LISTEN
MUSIC COMPOSER COLUMN
Mike Des Chenes
As long as readers show an interest in this column, it will be a regular feature and will contain listings (notes) for various scores and arrangements of popular music. However; this being the first issue; I felt that it would be wise to use the following pages to explain some of the basics of reading music. Personally, I didn't know a thing about musical composition until ATARI released the Music Composer cartridge.
Since owning an ATARI, my wife noticed that our expenses were slightly higher than normal. Not because of my obsession for software or my excessive use of electricity, but because of the increased number of long distance phone calls. Our phone bill began to resemble a 48K program listing. I became one of the many ATARI owners who found themselves getting a little impatient for new' software. Don't get me wrong! I was completely satisfied with spending many late nights battling Zylons. It was just that everyone I knew had seen Star Raiders and I wanted something new to show off. So I started a phone directory that listed every ATARI dealer within a 75 mile radius, and would call at least one dealer every day. One afternoon, without warning, a voice on the other end said "We just received a shipment of Music Composer cartridges." I had to have it that day even if it meant driving 50 miles and charging it to Master Charge. I didn't even care what Music Composer did. I had to have it!!!
I finally made it home alive (I found it very difficult driving and reading the manual at the same time.) I plugged it in and flipped the power switch ... WOW! Edit, Arrange, Save, Retrieve, DOS, Listen, what's this? ... Copyright 1979? What took so long? After an hour of going through the sub menus, I decided that if I expected to hear some music, I'd have to spend a little more time with the manual (Ugh.) Another hour and forty-five minutes later, I felt as though "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" would never take the place of Star Raiders. I even tried composing a few simple tunes, with little success. Maybe I could bring it back to the store where it was purchased and explain to the sales person that my wife had already bought one for me. I decided to sleep on it and give my musical sister a call the next morning. Perhaps someone with a background in music could figure it out for me.
She stopped over the following day, and with a little embarrassment I showed off the Row Row composition and explained how the program worked. She wanted to try her luck at it and asked for a request. I just happened to have the sheet music for Star Wars. She thought that perhaps the Star Wars theme was a bit too complicated for her first attempt, but she'd give it a try. She told me that it would take her quite a while to finish the whole arrangement, so I decided to do a few chores around the house. Well, about two hours later, she called back into the room and said "LISTEN". It was fantastic! I couldn't believe my ears. How did she do that?
It took a few days of practice and a lot of trial and error, but with a chart she drew and a few lessons on reading music, I felt as though I wasn't such a musical dummy after all.
The chart (figure 1 ) shows examples of note placements with their appropriate letter name: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, or R (rest), and octave (3 through 6). However, you must also include the note duration, (Whole, Half, Quarter, Eighth, Sixteenth, or Thirtysecond note.) Also included is a listing of rests with their computer accepted abbreviations. The duration of a rest is equal to the duration of the note it replaces, Le. an Eighth note and an Eighth Rest have the same duration. Accidentals (Sharps, Flats, or Naturals) are also important when composing or copying sheet music and may be part of the key signature at the beginning of every line of music, or written in front of the notes which are to be changed. The Sharp sign (#) raises a note, the Flat sign ( ~ ) lowers a note, and the Natural sign ( ~ ) contradicts (cancels) the effect of an Accidental Sharp or Flat in the same line preceding the Natural or in the Key Signature.
Musical sounds, or NOTES, are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet (A-B-C-D-E-F-G) after G, the note name starts again at A. After every eight notes there is another note with the same name. These notes are given the same names because they sound very similiar, in spite of being higher or lower than each other. All notes are not used for every instrument or voice. So to make it easier to read and understand, music is divided into two parts, one for higher voices and instruments, and the other for lower.
Signs called CLEFS tell us whether the music is for high or low voices and instruments. Normally two Clefs are used and one is shown at the beginning of every line of music. The Treble or G Clef is for the higher voices and instruments. The Bass or F Clef is for the lower. Most sheet music for piano, organ and other keyboard instruments use both Clefs together because they have such a wide range of notes. This type of sheet music is the type that you should look