Editing graphic and Midi symbols (5) |
Midi effects on the score performance [Professional] [Notation] [Composition Pro] We now approach the other side of symbols. One or more Midi effects may be associated with a symbol so as to
produce a sound effect when Pizzicato find this symbol in the
score. This dialog box defines how the symbol will
influence the score performance. Keep the Tempo choice for the type
of effect. By selecting Unique, the change is
instantaneously done. In this case, the single value must be
specified in the text box entitled Value. By placing
for example "120" with the Tempo effect,
when Pizzicato finds this symbol in the score, it will at
once modify the tempo to 120. By placing "100" for
a reverberation controller, the level of reverberation will
be set to 100 when the symbol is played. By selecting Multiple, the change
can be done over a specific duration. This duration can be
specified by a multiple choice labeled Duration and
with 3 text boxes. By selecting a Fixed duration,
you can specify this duration in the text boxes as a number
of measures, beats (quarter note) and beat units (480 units =
1 quarter note). In this case the duration of the effect is
very precise. By selecting Proportional to graphic,
the duration of the effect is calculated proportionally to
the graphic width of the symbol in relation to the measure.
Thus a symbol which extends itself on half the measure width
would last half of the measure duration. This method is less
precise than the fixed duration. Fill in the duration so that it last one
measure. The horizontal axis is graduated between 0
and 100 % and represents the total duration of the effect as
it was previously specified. The vertical axis is graduated
from -100 to 100 units of tempo. The vertical scale depends
in fact on the type of effect. Close this dialog box (on Mac, this
window has no closing box, use the return key to close it).
Notice that the Relative values box is checked. It
means that the value shown will be added to the value already
present in the score. This is why the graph above goes from
-100 to +100, in order to either decrease or increase the
tempo. The effect of this box is also valid for a Unique value.
Thus, if you place a unique value of -20 and if you place
this symbol on the score, Pizzicato will slow down by 20
units of tempo. If the tempo was playing 100 quarter notes
per minute, it will thus slow down to 80 quarter notes per
minute. The effect relates thus to the value existing before
the symbol. The principle is the same for the other effects
like volume, etc. The vertical axis displays the possible
values of the tempo between 40 and 240. In this case,
Pizzicato will not take into account the preceding value of
the tempo and will use the values specified here. The red line specifies the value of the
tempo throughout its progression. The value of the tempo is
represented by a small black square that you can move. Click
and drag this value upwards to bring it to 60: To get more precision, you can zoom to
increase the window size. The red line follows the value. The added point may also be moved by
clicking and dragging it with the mouse. Add another point to
get: When Pizzicato finds this symbol in the
score, it first sets the tempo to 60 and accelerates up to
157. It then slows down to get to the tempo of 108 and keeps
this tempo from there on. The time during which this
progression occurs depends on the duration specified in the
first dialog box. To erase a point of the progression, click
on this point while holding down the control key. Erase the
second point and close this window. The first choice, Position in measure,
fixes the start of the effect proportionally to the graphic
position of the symbol in the measure. This positioning mode
is rather inaccurate because the graphic distribution is not
always proportional to the time distribution in a measure. The following choice, Attached note,
is very precise when the symbol is associated with a note or
a rest. The start of the effect occurs exactly when the note
is played. The third choice, Start of measure,
fixes the start of the effect exactly at the beginning of the
measure. The choice depends on the precision to
which the effect must be played as well as on the importance
of a synchronization with a note. You can cumulate up to 5 independent Midi
effects, activated by the same symbol. The numbers "1
/ 5" show that it is the first effect that is
presented in this dialog box. Check the Other effect box
now and click the Select... button. The text area
now displays "2 / 5" and the other
elements of the dialog box take their default values again.
This dialog box displays the second effect that you can
specify. It can be of a different type and may have durations
and starts different from the first effect. To add a third effect, check the Other
effect box again and click on the Select... button.
The text displays "3 / 5" and the dialog
box may be used to introduce the values of the third effect.
You can continue like this to cumulate 5 effects. Once an effect is defined, you can return
to the previous by clicking OK. The number decreases
for example from 3/5 to 2/5 and the values
of effect 2 are displayed in the dialog box. By clicking
again OK, you come back to 1/5. Clicking
once more would close the dialog box. The text box is used to introduce Midi data
which will be transmitted to the synthesizer. This kind of
action is addressed to the Midi specialists. The data must be
introduced in hexadecimal form and separated by a comma or a
line break. Here is an example: 9A, 5F, 40, 8A, 5F, 40 Click OK to confirm the data and
close the dialog box. The upper part defines one or more notes.
This aspect is rather difficult to understand, be ready! Each
note is defined by 4 parameters: Start, Duration,
Pitch and Velocity. The string "1/1"
shows that the displayed parameters are those of note number
1 and that there is a total of one note. Two buttons are used to add a new note or
to erase the current note. Two other buttons let you
visualize the next note or the previous note. When Pizzicato plays the score, a note
sequence will be played to replace the note to which the
symbol is attached. By default, the pitches and velocities
define the notes relative to the note to which the symbol is
attached. The option can be disabled for the pitches or the
velocities thanks to the check boxes located in the lower
part of the dialog box. When relative, a pitch of
"0" means the same pitch than the associated note,
+2 means 2 half tones higher and -2 means 2 half tones lower
than the reference note. The pitches can be extracted from a chord,
if the symbol is associated with a chord in the score. To
achieve that, check the Chord notes box. This
feature is used to create chords played in arpeggios. The start of the first note relates to the
associated note. The other starts of the notes always relate
to the beginning of the previous note. They are expressed in
units of 480th of a quarter note. The durations are expressed in the same
units. When a duration is negative, it means that it relates
to the duration of the reference note. In the lower part, four text boxes give
additional indications on the way in which these notes will
be played. The first box specifies Unrepeated
notes. It is the number of notes that will be played
only once. The second box specifies Repeated notes.
The number specified here is the total of the notes that will
be repeated, the third box specifying the number of
repetitions to do. If the sequence has 5 notes and that you
set 2, 2 and 10 in these 3 text boxes, it means that the
first two notes will be played once, the two next notes will
be repeated 10 times and that the last note will be played
once to finish the sequence. By placing "0" as the
number of repetition, Pizzicato will repeat the notes so as
to fill the full duration of the associated note. This system
is used to create trills and rolls of various kind. The fourth box modifies the time scale. 100
% corresponds to the values indicated in the start and
duration boxes for each note. By increasing this percentage,
you multiply its durations, so as to loosen or tighten a
trill. This parameter can be modified locally, so as to adapt
a trill in each particular case. Examples of Midi effects [Professional] [Notation] [Composition Pro] After the theoretical side, we will consult
several examples of the original symbols library, by focusing
the attention on the most significant points. and click the Define play... button.
This symbol acts on the velocity, i.e. on the hitting
force of notes. The effect is produced on the exact start
of the note associated with the symbol. Its value is
unique and it sets the velocity to 96. The relative
option is not checked, it is thus the real velocity
value. The local option is not checked, the velocity of
96 is thus valid from this moment up to the next change.
Click twice on Cancel. and click on Define play... button.
The effect used is also the velocity. It starts when the
associated note is played. It is a multiple change which
extends over the symbol length. Click on Progression/content.
The following progression defines the evolution of the
effect over its overall duration: It gradually adds 30 units of velocity
to the value present at this point in the score, because
the Relative values option is checked. The Local
change option being disabled, the velocity value
will be increased by 30 units throughout the symbol and
will keep the same value up to the next change. Close
this dialog box and click twice on Cancel. and click on Define play... button.
This symbol affects the notes duration. The effect is
taken into account at the beginning of the note and lasts
10 units (i.e. sufficiently to include the note start).
The duration of the note is fixed at 50 % of its normal
value. As the effect is only local, the notes that follow
will not be affected. Click twice on Cancel. and click the Define play button...
It affects the transposition by adding +12 half tones to
the current value (the Relative values option is
checked). This transposition remains valid from then
because the change is not local. The effect is taken into
account when the note is played. Click twice Cancel. and click the Define play...
button. It locally affects the duration of notes by
setting durations to 100 %. It occurs for a duration
proportional to its graphic width in the measure,
starting from the associated note. Click twice Cancel. and click the Define play... button.
It simulates the piano pedal. It is the Midi controller
64 which allows to command this effect on a synthesizer.
This number (64) is thus specified as the parameter of
the controller. The duration is proportional to its
graphic width. It is multiple, the progression goes to
+127 (pressed pedal) at the beginning and goes down to 0
(released pedal) just at the end. Click twice Cancel. Then click the Define play...
button. The effect uses a sequence of notes. Click Progression/content.
Two notes are defined (use the buttons Previous and
Next to reach them): The pitches and the velocities are
relative to the associated note. The first note starts at
the beginning of the effect and lasts 60 units (= 32nd
note). As its pitch is -1, this note is located one half
tone lower than the associated note. The following note
begins 60 units after the start of the first (it thus
starts when the first notes stops). Its pitch is 0, i.e.
the pitch of the associated note. Its duration is
negative, which means that it is the duration of the
original note minus 60 units. In the lower part of the dialog box,
the first area specifies that the 2 notes are played only
once (not repeated). The global effect of this symbol is
thus to replace the associated note by a short note one
half tone lower followed by a note which lasts the rest
of the original duration with the original pitch. Click
three times on Cancel. and click on the Define play... button.
Click Progression/content. It is
another example using the sequence of notes, this time
with a repetition. Two notes are defined: Each note has the duration of a 32nd
note. The first is one half tone higher than the
associated note. There are no unrepeated notes and the 2
notes are repeated. As the number of the repetitions is
0, Pizzicato will repeat these notes to fill the duration
of the original associated note. The produced effect is
thus a trill between the original note and the note
located one half tone higher. The time scale is 100 % per
default and can be modified locally. Click three times Cancel. and click the Define play... button.
Click Progression/content. The Chord
notes option is checked. 10 notes are defined with
decreasing durations and starts shifted by 30 units (64th
note). This case constitutes an exception which is used
only for this particular symbol. The pitches of notes are
taken on the notes of the chord with which this symbol
must be associated. This chord can contain a maximum of
10 notes. If less notes are available, the values defined
in excess in this dialog box are without effect. The effect of this symbol is to play
the notes of the chord in arpeggio, by shifting the notes
successively and by reducing their durations
proportionally so that they stop at the same time. In
this precise case, the starts of notes are given in
relation to the associated chord and the duration of a
note is equal to the duration of the chord minus the
start of the note. Click three times Cancel. We advise you to consult other symbols,
until the moment you can easily understand how they are
defined. Do not hesitate to read again the lessons about the
edition of symbols. Also use these symbols in simple measures
in order to hear the result produced with the synthesizer.
This aspect of Pizzicato is used to considerably enrich the
performance of a score played by the computer. It requires a
good theoretical and practical understanding of these
lessons. By reading them several times and by making your own
experiments, you will master them. To erase the Test palette created
for these lessons, open this palette and with the right mouse
button, click inside it. Select the Delete this palette
item.
Click Yes to validate.