prindle@NADC.ARPA (Frank Prindle) (04/29/88)
Enhanced Sidplayer, a Review: ---------------------------- Every so often, Compute! Publications contradicts their own long-standing reputation for mediocrity and latches on to a real gem. Such is the case with "The Enhanced Sidplayer" by Craig Chamberlain. For those of you who are not familiar with Sidplayer, the original C64 SID music editor/player by Harry Bratt (first published as a type-in in "All about the Commodore 64, Volume 2; and later re-issued on disk with "The Complete 64"), this system is responsible for somewhere between 2000 and 3000 arrangements and compositions for the C64's SID chip now in the public domain. No other music system for the C64 that I have seen is capable of squeezing such variety and sophistication from that lowly little 3-voice chip (a relatively obscure program called "Master Musician" comes as close as any, but is still missing many of the effects available here). So it has come to pass that Craig Chamberlain has completely re-written the package so as to incorporate everybody's "wish list" into the original. The program is still faithful to the original (i.e. user's of the original Sidplayer will have no trouble using this updated version), and the book has been extensively revised to organize and present both old and new material in a highly understandable and educational manner. The editor program itself is now largely machine-language for even faster editing (and the original was no slouch, either). The player now fully supports accompanying singalong words and graphics. Both C128 and C64 versions of all programs are included, and the C128 versions *do* take full advantage of the extra memory (again, not that the C64 version is incapable of long songs - 3-5 minute selections are run-of-the-mill for the C64 version). The book includes tutorials on many aspects of music theory and notation. For all it's complexity, the editor is amazingly simple to use, and music entry moves along at quite a rapid pace. One small problem - the Enhanced Sidplayer, because of it's more extensive command set, is capable of creating music files which the older (Sidplayer based) players will refuse to play (they quit playing somewhere in the song when an unidentified command is encountered). There is no obvious way to tell an Enhanced Sidplayer music file which will crash the old players from one that won't. The solution is to only use players which utilize the latest interpreter (i.e. the one that comes with Enhanced Sidplayer). Within the confines of these 80-column boundaries, I will restrict further review to a list of major topics covered by the book (and therefore supported by the editor). This should give a more-than-adequate clue to the extensive capabilities within. The book/disk (officially called "Compute!'s Music System for the Commodore 128 and 64") is $24.95 from Compute! Books. The disk is not copy protected. The book is 274 pages. I am in no way affiliated with Compute!, just a very satisfied buyer. Introduction The SID Chip, Compatibility, The Player, Song Selection, Song Playing, Singalong Songs, Songs with Pictures, Filter Problems (and solutions), Selecting Adjacent Songs, Continuous Playing, Changing Disks, How to Use The Book Fundamentals of Music Theory Notation, Pitch, Accidentals, Key Signatures, Durations, Dotted Notes, Measures, Tempo, Rests, Ties and Slurs, Dynamics, Multiple Voices The Editor Loading, Main Menu, Four Screens, Directory, Loading Song, Playing Song, Slow Playing, Fast Forward, Playing at a Measure, Saving Song, The Singalong Screen The Editing Screen Voice Number, Measure Number, Key Signature, Staffs, Pitch, Duration, Accidentals, Beats, Joystick Editing, Scrolling, Fast Scrolling, Replace, Insert, Delete, Undelete, Backspace, Clear, Moving, Playing on the Editing Screen, Rests, Tie/Slur, Measure Markers, Search for a Measure, Cut and Paste, Key Repeat, Staff Type, Autoinsert, Auto- matic Measure Numbering, Free Memory, Saving Your Custom Settings, Help Screen The Command Screen Tempo, Volume, Measure #, Search for Command, Update Mode, Help Screen The Display Screen General, Measures, Phrases, Voice Columns, Playing on the Display Screen, Demonstration A Sample Session Sheet Music, Tempo, Volume, Key, Time, Measures, Note Entry, Editing, Playing, Debugging, Commands, Display Screen, Save, Load Waveforms Types, SID Chip Limitations, Waveform Command, Pulse Width, Pulse Width Sweeping, Demonstrations Envelopes Attach, Decay, Sustain, Release, Sustaining vs. Nonsustaining, Release Point, Legato Style, Hold Time, Staccato Style, Demonstrations Repetition Repeats (head and tail), Phrases (musical "subroutines"), Calling Phrases, Nested Phrase Calls, Cross-Voice Phrase Calls, Da Capo, Dal Segno, Coda, Advanced Applications Frequency and Waveform Effects Portamento, Vibrato, Pulse Width Vibrato, Detuning, Transposing, Synchronization, Ring Modulation, Demonstrations The Filter Harmonics, Filter Mode, Cutoff, Resonance, Autofilter Mode, Filter Cutoff Sweeping, Restrictions, Filter Variations among 64s and 128s Demonstrations Modulation Using the Envelope or Oscillator of Voice 3 to Modulate the Frequency, Pulse Width, or Filter Cutoff of Another Voice; Software Generated Waveform Modulation Advanced Music Theory Tempo Change, Dynamics, Key Change, Staff Change, Time Signatures, Partial Measures, Accidentals, Double Sharps and Flats, Double Dots, Triplets, Grace Notes, Uncommon Durations and Utility Duration, Trills Advanced Commands and Techniques Playing at Any Tempo, Utility Duration, Volume, Noise Waveform, Waveform Combinations, Envelope, Pitch Bending, Playing Pitches While Fading, Glide of Any Length, Portamento and Vibrato Simultaneously, Detuning with Transposing, Synchronization with Portamento, Ring Modulation with Portamento, Synchronization with Ring Modulation, Filtered Ring-Modulation Tones, Changing the Piano-Key Color, Phonetics, Musical Sculptures, More Than Three Voices, Playing a Song on Two Computers Polyphony and Phrasing Utility programs Singalong Songs The Singalong Screen, Entering Words, The Flag Command, Color and Reverse Printing in Verse Lines Merging Enhanced Sidplayer with BASIC Programs Interrupt-Driven Playing, Load and Play Procedure, Synchronizing to the Music, Demonstration, Multiple Songs, Compatibility Utility Programs Music File Copier, Merging Songs, Extracting a Part of a Song Hints, Tips, and Suggestions Suggestions and Shortcuts, Customizing the Editor, Enhanced Sidplayer on Your Stereo, How to Create Picture Files, Original Compositions, Where to Submit or Find More Sidplayer Songs Sincerely, Frank Prindle Prindle@NADC.arpa