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JAZZ User Guide Overview
PART 2. START JAMMIN'
A series of six lessons in this section will guide you through the concepts
and features of MiBAC JAZZ. We suggest that you work through the six lessons
step by step at your
computer. Because later lessons build on earlier ones, you should do them
in the order in which they are presented. When you've completed them, you'll
have a good understanding of the power and flexibility of MiBAC JAZZ. Before
you start on the lessons, however, let's look at some of the basic elements
of MiBAC
JAZZ.
Conventions
Actions you perform at the computer are shown in bold italic font.
If an action can be performed by clicking a tool in the toolbar, its icon will precede the action.
Click
the Style tool
If an action is performed by choosing a command in a menu, a menu icon will precede the action. The following action tells you to choose the Save As command from the File menu. The menu title appears to the left of the slash, and the command item in the menu appears to the right of the slash.
File / Save
As
Actions you perform with the mouse, or that have been defined earlier, may not be preceded by an icon. Here's an example: Select measures 5-8.
Platform Specific Information Almost all of MiBAC JAZZ operates identically on both Windows and Macintosh computers.The few times that information in this section applies specifically to one platform, it will be noted as shown below. This information is specific to the Windows platform. This information is specific to the Macintosh platform. This symbol indicates the end of the platform specific information.
Overview
The MiBAC JAZZ main window has three areas: the Main Toolbar at the left; the Status Toolbar at the bottom; and the central Chord Text Area, where the song form is displayed and you type the chord progression. The number of measures visible in the Chord Text Area ranges from 2 measures to 129 measures, depending on the song form.
Main Toolbar
The Main Toolbar contains fourteen tools for quick access to common program functions. All tools have a menu equivalent; however, it's usually more convenient to use the Toolbar. In general, tools shown above the Write tool are used before writing a song, and tools shown below the Write tool are used after writing a song. Piano Voicings Transpose Style Form Chord Help Random Chord Alterations Write Change Styles Chord Entry View Chord Display
Status Toolbar
The Status Toolbar contains controls that allow you to change the tempo; set the MIDI channels; turn an instrument's sound on and off; set the loop state, style, and piano voicings; and display the Chorus, Measure, and Beat counters. You can click most of these controls to change their settings. You can change the Piano, Bass, and Drum On/Off controls while a song is being played. The Chorus, Measure, and Beat counters are for display only, but are updated as a song is being played.
Tempo Style Piano Voicings Piano, Bass, Drum On/Off Chorus Beat Measure MIDI Channels Loop Chord Text Area
Writing, Playing, and Saving a Song
To write, play, and save songs in MiBAC JAZZ, you follow a simple six step process:
- Set the style
- Set the form
- Type the chords
- Write the song
- Play the song
- Save the song
Set the Style
You open the Style dialog by clicking the Style tool in the Main Toolbar, or by choosing the Style command in the Write menu.
In MiBAC JAZZ, there are twelve jazz styles. The four main styles are Jazz 4/4, Latin, Slow 4, and Jazz 3/4. Each of the four main styles has a slow, a medium, and a fast substyle. The substyle you use depends on the tempo setting you choose before you write the song. The tempo boundaries for each substyle are determined by the Substyle Tempo Limits dialog discussed on page 33. Many styles work at a wide range of tempos. You can mix styles within a song; you can even mix the styles of individual instruments. In Lesson Two, we'll write and play examples in each of the twelve styles. In Lessons Four and Five you'll mix styles.
Set the Form
You open the Song Form dialog by clicking the Form tool or by choosing the Form command in the Write menu.
In the Song Form dialog you specify the number of measures in one chorus of the song, how many times the chorus repeats, and whether the song uses an Introduction or Coda. You can also set the tempo, the loop state, and the key signature. Songs can have an Introduction up to 16 measures long, a repeating Chorus up to 96 measures long, and a Coda up to 16 measures long. The total song length, including repeats, cannot exceed 480 measures. When you click OK, the number of measures you specify will appear in the Chord Text Area of the main window.
Type the Chords
When you've established the song form and key signature, you can begin typing the chords. Following are some additional rules and conventions you must observe when typing chords. Chord root Chord roots can be either upper or lower case. "C7" and "c7" are equivalent. Chord quality Case matters for major and minor chord qualities. Use upper case "M" for Major and lower case "m" for minor. The "C Major 7" chord can be entered either as "CM7" or as " cM7." The "C minor 7" chord can be entered either as "Cm7" or as "cm7."
Sharps and flats
For a sharp symbol, hold down the Shift key and type "3." The flat symbol is treated differently on Windows and Macintosh.
Flat Symbol on Windows
Type a lower case b.
Flat Symbol on Macintosh
Hold down the Option key and type b.
Number of chords per measure
You can use two chords per measure in most of the twelve jazz styles. When using two chords in a measure, type exactly one space between the chords. Using more than one space will cause an error. The chords will appear to be positioned over beats one and two, but they will be performed on beats one and three. Exceptions to the two chords per measure rule are the Slow 4 Four Chord Ballad substyle and all three Jazz 3/4 substyles.
Write the Song
Click the Write tool in the Main Toolbar to write the song.
Play the Song
Click the Play tool in the Main Toolbar to play the song.
Save the Song
Choose the Save As command from the File menu to save the song. That finishes the overview. Let's write a song.
