Sound Device Test

This portion of Sound Device Setup allows you to audition and choose the best settings for your sound device. During the Sound Device Test, music is played using only melodic instruments.

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Choose the best sounding device name from the list. To obtain more technical information for each device, click on the Info... button. If you do not have any device drivers installed on your system for your particular sound device, you will have to install them before successfully using it.

This setting is recorded in the Global Options dialog box and is used by default for all sessions thereafter. You can reconfigure this setting at any time by running Sound Device Auto-Configure again, or change it manually from the Global Options dialog box.

Once you complete the Sound Device Test, the Drum Channel Test is then executed.


Drum Channel Test

The Drum Channel Test comprises the second portion of Sound Device Auto-Configure. During this test, music is played using only drum and percussive instruments. This is so you can isolate the parts played by the drum player and assign them to the correct MIDI channel for your sound device.

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Extended Level devices use MIDI channel 10 for percussive notes, while Base-Level devices use channel 16. If the current selection results in melodic notes being played, then choose the alternative setting. If neither choice gives you drum sounds, your sound device is most likely not General MIDI compatible, and you will need to create a custom setup for it using the Windows MIDI Mapper.

This setting is recorded in the Global Options dialog box and is used by default for all sessions thereafter. You can reconfigure this setting at any time by running Sound Device Auto-Configure again, or change it manually from the Global Options dialog box.


Sound Device Test Title Ba
Title Bar

The Title Bar displays the name of the dialog box and contains the control-menu box on the left.


Sound Device Test Ok Button
OK Button

Click on the OK button when you have selected the sound device name of your choice. This selection is recorded in the Global Options dialog box for use in all sessions thereafter.


Sound Device Test Cancel Button
Cancel Button

Click on the Cancel button to exit from the Sound Device Setup, ignoring any changes made to Global Options.


Sound Device Test Help Button
Help Button

Click on the Help button to obtain Help on the Sound Device Test.


Sound Device Test Info Button
Info Button

Clicking the Info... button opens up a dialog displaying the technical specifications of the sound device currently being tested. These specifications can be useful to a technical support representative when troubleshooting musical applications.


Sound Device Test Driver Name
Driver Name

The Driver Name corresponds to the sound device currently being tested.


Sound Device Test Sound Devices
Sound Devices

The Sound Device list is a list of all MIDI output choices available on your system.


Drum Channel Test Title Bar
Title Bar

The Title Bar displays the name of the dialog box and contains the control-menu box on the left.


Drum Channel Test OK Button
OK Button

Click on the OK button to accept the currently selected drum MIDI channel. This selection is recorded in the Global Options dialog box for use in all sessions thereafter.


Drum Channel Test Cancel Button
Cancel Button

Click on the Cancel button to exit from Sound Device Setup, ignoring any changes made to Global Options.


Drum Channel Test Help Button
Help Button

Click on the Help button to obtain Help on the Drum Channel Test.


Drum Channel Test Synthesizer Type
Synthesizer Type

The synthesizer type selected corresponds to the MIDI channel setting currently being tested for playing drum and percussion parts.


Exporting to MIDI

You can save your performances as standard MIDI files for use with other applications. Most multimedia and music applications directly support the MIDI file format.

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Click on the Export button to take a 'snapshot recording' of your performance, saving it as a standard MIDI file.


Exporting to MIDI Export Button
Export Button

Click on the Export button to save the song to disk in the MIDI File format.


Exporting to MIDI Cancel Button
Cancel Button

Click on the Cancel button to cancel the operation and close this dialog box.


Exporting to MIDI Help Button
Help Button

Click on the Help button to get help with exporting MIDI files.


Exporting to MIDI High Speed Checkbox
High Speed Checkbox

Click on the High Speed check box to record the performance quickly at a high speed.


Exporting to MIDI Mute Checkbox
Mute Checkbox

Click on the Mute check box to record the performance inaudibly.


Global Options

The Global Options dialog box is where you configure soundcard and MIDI settings. To open the Global Options dialog box, choose Global Options... from the Options menu.

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Global Options Timer Resolution Slider
Timer Resolution Slider

The Timer Resolution slider can help give the music a smoother "feel" on computers experiencing erratic timing problems. The timing resolution ranges from 1 to 10 milliseconds.

Higher resolution does not always result in better timing. In fact, on higher speed 486 machines, 1ms resolution is significantly worse than 2ms! The optimal resolutions typically range from 2 to 5ms.

The higher the resolution (the lower the number), the more work your computer has to do.


Global Options MIDI In Combo Box
MIDI In Combo Box

You can use a MIDI keyboard to play along and interact with the program. Click in the MIDI In combo box to choose from available MIDI input devices installed on your system.

Note: If the program does not contain support for MIDI input, this combo box is disabled.


Global Options OK Button
OK Button

Click on the OK button to close the Global Options dialog box, saving any changes made to the Global Options settings.


Global Options Cancel Button
Cancel Button

Click on the Cancel button to close the Global Options dialog box, ignoring any changes made to the Global Options settings.


Global Options Help Button
Help Button

Click on the Help button to obtain Help with the Global Options settings.


Global Options Device Level Radio Buttons
Device Level Radio Buttons

Click on the Device Level radio buttons to select the proper setting for drum and percussive parts.

Some soundcards use MIDI channel 10 for percussion, while others use channel 16. The Device Level radio buttons toggle between these two choices. Choosing Base Level causes drum and percussive parts to be transmitted on MIDI channel 16. Choosing Extended Level causes drum parts to be transmitted on MIDI channel 10.

Note: If your sound device does not properly respond to either of these settings, it is most likely not General MIDI compatible. You can account for this by using the Windows MIDI Mapper. See your Windows documentation for more information.


Global Options Volume Sliders
Volume Sliders

The Volume Sliders control the left and right volume settings for your soundcard.


Global Options Sound Device Auto-Configure
Sound Device Auto-Configure Button

Click on the Sound Device Auto-Configure button to obtain help in configuring the Global Options.

Many soundcards provide more than one choice for sound output, based on their capabilities. If you are not sure what the best choice is, Sound Device Auto-Configure provides a quick and easy way to audition each of them.


Global Options Sound Device Combo Box
Sound Device Combo Box

Click in the Sound Device Combo Box to choose from the available sound device output settings.


Style Manager

The Style Manager is where you maintain the list of Styles that are loaded into memory automatically each time you run the program. To open the Style Manager, choose Style Manager... from the Options menu.

Adding Styles

To load a Style from disk, click on the Add... button. Simply select a Style from the Open Style dialog and click OK. From now on, this Style will automatically load.

The Styles available to the Style Manager are SCORE(TM) (SuperJAM! Core Technology) standard Styles.  You may use Styles from other SCORE compatible products, including third party Style collections.

Note: SuperJAM! 1.0 Styles do not contain Personalities at the time of this writing. As a result, they do not provide the information needed to compose an accompaniment to your melody. If you purchase additional Styles or borrow them from other programs, make sure they are SCORE compatible Styles.

Removing Styles

To remove a Style, select it in the list, then click on the Remove... button. This removes the Style from the Style list, freeing computer memory. It also tells the program not to load this Style the next time it runs.


Style Manager OK Button
OK Button

Click the OK button to close the Style Manager, saving any changes made to the Style List.


Style Manager Add Button
Add Button

Click the Add... button to add Styles to the Style List. The Styles you add will automatically be loaded into memory the next time you run the program.


Style Manager Remove Button
Remove Button

Click the Remove... button to remove loaded Styles from the Style List. Styles you remove will not be automatically loaded the next time you run the program.


Style Manager Style List
Style List

The Style List displays the current set of Styles which are opened automatically each time you run the program.


Style Manager Help Button
Help Button

Click on the Help button to get help with the Style Manager.


Style Manager Test Button
Test Button

Click on the Test button to preview the currently selected Style in the Style List. When you click on the Test button, it changes into the Stop button. Click Stop to stop the current style from being previewed.


Sound Device Information

These specifications can be useful to a technical support representative when troubleshooting musical applications.

Manufacturer ID: A unique ID number for the device assigned by the manufacturer.

Product ID: A unique product code assigned to the device by the manufacturer.

Driver Version: The version number of the device driver used.

Technology: Specifies if the MIDI output device is an internal synthesizer or an external MIDI output port.

Number of Voices: The number of voices the device supports, differentiated by MIDI channel. Each voice can have a different sound or timbre.

Simultaneous Notes: Specifies the polyphony, or maximum number of simultaneous notes playable by the device.

Channel Mask: A bit representation of the MIDI channels that the MIDI output device responds to.


Sound Device Information OK Button
OK Button

Click on the OK button to close the Sound Device Information dialog box.


Sound Device Information Help Button
Help Button

Click on the Help button to obtain help with the Sound Device Information dialog box.


No Devices Present

This application cannot find any sound devices installed on your system, and therefore cannot play music.

Possible causes:

-You do not have a soundcard or MIDI interface properly installed on your system.

-You do not have the proper device drivers installed on your system for your soundcard or MIDI interface.

-You have device drivers installed, but they are specific to DOS applications and therefore not recognizable by Windows.

-You have the proper device drivers installed, but for some reason they are not recognized by Windows. You may need to remove them and reinstall them.