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<!--Table of Child-Links-->
<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></A>
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<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html533"
HREF="node14.html#SECTION001410000000000000000">Tempo</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html534"
HREF="node14.html#SECTION001420000000000000000">Time</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html535"
HREF="node14.html#SECTION001430000000000000000">TimeSig</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html536"
HREF="node14.html#SECTION001440000000000000000">BeatAdjust</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html537"
HREF="node14.html#SECTION001450000000000000000">Fermata</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html538"
HREF="node14.html#SECTION001460000000000000000">Cut</A>
</UL>
<!--End of Table of Child-Links-->
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION001400000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="sec-time"></A>
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<BR>
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Tempo and Timing
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</H1>
<P>
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<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> has a rich set of commands to adjust and vary the timing of your
song.
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<P>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION001410000000000000000">
Tempo</A>
</H1>
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<P>
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The tempo of a piece is set in Beats per Minute with the ``Tempo''
directive.
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<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Tempo 120 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
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<P>
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sets the tempo to 120 beats/minute. You can also use the tempo command
to increase or decrease the current rate by including a leading ``+'',
``-'' or ``*'' in the rate. For example (assuming the current rate is
120):
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Tempo +10 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
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<P>
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will increase the current rate to 130 beats/minute.
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<P>
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The tempo can be changed series of beats, much like a rit. or acc. in
real music. Assuming that a time signature of <B>4/4</B>, the current tempo
is 120, and there are 4 beats in a bar, the command:
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Tempo 100 1 </B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
will cause 4 tempo entries to be placed in the current bar (in the
MIDI meta track). The start of the bar will be 115, the 2nd beat will
be at 110, the 3rd at 105 and the last at 100.
<P>
You can also vary an existing rate using a ``+'', ``-'' or ``*'' in
the rate.
<P>
You can vary the tempo over more than one bar. For example:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Tempo +20 5.5 </B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
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<P>
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tells
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> to increase the tempo by 20 beats per minute and to step
the increase over the next five and a half bars. Assuming a start
tempo of 100 and 4 beats/bar, the meta track will have a tempo
settings of 101, 102, 103 ...120. This will occur over 22 beats
(5.5 bars * 4 beats) of music.
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<P>
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Using the multiplier is handy if you are switching to ``double time'':
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Tempo *2 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
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<P>
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and to return:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Temp *.5 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
Note that the ``+'', ``-'' or ``*'' sign must <I>not</I> be separated
from the tempo value by any spaces. The value for T<SMALL>EMPO</SMALL> can be
any value, but will be converted to integer for the final setting.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION001420000000000000000"></A> <A NAME="time"></A>
<BR>
Time
</H1>
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> doesn't really understand time signatures. It just cares about
the number of beats in a bar. So, if you have a piece in
<B>4/4</B> time you would use:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Time 4 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
For <B>3/4</B> use:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Time 3 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
For <B>6/8</B> you'd probably want either ``2'' or ``6''.
<P>
Changing the time also cancels all existing sequences. So, after a
time directive you'll need to set up your sequences or load a new
groove.<A NAME="tex2html51"
HREF="#foot5658"><SUP>14.1</SUP></A>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION001430000000000000000">
TimeSig</A>
</H1>
<P>
Even though
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> doesn't really use Time Signatures, some MIDI
programs do recognize and use them. So, here's a command which will
let you insert a Time Signature in your MIDI output:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>TimeSig NN DD </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
The NN parameter is the time signature numerator (the number of beats
per bar). In <B>3/4</B> you would set this to ``3''.
<P>
The DD parameter is the time signature denominator (the length of the
note getting a single beat). In <B>3/4</B> you would set this to
``4''.
<P>
The NN value must be an integer in the range of 1 to 126. The DD value
must be one of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64.
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> assumes that all songs are in <B>4/4</B> and places that
MIDI event at offset 0 in the Meta track.
<P>
The T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>S<SMALL>IG</SMALL> value is remembered by G<SMALL>ROOVE</SMALL>s and is
properly set when grooves are switched. You should probably have a
time signature in any groove library files you create (the supplied
files all do).
<P>
The common time signatures ``common'' and ``cut'' are supported. They
are translated by
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> to <B>4/4</B> and <B>2/2</B>.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION001440000000000000000"></A> <A NAME="beatadjust"></A>
<BR>
BeatAdjust
</H1>
<P>
Internally,
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> tracks its position in a song according to beats.
For example, in a <B>4/4</B> piece the beat position is
incremented by 4 after each bar is processed. For the most part, this
works fine; however, there are some conditions when it would be nice
to manually adjust the beat position:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>Insert some extra (silent) beats at the end of bar to simulate a pause,
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<P>
</LI>
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<LI>Delete some beats to handle a ``short'' bar.
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<P>
</LI>
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<LI>Change a pattern in the middle of a bar.
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<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
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Each problem will be dealt with in turn. In <A HREF="#eg-pause">this
example</A> a pause is simulated at the end of bar
10. One problem with this logic is that the inserted beat will be
silent, but certain notes (percussive things like piano) often will
continue to sound (this is related to the decay of the note, not that
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> has not turned off the note). Frankly, this really doesn't
work too well ...which is why the F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL>
(<A HREF="#fermata">details here</A>) was added.
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
<tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
<B><FONT SIZE="+2">Adding Extra Beats</FONT></B> <A NAME="eg-pause"></A>
</tr> </td>
<tr> <td >
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Time 4
<BR>
1 Cm / / /
<BR> ...
<BR>
10 Am / C /
<BR>
BeatAdjust 1
<BR> ...</B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
</td> </tr>
</Table>
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<P>
<P>
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In <A HREF="#eg-mixed">this example</A> the problem of
the ``short bar'' is handled. In this example, the sheet music has the
majority of the song in <B>4/4</B> time, but bar 4 is in
<B>2/4</B>. This could be handled by setting the T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>
setting to 2 and creating some different patterns. Forcing silence on
the last 2 beats and backing up the counter is a bit easier.
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
<tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
<B><FONT SIZE="+2">Short Bar Adjustment</FONT></B> <A NAME="eg-mixed"></A>
</tr> </td>
<tr> <td >
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>1 Cm / / /
<BR> ...
<BR>
4 Am / z! /
<BR>
BeatAdjust -2
<BR> ...</B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
</td> </tr>
</Table>
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<P>
<P>
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Note that the adjustment factor can be a partial beat. For example:
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>BeatAdjust .5 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
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<P>
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will insert half of a beat between the current bars.
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<P>
Finally in <A HREF="#eg-overlap">this example</A>, the problem of
overlapping bars is handled. We want to change the G<SMALL>ROOVE</SMALL>
in the middle of a bar. So, we create the third bar two times. The first one
has a ``z!'' (silence) for beats 3 and 4; the second has ``z!'' for beats 1 and 2. This
permits the two halves to overlap without conflict. The B<SMALL>EAT</SMALL>A<SMALL>DJUST</SMALL>
forces the two bars to overlap completely.
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
<tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
<B><FONT SIZE="+2">Mid-Bar Groove Change</FONT></B> <A NAME="eg-overlap"></A>
</tr> </td>
<tr> <td >
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Groove BigBand
<BR>
1 C
<BR>
Groove BigBandFill
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<BR>
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2 Am
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<BR>
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3 / / z!
<BR>
BeatAdjust -4
<BR>
Groove BigBand
<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp; z! / F
<BR>
5 F
<BR> ...</B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
</td> </tr>
</Table>
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<P>
<P>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION001450000000000000000"></A> <A NAME="fermata"></A>
<BR>
Fermata
</H1>
<P>
A ``fermata'' or ``pause'' in written music tells the musician to hold
a note for a longer period than the notation would otherwise indicate.
In standard music notation it is represented by a
``<!-- MATH
$\rotatebox{270}{\textbf{(\raisebox{.5ex}{.}}}$
-->
<IMG
WIDTH="14" HEIGHT="4" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0"
SRC="img8.png"
ALT="\rotatebox{270}{\textbf{(\raisebox{.5ex}{.}}}">''
above a note.
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<P>
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To indicate all this
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> uses a command like:
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Fermata 1 1 200 </B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
Note that there are three parts to the command:
<P>
<OL>
<LI>The beat offset from the current point in the score to apply the
``pause''. The offset can be positive or negative and is calculated
from the current bar. Positive numbers will apply to the next bar;
negative to the previous. For offsets into the next bar you use
offsets starting at ``0''; for offsets into the previous bar an
offset of ``-1'' represents the last beat in that bar.
<P>
For example, if you were in <B>4/4</B> time and wanted the
quarter note at the end of the next bar to be paused, you would use
an offset of 3. The same effect can be achieved by putting the
F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL> command after the bar and using an offset of -1.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>The duration of the pause in beats. For example, if you have a
quarter note to pause your duration would be 1, a half note (or 2
quarter notes) would be 2.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>The adjustment. This represented as a percentage of the current
value. For example, to force a note to be held for twice the normal
time you would use 200 (two-hundred percent). You can use a value
smaller than 100 to force a shorter note, but this is seldom done.
<P>
</LI>
</OL>
<P>
<A HREF="#egpause">This example</A> shows how you can
place a F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL> before or after the effected bar.
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
<tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
<B><FONT SIZE="+2">Fermata</FONT></B> <A NAME="egpause"></A>
</tr> </td>
<tr> <td >
<IMG WIDTH="90%" SRC="mupex/fermata.png" ALT="Lost Image">
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> Equivalent
<BR>
<BR>
Fermata 3 1 200
<BR>
C
<BR>
Gm7 </B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
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<BR>
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Alternate
<BR>
<BR>
C
<BR>
Fermata -1 1 200
<BR>
Gm7 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
</td> </tr>
</Table>
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<P>
<P>
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Here <A HREF="#egpause2">the second example</A> shows
the first four bars of a popular torch song. The problem with the
piece is that the first beat of bar four needs to be paused, and the
accompaniment style has to switch in the middle of the bar. The
example shows how to split the fourth bar with the first beat on one
line and the balance on a second. The ``z!''s are used to ``fill in''
the 4 beats skipped by the B<SMALL>EAT</SMALL>A<SMALL>DJUST</SMALL>.
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<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
<tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
<B><FONT SIZE="+2">Fermata with Cut</FONT></B> <A NAME="egpause2"></A>
</tr> </td>
<tr> <td >
<P>
<IMG WIDTH="90%" SRC="mupex/fermata2.png" ALT="Lost Image">
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>C C#dim
<BR>
G7
<BR>
C / C#dim
<BR>
G7 z!
<BR>
Fermata -4 1 200
<BR>
Cut -3
<BR>
BeatAdjust -3.5
<BR>
Groove EasySwing
<BR>
z! G7 C7 </B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
</td> </tr>
</Table>
<P>
<P>
The following conditions will generate warning messages:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>A beat offset greater than one bar,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>A duration greater than one bar,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>An adjustment value less than 100.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
This command works by adjusting the global tempo in the MIDI meta
track at the point of the fermata. In most cases you can put more than
one F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL> command in the same bar, but they should be in beat
order (no checks are done). If the F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL> command has a
negative position argument, special code is invoked to remove any
note-on events in the duration specified, after the start of the
beat.<A NAME="tex2html52"
HREF="#foot5755"><SUP>14.2</SUP></A> This means that extra rhythm notes will
not be sounded--probably what you expect a held note to sound like.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION001460000000000000000"></A> <A NAME="cut"></A>
<BR>
Cut
</H1>
<P>
This command was born of the need to simulate a ``cut'' or, more
correctly, a ``caesura''. This is indicated in music by two parallel
lines put at the top of a staff indicating the end of a musical
thought. The symbol is also referred to as ``railroad tracks''.
<P>
The idea is to stop the music on all tracks, pause briefly, and
resume.<A NAME="tex2html53"
HREF="#foot5787"><SUP>14.3</SUP></A>
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> provides the C<SMALL>UT</SMALL> command to help deal with this
situation. But, before the command is described in detail, a
diversion: just how is a note or chord sustained in a MIDI file?
<P>
Assume that a
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> input file (and the associated library)
files dictates that some notes are to be played from beat 2 to beat 4
in an arbitrary bar. What
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> does is:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>determine the position in the piece as a midi offset to the
current bar,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>calculate the start and end times for the notes,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>adjust the times (if necessary) based on adjustable features
such as <SMALL>STRUM</SMALL>, <SMALL>ARTICULATE</SMALL>, <SMALL>RTIME</SMALL>, etc.,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>insert the required MIDI ``note on'' and ``note off'' commands
at the appropriate point in the track.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
You may think that a given note starts on beat 2 and ends (using
<SMALL>ARTICULATE 100</SMALL>) right on beat 3--but you would most likely be
wrong. So, if you want the note or chord to be ``cut'', what point do
you use to instruct
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> correctly? Unfortunately, the simple answer
is ``it depends''. Again, the answers will consist of some examples.
<P>
In this first case you wish to stop the track in the middle of the last
bar. The simplest answer is:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>1 C
<BR> ...
<BR>
36 C / z! /
<BR></B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
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<P>
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Unfortunately, this will ``almost'' work. But, any chords which are
longer than one or two beats may continue to sound. This, often, gives
a ``dirty'' sound to the end of the piece. The simple solution is to
add to the end of the piece:
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cut -2 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
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<P>
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Depending on the rhythm you might have to fiddle a bit with the cut
value. But, the example here puts a ``all notes off'' message in all
the active tracks at the start of beat 3. The exact same result can be
achieved by placing:
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<P>
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<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cut 3 </B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
<I>before</I> the final bar.
<P>
In this second example a tiny bit of silence is desired between bars 4 and
5 (this might be the end of a musical introduction). The following bit should
work:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>1 C
<BR>
2 G
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<BR>
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3 G
<BR>
4 C
<BR>
Cut
<BR>
BeatAdjust .2
<BR>
5 G
<BR> ... </B>
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</td></tr>
</Table>
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<P>
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In this case the ``all notes off'' is placed at the end of bar 4 and
two-tenths of a beat is inserted at the same location. Bar 5 continues
the track.
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<P>
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The final example show how you might combine <SMALL>CUT</SMALL> with
<SMALL>FERMATA</SMALL>. In this case the sheet music shows a caesura after the
first quarter note and fermatas over the quarter notes on beats 2, 3
and 4.
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>1 C C#dim
<BR>
2 G7
<BR>
3 C / C#dim
<BR>
Fermata 1 3 120
<BR>
Cut 1.9
<BR>
Cut 2.9
<BR>
Cut 3.9
<BR>
4 G7 / C7 /
<BR>
5 F6 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
A few tutorial notes on the above:
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<P>
<UL>
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<LI>The command
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Fermata 1 3 120 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
applies a slow-down in tempo to the second beat for the following
bar (an offset of 1), for 3 beats. These 3 beats will be played 20%
slower than the set tempo.
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<P>
</LI>
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<LI>The three <SMALL>CUT</SMALL> commands insert MIDI ``all notes off'' in
all the active tracks just <I>before</I> beats 2, 3 and 4.
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<P>
</LI>
</UL>
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<P>
Finally, the proper syntax for the command:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>[Voice] Cut [Offset] </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
If the voice is omitted, MIDI ``all notes off'' will be inserted into
each active track.
<P>
If the offset is omitted, the current bar position will be used. This
the same as using an offset value of 0.
<BR><HR><H4>Footnotes</H4>
<DL>
<DT><A NAME="foot5658">...
groove.</A><A
HREF="node14.html#tex2html51"><SUP>14.1</SUP></A></DT>
<DD>The time value is saved/restored with grooves so
setting a time is redundant in this case.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot5755">...
beat.</A><A
HREF="node14.html#tex2html52"><SUP>14.2</SUP></A></DT>
<DD>Technically speaking,
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> determines an interval
starting 5% of a beat after the start of the fermata to a point 5%
of a beat before the end. Any MIDI Note-On events in this range (in
all tracks) are deleted.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot5787">...
resume.</A><A
HREF="node14.html#tex2html53"><SUP>14.3</SUP></A></DT>
<DD>The answer to the music theory question of whether
the ``pause'' takes time <I>from</I> the current beat or is treated
as a ``fermata'' is not clear--but as far as
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> is concerned the
command has no effect on timing.
</DD>
</DL><HR>
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bob
2007-03-07
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