Copyright: Copyright © VIMAS Tech. 1995-1996


Contents

How to order and register

Introduction

Installation

How to use Singing Tutor

If you have problems

License agreement


AnyNote


Introduction

Singing Tutor for Windows 95 - is the software  for improving  your singing skills and tuning musical instruments. The software was developed by VIMAS Technologies, Kiev, Ukraine. The idea was proposed by professor Valery Kozlin with  National Music Academy.

Singing Tutor idea is simple. Each note has a defined pitch frequency. The higher note has the higher frequency and vise versa. Singing Tutor allows you to measure the pitch frequency of the voice or music with high precision and to compare it with the pitch frequency of the reference note. The result of the measurement is displayed as output graph, in real time. The user, watching the indicator, tries to sing or to tune musical instrument most closely to the reference pitch.

Singing Tutor uses the most modern digital signal processing algorithms for pitch measurement!

Thank you for purchasing Singing Tutor, and we hope it becomes your friend and assistant.

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How_use
How to use Singing Tutor

Before starting Singing Tutor, connect a microphone with a sound card and make sure it works. Using any sound recording utility, for example, Sound Recorder, can do it. It is possible to control the recording level using a mixer included in sound card software.

In the upper side of the window there is a musical score for the current pitch range.

There are buttons under the musical score to choose the pitch range. When you choose new pitch range the music score is redrawn in accordance to the chosen range.

Singing Tutor works in two modes: Fixed Note and Any Note You can choose the required mode in the main menu.

Please, study the Fixed Note mode, described bellow, first of all.

The current note in the pitch range is indicated on the music score by red color and pushed state. To change the current note click the left mouse button on the required note. The chosen note becomes current and plays back. You can repeat playing back of the note at any time by clicking the left mouse button on the note. If note does not play, check if MIDI Mapper driver was installed on your computer.

The black window under the pitch range buttons is the pitch frequency indicator. Horizontal axis is time, vertical axis is pitch frequency. The central yellow line is the reference pitch frequency, upper and lower red lines are bounds of the tolerance interval, that you can set yourself for selection difficulty level. Maximum tolerance is 1/4 tone, minimum tolerance is 1/40 tone.

The distance between the yellow  line (reference pitch frequency) and upper or lower bound of the black window is 1/4 tone.

 - start the pitch measurement.

 -- stop the pitch  measurement.

  - set note La frequency. Default frequency is 437 Hz..

  - - set the tolerance interval value.

  - exit the program..

For training your vocal skills you should click on the icon "Start the pitch measurement" and  click mouse on the note, listen it and try to sing to microphone this note. On the pitch frequency  indicator you will see the green line. If it is, for example, near the upper bound of the black window - it means that you sing higher than the reference note and you should drive your pitch (green line) to the central yellow line. The tolerance interval defines the difficulty level. Try to sing and do not exceed tolerance.

It is possible to hear the note several times per one clicking by the left button of the mouse.  You can sing and follow the note that will sound several times. To set it up chose the Note item and then Repeat in the main menu. Set up the number of repeats and time between. You can listen this series multiple-time.

To practice your singing skills it is possible to activate the note but without its speech. To do it, you have to activate the note by the right button of the mouse.

It is also possible to playback the note La (2 octave) at any time you want. You have to click by the right button of the mouse wherever at the musical score except for the notes.

For tuning musical instruments set microphone near the instrument, click the testing note and play it by the music instrument. On the pitch frequency indicator you will see the pitch. Try to tune the instrument until the green line consists with the central yellow line.

Any Note mode

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problems
If you have problems

1.The green line does not appear in the indicator or program works unstable.

1) Check was it right chosen pitch range and does the note, you are singing correspond one of the note from the pitch range. To familiarize oneself with the program, we recommend to choose a note from the middle of the pitch range.

2) Check the sound recording in your computer with your sound recorder. To adjust sound level:

--double click the speaker icon to run Volume control dialog. In the Options menu click Properties/Recording. Then in Recording and Microphone devices set the required sound level by dragging the Volume Control slider.

--increase or decrease the distance to the microphone.

2.You do not hear the note sound when it was rendered active.

1) Double click the speaker icon to run Volume control dialog. In the Options menu click Properties/Recording. The Synthesizer device has to be turned on. Set the required sound level by dragging the Volume Control slider.

3.The green line is being drawing when the note is played back even if you are not singing at the moment.

1) The microphone is too close to speakers.

2) Double click the speaker icon to run Volume control dialog. In the Options menu click Properties/Recording. The Synthesizer device has to be turned off.

4.You think that the program works wrong (understates or overstates the measured value of the note).

1) Click the Calibrate button and check the adjusted value of the note La 2 octave (437 Hz default). The value 437 Hz corresponds to notes in your soundcard. Set the value which is correspond to the standard in you state.

If you have some problems with Singing Tutor, do not hesitate to contact us:

Email:vimas@info.kiev.ua

Tel/Fax: (038 044) 517 32 79

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Installation

Hardware and software requirements for the work with Singing Tutor:

-	IBM PC - 486, 60 MHz and RAM 4MB or more;

-	Windous compatible sound card;

-	microphone and audio system;

-	Windows 95 (NT).

To install Singing Tutor on your PC it is necessary to do following:

- start INSTALL.EXE ;

- point out the disk drive you want to install program to.

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License agreement

VIMAS Singing Tutor™

Copyright  1997-1998, VIMAS Technologies

All rights reserved.

License Agreement

IMPORTANT - read carefully the following terms and conditions before using this software.

This legal document is an agreement between you, the end-user, and VIMAS  Technologies. By using this software you accept the terms and conditions of this license agreement and warranty.

Shareware Version

You may evaluate the Shareware program for maximum of six runs, after which you must register the program with VIMAS Technologies or remove the software from your computer.

You may allow other users to evaluate copies of the unregistered Shareware. All evaluation users are subject to the terms of this agreement.

The evaluator/user/buyer/owner is not allowed to attempt to reverse engineer, disassemble or decompile VIMAS Technologies software and products.

VIMAS Technologies name and any logo or graphics file that represents our software may not be used in any way to promote products developed with our software. All parts of VIMAS Technologies software and products are copyright protected. No program, code, part, image, video clip, audio sample, text or computer generated sequence of images may be copied or used in any way by the user except as intended within the bounds of the single user program.

VIMAS Technologies  PROVIDES THIS SOFTWARE ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

The entire risk as to the quality, performance and use of this demonstration version is borne by you.

VIMAS Technologies is not responsible for any damages whatsoever, including loss of information, interruption of business, personal injury and/or any damage or consequential damage without limitation, incurred before, during or after the use of our products.

One user may use each registered copy of the VIMAS Technologies software in only one single location. Use of the software means that you have loaded the program, installed the program onto a computer and run it. If you install the software onto a multi-user platform or network, each and every individual user of the software must be registered separately.

You may make one copy of the registered software for backup purposes, providing you only have one copy installed on one computer being used by one person. If any person other than yourself uses VIMAS Technologies’ software registered in your name,

regardless of whether it is at the same time or different times, then this agreement is being violated!

The sale of and/or distribution of registered copies of this software is strictly forbidden. It is a violation of this agreement to loan, rent, lease, borrow, or transfer the use of registered copies of VIMAS Technologies software products.

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Any Note mode

In Any Note mode you should not to activate on the musical score the note for singing. You can sing (play) any note in the your pitch range. Singing Tutor will recognize the note you are singing (playing) and highlight it on the musical score - this is the coarse indication. The note will be highlighted if your pitch is in range from +1/4 to -1/4 tone near  this note. The pitch frequency indicator (black window) is the precision indicator. On the indicator the central yellow line is the reference pitch frequency for highlighted note.

If you will sing (play) new note, the central yellow line is the reference pitch frequency for the new note. The bound between previous and current notes on the black window is the vertical blue line. To see notes you have being sung, turn off the microphone (icon "Stop the pitch measurement") and click left mouse button on the black window between any blue vertical lines. The corresponding note.will be highlighted.

If you will tune  the musical instrument - do not play two or more notes simultaneously, because the pitch measurement can be performed only for one note !

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