★ APPLICATIONS ★ CREATION MUSICAL ★ BOOTRACKER|Amstrad Action) ★ |
| Bootracker | Applications Creation Musical |
With this software you'll be able to produce high quality soundtracks for use in your own work, by using the interrupt feature provided, write tunes with the easy-to-use track editor, and create new instruments with the extensive sound editor.
Using Boo-Tracker The program itself is of a menus design, using the up and down arrows to pinpoint an option, and SPACE to select it. At all times, pressing ESC will take you back to the previous menu, and How The System Works Tunes are constructed in blocks of notes called sequences, which contain a riff likely to be repeated throughout the tune, though not necessarily. These sequences are then tied together and given a running order, and so a tune may be built up from simpler blocks, without re-typing repeated sections, etc. Each sequence contains 64 steps, each step consisting of either silences, sounds, or a mixture on the three channels. There can be 16 sequences in total, with a running order of 256 items. This means that these 16 sequences can be repeated and played in various orders, without lengthy re-writing. The lengths of the sequences may be altered, allowing various time signatures, not just 4/4. The actual notes sounded can be played on different instruments, of which there are 14 in total. These instruments are defined with sound and envelope waves, using the instrument editor provided. If all this seems a little daunting, there's Incidentally, all machine code, graphics, documentation and stuff is copyright of Boo The Ghost and Simon Forrester. The Main Menu This comprises the following main options:
Edit There are three options on the edit menu:
Tune This option is the main bulk of the package itself and will be entered into in more detail later. Sequence The actual order of the sequences can be determined by using the up and down cursor keys to select the slot position, and the left and right cursor keys to select the sequence number. Timing Using the up and down cursor keys, the number of beats per second can be altered in the range of 1 to 10, 10 being represented by the letter A. Test Sequence This plays the current sequence being edited, as opposed to the entire tune. Manual Using the various keys (see quick keypress chart later) you may test instruments and devise tunes using this manual play option. Filing This deals with the loading and saving of tunes. Memory problems in making it 64k friendly, mean a catalogue option can't be included. The Boo files can be compiled to run from BASIC, and this will be explained in more detail later on. Incidentally, facilities are present for using Boo files from machine code. Channels Channels may be toggled on or off by pressing the channel number. A silent channel is signified by the ghost on the particular pedestal position closing it's mouth. Play This option quite obviously deals with playing your tune. Pressing ESC will return you to the main menu. It also shows up any errors in your tune - missing sequences, etc. The Tune Editor This is the main option and will allow you to actually compile your tune. This is done by moving the cursor over the position at which you wish to enter a note and keying that particular note. The note will then be inserted, moving all other notes forward one place. The notes are arranged in a keyboard octave, like this: W=C# E=D# T=F# Y=G# U=A# Cursor keys are used to move the cursor (no, really), and with CTRL depressed, the UP and DOWN keys take you to the start or end of your tune. There are several other keys that can be used in order to edit your tune with ease:
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