The Mind╒s Ear application and this document are ⌐1993 by CodeQuake Software. All rights are reserved.
Introduction
Welcome to Mind's Ear for the Macintosh the demo version. Mind's Ear is a chord finder for MIDI keyboards. If you hear a chord in your head but cannot seem to find it on your keyboard, Mind's Ear can help you. Hence the name, Mind's Ear. Once you find the chord, you can play it on your keyboard, transpose it, change it, twist it and turn it. You can also build sequences and then audition possible chord combinations with the Play and Replace feature. Mind's Ear is not a sequencer, nor will it ever become one. It is a tool for extracting chords that are locked away in your head.
From this point on in the manual, the name ╥Mind╒s Ear╙ will be abbreviated by the letters ╥ME.╙
Requirements
You must have:
1) A Macintosh (obviously)
2) A MIDI interface
3) A MIDI keyboard
4) MIDI cables to connect everything.
Mind's Ear does not produce any sounds. It interprets and sends MIDI commands from and to your MIDI keyboard. It will also help to know the names of the keys on a standard keyboard.
Feature Overview
To get going immediately:
1) Launch ME.
2) Select the communications port your MIDI interface is connected to.
3) Select the speed of your MIDI interface. If you are not sure, use the default of 1 Mhz.
4) Select the MIDI in and out channel.
5) Ensure that the MIDI Switch is in the enabled (down) position.
You can stop reading now to discover features for yourself or continue reading to get a quick tutorial.
Play a 'C' chord (C,E,G) on your keyboard. You will see the chord name displayed in the list (to be exact, the "Search" list), the chord is displayed on the keyboard graphic in the "root" position, the bass note is displayed, and the parts of the scale are displayed (because the root note is always assumed, only a major third and a perfect fifth are displayed). The 'E' icon indicates that the "Exact Match" feature is active, the 'B' indicates that the "With Bass" feature is active, and the 'P' indicates that preferences will be saved.
Press the "Add To List" button (lowest, rightmost button) and the 'C' chord will be added to the "User" list. The 'U' icon will be displayed to indicate that there are now chords in the "User" list. Play an ╘A minor╒ (A,C,E) on your keyboard. Press the "Add To User List" button. The "User" list now contains a 'C' and an 'A minor' chord. Now play a 'G' note. All of the chords with the root note of 'G' appear. (Remember kids, this is a demo version. The release version will have many more chords in it's database. Feel free to submit your favorite chords to be included in the release version.)
Press the "Mode" key. You are now in the User mode. Notice that the "Add To List" button has changed into the "Play and Replace" button. Press the "Play and Replace" button. The first chord in the "Search" list is added to the bottom of the "User" list (in bold) and the chords are played one at a time. When the end of the list is reached, the last chord in the "User" list is replaced with the next chord of the "Search" list. In this way you can audition chord sequences with all of the possible choices that you have found for the chord you hear in your head.
A chord in ME is defined as three or more notes played at the same time. The bass note (any key on your keyboard below middle C) is the root note of a chord. Accepting that, there are seven ways to search for chords in ME.
1) Play a chord with Exact Match on, with a bass note.
ME will search for a chord that includes exactly the same notes, including the bass note, as the chord played on the keyboard.
2) Play a chord with Exact Match on, without a bass note.
ME will search for a chord that includes exactly the same notes, excluding the bass note, as the chord played on the keyboard.
3) Play a chord with Exact Match off, with a bass note.
ME will search for a chord that incorporates the same notes, including the bass note, as the chord played on the keyboard.
4) Play a chord with Exact Match off, without a bass note.
ME will search for a chord that incorporates the same notes, excluding the bass note, as the chord played on the keyboard.
5) Play two notes with a bass note.
ME will search for a chord that incorporates the same notes, including the bass note, as the two keys played on the keyboard.
6) Play two notes without a bass note.
ME will search for a chord that incorporates the same notes, excluding the bass note, as the two keys played on the keyboard.
7) Play one note.
ME will display all of the chords that use the played note as a root note.
Once you have a list of chords you╒re happy with, you can start to audition them. For the purpose of demonstration, play a ╘C╒ note. This will bring up all of the chords that use ╘C╒ as a root note.
If you want to play the chords manually (with your own two hands) while auditioning the chords, disable MIDI by pressing the MIDI Switch. When disabled, the MIDI Switch will change from black to white. This action prevents ME from looking for MIDI data but does not disable ME╒s ability to output MIDI data.
To play each chord separately press the Play button (arrow facing to the right), double click in the list, or press the return button. To play all of the chords in the list one at a time, press the Play All button (three arrows facing right).
Transpose the chords by pressing the Octave Up or Octave Down buttons (arrows under the keyboard pointing up and down). It is not possible to transpose chords past the limits of the keyboard graphic.
Invert the chord by pressing the Invert Up or Invert Down button (arrows under the keyboard pointing left and right). It is not possible to invert chords past the limits of the keyboard graphic.
Invert the bass note, if active, by pressing the invert bass note buttons (arrows under the bass section pointing left and right). It is not possible to invert the bass notes past the limits of the bass section graphic.
_____Feature Descriptions_____
Menus...
About ME... - COMMAND + I
Use the About menu item to bring up the About box containing Mind╒s Ear╒s copyright information.
Help... - COMMAND + H
Use the Help menu item to bring up the Help screen.
File
Open Window - COMMAND + O
Use the Open Window menu item to open the ME main window after it has been closed by clicking in the close box or using the Close Window menu item. When the main window is open, ME uses as much of the microprocessor╒s time as it can. In essence, it ╥hogs╙ the microprocessor╒s attention. This strategy ensures that any MIDI notes played will not be lost. This effect can be negated by: 1) Putting ME in the background, 2) Closing the main window, 3) Disabling MIDI using the MIDI Switch.
When in the background, Mind's Ear ignores any notes played on your keyboard.
Close Window - COMMAND + W
Use the Close Window menu item to close the ME main window. Clicking in the close box has the same effect. When the main window is closed, ME frees up the attention it demands from the microprocessor. The same effect can be achieved by: 1) Putting ME in the background, 2) Disabling MIDI using the MIDI Switch.
When in the background, Mind's Ear ignores any notes played on your keyboard.
Quit - COMMAND + Q
Use the Quit menu item to quit ME. Before quitting, ME checks the status of the preferences menu item found in the Edit menu. If the menu item reads ╥Will Save Prefs╙, your current configuration will be saved to disk in the prefs file. If the menu item reads ╥Won╒t Save Prefs╙, any changes that were made to Mind╒s Ear will be lost.
Edit
Will/Won╒t Save Prefs
Use the prefs menu item to select whether or not ME will save your current configuration. If the menu item reads ╥Will Save Prefs╙, your current configuration will be saved. The state and or value of almost every item is saved except the Search/User button, the MIDI Switch, and any chords in the Search Chord List or the User Chord List.
MIDI
C3 Test...
Use the C3 Test menu item to bring up the C3 Test dialog box. Pressing the Play C3 button will play a C3 on your keyboard. ME splits the keyboard into two sections, Chords (to the right) and Bass (to the left) of middle C. Middle C itself is part of the Chord section.
Channel In
Use the Channel In menu item to select the channel for incoming MIDI information. If Omni (COMMAND + N) is selected, ME will look at all sixteen MIDI channels for incoming MIDI information.
Channel Out
Use the Channel Out menu item to select the channel for outgoing MIDI information.
Interface Port
Use the Interface Port menu items to select the communications port your MIDI interface is connected to. If your interface is connected to the Modem port, use COMMAND + M to select it. If your interface is connected to the Printer port, use COMMAND + P to select it.
Interface Clock
Use the Interface Clock menu items to select the clock rate of your MIDI interface. If you are not sure, use the default of 1.0 Mhz. Four clock rates are available; 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 Mhz and Fast for users of Midi Time Piece. Keyboard shortcuts are provided to access the menu items. Use COMMAND + 0 (zero) to select 0.5 Mhz, COMMAND + 1 to select 1.0 Mhz, COMMAND + 2 to select 2.0 Mhz, and COMMAND + F to select Fast.
MIDI Control - COMMAND + C
Use the MIDI Control menu item to enable or disable the ability to trigger ME from your MIDI keyboard. If your MIDI keyboard has the unofficial standard 61 keys, the last four keys on your keyboard will trigger the List Up, List Down, Play and Delete buttons respectively.
When MIDI Control is active, the last octave on your keyboard cannot be used to play bass notes. This will come into play if you have the Exact Match feature on and you want to narrow your selection by playing a bass note. See Exact Match for more information.
If the MIDI Switch is in the off (up) position, MIDI Control will not be active and the menu will be grayed.
MIDI Options...
Use the MIDI Options menu item to bring up the MIDI Options dialog box. The values and settings for all MIDI information are accessed through this dialog box. The values and settings are:
Capture Delay
Capture Delay allows you to customize the way ME captures MIDI data. The larger the value, the longer Mind's Ear will "look" for MIDI data. If you are a less experienced keyboard player, enter a higher value. Try to use 10 as an upper limit on this value. Although any value is allowed, too large of a number will cause ME to look for MIDI data for a long time and it may appear that the program is locked or hung up.
Duration
The Duration is the amount of time a chord will be played (in milliseconds, approximately) when any button is pressed that causes ME to play a chord.
On Velocity
The On Velocity value is the "strength" at which the chord will played if you were actually playing the chord on your keyboard. The higher the number, the "harder" the keys are hit.
Note Off Type
Some MIDI devices do not respond to a true MIDI Off. This option is provided to allow Mind's Ear to send a MIDI On with a value of zero which is functionally the same as a Note Off. Check the documentation of your MIDI keyboard to find out if your keyboard responds to true Note Offs. If you have Note Off selected, and a chord does not stop playing at the end of the entered duration, it's a good bet your keyboard does not respond to Note Offs.
Off Velocity
If your keyboard does respond to Note Off commands, this parameter allows you to enter an off velocity value for them.
Filters
ME does not require a lot of the MIDI information a keyboard can generate. This information can cause ME to appear sluggish and seem that it is not working properly. All of the filters are on by default and remove the data from the MIDI stream so that the remaining data can be processed quickly.
MIDI Thru
MIDI Thru allows MIDI information to be thrued to the MIDI out port of your interface. No MIDI message with a status greater than 0xEF will ever be thrued. This means that Channel Mode messages and System Messages will never be thrued.
If you find that the number of ╥voices╙ of your keyboard has been cut in half, uncheck MIDI Thru.
Options
Arpeggio - COMMAND + A
Use the Arpeggio menu item to toggle the state of the Arpeggio feature. If active, the 'A' icon will be displayed in the main window. With Arpeggio active, chords will be played one note at a time.
The duration of notes played with Arpeggio active are affected by two values; The duration in the MIDI Options dialog box and the interval in the Options dialog box. Notes will play for the duration of the duration parameter and the delay between the notes is set by the interval parameter. With a long duration (1 second) the interval parameter will appear to have little effect. The shorter the duration, the more pronounced the interval will become. With a duration of 50 (msec) the interval parameter will become quite important.
See Options... for more information.
Exact Match - COMMAND + E
Use the Exact Match menu item to toggle the state of the Exact Match feature. If active, the 'E' icon will be displayed in the main window. With Exact Match active, ME will try to find and exact match for the chord played on your MIDI keyboard. If an exact match cannot be found, you will get a beep.
An exact match means that you are looking for a chord with exactly the same notes as the chord just played. The notes can be transposed. For example, if you play an 'E+' (E, G# or Ab, C) Mind's Ear will find a 'C+', and 'E+' and a 'G#/Ab+'. If you want to further narrow down the selection, play an associated bass note (below middle 'C'). To find only an 'E+', play an 'E+' chord with an 'E' bass note simultaneously.
This feature is very useful for finding the name of a chord you are playing if you do not know it.
If Exact Match is not active, Mind's Ear will look for all of the chords that contain the notes played. Any chord that contains the notes played will be added to the "Search" list. In this way you can find chords that you might have not considered using. The found chords contain the "root" chord you originally desired and additional nuances you might not have thought of using.
With Bass - COMMAND + B
Use the With Bass menu item to toggle the state of the With Bass feature. If active, the 'B' icon will be displayed in the main window. When With Bass is enabled, ME will play all chords with an associated bass note. The bass note will be played from the bass section (below middle C) on your keyboard.
If disabled ME will not play any bass notes. This does not affect the searching capability as described in Exact Match.
Loop - COMMAND + L
Use the Loop menu item to toggle the state of the Loop feature. If active, the 'L' icon will be displayed in the main window. With Loop active, chords in the list will be played continuously. When the last chord in the list is reached, playing will continue with the first chord. This will continue until you tell Mind╒s Ear to stop playing. See Options... for more information.
Substitution - COMMAND + S
Use the Substitution menu item to toggle the state of the Substitution feature. If active, the 'S' icon will be displayed in the main window. The keyboard shortcut for Substitution is COMMAND + S. With Substitution active, any modifications made to a chord will cause ME to search it╒s database for an exact match of the chord. If it finds a match, the name of the chord will be substituted for the current chord.
Options...
Use the Options... menu item to bring up the Options dialog box. The values and settings for Arpeggio and Loop are accessed through this dialog box.
Order
Use the order parameter to select how the notes of an arpeggio are played. Low To High plays the lowest note first starting with the bass note if the With Bass feature is active. High to low plays the highest note first.
Interval
Use the interval parameter to set the delay (in ticks) between notes played when Arpeggio is active.
Loop
Use the loop parameter to set the delay between the last and first chord in a list when the Loop feature is active.
Buttons...
Up - The up arrow
Use the Up button to select the previous chord (to the currently selected chord) in a chord list. If the currently selected chord is the first chord in the list, you will get a beep if you press the Up button. Hold down the OPTION key when pressing the Up button to get to the first chord of the list.
The keyboard equivalent for the Up button is the up arrow key.
Down - The down arrow
Use the Down button to select the next chord (to the currently selected chord) in a chord list. If the currently selected chord is the last chord in the list, you will get a beep if you press the Down button. Hold down the OPTION key when pressing the Down button to get the last chord of the list.
The keyboard equivalent for the Down button is the down arrow key.
Play - The arrow pointing to the right
Use the Play button to play the currently selected chord. The duration of the chord is determined by the Playback Duration in the MIDI Options dialog box. You must have a MIDI equipped keyboard and a MIDI interface connected to your computer to play and hear the chord. ME does not generate any sounds; It only generates MIDI commands which are sent, via a MIDI interface, to your MIDI keyboard. The keyboard will interpret the MIDI commands and produce the sound.
Hold the OPTION key when pressing the Play button to play the current chord and select the next chord in the list. If the currently selected chord is the last chord in the list, pressing OPTION + PLAY will result in a beep.
Hold the CONTROL key when pressing the Play button to reselect the current chord. In effect, CONTROL + PLAY is an undo. Any modifications made to the chord will be reversed after CONTROL + PLAY is pressed.
The keyboard equivalent for the Play button is the RETURN key.
Delete - The square
Use the Delete key to delete the currently selected chord from the chord list. The delete key is destructive. Once you delete a chord, it is deleted from the list forever. You cannot undo this action. After deleting a chord, all of the chords that were below it in the list move up one.
Holding down OPTION when pressing the Delete key deletes all of the chords from the chord list. Remember, the delete key cannot be undone.
The keyboard equivalents for the Delete key are:
Delete - Delete the currently selected chord.
ESC or CLR - Delete all of the chords in the list.
Play All - The three arrows pointing to the right
Use the Play All button to play all of the chords in the list. Pressing Play All the first time starts the playing of chords, pressing it a second time stops play. When the last chord in the list is reached and Loop is active, chord play will continue with the first chord in the list.
Holding OPTION when pressing PLAY ALL will start the playing from the first chord in the chord list.
The is no keyboard equivalent for the Play All button.
Add To User List - The arrow pointing to a list
Use the Add to User List button to add desired chords to the User List. If the User list is empty when you add a chord, the 'U' icon will be displayed to indicate that there are chords in the User list.
Any changes or modifications made to the chord including transposing the chord or changing it's octave will be carried over to the User list.
There is no keyboard equivalent for the Add to User List button.
Play and Replace - The two lists (active in "User" mode only)
Use the Play and Replace button to audition chord sequences. To use the example provided in the Feature Overview:
Play a 'C' chord (C,E,G) on your keyboard. Press the "Add To List" button (lowest, rightmost button) and the 'C' chord will be added to the "User" list. The 'U' icon will be displayed to indicate that there are now chords in the "User" list. Play an A minor (A,C,E) on your keyboard. Press the "Add To User List" button. The "User" list now contains a 'C' and an 'A minor' chord. Now play a 'G' note. All of the chords with the root note of 'G' appear. (Remember kids, this is a demo version. The release version will have many more chords in it's database. Feel free to submit your favorite chords to be included in the release version.)
Press the "Mode" key. You are now in the User mode. Notice that the "Add To List" button has changed into the "Play and Replace" button. Press the "Play and Replace" button. The first chord in the "Search" list is added to the bottom of the "User" list in bold and the chords are played one at a time. When the end of the list is reached, the last chord in the "User" list is replaced with the next chord of the "Search"list. In this way you can audition chord sequences with all of the possible choices that you have found for the chord you hear in your head.
Chords must be present in the "Search" list and the "User" list for this feature to function.
There is no keyboard equivalent for Play and Replace.
Octave Up - The arrow pointing up under the keyboard graphic
Use the Octave Up button to raise the selected chord up one octave. It is not possible to raise the chord past the boundary of the keyboard graphic.
The keyboard equivalent is CONTROL + Up Arrow
Octave Down - The arrow facing down under the keyboard graphic
Use the Octave Down button to lower the selected chord down one octave. It is not possible to lower the chord past the boundary of the keyboard graphic.
The keyboard equivalent is CONTROL + Down Arrow
Invert Chord Up - The arrow pointing right under the keyboard graphic
Use the Invert Chord Up button to invert the chord up (higher) on the keyboard. It is not possible to invert the chord past the boundary of the keyboard graphic.
The keyboard equivalent is the right arrow
Invert Chord Down - The arrow pointing left under the keyboard graphic
Use the Invert Chord Down button to invert the chord down (lower) on the keyboard. It is not possible to invert the chord past the boundary of the keyboard graphic.
The keyboard equivalent is the left arrow
Invert Bass Up - The arrow pointing right under the keyboard graphic
Use the Invert Bass Up to raise the bass note one half step. It is not possible to raise the bass note past the boundary of the bass graphic.
The keyboard equivalent is CONTROL + right arrow
Invert Bass Down - The arrow pointing left under the bass graphic
Use the Invert Bass Down to lower the bass note one half step. It is not possible to lower the bass note past the boundary of the bass graphic.
The keyboard equivalent is CONTROL + left arrow
The MIDI Switch - The MIDI connector
Use the MIDI Switch to enable or disable ME╒s ability to ╘see╒ MIDI data. When enabled, ME demands a large portion of the microprocessor╒s attention. Using this strategy ensures that ME can capture all of the notes or chords you play. This can cause problems for other applications running in the background.
When the MIDI Switch is enabled, any time you play your keyboard ME will search for matches. This can be annoying if, for example, you are trying to play the chords (ME has found) manually and you do not want ME to search for chords.
When the MIDI switch is disabled ME will ignore any incoming MIDI data, but can still output MIDI data. Disabling MIDI frees up the microprocessor╒s attention ME demands.
Disabling MIDI will allow you to manually play the chords that ME has found.
Additionally, there are two conditions that cause MIDI to be disabled:
1. Closing the main window.
2. Putting ME in the background.
The Mode Button - Search Mode and User Mode
ME uses two separate lists to hold chords, the Search list and the User list. The Search list is used to hold all of the chords ME finds as a match for a chord (or notes). The User list holds chords you want to keep for ╥further inspection.╙
To add chords to the User list simply press the Add To List button. The selected chord will be stored in the User list. If the User list was empty, the ╘U╒ icon will be posted in the main window. Any changes made to the chord will be saved when the chord is stored in the User list.
See the Add To List and the Play and Replace button descriptions for more information.
In Closing...
We have tried to include as much information necessary to get you going with ME. If you have any questions, you can write to the address below or e-mail us on CompuServe at 70272,473.
We hope you enjoy and use the demo version of ME. The release version should be available by the time you read this. Any suggestions for improving ME such as chords you would like to have included the database would be more than welcome. Please submit all suggestions and bug reports as well as requests for information (including ordering info) to:
CodeQuake Software
P.O. Box 358
New York, N.Y. 10156-0358
You are granted permission to upload this demo version to all bulletin boards and online services provided that this file is included with the application.
