The AMPLINEX archive

Welcome to AMPLINEX 007

Kevin Doyle, Roy Follett and Jackie Follett

Welcome to AMPLINEX 007 and the start of a new AMPLINEX year. I would firstly like to apologize for the late arrival of this issue of AMPLINEX - a combination of circumstances including holidays and the postal strike combined to put us about two weeks behind schedule. However, we hope to be back on track in November.

In this issue we have the second part of Scott Mackie's guide to MIDI interfacing which provides software to accompany the hardware he described in AMPLINEX 006. You will find that MIDI is also a subject much in evidence in our regular 'Questions and Answers' section.

Followers of Roger Cawkwell's excellent 'Music theory in practice' series will be disappointed to hear that he has been unable to provide a further instalment for this issue but he hopes to resume the series in AMPLINEX 008.

After the wealth of utilities in AMPLINEX 006 we have included only one in this issue - a new keyboard split program from Richard Bettis (the sideways RAM help utility mentioned in AMPLINEX 006 has been postponed until the next issue).

This has, however, given us more space for music programs (14 in all) including an interesting collection of original music from contributors new to the AMPLINEX music section.

One of the features which we intended to include on this disc was an excellent index to AMPLINEX issues 001-006, compiled by Patrick Black. Unfortunately, at over 27K in length it was not possible to fit it on to this disc.

To get a copy of this file (which is in an 80-column format, ready to print) you should send a blank, formatted disc to AMPLINEX along with the usual postage and packing. Please mark the disc 'INDEX' and indicate whether your disc is in 40- or 80-track format. If you wish to save on postage, you can include the extra disc with the one you send in for AMPLINEX 008.

This index has already proven a valuable aid here at AMPLINEX and we would recommend it to all our members.

In our first issue in September 1987 we included a short survey to try to build a picture of the interests of the membership and to find out what hardware and software people had available. As a year has passed since then and the membership has increased several fold, we have decided to issue another survey.

We would, therefore, be most grateful if you would spend a few minutes completing the various sections of the survey. We are especially interested in your views on the contents of AMPLINEX as this will help us to make the magazine even more useful to you.

We would like to publish the results of the survey in the next issue of AMPLINEX so please try to return your disc with the survey results by the submission deadline.

Thank you.

Published in AMPLINEX 007, September 1988

AMPLINEX M06

AMPLINEX issue M06 was published in July 1988. 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.

Walking on Stars

by David Westbrook

Source: AMPLINEX M06 disk, file $.WOSTARS

Published in AMPLINEX M06, July 1988

Vishnu

by Jim Redfarn

Source: AMPLINEX M06 disk, file $.VISHNU

Published in AMPLINEX M06, July 1988

Two Part Inventions 1-5

by Paul Nuttall

Composed by: J S Bach

Rather varied from the originals

Source: AMPLINEX M06 disk, file $.INVENT5

Published in AMPLINEX M06, July 1988

Strollin'

by G H Richardson

There is nothing exceptional about this piece. It is a simple little tune which I wrote some forty years ago as a piano piece and which, through the miracle of AMPLE, I have arranged as a violin melody with piano accompaniment. After playing it at various speeds and with different instruments (cello, orchestra, flute etc.) I came to the conclusion that it was best in its simplest version at a meandering pace - hence its title "Strollin'".

The 'piano' accompaniment still leaves a lot to be desired, and I shall continue my experimentation in the search for a more realistic sounding piano.

G H Richardson

Source: AMPLINEX M06 disk, file $.STROLL

Published in AMPLINEX M06, July 1988

Stars

by Karl Harridence

The melody line (part1) of this piece was written by myself and some friends at junior school, and was originally entered in the 'Nationwide Carol Competition' under the title of "The Christmas Story".

Finding it whilst clearing out a folder recently I decided to try some experiments with it in AMPLE.

The drum rhythms and accompaniment are simple in concept and 'pop' based but surprisingly they fit quite well considering the origins of the piece.

Perhaps someone would like to change it back to a carol!

Source: AMPLINEX M06 disk, file $.STARS

Published in AMPLINEX M06, July 1988

Solo with Polytimbral Echoes

by Philip Jones

This piece grew out of experiments with echoes

Source: AMPLINEX M06 disk, file $.ECHO

Published in AMPLINEX M06, July 1988

Life in a Warzone

by R Bettis

In some ways I'm a little ashamed of this piece...

Musically it lacks structure; it is really only a vehicle for the "effects" instruments 'chopper', 'shot' and 'heart'.

The musical content is 'cobbled' together in a very haphazard manner (the 'part..'s are best left in the dark).

I suppose I could claim that this is a demonstration of the superiority of AMPLE over conventional music notation for certain tasks.

None of the parts use the BAR word and none could really get away with it; most use repeated phrases of varying lengths. There are a lot of volume level changes, again with no regular lengths.

Finally, in the 'heartbeat' of part3c the note length is changed gradually using the COUNT of a FOR()FOR loop.

It would be nice to think that this 'modern' approach to music was the result of much thought & calculation, but I must confess that virtually all of it (note lengths, number of repeat phrases, 'fade' times etc.) is purely the result of trial and error, until it sounded okay to me.

So, I'm fairly happy with this. It isn't "easy listening" but then again neither is its subject (and I have gone for the "Full Metal Jacket" and not the "Rambo" approach to warfare). And, if nothing else, it IS a vehicle for those effects...

C. Richard Bettis 1988
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