Sound, Music & MIDI Collection 2

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Sound, Music & MIDI Collection 2 / SMMVOL2.bin / MIDI_PAT / MTOOLS.ZIP / MTHELP.EXE / PLAY.HLP < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1993-09-14 | 42.3 KB | 542 lines

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Play Help - Contents │ ├────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┤ │ *Function key usage │ *Mouse usage │ │ *Editing │ *Sliders │ │ *Operation │ *MIDI initialization │ │ *Saving │ *Updating MIDI files │ │ *Play lists │ *External sync │ │ *File selection │ *Command line usage │ └────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┘ To go directly to a help section, type * plus the first few letters of the section title and press return. If using a mouse, you may click on any word and the next page containing that word will be displayed. You may also move back and forth freely through the help text using the up/down arrow and page keys, or click on the appropriate button. Press [Page Down] for function key summaries. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ *Function key usage │ └─────────────────────┘ Mouse F1 - Display this help information. [ Help ] F2 - Select and load from a set of MIDI files. [ Files ] F3 - Exit program. [ Exit ] F4 - Save configuration information to disk. [ Save ] F5 - Rewind to beginning (00:00) or skip backward. [ | ] F6 - Fast forward (advances 10 seconds at a time). [ ] F7 - Toggles between play and pause. [ ## ] F8 - Skip to next song in play list [ | ] F9 - Decrease value of current field. <left button> F10 - Increase value of current field. <right button> Home - Move to first screen cell (File:). Alt-F1 - Toggle channel activity indicators off/on. Alt-F2 - Toggle MIDI thru mode on/off (default is off). [ Thru ] Alt-F3 - Push to DOS. * [ Push ] Alt-F4 - Write new MIDI file. [ Write ] Alt-F5 - Toggle modify mode on/off (default is off) [ Mod ] Alt-F7 - Selects MIDI sync mode. [ Sync ] Page Up - Display channels 1-12. [ PgUp ] Page Down - Display channels 5-16. [ PgDn ] Alt-C - Set other (visible) cells in column the same as current cell. Sliders (Available in mouse mode only) Left Slider - Master Volume Right Slider - Song Position Alt-F9 - Decrease volume slider sensitivity Alt-F10 - Increase volume slider sensitivity * Note: When pushing to DOS, playing in progress will continue in the background. The timing resolution of background play is not as fine as normal play - approx. 25 milliseconds vs. the usual sub-millisecond resolution. Background playing should not be performed while critical system activities, such as backup, are in progress. For extended background playing, use the program Play/R instead. ┌──────────┐ │ *Editing │ └──────────┘ Use the arrow keys to move the large block cursor around the screen to select the available data fields or "cells". On a color monitor, the data in cells which can be changed will appear yellow. Note the input area near the bottom of the screen, indicated by ">" and the small blinking cursor. To enter or change a selected cell, type into the input area and press return. The value entered will then appear in the cell (if the input was valid). A description of the valid input for the current cell will always appear on the line above the input area. Use the following keys for editing: Return - Retrieves the current contents of a cell and places it in the input area for modification (if the input area is empty). Insert - Toggles between character insert and overwrite modes. Delete - Deletes the character at the cursor. BackSpace - Deletes the character before the cursor. End - Moves to the end of the character string. Home - Moves to the beginning of the character string. Escape - Erases the input area. ┌────────────┐ │ *Operation │ └────────────┘ To load a MIDI file, move to the "File:" cell (press Home). Then type the name of the file and press return. If no extension is given, ".MFF", ".MID", ".STD", and ".SMF" are tried. After the file has been loaded, it will be scanned for the various types of data described below. This will take some time, unless the data has been previously saved for this file using the F4 function. Press F7 to begin playing. Note that any operation may be performed while a song is playing. When entering a file name, if it is followed by a space and a number from 1 to 16, all output channels will be forced to the number specified. This will also disable program changes. This is a shortcut for quick auditioning of songs having many channels and varying voices. The same effect can be achieved by manually setting the parameters for each channel as described later. If the MIDI file name is entered with wildcard characters (* or ?), a list of matching files will be displayed. Move to the desired file and press return (or click if using a mouse) to select and load the highlighted file. The same rules used by DOS for file matching apply. The match specification can be changed by typing a new one in the cell at the top of the file list screen. The F2 (Files) function may also be used to display and select from a list of files. In addition to the standard MIDI file formats 0, 1, and 2, Play supports the Creative Music file format (CMF), which is a close variant of standard MIDI. Data cells: - List: Displays the current play list file (see Play lists below), or allows a new play list name to be entered. - Tempo or Speed: For metrically specified time bases, this cell controls the overall, or "master", tempo in beats per minute. The first tempo value encountered in the file is used as the reference for subsequent manual changes. If the file does not specify tempo, 120 is assumed. The speed of play at any given point is determined by the ratio of the current setting to the original value. For example, if the original value is 120, play will occur at half speed whenever the master tempo is changed to 60. For files having a time base specified in SMPTE or MIDI time code units, this cell is indicated as speed, rather than tempo, and is given as a percentage of the initial speed (100%). Half speed is 50%, double speed is 200%, etc. When using an external MIDI clock for synchronization (selected using Alt-F7), tempo is determined solely by the rate at which clock messages are received. - Time: The current song position in minutes and seconds. This cell is updated every second while playing is in progress. It may be selected and changed at any time. It may take a few seconds to skip to a new position, depending on how far away it is. Selecting an earlier location requires scanning from the beginning. The F6 (fast forward) function advances the position 10 seconds at a time. F10 may also be used when this cell is selected to advance 1 second. F9 (decrease) is not recommended. Note: This cell represents elapsed time since the start of play - if the master tempo is changed while playing, counting continues in one second intervals and the ending time may not match the song duration for that play. Total playing time is displayed to the right of the current position. When the master tempo is changed, the duration is adjusted accordingly. - Time Sig: The current time signature. - Meas (Measure): The current song position as a measure and beat. As with the Time cell, a new postion may be entered in the form measure:beat. If a number without a colon is entered, it is taken to be a measure number, beat 1 assumed. To the right is displayed the last measure and beat in the song. - Prog Ch (Program Change): This performance option enables or suppresses the sending of MIDI program change messages while playing. It is often convenient to suppress program changes when the equipment in use is not set up to match the original instrument selections. Channel data cells - Chan: MIDI channel number (1-16). Only 12 channels are displayed at one time. Use Page Down / Page Up to see all of them. - Notes: Maximum number of notes played concurrently on the channel (as determined by note on/off messages). - Lo/Hi: Lowest and highest note pitches used on the channel. The reference range is C-2 to G8 for MIDI notes 0 to 127. Middle C is C3 (MIDI note 60). - Vol: Maximum volume of notes played on the channel, from 0 to 100 percent (determined by note velocities). If this value is changed, subsequent note volumes will be adjusted *relative* to the original maximum value. - Map: Channel to which the original output for this channel is to be redirected (1 to 16). Default is the same channel. - Out: Determines whether output is enabled for the channel. "On" indicates output enabled and "Off" indicates that output is muted. - Xpos: The number of half steps that notes on the channel are to be transposed. From -127 to +127. Notes transposed below 0 or above 127 will not be played. - Tracks: Lists the MIDI file track numbers which contain messages for the channel. (There may be more than can be displayed - use the program in scan mode to get full track information.) Note that in format 1 MIDI files, track 1 typically contains only tempo information and will probably not appear. - Info: Originally contains textual information found while scanning the track(s) corresponding to the channel. This information may be changed as desired to record information about the file for future reference. It can be saved along with the rest of the screen data by using the F4 function. See the MIDI Initialization section below for further uses of the Info fields. ** The "All" line displays totals for note usage and note limits, as well as serving as a master control for the changeable data. For example, setting the Map value will change all the channel map values in the column. ┌─────────┐ │ *Saving │ └─────────┘ When the F4 (save) function key is pressed, the current data on the screen will be saved to a file. The same name as the current file is used, but with the extension ".PLA". If a .PLA file corresponding to a MIDI file being loaded is found, that data will be used and the (sometimes slow) initial scan step is eliminated. F4 will replace the existing .PLA file whenever it is pressed. Note: F4 does not alter the basic MIDI file in any way. ┌─────────────┐ │ *Play lists │ └─────────────┘ Play lists are ordinary text files containing a list of MIDI (or CMF) file names. Such a file can be created with any text editor, or with a wordprocessor capable of "exporting" ASCII files. They may also be created by Play via the file selection screen. Such files permit automatic playing of songs in a list without intervention. A play list file name may be entered in either the "List:" or "File:" field, If entered in the "File:" field, however, it must be preceded by the character "@" to indicate that it is a play list and not a MIDI file. A file name which actually begins with "@" is also assumed to be a play list. Play expects one file name per line in a play list, followed by an optional channel override number. If corresponding .PLA files exists, they will be used to control MIDI output. Note, however, that if a channel number is specified following the MIDI file name, it will take precedence and the .PLA file will be ignored. Up to 30 files may be specified. Once a play list is entered, the first file will be loaded and ready to play by pressing F7 (or clicking on play/pause using a mouse). Playing will then proceed uninterrupted, one song after the other. Play ceases when the end of the list is reached. Play may be paused and resumed at any point. Pressing F5 (rewind) will go to the beginning of the current song if it is past 0:00; otherwise F5 functions as a reverse skip and will load the previous song in the list. F8 will skip to the next song in the list. It is suggested that F4 (save) be done for each file in a list to speed subsequent loading and skipping. Typing a regular MIDI file name, or another play list name in the "File:" field will cancel the current play list and load the requested file. Play lists will not advance while pushed to DOS, or when viewing the help or file selection screens. ┌─────────────────┐ │ *File Selection │ └─────────────────┘ To obtain a list of MIDI files from which to select a new song, do one of the following on the main screen: Press F2, click on "Files" with a mouse, or enter a file name containing wildcard characters. The file selection screen will display a list of all matching files. The cell at the top left shows the wildcard pattern used. It may be changed by moving to it (using the arrow keys), and typing a new file specification into it. The list of matching files will change accordingly. To choose a file to play, move the cursor to it and press return (or double click on it using the mouse). The program will return to the main screen and load the selected file. Another option while on the file selection screen is to create a play list file. Press F4 (or click on "Create list"), and you will be prompted for a play list file name. After entering the name, an optional output channel will be requested. If given, this number will be added after each file name in the play list to force output to the given channel on playback. Press return if none is desired. Then you may freely move around the file screen and "select" the ones to be added to the play list by pressing return (or double clicking the mouse). When done, press F4 (or click "Create list") again. You will be returned to the main screen and the first play list song will be loaded, ready to start playing. ┌──────────────┐ │ *Mouse usage │ └──────────────┘ When a Microsoft-compatible mouse is available and the mouse driver software properly loaded, operations using the mouse will be enabled. The mouse may be used to select an input cell on the screen by positioning the small mouse cursor on the cell and single clicking either button. The cell will be highlighted, just as if the cell had been selected using the arrow keys. Any cell which can be changed using the F10/F9 keys to increment/decrement, may be changed in a similar manner using the mouse. Once a cell is selected by clicking on it, subsequent clicking of the left button will decrement the cell value, and clicking of the right button will increment it. In mouse mode, the function key designations normally displayed at the bottom of the screen are changed to selector blocks for each available function. Clicking on a block will perform the indicated function. All functions may still be invoked via the normal keyboard equivalents. If mouse operations are not desired, add the -k option on the command line when the program is run to force keyboard mode. ┌──────────┐ │ *Sliders │ └──────────┘ Two "slider" controls are available only when the mouse is active. The left edge slider is a master volume control. Click above the center to increase volume, below the center to decrease volume. If note velocities are already at maximum (or adjusted to maximum via the channel volume controls), increasing the master volume will have no further effect. Volume changes are made in specific increments of velocity units for each position above or below center. The sensitivity may be decreased or increased by pressing Alt-F9 or Alt-F10, respectively. The default sensitivity is 3 velocity units per position, with possible values ranging from 1 to 9 units per position. If both mouse buttons are clicked simultaneously while the cursor is on the volume slider, the level indicator will be released and further clicking is not necessary. Whenever the cursor is on the slider bar, the level indicator will follow it. This is to permit continuous adjustments without holding the button down, i.e., it is possible to "conduct" the performance in terms of overall volume. See also the section on modification below. The right edge slider allows rough positioning within the song. Clicking anywhere along its length will set the song pointer to the corresponding song location. The top is the beginning, and the bottom is near the end. As the song plays, the marker will move down the screen to show the current, approximate song position. The full length of the slider always represents the full song, even if the tempo is altered. ┌──────────────────────┐ │ *MIDI Initialization │ └──────────────────────┘ Users familiar with the construction of MIDI messages may use the Info fields to specify MIDI initialization sequences. If a string starting with a dollar sign ($) is encountered, it is assumed to be a series of hexadecimal digits (0-9, A-F) representing MIDI codes to be sent prior to the beginning of play. Two-byte MIDI codes may be strung together without separators, or may be delimited by commas or spaces. To end a MIDI sequence and include other text in an info field, use a period at the end of the sequence. The string "$C0 06" would mean change to program 6 on the first MIDI channel. That could also be entered as "$C006" or just "$C06" (since 6 is the last value). Unrecognized characters will be treated as separators. Letters may be in upper or lower case. These sequences may appear anywhere in the 16 info fields, and are processed in order, from top to bottom. The letter "N" may be included in a sequence to specify the 4-bit channel of the line on which it appears. For example, "$CN 06" would send a program change on the channel indicated by the Map column for the line in which it occurs. This is generally a better method to use, since channel mapping may be changed without worrying about channel messages in the initialization string. This is the only relationship of the string to a particular screen line; otherwise, any line may be used. ┌──────────────────────┐ │ *Updating MIDI files │ └──────────────────────┘ Selected playing parameters may be permanently changed in the MIDI file through the use of "Modify Mode". This differs from changes saved in the auxiliary .PLA files, which do not alter the basic MIDI file. Modify mode is toggled on or off using the Alt-F5 key (or clicking on Mod if using a mouse). While modify mode is on, any portions of the song traversed by playing or skipping are changed according to the following parameter values in effect: channel map, channel volume, transpose, and master volume. Note: Once such changes are made, it is possible that the only way to restore the original values is to reload the MIDI file, so care should be exercised. For example, if a wide range of volume levels existed and they are all forced to maximum, it is not possible to restore the original range. In order to save changes made under modify mode, press Alt-F4. This will prompt for a MIDI file name, and then write a new file. Remember that only sections played under modify mode will have been altered. The easiest way to quickly apply changes to the entire song is to rewind and then position to the end of the song. ** Some examples ** To change all channels to play on channel 1: Set the channel map field for each active channel to 1 (a shortcut is to set one of them and press Alt-C to make the others the same). Press Alt-F5 to turn on modify mode, then play (or skip) through the song. Save the file using Alt-F4. To transpose a section of the song: Set the transpose field for all affected channels; position to just before the section to be transposed; start playing (F7); press Alt-F5 when the section begins (this is a type of "punch in" process - you need to be accurate); press Alt-F5 the instant the section to be transposed is complete to turn off modify mode. To listen to your change, first restore the transpose fields to their original values (or playback will appear to be transposed twice). Save the file using Alt-F4. To punch in a volume correction: Change the volume field for the affected channel(s), position to just before the affected area, start playing (F7), press Alt-F5 at the correction point, and again after it. Save using Alt-F4. If the volume change is to apply to all channels, the mouse volume slider can be used as well. To change the overall volume level of the song in real time using a mouse: Rewind; set the volume slider to the initial volume level; click both mouse buttons to release the slider (so a button does not need to be pressed again during play); press Alt-F5; start playing (F7); move the slider up and down to adjust the volume level at any instant. Save using Alt-F4. Note: It is best to practice this a few times before actually turning on Modify mode. Remember that you can always reload the original MIDI file if necessary (as long as you haven't replaced it with Alt-F4). Don't forget that changes are applied *every* time a section is played, so changes may accumulate if you are not careful. ┌────────────────┐ │ *External sync │ └────────────────┘ One of three MIDI synchronization control modes may be selected by pressing Alt-F7. The default mode is Internal Sync, which is appropriate for most uses. Pressing Alt-F7 will select the second mode, Internal Sync (Master), which causes Play to generate MIDI timing messages during play for other devices to be "slaved" to Play. In this mode, Play sends Start, Stop, Continue, Clock, and Song Position Pointer commands. Press Alt-F7 again for the third mode, Extenal (MIDI) Sync. When in external sync mode, Play responds to the messages Start, Stop, Continue, Clock, Song Postion Pointer, and Song Select. This mode is indicated by a flashing Play/Pause indicator at the top of the screen. Once external sync is enabled, Play acts as a slave to the remote device. The song will play only after a Start or Continue message is received, followed by a succession of Clock messages. The external clock ticks determine the song tempo; the Tempo value on the screen has no effect. If a play list has been loaded, Song Select messages will load a specific song from the play list. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ *Command line usage │ └─────────────────────┘ PLAY <filename> <mode> <-options> If <filename> is specified, PLAY is run non-interactively (i.e., the file is just played, without the full-screen editing display). Interactive mode is selected simply by leaving off the file name. <mode> may only be specified if a file name is given. If <mode> is a number from 1 to 16, it indicates the channel to which all channel messages will be redirected. This is useful for quick "auditioning" of a file when the actual channels are unknown, or when they do not match the equipment settings. For more control, run PLAY interactively. If <mode> is the letter "S" (for Scan), no playing is done, but the file is scanned and pertinent channel and track information is listed (similar to that displayed in interactive mode). To capture scan output to a file, use standard DOS output redirection: play midifile s >outfile if <mode> is the letter "D" (for Debug), the events in the MIDI file are listed on the screen as they are played, along with the corresponding track times in microseconds. Playing may be choppy in this mode due to time delays as information is displayed on the screen. If "X" is specified instead of "D", no playing occurs - only events are listed. Output may be captured to a file as mentioned above. <-options> may be any of the following: -d Selects the MIDI interface or sound card to use if more than one is present in the system (or if a card has more than one function): -dmpu selects MPU-401 compatible -dmfc selects IBM Music Feature -dmidiator selects MIDIator -dserial selects generic 38400 baud serial -dsbmidi selects Sound Blaster MIDI -dsbfm selects Sound Blaster FM sound -dadlib selects AdLib FM sound (The first 3 letters of the device name are sufficient.) The MIDIator and generic serial interfaces cannot be detected automatically and the -d option must always be specified if one is in use. Non-standard IRQ and I/O port address information can be added following the device id if necessary: -dxxx:<irq>:<ioaddr> For example, to define an MPU-compatible interface using IRQ 5 and I/O address 332 (hex), use: -dMPU:5:332 If only the I/O address is required but the default IRQ is alright, use -dMPU::332. The irq and ioaddr are not relevant to the MIDIator and generic serial interface, though the first option number can be given to indicate use of the com port 2 instead of the default com 1. (ex: -dmid:2) -i (MPU and MFC) Try to determine the IRQ in use automatically. -i (Sound Blaster & AdLib) Specifies the name of an instrument bank file (.IBK) to load at startup. (Ex: -imybank.ibk) -v List the type of interface actually selected before starting. -k forces keyboard mode if a mouse is present. -m forces monochrome mode (mono mode is automatically detected). -b selects BIOS writes to the screen, instead of the default direct output mode. This slows screen updating substantially, but may be necessary for proper operation on certain systems. -w specifies the number of seconds to wait before loading the next song when advancing automatically. Default is -w1 (one second). Separate all options with at least one space. Examples: play (Runs the program interactively) play test.mff (Plays the file non-interactively) play test.mff s (Just scans the file and lists data) play test.mff 3 (Maps all channels to channel 3) play -dmpu::336 (Runs interactively; forces MPU I/O address 336) play test.mff -dmfc (Plays file, using Music Feature output) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------