Introduction to Melodia / Sound Card

Imagine an orchestra: strings, woodwinds, percussion, brass, and
at the head of the orchestra, the conductor.  Now imagine all of
this on one computer screen, everything changeable at the touch
of a button.  Welcome to Melodia.

Getting Started

Once you have installed Melodia, type "MS" to run it. Melodia has
on-line documentation.  If you have a question about what something
does, place the cursor on that particular icon and click the right
mouse button.  You will receive a brief explanation of the icon and
its function. Before using Melodia, it is a good idea to scan
everything by holding down on the right mouse button and moving the
cursor. This will give you a basic idea of what everything does.

The Play Page

In a sense, the top two lines of the PLAY page are the conductor
of an orchestra, and below them are sixteen voices in groups of
four, which are the orchestra.  Try adjusting the volume by
clicking on the number on the horizontal line in the "Volume"
column (top right-hand corner of the screen) and sliding left or
right.  By clicking "Halt" in the upper left-hand corner, you
can turn off all the playing notes and reset all of the
sequencers.  To restart the sound, click halt again.  Note the
"Mut(e)" icon just below halt.  You can turn individual voices
on or off by clicking on their "number" in the Mut column (if
you hear no sound, try adjusting the voice's volume).

If you have VGA, clicking on  "Zoom" in the lower right-hand
corner will switch between screens that show the PLAY and
COMPOSE pages separately or combined.  When combined, the upper
half of the screen is the PLAY page, and the lower half is the
COMPOSE page.  In most systems, this is the first page that will
appear.  To return to the two separate pages, click on Zoom.

To change the page, move the cursor to the lower right-hand
corner of the page.  You will see a line with the labels "File,"
"Zoom," and "Page" (Page only appears in low resolution, when
"Zoom" is on). To change pages, click on Page (only in low
resolution - if you are in high resolution, click on Zoom first).

The Compose Page

The COMPOSE page has seven basic parts: the clocks, and the six
different processes.  The clocks are located at the bottom of the
screen and are labeled "Clk" in brown. There are 16 clock modules that
combine to make 12 clocks, labeled "A-L," plus two hidden clocks, M
and N.  To change clock rhythm, dial a new value in the first number
under the column labeled "Rt" (Rate).  The lower the value, the
faster the tick, and vice versa.

Above the Clocks are the processes (labeled in magenta).  These
are the heart and soul of Melodia.  They control note values and
other musical parameters, and can be used as connections in
other processes.  As you learn more about Melodia, you will
learn to use the processes in endless combinations.

The Instrument Page

The INSTRUMENT page is where you can change the quality of a
voice.  You can also change the instrument by moving the cursor
to the instrument box slightly to the right on the bottom, and
clicking on either "up" or "down."  You can control the volume
by moving the cursor to the number in the long, horizontal box
labeled "VOL," holding down on the left mouse button, and
sliding either left or right.

How to Exit

To exit, either press the "ESC" key or click on "File" then
select "Exit" (next to "Return" in the lower portion of the
box).  If you have altered your file in any way, the computer
will ask you if you want to Save or Discard the changes.  To
save them, type S or click on the box that says "Save."  To
discard them, type D or click on the box that says "Discard." 
Remember: DISCARDED FILES WILL BE LOST!