Over recent issues of AMPLINEX we have been debating the
problem of compatibility between music files created on different Hybrid Music System
configurations. The introduction of the Music 2000 MIDI interface meant, for
the first time, that music files created by one member may not be usable by
another. The recent addition of the Music 3000 expander has added to this
problem.
In this feature we publish contributions from two AMPLINEX members
who propose practical solutions to the problem.
Firstly, Taj Letocha (author of the ZROM utility published
in AMPLINEX U11) outlines a proposal for dual-purpose music files suitable for the
Music 2000 as well as the Music 5000. In the second part of this feature, Ian
Hubbard suggests a method for making music files suitable for members with the
new Music 3000 expander as well as those with just the Music 5000.
The Music 2000 and AMPLINEX music
Taj Letocha
I was very interested in the discussions in AMPLINEX 012
about the production of music which is compatible with both the Music 5000 and
the Music 2000 and which can be played whether or not the user has a MIDI
set-up.
I've spent a little time looking at this problem and have
come up with the basis for a solution which I'll describe in terms of a series
of 7 steps to follow during the construction of a piece of music. I've also
produced an example piece called 'Metal' for you to examine while going through
the explanation.
Here are the seven steps:
1) Produce the piece of music using whatever musical set-up
you wish. For example, if it's a piece for a mixture of Music 5000 and
MIDI-instruments, then write the mixes as appropriate; otherwise, just do your
normal thing. (This is not necessarily the easiest step!)
2) *SPOOL all mixes and instrument definitions into a text
file. The easiest way of doing this is to use the WRITE command to output your complete
piece to a text file:
*SPOOL txtfile
WRITE
*SPOOL
WRITE
*SPOOL
You can then edit it so as to remove all but the mix and
instrument definitions. While you're editing it, add an extra line at the end containing
the word 'run' in lower case.
If your piece is written solely for use with the Music 5000
(i.e. no MIDI instruments at all) then you should identify your SPOOLed text
file as being for the Music 5000 - perhaps with a '/5' suffix. If, however,
your piece makes use of at least one MIDI instrument, then identify the SPOOLed
text file as being for the Music 2000 - with a '/2' suffix. By using such names
consistently, anyone else looking at your piece will immediately be able to
figure out how 'MIDI compatible' it is!
There are two files accompanying the Metal piece called
(would you believe) Metal/5 and Metal/2. Have a look at both of these to see
how I've defined my instruments and mixes.
(Editor's note: the text files Metal/5 and Metal/2 are not
included in the Features menu but they can be examined using the *TYPE command
from within AMPLE.)
3) When back in AMPLE, LOAD up your piece and redefine (by
hand) all of those words which appear in the SPOOLed text file to be null. For example,
if you have a mix called 'mix1' and an instrument called 'piano' in your piece
then type
"mix1"[]
"piano" []
"piano" []
to redefine them.
Now your piece will have no specific information in it
regarding the mixes and instruments that it should use.
4) Rename the RUN word to 'run'.
5) Now type in a new RUN word as follows
"RUN" [7MODE MENUDISP
%---------------------------------------
% MIDI Compatible Piece
%
% Select your arrangement:
%
% Music 5000%m5000
% MIDI Setup%midi
%
%---------------------------------------
MENU ]
%---------------------------------------
% MIDI Compatible Piece
%
% Select your arrangement:
%
% Music 5000%m5000
% MIDI Setup%midi
%
%---------------------------------------
MENU ]
Create the two new words 'm5000' and 'midi' used by the RUN
menu:
"midi" [
"EXEC fname/2" OSCLI ]
"m5000" [ "EXEC fname/5" OSCLI ]
where 'fname' is your filename for your SPOOLed text files.
A standard version of these words can easily be held as a
text file and EXECed into an existing piece or, even better, held in a ZROM
module and retrieved by using *ZX.
6) Use the SAVE command to save your piece.
7) That's it! You now have a Music 5000 and Music 2000
compatible piece.
To hear it, LOAD it into the AMPLE environment as normal and
type RUN. You'll see the two-option menu come up asking you to select just the
Music 5000 arrangement or the MIDI arrangement. Make your selection and the
system will *EXEC either the '/5' or the '/2' file as appropriate and automatically
invoke 'run' which will play the piece.
Some points are worth bearing in mind here.
If you have created only the Music 5000 arrangement, then
selecting a MIDI arrangement on running the piece won't achieve anything at all
unless you also created the '/2' MIDI file to go with it. The same applies to a
MIDI piece of course - without a sensible '/5' Music 5000 file, you can't hear the
piece in full. This may seem obvious but for those without a Music 2000 and the
MIDI instruments to go with them there is normally no need to create a '/2'
MIDI file. (One can even ask: why bother to go as far as the '/5' file if
you've got no MIDI?)
There is obviously an overhead associated with this
technique: namely, 3 files per piece instead of one. This could cause a
significant problem to AMPLINEX, for example, which is constrained by both the number
of files and their total size. This problem could be solved by using the library
features provided by ZROM to collect the contents of all '/2' and '/5' files
into one (or even 2) libraries and changing very slightly the definitions of
the 2 words 'midi' and 'm5000' to use ZXEC instead of EXEC. This would
certainly ease AMPLINEX's problem.
The other drawback with the technique is the length of time
it takes for the piece to play once having chosen the MIDI or the Music 5000
arrangement. This can be addressed in 2 ways: firstly, once the MIDI or the
Music 5000 arrangement has EXECed into the piece, you can delete the RUN word
and rename 'run' as 'RUN'. Then use the SAVE command to save the whole piece which
can then be reloaded and RUN with no time penalty again and again.
The second approach would be to write the piece as usual but
not redefine each instrument and mix word to null as in step 3 above. So if the
piece were written for the Music 5000 alone, the only extra work for MIDI compatibility
would be to create the '/2' MIDI file and ensure that the new 'RUN' word (see
step 5 above) calls 'run' when the Music 5000 arrangement is selected and calls
'midi' when the MIDI arrangement is selected. This would result in a piece
which would play immediately when its 'native' mode of instruments and mixes is
selected at run time.
I hope that you find my ideas not only interesting but also
of practical use in this unusual dilemma that we face: being able to compose
pieces which not everyone can play!
Related files on this disc:
The Music 3000 and AMPLINEX music
Ian L Hubbard
Music 3000 expander owners can contribute to the music
section of AMPLINEX so that members with or without the expander software can listen.
This can be done by using the M5INFO word which returns the current number of
unused channels.
1) Define a variable that will contain the number of
channels, e.g.,
"chans" [GVAR]
2) Include the following as the first line of the RUN word
to find the number of channels available:
READY M5INFO chans #B! #2 #2 #2
3) Depending on where you like to change mixes, you can use
the following structure to use different PLAY strings in the RUN word, use alternate
mix words in a part word, or use alternate VOICE setups in a mix word:
chans #B? 16 #=
IF(
% Music 5000 alternative
)ELSE(
% Music 3000 alternative
)IF
IF(
% Music 5000 alternative
)ELSE(
% Music 3000 alternative
)IF
Editor's note:
We hope the two articles above will provide some ideas for
members with Music 2000 or Music 3000 systems. Both of the methods outlined
above allow a piece to be played by those with the basic Music 5000 system as
well as providing a different version for those with a Music 2000 or 3000.
We would like, however, to encourage members with Music 2000
or Music 3000 systems to contribute music made for those systems, whether or
not they incorporate the ideas discussed in this feature. Once we have gauged the
volume, quality and type of music available we will consider the best way to
publish it.
Published in AMPLINEX 014, November
1989
