SETUP SCREENS The SETUP function on the main menu leads to two screens, each containing four slide controls: MIC LEVEL - Controls the microphone input level RANGE/CLEF - Controls the octave range and displayed clef SYNTH - Controls the synthesizer sound TUNING - Adjusts the synthesizer to match out-of-tune instruments TEMPO - Controls the tempo at which the program plays songs KEY - Sets the key signature in which songs are displayed TIME - Sets the time signature displayed VOLUME - Controls the synthesizer volume When you select SETUP, the first four controls above will be displayed. The other four controls can be displayed by hitting the F1 or Enter keys. To select a control, use the left and right arrow keys to move the blinking triangle pointer to the control you want. To set the control position, use the up and down arrow keys. SETTING CONTROLS FOR VOCAL INPUT When the program's sound input features are used, the MIC LEVEL control on the first screen determines how close you have to hold the microphone to your mouth for the computer to hear the notes you sing. Normally you should leave this control set to its startup position and you should hold the microphone close to your mouth (less than one inch) while singing. If you have a preamp, you may be able to hold the microphone further from your mouth, and you may wish to set the MIC LEVEL control to a lower setting. The RANGE/CLEF control is one of the most important controls. This control determines the vocal range used when the program measures your singing pitch and the clef on which songs are displayed. In most cases, adult male singers should use the Treble8 setting. This setting is selected automatically when you start the program. It displays songs on a treble clef that has been lowered by one octave to make it suitable for both Bass and Tenor voices. Children and female singers should normally use either the Treble8 setting or the Treble setting depending on the pitch range of their voice. The Treble setting displays a standard treble clef and can be used by both Alto and Soprano singers. (Please note that on Tandy 1000 computers released prior to the SL/TL models the music will be played an octave higher than written when the RANGE/CLEF control is set to the Bass or Treble8 positions.) To determine the proper setting for your voice when using the vocal input features of the program you should first try the Treble8 setting. Hold the microphone one inch or less from your mouth and sing several notes going from a low pitch to a high pitch. As you sing, the names of the notes should appear just above the corresponding notes on the piano keyboard displayed in the bottom half of the screen. If the lowest note you can comfortably sing is near the center of the piano keyboard and your highest note goes off the right of the keyboard, you have either an Alto or Soprano voice and you should select the Treble setting. Otherwise you have a Bass or Tenor voice and the Treble8 setting is correct. ADDITIONAL CONTROLS The SYNTH control determines what voices in a song are played by the computer (melody or harmony) and the sound of the notes. The Solo setting will cause the computer to play only the melody line in songs that contain both melody and harmony. The other two settings (Harmony and Chimes) play both the melody and harmony voices. On IBM PC, XT, AT and compatibles without the Sound Blaster the design of the computer prevents it from playing true harmony, so the program simulates the sound of harmony using a technique known as "arpeggio" when in the Harmony position. The Chimes position is only available on selected Tandy computers and when the Sound Blaster is used. The TUNING control can be used to adjust the synthesizer and pitch measurement software to match slightly out-of-tune instruments. Normally you should leave this control in its center position. The TEMPO control on the second setup screen controls how fast songs are played. The KEY and TIME controls determines the key signature and time signature displayed on the left side of the musical staff. When entering a song from a book or piece of sheet music, be sure to set the key signature control correctly according to the number of #'s or b's on the song you are entering. ***** SPECIAL NOTE FOR TANDY 1000 SL/TL COMPATIBLES ***** On Tandy 1000 SL/TL compatible computers, the VOLUME control works together with the volume control on your computer to determine how loud songs are played. The program's VOLUME control is set near the center position when you start the Music Transcription System II to keep the volume at a moderate level. This is required to compensate for internal coupling between the audio input and output circuits in Tandy 1000 SL/TL series computers. If the VOLUME control (or the MIC LEVEL control) is set too high, this coupling can cause the computer to recognize the note it is playing instead of the note you are singing when using the vocal training features of the program's SING menu. This problem can be corrected on Tandy 1000 SL/TL compatible computers by using an amplified speaker set such as the Radio Shack model 40-166. These speakers will allow you to turn down the computer's front panel volume control to a level that prevents the coupling problem, while still producing as much sound level as you need. When using these speakers, you can also turn up the program's MIC LEVEL control to increase the microphone sensitivity. The newer Tandy 2500 XL does not have the coupling problem, so you can adjust the program's VOLUME and MIC LEVEL controls to any settings you wish. On this computer, we suggest setting the MIC LEVEL control to maximum to achieve the best sensitivity.