Contents

Help Contents

  Introduction

  Basic Control Panel

  Advanced Control Panel

  File Menu

  MIDI Menu

  Playback Menu

  Text Menu

  Recording


Introduction

Welcome to Turtle Beach MIDI Karaoke for Windows.  We're confident that you will find this to be one of the most flexible and easy to use sing-along products ever.  Using only the highest quality, professionally developed MIDI song files, MIDI Karaoke presents you with easy to read lyrics, backed up by the original orchestrations from hit songs.  A bouncing ball following in time with the music makes it a snap for anyone to sing along, even if their only musical experience has been singing in the shower.  And unlike CD-based products, MIDI Karaoke lets you change the song's speed and note range to suit your singing abilities and style.

MIDI Karaoke makes full use you your system's multimedia sound capabilities.  For song playback, it uses your built-in sound card or any external MIDI sound module to play the basic music.  You have the option of playing the lead melody, or turning off the melody, just leaving the accompaniment.  If you have sound recording and playback capabilities, you can record your own voice along with the music and then play back both to see how you stack up against the original artist.

MIDI Karaoke is great for parties and other gatherings.  You have complete control over how the lyrics are displayed, so even a small crowd of people can easily see and follow along.  The program lets you change the display and letter sizes, positions, scrolling style, and colors to suit any viewing situation.  You can also use any Windows compatible bit map picture as a backdrop to add even more excitement.

If you're musically inclined, MIDI Karaoke has a built in text editing function that lets you change existing lyrics, or add lyrics to any Standard MIDI File so that you can build your own sing-along library.  Turtle Beach also offers a full line of MIDI Karaoke albums containing popular music in every style

MIDI Karaoke's basic operation is no more difficult than playing a cassette tape.  Just pick an album or individual song, press the Play button, and you're in business.  But there are many additional capabilities lurking under the hood that will help you use the program effectively in almost any situation.  Create your own albums, set up MIDI and sound hardware, rearrange the screen, change lyrics -- it's all in there.  Although designed with the novice in mind, MIDI Karaoke still has plenty of power and flexibility for the most discriminating karaoke aficionado.


File Menu

    Open song file...  	Load a new MIDI song file.

    Load album...  	Load a collection of songs.

    Create album...  	Create a new song collection.

    Wave setup...  	Set wave audio recording options.

    Save wave file...  	Save current audio recording to disk.

    Backdrop 	Change background bit map.

    Exit	End program.

    About... 	Display program copyright info.


Open Song File

The Open Song File selection on the File Menu displays a dialog that lets you select a particular MIDI song file to be loaded for playing.  This file replaces any previously loaded song or album.  Press the Play button to begin playing the song.


Save Wave File

The Save Wave File selection on the File Menu writes any current wave recording to a specified file.  If you do not save the recorded wave data, it will be discarded when you load a new song, or exit the program.  By default, the same base name as the song file is used, with an extension of .WAV (but you are given the opportunity to change the name while saving it).  If the song and wave file names do match, the next time you load the song file, the corresponding wave file will be loaded along with it automatically.


Wave Setup

The Wave Setup option on the File Menu lets you choose audio recording settings, including sample rate, number of channels, and sampling resolution.  Available Sampling rate selections are 11, 22, and 44 kHz (kilohertz, or thousand samples per second).  You can select single channel (mono) or 2 channel (stereo) recording.  Sampling resolution can be 8 or 16 bits.

Be sure you have enough disk space available before starting a recording.  Audio files can be rather large.  Below are some file sizes for one minute of audio at different sampling rates and resolutions.  In most cases, you will probably find 11 kHz or 22 kHz recording rates using 8 bits to be adequate for simple vocals.  If you are recording music along with the vocals, 22 kHz and 16 bits will give better results.

8-Bit	16-Bit	8-Bit	16-Bit

Mono	Mono	Stereo	Stereo

11 kHz	660K	1.3M	1.3M	2.6M

22 kHz	1.3M	2.6M	2.6M	5.3M

44 kHz	2.6M	5.3M	5.3M	10.6M

On slower systems, you may experience display updating difficulties when recording.  This is generally caused by slow transfers from the sound card to disk, and Windows not returning control to this program often enough to let it update the display.  If you are using smooth scrolling text mode, try changing to single line mode.  If this does not help, try reducing the sampling rate and/or number of bits to minimize the amount of data transferred.  Display updating should not be a problem on a system conforming to MPC Level I specifications.


Load Album

The Load Album selection on the File Menu allows an album (a list of songs) to be loaded and then played in succession.  A file selection dialog will be presented from which to choose an album file.  You can create a customized album from any song files you have available by using the Create Album selection on the File Menu.

When the album is loaded, you will be shown the list of songs contained in it.  Place a check next to each song you want to hear.  If you want all the songs, click All, or to erase all the checks, click None.  Check Random if you want the songs you have selected to play back in random order.


Create Album

The Create Album selection on the File Menu allows a list of MIDI song files to be created and subsequently loaded for automatic play.  Albums are loaded when you choose the Load Album selection on the File Menu.

The Create Album dialog consists of a "Files" list, a "Directories" list, and an empty song list.  Highlight a file in the Files list and click on the "Add >>" button to enter the selection in the song list.  Manually moving the song list selection changes the insertion point for the next file added.  To remove a file from the song list, highlight a name in the song list and click the "<< Del" button.  When done creating the list, click on "OK" to save the album as a file.  You will be asked for an album title, and then a save file dialog will pop up to allow selection of a file name.  Once created, the album will be automatically loaded, ready to play the first song.

Albums may also be created using any available text editor, and simply consist of one file name per line in a standard ASCII text file.  You may include a song title corresponding to each file by adding a semicolon (;) on the same line, followed by the title.  If the first line of the file starts with a semicolon, the rest of that line is taken to be the title of the album.  For example:

  ; This is the album title

  SONG1.MID ; Title of first song

  SONG2.MID ; Title of second song

An album may contain up to 100 entries.  If the last file name in the list is prefixed with "@", it is taken to be another album file name, and that album will be loaded automatically when it is reached during play.


Backdrop

The Backdrop selection on the File Menu lets you control the background bit map image.  The Use Image option switches the bit map image on or off.  When the image is in use, the lyrics display appears as a smaller window on top of the bit map image.  The lyrics window can be resized by clicking on its edges or corners and dragging them.  When the bit map is not in use, the lyrics window expands to fill the whole player display.  Use the Select Image option to choose a new bit map file.  Most Windows bit map files with an extension of .BMP or .DIB may be used.  The bit map will be stretched to fit the main player window if it is not the same size.  256-Color bit maps may be used if your display supports that many colors.  Bit maps with more than 256 colors are not supported by this program.


MIDI Menu

The MIDI menu selects options relating to your music playback hardware.

    MIDI Thru	Enable/disable MIDI thru mode.

    Drum Channel	Select channel 10 or 16 for percussion.

    MIDI Sync	Select MIDI synchronization mode.

    Devices... 	Select MIDI devices.

    Reset	Reset and clear MIDI devices.


MIDI Thru

The MIDI Thru selection on the MIDI Menu toggles the MIDI Thru setting on or off.  When Thru is on (checked), any notes received from the MIDI input device will be echoed to the output device.  This is necessary to play your MIDI controller (keyboard or other) while Windows is active if the controller is not connected in some other way to a sound module.

This option is only useful if you have an external device connected with MIDI cables.


Drum  Channel

The Drum Channel selection on the MIDI Menu lets you select between MIDI channels 10 and 16 for playing percussion parts.  If you are using a true General MIDI compatible playback device, leave this set to channel 10, which is the standard drum channel.  Some FM drivers, however, use channel 16 for percussion.  If you hear odd melodic notes instead of percussive sounds, try changing to channel 16.


MIDI Sync

The MIDI Sync selection on the MIDI Menu allows the program's synchronization modes to be changed.  This option is typically only used in advanced MIDI applications.  By default, internal sync is used, and no MIDI timing messages are sent.

Choosing "Master" causes MIDI timing messages to be sent during play, including Start, Stop, Continue, Clock, and Song Position Pointer.

Choosing "Slave" turns off internal synchronization, and play will not proceed unless MIDI sync messages are received.  In this mode, the program responds to the MIDI messages Start, Stop, Continue, Clock, Song Position Pointer, and Song Select.  The song will play only after a Start or Continue message is received, followed by a succession of Clock messages.  If an album has been loaded, Song Select messages will load a specific song from the song list.  In Slave mode, no timing messages are sent (so both Master and Slave modes cannot be selected at the same time).


Devices

The Devices selection on the MIDI Menu allows one MIDI input and one MIDI output device to be selected.  MIDI input is used for thru processing and external (slave) synchronization.  If these are not required, an input device need not be selected.


Reset

The Reset selection on the MIDI Menu is used to reset and clear the MIDI devices in use if some glitch is encountered (such as a stuck note).  It closes and then opens both the input and output devices, and then sends a series of note off, controller reset, and other messages on all channels to make sure attached MIDI instruments are quiet and reset.  You may interrupt this process by clicking on "Cancel" on the reset percentage display.


Playback Menu

    Melody	Play song's melody tracks.

    Accompaniment	Play song's accompaniment tracks.

    Wave	Play recorded wave audio.

Check the appropriate options above to select what parts of the song you want to hear.

    Pick songs	Select songs to play from album.

Use the Pick songs option to set up the songs to play from the current album.  You will be shown the list of songs contained in the album.  Place a check next to each song you want to hear.  If you want all the songs, click All, or to erase all the checks, click None.  Check Random if you want the selected songs to play back in random order.


Text Menu

    Font Select...	Choose size and style of character font to use for lyrics.

    Color...	Choose text and background colors.

    Scrolling	Select single line or smooth text scrolling. *

    Edit... 	Lets you change existing lyrics or enter new ones.

* Single line scrolling is the default mode.  In this mode, the display shifts up a whole line when the bouncing ball reaches the end of the top line.  In smooth scrolling mode, the display moves continuously.  Some systems and display adapters are not fast enough to keep up in this mode.


Editing Lyrics

Users who wish to edit or create their own lyrics should have some musical training.  Getting the timing right usually requires a good feel for rhythm and experience in reading standard music notation.  It is easiest to start with sheet music and transcribe the information directly from it.  We'll cover the process below.

Lyrics you create for a particular MIDI file are stored in a simple ASCII text file having the same name as the MIDI file, but with the extension ".LYR".  For  example, if the MIDI song file's name is MYSONG.MID, the corresponding lyrics file would be MYSONG.LYR.  Lyrics files may be created or modified using any text editor, or a word processor able to export ASCII text.  The MIDI Karaoke program also contains a built-in text editor which can be used to enter a new lyrics file or change the current one.  Note that the lyrics for the included songs are embedded in the MIDI files, but you can still edit them.  When you use the built-in editing function, a separate LYR file is generated that overrides the embedded lyrics.

The basic format of a lyrics file is very simple.  The first line of the file should contain the title of the song.  If you choose to indicate which channels or tracks contain the song's melody, add a second line starting with the word "melody", followed by "channel" or "track", and then the number(s) of the channels or tracks with melody information (counting from 1).

On subsequent lines, type the lyrics, separating each measure with a bar indicator.  There are several types of bar indicators, but the simplest is the vertical bar character - "|".   Here is a simple example:

  This is my song's title

  melody channel 1

  | These are the first | few bars of my | song.   They're not |

  | very interesting, | but they're all mine! |

You can continue in this way until reaching the end of the song.  Be sure that each line of lyrics begins and ends with a bar indicator (measures must completely fit on one line).  Also be sure to separate bar indicators from the text by at least one space, or they may be taken as part of the text.  Text measures must correspond to full measures in the MIDI file.  If the song does not begin with a complete measure, you will need to use a separate sequencing program to alter the MIDI file.  You can either add time at the beginning to fill out the first measure, or you can insert a time signature at the beginning of the first full measure.  Time signatures (even if redundant) always start a new measure.

You can show simple repeating text by starting the first repeated measure with "|:" and ending the last measure with ":|".  For example:

  |: This is cool. | I'll say it twice. :|

will expand to:

  | This is cool. | I'll say it twice. | This is cool. | I'll say it twice. |

Two or more repeats may be indicated by including a number after the closing colon.  Ex:

  |: Three times :3|     =     | Three times | Three times | Three times |

Sections may also be labeled for insertion again, later in the song.  Indicate the start of a labeled section using the special "[" bar indicator.  Immediately follow the "[" with a letter from A to Z (case doesn't matter).  Close the section with the special "]" bar indicator.  To insert the section again at a later point, use the "|" bar indicator immediately followed by the section letter and another "|" (no spaces).  Example:

  [A aaaaaaaaaa | aaaaaaaaaa ] Other stuff |A|

expands to:

  | aaaaaaaaaa | aaaaaaaaaa | Other stuff | aaaaaaaaaa | aaaaaaaaaa |

Sections and repeats may be nested as needed.  A labeled section which begins at the same point as a repeat is given as "[x:" where x is the section letter.  In general, all types of bar indicators are equivalent for separating measures, even though they may also have special functions.  A measure must contain at least a space or a section letter to be taken as a single measure.  Two adjacent bar lines are treated as one.  For example, to indicate the insertion of labeled sections A and B, both "|A|B|" and "|A||B|" have the same meaning.

During playback, a bouncing ball will move to the beginning of each measure as it is begun.  To have the ball follow each beat, include a circumflex (^) wherever the beat should fall.  The ^ is not  displayed, and may appear in the middle of a word if desired.  Although each beat need not be marked, it may be confusing if beat markers are not used, or used inconsistently.  As a further refinement, sub-beats may be shown instead of full beats by inserting additional special characters as follows:

`	1/2 beat	(accent, not apostrophe)

"	1/4 beat

~	1/3 beat	(tilde)

%	1/6 beat

The following three examples show: no beat mark, quarter note marks, and eight note marks, respectively.

     2/4 time:	| Mary had a | little lamb |

| ^Mary ^had a | ^little ^lamb |

| `Ma`ry `had `a | `lit`tle ^lamb |

It is best to think of these markers as note durations, with the text following the marker (up to the next one) occurring at the instant the note begins.  Multiple beat markers may appear next to each other to indicate other time values.  In 4/4 time, for example, ^` would be the same as a dotted quarter note.   You will probably find it easier to enter your lyrics without beat markers first.  Add them later, after you have checked that the measures are synchronized with the MIDI file.  Using the built-in editor, you can save the text file at any time and switch back to the main display to try it out.

When entering lyrics, it can be helpful to the viewer to use underscores to indicate held notes, together with spaces to show rests.  Any text between bar indicators, including spaces, will be displayed (except beat markers).  Periods or underscores are helpful in indicating beats with no lyrics, especially when combined with beat markers.  To include any of the timing characters above as displayable text, insert \ (back slash) prior to the character; the \  character will not be displayed.

In the built-in editor, click on the "Key" menu item to display a reminder list of the special symbols discussed above.


Advanced Control Panel

The advanced control panel is displayed when you click the maximize button on the basic control panel.  This control panel contains more information and options than the smaller basic panel.  The drop down menus contain functions identical to the menu buttons on the basic control panel.  The transport buttons (play, rewind, etc.) are also the same, except that a larger record button replaces the smaller microphone button.

The Song box shows you the current song file name.  If you type a new file name and press Enter, that file will be loaded.  If you have loaded an album file, pressing the drop down button to the right of the file name will display the list of files in the album.  You can directly select another file to play from this list by clicking on its name.

To the right is the current song location, both in minutes and seconds, and in measures and beats.  To change the song location to a specific time or beat, click on the small button next to Min:Sec or Meas:Beat.  This displays a dialog allowing entry of the desired location.

To change the song's tempo (speed), click on the Tempo entry box and enter a new tempo value.  Press Enter to register the change.  You can also use the spin buttons next to the Tempo box to increase or decrease the tempo using the mouse.  Using a mouse, it is not necessary to press Enter.

Next to the Tempo box is the current Time Signature.  This updates as time signature changes are encountered during play.  It shows the number of beats in a measure, and what type of note receives the beat.

The Key box at the bottom right lets you transpose (shift the pitch of) the song up or down in units of semitones, or half steps.  Type in a number of semitones to shift the pitch -- positive to increase the pitch or negative to decrease it -- and press Enter to register the change.  You can also click on the spin buttons next to the Key box to raise or lower the pitch.  This control lets you adjust the song's key to better suit your vocal range.

The Vol slider increases or decrease the playback volume.  The new volume stays in effect until you change it again, or exit the program.

To restore the basic control panel, click on the minimize button at the upper right.  You can make the control panel go away entirely by clicking anywhere on the lyrics display with the right mouse button.  Click again with the left mouse button to bring it back.


Basic Control Panel

Most common player functions can be accessed from the Basic Control Panel.  Additional functions are available on the Advanced Control Panel.

File Menu	MIDI Menu

Playback Menu	Text Menu

Help	Record standby

Maximize:  Display Advanced Control Panel

Move control panel: Click here, hold and drag.

Transport controls:

Rewind to beginning of song.  If at beginning, skip to previous song in album.

Start or pause play.  If Record standby is active, begin or pause recording.

Fast forward through song.

Skip to next song if playing album.

You can make the control panel disappear by clicking anywhere on the lyrics display with the right mouse button.  Click again with the left mouse button to bring it back.


Recording

When either of the above Record buttons is pressed, the program rewinds the current song and goes into "record standby" mode.  Click the record button again to cancel record standby.  While in record standby mode, pressing the play button begins simultaneous song playback and audio recording.  Pressing pause will temporarily halt playback and recording; pressing play will continue it.  Recording stops at the end of the song, when you press rewind or record, or when you run out of disk space.

When you play the song again, both the original music and the newly recorded audio will play back together.  Use can use the Playback menu to turn off one or the other if you like.  To save the recorded audio as a .WAV file, use the Save Wave File option on the File menu.

Recording options such as sampling rate can be set using the Wave Setup option on the File menu.