Window 46

=  Music Keyboard Options =

Music Keyboard regions...
Set up regions of the keyboard for each part, use music keys as shortcuts etc.

Play 1/1 or arp 0 from Midi In note
Shows the note to play 1/1 from - choose how it is displayed from droplist

Sync with 1/1 pitch
Automatically set 1/1 played from keyboard key for closest concert pitch...

So for instance, if the 1/1 is closest to concert pitch A = 440 Hz, then the keyboard map will be set up so that this note is played from the key on your keyboard which would normally play this pitch in twelve equal music, i.e. midi key 69. Generally it is set to the key on your keyboard which in twelve equal concert pitch plays closest to the currently selected 1/1.

This is perhaps most useful when you are using a scale to play twelve tone music in various keys.

An example may help by way of illustration to explain how this works.

For instance if you want I, IV and V pure in just intonation in any key, just choose the relevant just intonation scale in the main window, select this option, and then if you want to play in some distant key say C# major in just intonation, just change the pitch of the 1/1 to C#.

Normally this would shift everything up by a semitone so that the C on your keyboard plays C#, so you could then play in C major and hear it in C# major.

But if when you adjust the pitch of the 1/1 you choose to play the new C# 1/1 using the C# key on your keyboard, then you can play in C# from your keyboard and will hear the notes as desired in the key of C#. But since you also are using the scale with the 1/1 starting at C# too, that make it with the I, IV and V pure in C# as desired

This can easily be done by hand, the check box just automates it and makes it easier. You can achieve the same effect by adjusting the tonic in the main window, but again, doing it here may make it simpler to do as you have only one thing to change and the rest is automatic.

There is nothing else to do if you have Play in Scale selected, but if you have play in arpeggio selected, then the arpeggio should be rotated around depending on the new 1/1 position. This can be done automatically so long as the arpeggio mathes the midi map, e..g. that you have the diatonic arpeggio played from white keys, generally the arpeggio has to have the same number of notes as the midi map (in this case seven) and have steps in the right places.

So - to help with this, you probably will want to have Rotate Arpeggio selected, which adjusts the arpeggio automatically if necessary

Extra Sustain "pedal"
Here you can use the space bar or other key as a sustain pedal...

The sustain pedal when held down prevents notes from switching off. Every note you play from then on continues to sound, even after you release the note, until you release the pedal.

In the case of the space bar you need to keep the space bar physically held down for as long as you want the notes to sustain, just like a normal sustain pedal. However, the normal sustain pedal is operated by the foot so leaves the hands free. With the keyboard space bar sustain, this isn't so easy to do so you may want a sustain pedal that can act more like a push switch that stays on until you press it again to switch it off.

If you want to be able to leave the sustain on indefinitely in this way, try Num Lock sustain or one of those options instead. Those options sutain the notes for as long as Num Lock (or whichever it is) is lit up.

This option works in addition to your Midi sustain pedal if you have one.

If you want to disable the keyboard sustain for some reason, and only use sustain from Midi In, then choose Sustain pedal only from this drop list.

Extra Sustain "pedal"
Set which notes from Midi In play the current arpeggio (alternatively scale)...

Any in between midi notes will play any scale pitches between the arpeggio degrees. To take an example, you can set the white notes to play the notes of the diatonic (major) mode in any larger scale, and then the black keys will play whatever sharps or flats are available between them, if any. There are various options to configure whether e.g. the sharp of the note below or the flat of the note above is played in scales where they differ.

For details, see Help | Midi In | Play in arpeggio (etc) drop list, and Help | Midi In | Playing fine shades of accidentals from the music keyboard

Suggest
Suggest map to play arp. with same fingerings as for pitches in 12 equal

auto suggest map
Play arpeggio with fingerings you use for same pitches in 12 equal

Play From Custom...
Choose keys for arpeggio or scale (music kbd, relaying or midi file retuning)...

Here you can set which of the keyboard keys play the arpeggio - or the scale depending on whether set to play in arpeggio or scale.

For play in arpeggio:

If you leave gaps between the mapped notes, for instance if you only say that white keys play the arpeggio, then in between keys - in that case the black keys - play any available in between notes of the scale.

If there are no notes of the scale between the arpeggio notes, the in between keys repeat the mapped keys.

When there are more scale degrees than there are in between keys to play them from, then you can use various methods to choose whether to play e.g. the lower or the higher of the available accidentals.

To explore that see the Accidentals symbols and special opts window (Ctrl + 61) or the "in between notes as accidentals" list in the Music Keyboard Options window (Ctrl + 45)

Pitch bend options...
Pitch bend ranges, adjust scale as you play, pitch bend ripples, etc

More Pitch Bend Opts...
Pitch bend options needed for special situations or devices

Mixed # / b
Play some of each e.g. C# Eb F# G# Bb (depends on arp)...

Example, in nineteen equal, played from the white keys, with no pedal etc pressed, then plays C# Eb F# G# Bb

The actual mix of #s and bs varies depending on the arpeggio.

This corresponds to the design for split key keyboards.

The normal layout for split keys is to put the C sharp, E flat, F sharp, G sharp and B flat towards the front of the split black keys, and the other accidentals behind. Those notes are the ones for the scales closest to C major - you use them to play the C, D, F, G, A, and B flat major scales.

We need some way to generalise this so that a layout can be automatically made for any arpeggio and keyboard mapping.

The way Tune Smithy does it is as follows:

The near accidental is a flat if the step to the next note in the arpeggio has less scale degrees than the step to the note in the arpeggio after that, and is a sharp otherwise.

For instance, in the nineteen-tone major scale, the step from D to E is 3 notes of the scale, i.e. 3 scale degrees, and from E to F it is 2 scale degrees. Since the E to F step is smaller than the D to E step, the black key between D and E will play a flat as the near accidental, i.e. E flat. Since the step from C to D is the same as the step from D to E, the black key between C and D will play a sharp, i.e. C sharp.

You can also get a small black E+ / F- note between E and F on the 19 tone keyboard. The near accidental here is the natural - i.e. when you don't use the key or pedal you get the natural. The far accidental is the black note, which is what you get when the key / pedal is held down.

The small black note between B and C works similarly, as does any accidental in any arpeggio which happens to lie between B and C or between E and F on the keyboard.

Favour Sharps
Example, favour C# over Db when there is a distinction...

When unselected favours Db over C#.

See the help section Playing Fine shades of accidentals from the keyboard for details.

For scales like thirty one equal with many sharps and flats, then depending on the number of keys available to play the accidentals, it is

Selected, plays C+ C# Db D- from available keys working upwards

Unselected, plays D- Db C# C+ from available keys working downwards.

If there are four keys available in this case there is no difference between the two approaches. But if there are less than four available, then, e.g. if there are two available, the keys play

C+ C#

if set to favour sharps

and

Db D-

if set to favour flats

and if three available:

C+ C# Db

if set to favour sharps

and

C# Db D-

if set to favour flats

Do Alt. pitch only if arp starts @a
Select to allow alternative pitch selection only for arpeggios prefixed with @a...

When this is selected, if you want the alternative pitch selection options such as sustain for sharp, etc to be used, then place @a in the arpeggio window before any of the arpeggio numbers.

This is a precaution you can use to make sure these options are only used for particular arpeggios.

For instance if you are working with the sustain for alternative pitch option selection - maybe most of the time you still want the sustain pedal to work in normal fashion as a sustain pedal and only function as an alternative pitch selector sometimes, maybe only for particular arpeggios.

Or, when this check box is switched on, you can just use the @a check box as a quick way to switch the alternative pitch selection feature on / off.

Accid. Symbols Opts...
Accidental symbols, && choose how keys play notes in between notes of arpeggio

Accidentals play same part
- E.g. for play from white keys, sharps && flats play in same part as white keys

Accidentals play next part
Ex. play from white keys, all sharps && flats play next part after white keys

Accid play next or prev success. parts
The part to play depends on the size of the accidental in scale degrees...

So - for example if white keys play the arpeggio, and black keys play nineteen equal accidentals, e.g.. D will play the part selected for midi in or the keyboard region, Db will play the previous part and D# will play the next part, Eb again the previous part, and so on.

In thirty one equal, D- plays previous part, Db plays two parts before, D+ plays next part and D# two parts after the currently selected part to play.

These options let you set one instrument to play the arpeggio, and another instrument or other instruments to play the sharps and flats
(Various methods to select alternative pitches when available

Start @a
Select to enable selection of alternative pitches - prefixes arp. with @a

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

Midi In Dialog Star
Tip of the day - Relaying 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.