SWEET SIXTEEN Midi Sequenser Program.
Written by Rolf Nilsson.
Version 1.98 DEMO  4th sept 1992.

This program is free to copy and use at your own risk. The author takes
no responsibility for bugs or any damage it causes to any user.

!!! This is a complete version except for the amount of memory
which is limited to about 3000 events.
To get a complete version and the latest update, see the end of this
text file!!!!!!

See NEW_FEAT.TXT file for update info.


                    SWEET SIXTEEN

This is a description of  SWEET SIXTEEN SEQUENSER.
Thanks to the multitasking capability you can use
allmost every command while the sequenser is running.
Works on all ST(E) in high/medium screen resolution. The
program has a very economic way of storing the midi
events (120000 free events on a 1040, 40000 on a 520)
and the resolution of the sequenser is 192 ticks/quarter
note (PPQ). Since the
program is based on GEM (the computers operating
system), please read your ATARI manual if you're not
used to it. You can control the sequenser entirely with the
mouse if you want to but many commands are also
accessible from the keyboard. Some of the commands
are accessible only from the DROP DOWN MENUS. You
can scroll any value at any time. Left mouse button
increases, right decreases. Adding other button will speed
up process.

The program operates in three modes, SONG, PATTERN
and EDIT MODE.

PATTERN MODE is where all RECORDINGS takes
place. Choose TEMPO, TIME SIGNATURE and
GROOVE. TIME SIGNATURE and GROOVE does not
affect the way the music is recorded, only the way it is
displayed. GROOVE is how you subdivide the QUARTER
or EIGHT NOTE. So if you record a FUNK GROOVE,
choose 16, a HIP HOP GROOVE, choose 24, a AFRO
BEAT, choose 12 and so on. All BARCOUNTERS and
POSITION and NOTE LENGTH in EDIT MODE will be
affected. Hitting RECORD will start a one bar
PREECOUNT and you can start playing at once since SWEET
SIXTEEN is able to RECORD at any time. STOP ends
RECORDING and hitting PLAY will start playing at bar
one. If you have RECORDED during PREECOUNT you
have to move the POSITION equally much back and then
hit the PAUSE/CONTINUE key (in SONG MODE, see
PREE START below). To move to a new POSITION,
change the MAIN BAR COUNTER (you can also use
the plus and minus signs at the calculator keypad). If the
sequenser is stopped, PAUSE/CONTINUE will start at
the MAIN BARCOUNTER'S position. Hitting PAUSE/CONTINUE
while playing or recording will stop the
sequenser but it will remain in the current mode.

You can RECORD up to sixteen TRACKS in sixteen
different PATTERNS. Highlighted track is current one. To
change track, click on space where you enter track name.
To change PATTERN, click on pattern number. To name
PATTERN, double click inside the pattern name area. All
values you change inside pattern is non-destructive (they
don't change events in memory, real time altered).
QUANTIZATION, which uses a little POP UP MENU
(highlight desired value and release button), alters
memory but is still reversible (changes note on, keeps
note length the same). Tracks MIDI CHANNEL is 1 - 16,
this is also the MIDI THRU CHANNEL. NO outputs all
channels (the channels you see in the event editor). LOOP
values are in quarter notes and the begining  of the
LOOP is at bar one (events recorded before this is not
included). You can also change the VELOCITY,
TRANSPOSE and DELAY values. If you with DELAY
advance (a minus sign before the value) the music before
"one" you must start the sequenser that much before
"one" or use a PREE START value in SONG MODE (see
below). A click on the VU-METER will MUTE track.
"DRAGGING" a recorded track to the left will delete it.
"DRAGGING" a recorded track up or down will COPY
or MERGE it. DOUBLE CLICK on a recorded track and
you can name it. (On STE's you must use some kind of
mouse button fixer because of bug in TOS). DOUBLE
CLICK on an empty track will initialize it and you can
move over to the EDIT MODE for inserting (or deleting)
events. 

In SONG MODE you can arrange the patterns you have
recorded in any order and length with the help of an
ARRANGE LIST. You have 32 POSITIONS where you
can have different TRANSPOSE values for the
PATTERN (you can choose midi channels which will not
be transposed, see  DISABLE TRANSPOSE in
OVERALL SETTINGS) and you can MUTE any track
temporarily in a position, (click small icons numbered 1 -
16, black = mute). Uppermost arrange position is current
one. Here you can DELETE (move all subsequent
positions back one step) or INSERT (move all forward)
and PATTERN LENGTH is shown for this position.
Since it is possible to record during the PREECOUNT
(before "one") your music may start with an upbeat. To
be able to hear this, every position may have a PREE
START value. This means that current PATTERN will
start before "one" with this many bars, beats or "ticks".
Since PREE START ends the previous position earlier and
there might be a lot of note off commands to send, you
can also use PREE START to spread out the MIDI
STREAM to get a good timing (some synths don't like to
much data in one chunk). Also try to use the RUNNING
STATUS flag ticked since this reduces the MIDI
STREAM (only disable RUNNING STATUS if you
encounter problems, this can happen with some older
synths). Since MIDI is a bit slow it's possible to send out
more data than the cable can "swallow". If you keep the
menu item NOTE ON PRIORITY ticked, the program
checks that notes get priority over other events such as
pitchbend etc.

You can LOAD and SAVE songs and tracks, and also
patterns (as MIDI FILES, one track in a pattern and it is
saved as format 0, two or more tracks will be saved as
format 1). You can save while running and also load
tracks.

In CYCLE MODE the sequenser will play between LEFT
LOCATOR and RIGHT LOCATOR. PLAY will start at
the left position and PAUSE/CONTINUE at the current
one (sorry, you can't yet record in cycle mode but you
will appreciate that the program jumps back to the left
position without a glitch).
In EXTERNAL SYNC MODE you can sync the
sequenser to an external device such as a drum machine,
another sequenser or a tape recorder via midi sync. The
program reads MIDI CLOCK for syncing and SONG
POSITION POINTER (SPP) for finding the exact
position to start. If CLOCK OUT is activated, MIDI
CLOCK pulses is sent out via MIDI out. To sync to tape
you will need an external device such as JL COOPER
PPS-1. With this extra equipment you can start the tape at
any point and the sequenser will start at that position.

In EDIT MODE you can do anything except record. If
you click on the small icons to the right of the arrows,
you can choose what to display (only note on, program
change, pitch bend and so on). Clicking inside the display
area or on the arrows will prevent the editor to follow the
music. UNLOCK will start the scrolling again (also
hitting PLAY, PAUSE and MAIN BARCOUNTER). Click
on INSERT NOTE is obvious, click on OTHER will
insert a none note event (program change etc). Click on
CHANGE will change event (not note on) to other event.
Since NOTE OFF can be either a "real" note off or a
NOTE ON with the velocity of zero you here has the
option to change from one to the other. Click or scroll on
any value will change it. A click on the symbol "P"
between the arrows will start the sequenser at current
edit event position. The first altering you do in EDIT
MODE will save the track to the UNDO buffer. Hitting
UNDO will take you back to where you came from. To
make any alterations permanent, exit EDIT MODE and
re-enter again.

To COPY to another pattern, use menubar COPY
function. Here you can also copy just a part of a track,
PART COPY. MERGING tracks will alter events in
memory so merged track sound the same as the two
unmerged tracks. If they have different midi channels
the merged track will display NO, that is, all 16 midi
channels can be output from track. So if you MERGE to
an initialized, empty track you can alter transpose,
velocity, delay and midi channel on all events on a track
with just one command. Good for preparing MIDI
FILES! QUANTIZATION will be as before regardless of
the value you see.
Menubar functions KEEP and DELETE EVENTS works
exactly as you think. Choose the type of event(s),
midichannel(s), value for first and (if applicable) second
databyte, what part of track and you will KEEP or
DELETE the desired events.

With menubar function MODIFY TRACK you can alter
the TRACK PARAMETER VALUES so they become
visible in EDIT MODE, i.e. events in memory are
changed. Choose what part of the track and any or all of
the following parameters: MIDI CHANNEL,
VELOCITY, TRANSPOSE or QUANTIZE. Now you
have the possibility to quantize or transpose just a section
of the music on a track.

With PUSH TRACK you can move track forward or
backward (alters position of MIDI EVENTS).

All BARCOUNTER and POSITION values in EDIT
MODE, COPY TRACK, KEEP and DELETE are local,
that is, if in SONG MODE a pattern starts at BAR 33 and
you want to delete an event there, it is timestamped
inside the PATTERN as BAR 1 (if in doubt, move over to
PATTERN MODE).

With UNDO you can regret any action performed on a
track and you will see an explanation mark in the
TRACK NAME area to remind you (does not work if
more than one track is involved).
 
In OVERALL SETTINGS you can prevent midi channels
from being transposed in SONG MODE, midi thru off
channel, choose events which will be filtered out (will not
be recorded or output via midi thru) and choose midi
channel, note number and velocity for midi click note.


  YOUR FIRST RECORDING
Connect MIDI OUT from your synthesizer to the
computers MIDI IN and MIDI OUT from the computer
to the synthesizers MIDI IN. If you have more synths,
connect them via MIDI THRU from your synthesizer. If
possible, set your synth to LOCAL OFF (this will
disconnect the keyboard from the sound source in your
synth). If you have an old synth without LOCAL ON/OFF (old DX-7's),
you must disable MIDI THRU on the
channel this synth recieves on or else you will feed the
synth with double events. Click on OVERALL
SETTINGS in the OPTIONS MENU and you can disable
MIDI THRU on a desired channel. Here you also have
the possibility the FILTER out events which will not be
recorded or sent back via MIDI THRU. Set all your
synthesizers to different midi channels and to OMNI
OFF (so they only recieve on one midichannel).

Now choose a TRACK for recording and an appropriate
midi channel. Play on the keyboard and check that you
can here something (via MIDI THRU). Changing  the
TRANSPOSE and VELOCITY values will also affect
what you hear via MIDI THRU. As said earlier, regardless
what values you have inside the PATTERN box, the
events recorded into the computers memory will still be
the same! The values you choose here are all REAL
TIME ALTERED so you can at any time change them
again. Click on RECORD and you will hear a one bar
PREECOUNT and you can start the recording. If you
want to, the click can be sent out to a drum machine.
Enable MIDI CLICK in the FLAGS MENU and choose
midi channel and note number in OVERALL
SETTINGS. When ready, click on STOP, which will end
the recording or click PLAY which will end the recording
and immeditely start playing from bar one. If the music
is not tight enough, QUANTIZE to desired value. Now
you also have the possibility to enter a LOOP value which
will loop the track from bar one. LOOP values are
quarter notes, so 8 means two bars, 16 means 4 bars and
so on. If not satisfied whith the result, click on reord and
your previous "take" will be deleted and you are back in
the preecount. If you erased the track by misstake, stop
the sequenser and click on UNDO and you have the old
track back. Continue as before with more tracks and
when you are ready with this PATTERN, move over to
another one and repeat the process.

Now it is time to move over to the ARRANGE LIST and
"chain" the patterns together in a desired order. In the
ARRANGE LIST you have 32 POSITIONS to enter any
of the 16 PATTERNS in any length. Say you have the
INTRO in PATTERN 1, VERSE in PATTERN 2, and the
CHORUS in PATTERN 3. Enter PATTERN 1 in
POSITION 1, scroll to desired LENGTH and do the same
with the other PATTERNS. Say you have the first verse
in position 2 and the second verse in position 3 and you
have a flute melody that you only want to here the
second verse. MUTE this track with the ARRANGE
LIST MUTES in verse 1 (POSITION 2) and it is muted in
this entry. Towards the end of the song you may want to
change the key of the CHORUS. Change the transpose
value in the arrange list and the whole pattern will be
transposed. Since you probably do not want to transpose
the drums you have to choose what midi channels should
not be affected, do this in OVERALL SETTINGS (disable
transpose).
If the music don't sound the way you want to, you have a
lot of different things available. Wrong notes is easy to
delete or alter in EDIT MODE. If you want to delete
longer sections, do this in DELETE/KEEP EVENTS.
With MODIFY TRACK you can TRANSPOSE,
QUANTIZE, change VELOCITY and MIDI CHANNEL
on desired sections of the TRACK.

             MIDI EVENTS
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is universal
standard that has existed since 1983. It's a serial interface,
i.e. all events are transfered after each other. Every event
consists of at least a STATUS BYTE telling us what type
of event it is. Some events has an extra DATA BYTE,
some has two extra data bytes and SYSTEM
EXCLUSIVE has any number of data bytes. Since it's
serial, when you hit a chord on your keyboard, it's
actually a very fast arpeggio. This is also the way a
computer works. A computer can only do one thing at
any given moment but it does it extremely fast, so to us it
appears as many things happens simultanesly. All the
following events has a STATUS BYTE that tells us what
type of event it is and what channel number it has. The
channel number is  between 1 and 16 and a synth can
"listen" to one of those channels (OMNI MODE OFF) or
all (OMNI MODE ON).

NOTE ON EVENTS has a status byte and two data bytes.
The first data byte tells the note number and the second
data byte how hard it was struck (velocity value).
NOTE OFF EVENTS works as note on. NOTE ON with
a velocity of zero is also interpreted as note off.
PROGRAM CHANGE has a status byte and one data
byte. The data byte holds the program number.
PITCH WHEEL EVENTS has two data bytes where the
first one is seldom used and the second one holds value
between 0 - 127. 64 is no bend, 0 is maximum downward
bend and 127 is maximum upward bend.
CHANNEL AFTERTOUCH EVENTS has one data byte
for the amount.
POLY AFTERTOUCH EVENTS has two data bytes, one
for the note number and one for the amount. If your
keyboard sends aftertouch, check if the sound you use
react to it. If not, it is advisable not to record them, i.e.
filter them out.
CONTROLLER EVENTS has two data bytes. The first
tells the controll number and the second the amount.
More about controller events below.
     CONTROLLER EVENTS
Controller events can do a lot of different things. They
have a number between 0 and 127. Here is a list of the
most common ones.
Number       Meanning        Value
1Modulation wheel0-127
2Breath controll0-127
4Foot controll0-127
5Portamento time0-127
6Data entry0-127
7Volume0-127
8Ballance0-127
10Stereo panning0-127
11Expression0-127
64Sustain0=off/127=on
65Portamento0=off/127=on
66Hold pedal0=off/127=on
67Soft pedal0=off/127=on
96Data increment127
97Data decrement127
122Local On/Off0=off/127=on
123All notes off0
124Omni off0
125Omni on0
126Mono mode on0 + channel
127Poly mode on0
Check your synth manual to see which of thoose the synt
responds to and also which one the synth's wheels will
transmit. In OVERALL settings you can REMAP any
number to a new one. With controller 7 (volume) you can
make nice fadings in the music. If your synth don't send
out this number, remap the MODULATION WHEEL
(controller 1) to VOLUME (controller 7) and you have a
nice REAL TIME mixer function (if in RECORD
MODE, it will be recorded). Some synths (ROLAND etc.)
sends out an ALL NOTES OFF message every time you
stop playing a key. You don't need this while sequensing.
In OVERALL SETTINGS you can choose two controll
number which will be filtered out. In this case choose
controll 123. 

Keyboard shortcuts
Qverty keypad: SOLO TRACK "S", SONG MODE/PATTERN MODE "M", EDIT MODE "E", PUSH
TRACK "P", SYNC INT/EXT "Y", CYCLE ON/OFF
"C", KEEP EVENTS "K", DELETE EVENTS "D",
NAME PATTERN "N" and NAME TRACK (ESQ).
Choose pattern (1 - 0 is pattern 1-10, shift + 1 - 6 is
pattern 11 - 16). 
Up and down arrows changes track. HELP key resets all
controllers etc. DELETE deletes arrange position,
INSERT inserts new arrange pos. UNDO, see above.
Calculator keypad: RECORD  "*", PLAY  "0" STOP
"Enter", PAUSE/CONTINUE ".", Change ARRANGE
LIST POSITION "(" and ")", Increase SONG POSITION
"+", decrease "-". Stop key sends all notes off message. 

That's all there is to it... if you have any questions,
comments, problems, suggestions or contributions please
write me!
 
To get a complete version of  SWEET SIXTEEN and a printed manual,
please send a check
or money order for $30.00 to:

Rolf Nilsson
Hantverkaregatan 19
S-21155  Malmoe
SWEDEN