In This Appendix:

	Methods of 
	Working With 
	Sound Effects & 
	Transfer: Sequencer To 
	Transfer: Drum Machine Songs
	Disabling the Mouse
	About Sequencer Resolution
	Running Status Output 



METHODS OF ARRANGING .

The Barefoot Software Sequencers are designed to be able to work in two basic modes - Linear recording and pattern-based or Section recording.  You can utilize Section mode in several different ways, and in combination 
with Linear recording.  In addition, you have the ability to loop Tracks 
(Self-Repeating Tracks) for simple repeating parts.
Notes
As you read this, keep in mind that some of the steps discussed have no other purpose than organizing your Tracks or easing subsequent 
editing.  

             
You only need to perform the steps necessary to arrive at 
the arrangement you desire.  If what you hear is what you want, 
there is no need to perform further operations.

Linear Recording
This method is most like a traditional tape recorder.  All parts are played 
from beginninmg to end.  Music always plays back from the same Counter 
time that it was recorded, plus or minus any Track Timing Offset. 
Punch In/Out allows parts of the Tracks to be re-recorded.  You can add a 
new part onto the end of an existing Track by Punching in as well.  
Alternately, you can record the added part on another Track, and then 
Mix the Tracks if you want to keep the entire performance on one Track.


Self-Repeating Tracks

A Linear Track can be made to repeat endlessly, playing from its first bar 
to any bar up to 99.  This is useful to create a temporary drum pattern to 
begin writing your song with, or for any part that repeats throughout the 
song.  
You can leave blank bars within the number of bars you have set to repeat, 
for example a drum fill that plays only in the last two bars of a 16 bar 
loop.
In order to have the pattern start from any bar other than bar 1, or have 
it play in some parts of the song and not others, you need to create a 
Section to define the beginning and end of the pattern and a Chain to 
control when the pattern plays.

Section Recording to Create Linear Tracks
You can use Cycle recording to quickly build several Tracks for the 
beginning of the song.  You can change MIDI channels while cycling to 
perform parts on different instruments.  When you are done you have the 
choice of doing a Clean Keep which mixes all the Tracks you have selected 
when you stop, or a Semi-Clean Keep which leaves them separate.  If you 
want to add more parts, you can start Cycle Recording again to build 
more Tracks.
When you are happy with the first section, set up the Start/End Times for 
the next section and cycle record the parts for it.  Continue to build 
sections one after another as they will play in the final song.  When you 
return to Register Mode, the song will play as Linear Tracks from 
beginning to end.
Each Section will be on one or more separate Tracks.  At this point you can 
use the Sections in a Chain or with Glue In Section to resequence the song 
or repeat parts.  If you have no further use for the sections and want to 
minimize the number of Tracks used, Mix all of the Tracks.  You can then 
Unmix the mixed Track to create a single continuous Track per channel.
Once you Mix or Unmix the Tracks, the Section Start and End Times are 
still applicable, but you will have to re-assign the new Mixed or Unmixed 
Tracks to each Section.
If you want to end up with one Linear Track per channel after Chaining, 
Flatten the Chain and then Unmix.

Creating Sections from Linear Tracks
You can create sections from parts of linear Tracks and then use a Chain 
to repeat or reorder the sections.  You must create sections for all the 
parts that will be played in the final song; once a Track is Chain 
controlled, only the parts that are in Sections that are in an active Chain 
will be heard.  In the event that you want to create a Section using only 
one part of a song and still have the Linear Tracks included in that Section 
play normally, make Shadow Tracks of all the Tracks you want to play in 
the Section and include the Shadows, not the original Tracks.
Section Mode has a button for this process called 
Section mode buttons                                   
  After you 
define the first section (for example from 0001|01.00 to 0009|01.00), 
MAKE NEXT
 automatically finds the next empty Section and copies the
end time of the current Section into the Start Time of the new Section.  So 
the new section starts at 0009|01.00, the point where the previous Section 
left off. (Sections extend up to but do not include the End Time.)

COPY TO NEXT
 duplicates the Start/End Times and the Track 
Assignments, so you can create another section with a different selection of 
Tracks.  This is useful for changing some instruments from one verse to 
another, drum breaks, adding a solo over a chorus, etc. 

Once the Sections are defined, Chain them in the order they occur in the 
song.  You can Chain them in or out of order (relative to their order in the 
original linear Tracks), and use as many repetitions of any Section as 
required.  This process uses very little additional memory as the data is not 
duplicated, it is merely played twice.


Creating and Using Sections Separated Only by Tracks

This method involves starting each Section from the beginning of the 
sequence so that the Counter counts from bar 1 at the beginning of each 
Section you create.  In addition to allowing counting from 1, this method 
also allows you to hear parts from different sections playing over one 
another, which can sometimes yield interesting results.  When doing drum 
and percussion parts, you can create many different sections with 
different combinations of drums playing.  Parts that do not change can be 
used over and over in different sections by simply including their Tracks.
If you want to play a Section in Register Mode, create a Register that has 
only the Tracks for that Section Unmuted.
Once you have Chained the Sections, you can Flatten the Chain to create a 
Linear Track if desired.

You can create Chains that play side by side, for instance one for drums 
and one for bass.  The only limit is that you can not control the same 
Track from two different Chains at the same moment in playback.  If you 
need to do this, make a Shadow of the Track and include it in a different 
Section to use in one of the Chains.

Chain Tracks\Nested                                             
This is the practice of including a Chain Track in a Section and then 
including that Section in another Chain Track.  This can be useful for 
Chaining drum parts and then including the drums in larger Sections with 
other music.
Chain Tracks that are under Chain control must be on lower numbered 
Tracks than the Chain Tracks that control them.  For example, a Chain on 
Track 10 can control a Chain Track on any Track from 1 to 9, but it can 
not control a Chain on any Track from 11 to 60.  As with Multiple Chains, 
you can not control the same Track from two different Chains at the same 
moment in playback.


SMPTE\with Video                                                
SmpteTrack locks to a video or tape deck with a resolution of 2400 bits per 
second providing precision synchronization with no drift.  Coupled with the 
accuracy of timing and time calculation this makes SmpteTrack an ideal 
sequencer for scoring a film or video.
Usually, a video requiring music is delivered with visible Time Code "burned" 
on the tape, and SMPTE on track 2 and/or the Address Track of your 
copy.  This is not always the case, however, and you may have to stripe the 
video tape with time code yourself.  If you prefer to work with the sound 
effects and narration audible, you'll need to have either a stereo VCR that 
will selectively record on one channel or the other, or a standard 3/4" 
deck.  Alternately, you can stripe time code while copying picture and audio 
from one VCR to another stereo VCR.  Record the audio on one channel of 
the Stereo VCR and the SMPTE on the other.
Connect the output of the track with code to the Tape In of the 
SMPTEmate, and put the sequencer in External Sync.  From now on, use 
the VCR to control SmpteTrack.
You can use the metronome click to see if a particular tempo is working 
against a scene or not.  Or, after selecting a tempo, run your cue, and 
mark hit points on a score as you see them go by.  

You'll always be accurate, because you're noting when they'll hit while you listen 
to the click.  If the majority of them are on, but a few are a shade early or 
late, you can always build a variable Tempo Track, slowing down or 
speeding up slightly so the hits line up with the picture.  Build the Tempo 
Track up before you write the music, so you're sure that everything is 
synchronized to the hits you've selected.  After you've written your score, 
you can mute the Tempo Track so you're not having to deal with the 
Tempo variances while recording the parts into SmpteTrack.
Because you can compose to the picture while you watch and hear back in 
perfect sync what you've just written, this allows for a lot more 
creativity.  You're not forced to remain in sync with the picture while you 
write, though.  Just select Internal Sync and take your time to get the 
music just right, recording as you go.  When you've got a section you're 
happy with, pop back into SMPTE sync and run the video.  You can take an 
exterior viewpoint, observing the effect the track has on the picture, not 
having to compose, play, watch, and critique all at the same time.

SMPTE\with Sound Effects                                        
Sound Effects and SMPTE                                         
If you've ever been involved in post-production work, you know it is a 
sometimes-tedious chore to sync up sound effects with a picture.  Using 
SmpteTrack and an external sampling device, you can streamline this 
routine easily.
Although SmpteTrack doesn't generate a cue or event list, you can still use 
it in a similar way.  Go through the scene, noting the SMPTE times when 
effects will be needed.  Sample the various effects you'll be needing into 
your sampling device, and assign the sounds to different keys.  Keep a 
record of what sound is mapped where.
Set the tempo to 60; this will make it easy to convert the SMPTE times into 
beats (1 beat per second).  Also, if you use Measures Mode with the time 
signature set at 60/4, you'll have an easy way of determining the minute, 
second, and frame at any time.  The measure will display the minute 
(starting with 0001), the beat will show the second (offset by 1, ie., in a 
range of 01 to 60 as opposed to 00 to 59), and the tick can be translated 
into the frame number using the chart on the next page.
You have several alternatives for entering in the notes that will trigger 
your sound effects:

	Play them in in real time so you have each note fairly close to the actual 
trigger point, then use the Graphic or Text editing screens to adjust each 
Note to the exact SMPTE time. (see Chapters 7 and 8).
	Work out the exact beat/tick each event should trigger and Step Record 
them.
	Using the Event List, insert each event, then adjust the times to the appropriate moments.
	Place each event on a separate Track and use the Track Offset feature 
to adjust each one independently from the others.
 
When you've got eveything in the right place, run the video and see if it all 
looks right.  Sometimes you'll want to adjust the sound a little bit early or 
late, to make it work right with the picture.  Once you're satisfied 
everything is in order, roll the tape and record.


Conversion Table (Between Ticks & Frames at 60 BPM and 60/4)

Frame Number|Ticks @ 30|Ticks @ 25|Ticks @ 24
00|.00|.00|.00
01|.03|.04|.04
02|.06|.08|.08
03|.10|.12|.12
04|.13|.15|.16
05|.16|.19|.20
06|.19|.23|.24
07|.22|.27|.28
08|.26|.31|.32
09|.29|.35|.36
10|.32|.38|.40
11|.35|.42|.44
12|.38|.46|.48
13|.42|.50|.52
14|.45|.54|.56
15|.48|.58|.60
16|.51|.61|.64
17|.54|.65|.68
18|.58|.69|.72
19|.61|.73|.76


TRANSFER: SEQUENCER TO SEQUENCER
You may have songs on another sequencer that you want to transfer to 
SmpteTrack or EditTrack.  The problem is the Atari disk drive can't read 
the other computer's disks directly (because the file formats are different).  
You can, however, communicate using MIDI.  To do this, you must sync 
both sequencers together.  

Connections & Set Up:
	Connect the Atari's MIDI In to other unit's MIDI Out.
	Connect Atari's MIDI Out to other unit's MIDI In.
	Assign each track of the other system to a different MIDI channel (it 
doesn't matter if they are the correct MIDI channels or not, just as 
long as each part has its own MIDI channel assigned).


There are two ways you can transfer:
 
(1) use the Barefoot Software 
Sequencer as the Master and record the MIDI information across as it 
controls the other system; or 

(2) give master control to the other system 
and record the MIDI information while synchronizing to the MIDI clock to 
the Atari set as a Slave.

Barefoot Software Sequencer as MASTER:

	Set the sequencer to Internal Sync.
	Set the Tempo to a very slow tempo (this improves the clock resolution 
        of the synchronization between the sequencer and the other device).
	Select Output Options from the MIDI menu.
	Set Start/Stop/Clock to Enabled
        Prepare the other system to play back from MIDI sync.
	Start the sequencer.
	If all is well, the Keep button will highlight indicating MIDI data is being 
        received.
	Make sure the MIDI Data Error Indicator (to the right of Keep button) 
        remains blank (see pg. A-10).
	When the sequence is complete, Keep the information to a Track.
	Play back the recorded Track to verify the transfer.
	Unmix the Track so that each channel is on a separate Track


You can reverse this process as well, going from your Atari to another 
sequencer.
TRANSFER: DRUM MACHINE SONGS.
Drum patterns or complete songs can be transferred to the sequencer.  
Using the editing functions, you can then convert this Track so that it will 
play the correct sounds on another drum machine or instrument that has 
different drum note assignments.

Transferring Sequences\Drum Machine to Sequencer
                
To Transfer Drum Machine Sequences:

	Select Output Options from the MIDI menu.
	Set Start/Stop/Clock to Enabled.
	Connect the Drum MIDI Out to the Atari MIDI In.
	Connect the Drum MIDI In to the Atari MIDI Out.
	Set the Drum Machine to MIDI Sync.
	Set the Drum Machine to transmit MIDI notes if necessary.
	Set the Sequencer to Internal Sync.
	Set the Tempo of the sequencer to a very slow rate
        (this improves the clock resolution of the synchronization).
	Start the sequencer.
	If all is well, the drum machine will start playing at the tempo set on the                 sequencer, MIDI information will be sent to the sequencer from the 
        drum machine, and the Keep button will highlight indicating MIDI data 
        is being received.
	Make sure the MIDI Data Error Indicator (to right of Keep button) 
        remains blank (see pg. A-10)
	When done, Keep the information on a Track
	Select Output Options from the MIDI menu.
	Set Start/Stop/Clock to Disabled so that the drum sequence 
        doesn't start when you play the sequence.
	Play back the Track on the sequencer to verify the transfer.

To Unmix Each Drum Part To A Different Track:
	Use KeySplit Track from the Edit Menu (see Chapter 4).
	Check your drum machine's manual to find out which instruments are 
        assigned to which notes (eg.  F1 = KICK, G1 = SNARE, etc.).

If you have another drum machine you want to use to play the parts, find 
out what the MIDI notes play each of the new drum machine's instruments 
and transpose each part to the new note value.  This procedure allows you 
to program on one drum machine, and play back on another.



DISABLING THE MOUSE

Most of the time it can be very handy to have the mouse available for 
pointing and clicking.  However, in a few circumstances, the processing 
time the computer spends displaying the mouse can get in the way of MIDI 
processing.  Thus the program allows you to disable the mouse.
There are two situations in which you may want to disable the mouse:

MIDI Data Error:                                                 
	
You are recording (or transferring a sequence into the sequencer from 
a drum machine or another sequencer), and you notice the MIDI Data 
Error Indicator appear (a digit, or plus sign, to the right of the Keep 
button).  This means that there is a lot of data on the MIDI input (at 
least at certain moments during the recording), and occasionally, the 
computer is overloaded and does not receive the data correctly.  (The 
digit is the count of errors since the last re-cue; "+" means more than 
10 errors.  The MIDI Data Error Indicator will be blanked out when 
you re-cue.)  
	
This is usually caused by movement of the mouse while recording.  
Perhaps you are consciously moving the mouse; or perhaps it's simply 
vibrating during recording (from the loud music you're playing?!?).  
Either way, disabling the mouse should solve the problem.

You may want to disable the mouse when doing critical playback (such 
as your final mix).  Most of the time this shouldn't be necessary, but 
the feature is there if you want it.

To Disable The Mouse:
	Press Control Numeric 0.
	The mouse cursor will disappear; moving or Clicking it will have no effect.
	The following message will appear in place of the menu bar:

        =>MOUSDEAD.IMG  

	All key commands are still active (see Appendix K)

	
If you use a key command that puts up a dialog box or another screen, 
the mouse will be temporarily re-enabled; it will be disabled again when 
you return to the Main Screen.

To Re-Enable The Mouse:

	Press Control Numeric 0 again.
	The mouse cursor will reappear.
	The menu bar will reappear.



ABOUT SEQUENCER RESOLUTION.

There is a common misunderstanding about several factors involving 
sequencer resolution.  Barefoot Software Sequencers work at 96 ticks per 
quarter note (although there are ways to change that, as you will see 
shortly). Some other sequencers have used resolutions much larger than 
that, and the intuitive feeling might be that more is always better. But in 
the real world, design parameters for any product have to be balanced to get 
the best performance.  The real-world factors at play here are the finite 
MIDI bandwidth (3125 bytes a second) and the computer's finite processing 
speed.

The result that musicians are most often concerned with is having the music 
that comes out sound like the music that goes in.  As with audio equipment, 
specifications may miss some important characteristics which your ear may 
pick up, and the ear may not be able to tell the difference between two 
units with different specs.

One of the concepts we feel is most important is the difference between 
precision (resolution) and accuracy.  Imagine a tape measure.  

PRECISION has to do with how close together the marks on the tape measure are.  

ACCURACY has to do with whether each of those marks is 
exactly where they should be. If you have a tape measure that has a mark every 1/16 of 
an inch, you may feel that's more useful than one that has a mark only 
every 1/4 inch.  But what if the tape with closer markings has stretched in 
some places, while the tape with markings a bit further apart is perfectly 
calibrated?  Now is it still obvious that the tape measure with more 
markings is "better"?
  
The design of the Barefoot Software Sequencers has been focused on having 
the most accurate PREDICTABILITY and REPEATABILITY of timing, and 
we found that this was easier to achieve by staying with a modest 
precision. The higher the precision (resolution) at a given tempo, the more 
times a second the computer has to do tick processing.  The more time it's 
spending doing this busy work, the less time it has for other things (like 
processing your MIDI events). Thus IF YOU DON'T NEED higher 
resolution, having the program pursue higher resolution may be an 
inappropriate use of resources.

This brings us to the next point, which is not only when DO you need higher 
resolution, but when is higher resolution actually effective?
Resolution interrelates with tempo, in that a certain number of ticks per 
beat is a fewer number of ticks per second at slower tempos.  So the first 
valid conclusion is that higher resolutions may be beneficial at slow 
tempos. But at average tempos, higher resolutions may seem beneficial, 
but in reality they have little predictable effect.
Let's assume you're working at 96 ticks per quarter-note (1/384th notes), 
at 120 bpm. This means there are about 5 milliseconds per tick.  For 
simplicity, let's assume Running Status is not being used (it may slightly 
increase how many MIDI events you can send in that time).  Each Note 
event (On or Off) is 3 bytes and takes 1 millisecond.  So at this tempo and 
resolution, you can only send 5 Note events in one tick.  If you try to send 
more, the sixth one will be sent effectively on the next tick!  
At a resolution of 480 ticks (1/1920th notes) at the same tempo each tick 
would be 1 millisecond, and you could only send one event per tick!  A 5-note chord on on will be spread effectively over the 5 ticks at 480 ppq that 
correspond to 1 tick at a resolution of 96.  So very high resolutions are less 
effective the more MIDI activity you have, which is exactly when you are 
most concerned with having the sequencer maintain accuracy.
Another argument we hear is that people want higher resolutions for more 
Track Offset (shifting in time) control.  This can definitely be valid (and 
thus the application we're leading up to), but again some analyses can be 
misleading.  Let's say that on Track 1 you have a single snare Note On, 
while on Track 2 you have a 5-note chord on the same tick (it's all on the 
same tick because you Quantized).  You decide you want to have the snare 
play a tiny bit late, so you Offset the snare track to play 1 tick later.  Does 
it make any difference whether the sequencer was using 96-tick or higher 
resolution?  No - moving the snare to the next tick makes it get sent 
after the 5-note chord, which is going to take 5 milliseconds no matter what (1 
tick at 96 ticks resolution, 5 ticks at 480).  You'll hear the same effect with 
either resolution.
While major increases in resolution may be of infrequent benefit, we do feel 
there are some valid situations for working at least at 192 ticks, especially 
at slower tempos, and with sparser arrangements, or when working with 
only drum parts.  Thus Barefoot Software Sequencers can work in either 
96- or 192-tick mode.  The program defaults to 96-tick mode, but you can 
switch to 192-tick mode (or back) at any time.  When you change tick 
resolution, all Tracks will be adjusted to the new resolution, and all 
counters will change display format.


To Switch To 96- or 192-tick Mode:
	Select Tick Resolution from the Options menu.
	Choose the tick resolution you desire.

        In 192-tick Format:
	There are three digits (.000 through .191) used for the tick number. The 
        highest tempo available is 240 bpm.  Only even (when displayed as Film 
        Clicks; ie, +0 and +2) UltraFine Tempos are available.
	Quantize/Durate Note Value Equivalents (see charts in Chapter 4) are 
        double those at 96-tick resolution.  For example, a sixteenth note is 48 
        ticks at 192-tick resolution while it is 24 ticks at 96-tick resolution.

	Stepmode (see Chapter 3) is similarly affected (Right Clicking on the 
        ticks portion of the Counter advances by 48 ticks in the 192-tick mode.
	On the Graphic Screen (Chapter 7), when fully Zoomed In you will see 
        two quarter-note beats per screen (each pixel representing one tick), 
        and it is possible to scroll the screen so that the leftmost grid is not 
        labeled (being halfway between two beats).
	When Loading a MIDI File (see Appendix C), the current tick resolution 
        will be used, even if that is not the tick resolution in your (?).

 
Notes            

Internally, 192-tick mode is simply double tempo, with all Tempo 
and Counter values compensated for this doubling, and the Alter 
Timespan function (002/001 to turn 96 into 192, 001/002 for the 
opposite) is used to convert the Tracks.  (192 ticks at 60 bpm is the 
same number of ticks per second as 96 ticks at 120 bpm.)  Further 
increases in effective resolution (that is, time per tick) can be 
achieved by using other ratios, although in most situations that is 
counterproductive.  There is a discussion of using Alter Timespan to 
increase resolution to 384 ticks in the section on Alter Timespan.




