Dr.Godfried-Willem RAES
Kursus Experimentele Muziek: Boekdeel 5: Notatie en Muzieksoftware
Hogeschool Gent : Departement Muziek & Drama
Een Midi-Sequencer: CAKEPRO
(12-Tone Systems TM)
Cakepro, in een vroegere (DOS-only) versie verspreid onder de naam Cakewalk, bij de intrede van Windows verspreid als Cakepro en nu, in de nieuwste versie terug als Cakewalk, recent geuptate als 'Sonar', is een behoorlijk uitgebreid sequencer-software pakket voor gebruik op IBM-PC's en klonen.
Het gebruik van dit programma kan sterk worden aanbevolen voor wie via midi-keyboards muziek in de komputer wil inbrengen. De ingespeelde muziek kan op soepele wijze gekorrigeerd en gemonteerd worden binnen het programma, terwijl de midi-files die erdoor worden aangemaakt geschikt zijn voor verdere verwerking en omzetting tot partituren via het 'Noteprocessor' programma of via Finale for Windows.
We geven hier geen handleiding bij het programma zelf, aangezien we een volledige manual ter beschikking stellen van de studenten. Het programma is overigens bijzonder 'user friendly' en alleen voor de meer gevorderde toepassingen heb je de manual werkelijk nodig. Een basis-kennis van het midi-systeem zelf is echter ook hier onontbeerlijk.
Om de studenten op weg te zetten bij het installeren van het programma, geven we hierbij een afdruk -hier en daar voorzien van opmerkingen en aantekeningen- van de README.DOC file die bij versie 4.0 van het programma (dit is de oudste nu nog steeds goed bruikbare DOS-versie) wordt meegeleverd.
Nota:
- even without using setup it is possible to change the IRQ for the midi-interface using debug. I/O adress as well as IRQ number are in ASCII format in the header of the binary MIDIPORT.DRV file. The CakeWalk version as received, had IRQ set to 5!
- Computers with SCSI-harddisks have IRQ2 committed to the harddisk! Dont attempt to use this interrupt for midi.
- If you dont have interrupt numbers free, I advise you to use the printer (LPT1) interrupt, since barely any programs use the parallel printer port using interrupts. Moreover, chances that you would be printing and inputting midi-data at the same time, are minimal!
README.DOC for Cake Pro - Date: 29 Jan 1991 19:59:50 Release 4.0A
[] If you are installing Cake Pro for the first time, follow the normal instructions in the manual, but also see information on "Drivers" below.
[] If you have already installed Cake Pro 4.0, you should install this 4.0A maintenance update, because it eliminates problems that some users had with playback occasionally freezing. Please follow the normal instructions in the User's Guide. NOTE: installing this will replace your existing MIDI driver (.DRV) files with the new ones. If you've run Setup to change the MIDI interface settings to other than their factory default, you'll need to do so again after installing.
DOS-DRIVERS
Dit zijn korte programmas in assembler die door de software worden gebruikt om een interface te realiseren naar de diverse hardware uitvoeringen van midi-interfaces.
Following is a list of Installable Port Drivers supplied with this release:
MPU401.DRV MPU-401 compatible (incl. Music Quest PC MIDI Card)
MQX16.DRV Music Quest MQX-16
MQX16S.DRV Music Quest MQX-16S
MQX32.DRV Music Quest MQX-32 or MQX-32M
CMS101.DRV Computer Music Supply CMS-101
CMS444.DRV Computer Music Supply CMS-444
CMS444Z.DRV Computer Music Supply CMS-444Z
IBMPS1.DRV IBM PS/1 Audio Card and Joystick Option
KEY101.DRV Key (KEE) MIDIator MS-101
KEY103.DRV Key (KEE) MIDIator MS-103
OPTRON.DRV Optronics Basic MIDI I/O card
YAMAHAC1.DRV Yamaha C1
MQ32_MPU.DRV 1 Music Quest MQX-32(M) and 1 Roland MPU-401 compatible
_2MQ32.DRV 2 Music Quest MQX-32(M)'s
REMEMBER to copy the appropriate driver file to a file named MIDIPORT.DRV. Cakewalk needs to find MIDIPORT.DRV when it starts; otherwise you will get an error message. For example, if you are using an MPU-401 compatible, you need to enter the following at the DOS Prompt:
COPY MPU401.DRV MIDIPORT.DRV
Then, if you are using a MIDI interface with other than its factory-default settings -- for example, an MPU-401 compatible on other than IRQ 2 and base port 330 -- you must run Setup. Start Cake Pro by entering:
CAKEPRO -S
Select choice (3), "MIDI Interface Settings", and enter the appropriate information.
NOTE: IF YOU ARE UPGRADING FROM 3.0 AND ARE USING AN INTERFACE WITH OTHER THAN FACTORY-DEFAULT SETTINGS, YOU MUST RUN SETUP AGAIN. The settings you previously made used to be stored in CAKEWALK.INI, but Cakewalk no longer looks in CAKEWALK.INI for these values. It looks in MIDIPORT.DRV. When you run Setup, the values you set are stored in MIDIPORT.DRV. If you ever recopy the original .DRV file to MIDIPORT.DRV, you will need to run Setup again.
Key MIDIator MS-101/103 Notes:
Even if your serial port works fine for other software, the speed or hardware timing may be off enough that it won't work with the Key MIDIator, which requires exact conformance. It's also critical to get a properly wired serial cable that connects all the required pins; the MIDIator uses some pins that most applications don't need. If Cakewalk can't find your Key MIDIator, first make sure you've selected the right IRQ number and address for your serial port (COM1 = IRQ4 3F8, COM2 = IRQ3 2F8). If that's ok, try a different serial cable. If you notice occasional or constant garbling of MIDI output, you should call Key technical support at 817-560-9751. They will provide you with a way to test your serial port with the Key interface and get it working if possible. Please note that Key is much better equipped to help you with this problem than we are, since this is not a Cakewalk-specific problem.
MQX-32 Notes
If you have an MQX-32 or MQX-32M interface, and find that Cakewalk Professional is sending all MIDI output to both ports, rather than the ports you select in the Track View, then first verify that you're using the MQX-32 driver, MQX32.DRV. If so, then the problem is that you may have an older MQX-32 that cannot separately address its MIDI ports when in UART mode. Contact Music Quest at (214) 881-7408 for information on how to obtain a ROM upgrade for your interface card.
Warning About SCSI Drives
Some SCSI hard drive controller cards use IRQ 2. Do not attempt to use a MIDI interface set to IRQ 2 with such a hard drive: loss of data may result. If you are not sure what kind of hard drive controller you have, then you *probably* don't have a SCSI controller. They generally cost more than ST- 506 or ESDI controllers and usually don't come as standard equipment.
Systems with only 360K floppy drives
NOTE: If you have a system with only 360K floppy drives (no hard drive), you will not be able to use the help system. There is barely room for CAKEPRO.EXE on a single 360K disk. As a result, the help file (CW4PRO.HLP) will not fit on the same disk. Similarly, the Dump Request Macros stored in CAKEWALK.SXT will not be available to Cakewalk Professional on start-up, because there is no room for CAKEWALK.SXT either.
Do NOT rename CAKEPRO.EXE
If you rename the executable file, Cakewalk Professional will not be able to load overlays. (If don't like to type in CAKEPRO, instead make a batch file that calls the CAKEPRO.EXE file, and give the batch file the name that you prefer.)
AANVULINGEN EN KORREKTIES VAN HET HANDBOEK:
Disabling MIDI Metronome
To disable the MIDI metronome, you put a zero in the *Velocity* field, NOT the Duration field as the manual says.
SMPTE "Midnight roll-over"
Cakewalk Professional 4.0 can sync to tapes striped beginning with SMPTE times 23:59:59:00 or higher and rolling-over to 00:00:00:00. Some studios will provide tapes in this style, with the first action occurring at 00:00:00:00. Rather than having the studio re-stripe the tape so that the action begins at an offset like 00:00:02:00, you can specify an offset of 00:00:00:00 to Cakewalk Professional 4.0.
-D flag and Sysx Meta-Events
System Exclusive banks can be transmitted three ways in Cake Pro:
* You press the "Send" button in "View/System Exclusive".
* You set a bank as "Auto", so that whenever the file is
loaded, the bank is automatically sent.
* You insert a "Sysx" event in the Event View which triggers
transmission of the bank at that time during playback.
The third method has some restrictions. As the manual notes, these messages can't be very long, because MIDI doesn't allow much else to happen while a sysx message is in progress. For similar reasons, the "-D" command line flag -- which slows down transmission of system exclusive data -- has no effect on banks which are sent as "Sysx" meta-events during playback. Instead, Cake Pro sends the message as fast as possible so as to have the least-disruptive effect on playback. This means, however, that if one of your instruments can't receive sysx at the full MIDI bandwidth, you won't be able to send it sysx during playback. You'll need to use one of the first two methods.
IBM PS/1 Owners Only: Using the IBM PS/1's Thru/Out Port
The IBM PS/1 Audio/Joystick Card has a MIDI Thru/Out port which can be set to either Thru or Out. When it's set to Thru, it outputs a copy of what comes into the MIDI In port. This is true even when Cake Pro is not running. When it's set to Out, it outputs a copy of what the MIDI Out port is sending. Cake Pro must be running to generate this output. When the IBM PS/1 starts up, the MIDI Thru/Out port is set to Out. We have supplied two programs you can run to set this the way you prefer. At the DOS prompt, type PS1THRU to set it to Thru and PS1OUT to set it to Out. You may want to put one of these commands in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, so it gets set right automatically every time your PS/1 starts up. Note that Cake Pro sets it to Out while running, and restores the original state when done. Hint: You may want to put PS1THRU in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and then use the MIDI Thru/Out Port instead of the MIDI Out Port. This way, when Cake Pro is running you get what the program sends, and when the program is not running you get an echo of MIDI In.
Using Music Quest MQX Chase Lock Sync (CLS)
When using MQX Chase Lock Sync (CLS) you must run the Cake Pro Setup each time you want to switch between two modes. One mode is for striping a tape (which you do infrequently). The other mode is for playing in sync to a striped tape (which is what you'll do most of the time). So, you'll normally leave Cake Pro configured to SYNC to CLS. Whenver you need to stripe a new tape, you need to run Setup to select STRIPING mode, stripe the tape, then run Setup again to leave the mode set back to SYNC to CLS. Following are step-by-step instructions for each of these two procedures.
Note: If you use SMPTE sync with Cakewalk Professional, none of this applies to you.
Striping Chase Lock Sync
When you wish to stripe a tape with CLS, you'll need to run the Setup option to configure the driver and MQX card for striping mode:
(1) Start Cake Pro with the " -S" flag to run Setup.
(2) Pick the "MIDI Interface" choice.
(3) Set the sync choice "Stripe CLS", and press ENTER to go back to the main setup menu.
(4) If you'll finish all your striping during this one Cakewalk session, it will be easiest NOT to save this configuration. Don't press "S" to save, just press "C" to run Cake Pro with these new settings.
(5) Follow the normal procedure for striping a tape. Here's a quick summary of the information you should already be familiar with from the Cake Pro and MQX Card manuals:
Connect an audio cable from the card's Tape Out jack to your tape recorder's input. Don't use noise reduction on the track with CLS. Load your work file, and set Settings/Clock to "Internal". Start the tape recording, wait a few seconds, and then play your work from start to finish.
Syncing to Chase Lock Sync
Note: Normally you'll need to do steps (1)-(5) only when you've just been striping a tape, and now want to switch the mode to syncing. If you've already switched the mode to syncing to CLS and saved it, you won't need to run Setup each time.
(1) Start Cake Pro with the " -S" flag to run Setup.
(2) Pick the "MIDI Interface" choice.
(3) Set the sync choice "Sync to CLS", and press ENTER to go back to the main Setup menu.
(4) Press "S" to save these settings. in the driver file. You'll probably want to do this because most of the time you'll be syncing to CLS, not striping a tape with CLS.
(5) Press "C" to run Cake Pro now with these new settings.
(6) Follow the normal procedure for syncing to CLS. Here's a quick summary of the information you should already be familiar with from the Cake Pro and MQX Card manuals: Connect an audio cable from your tape recorder's sync output to the card's Tape In jack. Don't use noise reduction on the track with CLS. Load your work file. Set Settings/Clock to "MIDI Sync", if you haven't already done so for this file. Set Cake Pro to record or play (use Chase Mode if you like), and start your tape playing wherever you like. Cake Pro will chase to the right location and begin record/playback.
Hoewel aan het gebruik van real-time software onder Windows louter principieel heel wat bezwaren kleven (verbandhoudend vooral met de geringere snelheid en tijdsprecizie van eender welk programma onder Windows), zijn er ook heel wat voordelen verbonden aan het gebruiken en installeren van de nieuwste versies van deze toch wel erg goede sequencer.
Zo laat de nieuwste Windows versie o.m. toe naast de gebruikelijke piano-roll notatie, de event-list, het overzicht e.d. ook een echte muzieknoten-partituur op het scherm te zetten. Ook het uitprinten daarvan behoort tot de mogelijkheden. Dit onderdeel van het programma kan echter in geen geval een muzieknotatiepakket vervangen. Daartoe zijn de edit-mogelijkheden veel te beperkt.
De installatie van de Windows versie verloopt strikt zoals die van elk Windows programma. Wanneer je een goed lopende Windows versie hebt en de midi-hardware e.d.m. loopt goed onder Windows, dan zal je ook met Cakepro geen problemen ondervinden. Cakepro gebruikt immers de onder Windows geinstalleerde drivers.
De bezwaren die we hiervoor gaven voor Wincake, vervallen geheel met deze nieuwe versie die tevens toelaat real-time audio binnen sequences te integreren.
Ook ondersteuning voor het Soundscape systeem behoort nu bij het programma. Het muzieknotatiegedeelte is en blijft -ondanks enkele verbeteringen- erg rudimentair.
Filedate: 880105/971024
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