Window 199

=  Lissajous Colours and Line Options =

Lissajous Pattern
Shows Lissajous figures as you play...

These patterns were originally made by a Frenchman Lissajous by shining light onto mirrors attached to tuning forks. They can also be shown using oscilloscopes.

The interesting thing about this pattern is that the same chord always has the same pattern whatever its pitch.

So for instance, all major chords with the same exact relative tuning have the same pattern, then there is another pattern for all minor chords, another for all diminished sevenths, and so on. Then there are separate patterns for each of the flavours of all those chords, for instance one for septimal minor chords, one for the ordinary just minor, and so on.

When you have a chord that uses small numbered pure ratios, for instance a chord in the harmonic series or other just intonation (pure ratio based) chords - the lines will join up after a few cycles around.

If the chord isn't quite pure, but close to just, then the lines continue for ever but they start off pretty much the same as the pure chords.

The pattern then would fill the entire area normally (if you set the time out high enough) so wouldn't be very interesting. So normally the lines are set to fade out if it continues too far to follow in the time available. This is configured in the Lissajous Colour and Line Options (Ctrl + 198)

Any that don't fade out can be finished if you give them enough time. The title will show that they need more time - use the Redraw with more time button to see the complete picture.

Some complex just intonation chords may fade out too, because Tune Smithy didn't follow the curve far enough to find the place where it joins up. The calculation continues ahead of the place it reaches with the drawing, so Tune Smithy can show many fairly complex just intonation chords without fading them out. But sometimes it just doesn't go far enough in the calculation to recognise them.

If the pattern fades out, and you know that it is in fact just intonation, and want to see the complete curve, increase the time out if necessary, and again, use the Redraw with more time button.

Though this window doesn't have an obvious menu, it does have one hidden away. Click on the icon at top left to bring up the menu with Close, Resize etc - and look down there and you will find some other options specific to this window - this is a simple way to keep some of the more often needed options ready to hand. You will find the redraw with more time option there, also one to print the window, and the options for the window

Lissajous Colours...
Set the colours to use for the Lissajous pattern

Lissajous Opts...
Configure the Lissajous patterns and open and save the results

Fade line to background if it doesn't join up
Recommended for chords that aren't quite pure just intonation...

If the chord isn't quite pure, but close to just, then the lines continue for ever but they start off pretty much the same as the pure chords.

The pattern then would fill the entire area normally (if you set the time out high enough) so wouldn't be very interesting. With this option switced on, the lines will fade out if it continues too far to follow in the time available.

Tune Smithy doesn't try to distinguish the most complex just intonation chords from tempered ones. So very complex just intonation chords will just fade out.

If you know that it is in fact just intonation, and want to see the pattern for the complete curve, increase the time out if necessary, and use the Redraw with more time button which should show the complete pattern if you give it enough time, even if it is shown as faded when Tune Smithy is given less time to follow it.

Though there is a good chance that if you do that, the curve may just show up as a blue square if the ratio is very complex.

You may need to increase Lissajous Colour and Line Options | max turns if not joined up if necessary.for a complex ratio to show the whole curve

More >>
Shows this window with either more space, more options, or alternative layout

Help = F1
Click for help for this window. Or F1. Other opts: Shift, Alt, Ctrl + click...

F1 or click shows the help for the current window in your web browser.

Some windows may have no help yet in which case the help icon is shown crossed out with a red line.

Shift + F1 or Shift + Click brings up the tool tips extra help window (this window) to show any extra help for a tool tip.

You can tell if a tool tip has extra help if it ends ... like this one.

Ctrl + F1 or Ctrl + click takes you to the list of keyboard shortcuts for Tune Smithy.

Alt + F1 or Alt + click (alternatively Caps lock physically held down + F1 or Click) takes you to the on-line page at the robertinventor.com web site about the current main window task - which gives a short introduction to it for newbies to the program. If there is no on-line page specific to a task, takes you to the main tune smithy page on the web site.

Since the help for Tune Smithy is currently a bit out of date and needs to be redone completely for the new 3.0 release, then you may find the on-line page for some of the newer tasks particularly useful.

Organise Windows = F2
Or F2 - Reset / save / open for individual windows, right click for cat. list...

Shows the Organise windows window - which you can use to reset all the parameters for the current window - or save them all, or open previously saved parameters for just this window. Also has a drop list of all the windows and their shortcuts.

You can also right click on this icon as a quick way to get the floating drop menu of all the Tune Smithy windows organised by category

Other Dialog Star
Tip of the day - For All category - right click for neighbouring windows...

Left click for a tip of the day in this category.

Right click to see a menu of neighbouring windows.

The neighbours are the ones you most often move to after this one or within a minute of this one, arranged by popularity.

So as you continue to use FTS, it will learn your habits, and the neighbouring windows listed here, should be the ones you most often visit after this one.