Bars & Pipes Professional: Editing Song Parameters

Overview

Song Parameters describe your music in terms more sophisticated than MIDI events. They provide the foundation for your composition.

Song Parameters do not affect your composition directly. Instead, they are used by Tools, Accessories, and other functions to indirectly effect or further illuminate your composition. For instance, Time Signatures affect the display and printout of notation. Chords can be used in conjunction with the Chord Player Tool. Dynamics can be used with the Phrase Shaper Tool.

There are two different uses for Song Parameters: the Master Parameters, which characterize your Song as a whole, and the Track Parameters, which override the Master Parameters and work on a Track-by-Track basis.

Song Parameters are edited in the same Graphic Editor you've been using in the two previous chapters.

To edit the Master Song Parameters, open the Graphic Editor from the Windows menu by selecting Master Parameters. To edit the Song Parameters for any Track, double-click on the Track's sequence display in the Tracks window.

In the Graphic Editor window, Bars&Pipes Professional displays each Parameter in a band that runs from left to right. On the left side of each band is the name of the Parameter.

Select which Parameters you'd like to see from the Show menu.

Since the display can't possibly show all Notes, Parameters and Events at once, a scroll bar on the right enables you to scroll up and down.

An Explanation of Each Parameter

Six different Song Parameters exist. Before we discuss how to enter and edit them, let's consider how they relate to music in general:

Lyrics

Lyrics are words which accompany music. They exist in rock, blues, opera, pop, jazz, heavy metal, church music, and many other musical forms. Lyrics can reinforce a composition's tone or contradict it altogether. They, as well as the meter, rhyme scheme, and rhythm you choose, can complement the music and further its meaning.

Recognizing that not all music is purely instrumental, Bars&Pipes Professional allows you to enter lyrics directly above the measures in which they occur.

You can use the printing Accessory, "Follow the Leader," to print your Lyrics. Also, if you save your Song in MDI File Format with the "sMerFF" Accessory, sMerFF saves the lyrics so that notation programs that read MIDI File Format can display your lyrics with the music. The Graphic Editor displays each word positioned in its appropriate measure.

Chords

Chords consist of three or more notes played at once. Many types exist, but the most common in popular music are major and minor chords and derivations thereof. Basic chords can be formed by taking the first three of every other note in a scale and playing them simultaneously. Sound confusing? Let's look at an example:

A "C major" scale consists of the notes "C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C." To form a triad (a chord with only three notes) in this key, pick a root note (the bottom of the chord) and build up from it by choosing every other note in the scale. A D triad in the key of C consists of the notes D, F and A. An F triad in the key of C consists of the notes F, A, and C. By skipping every other note, you form basic triads within a key.

Every triad or chord conveys a certain emotional tone. Minor chords are often used to project sadness, anger, or seriousness, while major chords tend to sound happy and pure. Since a major scale contains seven distinct notes, seven basic triads exist within the scale. In other words, a triad can be constructed by using each note of the scale as the root note. CEG, DFA, EGB, and FAC are the first four triads in the key of C.

More specifically, rules govern the "flavor" of each triad as it relates to a key. In a major scale, for example, the triad built on the second note in the scale is always minor. The triad built on the third note is minor, too, but the triad built on the fourth note is major.

If you have a keyboard available, play the triads by moving note by note up the C major scale and you can hear the differences in tonal quality. Some triads are major; others, minor. (The triad built on the seventh note is "diminished" in quality, but since this manual has space limitations, we won't branch into aspects of music theory that would explain this.) Major triads are based on the interval formula, "root note + two whole steps + a whole step and a half". Minor triads are based on the formula "root note + a whole step and a half + two whole steps."

The Chords option presents an assortment of chord types including major, augmented, major7, major6, dominant7, minor, minor-6, minor+5, minor6, minor7, minorMA7, diminished, minor7-5, diminishedMA7, dominant 7-5, major9, dominant7-9, dominant9+5, dominant7 -9+5, and the list goes on. Should you fail to find one to your liking, create your own chords in the Define Chords window.

Although Bars&Pipes Professional doesn't play chords automatically, they provide valuable information that can be used by Tools to assist in the composing process. Once chords are entered into a Song, Tools come into play that make sophisticated musical decisions based upon your chord choices. As an illustration, the Accompany B Tool takes your chords and hammers out a rhythmic accompaniment. The "Follow the Leader" Accessory prints your chord changes.

Bars&Pipes Professional displays the root note followed by the chord type. For instance, the major chord CEG is shown as C MAJOR.

Key & Scale/Mode

Key & Scale/Mode indicates the key, or tonal center, of a composition. The tonal center is the single note around which your music revolves. In the key of "C major," it is the note "C;" in the key "Ab minor," "Ab." For nearly every piece of music, a key can be ascertained and assigned. The key, and hence the key signature, provides a framework for composition.

Directly related to keys and key signatures are scales. A scale, in its simplest definition, is a series of notes ascending from a specific note. Every type of scale is formulaic in nature; each is determined by half-step and whole-step relationships, which stem from the tonal center. (On a piano, C, a white key, is a half step from C#, a black key, and a whole step from D, another white key. Although not every white key is a whole-step from the white key next to it and a half-step from the black key next to it, for the most part, this is true.)

To illustrate, the formula for a major scale begins with the tonal center and progresses a whole-step (denoted by "W"), W, half-step (denoted by "H"), W, W, W, H. (All the white keys in succession from C to C on a keyboard.) Minor scales are a bit trickier as there are several types.

Although most American music fits into either the Major or Minor scales, many other scales exist. Some of these are the Whole Tone, in which every note is a whole-step beyond its predecessor; the Chromatic, where every note is a half-step beyond its predecessor; the Pentatonic, containing only notes 1,2,4,5,and 6 of the major scale; and the Gypsy, whose formula is W, H, W+H, H, H, W+H.

Not only is Key & Scale/Mode useful for editing, since the Graphic Editor can display the key signature and accidentals on the Staff, it is also quite useful for Tools that work with your music. For example, the CounterPoint Tool creates a countermelody accompaniment by knowing your chosen note system and calculating the proper intervals according to the rules of first species counterpoint. As with chords, Bars&Pipes Professional comes with a long list of preset scales and all of the classical modes. You are free, however, to design your own with the Define Scales window.

Bars&Pipes Professional displays the tonal center, or key, followed by the scale or mode name, e.g., C Major, Eb Minor, F# Blues. The Staff displays the key signatures for all major and minor scales as well as for all of the modes.

The Display Options menu provides the option of showing the Key & Scale/Mode on the Piano Roll. This command, Background... Key, shadows the current Key & Scale/Mode in a hazy purple. As a result, you can easily compose while staying within your chosen Key & Scale/Mode. Along the same lines, the Lock to Key option in the Preferences menu confines all notes you enter or edit into your chosen Key & Scale/Mode.

Rhythm

Rhythm, in its simplest form, conveys the motion of your music. Beats of varying lengths are organized into rhythmic patterns. Rhythms can be simple or complex, on the beat or off. Certain styles of music are noted first and foremost for their rhythmic form. For instance, Samba music is characterized by syncopated rhythmic patterns, where the beat is shifted to the upbeat, or second half of the beat, over a 2/4 meter, and Shuffle is known for its triplet-based feel in 4/4 time.

Armed with a particular rhythmic style along with the key and chord progressions, any capable musician can quickly construct a Song. Once again, some Tools can use rhythm to make intelligent decisions as they process your music. Accompany B is a good example. It combines the Rhythm and Chord parameters to play a chord pattern. No limit exists to the scope of conceivable rhythms, and although Bars&Pipes Professional does come with a set of pre-defined rhythms, you will almost certainly use the Define Rhythms window to create your own.

Bars&Pipes Professional displays each rhythm by name. If you select Background... Rhythm in the Display Options menu, Bars&Pipes Professional displays the Rhythm pattern in the background behind all the Parameters and MIDI Events. This pattern resembles a set of vertical bands. This gives you a visual cue for how the rhythm lines up with other events.

Use the Background... Rhythm option to analyze how your Rhythm relates to your Sequence. Keep this in mind: a Rhythm consists of Note events, which have durations. The durations determine the width of the bands, some of which may overlap.

Remember, Rhythms don't play anything by themselves. Used in conjunction with Chords and the Accompany B Tool, Rhythms can command Accompany B to play Chords at a defined pace and syncopation. The Groove Quantize Tool uses the Rhythm to lock a performance to the Rhythm's timing. Please refer to the Music Tools chapter for more information.

Dynamics

Dynamics indicate the volume at which each section of music is played. If you're familiar with classical notation, you will recognize these markings as the following lower case letters: "pp," "p," "mp," "mf," "f," and "ff." These abbreviations stand for pianissimo (very soft), piano (soft), mezzo piano (medium soft), mezzo forte (medium loud), forte (loud) and fortissimo (very loud), respectively.

A crescendo gradually increases the volume. The inverse is true of a decrescendo or diminuendo. Without dynamic road signs, music sounds stagnant and lifeless. Dynamics focus attention on or away from various segments of a piece. Ironically, sometimes a quiet section of music is easier to hear than a loud one.

You can define the overall volume of your Song with the Dynamics Parameter. With dynamics, you can draw crescendos and decrescendos.

Bars&Pipes Professional shows the Dynamic curve as a set of points with lines drawn between them. Each point represents a dynamic setting; for example, mezzo piano (mp) or fortissimo (ff). The connecting line conveys the dynamic change over time between the two points. To show a dramatic crescendo across one measure, you might start the measure with a dynamic point labeled "pp' and end with a second, labeled "ff." The Editor automatically draws a line between them.

Note
Like all Song Parameters, Dynamics do nothing unless they are used in conjunction with a Tool. The Phrase Shaper Tool is a very simple, but powerful implementatIon of Dynamics. It takes each note, places it against the Dynamics curve, and assigns it the proper velocity.

Time Signature

A Time Signature appears at the beginning of a piece as two numbers, one above the other. The lower indicates the type of note that is used to measure each beat, (half note, quarter note, etc.), while the upper indicates the number of such beats per measure. 4/4 is by far the most common time signature.

Time signatures provide the basic rhythmic framework of a piece. Though most popular music, such as rock-n-roll, rhythm and blues, and funk, tends to be in symmetrical meters (2/4, 4/4, or 6/8), uneven meters (3/4, 5/4) often lend a fresh feel and unpredictability to music.

Bars&Pipes Professional uses traditional time signature notation and permits a different time signature to be assigned for every measure that exists in a sequence. You can therefore experiment with a multiplicity of beat resolutions. Bars&Pipes Professional also permits different time signatures in different Tracks simultaneously.

Bars&Pipes Professional supports all standard time signatures; however, in keeping with the "one-size-fits-all principle," you can use time signatures as bizarre as 77/8 or 36/2. To enter a time signature, select one from the pre-determined palette or enter your own.

The Time Signature defined in the Master Parameters window is the main Time Signature displayed in the Tracks window. Please see Advanced Sequencing for more information. Individual Tracks can also contain their own Time Signatures that are different from the main Time Signature.

Two Important Considerations About Song Parameters

You do not have to use all the Parameters that Bars&Pipes Professional provides. Rarely would you use all six while composing a single piece of music. The organization of your Song, and more importantly, which Tools you use, dictate which Parameters are necessary and which are a waste of time. Depending on how you use them, some Parameters may be more useful on a Track-by-Track basis, while others may be preferable in the Master Parameters window. Lyrics, Key, Rhythm and Time Signature usually belong to the entire composition. On the other hand, you may have different voices singing different lyrics or juxtapose different rhythms on individual Tracks.

Tip
As you add and edit Parameters, think about the appropriateness of their placement. Fortunately, it's quite easy to move Parameters between the Track and the Master Parameters windows, should you want to change them.

Bars&Pipes Professional follows a simple rule with all Parameters: when a Tool uses a Parameter to process a Track, it first checks the Track Parameters. If the required Parameter type is not represented, it refers to the Master Parameters for the data.

Editing the Master and Track Parameters

Two scenarios exist for editing Parameters: editing the Master Parameters or editing the Track Parameters.

Master Parameters define the guidelines used in your Song as a whole. For example, if you add Key and Scale/Mode to your Song, you can place it in the Master Parameters window, since usually every Track shares the same key. On the other hand, you may want separate Dynamic curves for each Track. In this case, use the Track Parameters on an individual Track basis.

To access the Master Parameters, select the Master Parameters option in the windows menu. To access the Parameters for an individual Track, open the Graphic Editor by double-clicking on the Sequencer.

The Master and Track Parameters share the same user interface. By default, Bars&Pipes Professional displays all Parameters when you open the Master Parameters window and none of the Track parameters when you open the Graphic Editor. To display the Master or Track Parameters of choice, select them from the Show menu of the Graphic Editor or Master Parameters window. (You'll notice that the Show menu enables only the Parameters when opening the menu from the Master Parameters window.) This lets you hide the parameters in one window that you're using in another.

You can toggle-select more than one parameter at a time by holding the right mouse button while the Show menu is open, then clicking the left mouse button over the parameters you want to toggle. This can save you some time whenever you change the parameters to display.

The Master Parameter Window Buttons

The Master Parameters window is actually the Graphic Editor with only the Song Parameters available for editing. Please refer to Note Editing for a thorough guide to this window.

The Command Buttons

The first nine buttons from the left are the Command Buttons. When you press each, the mouse's icon changes. Set these to determine how you use the mouse.

The command buttons in the Master Parameter window are the same as the command buttons in an Edit window. Please refer to Note Editing, for more information about each command button.

The Lock Grid

Just like other MIDI Events, Song Parameters respond to the "Lock to" menu items in the Prefs menu. Please see the previous chapter, MIDI Event Editing, for more information.

Entering Parameters

Parameters may be entered into either the Master Parameters window or an individual Edit window for a Track. Remember to activate the parameter you want to edit by selecting it in the Show menu.

To enter a parameter, click on the Pencil button or function key "F1." The mouse pointer becomes a Pencil. The way that the Pencil operates is determined by the following options in the Prefs menu.

• If you choose the Drag With Pencil option, click down to enter a parameter and the Pencil becomes the Hand so that you can drag the parameter. Lift up on the mouse button when you are satisfied with the parameter's position.
• If you choose the Lock to Default Note option, entered parameters align to the Default Note interval. For instance, if your Default Note is an eighth note, then all parameters you enter correspond to eighth note increments in each measure.
• The Lock to Resolution option works just like the Lock to Default Notes option, except that it uses the Resolution value defined in the Notation menu.
• The Lock to Rhythm option works the same as the Lock to Default Note option, except that it conforms all parameters to the current rhythm template boundaries.

Here is what happens when you draw in each Parameter type:

Lyrics

When you click the Pencil in the Lyrics region, the Lyrics Entry requester opens.

Lyrics must be entered in such a way that each word lines up at its proper position in the music.

If you arbitrarily place a complete sentence at the beginning of a line, the singer won t know on which beat to sing each word. However, opening the Lyrics Entry requester for every word would be time-consuming. So, the Lyric requester let's you enter a line of lyrics and then it breaks it up into individual lyric parameters.

To enter Lyrics in the Song Parameters, enter the entire sentence or phrase on the Lyrics: line. Then enter the number of measures over which this sentence or phrase occurs at the Measures: prompt.

When you press Okay, Bars&Pipes Professional breaks your sentence into its component words and spaces them equally across the number of measures you define. It places the first word at the point you clicked to open the requester.

You can also break words into syllables by placing a dash, followed by a space, between each syllable. Because each word or hyphenated syllable becomes a separate entity in your sequence, it can now be individually positioned to your taste.

When you close the requester, you may find that some of the Lyrics are not exactly where you want them. Follow with the Hand to drag them into position.

Chords

To enter a Chord, click the Pencil on the Chord region and hold the mouse button down. An octave of piano keys appears under the mouse. Choose the root note of the chord by dragging the mouse to the note and lifting up.

The Graphic Editor then tries to choose an appropriate chord, given the current Key & Scale/Mode. However, if you have not selected a Key & Scale/Mode, or the note you chose is not within the selected Key & Scale/Mode, a second menu opens under the mouse. This features a list of chords from which to choose. Since this scrolling menu contains more chords than it displays, it has two arrows, one each at the top and bottom. If you move the mouse over an arrow, the chords scroll by. Move the mouse to the one you want and click down.

Remember, the Graphic Editor only opens the chord menu if it cannot find a triad that fits your selected Key & Scale/Mode. If you don't like its choice, you can always edit the chord with the Wand.

Tip
You can create your own Chords in the Define Chords window.

Key & Scale/Mode

Enter a Key and Scale or Mode as you would a Chord. Click the Pencil where the key change occurs and hold it down. Choose the key from the octave of piano keys and lift up.

A scrolling menu of Scales and Modes appears under the mouse. Move it to the scale or mode you desire and click down. Since the list of available scales is longer than the menu can show, move the mouse to the bottom arrow. It then scrolls the list up to reveal further choices.

If you selected a black key, a third menu with a sharp and a flat now appears under the mouse. This menu lets you choose whether sharps or flats are used to represent the note value. For example, if you choose the first black key to the right of a C, the sharp/flat menu appears. At this time, you must determine whether the selected note is a C# or a Db. Although these notes are identical in pitch, they are considered different notes and define different scales.

The Key & Scale/Mode Parameter always lines up on measure boundaries. If you place it anywhere else, it locks to the beginning of the measure. The first time you enter a Key & Scale/Mode, Bars&Pipes Professional places the entry at the first measure of the Song. Subsequent Key & Scale/Mode entries stay in the measure where you click the Pencil.

Rhythm

To enter a rhythm, click the Pencil on the Rhythm region and hold it down. A scrolling menu of available Rhythms appears under the mouse. Select the one you want and lift up. Choose from predefined rhythms or define your own in the Define Rhythms window.

Dynamics

Since Bars&Pipes Professional displays Dynamics as lines between points, you must enter both the beginning and end of the dynamic curve. To enter each point, click with the Pencil and hold it down. Depending on whether you've already entered a point, the following happens: If you've already entered a point, Bars&Pipes Professional displays the Dynamic Change pop-up menu. If you haven't yet entered a dynamic point, Bars&Pipes Professional places a point of identical value at the beginning of the Track or Song.

From this menu, choose whether the Dynamic change is Gradual or Immediate. If you choose Gradual, then the dynamic change happens gradually from the point which precedes the one you just entered. Notice that Bars&Pipes Professional draws a sloping line between the two dynamic levels. If you choose Immediate, the dynamic change is sudden. In this case, Bars&Pipes Professional draws a horizontal line that becomes vertical just before the volume change.

A point placed at the top of the Dynamics display indicates the loudest volume, while a point placed at the bottom, indicates the softest. For example, if you want a crescendo to occur within a four-measure time frame, set your original volume on the first of the four measures. Then set your destination volume at the end of the four measures. Bars&Pipes Professional automatically shows a line indicating a gradual increase in volume between the two points.

Time Signature

To enter a Time Signature change, click with the Pencil on its starting measure. The Time Signature requester then opens.

The Time Signature requester provides six standard Time Signatures and a method to define custom Time Signatures The six buttons across the top feature the pre defined Time Signatures Click on your preference to select it.

If you don't find one that meets your needs create your own by first typing the values for the Time Signature after the Other: prompt. Then click on Other to select it.

Note
It is important that you first enter the values, and then click on the Other button to activate it. Clicking the Other button first, and then typing in the values won't work.

By default, Bars&Pipes Professional displays the measure in which the Time Signature change occurs after the "Signature begins on measure:" prompt. This is the point where you clicked with the Pencil. Change the measure by editing this number.

You can also access the previous and next time signature changes. To go to the previous Time Signature change, click on the left arrow button in the Time Signature requester. The arrow finds the Time Signature prior to the one you are viewing and displays so that you can edit it. The right arrow button scans forward to the next Time Signature change.

If you create two adjacent, identical Time Signatures, Bars&Pipes Professional removes the second one. To illustrate, if you have 6/8 on measure 5, then place 6/8 on measure 4, Bars&Pipes Professional discards the 6/8 on measure 5.

Altering Parameters

After you enter a Parameter, you may want to edit it. To the right of the Pencil on the menu Buttons is the Magic Wand. When this button is highlighted (function key "F2"), the mouse takes the shape of a Magic Wand. Selecting this button allows you to touch a Parameter with the mouse and alter it. Wave the Wand through the Parameter to change it. In all cases, this opens a menu or requester. Here's a run-down on how the mouse works with each Parameter:

Lyrics

Touching a Lyric with the Magic Wand opens the Edit Lyric requester.

Edit the Lyric, then press the Okay button if you'd like to keep the change, or press Cancel to forget it.

Chords

Touching a Chord with the Magic Wand opens the piano keyboard under the mouse, which enables you to select a new root note for the chord. Hold the mouse down, roll it to your chord of choice and lift up. If you'd like to keep the current choice, just roll it off the keyboard to retain it.

The Chords list appears under the mouse. Unlike when you enter a Chord, this time Bars&Pipes Professional does not attempt to fit your choice into the selected Key & Scale/Mode. The scrolling menu of Chord choices always opens. Move the mouse to your choice and click on it. If you'd rather go with what you had before, roll the mouse off the menu and the chord reverts to its previous status.

Key & Scale/Mode

Edit a Key & Scale/Mode Parameter as you would a Chord. Touch it and a piano keyboard appears under the Magic Wand. Select the key by moving the mouse to the note and lifting up. Then select the Scale or Mode from the scrolling menu that appears under the mouse. Remember that, at any point, you can go with the original value by rolling the mouse off the menu. If you select a black key, the sharp/flat menu opens as is the case when defining a Key & Scale/Mode.

Rhythm

To change a Rhythm, touch the Rhythm's name. The scrolling list of available Rhythms appears under the mouse. Select your choice by moving the Magic Wand to it and lifting up on the button. To leave the Rhythm unchanged, roll the mouse off the menu.

Dynamic Marking

When you touch a Dynamic Marking with the Magic Wand, the Dynamic Change pop-up menu appears. From this menu, you can reselect the type of volume change, either Gradual or Immediate. If you choose Gradual, then the dynamic change happens gradually from the point which precedes the one you just selected.

Notice that Bars&Pipes Professional draws a sloping line between the two dynamic levels. If you choose Immediate, the dynamic change is sudden. In this case, Bars&Pipes Professional draws a horizontal line that becomes vertical just before the volume change. To move a Dynamic Marking, use the Hand button.

Time Signature

Touch a Time Signature with the Magic Wand and the Time Signature requester opens. Change the Time Signature as desired and click on Okay to keep the change, or on Cancel, to abort.

Dragging Parameters

Select the Hand button (function key "F3") to use the mouse to drag Parameters around and reposition them. Highlighting this button transforms the mouse into a hand. You don't have to position the mouse directly over a Parameter before clicking on it. Instead, click down the mouse and sweep it through the Parameter. The Parameter sticks to the mouse, which you can then drag to the Parameter's new destination.

All of the "Lock to" options in the Prefs menu operate on Song Parameters, just like note events. For instance, if you set the Lock to Default Note option, the Parameter moves only in steps along a grid defined by the Default Note. For example, if the Default Note is a quarter note, everything you drag moves left or right at quarter note intervals. Please refer to Note Editing, for more information.

You can drag all of the Parameters to the left or right. In addition to these directions, you can drag the Dynamic points up and down. Unlike the case with all other Parameters, you cannot drag one Dynamic point past another, which would create a Dynamic curve that doubles back on itself. If you've dragged a Dynamic Marking and want to change its slope, use the Magic Wand to access the Dynamic Change pop-up menu.

You can also use the Left and Right Arrow keys on your Amiga keyboard to drag Parameters left or right according to the default note grid.

Duplicating Parameters

To duplicate parameters, click on the Duplicator button or press function key "F4." When you click and drag a parameter, Bars&Pipes Professional creates a new parameter of the same type, with the same data, and places it at the destination. While dragging the parameter, the Duplicator works just like the Hand. Please see the previous section, Dragging Parameters, for more information.

Erasing Parameters

To use the mouse to erase Parameters, choose the Erase button (function key "F5'). Highlighting this button turns the mouse into an Eraser. Click down and drag the Eraser over Parameters to delete them.

Toolizing Parameters

You cannot use Tools to process Parameters directly; however, many Tools use Parameters as part of their design. As an example, the CounterPoint Tool uses the Key & Scale/Mode to select the correct intervals. The Phrase-Shaper Tool uses the Dynamics Curve to set Note velocities.

Whenever a Tool looks for a Parameter, it first checks in the Track with which it is working. If it finds no Parameter there, it consults the Master Parameters. If you have a Dynamic curve defined for Track A, but not for Track B, the Phrase-Shaper Tool uses Track A's Dynamic Curve to phrase notes on Track A, but uses the Master Dynamic curve to phrase Track B.

Boxing Parameters

The Bounding Box allows you to operate on more than one parameter at a time by drawing a box around a group of parameters. To select the Bounding Box, click on the Box button (function key "F6").

You can select the Hand, Duplicate, or Erase Buttons in conjunction with the Box button. When you select the Bounding Box, instead of directly touching Parameters with the mouse, you can draw a box around them to affect everything within the box.

To draw the box, click down on one corner of the area and drag the mouse to the opposite corner. A box grows as your mouse travels. The box does not cross boundaries between different Parameters; therefore, you can't draw a box around Lyrics and Chords together. Once you have enclosed what you want in the box, lift up on the mouse.

Depending on which Command button you select in conjunction with the Bounding Box, the following happens:

The Hand Button

Everything in the box drags with the Hand. Once you create the box, click down on the box a second time and drag it. All Parameters in the box move with the mouse.

The Duplicate Button

The Duplicate button works just like the Hand button, but creates a copy of the parameters rather than moving the selection.

The Erase Button

Once you lift up on the mouse, every Parameter within the box disappears when using the Erase button.

Magnifying Parameters

When you select the Magnify button, the Magnify window opens and the mouse pointer changes to a Magnifying Glass. The Magnify window displays information about each Parameter that you select with the mouse. Click on each line to edit it. The Title bar of the Magnify window displays the Parameter's name. Use the Right and Left Arrow keys to move through the parameters one by one.

The first line in the Magnify window lists the time in measures, beats, and clocks. To change a time, click in this field with the mouse and enter a new one. Press the Return or Enter keys on your Amiga keyboard when you finish and the Parameter jumps to the new time.

The second line lists the time in SMPTE format. You can change a time by editing either field; Bars&Pipes Professional automatically updates the other field to display the equivalent time.

The remaining lines in this window change according to the specific Parameter. Remember that after you finish editing a field in the Magnify window, you must press the Return key to register the change.

Lyrics

The Lyric Magnify window contains one field, "Lyric."

Because the Magnify window stays open while you go from lyric to lyric, editing this way is actually quicker than using the Magic Wand to change lyrics.

Chords

The Chord Magnify window contains two fields, "Root" and "Chrd."

The first specifies the chord's root note; the second, the name of the chord. If you change the name of the chord, you must enter the new chord's exact name. The new chord must exist in the list of defined chords. If it does not, the original chord remains unchanged.

Key & Scale/Mode

The Key & Scale/Mode's Magnify window contains two fields, "Root" and "S/M."

The first lists the key; the second, the Scale or Mode associated with it. As with the Chord, the Scale or Mode name that you enter must exist, or Bars&Pipes Professional ignores it.

Rhythm

The Rhythm's Magnify window contains one field, "Name," which displays the name of the selected Rhythm.

If you want, enter a new one. Remember, the entered Rhythm must exist in the list of available Rhythms.

Dynamics

The Dynamics' Magnify window contains two fields, "Emph" and "=". "Emph" and "=" actually represent the same things. What differs is the way Bars&Pipes Professional describes them. "Emph" is the actual value of the Dynamic, or emphasis. This is a number from 0 to 127.

Below, "Emph," in the second box, is "=," the equivalent music notation, ranging from "pp' to "ff". Time Signature: The Time Signature's Magnify window contains two fields, "BPM" and "Beat." The first describes the number of beats per measure; the second, the value of the actual beat.

Time Signature

The Time Signature's Magnify window contains two fields, "BPM" and "Beat".

"BPM" stands for beats per measure. "Beat" stands for the note value that receives the beat.

Importing and Exporting Parameters

You can copy individual Parameter lists back and forth between the Master and Track Parameters. As an example, you may want to duplicate the Master Dynamic curve onto a Track, and then change it a bit to fit the character of the Track's part in the Song. Or, you may have a great set of Chord changes in a Track and want to make them available to the other Tracks by placing them in the Master Parameters.

To copy in either direction, use the Master Parameters menu. This menu can only be accessed from the Graphic Editor window of an individual Track; you cannot copy from the Master Parameters window. If you haven't already done so, open the Graphic Editor window of the Track from which you want to import or export Parameters.

Importing Parameters Into A Track

To import a Parameter list from the Master Parameters to an individual Track's Parameters, select the Import submenu from the Master Parameters menu. Notice that you have six options, one for each category in the Parameters list. Select your preferred Parameter option and Bars&Pipes Professional automatically copies it from the Master Parameters to your Track.

Exporting Parameters From A Track

To export a Parameter list from the Track Parameters to the Master Parameters, select the Export submenu from the Master Parameters menu. Again, you have six options, one for each category in the Parameters list. Select your Parameter of choice and Bars&Pipes Professional copies it from your Track to the Master Parameters.