using the regular barlines.
Let's define a break symbol with the following parameters:

• Text: $P times to bar $N
• Action: Go to bar

Action parameter: 1
• Activation: none
• When: Several times

Parameter: 2

1	2	3
	2 times to bar 1

1	2	3
	x3

Conditional jump to Segno

1	2	3	4
		D.S
..... etc.

If we replace Da Segno (D.S.) by the following break symbol:

• Text: $P$T D.S.
• Action: Go to Segno

Action parameter: 1
• Activation: none
• When: according to array

Checked times: 1

1	2	3	4
		1st time D.S

Music theory reminder

On a staff, a clef defines the relationship between staff lines and note pitch.
The Treble clef (G clef),   Bass clef (F clef) , and C clef <>, show the staff line for the notes G, F and C respectively.
Remember:

Location

In Harmony-Melody, a clef is always located at the beginning of a bar.
You can set a clef change at any bar of the staff.
For example, a staff can begin with a treble clef, and then switch to a bass clef a few bars later.

Editing

A dedicated tool palette ("Window>Clef & signature tools") is available. It contains the clef change tool, as well as tools for changing time and key signature.

Select the Clef change tool (treble clef icon) and click on a bar. The clef selection box opens.

The selection box has three tabs. Select the first one, marked "clef". In the upper part of the
window, you can see a preview of the clef you are defining.

At the bottom of this window, pop-up menus enable you to select:

• The transposition to apply to notes when a clef change is inserted in the score.
Notes following the clef change can be:

• Not transposed: in this case, their screen location changes so that the note plays at the same pitch as before.
• Transposed up: notes will play one octave higher (treble) than before
• Transposed down: notes will play one octave lower (bass) than before
• Graphically unchanged: they will stay at the same graphical location on the staff (but they won't play at the same pitch as before)

• To which staves the new clef will be applied. It can be the current staff only, all staves in the score, or only selected staves. Generally, a clef change is applied to the current staff only.

    • A clef can be shown or hidden (for readability, invisible clef changes should be avoided).
    • Its type can be Treble, Bass or C.
    • A clef can start on any line, from -5 to +5 from the standard line.
    • A clef can be set to have an octave offset from -2 octaves to +2 octaves (ottava alta or bassa), globally for the staff.

Music theory reminder

The key signature enables you to define, within a score, a change of tonality, i.e. which scale is used to play the part.
Here is the list of all notes which can be played within an octave:

For the D major scale, that sequence of intervals gives a scale made of semitones 3 (root note), 5, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 14. Semitone #14 is in fact the 2nd semitone of the next higher octave.
Thus, it gives the D major scale: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#.

In a score, if only the notes belonging to the scale of D are used, then all Fs and all Cs will be sharped. To make the notation less cluttered, these two sharp symbols are drawn only once, just after the clef symbol. This informs the performer of the key being used, and in so doing, the default accidentals (notes with sharps or flats).
To determine which key is used in a score (or a part), just count the number of sharps or flats drawn after the clef:

Generally, key signature changes apply to all staves in the score. Some instruments such as the clarinet, saxophone, trumpet or horn do not play the note actually indicated on the score, however, but a note shifted up or down by a given number of semitones.
They are called "transposing instruments".

Tip: In the software, to define a staff for a transposing instrument, use "Staff>Apply transposing instrument" or the option "Apply transposing instrument" in the staff contextual menu .

Note: The software extends the notion of transposing instrument to any instrument which does not play the note exactly as written. Thus, instruments like the piccolo or bass, which are not strictly speaking transposing instruments because they simply play the written note shifted by a given number of octaves, are included in the same option.

Location

A key change is always positioned at the beginning of a bar.You can specify a change of key signature at any bar in the score.
For example, a staff can begin in the key of C major, and then switch to F major a few bars later.

Editing

Global editing:
To change the global key signature of a score, select "Score>key and time signature". The key signature selection box opens.

Local editing:
A dedicated tool palette ("Window>Clef & signature tools") is available. It contains the key signature change tool, as well as tools for changing clef and time signature.
Select the key signature change tool (icon with sharp symbols on a staff) and click on a bar. The key signature selection box opens.

Selecting a key signature

The selection box has three tabs. Select the second one, marked "key signature". In the upper portion of the window, you can see a preview of the key signature you are defining.

By using the scroll bar you can add sharps and flats to, or subtract them from, the current key signature. Advanced users can also define custom keys by using buttons on the right, and defining the root note in the bottom field.

The "visible key signature" check box enables you to define whether the key signature is displayed or not. To ensure that your score remains readable, however, avoid setting invisible key changes.

The key signature display mode defines whether natural symbols are used to cancel the previous key signature or not.

The Propagate change till the end of tune check box enables you to transpose all key changes following the one you are setting. For example, if you switch key signature from C to D, all following key signatures will be increased by two semitones. In that case a G key signature (one sharp) later in the tune will be transformed into A (three sharps).

At the bottom of the window, pop-up menus enable you to select:

• The transposition to apply to notes when a new key is inserted into a score.
Notes following this key change can be:

• Not transposed: in this case, their screen location changes so that they play the same pitch as before.
• Transposed up: they will play in the new key, at a higher pitch than before.
• Transposed down: they will play in the new key, at a lower pitch than before.
• Graphically unchanged: they will stay at the same graphical location on the staff (but they may not sound at the same pitch as before)

• Which staves the key signature will be applied to.
It can be the current staff only, all staves in the score, or only selected staves.
In the two last cases, you can select whether the change is made in absolute or relative mode.
In absolute mode, the key change is applied as-is to other staves.
In relative mode, the key change is applied taking into account any key difference between the two staves (due to transposing instruments).  See below for more information. In case of doubt, select relative mode.

Absolute and relative mode

As described above, a key change can be applied absolutely or relatively.

When applied absolutely:

The new key change is inserted "as is" in all the required staves, i.e. all staves will play the same key at the same time. This is the general case for all pieces of music, except when using transposing instruments. Key signatures for these instruments are shifted a given number of semitones from the regular key. Because of this, applying the same key signature to all staves, including those playing transposing instruments, will result in erroneous keys for these instruments.

The program calculates the difference in semitones between the root note of the current key (at the location you clicked on) and the new key you want to insert. This difference is then applied to the key signature at this bar for all required staves. Transposing instrument key offset is then kept.
For example, if you have a first staff with a D key signature and another staff in G; inserting an  E key signature in relative mode on the first staff will result in:
- The difference between old and new keys is E-D = 2 semitones
- The first staff key is raised by two semitones: D+2 semitones = E as requested
- The second staff key is raised by two semitones: G+2 semitones = A key
Be careful, however: if you use custom keys, the program is not able to shift them up or down (it is impossible to determine whether accidentals must be added, or where). If such key signatures are present in your score, only their root note will be transposed as requested, and the accidentals will not be changed.


In summary: It is not recommended to use absolute key change mode on staves playing a transposing instrument. On the other hand, relative key change mode will not calculate new accidentals for existing custom keys.

Music theory reminder

The time signature lets you define within a score the number and type of notes contained in a bar.

It consists of two numbers:

• The upper number gives the number of beats in a bar.
• Below, the second number gives the value or duration (in fractions of a whole note) of each of these beats.

Location

A change of time signature is always located at the start of a bar and applies to all staves simultaneously.
You can set a change of time signature at any bar in the score.
For example, a score can begin with a 4/4 time signature, and then switch to 3/4 a few bars later.

Editing

Global editing:
To change the score's general time signature, select "Score>key and time signature". The time signature selection box opens.

Local editing:
A dedicated tool palette ("Window>Clef & signature tools") is available. It contains the time signature change tool, as well as tools for changing clef and key signature.

Select the time signature change tool (4/4) and click on a bar. The time signature selection box opens.

Selecting a time signature

The selection box has three tabs. Select the third one, marked "time signature". In the upper portion of the window, you can see a preview of the time signature you are defining.

You can select whether the time signature will be displayed or not, and the display mode for 2/2 and 4/4.

The displayed time signature can be different from the actual one. This makes it possible to deal with anacrusis very easily.

An anacrusis is an incomplete bar (it contains fewer beats than are required by the time signature). Anacrusis is frequently found at the beginning or end of a tune. It can also be called upbeat, offbeat, pickup notes, etc.

For example, a tune with a 4/4 time signature might begin with only one quarter note in the first bar (instead of 4).
Set a 1/4 time signature in the first bar, and ask the program to display 4/4. Then set a time signature change to 4/4 in the second bar, and ask the program to hide it (invisible).
The first bar will then accept only one quarter note, but all the other bars will hold 4.

To create an incomplete bar quickly, click the ruler while Command (Ctrl) key is depressed, and select "Insert incomplete bar" or "Edit>Bars>Insert incomplete bar".

Changing the Automatic Beaming parameters

For each time signature change, you can select how the Automatic Beaming will work. In the time signature select window, click the scissors for beam/unbeam notes.
You can change the beaming mode without changing the time signature (and therefore get a different beaming mode for each bar) by inserting an invisible time signature change.

For example, here are four ways of beaming the same notes:

Implementation

The sound made by a musical instrument can be louder or softer. On a piano, for example, the sound will be louder when the performer hits the keys hard than when he touches them lightly.
In musical computing, this notion is called note velocity.
In Harmony-Melody, a note velocity can vary from 0 (no sound at all) to 127 (loudest note).

There are several ways to change note velocity:

• Changing the velocity of a single note: double-click on the note and edit its velocity numerically.
  
  
• Changing the velocity for the whole selection range: select a group of notes and choose "Edit>Actions>Change velocities". You can then set the velocity of all notes in the selected range to a given value, or subtract or add a value to these velocities...
  
  
• Editing staff velocities graphically: switch the staff to velocity editing mode by clicking on the Edit velocities icon to the left of the staff. Click on the red curve to edit graphically the velocities of notes in this staff.

Some note effects also permanently alter the velocity value of a note, for example staccato.

Dynamics can then change the played velocity of a note. These do not permanently change the velocity value of a note in the score, but only the way the note is played.
These options are grouped in the "Dynamics" palette.

A dynamics indicator applies to the staff it is drawn on, and remains active 'till the end of the staff or the next dynamics indicator, if any.
You can also set dynamics to apply to the whole score. It is then recommended that you group all these global dynamics in the first staff of the score.

Editing

To set a dynamics indicator, select it in the Dynamics palette, and click on the score: it is inserted into the score.

Double-clicking on the object enters edit mode and enables you  to change its settings. Here is what this kind of object looks like in Harmony-Melody:

• Indicators like the one on the left increase or decrease the force (velocity) of played notes. They are called crescendo and decrescendo. The velocity will change smoothly from the beginning of the symbol to its end. When inserting such an item into your score, keep the mouse button depressed and drag to extend the item's scope.
  
  
• Indicators like the one on the right set the notes' volume. The played velocity will remain increased or decreased until another dynamics indicator is encountered. The symbol is an abbreviation of its italian name:



pp	Pianissimo	Very quiet
p	Piano	Quiet
mp	Mezzo Piano	Moderately quiet
mf	Mezzo Forte	Moderately loud
f	Forte	Loud
ff	Fortissimo	Very loud

Note: The actual note velocity is not really changed by a dynamics indicator, only the audio output (or digital export) is altered.

• Dynamic strength: from 0 to 500%. This ratio is applied to the actual note velocity when played. Values below 100% will decrease the played velocity of the note (note output volume will be lower), values above 100 will increase the played velocity of the note (note output volume will be higher). In the case of crescendo or decrescendo you can set the ratio of initial to final volumes.
  
  
• You can define whether the indicator actually acts on notes, or whether it is only a graphical symbol.
  
  
• You can define whether the indicator acts on the staff it is inserted in, or on all staves of the score.
  
  
• The displayed text can be changed. Input the text to be displayed in place of the regular dynamics symbol. You can use the following patterns: $p to display the "p" dynamics symbol, or $f, $m, $z. The $x pattern will display the default text for this type of symbol.  For example, "$x the second time" will display "ppp the second time" if the dynamic is a "ppp".
  
  
• Times: a dynamic can be set up to activate only at given repeat counters. Remember, to repeat a part of the score several times, use break symbols and barlines.
  For example, you can define a set of bars that will be repeated three times, the first time "fortissimo", the last one "pianissimo".
  By specifying a velocity of 0 the 'n'th time, you define a Tacet. This allows you to mute an instrument at a given repeat count.
  
  
• Cumulative: In regular use, when a dynamic is included in a repeated part, the velocity is set to the ratio defined for that dynamic each time.
  If the "cumulative" mode is activated, at each repeat the ratio will be applied on top of the previous one. This allows you to define a "Repeat and fade" section, for example: apply a decrescendo from 100% to 80% on a set of repeated bars and activate the cumulative mode.
  

Note: You can apply any dynamics strength ratio to any dynamics item. However, it is recommended that you keep some coherence within a score, for readability. For example, avoid defining a Pianissimo louder than a Forte...

This chapter presents the concept of tempo or movement and how to indicate tempo in Harmony-Melody.

Musical theory reminder

Tempo is the speed at which your tune is played. It is indicated in a score by using terms such as: Andante (moderate), Allegro (animated) ...

It can also be written as a musical note followed by the equals sign and the metronome setting for this note. For example, a quarter note followed by "=100" means 100 quarter notes will be played in one minute.

Implementation

In Harmony-Melody you can set the General tempo (Score>General tempo) to specify the global value of the tune's playing speed. This value is given as the number of quarter notes per minute.

In addition to this general tempo, you can set a tempo change anywhere in the  score.

Note: the tempo change tool is included in the "Ottava & tempo" palette in the "Windows" menu.

When clicking on a score with this tool, a new item appears. It has several elements. By default, tempo change has no effect on playing speed, it only indicates the current tempo value at this location in the score. If you edit it and change its values, the tune playing speed will be changed from that location onwards.

To delete a tempo change, use the delete (lightning bolt) tool.

You can move or resize the tempo change item by using the Select (lasso) tool on this item.

Editing

Double-clicking on an item edits it and lets you change its internal values.
Here is an example of a tempo change item in Harmony-Melody:

From left to right, you see:

• A caption. This text is free, you can write anything you want and choose its display parameters (font, style, size). This text is optional, if you do not want it to appear, leave this field blank. You will find at the end of this chapter a list of the most common terms and their meanings.
  
  
• A horizontal line. This line is used to show the end of a tempo change, when using the smooth variation option. You can choose not to display this line.
  
  
• A note. This is the reference note. You can select the note value from a 32nd note to a dotted whole note. This reference note can be displayed just after the text or at the right of the item's field. It can also be not displayed at all.
  
  
• A number. This is the number of reference notes per minute. In our example, 120 eighth notes will be played in one minute.
  
  
• The reference note size can be changed.

Warning: If you leave the caption field blank, set the reference note to invisible and do not display the horizontal line, your tempo change item will be completely invisible.

With a smooth change, tempo will change smoothly until the desired value is reached.
This change will be more or less rapid, according to the size of the tempo change item. When a smooth change is completed, the tempo stays at the final value, i.e. the one you set in the tempo window.

The beginning and the end of the tempo object can be defined here: input beginning and end in measure number, beat position and fractional 100th beat position.

You can setup the shape of the acceleration. Six predefined shapes are proposed. For example, a tempo can go from value 100 to 150 with a slow acceleration then a quick. Click on the red handles to change the curve shape.

In our example, the change of tempo will begin on the first quarter note, and reach a final value of 120 at the third note.

You are invited to view the "Smooth tempo variations: ritardendo, accelerando." video tutorial ("Windows>Tutorials" menu in the program).

 

Remarks

The speed at which your tune is played is set primarily by the general tempo. If you change this value, all tempo change items on your score will be adjusted automatically.

Note: Users of older versions of Harmony & Melody will be accustomed to setting tempo variations with the "tempo staff". This is still possible, but using the new notation is recommended.

Appendix

Here are some of the terms most commonly used to express tempo values:

Some other terms can be added to specify the style more precisely:

You can define Karaoke with several sung voices, and display the lyrics while the tune is played.
Choir members will find  this option interesting, even if their choral singing is not strictly speaking Karaoke.

In a song, lyrics are related to a staff which gives, for any word or syllable to be sung, the corresponding note.