VocalEasel/mma/text/CHANGES-1.6

The documentation did not list the useful RESTART command. Sorry.

In a manner similar to that used in Scale tracks, Arpeggio tracks
  now reset pointer positions after a RANGE or DIRECTION change.

Added harmonies Open8Below and Open8Above.

Changed the behaviour of MidiInc so that program changes (voices)
  included in the file being imported are ignored. This forces the
  voice set in the MMA track to be used ... this makes sense most of
  the time, but you can override with IgnorePC=False/Off/0 in the
  MidiInc command line.

Roman numerals can be used to specify chords. Roman is simply
  converted to standard notation. Key signatures are honored, so do
  read the docs in the "chord names" section for details.

Slash chords can now use Roman or Arabic numbers to set a "fingered
  bass" note in chords.


Debug: $_LastDebug was not working properly.
       Added Roman=0/1 for displaying roman numeral chord conversions.
       Added plectrum debug info the debug and plectrum manual sections.


June 24, 2010 - released 1.6a

Added option to permit usage of character values 176 & 248 to indicate
 dim/half-dim chords in both roman and normal notation.

Added little program to convert files from Roman to std. notation.
 See utils/mma-rm2std.py. Comes with a little readme as well.

June 28, 2010 - released 1.6b

Changed the ln-install and cp-install scripts so that they now check
 for the directory and offer to create it if needed. Mostly for OS X
 systems which might not have a /usr/local/share or /usr/local/bin
 directory.

Large number of Solo changes ================
 
 Added OFFSET=xx to the permitted options in <> modifier. The idea is
  that notes can now start anywere in a bar, not just in nice 
  beat values. Example of a solo string might be
 
     <offset=10>4a;4b; 

  which places 2 quarter notes in the bar, pushed off normal by 10 midi
  ticks. 

 You can specify note pitches in MIDI values.

 You can change the velocity (volume) of individual notes in a solo by
  appending a value after a '/'. Eg. "4c e g/120" creates a 3 note
  chord with the 'g' velocity at 120, the others will be the default 90.

  Solo/Melody tracks now have an ARPEGGIATE option.

  The volume setting code for solos is improved/fixed ... but it might
   make existing tracks a tad loud. Sorry, but I think it is right now :)

 Accents: Set accents !-^& for notes/chords in solos.

      All this is in the manual. 


Note Duration: In all settings you can now specify a note duration in
 MIDI Ticks as well as the conventional '4', '8', etc. Just append
 a 't' to end of the note. In a pattern definition you could use:

      Chord Sequence { 1 4 90 }
          or         { 1 196t 90}

 for identical results. Note that articulation, etc. is still
 applied. Handy for defining "odd" durations.



MidiInc: You can now apply a "RIFF" option to the MidiInc stuff. This
 will create a set of notes which are then inserted into a solo
 track. Now, the "neat stuff" in the solo track is applied to the
 included notes. "Neat stuff" includes harmony, articulate,
 arpeggiate, etc. Fun.

 Modified the StripSilence option to permit a
 manual setting.

 Added Report feature to display the information on a
 file you can to include.

Harmony: some more harmony options are available.

DupRiff: New and useful command. This makes harmony (and other) tracks
 easy to create ... just create data in one track and copy to
 other(s).

July 18, 2010 -- Released 1.6c


Minor fix to permit spacing between duration and accent in solos
 specs.

Fixed up docs to more clearly show the options for Voicing
 Mode=Optimal.

When specifying solo info in a {} at the end of a chord line you can
 have empty sets of {} to use as placeholders with the AutoSoloTracks
 list. There's an example in the docs.
 
The -M command option works again. 

September 17, 2009 -- released 1.6d

MidiInc now honors -T and OFF settings; fixed RiffTranspose option.

Changed the initial test in mma.py to check so that 3.x will notify of
 problem.

Added some grooves to lib/yamaha and lib/kara. Extensive renaming of
groove names in these directories to make the compatible with new
autolib fuctions. Sorry if this creates problems with existing files.

Some major rewrites to the swing code. Hopefully, no bugs
 created. Additional options for swing include ACCENT, DELAY and
 NOTES. Better read the fine manual for details.

Major change to the autolib function: the library database is now
 searched by looking at all the directories in /mma/lib. This is
 important since you might have grooves in both (for example)
 mma/lib/stdlib and mma/stdlib/bob. By default, the groove in
 the 'stdlib' directory will be found first (and used). Read the PATHS
 section of the manual for more details.

October 8, 2010 -- released 1.6e

Added -V command to preview (prelisten) grooves. 

Added -Dbo option to generate some library docs. This is used by the
 mma-gb.py program in the utils directory to generate its database file.

The MidiPlayer output used for -P and -V has been rewritten to use a
 more modern Python interface which should ensure better compatiblity
 between Unix and Windows platforms. In addition 2 new options for
 SetMidiPlayer have been introduced: BackGround=0/1 and
 Delay=<value>. See the Paths section in the manual. In most cases
 you'll not need any changes to your rc or input files.

A new program has been included in the util directory. mma-gb.py is a
 groove browser which uses the new -V capability in a simple
 GUI. Useful for listening to the over 1000 grooves in the main distro.

The minimum Python version has been changed from 2.4 to 2.5. Since 2.5
 was released in September/2006 we should be safe.