Download the demo to see these new features in action!
MIDI Features
-playing MIDI... If you have sound on your system (actually, a sound card which can synthesize sound from MIDI) do the following: Go to Options|MIDI|Output MIDI Device and pick something like FM Synthesizer if you have something like that. Now open a file (Asturias, is excellent), hit the little speaker tool button near the top right corner, then hit PLAY. Hit stop, step forward, back, etc.
-plays chords (see BarbAlen.med)
-plays multi-instrument scores (see BarbAlen.med)
-handles repeats (see 1MidRepTest.med) (insert extended text object at location of closing (right) repeat such as "2 x" "3 times" for looping)
-auto-scrolling: file will scroll automatically to keep caret in view as it moves along the music
-instrument/loudness assingment: assign a different instrument and/or loudness for each intrument (line) in the score. See Options|MIDI|MIDI Instruments
-rhythm lines: Assign any of 47 different percussion sounds to various rhythm beat durations, which, with looping, acts as a drum machine. The way it works is this: you enter a rhythm line with timing notation (notes and rests). Directly under that line you enter rhythm codes (see Help|Midi Perc. Codes) with the proper code under the proper note. Up to 3 code lines can be entered beneath a timing line. See your manual (pg. 112) if you have version 4.0 or later.
-saving the score as a Midi file, which can then be played independently of MusEdit
Layout
-margins see Preferences or Print Options
-page breaks (ability to show) hit Ctrl+Alt+G on a large file
-hard page breaks hit Ctrl+Alt+Enter to insert a "hard" page break
-X of Y page numbering see Preferences or Print Options
Text Files
-open as MED (set Preferences, then drag .tab file onto MusEdit)
-auto line breaks ( same )
-auto tab trans (in text-tab file opened as Med, select all, then translate to Tab; or drag a text-tab file onto the MusEdit window and it should translate automatically)
-auto remove old text-tab (set Preferences, drag .tab file onto MusEdit, new tab should REPLACE old text tab)
Fret Position Shifting
(Options|Shift Tab Fret Postion) Enter a tab line (Ctrl+A) enter some fingering, select the fingering (shift+right arrow), choose the option and set a new fret postion -the fingering will shift around as needed (not octave shift, but string shifts and fret pos.)
Transpose by an Octave
Choose same target key as current key, then you must select either shift up or down for 8va shift
Kbrd->guitar/tab w/octave shift
Get some piano staff showing (eg. Mazurka in the samples), put the caret in a Treble line, choose Options|Translate|To Treble. This will assume you are merging the T&B into a single treble line. Notes from the bass staff will be given down stems and merged into the treble staff. Motes too low can be raised an octave or two to fit into a guitar's range (with tuning taken into account). Use File|Set Preferences|Translating to set options. If you do the same procedure but translate to Tab the same thing will happen, but you'll go directly to Tab. Choose View|Show Note Stems on Tab to see...
New symbols
Up/Down Arrow for representing Rasquedo strums. See top-right end of new toolbar, or use " ^ " (Shift + 6) to enter by keyboard. This is a "double" symbol, so hitting ^ again turns it into a down arrow. It's often seen this way in flamenco music. To overlap it with a glissando, hit "z" to enter a glissando to the right, hit z again to overlap it to the left over the arrow.
/ symbol for "repeat chord" - middle of toolbar, or "Z" capital Z
T - "Thumb" symbol for fingerpickers who don't use "p" of pima -see bottom row of symbols, near right end ( ` back aposhrophe, under tilde)
Note stems on Tab
Tab lines can now handle both up and down note stems on the same chords.
Ability to design your own chords, stored according to tuning
Start a chord line (Ctrl+H), type "C" to bring up the usual chord dialog, then hit "New" to see the new chord editor.
When you hit OK the chord will be stored in a file in the MusEdit directory called "MEChords.dat"
Chords you create are shown with an asterisk beside their name next time you look in the chord names list. Any pre-existing chords to which you've added some of your own versions will also have asterisks. Chords are stored according to tuning. You'll always see normal tuning chords and if you're in a different tuning only the additional chords designed for that tuning will be available.
User chords on top of names list in dialog (see Preferences) Rather than putting custom chords at the bottom of the chord names list, you can have your own chords listed at the top
Scan chords in new files
MusEdit detects if a file has new chords not in your personal chord dictionary and will add them (according to tuning) as you select. This will make it easy for folks to build up chord dictionaries and then pass them around so others can quickly add the same chords. Open 1ManyUCh2.med for an example.
Many new document and application preferences
Print options (Size, etc.) are now stored with each document. If you set print size to 150% for a document it makes sense you'll always want that document (and maybe ONLY that document) to print at 150%, so it's written in as a preference.
And more...
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