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.
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
