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    The Chord Bank
            Zeno was mistaken.
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◊







Chord Progressions
FretPet makes a great learning tool and quick reference for chord names and
harmonies.  You can do quite a lot of productive work with the program
without ever creating or opening a document.  But chords aren't the end of the
musical story.  To really get involved we need movement.  This is where the
Bank and Sequencer come in.

Bank Features
Each chord in the Bank maintains all the relevant information that makes it
unique.  As you move around the Bank the Current Chord will be reflected in
the palettes.

  • Tempo Bar
     The tempo applies to the whole progression and is represented in
     beats-per-minute (BPM).  A "beat" usually corresponds to a quarter-note.
     You can set any value from 120 to 600 BPM by clicking and dragging inside
     the bar.

  • Current Chord
     The green highlighted chord is the Current Chord.  All your actions will
     affect it.
 
  • Chord Number
     Each chord is numbered according to its position in the bank.

  • Chord Circle
     Every chord is represented by a small version of the Circle of Fifths.
     The Chord Circle - unlike the Circle Palette - always has C at 12-o-clock.

     • Click inside this circle to add or remove notes from the Current Chord.

  • Chord Name
     This will always match the name in the Chord Palette.  Every chord in the
     bank has its own settings for Root and Key, and these will change as you
     maneuver the bank.  To keep a name stable while editing you should use the
     Root Lock described in the Chord Palette.

  • Chord Root
     When you are displaying chords numerically they appear with Roman
     numerals (Functions) in place of letter names.  In this display mode we
     need to see the key that the function pertains to, otherwise we wouldn't be
     able to tell IV in G from IV in D.  The key appears to the left of the Chord
     Name as shown here:◊

  • Tablature numbers represent the fingering of your chord.  Each number
     represents the fret which is held down on its corresponding string.
     Strings are arranged with the lowest string on the bottom.  (Reversing the
     stringing may or may not reverse this display according to your
     preferences.  See Setting Your Prefs for details.

  • A Repeat Slider indicates how many times a chord will repeat when
     played.

  • A Picking Pattern appears in the sequencer area, described on the next
     page.


No Deposit, No Return
The   ◊   Add Chord Button allows you to save the Current Chord in the active
Chord Bank or Duplicate the bank's Current Chord.

  • If no Chord Bank is open then one will be created.
  • The chord receives the name that appears in the Chord Palette.
  • The chord appears in the bank at the position after  the Current Chord.
  • The Bank Cursor moves to the position of the newly inserted chord.
  • By default the sequence information is copied.

  • <OPTION>-click to disable copying sequence information (Edit->Duplicate).
  • You can also use the Edit->Duplicate and Edit->Add Chord menu commands.

Maneuvering
  • Click on a chord in the bank to select it.
  • Use the <UP> and <DOWN> arrow keys to move.
  • Use <PAGEUP> and <PAGEDOWN> to move by a whole page.
  • Use <HOME> and <END> to move to the start or end of the bank.
  • Click and drag in the tempo bar to change the tempo.

Deleting Chords From The Bank
  • Press <DELETE> (<BACKSPACE>) or  ◊    (<FWD DEL>) to delete the Current Chord.
     All chords which follow it are moved to a lower position and the next
     chord gets the highlight.

Editing The Bank
  • Use the Edit Menu commands to perform standard Cut, Copy, and Paste.
     You may only operate on one chord at a time.
  • You can Paste Sequence by using <OPTION> Paste (Edit->Paste Sequence).  The
     Sequence from the clipboard is Pasted into the Current Chord.
  • <SHIFT> Paste (Edit->Paste Seq. +) pastes the sequence and advances the
     Bank Cursor to the next chord.
  • Use Duplicate to do a quick Copy-Paste that bypasses the clipboard.

Super Dupercate
  • The annoyingly named Edit->Super Dupercate command copies the
     Current Chord to the end of the bank and advances the Bank Cursor.

Playing The Bank
  • The Hear, Stop, and Play Buttons let you hear different parts of your
     progression.  (See Toolbar Palette for more info.)
  • You may also use the Sequencer menu commands or command-keys,
     < ◊ ><TAB>, < ◊ ><OPTION><TAB>, and < ◊ ><SHIFT><TAB>.