AMPLINEX 027

AMPLINEX issue 027 was published in July 1992. 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.

Research Machines and Hybrid at BETT92

Jack Wrigley

Members might be interested in comments made in the music technology magazine 'Sound on Sound' for March 1992. Paul Gilby, reporting the BETT92 Education Technology show first mentioned the limited choice of music software for the Archimedes in comparison to the Atari ST and IBM PC computers.

Identifying IBM compatibles as Acorn's main challenge in the education market, he then questioned Research Machines' choice of the PC186 as their education computer. This has enough differences from the PC standard to make it incompatible with most of the vast choice of PC music software and hardware.

Of more relevance to AMPLINEX members, was his surprise at the non-appearance of Hybrid's 'Music Sequencer' for the PC186 (see AMPLINEX 015 and 016) at the very show for the market at which it was aimed. All of Research Machines' display concentrated on their fully IBM-compatible PC286 and PC386 computers.

At a time when the editor is reporting a reduced interest in AMPLINEX, we can only reflect on what might have been.

10 years is a long, long time in the computer world, yet the reality is that AMPLE is currently constrained by the standards of 1982 computer technology. So far, Hybrid's only (albeit non-AMPLE) response is tied to one of the weakest bits of hardware in the PC market.

For the future, I can't see many people hanging on to, or acquiring, 8-bit hardware just for AMPLE - despite the fact that it has to be the best, most flexible computer music system devised.

Today's market demands WIMP-based front ends. Just look at how well Microsoft's Windows operating environment has sold for the PC.

To attract younger people AMPLE needs to be on a machine with a reasonable games base, while we 'wrinklies' require a machine strong in areas like DTP, CAD and Multimedia. Four years on, the Arc market has developed considerable strength in all these areas.

If Hybrid are holding back for the real IBM PC market, then no one can really criticise such a commercial decision; but surely the intervening period could have been more profitably spent on developing an Archimedes version of AMPLE rather than simply a sequencer for the rather oddball PC186?

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Review of the Yamaha QY10 sequencer

Stewart Wilkie

What is it?

It's a synthesiser, a drum machine, a sequencer, the size of a video cassette, powered by batteries or adapter, and it uses sampled sounds. I acquired the QY10 for 3 reasons:

1) It has good sounds and drums for the cash;

2) It's portable – very;

3) It's MIDI equipped.

Cost

It costs only £249 and there is a recently launched master MIDI keyboard (2 octave, velocity sensitive, pitch and modulation wheels) from Novation priced £149.

Features

It has an 8-track sequencer with 32-note polyphony, a tone generator with 28-note polyphony plus 8 voice timbral, 30 PCM voices plus 26 realistic drum sounds, a simple chord entry system, and editing facilities. There are 76 pre-set backing track patterns allocated to 4 of the tracks with 4 other tracks for melody lines, bass lines or chords. You can create your own backing tracks and sequence them together in a 'song' (it has capacity for 8 songs). All backing patterns are created in the key of C7 which is transposed to the chord selected in the sequenced song.

You can copy, create, insert, and combine tracks. Quantisation is provided, and the step time record is easy to learn (especially for AMPLE users). Real time (replace or overdub) recording can be done in a limited way from the front panel - but clearly for performance you need a keyboard.

Drawbacks

The mini-keyboard on the front panel is monophonic. You need a MIDI keyboard for polyphonic play although there is a unique chord entry (single key) option for recording to the 4 sequencer tracks. The pitch bend needs a MIDI keyboard wheel.

There is no disc drive incorporated. I found that, despite its 8-song capacity, memory is eaten up by complex compositions and extra storage is eventually needed. This is fine if you have an Atari ST - a free librarian disc called Squirrel is available and Apple Mac or PC-based sequencers allow data transfer. It would be nice if a 'dump' program was available via the MIDI In on the Music 2000 MIDI interface.

Conclusion

This is a great machine for step-time composing anywhere, with full stereo playback via headphones - I use it in the office at lunchtime. Complete and complex compositions can be produced in step-time alone using measure, beat and clock positions. The QY10 could be used as a sound module expander alongside the Music 5000 driven from AMPLE via the Music 2000 MIDI interface. The drum instruments alone are good, strings not bad, brass great and the trumpet is excellent. I like it!

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

The Hybrid Music Publisher

Leslie Gardener

The Music Publisher claims to do for printed music what a word processor does for text: allowing music to be entered, edited, stored and printed in a variety of formats. It succeeds brilliantly.

Although it is issued under the title 'The Hybrid Music System for the BBC Microcomputer' it works with a Master 128 or a Model B without need of any other part of the Hybrid System. It has absolutely no connection with the AMPLE language.

It is supplied on a 16K ROM with a start-up disc, a User Guide, and some labels for duplicate start-up discs. The User Guide is excellent in carefully guiding the newcomer and several music examples are supplied on the disc which are very useful when learning how to use the system.

There are two ways to enter music, each with a desirable feature. One is the Edit mode: this shows the bar being worked on - the music stave is in the upper half and the ASCII form below. To edit, alter the ASCII form, press 'Tab', and the music stave is updated. It is very satisfying to see the result with so little effort and to know whether or not you have succeeded in doing what you were trying to do! The system automatically numbers every fifth bar, enabling individual bars to be called for examination using Edit.

The other way to enter music is by means of a word processor. Because the Music Publisher uses standard ASCII as the format of score files, it is possible to use Wordwise, or any word processor, to create them. Advantage can then be taken of the editing facilities they provide, such as copying a section to another place. After using a word processor, save the file, re-start the Music Publisher, re-load the file and use Preview to see the result.

Preview shows the complete staves as they will be printed, divided up into screen-sized sections. There is no need always to start at the beginning as there is provision to preview from a specified bar. At this stage any mistakes should become apparent and can be corrected by going into Edit mode.

A very useful feature is the provision of start-up templates, with the normal details in place. If you intend to write a simple single-stave tune, something for two-stave keyboard, a three-stave song, or a four-stave string quartet or four-part choral piece, a start-up score file with all essential details in place is ready on the disc. The alto and tenor clefs are available in addition to the normal treble and bass.

The example files provided on the start-up disc are also invaluable when learning the system, as they are ready for immediate examination using Preview, and can be printed. This is invaluable to seeing how the results were obtained, and in Edit mode it is easy to see the effect of making an alteration.

The Print option offers a 'quick' printout for checking accuracy, or 'best' for the final print. Printing is claimed to be 60 seconds per page in draft mode, 120 in best mode. Both 9-pin and 24-pin printers can be used. A wide carriage printer can produce the horizontal shape often used for piano duets and organ music.

A notable difference from AMPLE is that all music notes are in upper case, whether a series goes up or down. Octaves are specified from 1 to 6 (middle C starts octave 4) and lower case letters indicate code instructions such as note lengths, 8va, pedal down, and the direction of stems if over-riding the system.

In professionally-engraved music it is usual for a series of quavers (and semi- and demi-quavers) in a bar to be joined by a beam. The Music Publisher automatically joins them according to the beat length specified by the metronome mark. This can be overridden to join a whole bar-full if required. Similarly, vocal lines, normally written with all notes separate, can be prevented from being joined together.

The Music Publisher decides how many bars to print on a line, then automatically spaces the notes in each bar according to the traditional rules. This automation can be over-ridden by reducing the number of bars per line. Note tails also are set automatically according to whether the head is above or below mid-line, but can easily be overridden if part of a series temporarily goes across the mid-line, as has traditionally been the case. Lyrics are automatically placed one word or syllable under the appropriate vocal note and the words are programmed to skip over tied notes.

It would be a work of genius to produce something which was beyond criticism, but there are very few points to be faulted in the Music Publisher. Perhaps the most regrettable omission is the lack of provision for indicating loud or soft, crescendo, etc., or for accenting an individual note. It is possible to indicate staccato and tenuto, also the pause, so maybe an accent will soon be added. I said 'pause' but the User Guide calls it 'fermata'. I never knew that when I pause I am actually fermata-ing!

In the last issue the editor mentioned that this review of the Music Publisher had been delayed by some problems. One of those was that after printing the first line of a music example the printer ejected the sheet. With another program, after starting to print a second line, the music staves disappeared, leaving the notes in mid-air.

Chris Jordan of Hybrid thought these may be caused by using a non-Epson 'Epson-compatible' printer (the Panasonic KX-P1081) and sent my printouts to the author, Arthur Rowles. I now have a new ROM (version 1.10) which behaves perfectly, and also contains another of my suggestions. The original ROM did not include a line-feed and so printed everything on a single line. This had to be altered by a DIP switch - an unusual requirement with software packages. All my other ROMs (Wordwise, Viewsheet, etc.) have the line feed built-in, and now the Music Publisher has 'joined the club'.

Verdict

The Music Publisher fills an important gap in the BBC micro repertoire of programs. It is extremely versatile and easy to understand (what is now called 'user friendly'). It offers a composer all he/she needs, except volume indications, which could be added in ink. It produces an excellent printout, an enormous asset if the music is to be offered for a professional publisher's catalogue.

The ability to program using a word processor renders it possible for a typist of reasonable ability to write music even quicker than with pen or pencil, and with a much more acceptable result. Corrections are easily made in the Edit screen before printing, with the consequent saving in cost of very expensive manuscript paper.

This product is highly recommended to anyone who would like to see his/her compositions in print, and is particularly useful for music students. If one bears in mind the truly fantastic number of very difficult problems which Arthur Rowles has successfully solved, and the amount of time necessary to do so, I do not think the price (£60 + VAT) is excessive. Do not forget that never again will you have to buy manuscript paper!

Late news: Chris Jordan tells me that Hybrid intends to inform all users of each major update to the Music Publisher. Consequently the benefits of additional facilities will be available to all, so there is no point in delaying a purchase.

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The Music Publisher package costs £70.50 inclusive of postage and packing and is available from Hybrid at the address below:

Hybrid
88 Butt Lane
Milton
CAMBRIDGE
CB4 6DG

Tel: (0223) 861522

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Sunrise Dance

by Ted Kirk

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.SUNRISE

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Smooth Criminal

by Jason Perry Composed by: Michael Jackson Jackson Hit - No. 2 Coming soon: Another Part of Me Bad Speed Demon Just Good Friends Liberian Girl The rhythms in Smooth Criminal a so long and complicated that you can't easily use 'PLAY' to repeat sections, that's why I had trouble fitting it into the memory. (c) Jason Perry 12/8/90

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.SMOOTH

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Second Home By the Sea

by Paul Nuttall Composed by: Banks, Collins & Rutherford

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.SECOND

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Santa Barbara Cruisin'

by Andy Knight This piece as you can hear is based on two chords that I found just messing around on my Music 4000. These I programmed in the Notepad. The tune I made up in the Recorder. I wish I could come up with an original tune and add the accompaniment later, but that 'aint so easy. I gave it this title because it makes me think of a convertible cruisin' down the Santa Barbara coast road. Just like I've seen on many American TV shows. A beautiful blond is in the passenger seat, the warm breeze blowing through her hair... Oh, and I'm driving... back to my place! Well we can all dream, can't we? Hope you like it. Regards Andy Knight.

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.CRUISIN

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Quiero Dijiste

by W Roosenboom Composed by: María Grever

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.QUIERO

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

The Orange Blossom Special

by Frank Dudley Composed by: Ervin T Rouse		Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.ORANGE
		Watch the video version

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Now is the Month of Maying

by Tony Walduck Composed by: Thomas Morley As I am very interested in English madrigals, I use my Hybrid Music System to enable me to study the structure of these songs, and to help me learn the parts. Typically, a madrigal is written for between 3 and 5 parts (sometimes more) which intertwine and harmonise in a most pleasant manner. It is also generally the case that each of the parts has an interesting musical melody on its own, so singing isolated parts can be a pleasing step before singing in a group. I have written programs like this more for me to be able to study the parts and sing along with them, rather than as final, finished performances. The choice of instruments is more for convenience than for effect. Tony Walduck To play all parts together type 'RUN'. To play any individual part against a background of the others type the part name, i.e. 'cantus', 'altus', 'quintus', 'tenor', or 'bassus'. To play these individual parts in succession, type 'RUN2'. To play any part completely alone, prefix the part name by 'solo' (e.g. 'solocantus', 'soloquintus'). From The Oxford Book of English Madrigals, ed. Philip Ledger. | Now is the month of maying, When merry lads are playing, Fa la la la la etc. etc. | (rpt) | Each with his bonny lass Upon the greeny grass. Fa la la la la etc. etc. | (rpt) | The Spring, clad all in gladness, Doth laugh at Winter's sadness, Fa la la la la etc. etc. | (rpt) | And to the bagpipe's sound The nymphs tread out their ground Fa la la la la etc. etc. | (rpt) | Fie then! why sit we musing, Youth's sweet delight refusing? Fa la la la la etc. etc. | (rpt) | Say, dainty nymphs, and speak, Shall we play barley-break? Fa la la la la etc. etc. | (rpt)

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.MAYING

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Nocturne number 13

by [unknown contributor] Composed by: John Field

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.NOCTU13

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

My Best Piece Yet

by Keith Taylor Hello fellow AMPLINEXers: This is the first piece I have submitted and with any luck it won't be the last! In all the long years I seem to have had my synth I don't feel as though I have made full use of my equipment. But I'm getting there. This piece is 14th in my collection of 15 - and it's my favourite. The main reason for this being my favourite piece is because of its simplicity. With most of my other pieces I tend to get lost with what plays what, especially when mixes start flying around. Also I find it difficult to combine instruments so it takes me a while to get things right. But with this piece everything went smoothly. It's lucky it is my favourite piece as I couldn't think of a NAME for it! Keith Taylor from sunny Blackpool!

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.BESTYET

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

El-Shaddai

by Andrew Leahy Composed by: Michael Card & John Thompson

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.SHADDAI

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Don't You Worry About a Thing

by Peter Stephens Composed by: Stevie Wonder

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.WORRY

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Don't Pay the Ferryman

by Chris Smelt Composed by: Chris de Burgh

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.FERRY

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Colours in D

by Neil Walker		Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.COLOURS
		Watch the video version

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Being Lost

by Tim Sketchley VERSE No lyrics yet! CHORUS I'm lost, I cannot find you. I'm lost, I cannot find you. Since times have changed and here I go again and I'm lost, I cannot find you.

Source: AMPLINEX 027 disk, file $.LOST

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Automatically repeating menu choices

Tony Walduck

While writing a menu-based utility (the violin scales and arpeggios program also featured in this issue) I wished to make it possible to easily repeat a menu selection after it had been acted upon. These notes describe the solution I developed.

I decided to allow the automatic reselection of a previous menu choice by putting a repeat option as the first menu line.

All other menu lines write a number into a GVAR variable as well as actioning their intended response. The number written is the number of down-key presses needed to position the highlight on that menu line.

The repeat menu option reads the GVAR variable, flushes the keyboard input buffer (*FX15,1) and, if the variable is not zero (which would cause it to loop), inserts that number of down-key codes into the input buffer (*FX138), followed by a Return code to re-select the previous menu line.

The program U.VSA (Violin scales and arpeggios - accessible from this Utilities menu) contains a much-modified version of this technique. In this one program, nearly 80 music pieces can be chosen and easily repeated.

The reason the technique has been modified is that, as I rapidly came to the 125 user-word limit as well as space limitations, I had to employ whatever constructions would allow me to economise on both. Consequently the program structure is less clear than I would have liked it to be.

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Related files on this disc:

U.Repeat1 - example repeat menu facility for a single-level menu

U.Repeat2 - as above for a two-level menu

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Violin scales and arpeggios

Tony Walduck

This program gives access to nearly 80 scales, arpeggios and sevenths for the Royal School of Music violin grades 1 to 5. No slurring or bowing patterns are given - the sole purpose is to give help with pitch and timing.

For each piece, a few drum beats give a lead-in - the number is shown <n> on the relevant menu. Also, a piece, once chosen, can be repeated easily (just by pressing Return).

Some of the higher grades use the same scales as a lower grade (but with a different bowing pattern). Up to grade 4 these 'duplicate' scales are shown (within parentheses), and the earlier grade menu is displayed. At grade 5 this is not done (lack of word-space; and grade 5 candidates ought to be generally proficient anyway).

Notes:

For the convenience of my own children, the grade 1 2-octave scales are re-directed up to the grade 2 menus.

I have tried to provide full support to a keyboard, but this only becomes fully operational (8-key) when the pieces finish.

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Related file on this disc:

F.VSA - Violin scales and arpeggios program

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Hints and tips

Turning AMPLE hints into MIDI

Roger Sapolsky

MIDI users interested in a particular tip found in an AMPLINEX issue may be disappointed when they discover that it doesn't work in a MIDI environment. Let's take, for example, the case of the words 'swell' and 'fade' discussed in two articles by Neil Walker and Ted Kirk (AMPLINEX 021 and 022 Hints and Tips).

Suppose you wish to sustain the note C for a duration of 24 quavers, and also increase its sound level over the corresponding lapse of time. First enter the words.

"x" [ GVAR ]

and

"y" [ 7 MIDICONTROL ]

Then insert the instruction which follows:

24, 10y C 10x #!
23 FOR( x #? y / 4 x #+! )FOR ^

10 is the start level, 4 in the parentheses being the increment added at each pass in the FOR(...)FOR instruction following the first pass which uses the start level. The final level will thus be 10+22*4=98 in the example given.

The instruction given is also valid for a 'fade'. In this case, use a high start level, say 100 instead of 10 (127 being the maximum), and put a minus sign before the increment, hence the final value 100-22*4=12. Try -5 instead of -4: the level abruptly increases when the total becomes negative.

Let's have a look now at the article by Alan Minns (AMPLINEX 022), where he tells us how to eliminate the redundant note sounded in a re-struck 3-note chord coming after a 4-note chord. In this case, the words

"n" [ 4 VOICE 128 VOL ]

"o" [ 4 VOICE 0 VOL ]

are also ignored when used in a MIDI piece.

Substitutes are in this case:

"n" [
N SHARE 4 VOICES MIDIV
nn MIDICHANNEL
mm MIDIPROGRAM ]

"o" [ 4 VOICE UNUSED ]

Should the first chord following SCORE include 3 notes, precede it with 'o' if it is repeated, to avoid the redundant note (for obscure reasons, this note sounds an octave higher or lower than the first note included in the chord).

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Questions and answers

Question: Automatic cursor movement

Does anyone know how to position the cursor to automatically highlight and pre-select a particular user-menu line?

The particular situation I am dealing with is when the menu selection will run a short piece from within the same program (i.e. the selection does not cause another program to be loaded).

I wish the cursor to be re-positioned whilst the piece is playing so that just hitting Return will get a repeat playing (without the need to use the arrow keys). Another advantage would be that the selection playing would be highlighted whilst it was playing, not the name of the top line in the menu.

I realise that something similar to this is done when the Music 4000 Keyboard or Recorder options are run from the jukebox menu. However, in those instances another program (kins* or rmix*) is loaded as part of the sequence. This seems to be a quite different situation to that I am having difficulties with.

Tony Walduck

Question: MIDI into AMPLE

Does anyone know how to get MIDI information into AMPLE? I would like to be able to send the data from my keyboard's accompaniment section into Notepad so that I could examine its contents. I understand the MIDI side of it but I do not know how to go about writing the necessary AMPLE program. The lack of support by Hybrid Technology in respect of the MIDI In side of the Music 2000 is surprising.

I would have thought that they could have produced and sold many useful programs using it. It would have been useful to AMPLINEX composers who could have put the backing from a keyboard into their compositions. Perhaps the lack of this type of program is the reason that members are moving on to the Atari etc. Anyway, if anyone can help I would be grateful.

Ken Hughes

Answer: Transposition

Jim Brook asks (AMPLINEX 026) whether the Music Publisher software would allow him to do transpositions of a score. As the author of the software I can say sorry, but no, Music Publisher does not support transposition at present. It should, and hopefully will in due course; but I am very, very short of ROM space, and simply had to offer a basic range of features before tackling the more exotic.

Extraction of selected staves will be next, because it is practically done already. Then transposition, when I have got my mind around the full implications - and have conjured up space in ROM!

A more immediate response to questions may be had by writing to me at:

4 Francis Close
HITCHIN
Herts
SG4 9EJ

or by telephoning (0462) 440489.

Arthur Rowles

Answer: Transposition

In AMPLINEX 026, Jim Brook asked if there is any way to transpose music so that it will print correctly. I had the same problem, for the same reason: to bring songs into my vocal range.

I am sure there are other, neater and more rigorous ways of doing this, but I find that my method works. The steps are described below. As an example, assume you have a song for tenor in the key of G and you want to drop it by two and a half tones to D for a bass.

1) Change the key signature. This is obvious: K(+F)K changes to K(+F+C)K.

2) Set up a table of the corresponding notes in the two keys:

KeyG       Accidentals       KeyD
 +F   =F -> =C ; ++F -> ++C   +C
  E   -E -> -B ;  +E ->  +B    B
  D   -D -> -A ;  +D ->  +A    A
  C   -C -> -G ;  +C ->  +G    G
  B   -B -> =F ;  +B -> ++F   +F
  A   -A -> -E ;  +A ->  +E    E
  G   -G -> -D ;  +G ->  +D    D

 3) Using the table, replace the note letters in G with the corresponding letters in D. The changes in the sharps and flats for the normal notes of the key are already done by the change in key signature.

 4) Make changes to accidentals where necessary. You can see, from the table, that this only happens where there is a change in sharp or flat with the change of note - here from B to +F.

 5) Make a SPOOL file of your original song with:

*SPOOL spoolfile1
WRITE
*SPOOL

 6) Load this into a word processor such as Wordwise or View. Use the search and replace function to change accidental symbols: in this case, -B to =B and +B to ++B (and the same for -b and +b). You could also replace the 14 letters (A to G and a to g) in a similar way but it is slow and not as simple as it looks - try it and see! Instead proceed as follows.

 7) Rearrange your text, if necessary, so that the words containing the notes (e.g. the parts), come after all other words, like mix, or RUN.

 8) Insert a letter Q between these two groups of words, immediately before the first part word definition. Note: your word for the key signature must be before the Q.

 9) Save the text to a new file (referred to as 'spoolfile2' in this explanation).

10) Now, in BASIC, load and run the program 'TranAid' (included on this disc). Enter 'spoolfile2' as your source file and a new file name as your destination file (referred to as 'spoolfile3' below). Enter the desired transposition, i.e. the number of letters up (+) or down (-) the series, ABCDEFGABCDEFG. In our example, G to D is either +4 or -3; both will work. You are told when the transposition is finished.

11) 'spoolfile3' is now your transposed song but it needs a little adjustment, so load it into your word processor and look at it. You will see that the words above Q are unchanged but there are some funny spellings of the words below. In our case 'part' is now 'pert' and SCORE is SGORB. Put these right, remove Q, and save the text to a new file ('spoolfile4').

12) In AMPLE, *EXEC 'spoolfile4' to produce your song in the new key. run it, and you will almost certainly find that you must make some changes to the octave settings in the piece, but this is no problem. When you are happy, save your new version and delete your text files. All this is not as long-winded as it looks.

Fred Bridges

Question: 'Volga Boatman'

Did anyone notice that the piece 'Volga', in AMPLINEX 025, had a load of rubbish in the middle of it? No, I am not referring to the music, but to the actual music file. From location &1082, just after the 'rtn' word, up until the famous '?info' word, at location &14A6, there is what appears to be an de-tokenized version of the 'blurb' word. In fact, the '?info' word just overlays the end of it.

AMPLE seems to have chained its word length fields right through this until it came to the '?info' word. The name lengths do not have their top bit set and so can not be recognised as user words and are therefore ignored. So doing a *SPOOL and WRITE and then *EXECing it back in again gets rid of the junk, and obviously reduces the music file size, but I wonder just how it got there in the first place?

Bryan Anslow

Question: AMPLE BCE versus Nucleus

In the good (or was it bad) old days of AMPLE BCE, one of the sometimes useful features was the ability to gate the separate channels of a voice as individual sub-voices. This allowed, for example, a maximum of 16 voices instead of the normal 8, albeit with restricted tone quality and some complication in organising the note sequences.

With AMPLE NUCLEUS, I have concluded that this is not possible - is anyone able to prove me wrong?

Alan Minns

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Related file on this disc:

Q.TranAid - program for use in transposition process described above

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

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.

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Next issue news

The next issue of AMPLINEX will be for September 1992. We plan to publish at the end of September.

All applications for a FREE copy (i.e. those with discs containing contributions) must be received by MONDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER. Anyone paying the £2.00 fee should apply by Friday 25th September.

More than ever the content depends on your contributions between now and then - so please let us have an example of your music, or that question, answer, hint, or comment which might spring to mind when reading this issue. You can record your thoughts right now using our Feedback utility, or copy your latest piece of music on to another disc ready for contribution.

We look forward to reading and hearing your contributions.

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

How to contribute to AMPLINEX

To receive your next issue of AMPLINEX free of charge you must send a contribution of your own.

This could be an AMPLE music program, an instrument definition, a question or an article about some aspect of the AMPLE language or Hybrid Music System hardware or software, an AMPLE utility, a useful hint about AMPLE, or an answer to another member's question.

Under copyright law we cannot publish programs or music unless we have the permission of the copyright owners or their licensing agent. It is important to realise that in the case of an AMPLE music program, copyright exists in both the program itself and the music it represents. There may even be a separate copyright in the arrangement. If you wish to contribute transcriptions into AMPLE of someone else's music you must credit the copyright owner(s) of the music and the arrangement (if applicable). Please do not include lyrics as it is not feasible for us to obtain separate copyright clearance for these.

To protect ourselves from copyright actions we must ask you to sign the copyright declaration on the 'next issue request form' which was sent to you with this issue of AMPLINEX. All submissions made to AMPLINEX will be regarded as permission to publish within the AMPLINEX membership. Beyond this, the submission remains the property of the author.

As part of an exchange arrangement, we may wish to pass on your address if any of your contributions are of interest to other software publishers.

If you do NOT wish your contributions to be considered for publication elsewhere (and thus your address not to be passed to anyone else) please indicate this on the request form in the place provided.

You can also use your return disc to pass on questions which you would like answered on any issue relating to the Hybrid Music System or AMPLE language. We will do our best to answer them (or will pass them over to the other members for help) and publish the results in the Questions and Answers section of AMPLINEX.

You can also use AMPLINEX to advertise any (un)wanted items or to make contact with other members. Just put the details of your advertisement on to the return disc and we will try to include it in the next issue.

The 'Feedback' section of AMPLINEX contains a utility to allow a note to be written on the screen which can then be saved to disc. This 'note' file can then be included on your disc sent for the next issue of AMPLINEX.

'Feedback' notes can be used to make contributions to any of the text-based sections of AMPLINEX as well as to make comments or suggestions on AMPLINEX itself.

Send all contributions, on a standard DFS format disc (40- or 80-track).

It is not necessary to send printed copies of your contributions - any copies required are printed locally to minimize postage costs.

40-track disc users please note:

The AMPLINEX magazine is designed to fit on to one side of an 80-track disc. If you use 40-track discs you should send one double-sided or two single-sided discs.

Suggested file formats are:

a) AMPLE music programs - save these in normal Studio 5000 format (e.g. by selecting 'Save program' from the Studio 5000 Main menu). Since many members do not have the Music 4000 keyboard please ensure that your program has no M.M4 or M.KFX module words present. To make sure, try loading the program using your Studio 5000 system disc.

Please include some comments about the music - how or why it was written, how it could be changed - and put them into a word as comments following a DISPLAY statement. Use of the word 'info' to contain such text is common practice and we would suggest that it is NOT displayed automatically every time the music is played.

b) AMPLE instruments - save these in text form via *SPOOL using the AMPLE 'TYPE' command to save the word(s) you want.

Some description of the sound itself and hints on its use (e.g. which parameters could be changed, which are the most suitable octave settings) would make it more useful. This can be done using comments within the instrument definition itself (by preceding them with a '%').

c) Text (hints, questions etc.) - use the 'Feedback' note facility for short contributions. For longer pieces use View, Wordwise or other word processor (without embedded format codes or commands). Do not right justify the text.

You can help us operate AMPLINEX more efficiently by careful naming of the files which you send us. Receiving several files called 'hint' or 'quest' can cause us problems in trying to keep track of which contribution came from which member.

Wherever possible, please try and make the filenames of your contributions unique especially where they are for a regular section of the magazine.

Putting a combination of your name or initials and the section for which the contribution is destined is one way of doing this. So if your name is Fred Bloggs you could use FBquest or BlogH&T for contributions to the Questions and Answers or Hints and Tips sections.

Whatever filenames you use, please remember to include your name somewhere in the contribution - this can save us many hours annotating lists and cross-referencing filenames with contributors.

Ensure that your disc is well packed as we will be using the same packaging to return it to you.

Make sure you enclose a return address label and postage and that both the packaging and the disc are marked with your name and address.

Send it to:

AMPLINEX
26 Arbor Lane
Winnersh
Berks.
RG11 5JD

to arrive by the date specified in the 'Next issue' section.

We look forward to reading and hearing your contributions.

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992

Welcome to AMPLINEX 027

Kevin Doyle and Roy Follett

In this issue we have a larger than usual News and Reviews section which includes reviews of the Music Publisher package and of an unusual portable synthesiser, and a commentary on Hybrid's entry into the PC market. In the Utilities section we have a program to help violin students and a demonstration of how to construct more effective menus.

In addition we have our regular sections of Questions and Answers and Hints and Tips as well as a selection of original and more familiar pieces of AMPLE music.

We look forward to receiving your contributions to the next issue of AMPLINEX - details of our deadlines are in the Next Issue News section.

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Published in AMPLINEX 027, July 1992