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INTRODUCTION ------------ The purchase of an Acorn RISC-based micro introduces many powerful facilities to the user, the most immediate and obvious being the excellent graphics facilities. Unfortunately, the sound facilities provided are too often ignored, and whilst other machines work in audio glory, Acorn systems remain somewhat quieter, simply because comprehensive audio has not been made easily available. The HQ-Tracker system is a collection of applications designed to increase the availability of the sound system, to users of all levels. Unlike previous packages, the HQ-Tracker system (hereafter referred to as just HQ-Tracker) is a professionally implemented, open-ended system. INSTALLATION ------------ RISC OS 3 --------- Users unfamiliar with the RISC OS 3 operating system may need to refer to the user manuals. This manual assumes a working knowledge of Acorn RISC OS computers. Making a backup --------------- The discs supplied are not copy-protected in any way, and as such users are advised to make a working backup before proceeding to use the software. Installing the software ----------------------- Once a backup has been made, floppy disc users should use the backup floppy discs. Users of other media (eg. hard disc users) should create a directory for HQ-Tracker, and drag all applications from the backup floppy discs to the newly created directory. Using the software ------------------ Once installed onto the destination media, it is possible to start using the software immediately. However, it is advisable to at least experiment with the applications one by one, using this manual and Acorn's !Help application to assist through the initial learning stages. If problems are encountered first check the availability of the !SystemHQ folder (see below). If this does not solve the problem, refer to the trouble-shooting section of this manual (appendix 1). The !SystemHQ folder -------------------- HQ-Tracker applications make use of certain modules. These are stored within the !SystemHQ folder, which acts similar to the standard !System folder supplied with all RISC OS computers. When loading an HQ-Tracker application, if the !SystemHQ folder has not been seen, an error may be reported. If this should happen, open the directory containing the !SystemHQ folder, and double-click on the !SystemHQ icon before attempting to re-run any HQ-Tracker applications. USING HQ-PLAYER --------------- Purpose ------- HQ-Player is a desktop application, designed in the fashion of a CD player, that allows pre-defined music applications (created by HQ-Tracker or ST-Ripper) to be played back. Loading ------- To load HQ-Player, double-click on the !HQ-Player icon. After a short while a window, similar to that shown, will appear. As with HQ-Bars, HQ-Player does not install an icon on the iconbar. In Use ------ HQ-Player provides a track list. Up to 16 music applications can be dragged onto the HQ-Player window whereupon, providing there is space available, they are appended to the track list. Managing tracks --------------- To view the track list, select the track icon from the window. If tracks have been installed, a menu will appear, listing these. The currently selected track is ticked. To alter this, select the required entry. (If the play icon has been pressed, the currently selected track is stopped before the new selection is started). To remove the currently selected track, select the eject icon from the window. If the track is being played, it will be stopped prior to being removed. Playback mode ------------- HQ-Player offers three modes of playback : • Repeat Only the selected track is played • Shuffle Random tracks are played • Sequence All tracks are played in sequence To choose the desired mode of playback, select the mode icon from the window. A menu will appear listing the three modes, from which it is possible to select the mode required. With the shuffle and sequence modes, subsequent tracks are selected after a preset time. This can be altered by selecting the time icon from the window. A menu will appear displaying the time allocation before the next track is selected. The lower two menu items may be selected to increase or decrease the time allocation, by 1 minute intervals. Playing music ------------- To play the currently selected track, select the play icon from the window. Providing no problems are encountered, the music application will be loaded, and subsequently played. As with usual music systems, the stop, rewind, fast-forward and eject icons perform the stated functions. To alter the overall volume of playback, select and hold down the up or down arrow, situated below the rewind icon. To mute individual voices, select the appropriate voice icon, represented by a small blue box at the bottom left corner of the window. Quitting -------- To quit the HQ-Player application, click select on the close icon of the window. USING HQ-TRACKER ---------------- Purpose ------- HQ-Tracker is the music editing application. The PlayModule software, around which all HQ-Tracker applications are based, includes a fully-functional four channel sequencer. HQ-Tracker is an interface for this sequencer. Loading ------- To load HQ-Tracker, double-click on the !HQTracker icon. After a short while, HQ-Tracker will install an icon on the iconbar. In Use ------ The original design of the HQ-Tracker system was to allow users to incorporate sounds in their own software. At later stages, to popular request, a four-track sequencer was introduced. Using this, it is possible to automate the playing of four channel music with minimal user intervention, allowing production of soundtracks comparable to most popular games software. To this extent the HQ-Tracker editor has taken on a form similar to the popular “tracker” genre, which enforce three simple concepts : instruments, patterns, and sequences. These concepts are discussed in the following pages, and cover how they should be applied to the editor itself. Users should, however, be encouraged to experiment with the editor. Providing backups have been taken, no real damage is foreseeable. Instruments ----------- An instrument is a sound sample that has been classified (usually by the !LibMaker application) for use with the HQ-Tracker system. The editor has slots for a maximum of 32 instruments, and it is the simple process of sequencing the playback of instruments that ultimately creates music. Installing an instrument ------------------------ To install an instrument, either double-click on its icon, or drag it to any editor window. Memory permitting, it will be installed into the next available slot, and become the instrument currently in use. This is reflected by the main pane displaying the instrument's name. (To see this, select the editor's icon on the iconbar. The main window will appear, and the main pane is displayed at the top of this). If the quality of the installed instrument differs to the quality currently in use, a warning is issued (see the Preferences section later for more details). Selecting an instrument ----------------------- To choose an alternative instrument for editing purposes, select the arrow-icon in the main pane. A menu will appear listing all installed instruments, from which it is possible to make a selection. The instrument may also be renamed by selecting and editing the textual icon containing the name. Removing an instrument ---------------------- The removal process only affects the instrument currently in use. Bring up the main menu (by pressing menu over the main editor window), and select Instrument.Remove. The instrument will be removed, but references to it within music are not altered. This allows an alternative instrument to be installed in place of the one just removed. (If music is played, any references to instruments not installed are simply ignored). Editing an instrument --------------------- Although instruments have already been classified, it is possible to adjust three parameters within the editor, if the need should arise. The parameters are : • Volume Default volume • Repeat offset Offset to start of repeat block • Repeat length Extent of repeat block The repeat block simply dictates an area of the sample to be continuously replayed, once the main sample has been exhausted. Selecting Instrument.Edit from the main menu will bring up the instrument editing window. The physical interpretation of the instrument's sample occupies the main area, whilst the lower section displays the three parameters. The adjacent up/down arrows can be used to adjust the values of the volume parameter, from 0 (silent) to 127 (maximum volume). The same process applies to the offset and length, which define the repeat block. Alternatively, by select-dragging the appropriate area on the upper half of the window, the repeat block can be defined much more efficiently. The resulting repeat block is highlighted in blue. To listen to the modified instrument, select the Listen icon. If a repeat block exists, the ESCAPE key must be pressed to stop the instrument being played. Once satisfied, select the OK icon to close the window. Libraries --------- With many instruments, it is easy for disorganisation to occur. The HQ-Tracker system adopts a policy of managing instrument libraries, whereby instruments may be grouped into common sets, increasing productivity, particularly when working on large music pieces. The editor has slots for a maximum of 12 libraries. Installing a library -------------------- To install an instrument library, either double-click on its icon, or drag it to any editor window. Space permitting, it will be installed in the next available slot. During this process an hourglass will appear whilst the instruments within the library are categorised. (The time taken depends upon the number of instruments contained in the library). Removing a library ------------------ Selecting Edit.Libraries from the main menu will produce the library window. A combination of select/adjust can be used to highlight the required libraries from the list. Selected libraries become highlighted in red, and selecting the Remove icon will then remove these from the editor. When satisfied, selecting the OK icon will remove the library window from the screen. Installing from a library ------------------------- Once libraries have been installed, it is possible to install an instrument without recourse to searching for them manually, which can be time consuming. Selecting Instrument.Install from the main menu will cause a second menu to appear. The top-level of this menu lists all instrument categories, and each sub-menu contains all instruments that fall under the particular category. Selecting the desired one will cause the editor to automatically install this. Note that a number precedes each instrument name. This indicates the library number it belongs to, (which will, therefore, be a number from 1 to 12). Sequences --------- The reason why the editor is known as a sequencer is because it relies on a list that dictates the order in which to replay patterns. (Patterns are simple blocks of music, covered later). This list is known as the sequence list. To view it, select Edit.Sequence list from the main menu, bringing up the sequence window. The upper half of the window displays the available functions for the sequence list, whilst the lower half contains a scrollable pane, displaying the order of patterns. The currently selected sequence entry is highlighted in red, and can be altered by selecting the required entry. To remove the selected entry, select the Remove icon; subsequent entries are re-aligned. To completely clear the sequence list, select the Clear icon. (Confirmation is first requested if necessary). Inserting a pattern into the sequence list can be performed by selecting the After or Before icon. The chosen pattern (at the top of the window) is inserted in the appropriate position. To alter the chosen pattern for insertion, select the arrow-icon at the top, which produces a list of all available patterns. Select as appropriate. Patterns -------- The pattern is effectively the simplest building block for sequenced music. It consists of 64 events, each event containing information for the four voices. As music is played, the events are stepped through according to the music speed, and as each event occurs the music information for the four voices is replayed. When the pattern is exhausted, the sequence list is examined to find the next pattern to be played, and this process carries on indefinitely. Inserting a pattern ------------------- This is performed by selecting Pattern.Insert from the main menu. Providing the maximum number of patterns is not exceeded (see the Preferences section), a new blank pattern will be inserted. This will become the pattern currently being edited, reflected in the status of the main pane. Selecting a pattern ------------------- By selecting the arrow-icon in the main pane, a menu listing all available patterns will appear, from which it is possible to alter the one currently in use. Removing a pattern ------------------ This operation removes the pattern currently in use, and can be performed by selecting Pattern.Remove from the main menu. If confirmed, the pattern will be removed, and all references to it in the sequence list are also removed. Cloning a pattern ----------------- This is identical to inserting a pattern, but for the fact that the pattern currently in use is automatically duplicated into the new pattern. This operation is performed by selecting Pattern.Clone from the main menu. Clearing a pattern ------------------ This operation completely blanks the pattern currently in use, and is performed by selecting Pattern.Clear from the main menu. Entering notes -------------- The process of entering notes always uses the instrument currently in use, and inserts note information into the pattern currently in use. The pattern data in the main window reflects the four voices as columns, in 64 event rows. Notes can be entered via the computer keyboard, where the keys relate to certain note values, and the +/- keys alter the octave in use. Alternatively, selecting Misc.Show Keyboard from the main menu produces a small window containing a graphic representation of a synthesizer keyboard, where notes may be selected more conventionally. Moving around ------------- To gain the block cursor for editing, select the appropriate pattern entry. A blue block cursor will appear. Every time a note is entered it will be stored in this position before moving the block cursor to the next entry. To position the block cursor elsewhere, either use the cursor keys, or reselect the required position in the pattern. To exit the editing mode, press ESCAPE. Octaves ------- The main pane dictates which octave the notes are based on. To alter this, select the adjacent arrow-icon. A menu listing the available octaves will appear, from which it is possible to make a selection. Marking an area --------------- Operations are available to alter large areas of patterns, as opposed to just individual notes. The marking of an area requires dictation of the upper-left, and then lower-right, corners of the area. To do so, move the block cursor to the top-left of the area, and press F6. Repeat this procedure with the block cursor at the bottom-right of the desired area, and the newly marked area will become highlighted. Alternatively, if the entire area lies within the visible boundary of the main window, holding down select at the top-left and dragging the mouse to the bottom-right corner can be used to mark the required area. Either way, once the area has been marked the following group operations may be performed… Copying ------- Move the block cursor to the top-left of the area for copying. Selecting Select.Copy from the main menu will force the marked area to be copied into the destination area. Care may be needed if the source and destination areas overlap. Moving ------ This operation is identical to that of copying, except that the source area is subsequently cleared, with the net effect being that the marked area has been moved. To perform this operation, select Select.Move from the main menu. Deleting -------- This operation removes all note information from the marked area, and so should be used with caution. Use Select.Delete from the main menu to perform this operation. Clearing -------- To unset the markers that identify the marked area, select Select.Clear from the main menu. Merging ------- This operation can be used to effectively overlap the information from the marked area onto that of the destination area. Selecting Select.Merge from the main menu will perform this operation. Care may be needed if the source and destination areas overlap. Altering the note ----------------- Selecting Edit.Alter note from the main menu causes the note-editing window to appear. This allows basic note information in the marked area to be altered. More specifically, the following three attributes can be modified : • Instrument Alter instrument • Note value Change a note value • Octave Change an octave value Each option can be toggled on or off, and the arrow-icons can be used to select the source/destination values. When satisfied, selecting the OK icon causes the changes to take place. Altering the effects -------------------- This option functions in the same way as that for altering note information, and can be utilised by selecting Edit.Alter effect from the main menu. However, the window allows for differing effects to be applied, and these are : • Pan from Stereo positioning • Volume Volume control (0-127) • Speed Speed changes (1-15) • Bend by Pitch bending Again, the individual effects may be toggled on or off, and the arrow-icons used to alter the desired values. When satisfied, selecting the OK icon causes the changes to take place. Pattern jumping --------------- One final effect available is to force a sequence jump. This is performed by selecting Pattern.Jump from the main menu. The pattern jump window will appear, from which it is possible to enter the sequence position to be jumped to. This facility is useful for creating continuous music. For example, to jump back to the start of the sequence list, a value of 1 would be required. Providing the value entered lies within the bounds of the sequence list, it will be stored in the pattern, and reflected as a red entry. Maintenance ----------- Having covered the three concepts of sequenced music and their application to the editor, it should now be possible to experiment in making music. The only requirement left is to document the general maintenance of music, covering topics such as file saving and loading, etc. Playing ------- To listen to music in the editor, select Misc.Play Music from the main menu. The play window will appear, from which it is possible to select the Play/Stop icons to play/stop the music. The progress of music is continually updated in the window. Toggling the "From start?" icon dictates whether the music is played from the start of the sequence list, or from the currently selected entry in the sequence list (highlighted in red). Saving ------ An editor would not be of much practical use if it did not allow information to be saved. From the Misc.Save entry of the main menu it is possible to save the following files : • Application Entire music application • Instrument The current instrument • Music Data Pattern data only Music applications can be exported to packages such as !HQ-Player, whilst the extraction of instruments can be useful for exporting to libraries. The exporting of music data can be useful when collaborating on large pieces of music. Loading ------- Music information can be reloaded into the editor. The loading of instruments has already been covered, leaving the other two to be detailed. A music application can be loaded by double-clicking on its icon, or dragging it to any editor window. If the current data is unsaved, confirmation will be required. When loading a music application, if not enough memory could be allocated, the editor will intelligently try to load in as much as possible. A music data file can be loaded explicitly, by the same process as above. The only difference is that with music data files the instruments are omitted. Preferences ----------- The editor contains a preferences section, where global information on the status of the music system can be edited. The parameters catered for are : • Voices Muting, stereo positions • Master Controls Master speed and volume • Misc Quality and patterns Making changes -------------- The Voices section allows each of the four voices to be switched on or off, and also defines the initial stereo position of each. The Master Controls section allows the initial speed of music to be set, and also the overall volume of the music system (as a value from 0 to 127). The Misc section contains two items. Quality allows the choice from a range of sample rates (measured in KHz). These cater for different sound qualities with high sample rates providing better sounds, but at the expense of speed and memory. The quality selected should match those of the instruments being used. The second item is Reserved Patterns. This determines the maximum number of patterns reserved in the editor, from 1 to 256. The more patterns reserved, the more memory taken up by the editor. Any changes made to this value will not take effect until the next time the software is loaded. To save the preferences as default, select the Save icon. To cancel any changes just made and restore the previous values select the Cancel icon. To accept the current preferences select the OK icon. Music information ----------------- Available through Misc.Info… from the main menu. This details the memory usage within the editor, and also states the music title and author, which may be changed by selecting and editing the appropriate text icon. Quitting -------- To quit the HQTracker application, select Quit from the iconbar menu, available from the HQTracker icon on the iconbar. APPENDIX 1 TROUBLE-SHOOTING ---------------- Most problems that arise are reported using non-technical terms. However, this appendix gives solutions to the more awkward problems that may arise when using the HQ-Tracker system. PlayModule not resident This occurs if an HQ-Tracker application is run, and the PlayModule software has not been installed. Double-click on the !SystemHQ application and try again. If this does not work, the copy of PlayModule in the !SystemHQ folder has been removed. PlayModule out of date An application is being run which requires a later version of the PlayModule. Contact Mycroft Software for an upgrade. PlayModule not found in the resources The copy of the PlayModule software, essential to the functioning of the HQ-Tracker system, has been removed from the !SystemHQ folder. Contact Mycroft Software for a replacement. OManage not found in the resources The copy of the OManage software, essential to the functioning of the HQ-Tracker system, has been removed from the !SystemHQ folder. Contact Mycroft Software for a replacement. An error occurred whilst saving… This occurs if storage information has failed to be written, such as when the preferences in the editor are saved and the disc is write-protected. The error itself is always accompanied by a description of the disc fault, which usually states the exact nature of the error. The music has no ‹?›… This error is reported if a music application is being loaded and does not contain the exact information required. This is usually due to corruption, and unless the software can continue loading it, the music application should be regarded as corrupted. Fatal Error : ‹error› (‹number›) In the unlikely event of a serious bug in the HQ-Tracker software, the above error will be reported. If the error occurs before the software has installed itself, the error report will appear on a black screen. If the software has successfully installed before the problem occurs, the error will be reported in a standard error window. In either event, the description of the error should be noted down, and passed to Mycroft Software for analysis. (A full description of the machine it occurred on, and the events leading up to the error, should also be included).