This screen permits you to generate a Musical Discovery tune, from any scale, arpeggio or triad chord, for any major or minor scale, and then listen to it, or store it for use later in assembling a composition.
Setting the Key
The default key is C major. If you want a different key for your
scale, use the drop-down box labelled Key, in
top left corner, to select a key for your scale, then click on the Play Scale
button to hear it. You will see the notes depressed on the piano keyboard, and
also the notes displayed in the treble and bass clefs. You may also type the
name of a key (for example Eb) into this
combo box. There are 4 option buttons for major, melodic minor,
harmonic minor, or chromatic scales.
Choosing an instrument.
The default instrument is the piano. If you want your scale to
be sounded on a different instrument, firstly, select an instrument family from
the drop-down box at top of the screen. This shows groups of instruments such as
strings, woodwind, brass, etc. Next, choose an instrument from the
drop-down box below. This will display only instruments belonging to the family
selected previously. If you tick the check-box Show favourites Only, then
only those instruments which are flagged as favourites in the instruments table,
will appear here. (To modify your favourites list, go to the MENU Musicology -
Instruments, move to the instrument which you want to add as a
favourite, click the green Unlock
Editing button, then check the tick-box Mark this as a favourite.)
Octave, Tempo and Time
Signature.
The default octave is 4, which is the scale starting from middle C (i.e. C4).
You may select any other starting octave from the list box labelled
"Octave". The Tempo list box allows you to speed up or
slow down the scale generated. If you change the the Time Signature, your scale
will have the first beat of each bar accented more heavily than the other beats.
For example, if you choose 3/4 time, the scale will sound as if played in
triplets. At top right, you mays specify how many octaves for your scale or
arpeggio. The default is only one octave. You may also request that the scale
start on a different note than the tonic, by filling in the box Start on
which degree? with a number from 1 to 7. (1 means the tonic, which is
the default, 2 means the 2nd note of the scale, for example, this would be
a D in the scale of C major). You can also change the default direction of the
scale or arpeggio from up and
down, to only up or only down.
Action Buttons.
These buttons at bottom right of the screen generate, as per highlighted colours
respectively, a single tonic note,
a scale, an arpeggio,
or a block chord. The stop
button stops playing, and the Save
onto database button brings up a screen for cataloguing and saving your scale
as a Musical Discovery tune. The purple
button labelled Store as fragment for
use in composing board places an icon for this tune at
the bottom of the composing board.