Personal Computers and Music

PERSONAL COMPUT
TH STATE
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160
J. AudioEng.Soc.,Vol. 35, No. 3, 1987March
ERS and MUSIC:

OF THEART
by ChristopherYavelow
While the concept of the personal computer is already relatively old, the
concept of the personal-computer
music studio is relatively new. First,
we describe the elements in a microcomputer-controlled
setup. Next, the
stages of turning sound into music are examined. Finally, music
available examples of each type of application are examined in greater
applications
of personal
computers
classified,
and commercially
detail. One sidebar
contrasts
makingaremusic
five years
ago with a typical
day in a home microcomputer-controlled
music studio in 1987; a
second provides a glossary of music and computer terms.
A listing of "Where to Go for More Information" is included.
taining several printed circuit (PC)

cards. One contains a processor chip,
known informally as the CPU (central
processor unit) that is the computational heart of the machine. The same
MICROCOMPUTERS
IN THE MUSIC STUDIO
//
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music studio that can be put under

software control include synthesizers, digital-processing
effects units,
mixing
boards,
disk-based
digital
The elementsof a microcomputer
recorders, and sequencers that record
MIDI information (i.e., performance
information rather than acoustic information). Common peripheral devices, which include MIDI adapters
and thru boxes (to be discussed below), are hard disks, printers, modems, and devices dedicated to synchronization (Fig. 1).
Computer
I
The typical home personal-cornputer music studio centers on a single
personal computer (Fig. 1). The
hardware of the personal computer
typically includes a card cage con-
J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 35, No. 3, 1987 March
comput.er memory that is used to

contain programs currently running,
data currently being processed, samples being
queued
up forwill
the contain
digitalcard
(or other
cards)
to-analog converter,
and the like.
Such memory is typically organized
in bytes, or 8-bit quantities. ("Bit"
is short for "Binary digiT," representing a 1 or 0 in the binary or base2 system. In this system 1 = 1,
10 = 2, 11 = 3, 100 = 4, 101 = 5,
110 = 6, 111 = 7, 1000 = 8, 1001 =
9, etc.) Modern microcomputers
typically contain up to two megaternal memory. Such memory is also
referredtoas RAMwhichstandsfor
bytes, or two million bytes, of inrandom-access
memory. RAM implies that the user can change what
is in the memory. This is contrasted
to ROM, or read-only memory,
which the user cannot change. As
memory chips become cheaper, per161
Muttitrack analog tape recorder
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MIDI sync converter
storage
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hard disk for

direct-to-disk
SMPTE sync-to-
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20- to 40-megabyt_
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Computer with software for'.
Algorithmic composition
MIDI sequencing
Patch and sampled sound editing
FM and additive sound
Patch and sound librarian
....
Networks,
database,
and archives
Conventional notation editing

Thematic database
Digital mixing
Telecommunications
MiDi-controlled
digital effects processor
rack-mounted
synthesizer or Sampler
Modular
or
Dot matrix printer
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Fig. 1, Elements
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music studio
Whiletheconceptof the personalcomputeris alreadyrelativelyold,theconceptofthe personalcomputermusicstudiois relativelynew.With

theexception of the laser Printerand SCSI digitalaudio system, this setup is typicalfor a microcomputer.controlledstudio.
sonal computers will contain more

memory. This is a welcome development, as more memory makes it
easier to process, for example, large
sound files. At a sampling frequency
of 44.1 kHz, the two megabytes
mentioned above could hold approximately 22 seconds of monaural 16bit sound, which is not a lot.
The features that make the current
generation of personal computers
excellent for music include speedy
162
processors (such as the Motorola

MC68000), high-resolution graphic
capability,
user-friendliness,
and
portability. The issue of user interface is becoming paramount in the
design of software for microcomputers. This has led to the popularity
of a pointing device called a "mouse,"
which the user moves on a flat-surface analog of the computer's screen
to reposition elements on the screen,
It is becoming more common to view
our data in "windows," many of

which may be displayed on the computer's screen at one time. Different
windows may provide different representations
of our data--usually
symbolized by graphics or icons (intuitive self-explanatory symbols) that
provide a more immediate understanding of the data than would be
possible if they were displayed as a
list of numbers. Finally, the mouse
may be used to "pull down" or "pop
J. Audio
Eng.Soc.,Vol.35,No.3, 1987March
up" menus--lists of available com-
management, conventional music
of the data we have selected,

mands relevant to the manipulation
Judging from the capabilities and
overall software development efforts,
the personal computers suitable for
handling all the tasks of a home-
composition, and telecommunicanotation, digital mixing, algorithmic

tions. These topics will be explained
later in this article.
descendingmusic
computer
order,studio,
are: the
ranked
Apple
in
Macintosh Plus or Macintosh 512K;
the Atari 520ST or Atari 1040ST; the
Apple II+ or Apple IIe; the Cornmodore 64 or Commodore 128; and
the IBM PC and clones. At the time
of this writing,
the Commodore
Amiga and the Apple IIGS are too
new to have attracted a wide enough
musical user base or to have engendered a suitable variety of musical
software. Nonetheless,
the Apple
IIGS (the G and S stand for graphics
and sound) and the Atari ST (520ST
or 1040ST) may well come out on
top. Both have built-in dedicated
sound chips, although Apple's is far
more powerful. The IIGS incorporates a digital oscillator chip (DOC)
made by Ensoniq (the manufacturers
of the Mirage sampling keyboard)
that can theoretically play up to 15
sinmltaneous parts of internally synthesized sound or up to 2.2 seconds
of 12-bit sounds sampled at up to 30
kHz using 32 digital oscillators. In
deference to musical applications, the
new Ataris have built-in MIDI interraces (discussed below) and a
dedicated sound chip that allows up
to three-part hhrmony.
Software
IJ
Users of personal computers for

musical applications need not expect
to be required to write their own
software programs any more than
people who use personal computers
for word processing or accounting,
In order for a single computer to
function as the central control device
in a home-computer music studio, a
wide range of commercial software
is necessary to manage the variety
of musical situations that recur on a
day-to-day basis. This includes software for purposes such as MIDI sequencing, sound editing and/or generation, sound- and sequence-library
J
MIDI Adapter
and Thru Box
J
Hard Disk
Even with the majority of homecomputer music studiosbeing driven
The next required item, immediately to the left of the computer in

Fig. 1, is a MIDI adapter. As mentioned above, the new Atari STs feature a built-in MIDi adapter with one
input and one output--although
serious synchronizing
applications
often require two MIDI inputs. MIDI
(musical instrument digital interface)
is the industry specification for a set
of device-control
codes for communication between computers and
microprocessor-based
musical instruments (sometimes referred to as
a sort of synthesizer "Esperanto").
With MIDI, data flow through cables
with standardized 5-pin DIN connectors. MIDI cables carry MIDI data
in one direction only, hence the necessity of having both MIDI-IN ports
and MIDI-OUT ports. The format of
the data is determined by the MIDI
Specification [1]. The data bits are
organized into MIDI codes, some of
which, called "system-exclusive
codes," are reserved for special use
by each manufacturer. MIDI is discussed by Bob Moog in [2].
If there is a wide variety of MIDI
devices attached to a single computer,
applications
by
fast MC68000
normally
processors,
have amusic
high
computational overhead, so most
setups will include a hard disk of 20
or more megabytes instead of the
more familiar floppy disks which
usually store less than one megabyte
and have a longer access time. Computer programs with their associated
data must usually reside in the computer's RAM before they can be
worked with, and the quicker access
time of a hard disk means that programs and data stored on the disk are
loaded into the computer's RAM at
speeds of often six to 24 times that
of floppies. To get a picture of how
much data 20 megabytes is, consider
the following: one kilobyte is often
thought of as one double-spaced
typewritten
page--thus
20 megabytes provide enough storage capacity for 20 000 pages.
Although a hard disk is vastly more
speedy and spacious than a floppy
(but often not much bigger in physical
size), the user interacts with a hard
disk in much the same way as with
a floppy: files can be created, examined, modified, and deleted. The
hard disk can contain other kinds of
information in its files such as synthesizer patches, sounds, and the
the
chaining
of MIDI
can in-a
MIDI-thru
into thedevices
because
it may
be box
necessary
tolink,
introduce
troduce timing delays into the network. A thru box will usually guarantee that MIDI messages are at least
received at their designated sources
simultaneously; then, the only major
delays are produced by the varying
times that it takes different devices
to process incoming MIDI data.
Other MIDI processing devices often
found at this point in the studio network include MIDI matrix switchers
(which are used to route different
MIDI inputs to any of a number of
different MIDI outputs) and MIDI
mergers (which use a microprocessor
to mix several incoming MIDI data
streams),
memory-hungry
(just onecan
ofcommerthe
four
cial
keyboards
be very
like.sampling
Sample soundfilesfor
RAM banks of the Kurzweil 250
holds 658 kilobytes of samples [3]).
As with the computer memory chips
mentioned above, hard diskscontinue
to become less expensive and of
larger capacity--40to 80-megabyte
hard disks are becoming more and
more popular among serious homecomputer users.
Even though certain sampling
keyboard manufacturers
have discovered ways to transfersmall sample
soundfiles via MIDI by using systemexclusive control codes, and some
have found a way to go into a double
MIDI speed mode, these are far too
slow for the file sizes employed by
163
PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND MUSIC
high-end machines such as the Kurzweil 250 and the Emulator II, both
of which have their own high-speed
proprietary data transfer systems,
Furthermore, the Emulator II has an
interface to soundfiles stored in CD
ROM--a read-only type of memory
thatlooks likethe morefamiliaraudio
Linotronics
phototypesetter
(1270
and 2540 dpi). (Fig. 2.) Daisy-wheel
or impact printers are designed for
letter writing and do not provide the
graphic capabilities
required
by
conventional music notation,
a
I
I
instrumentalist
may control a MIDI
device without having to know anything about the traditional
piano
keyboard. This does not mean that
one can play symphonic audio recordings through a pitch tracker and
have all the notes transcribed into
their appropriate MIDI codes. Cur-
CD.
rent pitch-tracking
really
only successful technology
at tracking isa
Printer
Synthesizers
We know of many people making

music with personal computers who
get along fine without a printer in
their setup. However, if score no-
There are three main types of

MIDIable sound-generating
devices:
digital synthesizers, analog synthesizers, and samplers, as well as a few
hybrid conglomerations.
Most devices are available in two versions,
either with a piano-style keyboard
multivoiced
polyphonic textures is
still
in solomelodic
the future.
single
line.Following
Some artists,
such as Michel
Waisvisz, from The Netherlands, are
inventing new MIDI controllers that
bear no resemblance whatsoever to
traditional musical instruments. For
tation or part extraction is required,

a printer of some kind will be nec-.
essary. Because of the graphic nature
of music notation, a dot matrix printer
is the cheapest solution to music
printing requirements,
or as a module with no keyboard. In

the latter case, it is common to control
a network of modular synthesizers
and samplers with a "dumb" keyboard, known as a MIDI keyboard
controller, although any nonmodular
With the advent of a versatile device-independent

page-description
synthesizer with its own keyboard

could be used as the controller. Multi-
his own work, Waisvisz uses a pair

of glove-like "hands" that include
mercury switches that sense their
angle relative to the horizon, sonar
to sense the proximity of the gloves
to each other, and a number of
switches under each finger.
language,
timbral synthesizers
PostScript,
many
musi-
laser
($4000
and expensive
up). This
cians printers
are opting
for more
is largely due to the recent development of a publishing-quality
laser
music font, Sonata, from Adobe
Systems (who also manufacture the
Apple LaserWriter).
Unlike earlier
bitmapped music fonts, Sonata defines symbols as vectors or Bezier
curves. Using the Adobe Systems
music font with software such as
Deluxe Music Construction Set for
the Macintosh, a music file may be
printed on an Apple ImageWriter
(160 dots per inch) and other kinds
of printers such as the Apple LaserWriter (300 dpi), or a Mergenthaler
have started to
multi-timbral
synthesizer
become the new
standard.or sampler
With a
it is possible for a single instrument
to listen to specific MIDI channels,
each assigned to a separate patch or
soundfile, and to have the different
sounds played simultaneously,
For people without keyboard ability, many new MIDI controllers are
beginning to appear. These range
from guitar controllers, aimed at the
large market of guitar players who
desire to manipulate external soundgenerating devices, to pitch trackers
that can convert normal audio into
the appropriate MIDI note codes.
Using a pitch tracker, any singer or
I
Telecommunications
We are quick to admit that music

is a form of communication, but in
the 1980s music can be a form of
telecommunication as well. There are
many BBSs (bulletin-board systems)
and national networks devoted to
music that anyone with a modem can
access. A modem is a hardware device that permits computers to send
data back and forth over the telephone lines. The word "modem" actually stands for MOdulation DEModulation, which refer respectively
to the encoding of computer infor|m
....
, , , ,
--'
,j
I I JI I
=]
Fig. 2. The Adobe laser music font, Sonala

Adobe'snewPostScript
musicfontis deviceindependent.
Thisexamplewasinpulwitha MIDIsynthesizer
to Electronic
Arts'software,Deluxe
MusicConstruction
Set, runningon an AppleMacintosh
computerandprintedusinga Linetronics
100laserpholotypeseller
wilh 1270dotsper-inchresolution.
164
J. Audio Eng, Soc,, Vol. 35, No, 3, 1987 March
mation into audio tones for telephone

transmission and the decoding of
these sounds back into computer
data.
PAN (the Performing Artists Network) runs on a large mainframe VAX
11/750 computer with well over a
gigabyte (a million megabytes) of
storage. Local telephone numbers
worldwide give users access to many
different electronic mail services
(including TELEX) usually referred
to as E-MAIL, and a variety of SIGs
(special interest groups) and subnetworks. The latter are dedicated to
practically every facet of the music
industry--recording,
publishing,
touring, booking (some acts maintain
detailed schedules that, for example,
permit a user to get a list of all musical acts that are going to be in the
New England area during the middle
two weeks of February), promoting,-,
hardware
and software development, synthesizer techniques, MIDI,
on-line equipment shopping, and
classified advertisements
for just
about any kind of computer or
audio equipment. Drafts of this article were circulated for review:using
E-MAIL on PAN and the final copy
was transferred electronically to the
publisher,
One may usually join such a group
by signing up on line--that is, diallng the network and typing something
like "join," after which credit card
orbank account numbers are entered
for billing purposes. Typical charges
for opening an account are between
$50. and $200., with additional online charges of up to $24. per hour
during business hours and between
lng" is the reverse process by which

users transfer files from their cumputer to the network's storage area),
On PAN, there is a very active Syn-
thesizer and MIDI Development

in one's E-MAIL box is saved to a
Forum, where people can post mesdisk file in the personal computer or
sages (often of considerable length)
-printed
immediately
Furthermore,
and openly debate future developsince almost all of these systems rements with the actual programmers
member the previous session's acof the music software and the syntivity, it is possible to have the macro
thesizer manufacturers.
This forum
automatically save a listing of only
frequently provides the user with innew additions to the file directory
formation several months ahead of
and databases, as well as the new
publication. Worldwide conferences
messages posted in the public forums.
are regularly scheduled during which
Some microcomputers are even fast
participants can read what others
enough to run telecommunications
are typing and respond, all in real
macros and print other files (such as
time.
music notation) simultaneously.
There are now enough computer
networks, or "nets," that keeping -
track of all of them would be a fullThe Future: The Hometime job. For this reason, more people
Computer
Music Studio
are employing the strategy of using
as a Local Area Network
macros to dial up these main-frame
networks automatically in the middle
of the night when on-line rates are
The personal-computer
music stuconsiderably less expensive. A "madio we have been describing (Fig. 1)
cro" is a little computer program that
is, essentially, a LAN (Local Area
automates a number of keyboard acNetwork) using a variety of protocols
'tions into a single command. Usually,
to communicate between its constitthese 'ate so simple to create that no
uent parts: MIDI, SMPTE, SCSI,
knowledgeofcomputerprogramming
ASCII, and PostScript as the pageis required. For example, the popular
description language for the laser
telecommunications
software, Red
printer. Other LAN formats for conRyder by Scot Watson, includes a
trolling additional media as well as
feature that will observe and record
music are being developed at MIT
everything the user does while onby David Levitt (HookUp!) and at
line for future playback. One doesn't
the University of Western Ontario by
have to know any programming to
Kristi Allik, Shane Dunne, and Robuse this feature; it is only necessary
ert Mulder (ArcoNet--Artists
Comto select the menu option "Write a
puter Network [4]). The integration
procedure for me" and go through
of such communications
systems
the required actions once (for exseems likely to improve.
$6. and $12. per hour in off-peak

times. Such networks allow the users
ample, dialing up a network, and then

reading and saving one's electronic
databases that often store synthesizer

patches,in sampled
to participate
discussion soundfiles,
or access
and utilities for practically every
sound-generating device in existence,
Thus, if one finds oneself in Timbuktu having forgotten the floppy
disk that had the bagpipe samples, it
is an easy job to log onto PAN and
download the file from its archives,
("Downloading" refers to the process
through which one person with a
modem may transfer files to his own
computer from a storage area on a
larger computer network. "Upload-
the macro. All that is necessary to

go
through computer
the entireactually
E-MAIL
promail)--the
writes
cedure again in the future is to call
up this macro. It is possible to create
a macro that will automatically log
:the computer onto one telecommunications network after another, save
new electronic mail to the hard disk,
upload electronic mail to others,
capture new BBS messages or announcements about MIDI and synthesizer developments,
search databases for updates to directories of
sample file libraries, public-domain
166
software, and utilities, and download

files whenever applicable, it is a
simple matter to arrange a macro in
such a way that any electronic mail
Jl
II
(AND BACK)
FROM SOUND TO MUSIC
The control of sound and manipulation of musical ideas with personal

computers may require a wide range
of interactive software during the
creative process. The developmental
stages of this process encompass two
transformations:
sound is organized
into music which is then expressed
as sound. Before the sound is actually
transformed into music, a microcomputer may have been instrumental
in its creation, editing, and organization within a sound library. Once

sounds exist, then and only then may
they be organized into music with a
MIDI sequencer using one of three
input methods: real-time, step-time,
or algorithmic.
In the final transformation, the whole assemblage is
turned back into sound as the MIDI
sequencer controls the various synthesizers, effects devices, and mixers. If this output is to be recorded
onto multitrack tape, a synchronization device will be necessary to
maintain the temporal alignment of
the separate tracks when they are recorded in multiple passes (which is
the usual procedure). Con,Jersely, the
output may be recorded using the increasingly more common (and inexpensive) direct-to-disk method. In
poses by the computer that created
crack
at fixing
it in
mixanother
using
this case,
the user
canthe
have
state-of-the-art
digital mixing software running on microcomputers,
Fig. 3 illustrates this continuum in
detail,
process Ironically,
is necessary
that ofrequires
them.
a sort
hybrid
these sounds to be saved into a file
that is compatible with the digital
sampling keyboard's file format, thus
allowing the sound to be transferred
into the sampling keyboard for play-
Sound Creation
the
filelater--in
is keyboard
one which
it created
itself.
back
sampling
essence,
into
thinking
tricking
that
the
First
foremost
is the
organization
of'the
ware and
may
sound
serve
library.
several
Librarian
purposes.
softof soundfiles or patches into larger
groups or banks that are associated
Music that is played
I[
using elec-
material
from one usually
of two domains:
tronic
instruments
draws its
samplingor synthesis. The first possible introduction of a personal computer into the music process is in the
actual creation or capturing of sonic
material through the techniques of
either sound generation or sound
sampling. While software and related
peripheral analog-to-digital hardware
devices exist that can convert many
personal computers into veritable
digital sampling machines, micros
are not at this time capable of attaining the minimum level of fidelity
required by professionals oreven by
most amateurs and hobbyists. On the
other hand, personal computers with
16-bit CPUs are perfectly capable of
synthesizing
high-quality
complex
sounds using additive or FM synthesis or other techniques. Sounds created in this manner may sometimes
be tested using the hardware of the
generating microcomputer, but due
to physical limitations, they ire not
often played back for musical pur168
I
I
I
Sound
Editing
More often, the first software introduced into the computer-assisted

musician's creative process is used
to edit or manipulate the acoustical
properties of the sound material itself. Depending upon the source of
a musician's sonic material, the editing procedure may include modifying sampled sounds using an onscreen graphic waveform editor or it
may mean editing the patches of a
synthesizer in real time via an onscreen simulation of the physical '
controls of the synthesizer that is designed to provide an easier or more
efficient interface to the sound modification potential of the device. Editing may be as simple as boosting
the gain of a sound or creating an
ADSR (attack-decay-sustain-release)
envelope to microscopically examine
and alter single sound samples in a
file consisting of half a million samples.
[
Sound
Libraries
After creating the sounds that are

to be used, either through sampling
or synthesis, the next function of the
personal computer is manipulation
siderations.
Although
together on the
basis of most
musicalsoundcongenerating devices include stock
patches or sampled soundfiles in their
ROM chips, most of these devices
also provide RAM into which userdefined banks of individual usersampled soundfiles or user-created
patches may be loaded as a unit.
More and more sound-generating
devices allow the user to create a Iibrary consisting of configurations of
the instrument's keyboard mapping.
In such cases, the musical keyboard
may be divided at split-points into
separate regions, each of which may
have different patches or soundfiles
associated with it. The actual musical
keys are losing their scale-associated,
do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do
function and
becoming merely triggers. Consider
the most extreme case, the Kurzweil
250. This sampling keyboard allows
each of its 88 keys to be tuned to any
frequency (expressed in cents) triggering any instrument or sound, and
has its own effects file (a group of
Synchronization
MIDI-controlled
Step-time
input
Real-time
input
effects
Sequencer
MIDI-controlled
mixer
Disk-based digital
recording
Digital mixing
Digital or analog
tape
Algorithmic
generation
Notation
conversion
its own unique digital processing effects) associated with it. As if that
were not enough, Kurzweil keyboard
setups may include configurations
that consist of up to six layers, each
of which may be divided into 88 regions in the same manner. With 449
configurations
on-line in a fully
loaded machine, librarian software
is a welcomeaid.
MIDI Sequencers
The most common use of MIDI information is to record and store sequences of musical events played on
a microprocessor-controlled
soundgenerating device such as a synthesizer. Both hardware devices and
software programs that record MIDI
data are called MIDI sequencers,
When MIDI data are recorded in this
they are often compared to pianoroll data. This is because in neither
case are sounds actually recorded,
only the information that triggers a
sound to occur. Thus, each playing
of a MIDIsequenceresultsin an actual reperformance of what was
played initially
with no signal degradation
from multiple-generation
recording. In addition to channel
designation (MIDI translates these
data over 16 MID1 channels simultaneously),MIDIcommunicatessuch
information
as pitch, key-on and
-off velocity,
duration,
program
(patch or soundfile) change, and the
J.AudioEng.Soc.,Vol.35, No.3, 1987March
status of a variety of front-panel

controls. Furthermore, becauseMIDl
data consist entirely of numerical information, any mathematical operation or calculation that can be applied to a number or a string of numbers may be applied to MIDI data as
well. This permits MIDI data to be
edited and manipulated in numerous
ways.
Most MIDI sequencer software is
organized to operate like a typical
multitrack analog tape recorder (some
sequencers even emulate the front
panel of a tape recorder on the computer screen). The main difference
is that MIDi sequencers can have
hundreds of tracks, and the data can
be edited very quickly and easily,
The cost of professional MIDI sequencer software is orders of magnitude cheaper than analog multitrack
tape recorders.
Other advantages
which MIDI sequences have over
(although no sound is recorded, only

trigger information for the re-creation
of the performance).
Usually, realtime input is from a MIDI synthesizer
or keyboard controller, although recent breakthroughs in pitch recognition make it possible for people
with no musical keyboard ability to
have notes played on any instrument
(or sung)accuratelyconvertedinto
MIDI information. Techniques borrowed from the analog world, such
as automatic punch-in and punch-out,
are available and much more precise
with a MIDI sequencer.
Step time refers to a popular input
method that allows music to be recorded in non-real time: the playback
rhythmic value of every next note is
specified manually upon entry. Often
this method allows the user to specify
a rhythmic value, such as quarter
note, from a palette on the computer
screen. Then, until a new rhythmic
hardware analog devices include the

fact that each time a sequencer plays
back a musical work, it is a reperformance rather than a recording of
the work.
value is selected from the palette,

every succeeding note played from
that point on will have the designated temporal value regardless of
whether it is held for 1/lOsecond or
10 minutes.
The final method for inputting
I
I
I
Input
and Editing
Methods
There are three fundamental ways

to record musical ideas into a MIDI
sequencer: step time, real time, and
algorithmically. In this case, the term
"real time" indicates recording in a
manner identical to analog recording
musical is
material
into a aMIDI
quencer
by generating
streamseof
MIDI data algorithmically. This is
becoming increasingly popular as
computers become more and more
user-friendly and the user-interface
to complex compositional algorithms
becomes simpler. Recent software
releases permit the generation of
169
credible music from probabilistic,
back with perfect rhythmic accu
cyclical, and statistical distributions

of user-input pitches, rhythms, dynamic (loudness) patterns, and articulations (subtle performance tech-
racy.
Editing practices such as cut, copy,
paste, merge, and insert are powerful
MIDI sequencer operations and have
niques such as accents),

No matter how the information is
recorded into a MIDI sequencer, the
sequencer's real strength is how it
can be edited. Note correction is
child's play, as are transposition and
tempo changes. Rhythmic correction
is standard operating
procedure
through a method called quantization
that automatically rounds off performance data to a user-specific
rhythmic grid (typically the smallest
rhythmic duration in the piece),
Various methods of quantization
displacement or sensitivity are employed to counteract the inhuman
machine-like quality of music played
analogies in the analog recording

world in the form of splicing tape
and bouncing tracks. Finally, many
sequencers provide for the translation
of MIDI data into conventional music
notation (CMN), and CMN editing
software often includes such features
as automatic transposition and part
extraction. In general, when MIDI
sequencing is introduced into the
studio music-making setup, fundamental activities such as recording,
editing, and effect-synchronization
are performed with increasing timeefficiency. In an industry where time
is often equated with money, these
savings can be significant,
TRADITIONAL
(31/!Pl
VVI1/V/1-_I
Composing:
Then and Now
I am a composer. I compose music
in many genres. However, for the
past decade most of my efforts have
been devoted to opera. My studio is
in my home so l often start preparing
for a day of composing while l'm
drinking my morning coffee. Five
years ago, these preparations entailed
cleaning up the erasure dust accumulated from the previous day,
sharpening several dozen pencils, and
opening up the piano. At that time.
my only high-tech
compositional
tools consisted of an electric pencil
sharpener, used during rough drafts,
170
MIDI.Controlled
Mixing
and Effects
II
I
In stage three, as the sequence of

MIDI events is converted back into
sound, preprogrammed digital soundprocessing effects are often triggered
by imbedded program-change
cornmands. Most newer digital effects
processors
include MIDI-IN ports
through which particular
effects,
either ROM-based or user-defined,
may be assigned to particular synthesizer patches. Thus, a specific
synthesizer patch or soundfile may
have its own associated effects such
as flanging, chorusing, reverberation,
echo, or delay. This is called up at
the same time the MIDI program
change command is sent from the se-
and
I
CtqlqTl:::r3
1%lk,.._Ik,.Jll_.,,,I/hl,.,,J
COMPOSITION
Personal computers are being used
for many musical applicanons ranglng from the custom design and editing of sounds to conventional music
notation and direct-to-disk
digital
audio systems. Perhaps the greatest
impact of microcomputers upon music will be in the area of CAC (computer-assisted composition).
and a light table, used to prepare final

scores on vellum with ink and transfer
symbols. The only silicon in my studie was in my windowpanes. Now,
in 1987. looking around my studio,
I find myself losing count of the
number of microprocessor-controlled
devices,
As a computer-assisted composer
in 1987, I still compose opera, but
that's about theonly thing that hasn't
changed. First of all, I don't use
pencils any more for rough drafts
my computer automatically
transcribes these as I play my synthesizer,
Second, there is no more erasure
dust to sweep up because I do all of
my editing on-screen by pushing
around musical ideas with a mouse.
Likewise my orchestrations,
which
I can test (or "proof hear") at any
moment through a veritable "orchestra m a box" that plays back digital recordings of every instrument
in the orchestra. Finally, although I
still use ink for my final drafts. I never
have to lift a pen because my dotmatrix printer or laser printer these

scores. I still get ready for a day of
composingwhiledrinkingmymorning coffee, but my preparations have
changed considerably.
A Typical
Day
A typical day commences with

turning on, booting up, or otherwise
activating the various electronic elements of my studio. My computer,
hard disk, modem, and printer are
already on because these have been
working all night. While I slept, the
printer has been printing the music
I composed the day before and my
Macintosh computer has been taking
care of my telecommunications
between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. when the
on-line charges are lower.
Preparations
I power up my digital sampling
keyboard, a Version 4 Kurzweil 250
with about 5 megasamples of CDquality orchestral instruments on-line
in the ROMs. Some of the previous
day's work is already available in
the battery-backed RAM, but I need
to load certain sounds that i will be
J, Audio Eng, Soc., VoL 35, No. 3, 1987March
quencer to the synthesizer. In this

fashion, each of the 128 possible
program changes can trigger its particular effect,
Using the MIDI data to generate
effects similar to those created by
digital signal processing is becoming
increasingly
common.
Softwarebased MIDI effects generators take
incoming MIDI data and juggle the
numbers before they pass them on to
the sound-generating
device. For
example, in such a setup it is possible
to delay repetitions while progressively varying velocity (i.e., loudness) to create echo effects, add constants to incoming
MIDI note
numbers to create chorusing or harmonizing, or to change the channel
numbers for pre-assigned
pitch
ranges to effect real-time orchestration via intelligent keyboard-split-
ting. The Echo Plus software from

Dr. T's Music Software can do practically anything one might require
with the MIDI note numbers being
sent to it. Rather than digital processing, these effects, such as doubling, harmonizing, MiDI echo, onefinger chords, and infinite MIDI
loops, result entirely from the multiple retriggering of notes to which
patterns may or may not be applied,
1987 promises to be the year of
MIDI-controlled
mixers. Automation, the most desirable feature of
astronomically
expensive
mixing
boards, is being brought within the
financial range of the typical homemicrocomputer music studio. Compared to fully automated
mixing
boards, MIDI-controlled mixers are
well within the reach of people using
personal computers for music appli-
cations. Typically, mixes can be

stored in battery-backed RAM or in
disk files. Software has been developed at IRCAM to control the new
AKAI MIDi-controlled
mixing
board. This software (SNOX) takes
a "snapshot" of the current value of
each knob and slider, and then provides for the gradual fading from one
particular setting to another. There
are no serves to move the knobs as
there are on larger desks. Mix patches
may be saved as files and caused to
fade from one setting to another over
designated periods of time. A single
MIDI sequencer track, transmitting
over an unused MIDI channel, can
store all the information necessary
to replicate the mixed score.
Less obvious uses of MIDI data
include the control of lighting--specific notes or patches assigned to
using in my current project. In part

of the additional 4 megabytes of
RAM, I load solo operatic voices
a soprano, tenor, and baritone that I
sampled last year and have stored on
my hard disk. Next. I load in a sampled French horn'of which I am particutarly fond. With 449 configurations of the keyboard
instantly
accessible. I have a true "orchestra
in a box," and I use digital reverb to
place my "personal orchestra" in a
simulated cubic room with walls 48
meters apart. Finally, I use a macro
to load two programs automatically
into my Macintosh--one
(called a
"sequencer") for the capture of MIDI[
data from my Kurzweil and one for
the conversion of this data into conventionaI
notation
Mark of the
Unicorn's
Professional
Composer
and Performer. Although the Macintosh was not originally designed
to run programs concurrently, And y
Herzfeld, a member of the original
Macintosh development
team. has
written several utilities (Switcher and
Servant) that permit more than one
program to be loaded into the RAM
simultaneously, so the unit is always
in a state of being ready to run and
switch between programs

neously,
ing's endeavors while I'm eating

lunch. I load my material into one
of the algorithmic composition
packages available from Intelligent
Computer Music Systems, Jam Factory or M. With a few minutes of
finagling, these packages can continue to produce creditable musical
variations through my Kurzweil as
an accompaniment to lunch. I won't
necessarily use any of this material
in my opera but nonetheless, the resulting statistical development of my
musical ideas is thought-provoking.
J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol, 35. No. 3. 1987 March
instanta-
Throughout
the Day
Throughout any day, I will inevitably spend more time at the computer keyboard than at the musical
one. This is because once I have the
musical source material
themes,
motives, melodies, etc.
recorded
into storage tracks within my MIDI
sequencer (which can support up to
350 virtual tracks}. I can use the
Macintosh mouse to cut and paste,
modify, rearrange,
and otherwise
experiment with orchestrations, or to
redirect material to any or all of the
sixteen MIDI channels on my samplingkeyboard. Because of th e nature
of the opera I am composmg, I have
separate MIDI channels set for each
instrument of the orchestra and the
solo voices, but this still leaves me
with several extra channels that I reserve for special or changing articulations (such as the various types
of string bowing or plucking).
Lunchtime
Sometimes i set the Macintosh up
to generate variations on my morn-
Before Bedtime
Besides being time-consuming,
printing drafts on the dot-matrix
printer is noisy
this activity is reserved for sleeping hours. The day's
music files, after having been converted into a format for printing conventional music notation, are transferred to a storage area on the hard
disk that is specifically designated
for printing as a background task.
Once the printing begins, the computer is left to divideits timebetween
printing and running automatic telecommunications macros, tasks which
continue throughout the night.
171
specific lighting configurations.

A
Macintosh personal computer is even
being used in Paris to control the
acoustics of the main performance
hall (l'Espace de Projection) at IRCAM.Theroom's walls andceilings
have 171 motorized 3-part panels,
each of which can be rotated to exhibit one of three main acoustic
properties, reflection, diffusion, or
absorption, and three mixed properties, reflection-diffusion,
reflection-absorption,
and diffusion-absorption. The operator uses a mouse
to paint the desired acoustics on the
screen of the Macintosh, which displays a representation of the room
as it would look if the walls were
flattened out.
[
I
I
1[i_
:'
' DisR_Based
D[gllal ReCOrding
_
The output of this process will

usually be on multitrack analog or
digital recording tape and this is facilitated by the final link in the personal-computer music setup--a synchronization conversion box (indicated by the loopback in Fig. 3). The
purpose of these devices is twofold,
First, when it becomes necessary to
computers to music may be grouped

into seven classifications
as illustrated in Fig. 4.
Music-production
applications of
personal computers include:
1) Sound Laboratory. The eomputer is used as a sound-generating/
patch- or soundfile-editing/analyzing
device.
2) Composition. The computer
simplifies the user interface to front
panels of complex sound-generating
devices, to create and edit patch libraries, soundfile libraries, sequence
libraries, musical databases, and to
generate music algorithmically.
3) Score Editing. The computer is
evolving toward a music processor:
copying and editing scores for eventual printout using manual input from
[
:1
record individual analog tape tracks

of MlDIed music at different times,
the only way to ensure that the events
the computer keyboard, mouse, digitizer, or transcription

performance
information
obtained from a MIDI
.1
on each track will line up as desired

is to use some form of synchronization. Typically, a sync track consisting of evenly spaced pulses is recorded and used as a master temporal
reference to slaved MIDI sequencers,
By recording on multiple tracks with
multiple passes, it is possible to
greatly exceed the number of musical
parts dictated by the number of audio
channels in the various synthesizers.
Second, the video industry standard
SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture
and Television Engineers) time code
is being used in conjunction with
certain MIDI synchronization codes
(start, stop, continue, and song-position pointer). Soon there will be
the MSMPTE code, which will cffectively lock together MIDI sequencer software with multitrack
analog or video tape--guaranteeing
that when one device is rewound or
fast-forwarded, the other device will
chase it to the same point in time.
keyboard or converted from pitchtracking devices.

4) Performance.
Software-based
MIDI sequencers are used to control
sound-generating
devices, MIDI cffeets processors [as opposed to digital
effects processors cited in 5) below],
and other performance elements such
as lighting and real-time control of
video animation.
5) Postproduction
sound editing
using MIDI. This function, only very
recently relinquished to the province
of micros, is evidenced in the automarion of MIDI-controllable
mixing
boards by software, as well as digital
mixing of disk-based digital audio
systems and control of other digital
signal processing effects [as opposed
to MIDI effects of 4) above] such as
delay, reverberation,
flanging, illtering, and chorusing.
Nonproduction-oriented
music
applications include:
6) Education-related music applications. Popular CAI (computer-
Ii
aided ear
clude
instruction)
training (with
applications
pacing geared
in-
I
.....
Perhaps the most impressive personal-computer

peripheral
now
available is the relatively inexpensive
yet high-quality direct-to-disk digital
audio system. These are 16-bit, 44.1kHz (i.e., CD-mastering quality), ntrack systems that take advantage of
the SCSI (small computer systems
interface) port on the Macintosh or
Sun (and eventually other) computers. SCSI is an interface standard
that makes it possible for a variety
of hard-disk manufacturers to produce hard drives of large capacity
forawidevarietyofSCSI-compatible
computers. This is fostered by the
fact that many chip manufacturers are
incorporating SCSI interfaces in their
chips. SCSI hard disks have continbally dropped in price so that it is
now possible to purchase 80-meadbyte SCSI hard disks for just over
$1000. Such drives provide about 10
minutes of direct-to-disk recording
using similarly
$3000)
analog-to-digital
inexpensive
converters.
(under
Themaximumrecordingtimeofthese
systems is limited only by the size
ofthe hard-diskstoragemedium,and
768-megabyte SCSI drives are currently available.
Digital mixing
software is used in conjunction with
direct-to-disk recording. The eomputer is used as an interface to digital
mixing, providing a means for testing
172
and saving mix scores rather than the

actual soundfiles or digital tracks
themselves. Specific hardware and
software packages will be discussed
later in this article,
Syncing to Digital or
Analog Tape
,
II
.:
A PPL ICATI oNS
OF
COMPUTERSTOMUSlC
,
I
]
An examination of the elements of

a microcomputer-controlled
music
studio and the stages of development
through which sound progresses
while being transformed into music
suggests that applications of personal
toeachstudent),harmonyinstruction
(with automatic correction and feedback), and orchestration (as an orchestral "sketch pad").
7) Telecommunications.
As mentioned above, telecommunication
is
becoming a standard part of the home
microcomputer
music studio and is
used to communicate
with music
sampled sounds
_=_
(As a soundgenerating/
editing/
analyzing
Editing and analyzing
networks,
chiving of sample files, patches, and

utilities for downloading.
In the remainder of this article we
mote examine
MIDI control
and detail
for therep-arwill
in greater
FM synthesis
laboratorySUnd
H_II_
tOOl
Editing
sounds''
Generatingsoun0s
ir_r
j_
Patchsynthesis
editing
Additive
['q
J_J
BBSs,
and LANs for re-
software
packages that are
typical of the various kinds of microcomputer music applications.
Other types of synthesis]
resentative
Real time
generation of
music
Non-real time
Composition
dertace to
Sound Laboratory
front canalsofcomplex
(CAC:
composition
computerassisted
r!.
etc.)
generation,
patchilbraitans
Sound Designer: Editing and
_ Jmtr Sequence librarians J

Theme motive/fragment1
other utility software

aatai3ase,and 'JJ_
El"
Analyzing Sampled Sounds
librarian/database
Click*trackconversion 1
j _
programs
)
ES File format conversion ]
I_
utilities
J
_ 2r o_
Jt mouse.d,giti*er,
pe_)J
t
Inout
editisconrgef
for
eventual
Drlnteo
J'[ _Ue?._>[_:[_
in the
L[
Pitch-rtacking
.J
Dot matrix printer
approach
is to convert soundfiles
from differentmanufacturers
into a
single 16-bit linear format regardless
(160 dpi)
Low-resolutionlaser
J]_
L_
orinter (300 to 400 dpi) ]
High-resolutionlaser
1
_
phototypesetter
J
'-[
-MIDI
sequencing,
editing,1
synchronization
J
MIDI-basedeffects
g..... ting
devices
and
other
devices)
_.r[
MIDIreverb J
MiDI harmonizing device
_
,.
j.
I_
Control of digitaleffects J
I_
Control of light,rig
J_r
_l
Room acoustics
L_Control of other perform.1,j _,
ance
parameters
i
,
_ EL Real-timecontrol of
J
]
j
]
[_.
computeranimation J
L_lnterface
for nonstandard]
[,
MIDIcontrollers
J
Mixingdisk-based
._/
Mixing
PostDreduction
sounaeonmg
sj
Filtering
Delays
Other digitalsignalprocessingeffects
I I f'utomating mixing board1
[./
} t
I
-[
J1
1
J
recordings
]J
ReverDerauon
Flanging j
Chorusing I
Fig. 4. Applications of computers to music

Personalcomputersareusedin fivemainareasof musicproduction.Non-productionrelatedmusic applicationsincludeCAI (computer-aidedinstruction)and telecommunications,
J. Audio Eng. doc,
Vol. 35. No. 3. 1987 March
$100
000
range,
Digidesign's
whether
the
original sample resolution is 8, 10, 12, 14, or 18 bits.
The soundfiles are reconverted
to
of
whatever format the playback instrument requires. Sampling instruments currently supported by Digi-
Interactiveautomatic
imorovisation
J!
(controlof
sounaPerfo......
powerfulwaveformeditorcurrently
Brooks of Digidesign, is the most
available on a microcomputer.
For
around
$300, its features
rival
those
of professional digital audio systems
1
J
[k
_J'
Cutout
written by Evan
Opticalcharacter
rocognition
J t
ScoreEditing(copying
and
cutout)
Sound Designer,
design are AKAI's
S612 and S900,
rage
DSSII,1 Ensoniq's
Sequential'sMi' Korg's
E-mu's
Emulator
Prophet 2000, and the Kurzweil 250.
One side effect of converting all of
thesemanufacturers'fileformatsinto
a single standard for editing is that
previously
may be passed
incompatible
from samplersoundfiles
to sampler via Sound Designer.
Sound Designer displays
sampled
waveforms in any magnifcation

desired (Fig. 5). The screen may show
an entire soundfile of hundreds of
thousands of samples or zoom in to
the level of individual samples for
the purpose of "drawing" new samples into the file with a mouse-controlled pencil. In addition to a fivemode digital equalizer
(non-real
time), Sound Designer provides for
easy cutting, pasting, mixing, and
merging between parts of soundfiles
or of different soundfiles altogether.
Gradually changing the sound of a
piano into that of a trumpet is not a
173
File
/'_
Edit'
Display
Calibrate
Tools
,"-I
L_J
Mode
CELINASD
or
18-bit format
demanded
by the
sampler
being used for playback
(Fig.
6).
Theotherconvention
borrowed
_B
__
fromSound
Designer
is thepreview
mode
for playing
back
sounds
? 4)))
L I.... I
i:_!i_;x_
19182sarnps
_
6.0
T.,
,_
0.3
,r_
0.6
0.9
_
1.2
__,
18:
L,_ ,-,,_r_,("'"'
___,_v./
1.5
1.8
2.2
2.5
2.8
3.1
kHz
CELINASD- No Backup
==F-I
-'_
O
Because
the soundsaregenerated,
as
opposedpresent
to having
originally
been
sampler
to work
on sounds.
through
that
it isthe
not
necessary
This
to havethe
means
sampled,
the computer.
program also
creates
small (30-kilobyte)
parameter fled
that contain the information
necessary to regenerate a specific sound
ratherthanthe actualsounddata.
i_ _
Thesehavetheadvantage
of being
__
sively
on the to
telecommunications
smallenough
circulateinexpennetwork.
Fig. 5. Sound Designer

This screen
shot
shows
The additive
two views
of a soundfile
being
edited
with Digidesign's
Sound
Designer thenormalwaveformview (thewindowentitled"CELINASD-No Backup"on the

bottomof the screen) and an FFT (the windowentitled "CelinaSD";see explanation in text),
Note the four icons on the left of the screen. Using the mouse to select the little mixer icon
bringsup a seriesof questions/responses
that startsthe procedureof mixingtwo soundfiles
together.Likewise,selectingthe little pencilicon turns the cursor nto a pencil,after which
mousemotionis interpretedas drawingthewaveform.Selectingtheiconconsistingofa little
note and a musical keyboard sends the current soundfile to the sampling device connected
to the computer,and selectingthe ittle loudspeakericon causesimmediate(Iow resolution)
previewof thesoundthroughthecomputer'sbuilt-inloudspeaker,
problem with Sound Designer. Finally, provisions are made for sound
synthesis from within the program
(although at this time, the only
method implemented is the KarplusStrong plucked-string
algorithm),
Display cfa three-dimensional
spectral frequency analysis (or FFT-fast Fourier transform) is also available although editing the spectrum
in a three-dimensional form is not
possible. Because transferring
the
soundfiles to the sampler can take up
to a minute, there is a preview function that will play back the sound
through the computer at a fixed sample rate.
One important feature of sound
sampling that is handled very ciegantly by Sound Designer is looping,
When used musically, portions of
sampled soundfiles are usually looped
over and over to allow the sampled
sound to be sustained for any desired
length. This can be a problem because
an audible click or pop can be heard
if both the start and end points of a
loop are not at zero crossings or if
174
the waveform slope resulting from

the loop is not smooth. With Sound
Designer, after coarse loop points
have been designated, fine tuning of
a sound loop is accomplished by displaying the crucial seam created at
the exact point where the end point
loops back to the beginning part of
the loop.
Generating Sounds
with Softsynth
Softsynth, also from Digidesign,

is a powerful software package that
allows sounds generated by additive
or FM synthesis to be saved as sample
files for loading into popular samplingkeyboardssuchasAKAI'sS612
and S900, E-mu's Emulator II, Ensoniq's Mirage, Korg's DSS1, Sequential's
Prophet 2000, and the
Kurzweil 250. Like their companion
program, Sound Designer, Softsynth
creates 16-bit linear soundfiles that
are converted to the 8-, 10-, 12-, 14-,
synthesis
portion of
the program provides a graphic interface, via 32 mouse-driven

faders
across the bottom of the screen, to
32 digital oscillators simulated by the
software. These represent the up to
32 partials of the sound whose amplitude envelopes are displayed threedimensionally
on the main screen.
Another screen provides a graphic
interface to both the individual partial's up-to-40-segment
amplitude
envelope and the up-to-15-segment
frequency envelope. Here, the user
may preview the sound of the individual partial, select from one of five
waveforms to use for it, and set the
particular partial's ratio to the fundamental frequency of the sound. The
default ratio corresponds to the natural harmonic series, but this can be
easily changed.
When the user chooses the FM
synthesis mode, the faders of the
main screen are used to control the
32 available FM operators. With the
exceptionof a very smallgroup, most
of the FM sounds possible on the
Yamaha FM-based synthesizers can
be created and a very large number
of sounds not possible on traditional
FM instruments can also be generated. Using the program Softsynth
together with Sound Designer makes
it possible to apply waveform editing
techniques
to FM-synthesized
sounds. Hitherto, these techniques
were confined to the domain of sampled sounds (such as various types
of looping, merging, reversing, and
digital equalizing).
J.Audio
Eng.
Soc.,Vol.35,No.3,1987March
Patch Editing Using Graphic

Interface with DX/TX Editor
Opcode Systems markets an excellent Yamaha DX/TX series patch

editor (Fig. 7) that displays all algorithm and patch parameters simultaneously on a single screen.
Using the mouse pointer to click on
any item selects that item for editing,
Envelope editing is done graphically,
and the results of all editing operations may be heard immediately if
the synthesizer is connected to the
computer via MIDI. Similarly, any
voice and function settings may be
transferred from the Yamahato the
computer for fine tuning. Patches
may be transferred to the synthesizer
singly or in banks of 32. A simple
built-in sequencer allows a recorded
sequence to be played back automatically
every time a patch is
changed. In addition, it is possible
to copy and paste envelopes and entire operators within or between
patches. Among the Yamaha synthesizer community,
the general
consensus is that Opcode's MIDIMac
Patch Editor is by far the most versatile, easy to use, and edit-efficient
of patch editors available for any
microcomputer,
IRCAM (Institut de Recherche
Acoustique
Musique) in Paris is
working on FM patching from a
unique standpoint. In their prototype
the on-screen display is a bar-graph
FFT, and the relative values of individual frequency spectra are transformed to initiate the corresponding
FM operator changes needed to produce the FFT.
Composition
Front-Panel Emulation for

Complex Devices: Digidesign,
Kurzweil, Opcode
Although nearly all the software

applications we have discussed may
be thought of as relating to the act
of composition,
some seem to be
concerned more with the manipulation of ideas than with sound properties. In this category we find a wide
,
File Edit
SmartSynth
Options
Sampler
range of utility software aimed at

simplifying
the composer's
task,
software aimed at simplifying
the
user interface to a complex device,
software for organizing one's personal patch or sound library, software that allows the organization Of
themes or sequences into a database,
file-conversion
utilities,
software
real-time and non-real-time
algorithmic composition,
and advance
programming
environments
optimized for musical applications.
The simplest application is the
emulationofMIDl-addressable frontpanel controls in synthesizers and
samplers. The user interface of these
instrumentsis usually little morethan
a 24- to 48-character LCD used in
conjunction with a number of buttons
that assume different functions depending on what mode the user is in.
Often cursor keys are used to scroll
within a menu of selections that can
have as many as 500 options, any
number of which might need to have
a value set or be confirmed with a
"yes" or "no" button. With many
front panels addressable via MIDI
using system-exclusive
commands
(unassigned commands that individual manufacturers
may use for whatever purpose they desire), it is a simple task to provide for an on-screen
real-time emulation of the synthesizer's controls that can be manipplated with a mouse or by the comthis feature for most of the devices
Frequency:
Hz
22_
Sample
Rate:
Syntillating
31["-"_
HZ
that are compatiblewithits Sound

Designer and Softsynth packages.
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efficiency Digidesign
increases provides
because
puter keyboard.
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much more information
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on a computer
character
LCD and
screen
clumsy
thannavigation
in a 2420 ...}-__-z__--___--z_-__-_-_-_-__-__-___-_-_________-_-___--_--____-____:___________-_____:_-________-___:_
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through a synthesizer's menu tree can
2s__-__________--____________-___----____-____________-______-_:_-_-___-__________-----_--_--_--___--_-_--__----------_--.
be made invisible
to the user. Graphic
"
3o ____---__-_-___-___--_-_-__-_____________-_-___-____________-_______--_-_--_--_-_---_--_---------_----_
interfaces for the manipulation
of
o.o,,c
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certain parameters that lend them-
, , ,
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32
Fig. 6. Softsynth
Softsynth'sscreenpresentsa three-dimensional
displayof a waveformresemblingan FFT
(seetext).Thechangingamplitudes(expressedvertically)of theconstituentharmonicpartials
(expressed from front to back) are plotted over time (expressed horizontally in milliseconds).
On thebottomportionof thescreenare 32 fadersthat can be adjustedby slidingthemouse
arrowover them.Thesecontrolthe overallgainof eachseparatepartial,
176
contactwith the sounddata he is

model
a user'sconceptual
selves
towith.
a graphically
working increase
(See
Opcode'sexpressed
TX/DX
editorinFig.7. Using
themouse
to
drag on the "handles" of the line representing the envelope on the graph
sends the corresponding
value
changes over MIDI and updates the
parameter value indicators on the
screen. Such a graph is consistent
L_
r 4_ File
tditl
'
sound that has been sampled and

looped via an inexpensive eight-bit
0 F2 2_
-u. J-u.
digitizer (the MacNifty Audio Digitizer) that records sound into the
microcomputer
in a way similar to
that employed by dedicated sampling
keyboards. The software uses linear
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interpolation
ofthesoundsamples
to recompute
the sampled soundfiles,
which are then played back at various
pitches to create melodies.
Feedback 5 Rate I O I O I 0 J O
Regions of tracks (essentially
_e_
S_cO. _e_e_l_ol_ol_ol_o lodic
fragments) can be looped
me-
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File:
doe's Sounds 5
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places
____________
__________
Fig. 7. MIDIMAC patch editor
This graphic patch editor from Opcode Systems illustrates several standard user-interface
components.Thehorizontalbar underthe words"Op5 KeyboardRate Scaling"is knownas
a scroll bar.Touchingthe arrowsat eitherend of the scrollwith the mousearrowcausesthe
white box to move in the direction of the arrow, simultaneouslyupdatingthe indicatedvalues
in the "Operator 5"windowat the center right portionof the screen. Large skips in values can
be accomplishedby touchingthewhitesquareboxwith themousearrowandpullingthe box
quicklytowardeitherend.
with our conceptual model of the

ADSR envelope.) Kurzweil has a
non-real-time interface to the 250's
Instrument Editor that places the
combined options of several entire
branches of their effects-editing menu
tree on the screen simultaneously,
Librarian, Database, and

Other Utility Software
Musical data that cannot bereadily

retrieved is practically useless so librarian software has been developed
for the organization of suchephemeral items as patch banks, sequences,
and even musicalphrases,
Patch Librarians:
MID/Mac Librarian Series
By far the most popular librarian
software is produced by Opcode
Music Systems. One reason for this
is that they cover almost every widely
used commercial
synthesizer
(ineluding most popular synthesizers
from Yamaha, Casio, Oberheim,
J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 35, NO. 3, 1987 March
Roland, Kerb, Fender, and the late

Linn Drum). Moving patches from
the master library in the personal
computer to a patch bank in the synthesizer is as simple as pointing to
the patch name with the mouse and
dragging the item into the list designating the individual patch banks.
Single patches may be auditioned on
the receiving synthesizer and whole
banks may be loaded from within the
library. With the more popular Casio
and Yamaha synthesizers, both the
patch editor and librarian are integrated into one program, further simplifying things for the user (Fig. 8).
Phrase Databases.' Studio Session
Bogas Software's Studio Session
for the Macintosh includes a music
editor that takes a hierarchical type
of approach to music composition,
With Studio Session it is possible to
play back pitched music in eight parts
through the Macintosh's
internal
loudspeaker or through an external
sound system connected to the eomputer's audio output. The program
does not yet handle MIDI and uses
on separate
tracks
simulta-
neously. Loops, which are represented by musical repeat signs, are

nestableup to ten levels.Any seleered region may be saved as a
"phrase"
for database-like
access
within a phrase library. Phrase categories are labeled with one of 15
user-defned
descriptive names. The
phrase library may hold up to 16 384
phrases. Sorting and searching are
available by specifying type, and/or
meter, and/or phrase length. The
ability to define musical ideas as objects that can be dealt with individually permits extensive experimenration by allowing users to view
musical ideas on a more global level.
MIDI software developers such as
Steinberg (Pro 24 sequencer) are
following Bogas's example to a cerrain extent.
File-FormatConversionUtilities:
MIDIWorks
Naturally, a wide variety of data
formats paves the way for the development ofutilities that can convert
data, MIDI or otherwise, from one
application's
format to that of another. As previously mentioned,
Digidesign gets around this issue in
its Sound Designer and Softsynth
software packages by converting all
the various sample formats to a 16bit linear format for editing. Reconversion into the different manufacturers' file formats is done after
editing. At least one company (Musicworks, Inc.) has already released
a package (MIDIWorks) that converts
sequencer data to and from most of
the popular data formats. Standardization of MIDI upload data is cur177
PERSONAL
rently a hot topic on such networks

asPAN.Upuntilnow,PANhasbeen
usedto archivesoundsamplefiles
and MIDI sequence and patch files
for specific synthesizers,
the data of
which have been valuable only for
owners of identical synthesizers.
With MIDI sequence data as well as
MIDI-communicated
sample data and
now Softsynth parameter files available, there seems to be the possibility
of establishing
a standard upload
format that could then be converted
after download for use by any cumpany's software or hardware.
File Edit
COMPUTERS
AND MUSIC
MIDI
_L
_gS
1-1_
Yamaha D7
: Program
II-''
I
Untitled
Channel
1 Modem Port
17
1 :YES BUNK2
2 :YES BUNK 1
3 !ELECPIANO
45 :SKWEEKY
:VOICES 1 I
6 :STRINGS
2
7 iBRI.PIANO.
8 iBRI.PIANO.
9:
Algorithmically Generated
Music: M
_o:
Fig. 8. MIDIMAC patch librarian
For composers and performers

who
may have shied away from algorithmic composition because of a lack
This patch librarian software from Opcode Systems displays a number of windows--some
representing patch banks and another, the patch library. In the upper center of this screen
shot, a menu has been pulled down under the "Load Send" menu. The little arrow represents
the currentpositionof the cursorbeingcontrolledby the mouse.To pull downthe menu.the
menu's title is touched, then the mouse button is depressed while the menu is pulled (or
dragged)down. As the arrow movesdownthe menu,the text on each next line is inverted
to displayas white letterson a blackbackground.Liftingthe buttonwhilethe cursoris on a
menuoptionso inverted will causethat commandto execute(note:in this case "LoadBank
from Synthesizer").
of programming knowledge, M from

Intelligent Computer Music Systems
provides sophisticated tools that are
easily adaptable to a wide range of
applications.
Theintuitive
user-interface offers a variety of manipucontrolled from higher levels of ablative controls and real-time interstraction, the user is free to work with
The operation of M is twofold:

there is a setup stage and a perform-
actions that is perfectly consistent

with the normal compositional process and thus capable ofbeing molded
to express an individual's
unique,
personal musical voice. Because
many of the more tedious aspects of
composition and experimentation are
ance stage. During the setup stage

the user determines basic musical
material for four separate parts such
as melodic patterns and/or pitch distribution (input can be in step or real
time; monophonic or polyphonic),
rhythmic patterns, accent patterns, ar-
178
processes and transformations rather

than individual notes. Best of all,
while this program includes features that will satisfy even the most
demanding composers, it offers an
excellent entr6e for the novice as
well.
J. AudioEng.Soc.,Vol.35, No.3, 1987March
ticulation patterns, intensity ranges,

orchestration (both program numbers
as well as MIDI channel assignments), transposition configurations,
proportions
of pattern variation
methods (original order/permutation/
random), and tempo range. In most
cases the user may define at least six
alternative settings for the various
parameters. Why six? This is because
of the most innovative aspect of the
software. There is a grid of six-bysix squares in the upper lefthand
corner of the screen display (Fig. 9);
any parameter may be assigned to
cycle to the next variation when the
conducting baton is moved up, down,
right, or left in the grid. The small
arrows immediately to the left of each
parameter setting show the associated
conducting direction, and the reverse
video selection is always the currently active variation.
The program's output may be captured to a
file that may subsequently be read
by Opcode's MIDIMAC sequencer
and hence converted into notation
using Electronic Arts' Deluxe Music
Construction Set or Mark of the Unicorn's Professional Composer. Uperating the program can only be described as conducting an orchestra
of ideasandtransformational
processes rather than a group of humans
playing
HookUp/
HookUp! is being developed by
David Levitt at the Computers and
Entertainment
Department
of the
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology's Media Laboratory. The user
connects icons, representing
user
input (currently: MIDI keyboard,
computer keyboard, or mouse), output devices (MIDI keyboard, Macintosh screen, a radio-controlled
helium blimp, etc.), timing clocks,
datastructures
(memory cells and
vectors), as well as arithmetic, logical, and comparative
operators,
Many icons may be opened up to reveal their personal control panels or
operating circuitry for user customization. Icons may be picked up,
dragged around the screen, and interconnected (using a "wiring tool")
to create functional algorithms for
the real-time control of, and/or interaction with, data from external
devices,
typically
MIDI-addressable sound-generating
devices.
Eventually, the complex algorithms
so created will be accessible from
progressively
higher levels of ab-
and Programming
Environments
MIDI-Lisp
Lisp is a computer language as old
as the well-known FORTRAN. Some
things are easy to do in Lisp that are
more difficult in other computer languages. For example, a melody can
be treated as a list of notes and durations. The company called ACT
Informatique in Paris has developed
a dialect called Le-Lisp. Paris's renowned music research institute,
IRCAM, in turn, has joined this dialect with MIDI to make a programming environment
that they call
MIDI-Lisp. Within this environment
they are now developing PREFORM,
an object-oriented graphic programming tool kit, with which the user
can select and arrange the constituent
parts of MIDI programs as visual
building blocks. IRCAM's David
Wessel, a co-developer of MIDILisp, is using it to teach the principles
of programming to music students at
the Paris Conservatory.
File Edit Uariebles
instrumentsl
_nguages
straction: that is, within larger systems of interactive modules or modules within modules.
Pattern
Windows
Untitled
Input
ZZZ
ZZlZZiZ
""" ^"
Patterns
_>
".."_:;_--_ I_,,._A.
c,,L All
_-I
[ .Al
Options
All
o o.
o
e
e
I_dl
programming
languages
previously confined to the domain of

minicomputers
are beginning to appear on microcomputers
[5]. We are
interested in those which are optimized for the control of MIDI data
and/or digital signal processing. Two
serious icon-based programming environments are being created for the
Apple Macintosh.
Similar projects
are under development for the Atari
ST. The choice of these two microcomputers is not surprising since their
graphic capabilities, operating systerns, and fast MC68000
the logical candidates
deavors.
The operation
terns is intended
intuitive,
make them
for such enof such sys-
to be almost
100%
j. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 35, No. 3, 1987 March
......
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""'"' ,.E.Sm? ! _. i ; ilifili
UarJables
lall iEi] iqis lb
Visual
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:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
============================================================
................ I-'-'-'i:::::.'_.':'..':li.'::::::.':?:::
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......
) '?_'0"'El
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i
;,rj,,,,,,,0E ].......
..i__--.'.-:2:
-_2
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i 'iF::--....
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.
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i:,:7-
Fig. 9. M
This screen shot of M shows many icons used for many purposes. Usingthe mouse pointer
to click on any of them will bring up otherboxes that will requireadditionaluser inputor
clarification. In the center of the screen is a little mouse waiter, "taking an order"--and
this
is exactly what that portion of the screen controls: note order--exclamation
points indicating
that melodic patterns are to be played back in the same order they were played in, and
question marks indicating various degrees of randomness applied to the order of pitches
makingup theoriginalmelody.Slightlyabovethis areaaretwo feetthatindicatethatthetrack
was recorded instep time. Above that is an icon of a.little tape recorder indicating that the
trackwasrecordedin realtime.
179
years for the Macintosh (Mark of the

Unicorn's
Professional
Composer
and Electronic Arts' Deluxe Music
Construction
Set), and is just now
appearing for the Atari ST (Dr. T's
Copyist--previously
available only
on the IBM PC). Things have been
moving very fast ever since the device-independent
Adobe PostScript
music font was introduced in September of 1986. A font is a collection
of typological characters of one style,
most often associated with alphabets,
As remarkable as it may sound, until
the release of the Adobe music font
last year, there was no standardized
musical symbol set, much less one
that was not inherently tied to a single
manufacturer's
printing device--the
vastmajorityofallprintedmusicwas
hand-produced.
Developers are rushing to complete notation packages
that take advantage ofthe Adobe font,
a phenomenon that promises to revolutionize the music-publishing
industry. With an eye on the outputdevice independency
provided by
PostScript and as further confirmation
of the fact that current personal
computers rival the power of earlier
mainframes, Passport Designs, Inc.
has obtained the rights to one of the
most famous score-printing programs
transposition,
automatic part extraction with rest concatenation,
automatic instrumental
range checking,
automatic rhythm checking, n-tuplets, automatic text reformatting
(when the music is reformatted),
a
usable symbol complement, a rudimentary form of rhythmic polyphony, and the ability to merge staves
for the purpose of creating functional
piano reductions
of larger works.
Notes and symbols may be entered
in a variety of ways: using the symbol
palette and the mouse, the computer
keyboard and the mouse, or in real
or step time using their companion
MIDI sequencer software, Performer
(discussed below).
written over the past 15 years by Leland

Smith
for the
mainframe
eomin music
histry'
SCORE'
whichwas
puter at Stanford University. The
program is being rewritten to run on
the Tandy 2000 and other IBM eompatibles as well as the Apple Macintosh. At this time, however, only
one, Deluxe Music Construction Set,
can actually make effective use of
the Adobe font (Fig. 2).
their best guess about the notation,

the
user may
still drag
symbol
prgram's
built-in
rules any
have
made
to change its location, angle (in the
case of beams), or size. It is possible
to produce near-engraving-quality
music notation using DMCS in conjunction with the Adobe music font
and a PostScript
printer of high
enough resolution,
although
the
software has an eight-stave limitation
and therefore few automatic features
same way. Everyone can understand
for dealing with instrumental parts.
cumbersome
as
how a typewritermusic
workstypewriters
and there are
well. What we call word processors
are really computerized typewriters.
People believe that so-called music
processors should allow one to play

music on a keyboard and have that
music printed out perfectly. But few
expect to talk to a typewriter and have
it print out the words,
Professional notation software has
been available for quite some time
for the IBM PC (Jim Miller's Personal Composer), for almost two
not currently
support the Adobe
PostScript music font (it uses its own
music symbols of significantly lower
resolution) it nonetheless is the only
notation package with the minimum
number of features
required
by
professional
musicians. These inelude the ability to handle orchestral
scores of 40 staves, automatic part
The Future: Musical Databases

and Hierarchical Interfaces
Bogas Software, Southworth Music Systems, Intelligent Computer

Music Systems, and others (including
David Levitt's HookUp!) point to
increased concern with the possibility
of defining musical fragments as objects within a library. The definition
of such objects or modules is moving
not only toward fixed-event lists but
also processes, and free interaction
between both is expected. Such Iibraries will include searching, sorting, generating of reports (statistics),
and group-edit operations. Composition with objects or modules will
yield new modules of greater complexity, nestable to any degree of
abstraction. Conversely, de-composition should permit a return to the
note or instruction level. The ability
to work with entire musical ideas as
single units or objects from the database that may be interactively manipulated from different nested levels
of abstraction will have the greatest
impactonthemusicalcommunity[6],
Score Editing
I
People often speak of music processing and word processing in the

same breath. In fact, they have less
in common than one might expect,
There are the obvious similarities:
musicians record the sounds of their
instruments using a tape recorder and
people record their own words the
180
Professional
Deluxe Music
Construction Set
Whereas Professional Composer is

a rule-based system that does not
permit much manual intervention to
correct cases where the rules are insufficient to solve notational problems (such as symbol collisions, for
example), Deluxe Music Construction Set (DMCS) takes a primarily
graphics-based
approach. After the
Composer
High Score
Although Mark of the Unicorn's

Professional Composer(Fig. 10)does
High Score is a MIDI postprocessor for the conversion of MIDI data
into publication
quality using the
Adobe laser music font. Extensive
graphics editing allows the placement
of any PostScript character from any
font at any place on the score. The
program is a feature of a new MIDI
sequencer package from Southworth
Music Systems (developers of Total

Music) which will also include a
separate utility intended to convert
all known MiDI file formats to the
Southworth format needed by High
Score. Conversion of MIDI data into
High Score PostScript notation is a
one-way process
there is no conversion back into MIDI data. Klm
Stickney of Notation Research, crcator of High Score, believes that
"There are so many important differences between the physical and
logical representations of music that
it is unrealistic to try to go back and
forth between the two in a one-to-
tem that will display on the computer

screen music played upon a MIDI
keyboard that had been instantly
converted to notation, and there is
serious development in that direction,
All music data are contextual, and it
is likely that even near-instantaneous
conversions of MIDI data into conventional music notation will require
that barlines be reached before the
next measure is displayed on the
screen,
ter synchronizer with respect to a

variety of sound-generating devices;
they are also used to synchronize all
of the other performance
effects
mentioned previously, and to provide
for the conversion of MIDI data into
conventional
music notation either
as an integrated module of the sequencing program itself or through
the ability to pass files between the
specific sequencer and popular noration software.
MIDI Sequencing Editing and

Synchronization: Performer
onecorrespondence"
[7].
After the computer
'
"
Future: Instan t "1ntelhgent
Notation Conversion
important
element in a personalcomputer music setup. When MIDI
first
dedicated
sizer, appeared,
MIDI sequencers
are hardware
the most
sequencing devices were common,
Now it is much more common to fulfill this function with sequencing
software that offers the advantages
of more power and flexibility, a better
user interface, and easy updatability
over its hardware counterparts. Today, software sequencers are used not
only for the capture of performance
data or to assume the role of the mas-
The
The conversion of MIDI data into
professional publishing-quality
conventional music notation that we have
described in this article has been a
two-stage process for the most part.
MIDI data files are subsequently
converted into a file that may be read
and modified by a notation editor. It
is everyone's dream to create a sys-
File
Edit
Basics
Symbols
and synthe-
Uariations
Extras
Groupings
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or as a region of temporally contiguous events on a single track or group

ofntracks.
Regions selected for ed-
SUit
editinclude
operations
affecting,
iting inmay
constraints
that for
reexample, only notes within a specific
[ii
on- or off-velocity
;J'
notes
/ii
[:ii
Fi
I_
Fig. 10. Professional Composer
these
allow for
NOT, selection
OR, etc.) criteria
may beto applied
to
further zeroing in on specific data to
be modified. Edit operations such as
cut, copy, or paste, and transpose,
invert, retrograde, or scale by ratio
are common to many sequencers, but
Another popular user interface element is illustrated by this screen shot from Mark of the
Unicorn's Professional Comooser. The six vertical columns on the left of the screen represent
Performer
also provides
such necessary
editing
options
as the ability
SlX palettes. Touching
to
"'_
' _f_ '
to
^ /(
range,
within
range,
or
within aa given
given durational
pitch range,
notes
a specified number of part layers.
Some Boolean operators
(AND,
=;__
I ''_'1_:1
fractions). Any data may be edited

either at the level of a single event,
=_[ ii
=...aii
ti
L_-J- '_ _oZ
:_i_:j:;=_2:_
'
------!
package (Fig. 11) is one of the most

powerful software-based sequencers
available.
a graphic
emMark of Ittheincludes
Unicorn's
Performer
ulation of a standard analog tape recorder, so its operation is primarily
intuitive. It is possible to record over
300 polyphonic tracks, each of which
may be displayed as a MIDI data
stream in alphanumeric
format
showing measure number,
beat
number, fraction-of-the-beat,
event
type and specific value, and, if the
event is a note, the note name, note
register, keystrike on-velocity,
keystrike off-velocity,
and duration
(once again in measures, beats, and
--
'
_
"h
,
I }'
+
_
_u_[_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:__[_[_:_:_[_:_:_:_:_:_:_[_:_{_i_:_[_:_]r_
o
_
3
s.....dim _
the mouse pointer on any symbol inserts the selected symbol at the
current insertion point on the musical score. Note: the vertical and horizontalscroll bars with
white arrows are for movingforward and backwam in the compositionor up and oown the
musical
score,
182
set
any MIDI data
to a constant,
to add or subtract a constant to any

values,to multiplyany data by a
File
L_lit
Region
Basics
[c,,._.,,..,,
TICK
Counter
113n I01111000[
Iq q
Edd Start
End
a,,l
in
"=_'1
out
11110001
11110001
11110001
Metronon
J [] 138
['7"3] [g[lK] iiiiii iiiiiiiI_ii
1'*_"*"'*_"*][,ci
_
MEASURE KEAT
-_r
Windows
<_---]
...... _
......
RSOF
_
_
'fJU$!
11110001,6111 ,102,64
J_O#O_109,64
1111240J,B2 ,76 ,64
ohlooo
0[11000
0101240
O
--
[add]
k l
i1
RIOOKD
d,C2 ,95 *64 0101240

_D#2 ,93 T64
l[21000d'A1,91
,64 0J01240
0111000
J,AO 105,64
0111000
lDeZet_
TIMI
NnMZ
7141410 Theme A
21131119
EndThemeB
10Ili149 EnterCello
-
--
_.... j [ggigi;']
HlOlClMnbl_"
13
_N
F_Istorage
l
"_
4.6,7
rLASX
OFF so.l,lp
OFF" II'lT[_tt_t
CLOCK
Mark of the Untcorn's Performer as a MIDI sequencer software package that includes some
emulabonof thecontrolsof an analogtaperecorder.Acrossthetopquarterof the screenare
some large triangles and squares that function exactly like physical buttons when they are
touchedbythe
mousecursor.That
leftis
Rewind
to the right of that
Js the Stop button, is,the
to thetrianglefacing
right of that, the
Playthebutton.
Tobutton,the
the right ofsquare
these
buttonsarethe Pause,Record,Waitfor Note,andAuto-record(punchin)buttons.Thecounter
windowat the left of the screendisplaysthe currentlocationm measures,beats,and ticks
(fractions of the beat), as well as the beginning and ending of the current edit points and the
beginningandendingofthe currentpunch-mpoints(theseareall set to 1111000
inthisscreen
shot).In the centerOfthe screenis an edit windowintothe pianotrack(notethat Pianois
selectedand thus appearsas white letterson blackin the trackswindowat the lowernght),
The
editwindowprovidesa
noteswiththeiroflocations,
velocityof
keyedited
downstrokeand
velocityof
key upstroke,andhstof
notedurationsAny
this informabon
canbe
provide a high degree of Interactive

editing capabihties.
Southworth's
Total Music goes so far as to provide
a table-replacement
editing function
that can be used to replace a selection
of values relating to any musical parameter with those of a user-defined
table. One might use such a table to
create crescendos,
decrescendos,
changes of key or mode, or patterns
184
fea-
be taught by a single user or by four

separate users allinteracting
withJam
Factory in real time.
Says David
Zicarelli,
the program's
designer:
"The data are placed in a structure
called a Markov chain, which, in
short, records all of the transitions
between
notes so that on playback, the Player can pick from among
all of the transitions
he/she has
'learned.'
" Intelligent
or likely
of the Input musical materlal are created.The user manipulates graphic sliders on the screen
to determine the mixing of the first-,
second-, third-, and fourth-order
Markov chains generating the output.
Velocity ranges and durational ranges
are also user defined, as are cyclical
accent patterns. It is possible to have
variations
Fig. 11. Performer
constant, to set minimum and maximum value limits, and to interpolate

linearly or logarithmically
between
two values over a time span (this last
effect, when apphed to key on-relocity, produces the musical effect
of crescendo
or decrescendo--a
smooth, gradual increase or decrease
in volume). Finally, Performer provides the capability of saving files in
the format used by its companion
program, Professional Composer, for
conversion into conventional music
notation,
Many other excellent sequencers
are available for the Macintosh
All
provides
ira CKS
113T240d'F3,ge ,64 011124

(_
WRIT
.[
J'D2 ,102,64 0lOl24qf-_0T2100_

___
.... j
1131000d,
Cl,/,co 104164'15'64
012100hI-rout Ltc Pk_q_Ht
13e
Systems,
Jam Factory consists of four polyphonic sequencer modules or Players

turesthat simulate
sucha situation.
that the user teaches by playing MIDI
dataintothem.AllfourPlayers
may
Markers
fa-a-q
1121240
,ce3 ,95 T64 01ol24=oE-r
._A#2 ,88 t64
01o124__
REORP
Piano
gent Music
of rhythmic accent. Opcode's MIDIMAC sequencer provides for the

nesting of subsequences to n levels
in a fashion analogous to subroutines
in a computer program. In deference
to the repetitive nature of music, the
Steinberg. Pro-24 sequencer software
for the Atarl 520ST or 1040ST implements a special type of copy
command that keeps the original data
and the copies linked in such a way
that any changes to the original data
are reflected in all the copies (this
feature may be disabled),
each Player introduce probabilistic

skips in the rhythm that it will interpret as silences or sustained notes.
Players can be instructed to lead or
follow Pitch and rhythmic Input can
subsequently be edited using a steprecord-like
editor. Finally, all program output can be saved to a file
that can be read by Opcode's MIDIMAC sequencer for further editing
or conversion
into Professional
Composer or Deluxe Music Constructlon Set format to obtain conventional musical notation from the
generated material Both Jam Factory
and ICMS's other package M (see
above) are opening doors Into new
dimensions of artistic creation so Innovative and forward-looking
that
they have yet to be explored and
named. At this time, there are few
if any words that can be applied to
these new musical realms.
Interactive
Automatic Improvisation
with Jam Factory
Real-Time Control of
Computer Animation:
HookUp!
Imagine what a musician might

accomplish
if he could improvise
along with anumber of his clones,
Jam Factory (Fig. 12), from Intelh-
HookUp I (Fig. 13), described

above under wsual programming
languages, is designed for the control
J Audio
EngSoc,Vol35,No3,1987
March
of entertainment
many applications
systems and has

in a performance
It _
File Edit
Options
control ofApplications
system.
video animation
of via
real-time
MIDI
are just beginning to be explored.
The author has used
HookUp! to
construct a system in minutes that
sile_
PI
2_P,t
om our_:,oo.]Iii!i!
so.
i iiii!i
I----]Cycle O_
..._Skip
v//_sus
_/_Lead
[Follow
listens
incoming
MIDI score
data and
turns thetopages
of a musical
onscreen at the appropriate moments.
00..JPhase
Order
1
2
Pitch_
C1
Sile_
P2 0rig0.rs: ,oo._
S0_
O IPot _Cyole
0_
$
4
ReoCtrl
Dur iiiiim1
Time:
.,-Fleas,
_6111tltl Itl ll IltJ _
J J J J J J J J J J J J J J JJ
so Iswm _m
_ 4_
,
Jam Factory
File: Final
dF
/Skip
_/////xlSus
Time:
B_e
4*
__ Phase
s,_i_?._-qm
,,_ 4 I
Record
Play
_/_,
j J J J J J J J J J J J J J
TransP Ctrl
Echo OuiCh InCh Pgm
,o ^n
locJstop_Jpausel_SyneJClearl.P2
v/_
Noralandar d
Tempo
IIUUlJU
UIHJl,lllllUllIlUll
I-X-m/_liok
'_>_
P3
100.
SileF-Z_ori0ou_s:
_o_'1
MID!Controllers:,
MusicMouse
"
There isa move to develop new

types of MIDI controllers
that
foster
a growing interest in interactive
composition. Many of these interface
to a personal computer for purposes
of sorting out incoming performance
data that have been generated in some
innovative
fashion. Michel Watsvicz's Hands, described earlier, interface to an Atari ST. Laurie Spiegel's Music Mouse (Fig. 14), now
being marketed by Opcode Systems,
uses the Macintosh mouse and key-
...,.,_Skip
o_p_,
_///'_Su$
Time:
_.as.
Ali
100_
a b' P4
C_
e
,_ ^,,
_///ff/_
,.,_Lead
Order
2i!i! 3
4
l_Cyele
O_l 1Pitch_
7///JFolloY
Dur{iiii
3
4
Our i)ili
_6t_L,l.
ltl.l, jlJ. i.l.tl!!
PI
{J=ll
iiiii
_.,_Lead
Order 1
2
Y/'//AFollow
Pitch_
..,...JSkip ,......_Lead
Order
d'_Po,
,_=ycl.
o.
f
7//_sus
_////JFollow
r 4
'/,,!.J-!!!!!!!._!._!!!!
_' h' oT$Ti.
'/4!.i!..L............
O_O__Phase
_
SOJSwincjjl
0 JPhase _'-]1,
iI
soJswing_J
Jm---m_t
Fig. 12. Jam Factory

IntelligentMusic's
Jam FactoryMIDI.It
createscouldalsobe
logicalor probabilisticvariationson
materialwhich
is
playedintoits fourmodulesvia
describedasan interactive
improvisation
aid. The upper right corner of each module shows four boxes, labeled horizontally1to 4 and:
vertically0% to 100%. Each box has two columns in it, one representing pitch, the other
duration,Thehorizontal1 through4 representfirst-throughfourth-orderMarkovchainsthat
are appliedin the Percentagesindicatedbytheverticalbars. Clickingthemousebuttonwhile
the arrowis in oneof the boxesraisesthatbox's percentageand causesthe otherboxes'
percentagesto be unweightedcorrespondingly,
AU
][_"inally
_/V
//C,
'_
ELECTRONIC
j, Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 35, No. 3, 1987 March
simple-to-operate,
starting for as little as $549 for full mute automation,

or
$1398 for a full SMPTE self-locked automatio n system.
And, like all JLCooper products, these grow with you -up to 24 channels. Best of all, SAM and MIDI MUTE
require no modification
of your
console,
plug them
automation.
Now you can
automate
your just
studio
in and you're ready to go.
r
OPER
is an inexpensive,
console. SAM" (SMPTE Automation

Manager) and
MIDI MUTE truly constitute a breakthrough
in console
][flexible
modular. Automation
System to retrofit any
_'_
jmc_
there
(213)
473-8771 Avenue
TLX: 5101001679JL
1931 Pontius
West Los Angeles,COOPER
CA 90025
185
PERSONAL
File
Edit Special
COMPUTERS
AND MUSIC
motion within the grid. Other Macintosh keys control program change,
speed of the melodic embellishment
patterns,
volume,
transposition,
modulation wheel, breath control,
and foot controls.
The Dyaxis direct-to-disk

digital
audio system from Integrated Music
Systems features 16-bit stereo sampling at 258 sample rates (that is.
256 different rates which are derived
by the computer and two others. 44.1
kHz and 48 kHz. which are crystalderived). A 48-kHz sampling rate
Fig. 13. HookUp!
provides a frequency response of 20

kHzin bothchannels
withlessthan
HookUp!is a visualprogrammingenvironment
whoseoperationis almost100%intuitive.The
leftside of the screendisplaysa paletteof optionsthat turn intoiconswhenthey are pulled
out intothe programareawith themouse.Inthe upperleft corneris a wiringtoolthat is used
to "wire"thevariouselementstogether.Inthe programshown,wecanseeslidericons(which
functionlikephysicalslidersfor changingvaluesfrom0 to 100),a MIDIinputicon(likea little
pianokey),anda lengthoperatorthat passeson the numberof notesplayedto an equals
operatorto checkif the numberof notesplayedis equalto one, 17, or 31.Whenit senses
that thesemany notes havebeen playedit sendsa putseto the selectorswitch (farright),
whichinc[ementsto frames _1,2, o[ 3, of an associatedscreen animation"sprite"(upper
i:enter),Inthis ca-setheanidiati6hframesare actuall_)picturesofpagesof muSic--thusthe
programlistensto MIDlinputandturnsthepagesofmusicattheappropriatetimeforsomeone
whois readingthe musicoff thecomputerscreen,
0.01% distortion,
board as the sole input device. The

mouse is used to move the cursor,
which indicates the current notes,
withina two-dimensional
grid,the
axes of which correspond to two musicalkeyboards
quantized
to chromatic,diatonic,
pentatonic,
quartal,
or Middle
Eastern
scales.Different
Help
equivalent to the
digital mastering machines found at

most professional recording studios.
('The difference is the price
Dyaxis
is $3000 without the hard disk. ) Both
the 44.1-kHz and 48-kHz rates offer
full linear phase filters. The disk used
is a SCSI hard disk (86 to 768 megabytes) daisy-chained to a Macintosh microcomputer (later to Sun III,
Options Controls
configurations
of fourvoicesare
available grouped as three-plus-one
or two-plus-two in contrary or similar
motion. Vertical motion means that
the part or parts assigned to the verticalaxiswillmovewithin

theselected pitch collection while the other
parts sustain. Conversely, horizontal
motion will move those parts assignedto thehorizontal
axiswhile
themelody
ormelodies
sustain.
Diagonal motion allows for movement
of all parts simultaneously.
The
Macintosh keyboard can access ten
melodic patterns using the selected
pitch collection which will be applied
to each note triggered by the mouse
186
Fig. 14. Music Mouse'

MusicMouse converts the user's motion of the comPuter;s mouse directlyinto an_analgous
poSitiOnwithinthe musical gridd splayed:on screeh. :Fourlines are thus contri!ediand these
: map onto the Piano,styie keyboard to outputthe correspondingMIDinotest0 aMI[
ied
sound.generating
device, The menus:provideoptionsfr changingthe seale
comPuter,generated
meod c embei shments,or extendingthis _ t o :0thE
Parameters SUChasv ume OrPatCh numberl
,
::, ,
_
MicroVax, and possibly IBM). The

system can be set to have n tracks.
Stereo playback and record are supported but, internally, the disk may
be partitioned into as many channels
as are needed. Both AES and EBU
connectors are standard.
ii.
4_ File Edit
MixSend View
Play
......
Adrian Freed has created MacMix (Fig. 15), a program for mixing
soundfiles and tracks on the Dyaxis
direct-to-disk
digital recorder (discussed earlier). The object is to provide a graphic
interface
for mixing
digital soundfiles that is powerful

enough to fulfill or surpass the functions expected of a traditional analog
mixing board. Soundfiles
(often
equivalent to disk-based tracks) may
be examined in a View Window with
magnification
ranging from the amplitude envelope to individual samples. View Windows provide timing
information in seconds, samples, feet
or frames of film, or SMPTE, and
the ability to preview any sound,
In addition to peak-cue indications
Fig. 15. MacMix

MacMixdisplaysthe amplitudeenvelopeor, at higher resolutions,the actual samplesof
soundfiles,whichcanbe thoughtofas equivalentto trackson a direct-to-disk
digitalrecording
system. A mixwindow,such as the one displayed, allows the user to push things around with
ainmouse
graphic
representation
sound material
forthe purpose
of fadinganalog
tracks
or out, withina
setting and
moving
punch-in orofthe
-out points,
and otherwise
performingmost
mixing procedures on digitally recorded tracks.
of the largest sample in the window,

events of interest may be marked with
vertical tick marks and a linear
breakpoint envelope superimposed
upon the fragment. Mix Windows are
graphical cue-sheet editors and display a graphic representation of the

soundfiles or tracks. The temporal
location
of soundfiles
may be
changed by dragging their repre-
IMAGE & AUDIO SYSTEMS, INC.

221 King St., Kingston, Canada K7L 3A7 (613) 546-3300
225 Grove St., Newton, MASS. 02166 (617) 965-7821
Image & Audio Systems, Inc., has developed a new class of computer hardware, interfaces, and software for digital
audio signal processing. The heart of our board level product, ORFIAS DgP-1, is a Texas Instruments TMS32020 a 200ns/zdsp. The ORFIAS DSP-1 offers: 5 million multiply/adds per sec., 2K words no-wait-state PROM, 20K
words no-wait-state
RAM, 2 - SCSI disk channels (60 - 300 Mbyte capacity per channel), independent
16 - bit
parallel channel for signal I/O on a 12" x 10" Multibus It compatable printed circuit board.
ORFIAS 32/320
- Multibus It - based entry-level audio workstation
- National Semiconductor
32016 UNIX*
host computer
- one DSP-1, 2 channel A/D, D/A subsystem, 2 Maxtor 60 Mbyte disks (10 minutes audio @50
Ksample/sec)
- UNIX device drives, 32020 cross-assembler, demonstration software
MINITAUR
SIGNAL PROCESSING SYSTEM

- complete software re-configurable
multi-processor
based on a patented architecture
- The DK - BUS
- configurations
of up to 15 DSP-I's can communicate
at full audio bandwidth
yielding 75 million
multiply/adds per' sec.
- Ethernet interface for most UNIX host computers (SUN, VAX, Perkin Elmer)
- currently in use by the Defense and Civil Institute for Environmental Medicine, Toronto, Canada
for sonar research
* UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories

1' Multibus is a trademark of Intel Semiconductor
j. Audio
Eng.
Soc..
Vol.
35.No.
3.1987
March
Corporation
187
sentative graphics with the mouse

(the fade-in and fade-out points may
Allowing for the otherwise impossible control of a great number
also be mouse-adjusted).
There is a
gain control for each track. Cut,
copy, and paste are fully implemented. Mixes, which may last from
a few samples to several hours, can
be auditioned along the way. Dan
Timis of the University of California,
Santa Barbara (and formerly of IRCAM), has reimplemented MacMix
on the Sun Workstation. Finally, a
graphic interface for adding rever-
of musical materials (whether such

materials consist of multiple synthesizers or multiple musical themes or
motives).
Offering a means for dealing
with the components of one's work
as separate objects.
Permitting the fine-tuning of
musical ideas in ways which would
be time-inefficient under normal circumstances (using such means as
beration within MacMix is being developed,
automatic rhythmic correction, for

example),
Providing the flexibility to ex-
CONCLUSIONS
I[
REFERENCES
[1] MIDI 1.0 Detailed Specification
1983. (International MIDI Association,
11857 Hartsook St., North Hollywood,
CA 91607, USA.)
_,
[2] R. A. Moog, "MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital Interface," J. Audio
Eng. Soc., vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 394-404
(1986 May).
[3] D. Byrd and C. Yavelow, "The
Kurzweil 250 Digital Synthesizer,"
Computer
Music
Journal,
vol.
10,
no.
1, pp. 64-86 (1986 Winter).

[4] K. Allik, S. Dunne, and R. Mulder,"ArcoNet:
A Proposal
fora Standard
Network for Communications and Con-
juxtapositions
of musical material
1986 International Computer Music
through cut, paste, and copy operaConference,pp.413-421.(ComputerMuperimentquicklywithmanyalternatetrlinReal-TimePerfrmance'''Prc'
tions,
sicAssociation,
SanFrancisco,1986.)
Microcomputers,
communication
with sound-generating
devices, and
The possibility of testing

merous alternate orchestrations
nuof
MIDI and other protocols can have

an impact on music-making
in a
great number of ways, many of
which we have already discussed in
this article. Here are others, some
of which are covered in more detail
in [8]:
Simplifying the user interface
to the sound-modification capabilities
of an external sound-generating
device.
Increasing the speed at which
one's music through the simple reassignment of MIDI channels.

The chance to analyze one's
work-in-progress
through the availability of practically instantaneous
visual representations
of one's performance either in graphic notation
or CMN.
Perhaps most important,
the
immediate opportunity to hear, in real
time, a rendition of a complex work
that, either because of considerations
complex editing procedures are accomplished,

Providing for experimentation
with an immense set of transformations of one's material,
of tempo, rhythmic complexity, or

the sheer number of simultaneous
interdependent
parts, would otherwise be impossible except during an
actual performance,
[5] S. T. Pope, "The Development of

an
Intelligent
Composer's
Interactive
Graphic
Tools andAssistant-Knowledge
Representation for Music (or: Thoughts
about Music Input Languages: Several
Generations of MILs and Orchestra/Score
Editors)," Proc. 1986 International
Computer Music Conference, pp. 131144. (Computer Music Association, San
Francisco,1986.)
[6] C. Yavelow,"ThelmpactofMIDI
upon Compositional Methodology," Proc.
1986 International ComputerMusic Conference,
pp. San
21-27.
(Computer
Association,
Francisco,
1986.) Music
[7] C. Yavelow, "From Keyboard to
Score," Macworld, vol. 3, no. 12, pp.
108-117 (1986December).
[8] C. Yavelow, "MIDI and the Apple
Macintosh," Computer Music Journal,
vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 11-47 (1986 Fall).
For your next design
'_1
188
'
CHOOSE
_
TOROIDALUNETRANSFORMERS '_'_''':_
from the _Averstandardstock range
or custom engineered
o _,_,"_:.-73r
'_._:;;;-_
//_i
Avel'Lindberg Inc. I Rowan Street. Danbury, Connecticut 06810

Telephone203 -797-8698 -Telex710-456-9984
_W
4j
-------mni
L_7==
LZ:_'
t__. .:_
PERSONAL COMPUTERS
AND MUSIC ... continued
-- GLOSSARY
, ~
Additive Synthesis
Sounds are synthesized by adding
two or more simple waveforms together to create one of greater complexity.
ADSR
Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release.
This refers to a sound's amplitude
envelope--the
changing degrees of
amplitude a sound goes through. In
the Attack phase there is usually a
quick rise to maximum volume followed by a fairly short Decay; the
Sustain phase describes how long the
volume is sustained; finally, the Release segment indicates how long a
sound takes to get to zero volume,
With synthesizers
an envelope
will
often automatically jump to the Release segment if the note is released
before any of the other segments has
completed. Instead of a simple fourstage ADSR envelope, some electronic instruments provide for up to
256 envelope segments,
Algorithmic
Composition
Generally taken to mean composlng music using formulae. When accomplished
with computers,
the
computer often applies a specified
degree of randomness
(within userproscribed limits) to different musical
parameters, or makes choices based
upon statistical
siderations,
or probabilistic
con-
Bank
A computermemorystoragearea
in which a number of patches or sequences may be saved for loading as
a single unit.
BBS
Bulletin-Board
System. Acompurer with typically 20 to 40 megabytes of storage that may be dialed
up from a home computer via a modem connected
to the telephone.
A
BBS usually revolves around a public
message board where messages can
be posted to be read by other members
of the BBS. Many also include data
libraries that the user _an download.
CAI
Computer-Aided
Instruction.
Using a computer in some way to assist
in teaching. Sophisticated
systems
are often designed as self-learning
aids, sometimes tracking a student's
progress and adjusting each lesson
accordingly.
_'
conventions is considered to be notated with CMN or conventional

music notation. Nearly all published
music is thus notated.
CPU
Central Processing Unit. The portion of the computer that actually
does the computing. In a microcomputer this is usually a single chip
wherein numbers are added or multiplied and the contents of the computer's memory is kept track of.
Crescendo
A musical term that indicates
gradual increase of volume.
CRT
Cathode-Ray Tube. Another term
for the computer screen.
Cursor
A point on the computer screen that
is considered to be the active or current insertion point.
Common Music Notation
Decrescendo
A musical term that indicates a
gradual decrease in volume. S);nonymous with diminuendo.
While there are few real rules to

music notation,
there is a vast body
of common-practice
conventions.
Music notated according to these
Digital Mixing
Analogous to the mixing of analog
sound on conventional tape record189
GLOSSARY
ers--in this case the data are in digital form.
Graphic Interface
A type of user interface that permits a person to interact with a com-
MIDI signals to a number of external

MIDIable devices.
Direct-to-Disk
puter via a graphic or symbolic representation of data stored in the
MIDI Merger
Ahardware
computer rather than with the actual

numbers or text that constitute the
data.
ware that merges two incoming MIDI

signals.
Refers to a very precise (and previously very expensive) method of

digitally recording music and sound
directly onto a hard disk rather than
using a digital tape medium. In a
professional situation sound is sampled at 44.1 thousand samples per
second with 16-bit resolution (that
is, 65 536 voltage levels may be represented).
Direct-to-disk
is better
than digital tape because one can
easily partition the disk into as many
tracks as are needed and the time it
takes to go to specific locations on
each track is so fast that it is measured
in milliseconds,
Hard Disk
A sealed disk storage medium that
MIDI Sequencer
A software package or dedicated
hardware device that captures MIDI
can hold between 10 and 800 megabytes of data, as opposed to a
data for subsequent

playback.
floppy disk, which usually holds less

than one megabyte.
Looping
DOC
Digital Oscillator Chip. A special
computer chip dedicated to processing digital sound--sampled
or synthesized. In doing so, the CPU is left
free for other tasks,
Looping is used in two contexts

when discussing computers and music. First, it is fashionable to have
certain MIDI tracks of a MIDI sequence looping over and over again
(often accomplished with drum machines) for live musicians to play
against. Second, in order for a sampled sound to sustain indefinitely
while a key is depressed on a sampiing keyboard (or MIDI controller)
it is necessary to designate a portion
of the sound to loop over and over
until the key is released,
Dragging
A mouse technique through which
objects are moved from one location
Menu
A list of control options or program
features requiring user selection prior
on the computer screen by pointing

at them with the mouse-controlled
cursor, selected bypressingthemouse
button, and moved by dragging the
mouse to another physical location.
to execution.
Disk-Based Digital Recording

See "Direct-to-Disk," above,
Dynamics
device containing soft-
MIDI
The Musical Instrument Digital
Interface. An industry specification
of device-control
protocols created
in 1982 to allow synthesizers of different manufacturers to communicate
editing
and/or
MIDI Sync
A timing standard through which
various MIDI devices can be locked
in perfect synchronization.
MIDI-Thru Box
A hardware device which accepts
a single MIDI input and passes it
along through a number of MIDI
outputs to get around situations that
might otherwise generate perceptible
delays between
various
devices
linked in the MIDI setup.
Modem
MOdulation
DEModulation.
A
hardware device for converting computer data to and from audible tones
that can be sent along the normal
telephone lines.
Monophonic
A passage of music consisting of
a single melodic line with only one
note sounding at a time. Contrasted
to polyphonic.
Mouse
Musical volume. Also, musical

symbols used to indicate relative
with each other and computers.
A pointing device that is held in

the hand and rolled around upon a
loudness.
MIDI Interface or Adapter
desk to cause analogous movement

of the computer's
cursor on its
A hardware
FM Synthesis
Frequency-modulation
synthesis
creates sounds by modulating one
waveform with another rather than
adding sound waves together as in
additive synthesis,
190
device used to convert
MIDI data into a format recognizable

by a computer.
MIDI Matrix Switcher
A hardware device that permits the
redirection of a number of incoming
screen.
Multi-timbral
Refers to the ability of a synthesizer to play different sounds or
patches simultaneously.
Operator
A software module that simulates
a sine-wave oscillator, an envelope
generator, and a VCA (voltage controlled amplifier).
In Yamaha synthesizers, operators are combined
into FM algorithms for the generation
of sound via FM synthesis,
Patch
A setting of a synthesizer's useraddressablecontrolsthat producesa
given sound, and that can be sorted
and recalled for future use. Now al-
RAM
Random Access Memory. This is
the portion of computer memory that
the user can read and write to. Usually, anything
stored in RAM will
disappear
when the computer
is
turned off. Most computers must load
programs and data into RAM before
eithercanbeworkedwithbytheuser,
Contrasted to ROM (read-only memory)--see below,
on one long roll of which only a certain part is visible at any given moment.
SCSI
Small Computer Systems Interface. An industry standard computer
port protocol that transfers data at an
extremely high rate of speed and
permits devices of different manufacturers to be attached to a variety
of computers.
Real Time
Events that occur in real time are
Sequence
usually those which are not inputted,

recorded, or modified in a framework
outside of the actual performance.
Recording in real time is the only
option open to analog tape recorders,
but MIDI sequencers may record in
step time as well. Some sequencers
allow editing in real time (i.e., during
playback) too.
A collection of MIDI data, usually

recorded from a performance on a
MIDI-equipped
instrument.
Although a sequence has many similarities to an analog tape recording,
each time a sequence is played back,
the original performance
is re-created. Player pianos were the forerunners of MIDI sequencers.
a bank of patches for loading as a
ROM
SMPTE
unit.
Read-OnlyMemory. Thisis memcry inside the computer that may be

read for use by the computer or user,
but that cannot be altered in any way
by the user. As contrasted to RAM
(random-access
memory)--see
above.
Society of Motion Picture and

Television Engineers. SMPTE time
code is a synchronization
standard
in wide use.
This is now often accomplished

a computer.
synthesizers are typical,
Sampling
Digital recording. The process is
analogous to film: whereas it only
PostScript
A page-description
language for
controlling laser printers and laser
phototypesetters
(among other
things) that describes the printed
material as vectors and Bezier curves
rather than as a one-to-one corre-
takes 24 still photographs projected

each second to give the illusion of
motion, it requires up to 50 000
"snapshots" of a sound to be played
back each second to re-create
a
sound. The process of capturing these
sound "snapshots" is referred to as
Sound Library
A library of available soundfiles
(usually samples) from which the user
may pick one or more for loading
into a sampling keyboard or modular
sampler.
spondence to pixels (dots) on the

computerscreen. Becausethe output
is not limited to the resolution of the
computer's CRT any device that can
read PostScript may print it.
sampling
Step Time
Refers to the entry of MIDI data
into a sequencer a note at a time, by
specifying in advance what rhythmic
value the next note or notes played
will assume rather than recording it
(as opposed to real time--see above).
most exclusively in the domain of

software, in the early days of electronic music this was accomplished
by a specific configuration of patch
cords--hence
the name "patch."
Patch Library
A library of patches (see above)
from which one may choose specific
patches to be grouped together into
Polyphonic
Music consisting of several parts
or voices that retain individuality,
Concerning
synthesizers,
n-voice
polyphony refers to the actual physical number of notes that can sound
simultaneously at any given moment.
Eight-, 12-, and 16-voice polyphonic
Quantization
A sort of rhythmic rounding off
that, when applied to MIDI data,
moves every note to the nearest
quantum unit (specified by the user)
thus correcting for any human rhythmic errors as well as those created
by the fact that, in some circumstances, the rhythmic resolution of
MIDI is much finer than necessary,
O.Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 35, No. 3, 1987 March
or digital sampling.
Sampling
Keyboard
Sampling keyboards
samplers are different
sizers in that, rather
(synthesizing)
sounds,
or Sampler
or modular
from synthethan creating
these instru-
ments play back digitally recorded

sounds, often of real instruments.
Scrolling
Many computer screens are not big
enough to display everything requested by the user. In these cases,
a provision
is usually made for
scrolling through the data as if it were
Sound Editing
The process through which a user
modifiesthe characteristicsof sound.
with
Telecommunications
The process by which computers
communicate with other computers,
networks, databases, or BBSs. Typically a modem is used to convert
computer data into audible tones for
transmission through the telephone
lines.
191
AND MUSIC ...

[_
continued
PERSONAL COMPUTERS
WHERE TO GO
INFORMATION
PRECISION_
FOR
MORE
MAGNETIC.oo,s
Anderton,
TEST
IAPES
Introducing two NEW SERIES

of test tapes manufactured
to IEC and NAB equalization
standards with extended
frequency range and using
international
test frequencies.
MlDl
meWyork,
forMusicians(AMSCOPress,
1986)
428890064'
826-(telecoms)
(213) 826-3777
Chamberlin,
Hal
Musical Applications
of Microprocessors
(Hayden, Rochelle Park, NJ, 1980)
MusicNET
BBS
Box 274, Beekman,
DeFuria,
PAN (Performing
SEC.
1" & 2"
1/4"
1/2"
1000
30
40
60
4000
10
12
20
8000
15
20
30
20
10
25
12
31.5 10
40
63
Steve,
Dominic,
Publishing
Co.,
Synth
PAN,
12080
(503)
20
PERIODICALS
(800)336-0437
10
12
20
10
12
20
100
10
12
20
Computer MusicJournal
MIT Press, Journals Dept.,
Cambridge,
MA 02142
125
10
12
20
ElectronicMusician
250
10
12
20
500
10
12
20
Mix Publications,
947 ]0
26089th
55 Hayward
St., Berkeley,
1000
10
12
20
Keyboard
10
10
12
12
20
20
CPI Publications,
CA 95015
8000
10000
10
10
12
12
20
20
Keyboards, Computers and Software

299 Main St., Northport,
NY 11768
12500
12
15
25
16000
20000
12
15
25
12
12
15
15
25
25
INC.
Road #5,
94545
California
U.S.A.
(41 5) 786-3546
Tymnet
(800) 336-0149
Proceedings of the ICMC

Computer Music Assn., P.O. Box 1634, San
Francisco, CA 94101
MIDI Users Group
(AMUG)
and Commodore 64 or 128
IBM PC
International
Business Machines,
P.O. Box
1328, Boca Raton, FL 33429. (305) 998-2000
Macintosh
512K, 512E, Macintosh
Plus,
Apple lI+/e,
IIGS (with built-in sound
chip)
Apple Computer, Inc., 20525 Mariani Ave.,
Cupertino, CA 95014. (408) 996-1010
BBS
Synthesizers
Akai
Box 2344,
5114
Systems
International)
(212) 757-0320;
ESI; Australia:
2749
Casio,
(213) 937-0347; (800) FAST02-5163622;
U.K.: 01-221
MIDI Connection
(212) 594-2646 (telccoms)
Los Ga-
Atari ST520 or ST1040 (built-in MIDI

interface)
Atari Corp., Box 61657, Sunnyvale, CA
94088. (408) 745-2000
Digidesign
BBS
(415) 494-0264 (telecoms)
(Entertainment
for Music
Commodore/Amiga,
983 University,
tos, CA 95030. (408) 395-6616
(214) 98%2940; (214) 272-0963
Esi Street
Network)
(voice line for local number)
Personal Computers
Applications
Amiga
P.O. Box 2110, Cupertino,
AND BULLETINBOARD SERVICES
261 20 Eden Landing
Hayward,
CA
Music Technology
Music Maker Publications, Inc., 7361 Topanga
Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park, CA 91303
American
LABORATORY,
St.,
NETWORKS
TAPE
Artists
LIST OF MANUFACTURERS
2000
4000
STANDARD
NY 12570. (914) 724-
Bank (a special-interest
group on
among other things)
S.W. Parkway, Portland, OR 97225.
626-9084
12
Send for free catalog.
(213)
ed.
Synthesizers '86.' MIDI, Programming, Software [excerpted from Keyboard] (CPI Publications, Cupertino, CA, 1986)
Synth-Net
(212) 757-0521
Telenet
Program
used on new series of
test tapes at 7V2, 15 & 30 IPS.
(office);
CA
P.O. Box 162, Skippack, PA 19474. (215) 4894640 (voice); (617) 576-0862 (telecoms); Europe: (PAN's host ID) 311-061-703093
40
20
1000
Los Angeles,
(914) 724-3668
Roads, Curtis, and John Strawn,

eds.
Foundations of Computer Music (MIT Press,
Cambridge.
MA. 1985)
-'_'
16000
1000
192
4006;
and Joe Scacciaferro
The MID1Book (Hal Leonard

Milwaukee,
WI, 1986)
Milano,
Hz
MIDI World Network

11920 W. Olympic Blvd.,
Craig
Fort Worth, TX 76113. (817) 336-
Inc.
15 Gardner
575-7400
Rd.,
Fairfield,
1600 Green Hills Rd.,

95066.Systems,
(408) 438-1921
E-mu
Inc.
NJ 07006.
Scotts
Valley,
(201)
CA
Ensoniq Corp.
263 Great Valley Parkway,
19355.
(215)
647-3930
Malvern, PA
Fairlight Instruments
2945 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
90064.(213)470-6280
Korg USA, Inc.
89FrostSt., Westbury,NY 11590.(516)3339100
KurzweilMusicSystems
411 Waverly Oaks Rd., Waltham, MA 021548464.
(617)
893-5900
Mellotron
36 Main St., Port Washington, NY 11050.
(516) 944-6789
Roland Corporation
7200 Dominion Circle, Los Angeles, CA
90040. (213)685-5141
Oberheim
11650 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
90064. (213) 479-4948
P.P.G.
7250 Beverly Blvd., Suite 207, Los Angeles,
CA 90036. (213) 827-0952
Sequencing/Patch
Editing
Bacchus
2210 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 330, Santa Monica,
CA 90403. (213) 820-9145
Caged Artist Productions
64 Griggs Rd., Brookline, MA 02146. (617)
731-1948
Cherry Lane Music
110 Midland Ave., Port Chester, NY 10573.
(914)937-8601
Club MIDI Software
P.O. Box 93895, Hollywood, CA 90093. (818)
788-3963
Creative Solutions
4701RandolphRd., Suite 12, Rockville,MD
20852. (301) 984-0262
Dr. T's Music Software
Musicworks, Inc.
18 Haviland, Boston, MA 02115. (617) 2662886
Nexus Computer Consultants
212 Main St., Toronto, Ontario M4E 2W1,
Canada.(416)368-3462
Passport Designs, Inc.
625 MiramonteSt., Half Moon Bay, CA
94019. (415) 726-0280
SouthworthMusicSystems
91 Ann Lee Rd., Harvard, MA 01451. (617)
772-9471
Steinbog/The Russ Jones Marketing Group
17700 Raymer St., Northridge, CA 91325.
(818) 993-4091
Voyetra Technologies
(Formerly Octave Plateau) 426 Mt. Pleasant
Ave., Mamaroneck, NY 10543. (914) 6983377
(617)244-6954
Electronic Arts
1820 Gateway Dr., San Mateo, CA 94404.
(415) 571-7171
Hybrid Arts, Inc.
11920 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
90064. (213) 826-3777
Notation
Editing
Adobe
Systems
1870 Embarcadero Rd., Palp Alto, CA 94303.
(415) 852-0271
Bogas Productions
520 Cashew Ct., San Ramon, CA 94583. (415)
829-2444
Sequential Circuits, Inc.

3051 N. Ist St., San Jose, CA 95134. (408)
946-5240
Intelligent Music
P.O. Box 8748, Albany, NY 12208. (518) 4344110
Yamaha International Corporation

Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622. (714) 5229331; (800) 854-3619 outside California; (800)
Key Clique, Inc.

3960 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Studio City, CA
91604. (818) 905-9136
654-3687 in California
Miscellaneous Hardware
MacroMind, Inc.
1028 W. Wolfram, Chicago, IL60657. (312)
327-5821
Jim Miller/Personal Composer

P.O. Box 648, Honaunau, HI 96726. (808)
328-9518
Garfield Electronics
P.O. Box 1941, Burbank, CA 91507. (213)
434-6643
Magnetic Music
R.D. 1, N. Smith Rd., LaGrangeville,
12540.
(914)677-8586
NY
Mark of the Unicorn

222 3rd St., Cambridge, MA 02142. (617)
576-2760
Integrated Media Systems(IMS)

1552 Laurel St., San Carlos, CA 94070_ (415)
592-8055
MimeticsCorporation
Box 60238, Station A, Palp Alto, CA 94306.
(415)741-0117
Mewsprint
119 Queen's Cres., Kingston, Ontario K7L
2S9,Canada.
(613)548-7468
Great Wave Software

P.O. Box 5847, Stanford, CA 94305. (415)
325-2202
JL Cooper Electronics
1931 Pontius Ave., West Los Angeles, CA
90025. (213) 473-8771
Opcode Systems Musicware
444 Ramona, Palp Alto, CA 94301. (415) 3218977
THE AUTHOR
Digital Sample Editing/Digital
Synthesis
BlankSoftware
2442Clay St., SanFrancisco,CA 94115.(415)
863-9224
Digidesign Inc.
920 Commercial, PalpAlto,CA,94303.(415)
494-8811
NorthwestVisions
68ManorDr., Glenmont,NY 12207.(518)
439-0967
Sonus
21430StrathernSt., SuiteH, Canoga Park,
CA 91304.(818) 702-0992
TurtleBeachSoftware
1912AlcottRd.,R.D.22,York, PA17402.
(717) 741-4972
J. AudioEng.Soc.,Vol. 35, No.3, 1987March
ChristopherYavelowreceivedB.M.andM.M.degreesin musiceompositionfrom BostonUniversityand an M.F.A.degreefrom Harvard

University. There fotlowed nearly five years of postgraduate
study in
Europeat the Franz LisztAcademy(Budapest),the DarmstadtFer,

ienkurseforMusik,the AmericanConservatoryat Fontainebleau,
the
DariusMilhaudConservatory,
anda yearofstudywithNadiaBoulanger.
His teachershave includedDavidDel Tredici,ZsoltDurko,Mauricio
Kagel,ErnoLendvai,GyorgyLigeti,and GardnerRead.
He has taughtat HarvardUniversity,SchillerCollege,andthe Universityof Texasat Dallas,and hasheld composerresidenciesat the
MacDowellColony,the CamargoFoundation,the CummingtonCommunity,the WindhoverCenter,and the Cit_desArtsin Paris.As a
composer,he has receivednearlythree dozeninternationalawards
and fellowships--mostrecentlya commissionfrom the BostonLyric
OperaCompany,He is wellknownas a writeron musicso.are, the
Kurzweil250, and MIDI.
193
CORRECTION
~ i r e c t - t o - ~ i s k ' "is a trademark of New England
Digital for its digital multitrack recorders. We regret
that this was not noted when the trademark was used
on pages 172 and 190 of the article "Personal Computers
and Music7' by Christopher Yavelow, which was published in the Journal, 1987 March (vol. 35, no. 3).
J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 35,No. 6, 1987 June

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PERSONAL COMPUT

J. AudioEng.Soc.,Vol. 35, No. 3, 1987March

ERS and MUSIC:

taining several printed circuit (PC)

music studio that can be put under

J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 35, No. 3, 1987 March

comput.er memory that is used to

Muttitrack analog tape recorder

MIDI sync converter

hard disk for

SCSI digital audio system

dfiles and soft ....

Digital audio (tape)

Conventional notation editing

Dot matrix printer

Sampling keyboard Or keyboard c0ntr0fier

in the home computer

Whiletheconceptof the personalcomputeris alreadyrelativelyold,theconceptofthe personalcomputermusicstudiois relativelynew.With

sonal computers will contain more

processors (such as the Motorola

our data in "windows," many of

up" menus--lists of available com-

management, conventional music

of the data we have selected,

composition, and telecommunicanotation, digital mixing, algorithmic

Users of personal computers for

and Thru Box

Even with the majority of homecomputer music studiosbeing driven

The next required item, immediately to the left of the computer in

PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND MUSIC

We know of many people making

There are three main types of

tation or part extraction is required,

or as a module with no keyboard. In

With the advent of a versatile device-independent

synthesizer with its own keyboard

his own work, Waisvisz uses a pair

We are quick to admit that music

Fig. 2. The Adobe laser music font, Sonala

J. Audio Eng, Soc,, Vol. 35, No, 3, 1987 March

PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND MUSIC

mation into audio tones for telephone

lng" is the reverse process by which

thesizer and MIDI Development

$6. and $12. per hour in off-peak

ample, dialing up a network, and then

databases that often store synthesizer

the macro. All that is necessary to

software, and utilities, and download

The control of sound and manipulation of musical ideas with personal

in its creation, editing, and organization within a sound library. Once

poses by the computer that created

Music that is played

More often, the first software introduced into the computer-assisted

After creating the sounds that are

status of a variety of front-panel

(although no sound is recorded, only

hardware analog devices include the

value is selected from the palette,

There are three fundamental ways

PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND MUSIC

credible music from probabilistic,

back with perfect rhythmic accu

cyclical, and statistical distributions