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A style is a collection of melodic, rhythmic, and instrumental information that can be combined dynamically to produce a piece of music.
Unlike a MIDI-based segment, a style-based segment is not based on a fixed score. Variability comes from the following factors:
The following figure shows the structure of a simple style.
The style contains the following elements:
Sequences of notes that can be transposed by the application of chords in the Chord Track of a segment. Patterns have several properties that determine when they can appropriately be played; for example, one pattern might be used only as an introductory phrase, while another might be suitable for an exciting moment in a game.
For added interest and variability, a pattern can contain as many as 32 variations in each part. When DirectMusic plays a pattern, it selects a variation more or less at random, depending on limits you set. You can control which chords each variation will play with, and whether a variation has to be played in its entirety.
Special patterns such as intro, fill, break, and end, for use at specific points in the performance, such as at transitions.
Special patterns that can be played explicitly by applications, typically layered over other sounds.
Collections of program settings for PChannels. Each style has a default band that is inserted in the Band Track of a segment when the style is inserted in the Style Track. Additional bands are available to applications that load the style, and can also be used to audition patterns within DirectMusic Producer.