Il programma ha una propria documentazione in-linea. Inoltre, tutti gli oggetti, le opzioni dei menù, le finestre di dialogo sono documentate contestualmente. Difatti, quando si punta un oggetto con il cursore, ne compare una corrispondente spiegazione nella finestra di aiuto. Il presente documento complementa quanto descritto attraverso la finestra di aiuto.
Qui potete trovare le nozioni base della teoria musicale, un insieme di domande e risposte, esempi concreti di come utilizzare il programma nonché alcuni capitoli tematici.
 

Importante : Alla fine di questo documento c'é il capitolo sulla  Licenza software . Esso va letto prima di utilizzare il software.

Questa documentazione si applica a Melody ed Harmony. OMeR dispone del proprio manuale.

Melody Assistant (shareware - US $15 / Europa : 15 €)

      Vi permette di inserire, eseguire e stampare spartiti musicali con una facilità sbalorditiva. Ma le sue possibilità sono assai più rilevanti: vi si trova integrato un database di suoni digitali che permette di ascoltare i propri brani in alta qualità sonora, anche se non si dispone né di hardware professionale né di tastiera MIDI esterna.
Con questa tecnologia, Voi potrete anche registrare suoni personali ed impiegarli come strumenti nei Vostri brani.
Un database di suoni estesi (extended sound database), ancora più completo, può essere prelevato gratuitamente dal nostro sito, oppure ordinato per posta (Myriad Products CD-ROM).
Inoltre,  i suonatori di Chitarra, Basso e Armonica saranno resi felici da Melody Assistant, che consente, a partire dal brano, il calcolo automatico delle intavolature e dei diagrammi degli accordi.

 

Domanda : Cosa si intende per "shareware"? Potete provare Melody Assistant liberamente. Se lo trovate di Vostro gradimento, potete ordinare un numero di registrazione personale (al prezzo di  US $15, ovvero 15 euro per chi vive in Europa) il che Vi permetterà di accedere alle caratteristiche aggiuntive del programma. Nella presente documentazione, sono chiaramente indicate quali sono le opzioni a disposizione di un Utente registrato.

Può essere considerato il "fratello maggiore" di Melody. In Harmony sono incluse tutte le caratteristiche di Melody Assistant, e ad esse si aggiungono un'ampia gamma di  nuovi mezzi:  modifiche a pagina intera, modo stampa, calcolo griglie di accordi, generazione automatica di accompagnamenti armonici e di  schemi ritmici, ridefinizione di  stili musicali, stili musicali personali, ecc.
A tal proposito, la presente documentazione contiene una precisa descrizione di quali sono le caratteristiche peculiari di Harmony Assistant.

 

Domanda : Harmony Assistant é "shareware" ? No. Si tratta, al contrario, di un prodotto commerciale distribuito su CD-ROM, che si può ordinare per la somma di  US $65, ovvero di 65 euro per chi vive in Europa. Il CD-ROM comprende inoltre un database  ancora più ampio di suoni digitali. Comunque, le piacevoli possibilità di Harmony Assistant si possono provare  scaricando una versione di prova, oppure ordinandola per posta. Con la versione di prova , Voi disporrete di un database di suoni ridotto, e non potrete né salvare né stampare i vostri documenti musicali. Potrete, peraltro, visionarne le caratteristiche aggiuntive per assicurarVi che esse rispondano alle Vostre necessità.

OMeR trasforma uno spartito musicale stampato in un file musicale che é possibile ascoltare, modificare e stampare con Melody Assistant od Harmony Assistant.
Se avete frequentemente bisogno di trasferire spartiti stampati sotto Melody Assistant od Harmony Assistant, e possedete uno scanner; OMeR Vi alleggerirà il compito alla grande.
OMeR piloterà lo scanner, collezionerà una o più pagine e le analizzerà per  generare un documento musicale utilizzabile direttamente in Melody od Harmony.

Virtual Singer (shareware - US $15 / Europa : 15 €)

       Plug-in per Melody od Harmony. Con Virtual Singer  il Vostro elaboratore sarà in grado di cantare la parte lirica in diverse lingue.

• When we make a major change we add one to X.
• When a new feature is added, we add one to Y
• When a bug is fixed or a cosmetic detail is corrected, we add one to Z

• A redesign of the interface which enables to change the icon set and introduces new kind of windows. A contextual help is added to the already existing help system.
  
• A new technologie for human voice rendering, even more realistic: Real Singer II.
• MIDI import and quantize have been completely rewritten: they are simpler to use and more efficient.
• A new installer for all our applications, more user-friendly and meaningful
• MyrScript, the embedded language of Harmony Assistant, is now in v.0.2 and comes with new scripts, for example digital track to note converter, graphical metronome, beat marking display, wind instrument tablature calculator...
• Mac OS X version is closer to the usual appearance of other applications, with smoothed fonts, dialog box related to document windows, an application shipped as a "bundle", mouse wheel management...

Harmony Assistant 8.4.1, Melody Assistant 6.4.1

Harmony Assistant 8.4.2, Melody Assistant 6.4.2

Harmony Assistant 8.4.3, Melody Assistant 6.4.3

Improvements

- ABC Import : Part repeat notated as [..] x n are processed
- Text type staves are not taken into account in multi-rest bar processin, which enables to add text on multi-rests by merging a regular staff with a text staff.
- Better management of smooth slurs (glissendo) in MIDI output and export
- Smooth slur (glissendo) in MIDI and digital output manages commas (microtonal adjustment) of slurred notes.
- Jukebox : when creating HTML pages, e-mail addresses are now masked to avoid them to be catched by robots. By default @ is substituted by (a). You can define anythink else, for example a picture containing an @.

Harmony Assistant 8.4.4, Melody Assistant 6.4.4

Improvements
- Trills: when possible, trill is played during the whole note time.

This version brings up a major evolution in Harmony Assistant: MyrScript.
Minor fixes and features that are necessary to maintain compatibility between Harmony and Melody apply to both of these programs.

As usual, upgrading from a previous version is free of charge.
 

MyrScript

MyrScript is a highly powerful language that enables any user to write scripts to control completely Harmony Assistant.
You can also define new tool palettes.

Predefined scripts already offer a whole bunch of new features :

- Tablatures for wind instruments : recorder, ocarina, tuba, flute, clarinet...
- Fingering display while music is playing : a must to learn how to play an instrument
- Analog drum sound generator
- Note name display
- Tempo adjustment on digital track
- Echo of notes played on computer (or MIDI) keyboard.
- Digital or analog clock
- Selected notes duration conversion.
- Selected notes pitch conversion.
- Real-time fingering for guitar, bass, and other fretted string instruments
- Velocity humanizing
- Portamento effect on a group of notes
- Virtual Singer language forcing
- Singers placement on stage
- SAMPA display while Virtual Singer is singing
- Separated parts printing
- E-mail address change for a whole set of files
- Parallel fifth and octave check
- Revert to last saved version of the document
- Note sequence search in a document or a set of documents
- etc.

A complete documentation is provided for these scripts : "Scripts> About scripts" menu option.

New scripts will be available for free on our Website. Updated scripts can be downloaded from "Scripts>Internet update".

If you intend to write your own scripts, a very complete manual (more than 350 pages) explains in detail how to proceed : "Scripts > Developer manual". New version of this manual are frequently provided.

At last, if you want to share your script with other users, it is possible to send it to us very easily. 

Improvements

- MP3 import has been accelerated.
- In MIDI Karaoke export (.kar), the panning position of singer is saved instead of the related instrument's.
- In MIDI Karaoke import (.kar), singer panning position is set according to the panning position of the related instrument.
- When adding lyrics to a staff, singer position is set to the related instrument panning position.
- All MIDI notes are now off when pausing a tune.
- Key and time signatures are now vertically aligned, whatever the clef is.
- Gregorian notation : number of lines in the staff can now be changed.
- Virtual Singer : rule-based velocity bounds are now played.
- When duplicating a staff, the related instrument is duplicated too.
- Now possible to define whether a trill starts by the note itself, or the above note.

Fixes

- ABC import : multiple scores separated by a carriage return character
- Problem when playing selection range in loop (missing voices)
- Harmony Assistant : positionning issue in engraver mode, when a tied note goes over more than one bar, and when beamend with next one.
- Digital track damaged when score is saved while playing.
- Played note coloring when a grace note is located after a clef or key change
- Wrong accented characters when printing a score embedded into another one (through free objects).
- Windows : problem when pinting "thin cross+circle", "thin cross+demi-circle", "bold cross+circle", "bold cross" noteheads.
- Accented characters conversion in abbreviated staff name after a MIDI import.
- Some break symbols (repeat barline for example) disappeared graphically when located on an empty bar.
- Harmony : problem when an accompaniment could not be generated properly (for example, too big octave offset)
- Harmony : problem of accompaniment generation when some chords are inverted
- .MUS file was erased when saving in the same folder under another format (.MID, .ABC...)
- Wrong dynamics positioning when importing a Midifile
- Clef, time or key signature could be partially printed out of the page area when clef/signature repeat at line end was on
- Grid drum staff printing when another staff requested the clef/signature to be repeated at line end.
- Windows : Graphical mispositionning of "long" (quadruple whole) note on screen in 100% zoom.
- Problem in deleting tie between notes when editing was limited to one bar
- Clef repeat in Gregorian notation
- Clicking on rests at the end of long pieces (more than 200 bars)
- Virtual Singer : SAMPA  [#] or Fragment [#+] phonetic adjustments are now sung in any case, even if the syllable they apply to is silent.

Changes

Version 8.3.2

- Fixed problems in Gregorian staves editing
- You can now apply separate color and size for each notes of a neume.
- The inject tool now works on Gregorian staves.
- Windows : improvement in wheel mouse management.
- Midi recording : suppression of delay between the first bars of metronome and the first note of the piece
- Fixed problems in horizontal scroll bar activation state the first time jukebox window is open.
- Mac OS X : The error kPMNoSuchEntry, -30874 returned by some printer drivers is now ignored.
- RealSinger did not sing some notes of high velocity
- Windows : Arrow for note shape selector scroll bar in rule editing were inactive
- Problems when changing clef in the middle of a bar.

Version 8.3.3

- New tuplet display options : with brackets, with slur, nothing displayed...
- New default placement for ornaments : ornaments are placed more nicely around the notehead and avoid to be overlaped by staff lines
- Tutorials : keyword search in tutorial list window
- Tutorials : improved load time.
- Gregorian notation : pes shifting fixed, rests are now centered.
- MIDI export : saved note duration is more accurate, which enables to import Midi files generated by Harmony / Melody without quantizing.
- MIDI export : Fixed export problems when "Windows" charset is elected.
- When deleting notes in "limit edit to one bar" mode : sometimes several consecutive ghost rests were generated. This has been fixed.
- Edit>Add : when a note replaces another one of smaller duration, target staff note are not shifted anymore.
- Fixed problem when loading an OMeR file (.msf) when OMeR is in evaluation mode.
- Windows : Fixed (or more precisely work-arounded)  problems of exception C000008E & C0000090, due to a bug (FPU control mask corruption) in some printer drivers under Windows 98/ME.
- Harmony : Fixed problems in MIDI export when an init command is defined in the Midimap.
- Harmony : Automatic rhythm generating process speeded up.

Version 8.3.4

- Ogg export : Source sample rate selector
- Fixed bitrate when exporting selection range on a digital track (now set to 128 Kbps)
- Fixed loss of note effects in rules when saving/loading a document
- Harmony, Windows : fixed crash when playing tune after editing accompaniments.

Version 8.3.5

This version mainly includes new features that have been suggested by users.
For example, a new way of displaying the complete mixer palette, an album, a way of managing note duration in step-by-step recording, and real-time not input through the computer keyboard, etc.

These major improvements apply to Harmony Assistant. Minor adjustments and features needed to support file compatibility apply to both Melody and Harmony Assistant.
 

News

- Harmony Assistant. New display for complete mixer : 2D staff display to set volume and panning of instrument groups more easily. Panning and volume are applied graphically and in real time. It is possible to select several staves and move them in a row.
A special mode enables to "freeze" object size.
The "Live" mode records in real-time, while music is playing, the changes you apply to the miscellaneous parameters. For example, you can decrease gradually the volume of a staff or change in real-time the resonator characteristics or frequency offset.
- Free object resizing in their edit box : possible to keep the ration beetween vertical and horizontal size.
- Independent volume and panning management for instruments included in a rule set. Until now, all instruments in the rule set had the same volume and panning. Now,when setting up a rule, you can specify the sound generation will be performed independently from other instruments for this staff, and therefore set up finely panning and volume for each instrument.
Note : in the rule edit box, Shift+click applies this change to the whole rule set.
- New mode for displaying note flags in fretted instrument tablatures (half rhythm values)
- New setting for fretted instrument tablatures : offset from the line
- Possible to center stems on notes on a tablature
- Possible to set up an extra space between the note and its stem on a tablature
- New fretted instruments for tablature and chord diagrams : Charango, Portorican Cuatro, 8, 9 and 10-course lute, archlute.
- Harmony Assistant. Chord diagram display mode for left-handed persons. Can be set up in Global settings, "Appearance" settings
- Harmony Assistant. When inputting notes from the computer keyboard, virtual keyboard of MIDI keyboard, note duration can be approximated from the time key is pressed. This features can be activated from the Global Settup, "keyboard" topic. A computer keyboard key can be set up to enable/disable this option.
- Harmony Assistant. New window : album. Can be selected from the "Windows" menu.  The album enables to manage a frequently used object library (notes, texts, effects, diagrams, etc). Album content is preserved when exiting the program.
You can copy the scrapbook content into the album, or copy/paste an item from the album to your score.
When notes, effect processors or chord diagrams are stored in the album, you can hear them.
File in which album data are stored is located in your document folder, "Settings/Extra" subfolder.
Album is multiple : you can store your data int 8 independent parts. To change part, use buttons "1" to "8". To move the current element into another part of the album, press the command (Ctrl) key and move the element onto the button you want.
- Harmony Assistant. Real-time note input : computer keyboard can also be used. Echo from input notes follows the same rules than MIDI input : if MIDI IN echo is activated, notes are sent to the MIDI output that is used for this echo.
- Staff bounds can be drawn. You can set this up in Global settings, Appearance topic. A coloured horizontal line shows the lower bound of each staff. It enables for example to see more easily on what staff a note will be inserted.
- Harmony Assistant. New palette : style palette. A style is made of all note or rest attributes you can select from palettes : duration, color, scale, stem, head shape, ornaments ... You can collect in this palette the most frequently used combinations to apply them at a glance to the currently selected notes. Keyboard shortcuts can be set up to link a keyboard key to style create, delete or apply operation.
- Music symbols can be included in texts that are inserted on score (rhythmic pattern, swing indication, etc)
- Most frequent transposing instrument can be applied automatically during MIDI import. This can be enabled or disabled from Global settings, Midi import topic.
- New option in the "Staff" menu : parameter curves related to one or several staves can be deleted.
- Digital instrument edit : "Action>Clear all" command, that enables to start editing more easily a new (empty) digital instrument.

Improvements

- Improvement for beamed notes in complex rhythmic patterns
- MPEG Layer 2 file loading
- Better management for child palettes when detached from master palette
- Baroque tablature : better display for barlines, break symbols and time signature
- Windows : Improvement of "user" and "complete mixer" palette resizing
- Windows : better management for fonts that own big overlap areas between characters
- Help window : displays the staff in which dynamics, text, graphics or Fx processor will be inserted
- Better accuracy in knobs
- Better accuracy in sliders
- Note velocity is taken into account when inputting notes in step-by-step mode from a MIDI keyboard.
- Harmony Assistant. Different page setup for additional pages (lyrics, chord grid) added at the end of the score.
- Harmony Assistant. Lyrics text style editing in the additional page by double-clicking the text.
- Try (through the hammer tool) of chord diagrams inserted on a digital track.
- Acceleration of fast forward in "Play tools" palette
- Master volume setting is now used in MIDI output
- Lyrics input using Virtual Singer : you can specify the list of phonetic FRAGMENTS to be sung (it enables to mix in the same word syllables from different languages)

Syntax : displayed word[#+fragment1+fragment2...]
Example : rroar[#+RXFI+OW+RFR] will display "roarr" on score, and will sing a Finnish rolled R, an English "OW" then a French R, whatever the currently selected language could be.

Fixes

- Fixed problems in icon positionning in user palette
- Windows : Fixed problems when loading user-defined default values (templates, effects) when located on a network path
- Fixed problems when number of voices is too low while playing from the jukebox
- Fixed problem when moving lyrics to a staff that did not own any before.
- Graphical appearance for staccati and tenuti.
- Fixed loading some sounds (Guitar) in GMMPBase (very light sound base)
- Fixed chord diagram printing location when in chord grid
- Empty bars and staves to be ignored when printing : bars that include a tempo change or a dynamics are no more considered as empty
- Windows : Fixed problems of access path under Windows 98.
- Fixed problems in "Tie" action when several notes of different duration are included in the same chord.
- Copy/Paste of isolated objects
- Note input when metronome bar number is set to zero.
 - Fixed issues when two slurred notes belong to different staff rules.
- Harmony Assistant : Fixed issues when splitting windows.
- Fixed error ("Solliais : erreur 263") when moving notes that own at the same time a slur and an ornament.
- Windows : Fixed issue (time shifting) when receiving "Program change" command from the MIDI input.
- MP3 import : Now possible to skip frames whose format is not managed by the program.
- Windows :Curves : Fixed issue when modifying curve settings.
- Fixed issues when loading some MSF files
- Fixed crash during quantize operation, when the first note of the staff has a negative delay
- When quitting some dialog boxes, tool palettes remained inactive
- Virtual Singer icon position on VS palette in "Old style" palettes

Changes

- New break symbols box With add, delete, change break symbols (music start/end, repeat start/end, parts, coda jump, etc). You can open this box by double-clicking on any break symbol or from the "Score" menu. Changes are immediatly applied to the score and a list of played bars is given.

- Metronome  Now plays metronome a few bars before MIDI input to provide tempo. This can be setup in the general setup, "MIDI import" panel.

- MIDI input : Right and left hand splitting.

- Diatonic and chromatic transposing (Edit>pitch change>advanced...). Transpose the selection range or create chords automatically. From the note contextual menu : create any chord from the original note.

- Searching and  marking notes outside instrument pitch range  (Edit>Search)

- Instrument name normalization : Sound names now follow the General MIDI 2 specification (GM2). In the instrument selection dialog box, here is the meaning of the differents colors :

black : the sound is GM2 and present in the current sound base
gray : the sound is GM2 and not present in the current sound base. If you select it, the closest sound will be used instead.
blue : additional sound, not GM2

- Instruments conversion : When the high quality Gold sound base is installed and selected, a conversion occurs when loading music files.  This conversion transforms old sounds to new sounds. You can setup the way this conversion is applied using "Configuration>Sound Base>Edit preferred sound...". For each old sound, you can define a new sound to be used instead. Of course this does not affect user's instruments or files created with the Gold Base.

- Fine Midi output adjustment - MidiMap (Harmony only). In the Midi advanced setup, you can select a predefined midi sound mapping or define your own. For each standard sound, you can relate a program change, bank and key that follows your synthesizer requirement : this is called a MidiMap. Midi file import and export can also be setup to follow a specific MidiMap (general setup).

-User file management. All files you create using Melody or Harmony (music pieces, templates, exports, setup files...) are now saved by default in the "Myriad Documents" folder. You will find this folder in the "Document" (or "My Documents") folder of your computer. It is recommanded to frequently backup this folder.
In Harmony/Melody when an item is displayed in a list with a little red star, this mean this is an user's item.
Storing documents in these default folders is strongly recommended, however,the user may save files elsewhere if so desired.

Here is the structure of this folder :
 

Music This sub-folder contains your music pieces. You can divide it in sub-folders.

Export Contains music, audio and graphical exports.

Graphics Export Graphical export : EPS, BMP, PICT..., files.
Music Export Music/Audio exports :  MID, MP3, WAV..., files
Lyrics, Lyric texts.

Settings Contains all your settings.

Accordions, User-defined accordions.
Charsets, Special charsets.
Chords, Chords diagrams.
Drums, Drums set.
Engraver, Engraver setup.
FXs, Digital effects.
Instruments, Fretted instruments tablature setup, Harmonica setup.
Keyboards, Computer keyboard key assignment.
MidiMap, MIDIMap files
Models, Document templates.
Organs, Street organ setup.
Palettes, Palette setup.
Rules, Rule sets, rules for colorizing.
Voices, Virtual Singer voices.

Time signature display on fretted instrument tablatures.

New tablature option : erase note background

Cautionary clef/key/time signature can be displayed at end of line when it changes at the next bar.

Break symbols can be displayed at the end of the line.

Extended menu shorcuts using Command+Shift+Key, Command+option+Key. This can be disabled in the general setup, "Keyboard" pannel.

In "Edit" menu, new command : redo last menu command.
 

Minor improvements

Break symbols display enhancement before key changes.

New keyboards shortcuts : insert bars, delete bars, quantize, humanize, merge, unmerge, pitch change, switch to inject mode, reset palette status..

Engraver mode setup : fast ratio (+10%,-10%) can be applied to all parameters.

Automatic saving of the work in progress (The delay can be setup in the general configuration)

New command for free text objects : $L. The $L command is subtituted by the lyrics related to the score. This allow for example to create easily texts objects with the couplets.
When more than one staff own lyrics, you can select the staff with $L"staff name". You can extract a line of text using $L,line number. For example $L,4 will extract the 4th line or the first staff with lyrics. You can extract a range of played bars using $L,b1-b2 where b1 is the first bar, b2 the last bar. For example, $L"melody",1-24 will extract the lyrics related to the bar 1 to 24 of the staff "melody".

New features (Harmony only) : Compute velocities from dynamics, compute dynamics from velocities for all score (Score menu)

While editing velocities curve (in red), real velocities curve is displayed (in orange). The real velocities show the influence of the dynamics on the velocities stored in the notes.

New page setup option : repeat the clef change at the end of the previous line when the clef change begin a line.

User's instruments : up to 64 sounds per instruments.

When loading a document, you can already impose the page mode or scroll mode. You can now setup the page mode scale : scale recorded in the document, full page, full width. (Harmony only)

In the Jukebox you can set the color of each line (Shift+Click on the line). A new column was added : the "icon" column to relate one to four predefined icons to a music file. Musics can be sorted along icons.

Copy/paste of notes on staves related to a transposing instrument take account of this to preserve the note pitches.

Effects related to notes : Line thickness setup (Global setup>appearance)
 

Fixes

Harmonica slide bar display while switching from chromatic to diatonic.
MIDI quantization
Finger numbering in chord diagrams
Pedal while MIDI import.
Virtual Singer : minor problems with Scatt Jazz mode fixed.
Chord line editing, loading, saving, when break symbols.
Tie orientation while keyboard editing.
Accordion tabalture : left hand notes.
Repeat last bar symbol : problems with effects and ghost rests fixed.
Dynamics applying problem fixed.
Object shift when inserting an incomplete bar.
TAB text export : break symbols problem fixed (wrong bar).
Dynamics and parameter curves on staff with rules.
Bar right alignment when a bar right margin is defined.
Loading and saving lyrics in ABC file format.
Load and saving comments in ABC file
Overflow in password input.
Instruments saving on multiple score.
Fast transpose in minor keys.
Printing pages including large embedded pictures.
Chord line computing while applying a transposing instrument
Chord grid computing while moving a note (Harmony)
Transposing instrument : bass Clarinet.
 

Changes

- Baroque Lute Tablature : the 'c' replace the 'r' for 3th fret
- Key allocation change : While editing object, Command key activate the delete mode, Alt key activate select/mode. While moving note, Shift+Alt move the note in its area.
- Word "Beam" is now used instead of "Hitch"
- Small increase of some effects drawing thickness.

Sub-versions

Harmony 8.1.0a, Melody 6.1.0a (09-24-2002)
- Bug fix in some (very rare) MU3 file loading.
- Because of a bug in Mac OS X, colored mouse cursor are not displayed in Mac OS X.2.0 and Mac OS X.2.1. Apple announces this will be fixed in X.2.2
- Apple fixed a part of the bug in Internet accesses on MacOS X.2. It enabled us to find a workaround to make "Automatic update" and "Send us an e-mail" work well.

Harmony 8.1.0b, Melody 6.1.0b (09-26-2002)
- Minor fix in the sound base menu.
- Delay in MIDI output under Mac OS X.2
- Fixed access path problem when exporting in WAV or MP3 format
- Windows : Fixed problem of communication with OMeR
- Note echo duration has been limited to 2 seconds
- Problem when loading some S3M files fixed
- Playing a user digital instrument with a loop that starts at the very beginning of the sample : fixed.

Harmony 8.1.1, Melody 6.1.1 (09-30-2002)
- Windows : Fixed graphical inaccuracy when clicking on tab indexes
- Windows : Alert now well displayed when no sound base installed
- Harmony Assistant : Fixed issues in velocity curve edit in page mode
- Harmony Assistant : Fixed problems in target prositioning when editing note parameters in engraver mode
- Harmony Assistant : Fixed issue when selecting a preset rhythm pattern
- Harmony Assistant : Fixed issue (extra notes played) when trying a new pattern in accompaniment edit pane
- Fixed issue in editing user sound extra samples when in instrument creation simplified mode
- Fixed issue in grace notes beaming

Harmony 8.1.2, Melody 6.1.2 (10-03-2002)
- Fixed ABC format load and save
- Transposing instrument can be taken into account or not when copying & pasting through "Edit" topic in Global setup
- Windows : Fixed some path problems
- Windows : Fixed AltGr key management under Windows 95/98/ME
 

We are especially glad to introduce the new major versions of our music programs, and this for three main reasons :

First, these versions include half an hundred new features, improvements and fixes. Update download is free of charge from our Website.
A great part of the new features comes from users' suggestions made in the Democratic Workshop, and we thanks them here.
We also wish to thank the active Beta-test team who worked hard with us on this version.

Then, all our programs (9 titles) run from this date on Mac OS X.

At last, we celebrate this week our 14 years of activity. It is a real satisfaction for us, because our longevity validates the choices we made more than one decade ago : designing popular software. Improvements come partly from the people through the democratic workshop and our technical support, the products are easily affordable by everybody, and they became popular because their easiness and completeness.
Seing the thousands of people using them daily, we can now affirm there is still space in the software industry for micro-structures like ours, that evolves outside the usual distribution and promotion systems..

Best Regards,
The 15th of April 2002,
The Authors.

News

- New interface (Windows only) The new interface system improves the display quality and the available settings.

• Color number jumps from 256 to millions. The score display is more precise and  included pictures color matching is better.
• Palette and menus are now translucent. You can setup the transparency level in the general setup.
• You can switch between different themes (skins). The Classic, XP and Magma themes are provided by default. Theme switching is available in the program general setup. You will be able to download more themes on our web site.
• Main color of each theme can be changed
• You can define your own theme. A special chapter explains this.
• You can use a picture of your own on the desktop.
• Fonts used by the interface can be changed.

- Multi-windowing (Harmony only) Enable to split the document window into several parts, in order to see and edit several areas of the same score at the same time. Each part had its own scale and display mode. This is very usefull to see and edit several pages simultaneously. For example, you can have a window split in two, showing you the same document in scroll mode and page mode. To split a window, click on the little bar in the scroll bar and move it.

- New jukebox : Jukebow is managed as a standard window, and no more as a modal dialog box.
It means when jukebox is open, you can still use document windows. Double-click on a jukebox element opens the matching document file. Several columns can be shown or hidden, and you can sort the jukebox list in ascending or descending order according to several criteria.

You can display :

• File name
• Folder name
• Music style
• Last change date
• Lyrics presence
• Music duration
• Author Web page (a click on it open the page)
• Author e-mail (a click on it send a mail)
• File size on disk
• Music title
• Music composer
• Music remarks
• Time spend on the document
• Protect status

• To select what column to display, open the pop-up menu (green arrow at top left) and select the column to display/hide.
• To change a column width, click its right edge.
• To activate a column, click its title. Music piece are sorted according to this column. When a new piece is added, it is automatically inserted at the right position in the sorted list.
• When a column is active, a little blue triangle shows the sorting order : up triangle for increasing order, down triangle for decreasing order. Click this triangle to reverse order.
• To change column position, click its title with shift key depressed, and drag the column.

All these display settings are saved in the .box file.

Typing characters on keyboard will make the program search for this topic in the displayed information.

Here is a summary of keyboard keys that can be used in the jukebox :

• Return : opens the selected document in an editing window
• Esc : stops playing. If in a karaoke window, stops the Karaoke.
• Spacebar : Starts/Stop playing
• Up arrow : previous file
• Down arrow : next file
• + : Adds a file to the playlist
• - or Shift+Del : Deletes the current file from the list
• Letter or number : adds this character to the search string
• Backspace : Deletes the last character in the search string.
• Tab : Searches for the next file that matches the current search string.

 - New file format(.mu3) This file format enables to export Melody/Harmony documents so that digital tracks are internally MP3-encoded. Space gain is about 1 to 10 according to the selected quality level. The main use for this export format is file sharing on the Web. All information about page setup and instruments are kept as it would be in a regular .mus file.
You must keep in mind MP3 encoding is destructive. It is therefore needed to keep the original file in .mus format for further changes. Successive loading and saving will lead to a loss of quality in digital track sound.
In mu3 format, custom digital instruments can also be MP3 encoded.

- MUS saving (standard files) : non-destructive RLE encoding for user instruments. It shrinks the standard files by about 20% when they include custom digital instruments, without any loss of quality .

- Using other musical fonts (Harmony only): It is now possible to use another font than the STocatta to display music symbols. You can define "charsets". Each staff in a document can have its own charset. A charset can be made of characters coming from different fonts.
All this is available in the staff display setup dialog box.

Special note for Postscript export or Adobe Postscript :
When exporting in PostScript format, SToccata font is encapsulated in the resulting file. Other fonts you are using cannot, because of copyright reasonsTherefore, these fonts have to be installed on the target system when the file is loaded.

Special note for the Myriad Music Plug-In: As extern font can't be encapsulated in the music file, the MMPlug-in always use the Stoccata even you use another Charset.

A new chapter in the manual describes this.

- Individual and global symbol size setting. Each note or rest has its own display scale, from 20% to 200%. Note display tool palette enables to set the scale for the symbol to be added. The "injector" tool injects this scale to an existing symbol. You can also double-click the symbol to edit its scale. To change scale for a group of symbols, use "Edit>Appearance>General" : a common scale will be applie to all selected symbols.
Note : Symbol scale has no effect on the way this symbol is played.
 

- Editing parameters through curves. Several curves can be related to each staff. A curve describes the evolution of a parameter when the piece is played. You can define the way volume, panning position, frequency (pitch bend), distorsion, filtering, etc., or even MIDI specific non-standard parameters are modified during time. It enables, for example, to make the volume vary while a note is played, to create complex pitch-bend, or to send specific commands to a MIDI synthesizer. Curve selection is made through a pop-up in the micro-icon formerly dedicated to velocity curve. For example you can manage enhanced bend effect for guitar (pull, release, sustain & complete release in a single effect).
A new chapter in the manual describes this

- New rules features

• To add quickly a note that belongs to a rule, Shift+Click (or right-click) to open a pop-up menu. Select the required rule in the list, the note will be added according to the selected rules.  When editing a note (double-click on the note head), and this note belongs to a staff with rules, a pop-up menu in the "General" panel enables to change quickly the rule this note belongs to.
• New parameters for staff Rules. Note velocity can be selected as a criterium. This allow you to enable different samples for instruments, according to the played note velocity. For example soft bass for low velocities, slap bass for strong velocities.
• Each rule can be non-blocking : when a note matches the rule, search continues after this for all following rules.

A rule can be set up so that notes that match it are considered as the fundamental. When a note is considered as the
fundamental, it becomes the root note of the chord for all notes at the same time position for ALL STAVES.
Above this, a new criterium has been introduced : offset from the fundamental. By combining these two criteria, it enables for example to change pitch for chord third and fifth. This technique can be used for example in Barbershop singing

- Tunes can be sorted by style. In order to ease pieces sorting, it is now recommended to select, in "Title, composer.." window, the category the piece belongs to. A piece can belong up to three different categories. Pieces can be sorted this way in thejukebox list, and HTML pages can also be created according to the style tree.

- New note duration : breve and long. You can use the breve (twice a whole note) and the long (four time a whole note). A new version of the music font is provided. It must replace the previous version  in order to display these new symbols properly.

Note : When using a breve or a long, do not forget the bar duration must be sufficient to accept it. If not, the note will be graphically splitted.

- Previous bar repeat symbol (%), this tool is located in the note duration tool palette. When this symbol is inserted in a bar, it occupies the whole bar and repeats the previous one. Several "%" symbols can be inserted one after the other, in order to repeat the same bar several times. When printing (or in page mode), if the "enable multi-repeat bars" is enabled, bars that are repeated several times are merged in a single one according to the same rules than empty bars (of course, they are *not* merged with empty bars).

Two special cases can occur :

• Incomplete bars (upbeat, pickup). When the bar that owns a repeat symbol is not the same size as the previous bar, notes to be repeated are taken backwards to fill the bar. For example, if the first bar is in 4/4 and the second one in 3/4 with a repeat symbol, only the three last quarter notes of the first pr bar will be repeated.
• On staves that are sung by Virtual Singer, both notes and lyrics are repeated, except if you write new lyrics under the repeat symbol. In this case, notes are the same, but words are different. In this particular case, different time signatures are not processed.

- Clef change anywhere in a bar. When you click with the "Clef change" tool inside a bar, an incomplete bar is created at the time position selected.  The second bar created receive the Clef change.

- New setup for bar numbering : You can access to thos by Command+Click in the ruler. You can exclude a bar from the bar counting or restart the bar counter from any value. Very useful to exclude an incomplete bar from the counting.

- Complete score editing from the computer keyboard. Up/Down arrow to select note pitch, left/right to move cursor, and other keys to insert a note, a rest, etc.

Major improvements

- Compound time signatures : Enables to write 3+1/4 instead of 4/4. Number of reference notes per bar can now be up to 128 and the number of reference note per whole note to 64.

- Engraver mode (Harmony only): lyrics texts are processed. Space taken by lyrics can be set up in the engraver mode configuration box.

- New features for Free Texts : When inserting a free text, some wildcards can be replaced by values that depends on the score. For example, $B token is replaced by the current bar number, and therefore enables to display bar bumber anywhere.

 You can use :

$B : Display current bar number
$D : Current date
$F : File name
$H : Current hour and minutes
$T : Document Title
$$ : Dollar symbol

- Automatic note splitting :  You can access this by Command+Click in the ruler. It is now possible in each bar to avoid too long notes to be splitted when going over the barline

- Computer keyboard setting window can be resized. User-defined key sets can be saved and loaded. Key sets can be selected among pre-defined sets.

- Complete tuplet display. Enables for example to display "3:2" over a triplet instead of only "3". Tuplet bracket  display can be masked.

- Enables to tie a note with the adjacent rest in order to increase note duration.

- MP3 export: encoding quality setting (bitrate) from 32kbs to 320 kbs. The higher quality, the longer resulting file.

- Internet links in document info : Each author can specify, in "Title, composer, remarks...", his web page and e-mail addresses. Anyone that loads the document can connect this Webpage or send him an e-mail. This information is also displayed in the jukebox and enables to do the same.

- Full path in title : This can be set up in global setup window. The full path for the currently edited file is displayed in the window title bar. Command+click (Ctrl+click or right-click on PC) opens a menu that display the path elements. Select an element to open this folder on your desktop.

- Force a number of pages, a number of staff groups and a number of bar per row (Harmony only) : This can be set up through the page mode setup menu. Page setup is adjusted so that number of pages, number of staff groups and number of bars per row matches the required values. In some cases, the program won't be able to reach them exactly, and the closest possible values will be taken.

- Clef symbol size setting : Treble, bass or tenor clef symbol size can be adjusted.

- Grid drum staff : Number of grid elements per beat can be changed within the staff.

- Better tempo management. Tempo accuracy has been improved. Tempo values are more precise that 1 (you can for example specify a tempo of 100.25 quarter notes per minute). Loading or saving a midifile provides exact duration.

- Better accuracy in digital export. Digital export (WAV, AIFF, MP3...) provides a file with the exact duration. An option enables to add a few seconds at the end to let the last notes "die".
 
 

Minor improvements

- Global setup has been rewritten, and options have been sorted
- Click with the hammer on the ruler play the bars.
- For each tool palette, it is possible to decide whether the document will avoid to be overlapped by it or not (when maximizing   the document window)
- Now possible to activate/deactivate effect display on staff and/or its related tablature.
- Guitar effect palette : string numbers range is now 1 to 6
- Delete tool can be used to delete subdivisions of the chort grid.  (Harmony only)
- When the document uses fonts that are not installed on the system, an alert box tells it to the user. It can be disabled in global setup.
- Better graphical location adjustment for texts, graphics, chord diagrams, dynamics and effects. They can now be inserted on  bar margins. Movement is more accurate.
- New option for free objects : "display from page n to the end"
- Character '.' in file names.
- In page mode, when control handles are displayed, invisible clef, key or time signature changes are displayed in  light gray.(Harmony only)
- Better management for free texts on staves with lyrics
- Tied notes can be splitted by deleting the tie with the delete tool.
- Command+L (Ctrl+L on PC) toggles tying on and off
- Global setting for tie line width.
 

Fixes

- Soprano Ukulele tuning.
- Harmony : Lyrics displayed in Engraver mode.
- HA793a-05-648915 Windows : Problem when smoothed texts overlaps the bottom of the application window
- MA593a-05-57186A Communication problem with OMeR
- Fixed : Harmony : Effects on notes in accompaniment patterns
- Fixed : Midifile loading when tracks are empty
- Fixed : Menu bar issues when multiple dialog boxes are open and closed.
- HA793-8E-442FF7 : Editing operations in engraver mode
- Fixed : problems in music following box
- Instrument volume when exporting to Midifile now well calculated.
- Fixed : Selection range and copy/paste operations on multi-voice staves.
- HA793a-94-5e22b5 : Harmony : Note tying on the last bar in page mode.
- Harmony Assistant, page mode : issue when moving an object (text, ottava...) over the last barline.
 - Minor problems in menu enabling
- Problem after editing special settings of a staff rule
- Graphical artifact when adding a tie in smoothed mode.
- Better double-click management : double click on a note don't move it anymore
- Staves with lyrics automatic
- Automatic formating of staves with lyrics
- Titles justification in page mide and printing
- Macintosh : User instrument recording.
- Barline at end of line when repeat start in next bar
- Precise display of notes on grid drum staves
- Grid drum staff display in engraver mode

 Virtual Singer:
- Verse numbers are ignored by the singer.
- Note pressure time is taken into account.
 

Changes

- On Macintosh, very old 68k computers are not still supported.
- For technical reasons, registration codes are changed. New free codes are availabe here.
 
 

Sub-versions

Version  8.0.1
Windows version : start problems fixed

Version 8.0.2
Palette issues (MacOS X) fixed
Karaoke issues (Mac OS X) fixed
Out of date versions of Virtual Singer are detected
Current theme storing (Windows) fixed
Default values for digital output setup fixed
Default scale value in "Note display" tools fixed
Wheelmouse management (Windows)
User palette problem fixed
MIDI echo problem fixed
Control Handle problem in print preview fixed

Version 8.0.3
Interface problems fixed on Windows
Japanese Windows version problems fixed (fonts)
User instruments RLE encoding problem (clic at end) fixed
Freeze when music stops problem fixed on Mac OS X

Version 8.0.4
Add note according to rule : enharmonics problem fixed
Grace note positionning when note stem is down
Maximum number of notes in a chord set to 64 instead of 10 (because of some MIDIfiles)
Number of bars per line when multi-rest bars are present
Velocity-based rules : issues fixed
Palette updating after rule editing
Some window now open faster
Windows : master palette management issues fixed
Windows : color pictures in print preview, graphical export and printing
Windows : display size of some hierarchical menus

Version 8.0.5
Password protection : empty passwords are not allowed
Fixed : tempo change in plug-in
Sound resource file format saving under Mac OS X
2/4 and 1/4 time signature saving in ABC file format
Staff type change from regular staff to digital track
Sound loading when custom sounds are made directly from a sound in the database
Check box management for enabling some rotative buttons
Problems in the step-by-step MIDI input mode
Problem with editing tempo change when reference note is not a quarter
Unaccuracy in score tempo changes when general tempo is modified
Miscellaneous problems when moving tempo changes on score
Harmony Assistant : forcing number of bars per line : fixed
Problems for displaying accidentals on multi-voice staves
Tempo : mathematical unaccuracy, that can be heard above 4 mn when playing digital tracks
Default position for "part end" symbol (does not overlap the next bar anymore)
Windows : Hanging on some PCs : fixed
Windows : Pop-up menu for font selection sometimes incomplete
Windows : Selection range management in some editable fields
Windows : Theme seeking on some versions of Windows
Windows : Digital file export (WAV, AIFF or MP3) for very short or empty scores
Windows : Rotative button display in the simple mixer
Windows : Problems for loading some Jukebox files
Windows : Problems when using the "Time slider" palette while Jukebox is playing
Windows : Current bar number display in simple mixer
Windows : Crash when selecting "Print lyrics at the end" and no lyrics has been typed in
Windows : Page Mode : moving objects (dynamics, texts, graphics) outside the staff area
Windows : 8-bits user instrument storage in RLE packing
Windows : Crash when selecting some palettes from the master palette
Windows : Crash (rare) when closing a score, or quitting the program.

This version mainly improves editing speed and easiness.
Objects are pointed in a more accurate way, the help window is more detailed, and the mouse cursor shape is in perfect relation with the command to be performed.
Automatic page setup when loading a midifile has been drastically improved, and the screen font smoothing provides a nicer appearance, especially in the Harmony Assistant's page mode.
New effect and note head shapes are introduced. For example, "free text" effect is useful for relating a text to a note.
Rhythm creation has been made easier by providing a base of more that 200 predefined rhythm patterns.
On the Virtual Singer side, the first version of RealSinger technology is available. RealSinger enables you to define a Virtual Singer voice based on recordings of your own voice.
Many improvements from the Democratic Workshop have been implemented.

Interface :
- New mouse management : each action is explained by a different mouse pointer shape. Help window is more relevant.
- Texts and musical symbol smoothing on screen. It improves score viewing in page mode when scale is small. This can be disabled from Global Setup>Appearance
- When delete (lightning bolt) tool is selected, a selection range can be specified so that it whole content is erased.
- "Hammer" tool can be used to specify a screen area to be played.
- "Injector" tool can be used to specify a screen area in which notes are affected.
- Score object layers have been redefined. It eases, for example, moving or deleting a note when overlapped by a dynamics.
Layer order is now : effects, grace notes, accidentals, note heads, dynamics, chord diagrams, graphics then free objects.
- New command in Edit>Bar : Insert a bar at the end (Command or Ctrl + I). Adds quickly a bar at end of score.
- An incomplete bar (also called anacrusis, upbeat or pickup note) can be inserted quickly. Open the ruler menu or select "Edit>Bar>Insert incomplete bar".
- When moving an effect, grace note or accidental, the matching note is highlihted
- Note splitting can be deleted by clicking on the tie
- Keyboard shortcuts to play metronome, loop playing and selection playing.
- You can use special keys (Macintosh : Shift, Option / Windows : left shift, right shift) in keyboard shortcuts to multiply the number of available shortcuts.
- In the Harmony "Score" menu, a new sub-menu called "Page mode setup" enables to modify quickly the most common parameters of page setup. Because page mode reflects what will be printed, it also affect printing output.
- Effect palette. When you select the "Text" effect, a double click on the palette edit the text and its style.
- When you click on the icon used to change the staff editing mode (symbols, velocities, delais ...) with the shift key down, this affect all the selected staves. If no staves are selected, this affect all staves.

Music playing :
- When empty bars are displayed as a single bar, location in played score loops graphically on this bar.
- A Drum set is provided in the "Drums" folder.
To use this set, click on the "Preset" button while editing a Drum Matrix element (Harmony Assistant).
You can also import one of these files and copy/paste the staves into you document. To add your own drum model, save your file in the "Drums" folder.

Notation :
- Note effects : unlimited number on each note. Color and font can be selected individually.
- New effect : "character string" : you can link one or more short texts (max : 16 characters each) to each note. Each string color and font can be selected as needed.
- Special barlines (repeat ...) color can be selected individually.
- New note head shapes for drums. They appear in the note display tool palette.
- Staff names can be written on several lines
- Abbreviated staff name. If an abbreviated name is defined in the staff display box, it is used on all staff groups other than the first one on printed score.
- Keyboard shortcut printing also prints the available Command (Ctrl) + keys.
- In the appearance section of the general setup you can define the break symbol barline width.
- New attribute for the rest : invisible rest.

Files :
- Improveddisplay of loaded MIDI files
- Accidentals are moved to avoid overlapping when loading a MIDI file.
- Alert box that warns a file has been modified and not saved (can be activated in Global Setup>Save) enables now to save the file directly.
-To quicklyimport instruments from another documents, select "Instruments>Import instruments". You will be able to select one instrument or more and import them in your tune. With this feature you can create you own instrument set. Some special set are provided on the Myriad CDROM, "Special Stuff" folder.
- Automatic Jukebox list build now accepts .kar files

MIDI output :
- Advanced Midi setup window enables to send external Sync (MTC) events, to synchronize MIDI devices that manage this protocol.

Virtual Singer :
- First Real Singer version.  Real Singer allow you to use your own voice. Predefined voices will be available soon on the Virtual Singer web page. You can record you voice and send us the file.
- In the Virtual Singer palette a progress bar show you the computed voice (in green), the total duration to compute (blue) and the already played duration (yellow). If the position in the tune reach the computed position, the voice will stop and the progress bar is displayed in red. In this case decrease the slider value.

Fixes :
- Master palette : sub-palettes are no more opened outside screen
- OMeR connection
- Staff symbol size now also affects the text that displays number of empty bars.

Mac OS X.1 update :
- Preferences in the application menu
- "Help" menu has been set up
- MIDI IN echo
- Speed enhancement

Note: If you are using Mac OS X.1 or X.1.1 the send mail feature and automatic update won't work. This is a bug in Mac OS X. Apple tells this bug will be fixed soon.

Windows Update :
- Fixed real-time Midi input timing
- Successfully tested under Windows XP
- Font smoothing is available according to your version of Windows (from Windows 95+Windows Plus to Windows XP)
- Myriad Music plug-in : included patch to make it work under Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 and IE 6.
- Dialog boxes and buttons redrawn to be more compatible with the current Windows look and feel
- Default dialog box and menu fonts chosen according to the OS (MS Sans Serif for Windows 95 & 98, Tahoma for Windows 2K and
more).
- Speed enhancements

Version 7.9.1, 5.9.1 :
- Documentation corrections
- Miscellaneous translations
- Correction : engraver mode.
- Correction : volume display on mixer while loading file with voices.
- Correction : notes setup while document playing
- Correction : shifting singer backward in the VS palette
- HA 8E-5897C9 : Digital track normalise
- HA 05-44431A : Full bar icon display.
- HA 90-5F23C0 : Engraver mode computation
- HA 94-500761: Lyric line editing
- MA 05-594c01 : Progress bar in VS palette
- MA 90-51FBBB : Problem when loading some files
- Windows : Note head display problem in graphical export and MMPlug
- Windows :  Wheel mouse problem fixed
- Macintosh : New compile option (Generic PPC) to try to fix a problem with the very old Power Mac (PPC 601)

Version 7.9.2 :
- Correction:  locating notes with inverted head in chord .
- Correction :  managing documents generated by OMeR in evaluation mode.
- Correction :  RMTF loading
- Correction :  Stem height while MSF loading
- Correction :  graphical problem while moving bar line
- Correction :  lyrics scrolling while recording in Karaoke mode.
- Windows 98 :  Problem of missing characters with HP printer fixed
- Add : Harmony page mode, double click on a header or footer edit it.

Version 7.9.3 :
- Various buffer overflow issues in ABC file format import
- m592-05-040b1be / h792-05-004017a1 : crash when playing tune using Virtual Singer after having exported it in midifile format
- Windows : problem for exiting from "crash trap" window
- m592-05-0445daf / h792-05-00567848 : Problem when importing a staff that is part of a multi-voice staff.
- Problem in triplet grouping when triplet notes are part of a chord
- Problem in triplet grouping when adjacent notes are dotted
- Macintosh : Moving palettes on multi-screens
- Undo "Import staves"
- Lyrics in some MIDI files
- Targeted note in some scores when engraver mode is on.
- Windows : Adobe EPS (epsf) Export
- Time slider problem fixed
 

New :

- Engraver mode is now available in Harmony Assistant. In engraver mode, notes are no more spaced by a distance that is proportional to their duration : score display is nicer.
- Free objects are a new type of text, graphics or score object that can be embedded anywhere on page.
- Batch file processing. A new option in the Jukebox action meny enables to apply graphical changes to all files in the list according to a template. (Harmony only)
- Smart positionning for staff name. Staff names can be moved horizontally and vertically on page. Can be adjusted either by editing graphical parameters, or in page mode (Harmony only) by clicking and dragging the name.
- In Harmony page mode, when control handles are masked, clicking and dragging Title, composer and remarks moves them on page.
- PICT export improvement (Windows version)
- New option in Global Setup, "Midi" index : Midi channel conflicts can be solved automatically when saving file.
- Virtual Singer : English diphthongs transition improvement, other miscellaneous improvements.
- When chord grid ot lyrics are printed alone, a header and footer are now added to the page.
- EPS export : embedded graphics are now properly exported, in colour.
- New chapters in user manual : Engraver mode, free objects, batch processing, microtonal adjustments, alternate tuning

Fixes :

- Lyrics in Midifiles, type 1 and 0.
- Specific problems under Mac OS X.
- Dynamics when moved from one staff to another
- Virtual Singer : interference problems from a singer to another, and loss of sync.
- Virtual Singer : microtonal adjustments provide now the same frequency as when applied to an unsung note.
- Tempo management (and simultaneous use of tempo change and fermata effect)
- Problems when moving bar number line.

v.7.8.1/5.8.1 :

- Harmonica tablatures - fixed
- Colour and display of vertical lines on staff.
- Break/Repeat symbols colour

v.7.8.2/5.8.2

- New look and feel for Master Palette
- New option for "Edit>Action" : "Apply phrasing". This option applies a selectable pressure time according to slur symbols on score. It enables for example to apply reed instrument phrasing.
- Now possible to cancel changes applied to notes appearance
- When editing staff display parameters, effect on score can be previewed.
- New parameter for stringed instrument tablature calculation : penalty for unused string in a chord. It avoids several consecutive strings on a same chord are separated by a string that must not bne used.
- Fixed : file loading when including a lute tablature
- Fixed : Barline width.

Program update for Mac OS X.1
- MIDI in and out management. (Ensure you are using X.1 and that your MIDI drivers are designed for this version)
- Access to manual from the program.
- Printing tests.
- Help on menu items
- Folder selecting in digital preferences.
 

New :

Harmony Assistant  7.7.3 - Melody Assistant 5.7.3, August 24 2001

- Melody player : digital output setup is now properly saved
- Symbol change parameter dialog box : keeps values when panel changes
- Grace note panel enhancement
- New keyboard shortcuts : page up,down, left and right
- Multiple Fermata problem fixed.
- (Harmony only) Street organ filter : octave shifting option for unresolvable notes
- Page mode : shows ghost rests when contol handles are displayed
- "Change ghost rest in rest" is now available from the "Staves" menu and can be applied to several staves
- Multirests can be splitted : Command+Click (right-click) on the ruler provides a new menu option.
- File>Information menu is now divided in chapters
- File>Information>Staves locates and displays incomplete bars (bars with notes and ghost rest)
- Fix : page mode when no printer is selected.
- Fix : Print and page mode,  bracket and braces on merged staves group
- You can now reduce the height of a staff below the second lyric line

Harmony Assistant  7.7.2 - Melody Assistant 5.7.2, August 6 2001

- Cautionary accidental without parenthesis.
- Graphics on staves.
- Tempi improvement
- Slur and tuplet on rests

Harmony Assistant 7.7.1 - Melody Assistant 5.7.1, 3rd of August, 2001

- Stem direction on tablature
- Symbol change : effect setup.

Editing

• New look and feel for selected symbol appearance change. Now an effect can be added to all notes, a given effect type can be deleted or its location changed, break symbol text style can be modified, etc. Changes apply to the selection range.
• Harmony only : These changes can apply only to the notes in the selection range which match a given pitch criterium. For example "C, D, G" to affect all C, D and G notes in the selection range, "C3-A3" to affect all notes of third octave, etc. A pitch shift value can be applied to these notes.
• Edit>Action menu : global change of selected slur direction.
• Harmony only : Pressure time and delay can be edited directly on score. The staff contextual menu granted access to graphical editing of notes velocity. Now it also enables to edit pressure time and delay. For each note appears an horizontal blue line, which shows the beginning of the note (delay) and its end (pressure time). Click this line to change these values.
• When a transposing instrument is applied to a staff, and this instrument is also used in another staff, the instrument is duplicated and only its copy is affected.

• Chord diagrams for any stringed instruments (Bass, Dulcimer, Banjo, Mandoline, etc)
• Arpeggio effect to arpeggiate a chord (from loud to treble or treble to loud)
• New staff graphical attribute : free notation. In free notation, barlines are not displayed anymore, and notes which go over a barline are not splitted.
• Now possible to disable printing of vertical lines at the extreme left and right of each staff line on page.
• Now possible to disable rest display on a staff : mainly useful for masking rests on merged staves.
• Fine adjustment of symbols size in staff display settings.
• Fine adjustment of extra lines when a note is displayed above or below the staff regular lines.
• Accidental can be displayed between parenthesis (generally used for cautionary accidentals)

• Negative note delay, note can be played before its theorical time position.
• Marks : Mezzo staccato, Staccatissimo, Marcato tenuto, Marcato staccato, Martelato tenuto, Martelato staccato, Staccattissimo tenuto and Staccattissimo martelato are interpreted.
• New parameters for rules.
• Microtonal pitch adjustment (new templates)
• Commas fine pitch adjustment
• Macintosh only : Now possible to disable the alert box saying music cannot be played correctly (Configuration>Global setup>Play)

• Multiple backup copies (Configuration>Global setup>Save). Several successive versions of your music files can be kept on hard disk (.BAK extension).

You then keep automatically all versions of your work.
• Default instrument when loading an ABC file can be defined (Configuration>Global setup>Load)

• Overblow and overbend on priority Harmonica tablatures.
• Digital export in 8 bits, mono : data loss has been fixed.
• Chord diagrams in chord line on first bar.
• Multiple page printing.
• We changed our Web server the 1st of July, 2001. It made the automatic update and automatic e-mail features not to work anymore. This has been fixed in this new version.

 

New :

•  First version of the Myriad Music Plug-In to publish music scores on the Web.
•  Jukebox  HTML export : export for the Myriad Music Plug-In. A dedicated chapter in the manual explains this.
•  Note Echo. Now immediate. When dragging a note, or moving mouse cursor over  the score, note sound is heard. A new tab index in the Global Setup enables to configure this feature.
• "Time slider" palette to go quickly to a given position in the music piece.
• Moving and resizing several objects at the same time. When several objects are selected, either by individual selecting or by area, moving or resizing an object with Shift key depressed propagates the change to all other selected objects of the same type.
•  Changing stem length of a note in the selection range with Shift key down applies this length to all other notes in the selection range.
• Sound database can be selected in "Configuration" menu, which enables to test your pieces with different sound bases.
• Score menu : Fast Transpose.
• Edit>Action menu : All stems up, all stems down.
• Printing options : justify last system.
• Option to display bar number after the key signature.

Improvements :

• Proxy management for sending e-mails and automatic update (Macintosh)
• New way of finding default web browser (Macintosh)
• Keyboard shortcuts for Fast Transpose and Stem direction change.

First Carbon version for Mac OS 8, 9 et X
 

The program has been tested with CarbonLib 1.2.5 (OS 8.6, 9.0 & 9.1)  and Mac OS X (10.0.2)
Some slight issues can be encountered. They are probably due to the fact MacOS X and the Carbon Library are not really completed by Apple.
We wish the next versions of MacOS X will be more stable, faster and at least that the following issues will be fixed.
Here is then the list of what you do not need to report to our technical support :
- OS X, Impossible to open directly manual files with IE . (LaunchUrl does not accept a local file as parameter)
- OS X, Scroll bar overlaps its arrows in some cases (GetThemeScrollBarTrackRect wrongly implemented in the system)
- OS X, Icons placement in Finder windows : Finder management by AppleScript partially implemented.
- OS X, Impossible to select parameters in digital input setup (not implemented)
- OS X, no hardware Midi management : not managed by the system.

Fixes :

• Fixed : issues when transposing in minor keys. Key signature change window has been improved.
• Gregorian staves editing : unwanted program terminations have been fixed.
• Printing : problem when printing a page range (from n to m) fixed.
• Minimal distance between lyrics now works properly.
• Edit chords as text muted the related staff. Fixed.
• At the end of Virtual Singer processing,  it sometimes displayed "ReadFlux : read error " and other messages. Fixed.
• Crash when moving notes on tempo staff. Fixed.
• When a staff with lyrics included many lyrics lines, which overlapped the next staff, it was not possible to edit notes on this next staff. Priority have been changed to enable editing.
• Rule names were not printed.
• It was not possible to setup staff lines on a staff with rules (crash & error message). Fixed.
• Start/stop of Midi input through the keyboard shortcut did not work.
• Windows : at several places in the software, accented characters display has been fixed. (info/miscellaneous editing/Page footer...)
• Windows 2000 & NT : Japanese font seeking has been fixed.

Macintosh. Japanese characters display should now be fixed. On Japanese versions of MacOS, use now "Launch Japanese version" to start the software from a  Japanese system.

New features :

Page mode (Harmony only)
• Page mode for editing the score.
• Screen resolution (DPI) can be adjusted.
• In page mode, icons at bottom of the document window provide shortcuts to page setting, zoom or displayed page number
• In magnifying glass mode, mouse click with Alt key depressed enable to slide the display area.

Chord line
• New management for chords related to a staff. Now they can be edited.
• Chords related to a staff can now be played automatically along with the music (Harmony only)

Tablature
• Diatonic Accordion Tablature (Harmony only)
• Priority can be set to Harmonica tablature. It is now possible to enter a harmonica tablature directly (without having to deal with the regular music notation).
• Dots for dotted notes on a guitar tablature are now displayed beside the stem, which is more standard.
• Pop-up menu related to a note (in priority guitar tablatures) includes the automatic search for other fingering for this note.
• New display options for tablatures : stems above or below the staff, rest display or not.

Display
• Staff lines display can be adjusted. One-line staves can be created.

Actions
• Staff can be split according to stems direction
• In "Edit" menu, a menu option called "Align" enable to align selected objects.
• Shift + click (right mouse button on PC) on a note, opens a menu to change quickly note features.
• New action in the popup menu related to the note : double stem.
• New menu : duplicate staff.

Editing
• If the shift key is down when you change a bar length, all the bars of the score are changed
• When you add a new staff to the score, the staff is inserted after the selection range, so you can insert a staff in the middle of the score.
• When more than one staff is selected when you change a staff height, all the selected staff are changed.
• If the shift key is down when you change a staff height, all the heigths of the score are changed.

Printing
•Default page header and footer in "Printing"  tab of global setup. This header and footer are used while creating a new document, or when loading a file other than .MUS, as MID, ABC, etc.

Display
• Title for lyrics line.
• New management for Fermata.
• When defining the graphic appearance of the staff, minimal distance between syllables can now be set.
• Global setup>Fonts : pop-up meny font can be selected (font, size, style)
• For each graphics on score, can now select whether background must be erased or not.
• In the menu of the staff you can now ask for hiding all objects : text, graphics, effects, dynamics

Editing
• New mini-icons in the staff margin : rules editing and chord line settings.
• New keyboard shortcut for enabling/disabling MIDI note-by-note input. Enables to play your MIDI keyboard without inserting notes on score.
• When you add a grace note to the score, the default values are set to the last grace note edited.
• Starting octave has been changed.

Printing
 • Lyrics printed at the end of the score : it is now possible to specify another style for displayed and printed lyrics. Click on the lyrics area in page mode or in the print preview.

Miscellaneous
 • Manual has been reorganized.
• New document background pictures.
• New action on selection range : Edit>Actions>Change notes to rests.
• New version of the Classical Jukebox (CD-ROM only) with a wide set of classical guitar pieces.
• New management for parts
• New management for automatic beaming.
 

• "!" characters are now ignored while loading an ABC file
• Fix : chord diagrams were in some cases, substituted by equivalent diagrams. It won't occur anymore : it will keep the diagram you inserted.
• ABC format : chord grid related to the staff is now loaded and saved.
• MIDI loading :  SysEx skipping has been fixed, loading has been sped up, and big size musics are now managed better.
• 12-holes chromatic harmonica tuning has been fixed.
• Problems with undo and modified document indicator have been fixed.

- Fixes on language resources (item shifts, help line)
- Staff lines Load and save
- Error messages while starting program fixed.

Sub version 7.5.2:

 - "Play" palette status is now ok after a digital track input.
  - Street Organ printing, new starting octave, minor fixes.
  - Drum grids : copy/paste  problems fixed.
  - Digital tracks : copy/paste, undo/redo problems fixed.
  - Tablature : popup  problems fixed.
  - Key change  problems fixed.
  - Tablature computation improvement : negative penalty give a better result.
  - Key change, dialog box change.
  - New option to hide/show palettes.
   - Shortcuts on palette menu.
  - Selection range after selecting a key signature : fixed
  - Digital track mark improvement
  - Velocity range on selection : fixed.

Sub version 7.5.3:

 - Window version : Band in a Box file loading fix.
  - Window version : Street organ editing fix.
  - Selecting notes fixes.
  - Spanish language fixes.
 

Sub version 7.5.4:

  - Mac OS 9.1 integrity problem fixed
  - Workaround for HP Laserjet bugged drivers on Windows 2000.
  - ABC load and save fixes.
  - Dimmed palettes problem fixed.
  - Keyboard shortcut on protected files
  - Play music improvement on Windows 2000/NT
 

• Virtual Singer 1.2
New languages : Italian, Finnish and Japanese (Romaji transcription).
French pronunciation of conjugated verbs ending with "-ai" has been fixed.
Some phonemes have been improved.
 
 

New :
• New break symbols management . Breal symbols tool palette has been splitted into two : a tool palette with all the barlines (repart start, repeat end, piece start, piece end, bold line, etc.) and another tool palette with parts, jumps and targets.
User manual has been completed to explain the way these new break symbols work. (N.B: old files are automatically converted to the new notation.)

• New jumps and targets : Segno, Coda, jump to coda,  Da Capo , Da segno ... All these symbols of jump and target are available and interpreted. Display and way of playing for these symbols can be modified. It is now possible to set finely their graphical location on score.

• New printing module :

- Clef at the beginning of each line is optional
- Jumps and targets can be printed on each staff or only on the first one.
- Empty bars can be replaced by a single one with a multi-rest
- Number of empty bars required to be replaced can be selected
- In a staff group, empty staves can be not printed
- When a whole group is empty, it can be not printed.
- Staff groups can be distributed vertically on printed page.
- Minimal distance between staff groups can be selected.
- Title, composer and remarks for a piece can be moved on the first page : click and drag their area in the print preview.
- Command (Ctrl) +'0' sets the print preview zoon to 100%
- Command (Ctrl) + '+' and Command (Ctrl) + '-' increases and decreases the zoom factor.
- In print preview, drag the control handles (little red & blue triangles) to change staves and bars size. Control handle display can be deactivated..

• Graphical export in BMP format.

• Export and import in RMTF (Rich Midi Tablature Format). This format allows exchanges with Tablature Programs like Tabledit, Tabazar, GuitarPro.

• New scrolling mode : when music is played, score display can be centered on the middle of the window (See Global Setup>Play)

• You can now define the document default background color   (See Global Setup>Appearance)

• From the print preview, page(s) can be exported in several graphical formats : EPS, Adobe-specific EPS,Window Meta File, Pict, BMP...
Important note: When exporting a page from the print preview, size and number of dot per inches is the one of your printer. If you want to export pages with another paper size or resolution, use "File>Graphical export".

• A new entry in the barlines palette enables to reset the barline to its standard value. (N.B. it is still possible to go back to the standard barline by deleting the current barline with the delete -bolt- tool)

• Virtual Singer : new language  : Spanish

Improvements :
• Tab text files loading : Unix text format is now recognized.
• Midi loading :

- new method for finding the most appropriate clef for a staff
- staves are now loaded in the same order as they are stored in a file (except for Karaoke files, in which the sung staff is always displayed at the document top)
- Staff names are better searched.

New :
• Virtual Singer plug-in. The Virtual Singer make your computer sing the lyrics.
• You can now edit the sliders values. Clic on the value displayed and change the value with the keyboard. Hit "Enter" or "Esc" to exit this mode. Use TAB to go to the next slider.
• Icon editing : PICT and BMP file inport
• Karaoké mode : When repeat symbols are enclosing a chorus part, it is not necessary to write a line of lyrics for each time this part is played. If no lyrics are written on a line, texts of the line above are played again.

Enhancements :
• New Harmonica tablature display.
• New Export EPS compatible with the recent Adobe products (Illustrator 8 and Photoshop 5.5)

Fixes :
• Automatic scrolling while lyrics editing.
• Deleting empty staves don't remove anymore the digital tracks.
• ABC Load : key changes, part repeat, beams...
 

New :
• New fasola (shape notes) notation : Walker, Funk and Johnson
• Street organ filter : notes can be now colorized (Harmony only)
• You can now add an ABC file to the Jukebox, all tunes included in the file will be played. In the Jukebox, ABC tunes are played with a Piano sound. You can change this setup by editing the "ABC.mus" file ("Data" folder)
You can drag and drop files from the desktop to the jukebox window.
• Karaoke windows setup is now saved.
• New chord calculation : chords can be searched from outside the current key signature.
• When loading a karaoke Midi file, the most probable staff for the sung part is proposed.

Enhancements :
• Speed.
• When editing bar size with "change bar widths", all selected bars of the score are changed.
• Key signature enhancement
• Problems in defining a custom digital instrument are fixed.
 
 

New :
• New digital sound bases, with an enhanced quality.
• A default effect processor can be defined for each digital instrument.
• Empty bars can be merged into only one while printing.
• SoundFont format (*.sf2) instrument import
• In the complete mixer, activity, volume or panning of all staves can be set at the same time : click with the Shift key down.
• Lowest and highest note search in the whole score or the selection range. (See "Edit>Search" menu)
• New module in effect processor : Equalizer
• Advanced Midi output settings : Midi events sent to each Midi output can be filtered.

Enhancements :
• New (nicer) mouse pointer management
• Monaural MP3 encoding now supported.
• Spanish version updated.
• Empty document creation when program starts can be disabled.
• Implicit transposition of regular notation in tablatures.
• New transposition options in transposing instruments.
• New 'scroll tune' mode : the music scroll now in background
• Kar files with multi-lyrics loading and saving
• New accidental mode: when a note is added the accidental is automaticaly disabled. You can select this mode in 'Configuration>General Setup>Edit>One shot accidental'
• New articulations : Marcato, Pause, Grand Pause, Heel Pedal
• New palette : Master Palette, open and close quickly the others palettes.
• Digital post-processing : compressor (AGC) enhanced

Fixes :
• Editing problems
• Printing problems
• ABC loading
 
 

• Internet connection. Directly from the program you can send us an e-mail, go to our web page or update the program.
• Digital Tracks. You can add digital audio tracks recorded from an audio CD or a microphone to your documents.
• New MIDI Input. You can input MIDI from your MIDI keyboard in real-time while music playing.
• MP3 format import and export.
• New mixer palette.
• Documentation search by keywords
• Document background pattern, selection color and lines widths.
• Notes stem height, accidental position, rest position can be changed directly on the score
• Graces notes can be added, deleted, edited directly on the score

Harmony 6.3 - Melody 4.3 (December 99)

Enhancements :

• Digital effects processor can be applied anywhere on score : reverb, flanger, chorus, wah, overdrive...
• Palette settings can be loaded and saved.
• User palette can be loaded and saved.
• MIDI output can now be synchronized with digital output : you can use these two kind of output at the same time.
• Copy and Erase operations can ignore objects other than notes and rests.
• Fine general tempo adjustment
• Selective staves import from another music file.

New for Melody Assistant :

• MIDI output is now available on Macintosh. Please refer to the OMS documentation for more details about how it works.
• Simple MIDI note input is available on Melody (Configuration>Edit keyboard). MIDI sequence direct input is reserved to Harmony Assistant.
• Two new palettes MIDI monitor and MIDI keyboard, to follow the MIDI output status, see in real-time the keyboard fingering or enter notes from the virtual keyboard.

Improvements :

• New management for digital output. Supports now more accurate settings, for example master tuning (440Hz A) or response speed.
• 3 MIDI devices can be connected at the same time. Each MIDI output can be resynchronized : a delay can be set for each MIDI output.
• When selecting a note duration, dot is deactivated.
• On a tablature staff, semitone shifting changes cell numbers.
• Now possible to merge several staves with lyrics.
• Pause button in Karaoke window.
• Multi-screen management on Macintosh.

Main fixes :

• ABC loading : key signatures, slurs.
• Copy-paste on several staves in a row.

Harmony 6.2.2 - Melody 4.2.2 (November 29, 1999)

Improvements :

• First version of the stand-alone player : Melody Player
• Lyrics text input improvement.

Fixes :

• Midi input fixed.

Harmony 6.2.1 - Melody 4.2.1 (November 23, 1999)

Enhancements :
• New management of dash/underline in lyrics

Fixes :
• Problem w/ variable width bars : fixed
• Problem w/ staff group editing : fixed
• Non-matching menu help texts : fixed
• Problem w/ tempo change while playing music : fixed
• Noise at the end of some digital exports : fixed
• Problems w/ Macintosh 68K code : fixed

Harmony 6.2 - Melody 4.2 (November 15 1999)

• New display mode for bar numbers.
• Multi-voice staves.

Harmony 6.1 - Melody 4.1 (November 1999)

Many important changes and new capabilities in this version !

• clef and signature changes anywhere on score,
• new kind of clefs,
• new palette for dynamics,
• new MIDI loading,
• new palette for tempo and ottava,
• gregorian notation
• tablatures for baroque instruments...

• New Clefs/Signatures :

A new palette, Clef / Signatures, provides three new tools : clef change, key signature change and time signature change.
For each Clef / Signature change, you can select  :

Clef shape : Treble, Bass or C

Line offset : from -5  to +5 lines

Octave offset : 15mb,8vb,8va,15ma

Key signature : for each scale degree, you can specify an accidental.

Each element can be displayed or not.

A dedicated documentation is provided.

Key display can now be relative to the previous key signature according to three working modes.

Delete tool can delete individually clef, key or time signature.

For example, it's now possible to start a staff with a treble key, and to change to bass clef some bars later.

You can insert Dynamics anywhere on score. A Dynamics changes notes velocity (strngth). A new tool has been created, and a dedicated documentation is provided.

You can insert an octave offset (Ottava) anywhere on score.  This octave offset modifies notes pitch.
A new tool has been created, and a dedicated documentation is provided.

You can insert an tempo change (rough or smooth change) anywhere on score.
A new tool has been created, and a dedicated documentation is provided.

Pedal on and off indicators are not linked to notes anymore. You can now insert them anywhere on score, even where there is no note.

•Gregorian notation, with specific tool palette and menu options. Examples are provided, as well as a dedicated documentation.

• New Models (Templates) management : selection window shors a list of templates sorted by theme. You can add very easily your own templates by using File>Export>Model.

• Brackets and Braces (systems and groups) are displayed on screen and can be modified directly.

• Lute Tablature (baroque notation)

• New symbols for classical guitar notation.

• Appalachian (mountain) Dulcimer Tablature

• New parameters for defining a user fretted strings instrument.

Tablature calculation now manages instruments with one or more shorter strings (like banjo).
Tablature now enables several notes of same pitch played in a single chord.

• Object select : a new "Edit" menu option enables to select the whole objects of a given type (graphics, chord diagrams, texts, dynamics...) to cut or erase globally.

• New help system : A new little icon for acessing the right chapter in the software manual has been added to main dialog boxes.

Improvements :
• ABC loading and saving
• Graphical enhancement of notes beaming
• New printing module
• Classical staff can be displayed with a tablature staff.
• New chapters in documentation.
• Staff name display and printing can be set up individually.
• States of various palettes are kept when quitting and running the application again.

Main fixes :
• File creation date has been fixed.
• MOD file loading fixed (was truncating some files).

New :
• Digital Export in MPEG (MP3) format
• Connection with OMeR, (printed score optical recognition)
• Multi-instrument staves : until now, only one instrument could be related to a given staff. Now, several instruments can be used in a single staff. To do this, rules can be defined in the staff, to link instruments to notes according to the note head's shape, note pitch or color. (Staff menu>Edit rules). For example, it enables creating standard drum staves.
• Standard drum staves
• "Humanize" tool has been enhanced and enables to apply Jazz swing.
• User's manual has been rewritten to be more user-friendly. It's now provided in hypertext (HTML format)

Improvements :
• Import and Export menus have been reorganized.
• ABC Format : Loading and saving of multi-staff documents.
• Unregistered version of the software enables to export the beginning of the tune.
• In print preview and graphical export, page view zoom can be selected. Zoom can be changed with keys Command (Ctrl) '+', Command (Ctrl) '-' and Command (Ctrl) '0'
• Mice with scroller (Wheelmouse PC) are managed by the program.
• Accidental can be forced. A forced accidental (or precaution accidental) is displayed even when not necessary.
• Lyrics can be centered under the note on score. (Select 'Justify center' in lyrics editing in the staff's menu)
• Note accidentals can be deleted with the delete tool.
• New parameters in grace note display : crossed single note, several duration, horizontal beaming, optional tie symbol display. It will be useful for bagpipers !
• Improvement of playing progression bar accuracy, of Karaoke fine location and level display in mixer.
• It's now possible to select a stem direction definitely (can't be recalculated unless specifically asked)

Main fixes :
• Karaoke loading problems fixed.
• Some help texts corrected.
• Street organ filter doesn't process tempo staff anymore.
• Long character strings saving in MIDI format has been fixed.
• Double-bar is now well printed when at the end of line.
• Tempo now saved in MIDI0 format.
• Some drum staves stored in Midifiles are now loaded well.
• Problems of tune loop when a "tune start" break symbol is present now fixed.
• An unwanted empty bar was sometimes added at the end of the tune when printing. Fixed.
• Graphics and chord diagrams were shifted when printing. Fixed.

Spanish version :
Yannick Marchegay translated for you the whole software and documentation in Spanish.

Improvements :
Dotted notes are displayed on tablatures when duration display is selected.
Juke-box window is now resizeable.
It's now possible to indent on printed score the first group of staves on the first page.

Fixes :
Problem with part start/end break symbols is fixed.
Problems of printing while some key changes are present on the score are fixed.
"Mandolin" sound can now be used.
Jukebox list HTML export : special characters in filenames are processed.

First Japanese version :
The J-Team, under the direction of Rj, has just completed the Japanese translation : user's manual and software are entirely translated in Japanese.
Some advice however :
To make the Japanese version run properly, a Japanese font must be installed first on your system ("MS Gothic" font or any other Japanese Unicode font). For space and copyright purposes, we can't include these fonts into the software. However you can download the "MS Gothic" font on the Microsoft site (this font is included into a Japanese language add-on for Microsoft Internet Explorer).
If you create Karaoke files with Japanese texts, you must always read these files in Japanese language, or some unrequired character translation may occur.
Improvements :
Now possible to insert free texts on staves with lyrics.
Effects associated to a note can now be displayed on the left and on the right of the note. Their offset can be selected on both horizontal and vertical axis.
New font identifier processing in texts, to improve font matching from a computer to another.
Display :
You can now select the font you want to be displayed in the program's menu bar and dialog boxes.
Go to "Configuration>Global setup", "Misc" thumb index.
Break symbols : shape and text display can be activated or deactivated individually.
Fixes :
Some problems of cut/paste from or to a tablature staff are now fixed.
Compatibility :
To allow the program to manage non GM/GS synthesizers (for example Yamaha XG series) "bank" numbers have been extended to 16 bits. If you want to use a given non GM/GS MIDI instrument, read your synthesizer's user manual, and find the three values "program change", "bank MSB" and "bank MSB" matching this instrument.
Then, under the program :

• Relate "Midi" output device to all your instruments
• Switch your instrument in "non-standard" (user) mode
• In the "Program" field enter the "program change" value plus 1
• In the "Bank" field, enter the value : "bank LSB" x 128 + "bank MSB"

Printing :
It's now possible to define page header and footer, with specific margins, text inserting, date, time, file name, page number and total number of pages.
There are several printing setup by document, so that score printing, graphical export and street organ cards can be configured independently.
New "Print" menu and new ergonomics : print preview is accessed directly and printing options (margins, printer setup) can then be accessed from the print preview.
A new font (SToccata) is now installed. It should solve some graphical export problems and bring several new characters.
Confidentiality :
It's now possible to protect document loading, saving, modifying, export and printing.
You'll be able, for example, to build a file readable and playable by everyone, but which can only be printed, modified or saved by yourself. ("File>Protect")
Chord diagrams :
It's now possible to define chord diagrams for guitar, bass, lute, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, balalaika, domra, etc. and this for any tuning.
Chord diagrams for each instrument can be saved in a separate file. If you build a chord base, send it to us, so that it can be proposed by default to other users.
Display :
Notes on a staff can be displayed in format "4 Shape Note", "7 Shape Note Aiken" and "7 Shape Note Swan". This mode can be activated in the staff display configuration.
Note head shapes change depending on the note height (fundamental, third, fifth…). This mode is used by singers to ease the score reading by newbies.
New head shapes have been added and are available in the matching palette.
Effects display is nicer, thank to the new "SToccata" font.
Bar number display can be configured for each staff : text style, frequency, frame.
Ergonomics :
The main "Staff" menu grants now a quick access to several staff specific features : display mode, division, tablature …
Menu option "File>Print" is now hierarchical and enables to print score, lyrics, chord diagrams…
New menu : Edit>Actions>Change delay
Street organ cards (Harmony only):
The new page header and footer definition eases greatly street organ card printing while using continuous stationery, which becomes the default printing mode.
Please note that card printing setup (footer, margins, active staves, etc.) is now independent from the document's.
Dialog box sequence has been improved to ease switching from organ setup to card print preview.
To apply a street organ filter to the whole score, select "Apply filter" in the "Score" menu.
To apply the filter to an individual staff, select "Apply filter" in the contextual staff menu.
In order to help the user to track punches when printing organ cards, note color is used for the punch.
A documentation add-on for creating organ cards is available on the Myriad Web site and on the Myriad Products CD-ROM. (In French only).
Fixes :
TAB import and export improvement.
When changing scale or printing with justified bar, chord diagrams and graphics are now correctly set.
Graphical exports :
On PC, graphical exports have been tested on :
Word 97 :      Reading, editing and printing of PICT, WMF and EMF exports.

Graphical export improvement :
EPS export has been considerably improved, the "Toccata" font is now "encapsulated" in the exported file.
All musical symbols are exported, printing precision can be chosen from 40 to 1200 DPI, page dimension is given in millimeters, and margins can be applied.
New language :
Complete German version is integrated.
Cosmetic changes :
Tune playing location line has been enhanced.
New pop-up menus appearance.
Lyrics lines have been moved closer.
ASCII TAB files :
Loading and saving in ASCII tablature file format (.TAB) can be performed for any fretted instrument.
Lyrics are exported and imported too, as well as effects related to notes.
Ergonomics :
When into a dialog box, tune can be started and stopped by hitting Ctrl-M.
It's now possible to insert or delete a bar directly from the bar pop-up menu (Ctrl-click on the ruler)
Printing :
Harmony Assistant - Chord grid printing improvement : frames are not printed anymore, and chords are printed on their right place.
Bugs :
Braces printing problems have been fixed.
Complete staff selection problems fixed.
ABC file operations improved.

        . Printing scale setup
        . ABC loading improvement
        . Custom Harmonicas definition for tablatures
        . New note coloring dialog box

        . Italian version

. Note effects :
effects are now played (in digital output mode) and can be finely adjusted. A tune file is provided to show most of these effects : "Effects.mus".
In this version, effects can only be played on digital output. A next version will include capabilities of playing, loading and saving in MIDI format.
. New lyrics processing :
Entering lyrics for a tune is now easier : texts can now be typed below the staff they are linked with. Since any staff can be linked to lyrics, there might be several karaoke staves in a document : the Karaoke display window shows then several scrolling lines. For more information, read the new chapter in the documentation file.
. Karaoke scrolling staff :
It's now possible to make the notes to be sung scrolling, just like the Karaoke text.
. Tremolo and Vibrato parameters
have been added to each digital instrument. There are default values for these parameters, but they can also be adjusted by the composer.
. Jukebox :
a jukebox is now available (File menu) to make several tune play one after the other.
. New effects have been added :
        - Commas
        - Delay before the note to play arpeggios
        - Slided slurs
And also :
- Note parameters edit window have been redefined with thumb indexes.
- Midi savings have been corrected
- Commentaries associated to the document can now be much more longer
- Text and lyrics editing has been improved : Search/Replace, Undo...
 

New tablatures for Harmonica :
It's now possible to calculate automatically a tablature for harmonica.
You can choose the harmonica type (diatonic, chromatic...), its base note and the symbols to be used to display the tablature.
New feature for playing music :
Digital effect parameters are now saved with your document. Therefore, volume, gain control, reverberation, etc. are retrieved when the document is loaded. A new tool in the 'play mode' palette can be use to define these settings.
So the general window for configuring digital output has been simplified.
New tools :
A new option in the staff pop-up menu enables to split the staff into two staves, according to a reference note. Useful for example to split a piano staff where both hands are mixed into separate staves.
Splitting is done according to a reference note you can define.
In the same way, a new feature in the staff pop-up menu computes the stem
directions according to a reference note.
New palettes :
Some new palettes are available in the "Windows" menu :
- Note display
        - Markers (3 palettes)
It's now possible to "zap" (delete) markers and ornaments by clicking on them with the delete (lightning) tool.
Karaoke improvement :
In "Karaoke" mode you can set the pitch offset (in semitones) to adjust the tune to the singer's voice pitch.
Accented characters from different platforms (Mac, Windows, MsDos) are recognized when a MID or KAR file is loaded.
In the "Global Setup" panel, you can specify the character set to be used when your file is exported to KAR or MID.
Scrolling and complete lyrics font sizes can be set.
You can now define the output level of the staff linked to the Voice.
This staff must be the first active staff of you music.
The text can be center or not.
You can change the font of the scrolling line, by clicking on it.
All the Karaoke commands have now keyboard shortcuts :
        +             Increase voice level
        -             Decrease voice level
        Up Arrow             +1 pitch
        Down Arrow           -1 pitch
        Left Arrow           Speed down
        Right Arrow          Speed up
        Space                Go the beginning
        Page Down                        Decrease text characters size
        Page Up      Increase text characters size
        P,F           Full screen
        Home          Increase the scrolling line size
        End           Decrease the scrolling line size
        C             Center text
And also :
- In "Global Setup", the output device to be used when loading a document can be selected.
- English documentation improvement (thanks to Rex Anderson)
- Midi input problem have been fixed.
- New horizontal mirror
- New metronome
- Note beaming now works with 12/8, 6/8,9/16 ...

. Can now print braces and bracket to group staves together
. Minor bug fixed

Many important changes and new capabilities in this version !
Notes display has been considerably improved. Miscellaneous markers and ornaments can be set on notes (grace notes, gruppetto, guitar effects, ...)
For the moment, these markers are only displayed and can't be heard. The next release will implement this.
A new tool lets you tie notes with different heights (slur).
Double-dots, double-sharp, double-flat and configurable tuplets are now present. Accidentals and other note changes can be applied on existing notes.
Editing comfort has been enhanced by a general scale option, which zooms the whole score up to 400 %.
Documentation has been completely rewritten. An off-line part (text file in RTF format) explains all the basis of musical theory and software handling, with examples and frequently asked questions, and an on-line part gives you at any moment the meaning of objects, menu options, windows ...
Here's the detail of these enhancements :
New tool :
"slur", to tie notes with different heights.
Miscellaneous ornaments
can be set on each note : appogiaturas
(grace notes), effects, expression... For the moment, these effects are not interpreted while the tune is playing.
New display parameters
for each note :
         - Head shape (muted notes,...)
         - Stem length
         - Head display position
         - Note graphical offset from its theoretical time location
         - Accidental offset from the note head
Scale display factor
can be applied to the score.
Display fonts :
Now possible to select the display font for the miscellaneous objects on the score. This is a global setup for the software.
New accidentals :
double-sharp and double-flat.
Double-dot.
Miscellaneous :
- Now possible to hide partially or in totality a time or key signature change. It enables to make incomplete bars.
- Notes can now beam automatically together as soon as dropped on score.
- When a note is going to be dropped, the mouse cursor indicates whether it will replace an existing note or be added in a chord.
- Horizontal and vertical mirror on the selection range.
- New window to change the look of all notes in the selection range.
- Now, two beaming system : simple beaming which beames all notes in the selection range, and "intelligent" beaming, which beames notes according to the beat.
- New control buttons in the "play tune" floating palette : Pause/depause , fast forward and backward.
- Accidentals and duration changes can be applied to an existing note, by selecting no note duration in the floating palette and clicking on the required note on the score.
- Time signature can now be abbreviated : 4/4 becomes C and 2/2 crossed out C.
- Now possible to define tuplets up to 10th division
- New break types : bold bar line, double bar line, no bar line, dashed bar line . These symbols are only displayed (and printed) and have no other effect on the score.
- In case of notes fine spacing, dragging a note with the Alt key depressed bounds the note movements to its available area.
- New digital output parameters : effects have been added : Automatic gain control, Noise reduction, Reverberation, Surround and Bass Boost.

=> 03/96 : version 2.0 Mac/OS7 and Windows 95 version

Ritorniamo adesso molto rapidamente alle nozioni di base. Se vi siete già familiarizzati con il vocabolario e le nozioni di solfeggio, potete passare direttamente al capitolo seguente.

 

Da Notare:  È ben inteso che non possiamo spiegare qui la totalità delle nozioni di solfeggio. Vi invitiamo dunque, per delle spiegazioni più approfondite, a procurarvi un’opera che tratta questo soggetto.

Il pentagramma è costituito da un gruppo di cinque linee orizzontali:

Sul pentagramma possono essere posate delle note, una nota definisce il suono che è suonato ad un dato istante dallo strumento di questo pentagramma. Le note possono essere posate sulle linee o dentro due linee del pentagramma.

La nota, per il suo aspetto e la sua posizione, permette di definire simultaneamente tre parametri:

I pentagrammi sono divisi in misure, delimitate da delle barre verticali posate regolarmente sul pentagramma. Le misure ritagliano i pentagrammi in intervalli di tempi uguali.

Infine, a sinistra di ogni pentagramma, si trova una chiave. La chiave permette di definire parecchi parametri:
 

-   La forma della chiave indica la corrispondenza fra le linee del pentagramma e l’altezza delle note corrispondenti.
Così la chiave di Sol indica che la linea inferiore corrisponde a un Mi, l'interlinea fra le due linee inferiori a un Fa, la linea al disopra a un Sol, e così di seguito nell'ordine: Mi Fa Sol La Si Do Re Mi Fa Sol ...

Il simbolo della chiave di Sol è:

In chiave di Fa, la linea inferiore corrisponde ad un Sol grave, poi risalendo, La, Si, Do, Re, Mi, Fa ...
Il simbolo della chiave di Fa è:

- Subito alla sua destra, due numeri, . Indica il segno del tempo, vale a dire la lunghezza di ogni misura. 4/4 significa che una misura corrisponde alla lunghezza di 4 semiminime, cioè una semibreve, due minime, otto crome, ecc.
 
 
 

Appoggiatura

Arpeggio

Da Notare:  Una gamma è detta maggiore quando il suo terzo grado è maggiore. Una gamma è detta minore quando il suo terzo grado è minore

Gruppetto

Da notare:  Una stessa nota può, certe volte, essere scritta in parecchie maniere differenti. È l'enharmonia.

Silenzio

Astuzia :  Nelle palette fluttuanti, i silenzi sono piazzati nella stessa posizione delle note di uguale durata. Così troviamo il sospiro, nella sua paletta, nella stessa posizione, della semiminima nella paletta fluttuante della scelta delle note.

Silenzio Fantasma

La nozione di silenzio fantasma è propria di Harmony e di Melody, e non esiste nel solfeggio tradizionale.

Il silenzio fantasma è un silenzio che serve a completare le misure durante l'edizione di queste. Indica una misura incompleta, nella quale si possono aggiungere ancora delle note.

La sua rappresentazione è la seguente:

Il silenzio fantasma vi indica la durata che potete ancora aggiungere in questa misura. Potete trasformare i silenzi fantasma in veri silenzi dal menu della chiave (triangolo nero nel suo margine), opzione "Cambiare silenzi fantasma in silenzi"

 

Astuzia:  È possibile rendere invisibili i silenzi fantasma grazie all'opzione del menu Archivio ----->Preferenze

A. Lancio del programma

Quando lanciate il programma, s'apre una finestra domandandovi la scelta della lingua. Scegliete "Italiano".

Con Melody Assistant, potete sia stampare un "buono di registrazione", vale a dire ordinarci uno dei nostri prodotti, sia avere un numero di registrazione personale (che riceverete non appena avrete acquistato il programma) sia continuare.
Scegliete "Continuare".

With Harmony Assistant, potete indicare al programma il materiale audio da voi utilizzato. Verrà effettuata automaticamente un’individuazione. Se questa vi conviene , cliccate su "OK"
 
 

Da Notare :  Queste scelte non vi saranno più richieste con una versione registrata di Melody Assistant, o con una versione completa di Harmony Assistant.

Accederete allora allo schermo principale del programma.

Sullo schermo, in alto, troverete la barra dei menu che raggruppa le opzioni principali. Poi, troverete anche sullo schermo, ripartite, delle piccole finestre tematiche chiamate palette fluttuanti, che vi permettono di accedere rapidamente a tutte le utilità. Potete riarrangiare queste piccole finestre sullo schermo prendendole con il mouse dalla loro piccola barra blu.
 
 

Da Notare :  L'Organizzazione delle palette fluttuanti sullo schermo è memorizzata. Vi ritroverete dunque la vostra scelta quando ricaricherete il programma.

Cliccando sul piccolo quadratino grigio, chiuderete la paletta corrispondente. Potete farla riapparire di nuovo selezionandola nel menu "Finestre".

Astuzia:  Un doppio clic sulla barra blu di una paletta la fa cambiare d'orientamento (verticale o orizzontale). La linea d'aiuto, anch’essa, è ridimensionabile. Per fare ciò, cliccate sul piccolo quadratino in basso a destra della finestra.

Infine, la finestra principale vi presenta una musica di dimostrazione, che viene caricata automaticamente al rilancio del programma.

Al fine di aiutarvi a riconoscere le diverse icone, una finestra d'aiuto (quadro giallo) vi indica in permanenza la funzione dell'oggetto sul quale passate con il mouse.

Utilizzate questa finestra per comprendere la funzione delle differenti zone del vostro documento, ma anche degli oggetti (bottoni, liste...) delle finestre del programma.
 
 

Astuzia : Questa finestra d'aiuto vi dice anche il significato dei menu e delle loro opzioni. Mettetela dunque in un posto dove sarà visibile anche quando un menu è aperto (per esempio al fondo del vostro schermo)

---

Cercate sullo schermo la paletta fluttuante contenente le utilità di configurazione del suono della musica:

Lanciate la musica cliccando su:

Astuzia : La barra "spazio" della tastiera lancia ed arresta la musica.

Scieglere lo stile nella lista. Scegliete "Stile normale".

S’aprirà una nuova finestra, presentante una spartito vergine
 
 

Astuzia :  Una paletta fluttuante più lunga (paletta "Azioni") permette d'accedere con un semplice clic alle opzioni di menu più ricorrenti.

Andate adesso a mettere delle note sul pentagramma, per costituire una melodia. Per questo, scegliete col mouse nella paletta fluttuante delle note la durata delle note indicate, e posatele sul pentagramma superiore (chiave di Sol) le une in sequenza alle altre.

Scegliete una croma  e posatela sulla linea del Mi (la linea più bassa) del pentagramma.
 
 

Astuzia :  Se trovate difficoltà a posare le note al posto desiderato, potete aumentare la scalatura della grandezza della misura. Per far questo, ci sono parecchie soluzioni: Nel menu "Finestra", andate su "Scala" e scegliete il fattore della scalatura oppure Cliccate sulla lente nella paletta fluttuante del modo di edizione e cliccate sullo spartito oppure Mantenendo il bottone schiacciato dopo aver cliccato sulla lente, spingete il mouse verso l’alto Se avete utilizzato l’utilità "Lente", non dimenticatevi di ritornare in modo di posa della nota (icona rappresentante una matita ed una nota).

Posate un’altra croma "Mi" subito a destra della prima. Le due crome posate s'attaccheranno automaticamente fra esse.

Scegliete adesso una semiminima nella paletta fluttuante.
Posate la semiminima, sempre sulla linea del Mi, a destra delle due note precedenti.

Ottenete così un gruppo di tre note nella prima misura: due crome e una semiminima sulla linea del Mi.

Rinnovate l'operazione e posate un nuovo gruppo di tre note identico al precedente. La prima misura è completa.

Sulla seconda misura, posate una croma in Mi, poi una croma in Sol (seconda linea partendo dal basso).
Dovete adesso mettere una croma puntata: lasciate la nota (croma) selezionata nella paletta fluttuante, e cliccate sul punto situato nella paletta delle alterazioni (paletta contenete i segni diesis, bemolle, bequadro, ...).

Posate la croma puntata nella seconda misura, con la stessa sequenza delle note già posate, sulla linea del Do grave (una linea sotto la linea più bassa del pentagramma).

Cliccate di nuovo sul punto nella paletta fluttuante per deselezionarlo. Ritornate poi in modo di croma non puntata .
Continuate a posare le note successive:
Nella seconda misura:
 

Importante :  Se vi sbagliate a posare una nota, selezionate l'icona "lampo" nella paletta fluttuante d'edizione, cliccate sulla nota scorretta per sopprimerla, poi ripassate in modo di posa della nota (icona rappresentante un matita ed una nota). Potete anche utilizzare l'opzione del menu "Modifica>Annulla" che annulla l’ultima operazione. 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.

Da Notare :  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 alt key.

Suonate la vostra partitura. .Ascolterete il tema "Jingle Bell" al suono di pianoforte

Salvate il vostro documento selezionando "Archivio>Salvare". Chiamatelo  JBell.mus
 

Consiglio :  Salvate regolarmente il vostro lavoro con l'opzione "Archivio >Salva" (Attenzione: Il salvataggio del documento non è disponibile nella versione di valutazione di Harmony Assistant)

Andiamo adesso a fissare un suono alla melodia, per esempio, "Carillon".

A sinistra del pentagramma, le piccole icone vi permettono di compiere/configurare  varie azioni.

Hint : If you don't see these icons, you are in page mode with display handles off. Switch in scroll mode or activate the handles (score menu).

Cliccate sulla piccola icona d'edizione dello strumento associato al pentagramma. .

Appare allora la finestra di selezione dello strumento. In alto a sinistra di questa finestra, c’è il nome dato allo strumento: in questo momento è "Piano". Selezionate questo nome e rimpiazzatelo con "Carillon".

Nel basso della finestra, scorgete due liste che vi permettono di scegliere il suono di questo strumento. La lista di sinistra permette di scegliere il gruppo di suono (i suoni sono classificati per tema).
Cliccate su "Percussioni cromatiche".
Nella lista di destra appaiono i nomi dei suoni di questo gruppo. Scegliete "Carillon".
 

Nota :  L'Organizzazione di questi suoni rispetta le convenzioni internazionali della norma General MIDI.

Per ascoltare questo suono prima di sceglierlo definitivamente, cliccate sul bottone "Prova". Se spingete il mouse verso l’alto e il basso, mantenendo schiacciato il bottone del mouse, ascolterete questo suono alle differenti frequenze.
 

Consiglio : Divertitevi a percorrere le liste e ad ascoltare i suoni disponibili. Ritornate in seguito su "Percussioni cromatiche" / "Carillon".

Ascoltate di nuovo la vostra melodia . Il suono del piano è stato rimpiazzato dal suono del carillon.

Cambio il nome del pentagramma
Sopra la chiave di sol,  appare il nome del pentagramma. È stato fissato per difetto a "Piano". Cambiamolo in "Principale".
Per fare ciò, cercate la piccola freccia nera sopra le icone nel margine del pentagramma.
Cliccatevi sopra, e s'aprirà così il menu di configurazione del pentagramma. Potrete, grazie a questo menu, accedere a tutte le opzioni di configurazione.
 
 

Da notare :  Alcune di queste azioni, come la scelta dello strumento associato al pentagramma possono essere anche ottenute direttamente cliccando sulle icone di configurazione del pentagramma sotto la freccia nera.

Nel menu pentagramma, scegliere l'opzione "Rinomina" e scrivete come nuovo nome di questo pentagramma: "Principale". Convalidate ed il nuovo nome del pentagramma appare sopra la chiave di Sol.
 

Ridimenzione del pentagramma

Andiamo adesso a cambiare lo spazio attribuito alla finestra, del nostro primo pentagramma. Per questo, posizionate il mouse sulla barra orizzontale rossa situata sotto le icone di configurazione del pentagramma, e mantenendo il bottone schiacciato spostate il mouse verso il basso.

Lo spazio assegnato al primo pentagramma s'ingrandisce, mentre il secondo pentagramma (chiave di Fa) viene scalato verso il basso. Quando considerate che lo spazio scelto è sufficiente (cercate comunque di lasciare almeno due pentagrammi visibili sullo schermo), rilasciate il bottone del mouse .

Rimarcherete che il pentagramma in chiave di Sol adesso è rimasto posizionato in alto nello spazio che gli è stato attribuito. Per centrarlo nella sua area, cliccate sul triangolo rosso situato sulla prima linea, sotto la chiave, e mantenetelo premuto. Quindi spostate il mouse verso il basso. Il pentagramma allora si riposizionerà nella sua area.

Sul pentagramma grave (secondo pentagramma, in chiave di Fa), andiamo a mettere degli accordi corrispondenti alla vostra melodia.
Al fine di aiutarvi a posizionare le note se il solfeggio non vi è molto familiare; eccovi la lista dei nomi delle note che dovrete utilizzare, accompagnate dalla loro posizione:
 
 

            __ Sol acuto __
               Fa acuto
            __ Mi __
               Re
            __ Do __
               Si
______________ La ________________ Linea superiore
               Sol
______________ Fa  ________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________ Linea inferiore

Nella prima misura, cominciamo con un accordo di Do Maggiore in 1° rivolto, vale a dire le note Sol, Do, Mi.

Scegliete una minima  e posate un Sol nella prima misura del pentagramma inferiore (fra la quarta e la quinta linea del pentagramma). Poi posate un Do sopra questa nota (una linea sopra la linea più alta del pentagramma). Per aiutarvi, quando vi spostate col mouse, la nota che andate a mettere deve essere accompagnata da un segno +. Questo significa che essa sarà posata sulla stessa colonna di una nota già esistente.

Il Do appare sulla stessa colonna del Sol: queste due note saranno suonate simultaneamente. Posate di seguito, sempre sullo stesso accordo, un Mi (due linee sopra la linea più alta del pentagramma). Il vostro accordo è completo (terminato).

Alla destra di questo accordo, posate nuovamente lo stesso accordo, sempre di minime. La prima misura è completa .

.

Astuzia :  Piuttosto che formare di nuovo le tre note, potete utilizzare copiare/incollare: Scegliete l’utilità "Selezionare" (laccio) nella paletta fluttuante del modo d'edizione Cliccate alla sinistra dell’accordo posato sul pentagramma e mantenete il tasto schiacciato Spostate il mouse verso destra al fine che la selezione inglobi l'accordo Rilasciate il bottone del mouse Scegliete l'opzione "Copia" dal menu Modifica (Commando-C) Cliccate sul posto dove volete duplicare il vostro accordo (a destra del primo) Scegliete l'opzione "Incolla" dal menu Edizione (Command-V) Non dimenticatevi di ritornare in modo di posa della nota (icona rappresentante un matita e una nota)

Nella seconda misura, posate di nuovo un identico accordo.
 

Astuzia :  Se avete utilizzato copia/incolla per mettere il secondo accordo, vi è sufficiente scegliere di nuovo l'opzione "Incolla" dal menu Modifica

Poi posate un accordo di La Minore, composto da minime di La, di Do e Mi come precedentemente fatto.
La seconda misura è completa.

Nella terza misura, posate un accordo di Fa maggiore, composto da La, Do (come precedentemente fatto), e Fa
Posate di seguito un accordo di Do maggiore, identico a quello della prima misura.
La terza misura è completa .

Nella quarta ed ultima misura, posate un accordo di Re minore, costituito da La, Re e Fa acuto.
Scegliete ora una semiminima .

Posate un accordo di Sol (Sol/Si/Re), poi un accordo di Sol rivoltato (Si/Re/Sol acuto).
Se non vi siete sbagliati, dovreste avere ottenuto qualcosa somigliante a questo:

Suonate questa sequenza  ed ascoltate gli accordi che avete piazzato.

Ora  creiamo un nuovo strumento per cambiare il suono di questo pentagramma.
Come abbiamo fatto nel pentagramma precedente, cliccate sulla piccola icona di selezione dello strumento associato al pentagramma  nel margine sinistro del pentagramma,.

Per il momento, lo strumento scelto è chiamato Basso. A destra del nome dello strumento, scorgerete una freccia grigia diretta verso il basso.
Cliccateci sopra: s'aprirà la lista degli strumenti già definiti. In alto, in questa lista, scorgerete l'opzione "Nuovo strumento". Selezionate quest’opzione.
Diamo un nome al vostro nuovo strumento. Lo chiameremo "Archi".
Nella lista dei suoni, selezionate "Insiemi" e "Archi lenti".
Convalidate la casella, clicare  OK. Avete creato un nuovo strumento e gli avete scelto un suono.

Questo strumento sarà utilizzato per il pentagramma del basso.

Suonate la musica per provare il nuovo strumento .

Adesso andiamo a cambiare lo strumento delle voci alte (pentagramma in chiave di Sol) al fine di fargli utilizzare il suono che registreremo.

Cliccate ora sulla piccola icona d'edizione dello strumento associato al pentagramma superiore .

Passagio al modo Utilizzatore

Cliccate sull’icona   per accedere alla finestra di registrazione digitale.
Il contatore a destra vi permette di controllare il livello d'inserimento.
Non appena siete pronti, cliccate su  per iniziare la registrazione (5 secondi).
Quando finite, cliccate su OK. (ed arrestate eventualmente la lettura del vostro CD).
 
 

Consiglio :  Suonare una nota pulita, se possibile un Do

Bisogna adesso isolare la parte interessante del suono che avete registrato. Per questo, cliccate all’inizio della parte del suono registrato che vi pare interessante, e spingete il mouse verso destra mantenendo schiacciato il tasto. La zona selezionata appare su fondo colorato.
 
 

Astuzia :  Utilizzate il cursore dello zoom per ingrandire la visualizzazione del vostro suono.

Clicate  per ascoltare quello che avete selezionato. Se ciò vi soddisfa (bisogna sentire una sola nota, senza silenzi davanti) aprite il menu Azione (a sinistra del bottone che permette l'ascolto) e selezionate "Riquadra".

Astuzia :  Quando cliccate sul bottone "Provare" mantenendo premuto il tasto del mouse, la nota che sentirete deve essere un Do.

Convalida ed ascolto

Astuzia :  Può importare anche archivi del suono registrato come WAV , SF2, ecc. Scegliere "Importa" nel menu del  "Azioni". SF2 (anche vienne chiamato SoundFont) è archivi del suono incluso molto esemplari del suono che venggono disegnato per hardware Midi Synthesizers . Quando si apre un archivio di SF2, una scatola del dialogo vi lascia di scegliere uno o più esemplari per lo strumento corrente.

Al fine di commentare o di abbellire il vostro spartito, potete mettere dove volete dei testi e della grafica a colori. Cliccate sull’icona marcata "Txt" della paletta fluttuante per poter passare in modalità di inserimento del testo.

Cliccate in seguito sul posto dove volete inserire il testo. S'aprirà una casella, nella quale potete digitare il testo desiderato e scegliere il suo colore, carattere, taglia e stile.

Per esempio, digitate  "Jingle Bell", e scegliere il carattere Times (o Times New Roman), con taglia 32, stile grassetto, colore rosso.
 
 

Astuzia :  Lo stile "Trasparente" permette di fare in modo che il testo si sovrapponga agli altri elementi senza cancellarli.

Poi convalidate. Il testo scelto appare sullo spartito contornato da un quadro rosso.

Potete spostare il quadro del testo, ridimensionarlo (posizionandovi sul suo angolo destro in basso), o rieditarlo di nuovo (doppio clic).

Per inserire una grafica, l'operazione è quasi simile. Scegliete l’utilità "Grafica" (icona rappresentante un quadratino e un circolo) e cliccate sul posto dove desiderate inserire una grafica.
Nella casella che s'apre, scegliete la forma da inserire usando the horizontal scroll bar (per esempio, il nastro), così che si colori (verde), e poi convalidate.
La grafica scelta appare nel posto scelto.
 
 

Astuzia :  Potete mettere anche delle vostre grafiche realizzate con un programma di disegno, cliccando su "Altro" nella casella di selezione della grafica scegliendo quelle che volete utilizzare nell’archivio BMP (o PICT su Macintosh).

Si possono fare apparire dei commenti sulla prima pagina dello spartito che vienne stampato. Per editarli, scegliete Archivio >Commenta.
Introducete allora il titolo del partitura (Jingle Bell), il compositore (James Pierpont, 1857) e le osservazioni (per esempio, "Canto di Natale") poi convalidate.
 
 

Astuzia :  In basso a questa finestra, potete leggere delle informazioni sull’archivio, il tempo passato a lavorare su questa musica... Divertente, ma certe volte così deprimente!

Una anteprima di stampa appare, e vi permette di vedere la strutura della pagina della vostra musica che sarà stampato
Cliccando su "Optione", potete sciegliere quello che desiderate stampare. Contrassegnate gli informazione dello stampa alla prima pagina e togliete il contrassegno alle altre opzioni. Infine, nella lista in basso, assicuratevi che i vostri due pentagrammi (Principale e Basso) siano contrassegnati. Convalidate questa casella poi scegliete i vostri parametri tradizionali di stampa.
Cliccate poi su "Stampa pagina".
 
 

Da Notare :  È impossibile stampare con la versione di dimostrazione di Harmony Assistant. Con una versione non registrata di Melody Assistant, è possibile stampare, ma un messaggio stampato sulla pagina vi ricorderà che se questo programma vi piace, con una modica somma potrete permettervi di approfittarne pienamente.  Evidentemente, questo messaggio sparirà non appena avrete registrato il vostro esemplare.

Al fine di regolare il numero di misure simultanee che possono apparire sullo schermo o sulla pagina della stampante, potete regolare individualmente oppure collettivamente, la larghezza grafica delle misure. Questa regolazione permette di distanziare graficamente le note le une con le altre o al contrario di avvicinarle.
 
 

Da Notare :  Non deve confondere questa nozione con la scalatura (o Zoom), che ingrandisce o riduce l'insieme dei simboli al fine di renderli più leggibili sullo schermo: la stampa non è destinata per lo zoom, alcune note apparirebbero troppo vicine o "incollate" mantenendo il loro scostamento (distanza) relativo: quello che cioè sceglie lo zoom.

Posizionamento (Regolazione) colletiva :
Usare la finestra d'aiuto per trovare il bottone della mostra generale nel
paletta flluttuante del modo d'edizione.

Con mouse, cliccate sul piccolo rettangolo + sopra l'icona per aumentare lo scostamento grafico delle note o sul rettangolo - sotto l'icona per ridurla.

Regolazione individuale :
Nella parte superiore della finestra contenente lo spartito, in una barra grigia (righello) sono indicati i numeri delle misure. Quando posizionate il mouse sulla linea di separazione fra due misure, il puntatore del mouse cambia la forma. Cliccando e spostandolo, potete cambiare lo spazio individuale assegnato ad ogni misura.
 
 

Astuzia :  Le misure sono rappresentate sullo schermo fianco a fianco, formanti un "nastro" ininterrotto dalla prima all’ultima misura. La larghezza di un foglio di carta non è infinita, così esse appariranno fuori dalla stampa in gruppi posizionati gli uni sotto gli altri. Sullo schermo, una linea verticale gialla indica l’area dove il pentagramma sarà "tagliato" dal bordo della carta quando verrà stampato.

Richiami di teoria musicale :

Una chiave a inizio pentagramma definisce la relazione tra le linee del pentagramma (righi) e la tonalità delle note.
La chiave di violino (o chiave di Sol) , la chiave di basso (o chiave di Fa)  e la chiave di violoncello (o chiave di Do) <> indicano il rigo del pentagramma associato rispettivamente alle note Sol, Fa e Do.
Ricordate :

Posizionamento

In Harmony-Melody, una chiave è sempre posizionata all'inizio di una battuta.
È possibile cambiare la chiave in qualsiasi battuta del pentagramma.
Per esempio, un pentagramma può iniziare in chiave di violino per poi passare in chiave di basso qualche battuta dopo.

Composizione

Per la composizione è disponibile una palette dedicata: "Finestra -> Strumenti chiave e armatura" ("Window>Clef & signature tools"), che contiene gli strumenti per modificare la chiave, il tempo e l'armatura della chiave.

Selezionando lo strumento di modifica della chiave (icona con la chiave di violino) e facendo click su una battuta, si apre la finestra di selezione della chiave.

La finestra di selezione ha tre sezioni. Selezionando la prima, marcata "Chiave" ("clef"), nella parte superiore della finestra comparirà un'anteprima della chiave che state definendo.

Nella parte inferiore della finestra, potete selezionare tramite menù a tendina:

• La trasposizione da applicare alle note dopo l'inserimento del cambio di chiave.
Le note successive al cambio di chiave possono essere:

• Non trasposte: in questo caso, le note vengono spostate in modo da essere suonate con la stessa tonalità di prima del cambio di chiave.
• Trasposte in alto: le note vengono suonate un'ottava più in su (più acute) rispetto a prima del cambio di chiave.
• Trasposte in basso: le note vengono suonate un'ottava più in giù (più profonda) rispetto a prima del cambio di chiave.
• Graficamente inalterate: le note rimangono posizionate graficamente nella stessa posizione ma vengono suonate con una tonalità differente rispetto a prima del cambio di chiave.

• A quale pentragramma applicare la nuova chiave. Può essere il pentagramma in lavoro, tutti i pentagrammi della partitura o solo i pentragrammi selsezionati. Generalmente, il cambio di chiave si applica solo al pentragramma in lavoro.

    • La chiave può essere tenuta in vista oppure nascosta (per una migliore leggibilità, sarebbe meglio evitare di nasconderla).
    • La chiave può essere di violino, di basso o di violoncello.
    • Una chiave può essere posizionata su qualsiasi rigo, da -5 a +5 righi rispetto a quello standard.
    • Una chiave può avere una trasposizione globale (valida su tutto il pentagramma) da -2 a +2 ottave (ottava bassa o alta).

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 major scale of D, it will give 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.
It gives then the 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 sharp.
To make the notation less cluttered, these two sharp symbols are drawn only at the clef, that is 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 exact written note. 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 .

A key change is always positioned at the beginning of a bar.You can make 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 sharps symbols on a staff) and click on a bar. The key signature selection box opens.

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 good readability of your score 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. For example, a G key signature (one sharp) will be transformed into A (three sharps).