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Release Notes
Version 1.0.1
© Copyright 2005 Thinkyhead Software

Welcome to FretPet X !
FretPet is a dynamic, fun music sequencer centered around the six-string guitar. It's always hard to describe FretPet in only a few words because it does so many different things.

•	Create and modify chords with simple point-and-click interfaces.
•	Instantly find guitar fingerings for any tuning and position.
•	Compose chord progressions and picking patterns.
•	Play through QuickTime and MIDI outputs.
•	Play through synths like GarageBand, Absynth, FM7... and many more.
•	Export MIDI files and QuickTime Music Movies.
•	Find all twelve names for any chord.
•	Absorb music theory without breaking a sweat.

Requirements
FretPet requires a Macintosh computer with a minimum Mac OS X system version of 10.3 Panther and a graphics card capable of running Quartz Extreme.

New Features
FretPet has been completely re-written to take advantage of the amazing audiovisual powers of Mac OS X. Its appearance has been updated with the Aqua look and feel. Playback animations have been added using OpenGL. Through Apple's CoreMIDI technology FretPet acts as a MIDI source for external synthesizers and any MIDI-savvy music programs running on the same computer. For example, FretPet will play through GarageBand when it is running, producing much nicer results than QuickTime. More complex synthesizers like Absynth, FM7, etc. sound amazing with FretPet controlling them.

•	Multi-level Undo / Redo
•	New Channels Palette with QuickTime and MIDI options
•	Provides a virtual MIDI Source named "FretPet"
•	Scale Palette more explicitly color-coded
•	Scale Palette tones illuminate more clearly
•	Scale Palette tones ring when clicked
•	Circle Palette redesigned and simplified
•	Filters can be applied to sets of parts
•	The Fret Bracket now overlaps the fretboard
•	Keyboard Palette displays animation during playback
•	Sliders and other controls respond to the scroll-wheel
•	Guitar Palette displays animation during playback
•	Guitar Palette has correct proportional gaps between frets
•	Guitar Palette image now fully customizable (make your own!)
•	Guitar Palette now optionally displays tone functions

Custom Guitar Images
You can now completely customize the Guitar Palette image. Included with FretPet you'll find a file named Guitar Template.psd containing everything you need to make your own guitar images for FretPet. Once you've made an image you like, use Photoshop or ImageReady to save it as a PNG (recommended), JPEG, TIFF, BMP, or GIF file. Save the file in the ~/Library/Application Support/FretPet folder. The next time you run FretPet your new image will be listed in the Guitar → Guitar Image submenu.

A few guitar images are included already. More will be available on the FretPet website. If you make an image you particularly like please feel free to send it my way and I'll make it available on the FretPet website for everyone to use and enjoy.

Sample Documents
Several sample compositions have been included to illustrate some of FretPet's potential. Most compositions were created with the QuickTime synthesizer in mind. However, the FretPet website contains some MP3 samples that better illustrate the potential of using FretPet with other synthesizers. I recommend you check them out.

More Information
A comprehensive HTML manual is included to get you started using FretPet to create, compose, experiment, improvise, and learn. To read it select the Help → FretPet Manual command. Begin with the Tutorial to get the quickest start. Visit the FretPet website www.fretpet.com for periodic news, updates, and other information.

	Enjoy!

	Scott Lahteine
	scott@thinkyhead.com
	September 17, 2005