AMPLINEX 009

AMPLINEX issue 009 was published in January 1989. Each AMPLINEX magazine is stored as a 200K single-sided 80-track disk image file (.ssd file type). The image can be used to create disks for a BBC Micro or can be loaded into a BBC emulator. For the disks to run, the BBC (real or emulated) must have an AMPLE Nucleus ROM installed and be running the Hybrid Music System.

News and reviews

In this issue we review two new music discs from Hybrid Technology. We had intended to include a review of the new Music 5000 Junior which was due to be released in January. We have been told, however, by Hybrid Technology that it will now be released during February. We hope, therefore, to include a review in the March issue of AMPLINEX.

'AMPLE DCT' by various

Roy Follett

This disc, currently available from Hybrid Technology, contains twelve tunes. Except for two pieces, it is the work of Alistair Johnson, who has composed and programmed some very nice melodic tunes. Very easy on the ear.

As one would expect, this disc advertises the merits of contacting AMPLE DCT by modem, but I would have liked to have had more information about the pieces, when typing "info".

'Theme tune' has an 'info' which contains an invitation to phone DCT2 on 0384 238073, and I quote:

"What is in it for you? Well who knows: if you manage to locate an accurate source you can have a free AMPLE DCT disc. (Treat it as a blank disc if you wish!)".

Intriguing!

My only real criticism of this offering is that it ought to have been more representative of the people who access DCT's database rather than of Alistair Johnson.

All in all, good tunes, splendid sounds, heavy on the adverts, but worth adding to your collection.

'Contrast' by Pilgrim Beart

Kevin Doyle

'Contrast' is the third AMPLE music album from Pilgrim Beart and his mastery of the AMPLE language is once again demonstrated to excellent effect. I think it is his best so far.

The previous two albums from Pilgrim Beart ('Cosmix' and 'Notes') suffered from the electronic music equivalent of Parkinson's Law which says that 'the composer will expand the music to fill the number of channels available'. This resulted in music which always got very complex, very quickly and the good points of the compositions often got lost.

In this album things are rather more restrained - the melodic lines are less frenetic, and some strong riffs emerge in pieces such as 'Smudge' and 'Wak'. As is usual with Pilgrim Beart, there are a number of interesting instruments and sounds, and these are subject to better arrangement than in the previous albums.

The previous Pilgrim Beart albums have been as interesting for their non-musical use of the AMPLE language as for their music, and 'Contrast' is probably the most interesting yet. The opening titles make a dramatic start to the album with an ingenious use of Shadow RAM to display a mode 1 screen which contains a digitised picture which I take to be Pilgrim Beart, (though, as he himself comments, it looks more like Gene Pitney) and a 'Contrast' logo which changes in intensity as the menu options are passed.

This inventiveness continues through the album with such devices as a do-it-yourself tune where you select the sections to be played ('Arrange'), a primitive story generator ('Majic') and an 'info' which is likely to give you a different response each time you request it ('Belief').

More than any other AMPLE composer, Pilgrim Beart seems to be able to combine the musical and the visual to good effect, and this makes it all the more likely that this album will have something of interest for everyone.

If, like me, you thought the best bit of 'Cosmix' was the 'spacephone' you will find plenty of other ingenious ideas on this album. If you like the music of Pilgrim Beart, then I am sure this album will not disappoint.

One final point. I was surprised to discover that one of the pieces on the disc ('Tzis') exhibited the same problem as one of the recent AMPLINEX music pieces ('Save Me' in AMPLINEX 006) when played using an early release of the Studio 5000 system disc. The piece has a long PLAY string which, on such systems, causes the music to stop part-way through.

Both of the discs reviewed above are available from:

Hybrid Technology
Unit 3 Robert Davies Court
Nuffield Road
CAMBRIDGE CB4 1TP

priced £4.95 inclusive of postage and packing.

Related files on this disc:

$.Born - from the 'AMPLE DCT' music disc

$.Belief - from the 'Contrast' music disc

Both these files are in the 'Music' section of this disc and are provided courtesy of Hybrid Technology.

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Pavane - La Venissiene

by Pete Holdroyd

Composed by: Claude Gervaise

A pavane was a stately dance, wherein those taking part would be elaborately costumed. I think originally the dance was imported from Spain.

I am interested in Baroque music, and play alto and tenor Recorder, an instrument of the period, up to a point.

This music derives from a collection for Recorder Ensemble, and translates well (I think) to the Hybrid System. The percussion line is mine own!

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.VENISSI

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

The Sweeney

by A J P McMaster

Composed by: Harry South

This piece was converted from sheet music published in "Bumper book of TV Themes" by International Music Publications.

I have made it quite laid back and understated and I think it suits this treatment.

Thanks to Richard Bettis for the excellent piano playing action which I lifted straight from AMPLINEX 005.

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.SWEENEY

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

A Medley of Sea Shanties

by Roy Atkins

Composed by: Traditional

Arrangement by Leon Bailey

Heave ho! Imagine an old clipper on the way to the RIO GRANDE; a sailor picks up his trusty concertina and starts to play the well-known shanty. Others join him and soon someone starts picking out the tune on an old bell or two.

"We're bound for the Rio Grande...since rovings been my ruin...mark well what I do say...Hey! There's a fire down below ...fetch a bucket of water boys"... and they finish off with "What shall we do with the drunken sailor ?" and they get so carried away that they play two tunes at once... until they play a reprise of the RIO GRANDE.

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.SHANTY

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Polish Dance

by G H Richardson

I wrote this piano piece many years ago and having developed a reasonable piano tone by borrowing and adaptation I AMPLISED it and am quite pleased with the result. In programming it I ran into three problems:

1) 'Too many players...’;
2) Gaps between mixes;
3) The PLAY sequence was too long to fit on one line in the 'RUN' word.

The first I solved by using "unmixes"; the second by using "trailing notes"; and the third I got round but didn't solve.

Further details can be found in this issue's 'Hints and Tips' and 'Questions and Answers' sections.

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.POLDANS

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Lullaby of Birdland

by Ben Braithwaite

Composed by: George Shearing

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.BIRD

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Invisible Touch

by Keith Milner

Composed by: Banks, Collins & Rutherford

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.INVISIB

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

How About You

by John Bartlett

Composed by: Freed & Lane

Just a little exercise in trying to humanise the electronics.

My main interest tends towards jazz and its consequential difficulties of timing and "feel". Essentially this arrangement is a trio of vibes, guitar and bass and the final bar before the CODA in player 2 can be very simply modified to provide a nice lead into an improvisation if anyone wishes to have a go - (how about you?).

The chords are fairly generic but can be read via the Staff editor or Notepad.

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.HOW

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Holding Back the Years

by Ben Davies

Composed by: Hucknall & Moss

Hello! My name is Ben Davies, I'm 14 years old and I'm from Stockport, just south of Manchester. I got my BBC Micro at Christmas 1984, and since then I have added a disk drive, modem, printer, and of course, Music 5000 to my system. I am a member of Prestel so if any of you ever want to contact me via the Prestel network my mailbox number is 614832504.

Some months ago, I bought the musical score to 'Holding Back The Years', but until now I have never got round to actually programming it. Anyway, now I have taken the time to encode it into AMPLE, I am very pleased with the result. I think the piece sounds quite 'soothing' if the leading part is omitted, so make sure you give that a try!

I have used a couple of interesting instruments in this piece. Firstly, 'mysyn', which is a variation on the 'digisyn' instrument in the User Guide. Like most instruments, I came across it by 'fiddling' with the waveforms and envelopes. The other original instrument is 'echosnare', which is simply the 'snare' instrument in the User Guide with 'Short' altered to 'Echohit'.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy listening to and improving 'Holding Back the Years' and I hope that the thought, "Hmmm, not bad for a 14-year old", crosses your mind at some stage!

Ben Davies (aged 14)

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.YEARS

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Eyres Rock

by Bill Buckley

Aborigine style chant piece

This music is written so that it plays forever and so this recording is just a sample of the music that it could produce.

Each letter of the lower case alphabet has been assigned a note and duration value; abcdefgABCDEFG have the usual AMPLE meanings. Experiment by defining sub-parts (e.g. cat dog) and then using them in various loops in "part1" etc. (See also "HUMPTY").

Alternatively, type READY 1 VOICES plus an instrument at the '%' prompt and type in words at the keyboard (in lower case except ABCDEFG) to listen to "The Sound Of Language".

The words 'vapour' and 'nkiuop' give a feel of the possibilities.

Note - spaces mean null
- timings/pitches semi arbitrary.

If you develop further let me know!

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.EYRES

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

DIY House Mix

by Mike Dobson

Example mix created using software

Press these keys now...
OFF ON
Bass line 1 Q
Synth thing 2 W
Ningy noise 3 E
Cowbell 4 R
Bass drum 5 T
Piano part 6 Y
Snare drum 7 U

Keep going until you can't bear it.

On examining the program you will see player 9 consists of a very simple bit of code which checks the keys and turns the volume of the appropriate player on or off.

As you can hear the music is just a collection of 'House Music' cliches. So maybe you could insert your own more creative tunes. It will however take some time before you've used up all the possible combinations of players.

I don't actually like house music but it's good fun to program and ideal for a computer/sequencer.

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.DIY

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

DCT Maestro is Born

by Alistair Johnson

From the album 'AMPLEDCT'

Courtesy of Hybrid Technology

AMPLE DCT's MAESTRO Section
===========================

To conform with the present copyright laws, AMPLE DCT pays the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society for the copyright files we issue on our online viewdata host each year. Our payment has to take into account the number of people who 'download' the files over the telephone.

As AMPLE DCT receives no funding from the Educational Support Grant that maintains the DCT DATABASE, it was proposed that copyright music files would be placed in a Closed User Group. There is a small subscription charge to gain access to the Closed User Group and the copyright music.

The Closed User Group is called MAESTRO, an approximate acronym for Music Area with Exclusive Software Repository. (What do you mean 'I bet they thought of the name before the definition' ??) Details are available on the database, (0348) 239944 - viewdata format, or from David King, who runs the 24 hour DCT DATABASE at Dudley College of Technology - a free public and educational on-line system.

The DCT DATABASE provides free BBC telesoftware and a range of teaching materials for schools and colleges. AMPLE DCT is our Hybrid Music section. Don't worry if you don't have a modem: we shall be making more of our music available on disc very soon.

Please write to us if you have any queries:

DCT Database c/o David King
Dudley College of Technology
The Broadway
Dudley
West Midlands
DY1 4AS

Please note that all services except MAESTRO are completely free. The only cost is the phone call!

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.BORN

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Birky's Song

by Frances Wymans

Birky is a crazy Rough Collie, with an amazing desire to whine at the keyboard, or Music 5000.

From an assortment of musical ideas, I was given a great deal of help and encouragement by Stewart Watson, to eventually produce Birky's Song.

Frances Wymans, December 1988

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.BIRKY

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Belief

by Pilgrim Beart

From the album 'Contrast'

Courtesy of Hybrid Technology

"People only think a thing's worth believing in if it's hard to believe." - Armiger Barclay

Source: AMPLINEX 009 disk, file $.BELIEF

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

BCE equivalents to Studio 5000 waveforms

Ian Guinan
For more details see U.NewWave. To be *EXECed into AMPLE BCE and then RUN.

"Bright" [ WZERO
88 1 WH! 80 2 WH! 88 3 WH!
32 4 WH! 40 5 WH! 16 6 WH!
8 7 WH! 2 8 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"Broad" [ WZERO
64 1 WH! 60 2 WH! 56 3 WH!
60 4 WH! 56 5 WH! 50 6 WH!
48 7 WH! 44 8 WH! 40 9 WH!
48 10 WH! 48 11 WH! 44 12 WH!
44 14 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"Clear" [ WZERO
92 1 WH! 92 4 WH! 92 8 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"Hard" [ WZERO
72 1 WH! 72 2 WH! 72 3 WH!
8 4 WH! 72 5 WH! 8 6 WH!
6 7 WH! 72 8 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"High" [ WZERO
128 13 WH! 128 15 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"Metal" [ 0 RAND!
128 FOR( RAND? INDEX WG! )FOR
WGC ]

"Pipes" [ WZERO
120 1 WH! 70 2 WH! 70 4 WH!
70 6 WH! 70 8 WH! 4 12 WH!
70 16 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"Reedy" [ WZERO
128 1 WH! 112 2 WH! 84 3 WH!
56 4 WH! 24 5 WH! 16 7 WH!
28 8 WH! 28 9 WH! 24 10 WH!
12 11 WH! 10 13 WH! 12 14 WH!
16 15 WH! 12 16 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"Round" [ WZERO
120 1 WH! 36 2 WH! 12 3 WH!
10 4 WH! 8 5 WH! 6 6 WH!
2 7 WH! 2 8 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"Syncer" [ WZERO
WHG WGC ]

"Pure" [ WZERO
128 1 WH! 10 3 WH! 4 5 WH!
2 7 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"Watery" [ WZERO
96 2 WH! 96 4 WH! 96 5 WH!
WHG WGC ]

"Sharp" [ 128 FOR(
INDEX #11 #+ 129 #- INDEX WG!
)FOR WGC ]

"setup" [
1 WMOD Bright
2 WMOD Broad
3 WMOD Clear
4 WMOD Hard
5 WMOD High
6 WMOD Metal
7 WMOD Pipes
8 WMOD Reedy
9 WMOD Round
10 WMOD Syncer
11 WMOD Sharp
12 WMOD Pure
13 WMOD Watery
]

CLEAR

10.% This files contains rough
20.% BCE equivalents for Studio 5000
30.% waveforms.
40.%
50.% by Ian Guinan
60.setup

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

New waveforms via AMPLE BCE

Ian Guinan of Music City

If you upgraded to the Studio 5000 software from the Music 500's AMPLE BCE I am sure you are very happy with the improvement, but not with the loss of the ability to program your own waveforms and envelopes. All is not lost however. With a little effort you can reclaim the programmable waveform feature from BCE whilst enjoying the programming ease and improved sound of the Studio 5000.

First, backup your Studio 5000/4000 system disc, and on your new copy alter the !BOOT file to remove the */C.PREPARE statement. Now, dig out your old AMPLE BCE disc, start up AMPLE BCE with

*/AMPLE

and load in the preset waveforms with

"Preset1" LOAD RUN

Once these are loaded, press CTRL-BREAK and then !BOOT up your modified Studio 5000/4000 disc. Load in a favourite tune, and just hear the difference!

I am sure you will agree that the results leave a lot to be desired (the Metal waveform has been replaced by a delta wave hence the very weird drums etc.), but it should by now be apparent that you have supplied Nucleus with a whole new set of waveforms.

What has happened requires a little further explanation. The waveforms used by the 500 and 5000 are stored in the synthesiser hardware and with the Studio 5000 software they are set up by the */C.PREPARE command in the !BOOT file (which also reclaims memory from the DFS - see page 89 of the Studio 500 User Guide).

In AMPLE BCE, however, the waveforms are defined and written to the hardware using the AMPLE words WMOD, WH!, WG!, WG?, WHG and WGC. The file 'Preset1' sets up the 13 default waveforms.

Therefore by running 'Preset1' in AMPLE BCE and then taking out the */C.PREPARE step in the Studio 5000 !BOOT file we have allowed the AMPLE BCE waveforms to remain in the synthesiser for use in the Studio 5000 environment.

The waveforms in AMPLE BCE are accessed by number (1 WAVE, 3 WAVE, etc.) whereas the Studio 5000 waveforms are referred to by name (Bright, Broad, etc.). The list below shows which Studio 5000 waveforms (in alphabetical order) relate to which BCE waveforms.

Bright = 1
Broad = 2
Clear = 3
Hard = 4
High = 5
Hollow = (see note below)
Metal = 6
Pipes = 7
Pure = 12
Reedy = 8
Round = 3
Syncer = 10
Sharp = 11
Watery = 13

So, using AMPLE BCE to program a square wave into wave number 8, will result in Reedy having that waveform in the Studio 5000 environment. The names of the Studio 5000 waves are unalterable, so I am afraid you will have to keep the above list handy!

The Nucleus waveform Hollow is slightly strange, but I presume that this is the extra 14th waveform and is preset by the Nucleus ROM - any ideas anyone?

Using this method you may now produce BCE files to program slightly different waves for your Studio 5000 programs. To get you started I have produced a BCE version of the standard Studio 5000 waveforms using the harmonic amplitude graphs on p127-129 of the Studio 5000 User Guide. The program is included on this disc in text format (not as an AMPLE BCE program) in order that members who have not got a copy of AMPLE BCE can see its format. It should therefore be *EXECed into AMPLE BCE from the '%' prompt and then RUN.

I am sure this will provide some quite interesting extra sounds for those of you who have reached the limits of the Nucleus presets.

Have fun!

Related file on this disc:

U.Preset2 - AMPLE BCE version of the Studio 5000 waveforms. In text format, to be *EXECed into AMPLE BCE.

Unfortunately for those members who are interested in the above utility but who have not got a copy of AMPLE BCE, the software is no longer available from Hybrid Technology. It may, however, be possible to purchase the software second-hand from a lapsed Music 500 owner.

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Instruments

To make the best use of disc space we have combined several instrument definitions into one file. These can be saved individually if required, either by loading/saving via a word processor or from within AMPLE (after *EXECing in this file) using:

*SPOOL insfile
"insname" TYPE
*SPOOL

where 'insfile' is the file on which the individual instrument definition is to be held and 'insname' is the word containing the instrument definition.

%-------------------------------------
% AMPLINEX 009 instrument definitions
%-------------------------------------

"bdrum4" [4 CHANS
1 PAIR CHAN
Pure         Zap          Short
-42 PITCH     -1 POS
3 PAIR CHAN
Broad        Click
-30 PITCH      1 POS
EVERY CHAN
ON PHSET    128 AMP
% by Roger Cawkwell
% see notes in "sb/info"
]

"snare4" [4 CHANS
1 CHAN
ON RM      120 AMP
2 CHAN
-669 SHIFT
1 PAIR CHAN
Metal        Percuss
3 CHAN
Pure         Percuss 120 AMP
4 CHAN
Metal        Click    128 AMP
EVERY CHAN
ON PHSET
Drop     -14 PITCH
% by Roger Cawkwell
% see notes in "sb/info"
]

"bX" [bdrum4X]

"sX" [snare4X]

"sb/info" []

"sb/info2" []

"sb/info3" []

"sb/info4" []

"wait" [NL"Press a key..."$OUT
#IN#2NLNL]

"sb/info" [DISPLAY
% Notes on "snare4" and "bdrum4"
% by Roger Cawkwell
%
% These rich and extravagant
% instruments each take up four
% channels. If they are both included
% in the same mix, half of the Music
% 5000's voices will have been
% allocated! Clearly another strategy
% is necessary.
waitsb/info2
]

"sb/info2" [DISPLAY
% The two short words "bX" and "sX"
% both swap and strike the instrument
% so that providing you are happy
% about not using snare and bass drums
% together (not a great handicap, I
% think) they will use a total of four
% channels.
waitsb/info3
]

"sb/info3" [DISPLAY
% Percussion parts then look something
% like this:
%
% 24, REP( bX / sX / bX X sX / )REP
%
% Notice the plain X to re-strike bd4.
% The relevant line in the mix should
% contain a reference to only one
% instrument:
%
% 2 SHARE 1 VOICES snare4
%
waitsb/info4
]

"sb/info4" [DISPLAY
% VOL and PAN settings are not
% included in the mix because changing
% an instrument returns VOL to 128 and
% PAN to 0 so if you require values
% different from these they must be
% included in the change/strike words,
% eg:
%
% "bX" [ bd4 100 VOL -1 PANX ]
%
% "sX" [ snare4 -2 PAN 'X ]
%
% Turn the volume down when trying
% them (you have been warned!)
]

"church" [2 CHANS
1 CHAN
Onoff      2 POS
2 CHAN
-193 SHIFT    128 AMP
Tailed         -2 POS
EVERY CHAN
Pipes        Flat
% Very stereo, this one. A bit more
% oomph with a very wide sound. Can be
% used convincingly even in -3:
% octave. Personally I think the Music
% 5000 is brilliant at big organs.
% by Corin Greaves
]

"dblbass" [2 CHANS
1 CHAN
Round        Flat         Strike
125 FM
2 CHAN
Bright       Flat         Peaked
382 SHIFT    100 OFFSET
EVERY CHAN
ON PHSET
% A bit odd unless used properly.
% Firstly it is only convincing in the
% -2: octave due to the FM phasing. It
% is quite soft and should be doubled
% up with another voice the same if it
% is to be heard in music.
% by Corin Greaves
]

"mellow4" [4 CHANS
1 CHAN
High         Flat         Percuss
192 SHIFT
2 CHAN
Pure         Delvib       Strike
    3 SHIFT
3 CHAN
Pure         Delvib       Long
    0 SHIFT     -3 POS
4 CHAN
Pure         Delvib       Long
    1 SHIFT      3 POS
EVERY CHAN
ON PHSET    128 AMP
% by Mark A J Mulders
]

"smooth4" [4 CHANS
1 CHAN
Watery       Vibrato      Tailed
128 AMP       ON SYNC    -420 SHIFT
2 CHAN
Syncer       Slowvib      Spike
3 CHAN
Watery       Deepvib      Tailed
128 AMP       ON SYNC    -440 SHIFT
4 CHAN
Syncer       Vibrato      Spike
    1 SHIFT    200 OFFSET
EVERY CHAN
OFF PHSET
% Fairlight eat you heart out!
% by Mark A J Mulders
]

"trumpet" [2 CHANS
1 CHAN
3 POS
2 CHAN
-3 POS 100 OFFSET
EVERY CHAN
Sharp Slowvib Puff
128 AMP
% Trumpet.
% Best range 0:C to 2:C
% by Andy Knight
]

"trumpet4" [4 CHANS
1 CHAN
Reedy        Flat         Onoff
2 CHAN
    2 SHIFT    100 OFFSET   128 AMP
Sharp        Delvib       Puff
3 CHAN
192 SHIFT    100 AMP
Hard         Flat         Strike
4 CHAN
   -2 SHIFT     98 AMP
Bright       Flat         Soft
ON PHSET
% It sounds best in octave 1. Lower
% down it could be a base for trombone
% and euphonium.
% by G H Richardson
]

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Hints and tips

Saving memory with default settings

Roger Cawkwell

As the Music 5000 system reads mixes and instrument definitions it makes certain assumptions unless the contents of the mix and instrument words dictate otherwise. For example, every time an instrument is put on a voice, as in

3 SHARE 1 VOICES Upright

then the volume is set at maximum (128) unless there is a <number> VOL instruction to the contrary.

In the same way, the PAN position is set to the centre (0) unless otherwise instructed.

These are known as the 'default values' and if they happen to be precisely the values you require then you may leave them out. This means, however, that you must forgo the luxury of creating your mix with the Mixing Desk, as it always includes all parameters - but the payoff is increased free memory.

For example, a simple mix (as made in the Mixing Desk) might look something like

M5MIX 48,120=T 0 M5TRANS
1 SHARE 3 VOICES Upright
1 VOICE 128 VOL -2 PAN
2 VOICE 128 VOL -1 PAN
3 VOICE 128 VOL 0 PAN
2 SHARE 2 VOICES
1 VOICE Drum 128 VOL 0 PAN
2 VOICE snare 128 VOL 1 PAN
3 SHARE 1 VOICES bovverbass
1 VOICE 128 VOL 0 PAN
PNUM SHARE

Exactly the same musical effect may be achieved by using Notepad to write

48,120=
T 1SHARE3VOICESUpright
1VOICE-2PAN2VOICE-1PAN
2SHARE2VOICESDrum
2VOICEsnare1PAN
3SHARE1VOICESbovverbass
PNUMSHARE

Not quite so clearly spaced, I admit, but if you're trying to cram in another section and you keep getting the '! No room' error then this inelegant programming will save you, in this case, 111 bytes.

Similarly, the default sound settings for instrument definitions are Hollow, Flat and Onoff - therefore it is pointless including these items. For example,

2 CHANS
1 CHAN
Pure       Flat       Onoff
ON RM      1 SHIFT
2 CHAN
Hollow     Flat       Swell
-1 POS
EVERY CHAN
% I'm not putting this forward as a recommended definition, by the way!

may be replaced by;

2CHANS
1CHANPureONRM1SHIFT
2CHAN Swell-1POS % Notice the space.
EVERYCHAN % Can you see why?

with a corresponding saving in memory.

Both the shortened mix and instrument definitions assume that you know what you want - so if you think you might change your mind then make the definitions 'by the book' so that you can mess around with them first in the Mixing Desk and using Notepad's 'panel' facility - then compress them when free space is running low.

Editing 'Too big' files on a Master

Peter Holdroyd

I was faced with trying to edit a word in the program A.MPLINEX, and found that attempts to load Notepad met with a 'Too Big' error indicating that there was not enough memory available.

How to proceed? Having a BBC Master, one of the built-in utilities is a text editor (EDIT), similar in principle to Notepad, but, being a paged ROM, it doesn't take up memory in the way that Notepad does.

The means of using EDIT is a little long-winded but quite straightforward.

If you want to edit a word called 'word' which forms part of a program called 'prog', then, starting in AMPLE, at the '%' prompt type in:

"prog" LOAD <RETURN>

in order to load the program.

Next, type:

*SPOOL word <RETURN>
"word" TYPE <RETURN>
*SPOOL <RETURN>
*EDIT
<f2>
word <RETURN>

This will write the word definition from AMPLE to a text file and then load this file into EDIT. You can then edit as necessary and resave the text file by typing:

From EDIT, return to BASIC

<f1>
BASIC <RETURN>

and re-boot your Studio 4000/5000 system disc.

Reload the program, and at the '%' prompt type:

"word" DELETE <RETURN>
*EXEC word <RETURN>

and your edited word will be added to the program. Finally, don't forget to resave the program.

An AMPLE bibliography

Alan Mothersole

This is intended to be an occasional series to act as a cross-reference to articles (other than reviews) published outside AMPLINEX which may be of interest to AMPLE users.

Contributions from readers of other publications would be most welcome to complete the list.

1) Acorn User, April 1987, page 90, 'Sing-Along-A-Micro' by Bob Cornford-Wood includes listing for 'Sunrise-Sunset'

2) Micro User, introductory series to Music 5000 by Ian Waugh:

'Music for Pleasure', August 1988, pages 53-56
'Making Music', September 1988, pages 80-82
'Making the Final Arrangements', October 1988, pages 116-118

3) A&B Computing, November 1988, pages 42-44, 'Juke-Box-Jury' by Allan M Gardner listing for automatic jukebox which will play files from disc in any order any number of times

4) Acorn User, December 1988, page 157, file 'Patapan' by Ian Waugh, included on monthly disc only

5) Micro User, January 1989, pages 135-136, Solution to chord rest bug and automatic RUN error found in release 3 of Studio 5000 disc

Gaps between mixes

G H Richardson

It sometimes happens that the natural sequence of notes and bar endings results in a gap between the end of one mix (or section) and the beginning of the next. The gap is quite logical and correct, but it makes the music sound 'clipped'.

I have found that a solution is to 'trail' a note (usually the last note preceding the last bar line) over into a new bar but to leave that bar without a closing bar line. This means that if played in isolation that note would continue to sound indefinitely unless of course followed by a rest.

In fact, what happens is that the note continues only for its given length or until stopped by the next section or mix. If you were to follow the trailing note with a bar line then, of course, the new section or mix would not start until after the bar line and the result would be a bigger gap.

User port splitter

Jim Brook

I recently bought a user port splitter from Watford Electronics, as I use a Trackerball and the Music 4000 keyboard which both need to be connected to this port and it is a nuisance plugging and unplugging them.

In use, I'm afraid it is not very satisfactory. Pressing a key on the keyboard will frequently, though not always, cause the note to be played two or three times in rapid succession. It has to be caused by the splitter, as removing it, and plugging the Music 4000 directly into the port, cures the problem.

Some short words

Diccon Maude

When entering pieces via the Staff editor, I get very frustrated when, after a piece has been RUN, to play the part on the staff (f1) I have to set up voices for it again.

Therefore, I make this word:

"v" [" VOICES "$+]

and then all I have to do is enter '4vUpright' to set up the voices again.

Also, do remember the word

"lr" [" LOAD RUN"$+]

when making a 'Jukebox' menu, as it is invaluable when you want to include a piece with a long title.

Auto-chaining files – a better method

Bernie Dawson

It is often useful to be able to have auto-chaining files so that when one tune finishes playing the next one will automatically LOAD and RUN. The standard way of doing this is summarised below.

You need the following words in your file:

"next" [ REP(var#?)UNTIL(IDLE)REP ]

"var" [ GVAR ]

"wait" [ REP(QTIME-100#<)UNTIL( IDLE)REP ON var#! ]

Suppose your file '1stprog' has a RUN word like

"1234-ab" PLAY

At the start of 'part1a' enter

OFF var #!

At the end of 'part1b' enter the word 'wait'. Alter RUN to

"RUN" [ "1234-ab" PLAY next $2
"""2ndprog""LOADRUN" ]

What happens is as follows: the master player is held up in the loop 'next' waiting for 'var' to be ON. This only happens at the end of the piece whereupon 2ndprog is then LOADed and RUN.

This has the disadvantage that you are left looking at a title screen, the keyboard cannot be used and neither can the Mixing Desk.

What I have long wanted is to have auto-chaining and the ability to use the Mixing Desk.

Here's how! Forget the above but instead add these words to your file:

"tab" [ &900 138 -12 CODE #2 #2 ]

"chain" [ REP(QTIME-100#<)UNTIL(
IDLE)REP $2
"""2ndprog""LOADRUN" tab ]

Put 'tab' at the start of 'part1a' and 'chain' at the end of 'part1b'. The 'RUN' word is unaffected.

The way this works is that 'tab' puts a TAB press into the keyboard buffer thus taking you from command mode into the Mixing Desk. At the end of the piece when player 1 encounters 'chain', 'tab' automatically takes you back to command mode along with the instruction to LOAD and RUN '2ndprog'. What you now have is auto-chaining files plus the visual delights and interaction of the Mixing Desk. It works and I'm well chuffed.

AMPLE and MIDI voices on the keyboard

Ken Hughes

If you have both the Music 4000 keyboard and the Music 2000 MIDI interface you can play an AMPLE voice and a MIDI voice together by using the method described in AMPLINEX 008 - playing two AMPLE voices together and changing one of the VOICE names to MIDIV. You must, however, first make a new !BOOT file, since if you try to load 'Keyboard-general sounds' from the 'Jukebox' program after loading AMPLE using the normal Music 2000 !BOOT file, you will get a 'Too many modules' error.

First, insert your Music 2000 disc and before entering AMPLE use

*TYPE !BOOT

to list this file. Next copy this file using *BUILD !BOOT2 except for the two lines:

"M4" INSTALL

and

"INS1"INSTALL

which you should omit.

Now load AMPLE by using *EXEC !BOOT2 and proceed as directed in AMPLINEX 008, using your Music 4000 disc. You may need to type

READY
1 VOICE MIDIV

in command mode to initialise your MIDI instrument. If you wish to use any of the INS1 voices, *SPOOL them out from one of your discs and *EXEC them into your program as a user voice.

INTEGRA-B expansion board

We have received the following information from COMPUTECH of Grange over Sands, Cumbria:

We manufacture the INTEGRA-B expansion for the BBC Model 'B' and following some pressure from one of your members, Patrick Black of Barrow in Furness, and the kind co-operation of Hybrid Technology, we were able to devise a simple change to the !BOOT file of the Music 5000 system disc which will ensure that the INTEGRA-B board provides the requisite support for these programs.

The modification requires insertion of the following commands at the start of the !BOOT file, on the working copy of the system disc, prior to the *BASIC command:

*OSMODE 4 *SHADOW *SHX ON

This will select OSMODE 4, force Shadow mode at the next mode change, and ensure programs end up in the correct memory bank. Following this small change it will be found that all aspects of the programs work as intended when used with the INTEGRA-B system.

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

AMPLINEX 008 music files – explanation

Tony Walduck

In AMPLINEX 008 two of the pieces of music seemed to have programming problems.

"£1000" (Goodbye to a £1000) gave the error message:

Too many channels in orch4 in player 1

"AxelF" gave the message:

Too many voices in mix1 in player 1

I have managed to make corrections so that the pieces will play as I imagine the authors intended. I have sent the corrected versions to AMPLINEX but here I will describe the techniques I used to investigate the problems in case it might be of interest to others.

Firstly "Goodbye to £1000" as this was the more straightforward to amend.

I started with the error message: 'Too many channels in orch4 in player 1'.

a) Investigated orch4 - everything seemed normal for a 4-channel voice, i.e. 4 CHANS, followed by

1 CHAN...
2 CHAN...
3 CHAN...
4 CHAN...

definitions.

b) Investigated the RUN word:

"1234567-1d3ba2ce4z"PLAY

This indicated that there were 7 players, playing the following parts under the control of 4 mixes:

Player mix1 --mix3-- --mix2-- mix4

   1    1d    1b 1a   1c 1e (1z)
   2    2d    2b 2a   2c 2e (2z)
   3    3d    3b 3a   3c 3e (3z)
   4    4d    4b 4a   4c 4e (4z)
   5    5d    5b 5a   5c 5e (5z)
   6    6d    6b 6a   6c 6e (6z)
   7   (7d) (7b)(7a) 7c 7e (7z)

The parts shown in brackets don't exist, but this doesn't matter. Perhaps the important thing to note is that player 7 doesn't actually have anything to do until mix2.

c) Investigated the mix1 word:

1 SHARE 1 VOICES fatsynth4...
2 SHARE 1 VOICES orch4...
3 SHARE 1 VOICES syn...
4 SHARE 1 VOICES puresim...
5 SHARE 1 VOICES fbass...
6 SHARE 1 VOICES syn...

Note there is nothing here for player 7.

This was now enough to identify the problem which lies in the way the RUN word works.

Initially, the system sees there are 7 players, so it reserves 7 simple voices (each of 2 channels) for their use. So 14 channels have been assigned at this point. Then it sees that the first mix to be used is mix1.

In this mix we can see that the first two players are using 4-channel instruments, so an extra 2 channels must now be assigned for each of these players. This can be done for the first (fatsynth4), but by the time it gets to the second (orch4) all the 16 channels are allocated. So the program fails at this point with the message given.

The reference to player 1 seems a little odd, but it could be that this was the last player acted on before the error occurred, or that the player number had been set to 1 in anticipation of it starting to play music (I favour the latter explanation).

Now we know the problem, how do we correct it?

Remember how player 7 was not used initially? What we need to do is to reclaim the two channels allocated, which would otherwise be unused until much later. So almost certainly mix1 needs to have the line

7 SHARE 1 VOICES UNUSED

as pretty much the first thing, so the channels then become available for orch4.

I have also added the word M5MIX at the start of each mix word (even for mix4: this is not really a mix, more a final part), or otherwise the Mixing Desk does not get updated with changing mix names.

So mix1 now reads:

M5MIX
7 SHARE 1 VOICES UNUSED
1 SHARE 1 VOICES fatsynth4...

This now plays correctly.

"AxelF" has different sorts of problems to be overcome, and takes longer to amend.

I started with the error message: 'Too many voices in mix1 in player 1'.

a) Investigated the mix1 word:

M5MIX ..
1 SHARE 4 VOICES synth1
1 VOICE ..
2 VOICE ..
3 VOICE ..
4 VOICE ..
2 SHARE 1 VOICES bass
1 VOICE ..
3 SHARE 4 VOICES
4 VOICE brush ..
4 SHARE 4 VOICES
2 VOICE Drum ..
4 VOICE snare ..

b) Investigated the instrument definitions - all were for 2-channel instruments.

c) Investigated the parts - those for players 3 and 4 tend to start with the word Perc (see Studio 5000 User Guide, page 37).

There is obviously something funny about players 3 and 4, and the total number of voices for all players comes to 13, more than the 8 allowed, even though no more than 8 voices are actually used.

One quick approach might be to change the latter part of the mix word to:

3 SHARE 1 VOICES
1 VOICE brush ..
4 SHARE 2 VOICES
1 VOICE Drum ..
2 VOICE snare ..

This keeps within the 8-voice limit, and will play without error, but following the music on the Mixing Desk will show that voices 3-1 and 4-1 do not strike at all during the piece. So something is still wrong.

Referring to the manual for the Perc word, the problem becomes clearer. Perc enables up to 6 fixed-pitch percussion instrument voices to be played just by specifying the corresponding 'note'. That is,

D uses Voice 1
E uses Voice 2
F uses Voice 3
G uses Voice 4
A uses Voice 5
B uses Voice 6

In part3 words the only note is G, while in part4 words notes E and G are used. These would correspond to voice 4 in player 3, and voices 2 and 4 in player 4. So these are consistent with the original version of the mix1 word. It would seem that this percussion part may well have been developed in a different environment, without the current shortage of available voices.

So, how can we proceed, given that we still want to retain the tuneful bits?

The method that I used was to take the modified mix1 word above (the other mix words do not refer to either players 3 or 4), and then to go through every part3 word changing G to D (i.e. Voice 4 to Voice 1), and every part4 word changing E to D, and G to E (i.e. Voice 2 to Voice 1, and Voice 4 to Voice 2, respectively).

There is probably an easier way to do this, or some trick that could have been used to avoid all this hassle, but I don't know of it - any offers anyone?

Additionally, part3b and part3g contain the line

4VOICE whoosh...

which now needs to be

1VOICE whoosh...

Having done all this, the piece now plays properly.

I hope I have not given any offence to the authors of these pieces. I am grateful for the challenge presented, as I learn far more about AMPLE by solving problems than I do if everything works right first time. And my musical composition skills are completely non-existent!

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Mixes for beginners – part one

Tim Sketchley

I thought I'd write about mixes because the subject is only briefly described in the Music 5000 User Guide and it's an area in which I've developed some ideas of my own.

It is not the purpose of this article to talk about AMPLE music notation in much detail and I will assume that the reader is familiar with AMPLE music notation (or Staff notation or using a keyboard).

I will start by describing how music can be entered directly (and be heard as a one-part piece), and then move on to the situation where there is more than one part and a mix is set up.

Entering AMPLE music directly

When AMPLE is ready for you to type a command, a percentage sign

is shown on the left of the screen. This sign is known as a prompt, and you can type some AMPLE commands thus:

READY 1 VOICES Upright

(remember to press RETURN after each line).

This sets up a voice on player 0 (in the AMPLE BCE User Guide it's called the static player), and uses the preset instrument Upright on that voice. This prepares AMPLE for some music and we can play it by typing, for example,

SCORE 0: CDEFG^

SCORE is used at the beginning of a musical part, 0: specifies the octave to be used, and CDEFG plays the first five notes of a scale ending with a rest, "^".

This can be stored as an AMPLE word by typing,

"part1" [ SCORE 0: CDEFG^ ]

If this is done, typing part1 after the % prompt will play the notes (provided of course the READY 1 VOICES Upright line has been used).

Notepad can also be used to enter and play one-part AMPLE notation words. Firstly, AMPLE should be made ready to play by entering for example, our

READY 1 VOICES Upright

at the % prompt before entering the Notepad editing area. Then, after entering the music notation on the Notepad screen, pressing f1 will play the music. Entering

"part1" NAME MAKE

at the % prompt below the Notepad screen will then create the word "part1", as before.

Setting up a mix

Suppose you have created the word part1 which may be a melody and another part called part2 which may be a bass line. You will want to hear the two parts together.

Here are three ways of doing this.

1. The method in the Music 5000 User Guide (pp. 78-79).

Enter the Mixing Desk (by pressing f0 to get to the Main menu and choosing the "Mixing Desk" option therein), then set it up using the following sequence of commands at the % prompt:

READY
1 SHARE 1 VOICES
2 SHARE 1 VOICES
CLEAR

Then type MAKE to create a word called "mix". Within the mix each voice is automatically set up with the default instrument Simpleins.

We now have three words - part1, part2 and mix - and need just one more, RUN, in order to play the melody and bass together. This can be defined by entering

"RUN" [ "12" PLAY ]

at the % prompt.

To hear the music you can now type RUN at the % prompt.

To use the Mixing Desk whilst the music is playing you can either type RUN at the % prompt and then press TAB, or press TAB first and then press 'r' (lower case) when in the Mixing Desk.

Now you have got this far, you can change instruments and/or other settings on the desk as described on p17 of the User Guide under the heading "a 'live' mix". If the music finishes playing before you have had a chance to change the settings, you can pause it by pressing the space bar, change the settings, and restart it by pressing the space bar again.

2. This is the same as method 1, except you can set up the mix by defining the instruments first, at the % prompt, rather than in the Mixing Desk. For example, to set up a mix with Upright and Slapbass you would type,

READY
1 SHARE 1 VOICES Upright
2 SHARE 1 VOICES Slapbass

then press TAB to see the whole desk, press TAB again to see the % prompt, and then type MAKE. I find this method more direct as your initial choice for the instruments appears, instead of starting with Simpleins.

3. Another method is to set up a mix using Notepad. In our case it would be:

M5MIX
1 SHARE 1 VOICES Upright
2 SHARE 1 VOICES Slapbass
PNUM SHARE

The mix could be changed using Notepad, although I think you will need a reasonable knowledge of AMPLE to do so. For example,

M5MIX 160=T
1 SHARE 1 VOICES Upright
1 VOICE 100 VOL
2 SHARE 1 VOICES Slapbass
PNUM SHARE

will speed the music up, and make part 1 quieter.

Having set up a mix using one of the three methods above, you may create your third part called part3. You will want to include it in the mix.

Method 1 above doesn't help here, because CLEAR sets all the instruments to Simpleins, causing you to have to change them back again to what you want!

Proceeding along the lines of method 2, with the Mixing Desk loaded we can type, at the % prompt,

READY
mix

followed by RETURN to ensure the settings we have previously defined are in operation. We can then add the third player,

3 SHARE 1 VOICES Panflute

press TAB to see it on the Mixing Desk and TAB again to return to % prompt. Then MAKE the word.

The word RUN needs modifying to account for the extra voice so a definition would be changed to

"RUN" [ "123" PLAY ]

At this point we could go through an example to illustrate what has been said. (I know it seems laborious but I don't think there's an easier way.)

Start with a tune:

Then add a bass line:

"part2" [ SCORE
48, 4BAR
    0: c/// | g/// |
       CDEG | f/// |
       c/// | DcDD |
       c/aD | E/// |
       0,^
]

Then load the Mixing Desk, and at the % prompt, type,

READY
1 SHARE 1 VOICES Vibglock
2 SHARE 1 VOICES Upright

Then press TAB twice (the first press shows the whole desk and stores its settings in memory, the second press returns you to the % prompt). Then type,

MAKE

Then create the RUN word by typing,

"RUN" [ "12" PLAY ]

and then type

RUN

to hear the music.

We can now add a third part. With the Mixing Desk loaded, type at the % prompt,

3 SHARE 1 VOICES Panflute

then press TAB twice and type,

MAKE

That defines the mix. We can now define the third part (still at the % prompt) as

"part3" [ SCORE
48,4BAR
192, 2: G | G | e | F |
G | B | C | c |
0,^
]

We can now alter the RUN word by typing

"RUN" [ "123" PLAY ]

and then type RUN to hear the music

What I have done in the foregoing sequence is set up player 3 in the mix before defining the part itself. It's up to you how you do it.

This method allows some 'bad planning' in that you can decide what players to add as you go along. I find this helpful and still regard it as good technique.

In the second of these articles I will be using a two-voice part, so until then why not practise setting it up with

READY 2 VOICES Vibglock

and then typing the part, for example,

SCORE 0: C(E)D(F)E(G)E(G)E(G)^(^)

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Questions and answers

Question: Use of READY with DIM arrays

I am writing an AMPLE program that will allow 'editing' of a MIDI expander unit. The program uses KEYB so that after MIDI setup information has been sent, the Music 4000 keyboard is active to play the selected MIDI voice.

I have used the DIM command to define arrays whose elements are variables used by my MIDI setup messages, but unfortunately, KEYB uses READY which has the effect of clearing all the memory reserved with DIM. So after each MIDI setup using KEYB the program 'forgets' where the arrays are located.

As the limit of 125 words prevents me from defining individual GVAR variables instead of using arrays, can anyone suggest how READY can be 'replaced' but still allow KEYB to function as intended? I have explored the AMPLE Nucleus Programmer Guide and so far have found no way to make KEYB work without READY. If I knew what memory addresses were 'free' could I reserve and poke the array space directly and not use DIM?

Les Pearce

Answer: 'Too many numbers' error

In response to Steve Hawley's problem in AMPLINEX 008: when I first obtained my AMPLE Nucleus ROM, I too got this error - always when using the Staff editor and always after entering 108 items. I returned the ROM and disc to Hybrid who sent me a replacement which behaved perfectly. So Steve, send it back to Hybrid.

Paul Nuttall

I too had problems with the Staff editor - it generated the 'Too many numbers' error, but only when the item counter (top right of screen) showed more than 100.

I contacted Hybrid concerning this problem and a few months later a replacement system disc arrived in the post, with an updated version of the Staff editor on it (Stave V3.0), on which this problem seems to have been cured. My advice, then, is to ring Hybrid and tell them about the problem as a new system disc could eliminate it.

K Harridence

Question: Long PLAY sequences

When constructing a recent piece of music, there were so many sections and mixes (not to mention unmixes) that the PLAY sequence carried on to a second line, followed by the word PLAY. I thought nothing of this until I came to play it when I found it didn't work.

I tried various permutations and alternatives without success and was eventually obliged to find ways of reducing the number of sections to get them into one line. It did not seem to matter if the word PLAY was put on the second line, and the piece now plays satisfactorily.

On examining more professionally written programs ('Cry' on Cosmix for instance) I was somewhat astonished to find that the "RUN" word merely gave the player sequence "123456"PLAY without any section or mix sequence. How this is achieved completely baffles me. It must be in the program somewhere, but I can't see anything which gives me any clue. Nor can I see anything about this in the Studio 5000 User Guide. Can anyone please show how this is done?

G H Richardson

For some advice about long PLAY strings see Questions and Answers in AMPLINEX 007. As to your comment about the PLAY structure in several 'Cosmix' pieces, the reason there are no mix numbers or section letters after the player details is because none are used in the piece. That is, the only parts are 'part1', 'part2', etcetera up to 'part6', and there is only one 'mix'.

Answer: MIDI instrument selection

I read with particular interest the comments about the Roland MT-32 (AMPLINEX 008) and Roger Sapolsky's question about whether he should buy the MT-32 to use with AMPLE (AMPLINEX 007). I use an MT-32 with AMPLE and currently write more for it than for the Music 5000. It works very well with the Music 2000 MIDI interface. However, like all gadgets that can be adjusted, it soon becomes a compulsion to try and improve the voices.

Apart from minor niggles, the MT-32 MIDI implementation is good. I would like to hear comments from fellow users and I also look forward to the possibility of MT-32 MIDI programmes being exchanged via AMPLINEX.

David Reed

Question: AMPLE from bulletin boards

Having successfully downloaded much software from Prestel (initially MusicLink, and then Music City), I have recently moved on to try to download AMPLE software from various bulletin boards, but with differing levels of success.

Of the 1200/75 baud Viewdata formats:

AMPLE DCT (& Maestro) - no problems.

'The Firm' (Seahaven BBS) - only 2 out of 8 tunes worked, but all the menus downloaded worked OK. Those that didn't work gave the 'Bad program' error.

Of the scrolling formats:

AMPLE DCT2 - all programs had problems or word definitions missing. (This requires the use of XMODEM, but the program offered on the board does not guarantee success.)

I am particularly keen to download from 'The Firm' as there appears to be a wide choice of titles available, but repeating the download gives an identical file with the same problem.

Has anyone had problems like this, and if so, have you found any solutions? In case it is relevant, I am using a Pace Nightingale modem and Commpanion (CommSoft) software.

Tony Walduck

Answer: Aries B32 memory saving

In AMPLINEX 008, Jack Wrigley asks why he ends up with less memory with an Aries B32 memory board fitted. For a full answer he should refer to my piece in the 'Hints & Tips' section of AMPLINEX 007. In the meantime, if he types in

*XON 20 A <RETURN>

before booting the system disc, the missing memory (and more!) will miraculously appear.

Pete Christy

Question: MIDI possibilities

All this Music 2000 MIDI interface discussion has set me wondering: I've got a Yamaha DD-10 drum machine that I use at the moment purely as backing when playing my Symphony keyboard live. This has 24 PCM percussion voices, which sound much better than any 2-channel Music 500(0) equivalents.

Now, given a Music 2000 (please!), presumably any 8 of those voices could could be used in addition to the 8 Music 500(0) ones. The only MIDI socket it has is "MIDI in", would this be sufficient?

Also, when using the 500(0) alongside a MIDI instrument, what happens in the Mixing Desk? Is there a modified version supplied with the 2000 software that displays 16 voices?

One last question, would a program designed to play from a combination of hardware such as I've described above be accessible by other AMPLINEX members with a Music 2000, but using a different MIDI instrument?

Jack Wrigley

Answer: Acoustic instruments

In AMPLINEX 005, Jeff Parton requested information on the harmonic spectra of acoustic instruments. One potential starting point is an article by Hal Chamberlin (I'm afraid I don't have the title) in the April 1980 issue of Byte magazine. This featured harmonic graphs for half-a-dozen or so acoustic and 'invented' instruments.

The footnotes mention a series entitled 'Lexicon of Analysed Tones' which featured in an American magazine, Computer Music Journal, around 1977/78. I don't know if the magazine is still in publication some 11 years on, but its address is/was:

Computer Music Journal,
People's Computer Company,
Box E, 1263 El Camino Real,
Menlo Park,
California 94025, USA

Vincent Fojut

For anyone interested in the spectra of classical organ pipes the following book is recommended. It gives a graphical presentation of the harmonic analyses of 27 different types of pipe.

'Organ Registration - in theory and practice', E Harold Geer, J Fischer & Bro (New Jersey), 1957

Another relevant book is

'Dictionary of Pipe Organ Stops', Stevens Irwin, Schirmer Books, 1965

Although no data is given on spectra the general shape of the harmonic series is discussed for a large number of different pipes.

Dr Mike Mellors

Answer: Synchronising music and lyrics

Michael Harbour (AMPLINEX 007) asked how to output the lyrics of a song to the screen at the right moments. The AMPLE Nucleus Programmer Guide suggests using the AMPLE command QTIME to do this.

Set up the following word:

"wait" [REP(QTIME 0#<)UNTIL(IDLE)REP]

and then use a 'dummy' player (normally part9) to handle the text output.

For example, if each section of the piece (introduction, verses and chorus) is 4 bars (of length 192) long, and text needs to be printed at the start of each section (except the introduction) then

"part9" [
192,^^^^ wait "verse 1 text" $OUT
192,^^^^ wait "verse 2 text" $OUT
192,^^^^ wait "chorus text " $OUT
192,^^^^ wait "verse 3 text" $OUT
% etc.
]

will output text after the introductory 4 bars have been played.

This example would output the entire text of each verse or chorus to the screen at once. If output is required line by line, word by word or even note by note, this can be done by replacing the 4 bar durations in part9 by the gap duration needed.

Ivor Abiks

Question: New lines in Notepad

I discovered recently, after much gnashing of dentures, that pressing the RETURN key to get to a new line in Notepad is of no use. You have to use the arrow key to move to a new line. If you use 'RETURN' you just get told 'Mistake' - and a fat lot of use that is!

Jim Brook

The only way I can reproduce the problem you describe is by putting an invalid command in the TRY string. For example, entering

"0: ABCDEFGH" TRY

at the command prompt and then pressing RETURN whilst in panel mode (with a flashing block cursor) will generate the 'Mistake' error message.

If this is not the problem, please let us have a copy of a program where this occurs and details of what commands you perform.

Question: AMPLE Nucleus vocabulary

Does anyone know if there is an AMPLE Nucleus vocabulary list word, the equivalent of FORTH's VLIST? It can be useful to have an on-screen dump of words for quick reference. I know there isn't one defined in the AMPLE Nucleus Programmer Guide.

Dr Mike Mellors

As far as I know there is no such word. It would be fairly simple, however, to make such a facility available as part of the AMPLE Nucleus Help Facility ROM which was included in AMPLINEX 008. If other members are interested, or if anyone has any other ideas on uses for the ROM, please let us know.

Editor's note:

The comments following some of the questions above are only my opinions on the subject and should not be taken as definitive answers.

Your comments are most welcome on any of the questions posed, whether they supplement, confirm or correct any I have expressed.

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Printing out AMPLINEX information

There are three ways to print out the information seen in AMPLINEX.

You can print out an AMPLINEX file as it is displayed on the screen from within AMPLINEX; you can print the files themselves as you would any other text file; or you can load the files into your own word processor and re-format them as required before printing.

1) To print a file from within AMPLINEX choose the 'SET PRINT ON/OFF' option from the Introduction menu. This allows you to toggle a software 'print switch' on or off. If the switch is set ON then any AMPLINEX file which is displayed on the screen will be sent to the printer. This will continue until you set the switch off again using the same Introduction option. An asterisk is displayed at the top of the screen next to the issue number when the print option is ON and the print status is shown at the bottom right of the screen as text is displayed within AMPLINEX.

It is now also possible to print out part of a file from within AMPLINEX. There are two ways to do this:

a) To print a single page of an AMPLINEX file, make sure the 'print switch' is OFF and then select the menu option which displays the file. When the page you wish to print is displayed, and the 'Press RETURN to continue' prompt is showing at the bottom of the screen, press the letter 'P' on the keyboard. The page being displayed will then be sent to the printer. Pressing RETURN will then continue to display the file without printing.

b) To start printing part-way through a file, you can turn on the 'print switch' by pressing the CTRL and 'P' keys together when the 'Press RETURN to continue' prompt is displayed. Subsequent pages which are displayed will then be sent to the printer. The 'print switch' can be turned off again in the same way.

2) If you prefer to print the parts you require outside of AMPLINEX - all the data is held in files on the AMPLINEX disc. The files are in directories named according to the sections in which they appear and the file names can be seen at the foot of the screen as they are displayed in AMPLINEX so you can make a note of the ones you require.

The file directories allocated to each section of AMPLINEX are as follows:

$. for Music

A. for the Introduction and Adverts

F. for Features

H. for Hints and Tips

I. for Instruments

N. for News and Reviews

Q. for Questions and Answers

U. for Utilities

In addition to the text files, the AMPLE instrument definitions can also be printed directly from within AMPLINEX. Music and utility programs written in AMPLE can only be printed by LOADing the programs into the Studio 5000 and using the WRITE command (see Studio 5000 User Guide page 100).

3) If you wish to re-format the text before printing you should load the files into your word processor. The files contain unjustified text restricted to 38 columns width. The files contain only printable ASCII characters except for a control code (ASCII 11) which marks the screen page breaks. View treats these as left margin tabs and if necessary they can be removed with a C/^L// command.

Two utilities have been published in AMPLINEX to aid with the re-formatting of text files:

In AMPLINEX 003 'Hints and Tips' (H.ints003) there were instructions for a Wordwise segment program to automatically format AMPLINEX text files. The segment itself was included in AMPLINEX 004 (H.WWconv).

In AMPLINEX 005 there was a utility to print formatted 80-column text direct from an AMPLINEX text file. The instructions (U.print/i) and the BASIC program (U.print80) are both within the 'Utilities' section. A modification to this program (to provide a wider margin) was included in the 'Hints and Tips' section of AMPLINEX 006. See also the Update section of AMPLINEX 008 for a note concerning BASIC 1 users.

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989

Printing out AMPLINEX information

There are three ways to print out the information seen in AMPLINEX.

It is now also possible to print out part of a file from within AMPLINEX. There are two ways to do this:

The file directories allocated to each section of AMPLINEX are as follows:

$. for Music

A. for the Introduction and Adverts

F. for Features

H. for Hints and Tips

I. for Instruments

N. for News and Reviews

Q. for Questions and Answers

U. for Utilities

Two utilities have been published in AMPLINEX to aid with the re-formatting of text files:

Published in AMPLINEX 009, January 1989