About This Particular Macintosh 6.04 - eDisk

Followed by the Music That You HearBasic playback functions are provided on a toolbar.To specify scrolling playback, go under theScore menu. This option is preferable as only afew measures are visible on screen, and I wouldprefer it to be a default in Melody Assistant, as it’scommon to most sequencers. Melody Assistantcomes with its own set of patches, which the programcompiles in real time. The basic sounddatabase provided can be upgraded to the“extended” version over the Internet; the soundsthemselves are nothing spectacular, but the freeextended sound database is a slight improvementover the basic set.And Then What Appears onthe PageUltimately, a score editor is only as good as itsprinted output, and Melody Assistant needs a littlework in this area. Partly, it’s just a matter of a poor choice of defaults. In the print optionsdialog box, for example, the option marked “Don’t cut staff blocks” is not selected, resultingin staff systems splitting in the middle across pages. The program also defaults with measurenumbers off, and finding the place to activate them isn’t easy either. (It’s under the StaffMenu, by the way.) With the right settings and the right reduction, the output is legible,although I’d like the ability to adjust spacing on the page in order to avoid collisions betweennotes and accidentals.But What About My Keyboard?Melody Assistant also accepts MIDI input from a keyboard or other controller. Input quantizingis set by default, which is critical for recording legible notation. Be careful to set thequantize settings correctly based on the music you’re recording; otherwise the result will besurprisingly different.ATPM 6.04 ← 109 →Stuff: Melody Assistant 5.0