Apple II Music & Sound Conference August 15, 1990 10:00 pm EDT Subject: Secrets on using MusicStudio Guest: Gene Koh (AFA Gene) Forum Leader: Joyce Madden (AFL JoyceM) Forum Staff: AFA Gene (Gene Koh), ELECTMUSIC (Greg Dib) and LindsayGS (Lindsay Hough) AFL JoyceM If you all haven't read From the Forum Leader, you just might want to. Welcome to the Apple II Music & Sound Forum. Tonight's topic is MusicStudio with Gene Koh (AFA Gene) as our guest. Gene is the music editor for SoftDisk-GS and for some present and upcoming games. If you need help or have questions about MS, we are here to help you. I would like to remind everyone that Bill Basham author of DiversiTune is currently working on a major upgrade to this program. In order for him to satisfy the users, he is asking for input from you - the user. We have a special area here on AMS, under Let's Discuss/Forum Business/Ideas for DiversiTune for you to post your ideas, comments about what you would like to see in the next upgrade to DiversiTune. Version 1.1 has been released. Also note that there are several new DT songs in our library, with more to follow. Regarding SynthLAB, I am still waiting release word from Apple, APDA and Mark Cecys. AFL JoyceM Gene, would you like to make a comment about our Forum Contest? AFA Gene I just came back earlier this evening so I haven't had a chance to get to the libraries yet, but remember that any file uploaded into our New Files area is eligible to win FIVE free hours of online time in our monthly contest! (See From the Forum Leader [FTFL] for details.) MDW Flyer Is the contest restricted to a particular application format? AFA Gene Flyer: Nope, anything is eligible as long as it relates to music or sound. AFL JoyceM Thanks, Gene.....one important notice, I will be giving away 1 hour free time tonight for the best question asked about MusicStudio. Okay, Joe, ask away, then we need to get to the subject at hand. JosephI I am trying to install a patch to a program called Taskforce. I must deprotect it first - then install an application to allow it to work on my harddrive only thing is how do you tell BASIC were to find my disk? I keep getting SYntax error AFL JoyceM Joe, what is TaskForce, a game? AFA Gene You may want to check out the Games & Entertainment Forum (keyword AGM) for help on your Task Force problem. Joseph: This is a music and sound-related discussion. (BTW, use the PREFIX command in BASIC :) AFL JoyceM Joe, you should ask your question in Let's Discuss in the Games area, keyword is AGM...I don't think we can help you here, sorry. JosephI How about if none is there? LindsayGS Open a new folder in the Let's Discuss area of the AGM forum and just ask your question in the folder. JosephI Thanks everyone. MDW Flyer A way to patch MS to keep from having wavebanksat the root dir of a hard disk? AFL JoyceM Flyer, I believe that the WAVE file has to be in the root directory. Why don't you want it there? AFA Gene Have you tried creating a folder called "WAVES"? MDW Flyer Just fussy mostly. I would think that I could patch a vector into MS. Yes I do have a waves folder. Just trying to consolidate all MS stuff to one-folder to keep things straight. AFL JoyceM I know...wish I could do the same. Finally just put most of my MS songs on disk with the WVBK files if needed. MDW Flyer That's the way I've gone also. AFA Gene You could use a "SONGS" folder to do that. MDW Flyer I've got a generic songs folder now with DT, MS,& MT.Jr songs mixed. AFL JoyceM AFL JoyceM Okay....let's get started with our guest, Gene Koh. Gene, you have done some absolutely amazing arrangements using MusicStudio. How did you get started? AFA Gene Well, Music Studio and Paintworks Gold were the first two programs I bought with my GS, and I've been playing around with MS ever since opening my GS. :) AFL JoyceM Gene, do you use a synthesizer/keyboard to input the song files or do you use just the GS keyboard? AFA Gene Many times I use my Roland keyboard for quick entry of musical data, but for the most part I find that using the point-and-click mouse technique works bestas one can create neat stereo effects by using many different channels. FredChopin What kind of Roland MDW Flyer Anyone know if a file format has been published for MS songs? AFA Gene I use a Roland D-5. No file format has been published, although I know of a number of programmers who have hacked into MS and figured out how to read the files. LindsayGS What does the finder say the file is, FLyer (i.e. a MS file)? AFA Gene MS uses a non-standard format, however. AFL JoyceM .... Would like to remind you all that for the best question tonight, you will 1 free hour of time. LindsayGS It's an undocumented format??? MDW Flyer I forgot to check the file type code, I think it's a binary type. AFA Gene It will come up in Finder as "Binary" I believe. AFL JoyceM It does, BIN. MDW Flyer That's what I'm trying to do Gene. I've figured out most of the DT file, and would like to write a translation program DT to MS, and MS to DT. LindsayGS No wonder it's been so hard to get support for translating these files. Does DT support the MIDI stnd file format? AFA Gene That is a very tall order, MDW!! :) MDW Flyer I've been able to get some results translating straight MIDI files to DT. AFA Gene Nope, neither DT nor MS support MIDI File Format, although DT uses some elements of it. LindsayGS So it's similar to MIDI stnd file, then? MDW Flyer MIDI info is there but timing is very strange when played from a MIDI format. AFA Gene Similar, but not compatible (except in a few rare instances) LindsayGS What a mess we're in!! AFL JoyceM Gene, can you explain about using Channels in MusicStudio - how do they work, etc? MDW Flyer The DT header is most confusing. Channel info and DT's method are different. AFA Gene Well, channels are those 15 different colored note possibilities. I've found that using different channels for that same instrument (i.e. hihats) but routed through different speakers creates very interesting stereo effects, and if "mixed" correctly, can be quite impressive. LindsayGS So you mean when using a stereo card, right? AFL JoyceM I guess I need to know what Channels means....I don't understand? MDW Flyer The MS file info seems to integrate note (pitch & duration) with the track info on the fly. Is that true.? AFA Gene I wouldn't know, MDW, you may want to ask about that in the Development Forum. AFA Gene "Channels" is a term I use to describe MS's 15 different note "colors." LindsayGS Not the same as MIDI channels? AFA Gene No, not quite the same. Each MS channel can only have one note played at a time. LindsayGS So MS won't play an external MIDI instrument, then? MDW Flyer Yes it does. I do it to an external keyboard or a sequencer. AFA Gene One can assign each MS "channel" to various external MIDI channels, via the "MIDI Parameters" option. LindsayGS Oh, I thought that there was a way. AFL JoyceM Flyer....you won 1 hour of free connect time for August. Thanks for your questions :) MDW Flyer Thanks. Hope I'm back here to use it. Off to the east next week. Sand & such. AFL JoyceM It will be credited to your time here on AO. MDW Flyer Sounds great. Thanks again. LindsayGS Congrats, Flyer. Good luck with that ambitious project of yours. (seems like file translations are getting popular!) MDW Flyer I'll upload it freeware when complete. MIDI standard needs to be implemented on all music programs. AFL JoyceM Agree there Flyer :) AFL JoyceM Gene, where do you get ideas for the various arrangements you use? What type of music books do you recommend for arranging music on MS? AFA Gene Okay, well in the past I got many ideas from just playing around with MS's environment... creating different rhythms and experimenting... that's the great thing about MS; one can change the music as easily as using a word processor. Recently, however, I've been using MS more as just a "tool" for entering note data from conventional music ideas (i.e. from guitar or piano) and then adding stereo effects and such. AFL JoyceM I just wish you could change or edit vertically. LindsayGS So would all of you say that the editing interface is superior to, say MTjr? MDW Flyer Hardware/Music question? Does any product use the 8 pin molex connector. MDW Flyer No I like MT jr. AFA Gene Without a doubt. MS has the easiest-to-use interface of any music product for the GS, bar none. Of course, with such ease-of-use comes some limitations, but that's the price you pay. MDW Flyer Just wish it could display note info on a staff. LindsayGS Can you do individual notes with MS (can't with Jr)? AFL JoyceM Yes, Lindsay. AFA Gene (This is for the implementation of compositional ideas, however, not just for ease in straight MIDI recording or other such things.) LindsayGS I guess I should look at the interface before I write my sequencer. But editing is the most important thing you do after you record, right? MDW Flyer You can only enter via an external keyboard/synth using MT Jr. LindsayGS I thought Gene said he uses his Roland to input music? AFA Gene Yes, sometimes I do. MDW Flyer Sequencing/editing encompasses more than just the note info. I don't recall MS having any way to enter that kind of dynamics from a MIDI input. AFL JoyceM I have used my MIDI keyboard to input notes/songs. The only problem is that only one sound (ie, piano) can be used for both staffs during that recording. AFA Gene Right, Joyce, that's why I only use MIDI input sometimes. It's harder to get nice stereo effects with MIDI Input. LindsayGS OK, I see your point, Flyer, I was talking about the editing interface. AFA Gene Agreed, that's why I noted a few minutes ago that MS's ease of use comes from its ease in implementing creative musical ideas, not MIDI-related. MDW Flyer But as a beginning learning tool MS is probably the best for the GS. MDW Flyer Absolutely Gene. AFL JoyceM Flyer, yes it is good learning tool. Also teaches about notes, etc. Sometimes, I just input the melody with the keyboard and then add the rhythms etc. via keyboard/mouse. Gene, I note that you have designed some interesting sounds. Do you have some hints on how you makes these instruments? AFA Gene The key is getting good samples, so that the amount of work needed in shaping the sound via MS's ASDR editor is kept to a minimum. IMHO, shaping the sound is not of much use except in a few instances to get a "softer" sound. MDW Flyer How are you getting the sound samples in. I haven't ever played around with other sounds in MS. AFA Gene I sample, then convert to a format readable by SoundSmith, and use SS to put the wave together. Sometimes I use public-domain sounds. AFL JoyceM Sampling requires a special synthesizer or what? MDW Flyer SoundSmith? I've heard of it but never used it yet. AFA Gene Sampling, i.e. using Sonic Blaster or Audio Animator. MDW, you should download it with your free hour. It's well worth it. :) AFL JoyceM Flyer, the program is in our AMS library available for download. MDW Flyer Or Hyperstudio digitizer, or MDIdeas digitizer work also? AFA Gene yep. AFL JoyceM Thank you all for coming tonight and congratulations to MDW Flyer who one one free hour of connect time. Next week our discussion will be on SoftDisk-GS with Gene Koh, music editor for SDGS. Good Night. America Online - 1990