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FAQ
Tablatures and chord diagrams
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Question : How
do I set the automatic generation of tablature for a given instrument ? |
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In the staff pop-up menu (black triangle on the left
of the clef 
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select "Edit Tablature". Then select the type of instrument you want the
tablature to be generated for (fretted instrument or harmonica), and select
your instrument more precisely in the pop-up menu or in the list.
For harmonica, you can also choose the base note.
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Tip :
instead of using the staff pop-up menu,
you can click on the little 'Tab' icon in the staff margin. |
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Question : I have a
guitar tablature linked to a staff. When I insert a note on the tablature,
the software computes the fingering and changes the string and fret number
of this note. How can I avoid this ? |
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Create a "Tablature" staff (or change the type of
staff using the options in the staff context menu).
You can then directly insert string and fret
information without having it recalculated.
To go faster, click on the tablature staff with
the shift key down: a pop-up menu suggests the fret number.
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Question :
I asked for a guitar tablature calculation, but the processing time is
too long and my computer hangs. How can I cancel it? |
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You can interrupt the tablature calculation by pressing
Command (Ctrl on PC) and clicking with the mouse at the same time.
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Question :
I want to tune my guitar in an "Open tuning". Can I generate tablature
for this tuning?
or: I play banjo, balalaika, etc. Can I calculate
tablature for these instruments? |
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Of course. Several tunings are predefined, but you
can define your own by clicking "Other" in the tablature options edit window.
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Question : How
do I use guitar chord diagrams ? |
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In the software, a chord diagram is a chord drawing
for the guitarist. It gives, for each chord, the position of the left hand
on the neck. For example, here is the chord diagram for C major.
The software has a chord diagram database that
you can modify and add to.
Chord diagrams can be displayed and printed automatically
above any staff , giving the chord to play to be in harmony with the notes
in the staff.
You can insert a chord diagram at any point thanks
to the chord diagram tool in the Miscellaneous palette.
You can move a chord
diagram by clicking and dragging it.
You can change its size by clicking on its bottom-right
and distorting it.
You can delete it with the delete tool.
You can edit it by double-clicking it.
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Tip :
The chord diagrams are stored in a separate file
named "ACCGUIT.DAT".
This file is located in the preferences folder
so that it is preserved should you install a new software version.
Its access path is:
On the PC: c:\windows\acampref\harmpref
On the Macintosh: System folder:Preferences:Harmony
preferences
If you work on several
different computers, you must copy this file to all of them to keep your
defined chord diagrams the same. |
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Question : How
can I build my own chord diagram library? |
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Chord diagrams are defined via the "Option/Edit
guitar chord diagram" menu item.
You can equally use this function to understand
how chords are built up.
When you ask for chord diagrams to be displayed
above staves or in the chord diagram grid, the chord is looked up in the
list of chords defined in the database file.
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Most common chords are already defined, as are
some others,so be sure you know what you are doing if you modify them.. |
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In the center of the window is the current chord.
The guitar neck is displayed vertically, the low E on the left and the
high E on the right. The black dots indicate that a finger is stopping
the string at this fret position. The black bars indicate that several
strings are stopped by the same finger.This is called a barre. It may be
a full barre covering all 6 strings, or a half-barre covering only two
or more of them. Either way it is usually made with the index finger.
Above each string, you can specify which finger
is used to stop the string:
0 = open string
1 = fore or index finger
2=middle finger
3=ring finger
4=little finger
X = this string is not played.
To the right of the grid you can specify which
fret on the guitar corresponds to the first fret shown in the diagram.
For each string, below the chord diagram is displayed
the resulting note (A to G) and its position in the chord:
F = fundamental: The root note of the chord.
For example, in a chord of C7, the fundamental is C.
The other notes in the
chord are named according to the interval between them and the fundamental.
| Semitone offset |
Name |
Meaning |
| 0 |
T or F |
fundamental (root) |
| 1 |
9- |
diminished ninth |
| 2 |
9(2) |
ninth or second |
| 3 |
3m |
minor third |
| 4 |
3 |
third |
| 5 |
4 |
fourth |
| 6 |
5- |
diminished fifth |
| 7 |
5 |
fifth |
| 8 |
5+ |
augmented fifth |
| 9 |
6 |
sixth |
| 10 |
7 |
seventh (minor) |
| 11 |
7M |
major seventh |
If a note that is not a part of the desired chord
appears in your diagram, it is displayed in reversed colours.
By default, chords are only available up to the
seventh. To define a more complex chord, you must break the link between
the chord name and its components. The name of such a chord is preceded
by a '*' symbol in the chord list.
To change the current chord, click in the chord
list on the right of the window.
The "Add" button adds a new chord to the chord
list. The "Delete" button deletes the current chord.
The "Try" button plays the current chord. The
instrument and output device used are those of the first active staff of
your document.
To change the chord name, click on the "Rename"
button. Several chord diagrams can be defined for a single chord. While
searching for the chord to be displayed on the score, Harmony gives priority
to the one whose "Preferred" check box is ticked.
The "Transposable" check
box indicates that the chord can be moved along the neck to obtain another
chord (such a chord must not have open strings).
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Tip :
To print the whole chord list, select the menu
item "File>Print". You will then have to hand all the different
ways of playing the chords. |
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