THIS PROGRAM PLAYS OLD MCDONALD.
IT SHOWS THE PITCH RANGE OF THE SONG.
IT GIVES YOU 11 INSTRUMENTS TO CHOOSE FROM.
IT SHOWS HOW MUCH YOU CAN RAISE OR LOWER THE
PITCH OF THE SONG AND STILL BE PLAYED BY THE INSTRUMENT
YOU PICK.
IT PLAYS THE SONG AND PERMITS REPEATS.
THIS PROGRAM DEMONSTRATES MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
AND THE RANGES THEY CAN PLAY IN.
WRITING A MUSIC SCANNING PROGRAM:
A while back, I laboriously had my computer play music I got by finding the notes on sheet music.
It would be nice to have a computer do this automatically.
What it would have to do: The computer would have to find which note is written and how many beats
it has.
A COMPLETELY AUTOMATIC SCAN:
The computer can scan an image and report changes of color for each dot it is made of.
In this way, the computer can see. I tried this and started having problems. The computer
can scan up and down and when it hits a big object it can report. An continuous object can be collected.
Different notes have different numbers of dots so it is possble to tell which note it is.
There are a few big problems with this. Pictures of scores can be of different sizes and qualities.
A blurry image messes this up. Sloppy score lines messes this up.
While I had some success and it was cool seeting the red scan line go across, it was not
usable with new scores although I looked for solutions.
A COMPUTER ASSISTED SCAN:
Parts of the scan which are alsost impossible are easy with some help by the human user.
You can tell it the first score line andthe last score line, where the notes are and what
beat they have.
THE MANUAL SCAN TASK:
When I wrote down notes for the computer to play, I followed these steps:
1. I wrote down the note name, using the FACE EGBDF line names.
2. I then wrote the number of the piano key, using 37 as middle C. The simple songs I
was dealing, amazingly used the same twelve note range.
3. I then put a number signifying the time each note would be held.
This list of numbers was put into the program, where it could be read to play the song.
THE COMPUTER SCAN TASK:
1. The computer must know where the staff line and spaces are.
2. The computer must know where the notes are on the staff.
3. The computer must know how long to hold the notes.
THE HUMAN COMPUTER PARTNERSHIP:
You must let the computer know where the staff lines are. You can click with the mouse
the top line and then the bottom line,; then the computer can figure out were the lines and spaces are.
You then point with the mouse at a note Andthe computer says which note it is.
The computer shows the note aND WHEN IT IS CORRECT, YOU ACCEPT IT WITH A CLICK.
The time is mostlt quarter notes, so if you move to the next note without a choice, it is a quarter note.
You can specify other choices with leter presses.
Each new line must be told to the computer.
When done you save the data for playback.
The Page of the score can be enlarged a nd moved right to help; a bigger score works better.
The song on piano and lyrics.
A song about a worker on the barge canal The Erie Canal.
He sings about how he and his mule Sal worked pulling
barges for fifteen years.
They had to duck down to go under bridges near towns.