HOW TO USE ANTIC MUSIC PROCESSOR BY STEVEN LASHOWER Antic Music Processor (AMP) is a powerful assembly language program requiring a minimum 48K memory. Antic Music Processor can play four voices over a range of 5 1/2 octaves. Songs with more than 10,000 notes can be entered quickly and easily by anyone who knows how to read sheet music and has an elementary knowledge of music theory: USING THE PROGRAM Use DOS command C to copy the AMP2.EXE file to another disk that has a DOS.SYS file. Then, use DOS command E to rename AMP2.EXE to AUTORUN.SYS. DON'T try to run the Antic Music Processor directly from the monthly Antic Disk. Turn off your computer and remove all cartridges. Place the disk in drive 1. Hold down the [OPTION] key if you're using an XL or XE. Antic Music Processor will load and run automatically. Following are the Original Antic Music Processor commands: (See the article in this issue for a complete explanation of the New Commands!) [L]oad a song - press [L], then enter the filename of a song to load from disk. With Version 2, you can load files from drive 2 by simply adding the drive number, as in D2:FILENAME.EXT. [P]lay Music - plays the music in memory. AMP will ask you for the voices and measures to play. The highlighted voice numbers are played. To toggle a voice on or off, type the number (1-4) of that voice. Press [RETURN] after choosing voices. Select Measures [x,y] - Specify a starting measure, x, and an ending measure, y. If no measures are selected, the song will play from beginning to end. (Lyrics will run correctly only if the song plays from the beginning.) Press [RETURN] after making your selection, and the song will begin. Press [START] to return to the main menu before the song ends. [E]dit Music - On entering the editor, the Voice #1 column will be highlighted and the first measure of each voice will be displayed. At the bottom of the screen are the status lines, showing: 1. Number of beats in the present measure (For example: Beats=0). 2. The current Meter and Tempo (For example: Meter=4/4 and Tempo=100 beats per minute). 3. The key signature (For example: Key=0#). 4. The amount of memory left for entering notes (For example: Mem=31250). The following Music Editor Command Specifications are written in Backus-Naur Form. The following explanations of these terms assume the reader has an elementary knowledge of music theory: NOTES AND RESTS Note[Acc][Oct][Dur][Env][/Dyn]:Res t [Dur] Note: A-G Rest: R Accidental (Optional): #:F:N (1) Octave (Optional): 1-6 (2) Duration (Optional): D:D.:D..:D3:^X (D=W:H:Q:E:S:T:Z; X=1-255) Envelope: ):>:':" (3) Dynamic -- quietest to loudest: PPP:PP:P:MP:MF:F:FF:FFF:F1:F2:F3:F4:F 5:F6:F7 Bracket symbols [ ] separate different options. If not specified, all optional items take on the values shown in the status lines at the bottom of the screen. A note can be followed by an accidental -- sharp (#), flat (F), or natural (N). You don't need to enter sharps or flats if they're in the key signature. Accidentals carry through until the end of a measure, or until you specify a new accidental. For example, C# remains sharp until you enter CN, or start the next measure. Note C, octave 4 (C4) is middle C. If you do not specify the octave, the octave number of the note nearest the previous note is used. For example, a C following a B3 is interpreted as C4, not C3. ENVELOPES ) Ties notes together > Normal note envelope (not printed on screen) ' Slightly faster decay than > " Fastest note decay (staccato) MEASURES AND TEMPO M - Insert measure marker. Tx - Change Tempo to x (x=35 (slowest) to x=290 (fastest). ) CURSOR COMMANDS [CONTROL] [ARROW] key combinations move the cursor in the direction of the arrow. [SHIFT] [UP-ARROW] moves the cursor to the next measure, and [SHIFT] [DOWN-ARROW] moves it to previous measure. CONTROL COMMANDS Mx - Display measure x. MET=x/y - Change meter (x=1-32, y=1:2:4:8:16:32). KEY=na - Key signature (n=0-7, a=#:F). For G major, enter KEY=1#. P - Play Notes showing in current edit column. DELETE AND RESTORE [DELETE] - Remove the last character in the data entry line. [CONTROL] [DELETE] - Remove the note at the cursor. [CONTROL] [INSERT] - Restore the note at the cursor. CUT AND PASTE [SHIFT] [DELETE] - Place the note at the cursor in the buffer. [SHIFT] [INSERT] - Place the notes in buffer at the cursor. [SHIFT] [CLEAR] - Clear all data in the buffer. MISCELLANEOUS [ESCAPE] returns you to the main menu. This works at any point in the program except during playback, when you should use [START]. [C] Clear Music - Press [C] to clear all notes from the computer's memory. [T] Tempo - Playback speed can be selected by pressing [T] from the main menu, or embedding tempo commands with the notes. Tempo can range from 35 (slowest) to 290 (fastest). [S] Save File - Type in the filename and press [RETURN]. [D] Disk Directory - Pressing [RETURN] without specifying a filename will list all of the files on the disk in drive 1. Specify the drive and file name to see a listing of files on other drives. For example, enter D2:*.* to see all the files on the disk in drive 2. Once the directory has been displayed, you can [L]ock, [U]nlock or [D]elete a file. [F] Format Disk - PERMANENTLY erases ALL DATA from current disk in the specified drive. Use with caution.
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