lay" option in the "Edit Sample" menu).

TUNING: In order for ModEdit to display notes properly, all
samples must be "tuned". This is a change from earlier
verisons of ModEdit, which did not provide for sample tuning.
If samples are not tuned properly, the onscreen note display
will be inaccurate. ModEdit has 2 tuning attributes for each
sample.













The first tuning attribute is the large-scale tune attribute,
or simply the "tune" attribute. This attribute is a note and
an octave that define the "base" pitch of that particular
sample; the note and octave are the pitch that the sample
makes when played back with the "P" command (section 4.1.3).
An external tuning source, such as a piano or other musical
instrument, could be useful here. Most samples are tuned to
"C 2"; therefore, ModEdit by default sets the tuning
attribute to "C 2". Some samples, however, are tuned to
other notes, and these samples must be tuned manually. Again,
if this tuning attribute is not set properly, the notes
displayed on the screen will be inaccurate (for instance, a
"C 2" on the screen might give you an audio note "D 2" out of
the speaker, or something similar).

The tune attribute determines the "range" of a sample. The
"range" of a sample is defined to be the 3 octave range with
the tune attribute pitch in the middle. For instance, if a
sample is tuned to C 2, its range is C 1-B 3. You are
actually free to enter notes outside of this range; ModEdit
can handle notes from C 0 to B 9. However, if you choose to
enter notes outside of a sample's range, the resulting Module
may not be playable from other MOD players/editors (though
ModEdit will handle it fine). Also, some special note
effects (see "Effects") simply cannot be applied outside of a
sample's range. Keep these factors in mind when you're
entering music.

Beware: If 2 samples have different tune attributes, then
loading one in place of the other will cause your music to
sound dissonant, because the notes played with one sample do
not correspond with the notes played by the second sample.
(Additionally, since the samples are tuned differently, they
have different ranges -- see preceding paragraph). Therefore,
it's usually best not to interchange samples with different
tune attributes. If you need to, though, you can transpose
the notes associated with that sample up or down to
compensate for the difference in tuning. See section 4.2.4
for information about transposing notes.

The second tuning attribute is the "finetune" attribute. This
attribute is an integer from -8 to +7 that "nudges" the
sample frequency slightly up (positive numbers) or slightly
down (negative numbers) when it is played back. It alters
the sample frequency less than a half step.

So, the general procedure for tuning samples is:


















1) Adjust the (large scale) tune attribute to the note that
is closest to the note that the sample makes when played
back. Usually you'll be able to find an exact note and
octave that fit the sample's audio output.

2) If the note obtained by playing back the sample is
somewhere "between" two notes (for instance, slightly higher
than "C 2" but slightly lower than "C#2"), use the finetune
attribute to adjust the sample playback so that the note it
produces falls exactly on a musical note.

4.1.5 Creating your own sample files
-------------------------------------

Sample files are, again, digitized sound information stored
in a file. Many different formats exist for storing sound
information in a file. The .SAM format is very simple; it
contains raw, 8-bit, signed digital data, with no header.

If you have sound files in other formats, many conversion
utilities exist that can convert from one format into
another. Again, you need to convert your sound file into a
raw, 8-bit, signed, headerless format in order for it to
sound correct in ModEdit.

If a you load in a sample of your own and it sounds very
"noisy" or filled with static, then either (1) the data is
not raw (e.g. it is compressed in some form) or (2) the data
is not signed. To remedy (1) you must find an appropriate
sound file conversion utility. To remedy (2), you can add 128
to each byte in the sample file by 128, subtracting 256 if
the result is over 255. This changes the data from signed to
unsigned (or vice versa) and is often the problem.

































4.2 ENTERING MUSIC
-------------------

After you've loaded in a sample (or several samples), you're
ready to enter music. ModEdit 3.0 supports a flexible,
intuitive, powerful piano-roll format for entering music,
entirely different than all other MOD editors that I know of.


4.2.1 Editing Patterns
-----------------------

The main building block of Modules is the pattern. Musical
notes in Modules are entered into patterns. From the main
menu, choose the "Edit" option, which will display the Edit
Submenu.

ModEdit intially places one pattern in memory (in fact there
will always be at least one pattern in memory). So, to start
editing, select the "Edit Pattern" option. The pattern that
is selected for editing is the "current pattern"; you may
only edit one pattern at a time. To change the current
pattern you may use the "<" and ">" keys; "<" takes you to
the previous pattern in the sequence table; ">" takes you to
the next pattern in the sequence table. Initially, of course,
there will be only one pattern in the sequence table so "<"
and ">" cannot change the pattern being edited (initially).

You are now in the ModEdit pattern editor. The editor screen
looks something like this:


(Editor Status Line)
+Pattern: 0( 0):0 -Track 1 2 3 4 Samp A:NONE +
|Samp| |
|Eff.| |
|Arg1| (Sample and Effect information appear here) |
|Arg2| |
|Beat| |
+-----^---------------------------------------------------------------+
|B 2 | ^
>A#2 | |
|A 2 | |
|G#2 | |
|G 2 | |
|F#2 | (Notes appear here) |
|F 2 | |
|E 2 | |
|D#2 | |
|D 2 | |
|C#2 | |
|C 2 |Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxv
+<---------------------------No effect ---------------------->+
(Note status line)













Preliminaries about the editor
------------------------------
A few general comments are in order. Each pattern has 4
tracks; only one may be edited at a time. Although you may
only edit one track at a time, you still may view the notes
in all 4 tracks at once. Optionally, you may also choose to
view only one track at a time.

Since only one track can be edited at a time, only the sample
and effect information for the current track is displayed. To

view or change the sample/effect information for another
track, you first need to edit that particular track.

The term "default sample" is used below, and is defined
here. As mentioned in section 3.1, each note unit has
associated with it a sample code. When entering notes in the
editor, it's often convenient to have the computer enter a
sample code automatically when you enter a note (rather than
you repeatedly having to enter a note and a sample).
Therefore, the concept of a "default sample" arises; the
"default sample" is the sample code that the computer
automatically enters when you enter a note.


Parts of the editor screen
--------------------------
There are 4 major parts of the screen: the editor status
line, the note status line, the sample/effect area, and the
note area. Each is described below.

EDITOR STATUS LINE: This line displays position information,
as well as the default sample. After the word "Pattern:",
the current pattern number is displayed outside parentheses,
the current sequence position is displayed inside
parentheses, and the current note offset (0-63) within the
current pattern is displayed after the colon. After the word
"Track", the track currently being edited is highlighted
(only one track may be edited at a time). After the word
"Samp:", the current default sample for the editor is
displayed.

NOTE STATUS LINE: This line displays human-readable
information about the current note that the cursor is on. It
displays first the sample name associated with the current
note, then the effect name of the effect associated with the
current note.

SAMPLE/EFFECT AREA: This area displays coded information
about the sample and effect for ALL note units in the
pattern. Each note unit (0-63) in the pattern has one column
in the sample/effect area. The top row in each column is the
sample code for that note. The second row in each column is













the effect code for that note; the third and fourth rows, the
effect arguments. The last row in each column shows the
beats of notes in the pattern. If there IS a note at a
particular column, a note symbol appears in the beat column
for that note. If there is NOT a note in a particular
column, the note symbol does not appear.

NOTE AREA: This area displays the notes in a pattern. Notes
within the current track are represented with bold, solid
squares (represented here by 'X'). Notes for tracks other
than the current track are represented with dim squares
(represented here text by ':'). The duration of each note is
shown by its length; duration for notes within the current
track is shown with slightly bold squares (represented here
by 'x'); duration for notes in tracks other than the current
track is shown with very dim squares (represented here by
'.'). The highness or lowness of notes is represented by the
vertical position of the note squares in the display.

Moving around the pattern editor
--------------------------------
Each pattern consists of 64 note units for each of 4 tracks.
The 64 note units go horizontally across the screen. The
pitch of each note is shown by its vertical position in the
editor screen, as per the "note ruler" on the left hand side
of the screen. For instance, a "C 2" note would appear as:

+Pattern: 0( 0):0 -Track 1 2 3 4 Samp A:NONE +
|Samp| |
|Eff.| |
|Arg1| |
|Arg2| |
|Beat| |
+-----^---------------------------------------------------------------+
|B 2 | ^
>A#2 | |
|A 2 | |
|G#2 | |
|G 2 | |
|F#2 | |
|F 2 | |
|E 2 | |
|D#2 | |
|D 2 | |
|C#2 | |
|C 2 |Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxv
+<---------------------------No effect ---------------------->+


Notice that the pitch range of the screen is limited to 16
halfsteps (more if you have registered the program and are in
EGA/VGA 43/50 line mode). Therefore, to view pitches higher
or lower, it is necessary to scroll up or down in the window.













Movement around the screen is quite simple:

/ : Move to next/previous note unit in pattern.
/ : Move cursor to a higher/lower pitch.
/ : Move cursor one screenful up/down.
/ : Take cursor to beginning/end of pattern.
1 2 3 4 : Change current track to 1 2 3 or 4

If you have a mouse, clicking on the arrow symbols at the
corners of the editor screen will move the cursor in the
indicated direction.

Entering notes
--------------
To enter a note, move the cursor to the desired position
within the pattern (horizontally) and to the desired pitch
(vertically). Then simply press or , or, with
a mouse, click the left button. If there was previously a
note at that position, it is replaced by the new note.

To remove a note, move the cursor to the desired position
within the pattern (horizontally) and press the
key. Notice that you do not have to move the cursor to the
pitch value of the old note. This removes the note but does
not affect the rest of the pattern. The right mouse button
also performs this function. The note unit then becomes
empty.

To remove a note AND shift all remaining notes in the current
track and pattern to the left by one space, use the
key.

To insert space into the current track of the current
pattern (i.e. increase the space between notes), use the
key.

It's often useful to be able to hear what a note will sound
like before you enter it. Pressing "X" allows you to hear
the pitch that the cursor is on, using the default sample.
You can move the cursor up and down, pressing "X" repeatedly
until you find the pitch you need, then press ENTER or SPACE
to enter that pitch for the note unit the cursor is on.


Duration
--------
Entering a note as shown above puts a note and octave into
the note unit that the cursor is on. (Remember, a pattern
consists of 64 contiguous note units.) This makes that note
unit non-empty. Recall, non-empty note units tell the
computer to play a sample (instrument) when it encounters
that position.














What about empty note units, then? Empty note units tell the
computer to do nothing. The previous non-empty note units,
then, keep on playing (until the sample length has been
exhausted) during the empty note units.

So, duration of a non-empty note unit is, effectively, the
space between that non-empty note unit and the next non-empty
note unit. Note that if a sample has been played completely
through before the next non-empty note unit in the pattern,
silence will result. (If this doesn't make sense, just
experiment; that's the best way to get a feel for this.)

Example: (X represents non-empty note units; x, empty)


Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxx Xxxxxxxx


Above represents a series of 4 notes, the last 2 of which are
twice as long as the first 2 (8 note units as opposed to 4
note units).

If you wish to enter music from a standard musical score, you
must decide on how many note-units (i.e. squares or X's in
the diagram above) you wish to allocate to each "standard"
musical note. For instance, you could choose 4 x's to be a
quarter note; then an 8th note would be 2 x's, and a half
note would be 8 x's. This choice is completely arbitrary.
Usually, 4 squares for a quarter note is a good choice.

Example: One possible choice for entering standard music

Whole --------- 16 squares Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Half ---------- 8 squares Xxxxxxxx
Quarter ------- 4 squares Xxxx
Eigth --------- 2 squares Xx
Sixteenth ----- 1 square X


Editing the sample field
------------------------
You will notice that when you enter a note, not only does the
note appear, but also a code in the sample field above
appears. This code is the "default sample" that was
mentioned above. You may change the default sample either
from the "Edit" submenu, or by pressing the F5 key in the
editor.

By default, the default sample will NOT overwrite an existing
(i.e. non-zero) sample number. For instance, say that the
default sample is 3, and you enter a note "C 1" in an empty
note unit; then the sample number of that note unit will
become 3. Later, you change your default sample to 4, and












change this "C 1" to a "D 1". The sample number will stay 3,
since the default sample, by default, does not have
"precedence" over an existing sample number. This is so that
you may change existing melody lines without altering the
sample number. You may change this precedence by going to
the Edit Menu. If the default sample has "precedence," it
will always overwrite an existing sample field. This is
useful for entirely rewriting tracks, samples and all.

Again, pressing F5 in the editor will allow you to change the
default sample. You'll want to change the default sample
when your lead line changes instruments, when you switch from
entering a lead track to a percussion track, etc. --
basically, whenever the music you're entering switches from
predominantly one instrument to another.

You may also edit the sample field manually by pressing "S".
This will popup a sample scroll list, from which you then
select the particular sample that you wish to be associated
with the note unit that the cursor is on.

Note that it is possible for a note unit to have a non-empty
note field, but a null (empty) sample field. This can happen
if you set the default sample to none and edit an empty note
unit, or if you manually change the sample field to none. The
end result is a note with no associated sample. I call such
notes "orphaned" notes. You generally should avoid orphaned
notes. They may play correctly, since the sample number that
will be used during playback will most likely default to the
last sample number that was used in that track. It's best
explicitly to associate a specific sample number with each
non-empty note field.

Additionally, you need to beware of using samples that you
haven't loaded. For instance, you may you may edit the
sample field to be any say, "sample code Q" even if you have
not yet loaded a sample into position Q. If you forget
eventually to load a sample into position Q, you may
(probably will) get very strange results during playback
which may crash your computer. So, always make sure that,
when you're ready to play your music, you are only using
samples you have loaded.


Editing the effect field
------------------------
The effect field consists of 2 parts: a command and an
argument.

The command can one of 16 values: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C
D E F. These commands control various aspects of note and
song playback. An effect command generally takes effect
starting immediately with the note field associated with that
effect.













The argument is one byte long and is represented in
hexadecimal. A hexadecimal byte is a base 16 representation
of a number that consists of an "upper nybble" and a "lower
nybble", each of which may take on a value of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, or F. Values from A - F
correspond to the decimal values 10 - 15.

Certain commands listed below use the 2 nybbles separately
(e.g. arpeggiation). In this case, the 1st nybble is one
argument, and the 2nd nybble is the 2nd argument. Other
commands treat the 2 nybbles jointly as one byte (e.g.
speed). In this case, the decimal equivalent of the
hexidecimal number is calculated by: (upper nybble * 16) +
lower nybble. So, for instance, an effect of "F 1D" would
mean set the song speed ("F") to 29 (1*16 + D = 1*16 + 13 =
29).

Here's a list of effects and their required argument byte.
"xy" for the argument byte means each nybble is treated
separately; "xx" means they are treated jointly as one byte.

0 -- AREPEGGIATION
Format: 0 xy

Plays its associated note in arpeggiated fashion; that is, it
rapidly steps the note between 3 pitch values: the original
pitch value, the original pitch value + "x" number of
halfsteps, and the original pitch value + "y" number of
halfsteps.

1 -- SLIDE UP
Format: 1 xx

Slides pitch up; slide speed is determined by the xx argument
(remember, it's in hexadecimal). Slides cannot occur outside
of a sample's range (see section on "attributes" above).

2 -- SLIDE DOWN
Format: 2 xx

Just like SLIDE UP except it slides the pitch down. Slides
cannot occur outside of a sample's range.

3 -- SLIDE TO NOTE
Format: 3 xx

Similar to slide except it slides the pitch TOWARDS the
pitch of the associated note field (commands 1 and 2 only
specify a speed, not a destination). xx is the speed to
slide the pitch. If "xx" is "00", the slide continues in the
same direction with the same speed. Slides cannot occur outside
a sample's range.













4 -- VIBRATO
Format: 4 xy

Performs "vibrato" on a note (wavering effect). x is the
vibrato speed; y is the vibrato depth. If "xy" is "00",
vibrato continues with the sampe speed and depth.

5 -- CONTINUE SLIDE TO NOTE + VOLUME SLIDE
Format: 5 x0 or 5 0y

Continues the "slide to command" selected by effect 3, while
simultaneously sliding the volume either up or down. x
is the speed to slide the volume up; y is the speed to slide
the volume down. Slides cannot occur outside a sample's
range.

6 -- CONTINUE VIBRATO + VOLUME SLIDE
Format: 6 x0 or 6 0y

Continues the "vibrato" selected by effect 4, while
simultaneously sliding the volume either up or down. x is
the speed to slide the volume up; y is the speed to slide the
volume down.

7 -- TREMOLO
Format: 7 xy

Vibrates the volume of the note. x is the speed of the
tremolo; y is the depth.

9 -- SET SAMPLE OFFSET
Format: 9 xx

Plays the associated sample starting from a specified point,
rather than starting from the beginning of the sample. The
sample offset is xx * 256; that is, the offset is $xx00
(hex).

A -- VOLUME SLIDE
Format: A x0 or A 0y

Slides the volume either up or down. If x is specified and y
is 0, the volume is slid up at speed x. If y is specified
and x is 0, the volume is slid down at speed y.

B -- POSITION JUMP
Format: B xx

Breaks the pattern (i.e. stops playing it at its current
position) and jumps to position xx (hexadecimal!) in the
pattern sequence table.















C -- SET VOLUME
Format: C xx

Sets the volume for its associated note unit to xx. Note
that it only takes effect with its associated note unit, not
subsequent notes. Valid volume range is 00 - 40 (hex).

D -- PATTERN BREAK
Format: D xx

Breaks the pattern (i.e. stops playing it at its current
position) and goes on to the next one in the pattern sequence
table. The next pattern starts playing at row xx. xx
is a decimal number from 0 to 63.

E -- MISCELLANEOUS COMMANDS
Format: Ex y

Several commands are accessed through the "E" command. The
first argument, "x" determines which of these miscellaneous
commands is to be executed. The second argument, "y", is the
argument to the chosen command.

E1 y: Fine slide up. Similar to effect 1, "slide up", except
it only slides the note up once; it does not continue sliding
during the length of the note. y = slide speed, hex 0 to F.

E2 y: Fine slide down. Similar to effect E1, except it
slides down.

E3 y: Glissando control. When glissando is enabled, "slide
to note" (effect 3) will slide a half-step at a time, instead
of a smooth slide. y=1 means glissando on; y=0 means
glissando off.

E5 y: Set finetune. y is the finetune value, as a signed 2's
complement number. That is, if y is 0 to 7, the finetune
value is y. If y is 8 to F, the finetune value is y-16
(that's y minus sixteen).
Positive finetune values make the pitch slightly higher;
negative, slightly lower.

E6 y: Pattern Loop. If y is 0, the current row is marked as
the start of the loop. If y is 1 through F, then the pattern
jumps to the start of the loop y times.

E9 y: Retrigger note. y is the "tick" at which the note
will be retriggered. The number of "ticks" per note is
determined by the speed of the song (command F).

EA y: Fine volume slide up. Similar to normal volume slide
up, except it only slides the volume once (not during the
entire length of the note). y is the slide speed.













EB y: Fine volume slide down. Similar to fine volume slide
up, except it slides down.

EC y: Cut note. Cuts the note at tick number "y", giving
very short notes. The number of ticks per note is determined
by the speed (command F).

ED y: Note delay. Delays playing of the note until tick
number "y".

EE y: Pattern delay. Delays playing of the pattern for "y"
notes before continuing playback.

F -- SET SPEED
Format: F xx

Sets the speed of the song; hex values 00 - 1F are "internal"
values, with lower numbers being faster. Values 20-FF are
BPM (beat per minute) values.


The best way to understand what exactly these effects do is
just to experiment and listen.


Copying patterns
----------------
Often it's useful to copy a pattern to another one. To do
this, press "C" or "c" within the editor. "C" will copy an
entire previous pattern to the current one; "c" will only
copy one track from a previous pattern to the current one.
Note that the source pattern is copied to the current cursor
position in the current pattern; this means that if you want
to paste a pattern in the middle of another pattern, you can
do so by moving the cursor to the middle of the current
pattern.

After pressing "C" or "c", a dialog box will appear in which
you enter the source pattern, offset within the source
pattern, and source track (if applicable) for the copy. Then,
clicking on [OK] performs the copy.

If, instead of typing in the source pattern, you'd like to
select it from a scroll list, you can do so by clicking on
the "Select Source" button at the bottom of the copy dialog
box. The Pattern Sequence Table will then appear, and you
can choose the source pattern directly from the table. See
the section below on "Sequencing/Creating Patterns".

Transposing patterns
--------------------
To transpose a pattern within the editor, you may use the F7
and F8 keys. F7 will transpose the current track up one half
step; F8, down one half step. Notice that these keys only












apply starting from the cursor position and going to the end
of the current pattern. Therefore, you can transpose part of
a pattern or all of a pattern. To transpose more than one
pattern, you should select the "Transpose patterns" option
from the Edit Submenu (see "Other Edit Options" below).


Editor view options
-------------------
Three keys, "V", "D", and "H" are discussed here; they all
affect what parts of the MOD you see onscreen.

"V": View sample. By pressing "V" in the editor, the sample
selection scroll list will appear. You may select a sample
from this list, after which the ONLY notes that will be
displayed in the editor will be notes associated with the
selected sample. This is useful if a track or some tracks
contain several different, interlaced melody lines scattered
among a few instruments. By viewing only one instrument, you
can reduce the complexity of the onscreen display and follow
just one instrument line at a time. Beware that editing
while viewing only one sample can be dangerous, because you
run the risk of overwriting notes that you can't see. To
alleviate this, the sample/effect information for "invisible"
notes during a view are highlighted. Selecting "< SAMPLE>>" after pressing "V" will turn off the view feature
and all notes for all samples will be displayed.

"D": Duration toggle. Pressing "D" in the editor toggles on
and off the showing of note durations. Note duration in a
MOD, you will recall, is defined by the interval from one
non-empty note unit to the next non-empty note unit. This
duration is shown on screen as dim blocks, and is very useful
for seeing the rhythmic structure of a piece. However, if a
melody line is distributed over 2 or more tracks, it can be
difficult to follow because the note durations for the
current track clutter up the screen display. By toggling the
note durations off, only the non-empty note units will be
displayed. This can greatly reduce the clutter on the screen
and is, again, most useful when you want to follow the action
of 2 or more tracks at once.

Example:

With durations on With durations off

Xxxx X
Xxxx X
Xxxx Xxxx X X

















"H": Hide track toggle. Pressing "H" will toggle a track
between hidden/non hidden status. A hidden track will not be
displayed unless it is the current track. Hiding tracks is
useful when you only want to work with one or two tracks and
don't want the screen to be cluttered by the other tracks. A
hidden track will have parentheses () around its number in
the editor status line.


Playing music from within the editor
------------------------------------
You may hear your music from within the pattern editor three
ways.

First, you may press the "N" key, which plays the note unit
the cursor is on.

First, you may press the "T" key, which plays the track the
cursor is located in.

You may press the "P" or the F10 key, which plays the entire
pattern.

By pressing the F4 key in the editor while music is playing,
the cursor will "trace" the song as it's played back; that
is, the cursor will show the position currently being played
within the Module as the song is being played. (Registered
version.)

These functions are useful for immediately hearing what your
music sounds like, allowing you to make changes and hear the
results.

4.2.2 Sequencing/creating patterns
-----------------------------------

One pattern is not enough to enter any song of reasonable
length. Therefore, you need to be able to create more
patterns, as well as to sequence these patterns into a
coherent order. This is done with the
"Sequence/create/choose" option under the Edit submenu.

The Pattern Sequence Table is a scroll list, and will
initially look like:

+------+
|000:00|
+------+

The left number represents the POSITION within the sequence
table. The right number represents the PATTERN NUMBER that
is at that position. There is a maximum of 128 positions
within the table.













The highlight bar represents the current pattern. It is the
pattern that is edited when you are in the pattern editor. To
change it, use the up and down arrow keys. This scrolls you
through the current pattern sequence, thereby changing the
current pattern.

Creating a pattern or modifying the sequence are done with
the same dialog box. To create a pattern and insert it after
the current position, press ENTER. A dialog box will
appear; it serves 2 purposes. First, you can enter a pattern
number, which will change the pattern number at that position
within the table. Second, you can click on the [Create
Pattern] button at the bottom of the dialog box, which will
then create a NEW pattern and insert it after the current one
in the sequence.

To insert or delete patterns into your song, press INS or
DEL, repsectively. A "00" pattern will be inserted into the
sequence, which you can then edit to be whatever pattern
number you want.

You need to be aware that when you save a Module (see "Saving
and loading Modules" below), the highest pattern number that
will be saved is the highest pattern number that was USED in
the pattern sequence. For instance, say you created 38
patterns (0 - 37), but in your sequence you only used
patterns 0 through 20. If you attempted to save the song,
patterns 21 through 37 would not be saved. This is a
limitation imposed by the Module format. Be sure, therefore,
that when you save a Module that the highest pattern number
in the sequence table corresponds to the highest pattern in
memory. This usually isn't a problem, since creating a
pattern automatically puts it into the sequence table.


4.2.3 Other edit options
-------------------------

In addition, the Edit menu has a few other options for your
convenience.

"Transpose pattern" allows you to increase or decrease the
pitch of notes in a pattern by a certain number of
half-steps. You may transpose all tracks or only one track.
Additionally, you may transpose all samples in the
pattern/track or only 1 sample. This is useful if you want
ony to transpose a particular INSTRUMENT.

"Erase all patterns" does just what it says -- erases all
patterns from memory. It asks for confirmation before it
wipes the pattern memory. It's useful if you want to start
over with a new song but keep the current samples in
memory.













"Highlight notes" allows you to specify the starting note to
be highlighted in the editor window, as well as the increment
between highlighted notes. Highlighted notes in the editor
are simply for reference, so that you can tell at a glance
where you are within the pattern. The default highlight
start line is 0, and the default increment is 4.

4.3 HEARING YOUR MUSIC
----------------------

4.3.1 Playback within ModEdit
------------------------------

The simplest way is to choose "Play whole song" from the
"Play" option on the main menu. You may also choose "Play
part of song" to play back only a part of the song. During
playback, regular processing continues, so you can actually
edit a MOD while it's playing. (See section on "Recording"
below.)

During playback, you can jump forward or backward in the song
by selecting the appropriate options under the Play menu. You
can also alter the volume by selecting "Volume". To stop
playback (it loops forever until you stop it), select the
"Stop" option.

Also, as mentioned previously, you may use the N, T, or P
keys from within the pattern editor to play a note, track, or
song, respectively.

4.3.2 MODPLAY: External playing
---------------------------------

To play modules outside the ModEdit environment, simply
choose the "Save Module" option of the File Submenu to save
your song to a Module. It's best to save it with an
extension of ".MOD," so that MODPLAY and ModEdit can
automatically locate it.

The resulting Module on disk can be played via the external
Module Player MODPLAY, by Mark J. Cox. Consult the MODPLAY
documentation for specific instructions on using MODPLAY.


4.4 RECORDING MODULES
----------------------

ModEdit 3.0 allows you to play along with a Module in real
time, using your computer keyboard as a piano keyboard.

To use the real-time recording functions, first select the
sample you want to do the recording with, with the "Sample to
record with" option of the Record Submenu. Next, select













which track you wish to record in, with the "Track to record
into" option.

Next, start the MOD playing by selecting one of the
appropriate options under the Play Submenu. Then, while the
MOD is playing, select either "Play without recording" or
"Record from keyboard" options. The first option will let
you play along with the MOD and hear the results in real
time, but will not actually store your notes into the MOD.
The second option (available in the registered version) will
not only play the notes you strike, but will also store them
into the MOD. This often makes music entry much easier and
faster -- not to mention more enjoyable. The layout of the
keyboard, as a piano, is shown on screen during recording,
and is as follows:


F#2 G#2 A#2 C#3 D#3 F#3 G#3 A#3
2 3 4 6 7 9 0 -

F2 G2 A2 B2 C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3
Q W E R T Y U I O P [

C#1 D#1 F#1 G#1 A#1 C#2 D#2
S D G H J L ;

C1 D1 E1 F1 G1 A1 B1 C2 D2 E2
Z X C V B N M , . /


If you'd like to "synchronize" your playing with the start of
the Module playback, select "Synchronous start" from the
Record submenu. Then, the instant you hit a key to start
recording, the Module will reset itself to the beginning, so
that it begins "synchronously" with your input.


4.5 SAVING AND LOADING MODULES
--------------------------------

ModEdit can load in standard 15 or 31 instrument Modules.
This means you can edit a very large portion of existing
Amiga Modules (since the Module format comes from the Amiga).
ModEdit looks for Modules in the "Module directory," which
you may set/change via the Configuration Submenu. Loading a
Module is straightforward; choose the "Load Module" option of
the File Submenu, specify the path/filename, and the Module
will be loaded into memory. Any errors during loading will be
printed to the screen.

Saving a Module is equally simple; simply choose the "Save
Module" option of the File Submenu. Technical note: ModEdit
only saves 31 instrument Modules, even Modules that were
originally loaded as 15 instrument modules. Since the 15












instrument format is supported for loading, compabitility is
maintained.
































































=============
5. REFERENCE
=============

5.1 Pattern editor quick reference key summary
-----------------------------------------------

Category Key(s) Function
--------
General F1 Help
F2 Sample editing
F3 Sequence/create/choose pattern
Playback F10/P Play entire song from cursor
T Play track from cursor
N Play note at cursor
X Hear note at cursor
F4 Trace playback (registered ver.)
F6 Playback volume
F9 Stop playback
Viewing 1 2 3 4 Switch to track 1 2 3 or 4
D Toggle durations on/off
H Toggle current track hidden/shown
V View only one sample
Movement < > Previous/next pattern in sequence
Arrows, Move within pattern
PgUp,
PgDn,
Home,
End
Editing Space, Put note at cursor position
ENTER
Ins/Del Insert/Delete note in pattern
BS Remove note at position
c/C Copy part/all of another pattern
e/E Set/clear effect for a note
S Set sample for a note
Z Zap (erase) a track
F7/F8 Transpose a track up/down
F5 Choose default sample



























5.2 Effect list -- quick reference
-----------------------------------

Effect #/Description Format/Argument
-------------------- ---------------
1: Slide Up 1 xx xx=speed
2: Slide Down 2 xx xx=speed
3: Slide To Note 3 xx xx=speed
4: Vibrato 4 xy x=speed y=depth
5: Slide To+Vol Slide 5 x0/5 0y x=upspeed OR y=downspeed
6: Vibrato+Vol Slide 6 x0/6 0y x=upspeed OR y=downspeed
7: Tremolo 7 xy x=speed y=depth
8: <>
9: Set sample offset 9 xx Play sample from offset $xx00
A: Volume Slide A x0/A 0y x=upspeed OR y=downspeed
B: Position Jump B xx xx=pattern position
C: Set Volume C xx xx=volume(00-40 hex)
D: Pattern Break D xx Skip to pos xx in next pat
E1:Fineslide up E1 y y=slide speed
E2:Fineslide down E2 y y=slide speed
E3:Glissando control E3 y y=0/1 (off/on)
E5:Set Finetune E5 y y=finetune value
E6:Pattern loop E6 y y=0/1-F (start/# of loops)
E9:Retrigger note E9 y y=tick to retrigger note
EA:Fine vol slide up EA y y=slide speed
EB:Fine vol slide down EB y y=slide speed
EC:Note cut EC y y=tick to cut note
ED:Note delay ED y y=ticks to delay note
EE:Pattern delay EE y y=notes to delay pattern
F: Set Speed F xx xx=speed(00-1F)


5.3 MODPLAY
------------

MODPLAY is an external Module playing program by Mark J. Cox.
MODPLAY can play Modules created with ModEdit, outside the
ModEdit environment, often with higher quality than from
within ModEdit (MODPLAY devotes the entire processor to
playing, but ModEdit allows you to continue other functions
while playback takes place). It is available at many ftp
sites, one of which is wuarchive.wustl.edu (in
mirrors/msdos/sound). The latest version is 2.19b.

5.4 MODOBJ
-----------

MODOBJ is a .OBJ file that allows you to play Modules within
your own software. It is also written by Mark J. Cox, and
may be obtained via anonymous ftp on ftp.brad.ac.uk, in
directory /misc/msdos/mp. Mr. Cox's email address is
[email protected]. ModEdit uses a special version of
MODOBJ.













==============
6. THE FUTURE
==============

ModEdit 3.0 is, of course, the third major incarnation of my
ModEdit software. It is, I believe, the first MOD editor to
use a more natural piano-roll style interface for entering
notes. It has evolved significantly since version 1 was
released long ago.

ModEdit 3.0 will probably be the last major release of
ModEdit. I unfortunately do not have as much time to work on
it as I used to. I still may make minor enhancements to the
program such as:

- Real time recording from MIDI devices
- Printout of a MOD

With enough support from users, though, I may be persuaded to
make other enhancements to the program. Let me know. Once
again, my address for registration and other inquiries or
comments is:

Norman Lin
P.O. Box 2724
Norman, OK 73070-2724
U.S.A.

Internet email addresses:

PREFERRED: [email protected]
ALTERNATE: [email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]