BBC Micro Music Masterclass
Over the past few years computers have increasingly come to feature in the creation of pop music, invading a new and exciting field of human creativity. Bands like Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark, The Human League and Depeche Mode have spearheaded this development through the use of synthesisers and drum machines. As a result, it has become acceptable for machines to play a major role in the creation of the modern record.
Take, for example, the popularity of the MC-4 Microcomposer, much favoured by Yazoo, which makes it unnecessary for a human being to lay even one finger on a musical instrument. This computer has completely taken over the mechanical business of playing an instrument, so that all the individual musician has to do is to provide the inspiration.
One of the most recent developments in the mastering and playing of instruments has been a trend away from the traditional specialised musical tool altogether. In their place, standard microcomputers are increasingly utilised both as composing aids and as sound producers in their own right The Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument is a good example of the next generation of computers, which not only have a range of excellent musical software, but can also be put to work as word processors or calculators.
As a result of observing these trends and changes, I decided that it was about time someone wrote a book about the use of computers in music from a practical standpoint. It seemed only logical to base the book around a computer with good musical potential, sophisticated sound generation and reasonably straightforward interfacing capabilities. In addition, the computer needed to have a flexible and powerful version of the BASIC language and be in widespread use. Bearing all these prerequisites in mind, I came to the conclusion that the only possible candidate which satisfied the requirements was the BBC Microcomputer.
Once the best model was identified all that remained was for someone to put pen to paper (or fingers to word processor in my case). At this point it occurred to me that I was reasonably well qualified for the job, since I am musician by profession. Having started my playing career as a saxophonist, in recent years I have branched out into composing and keyboard programming. In the process of so doing, I found myself entrusted wit the MC-4 programming on David Grant’s album, as well as creating drum programming and supervising computer input on various records by Dee C. Lee, Steve Levine, SPK, Beggars and Co and Miro Miroe.
My musical interests are wide ranging, embracing pop, jazz and classical and, apart from music, my other endearing passion in life is computers, having started years ago on a Sinclair ZX81 and graduating to a BBC Model B. The BBC’s versatile sound commands soon had me up to my ears in various programs, many of which you will come across in the course of working your way through this book.
As I have said, one of the strengths of the BBC Microcomputer is the range and versatility of its sound commands. The SOUND command itself allows control over channel, pitch, volume and duration of note, while the complex ENVELOPE command has parameters too numerous to mention in a short introduction.
Nevertheless, there is a drawback to this very versatility since it is no simple matter to master the necessary techniques to get the best out of your BBC. Lesser computers go for the option of pre-defined scales and envelopes, which greatly facilitates mastering the superficial and limited uses of sound however, it is worth aiming higher, since none of these machines come close to emulating the breadth of application possible on the BBC.
This book sets out to bring that same breadth of application within the reach of every BBC owner, not only by supplying you with self-contained and entertaining programs, but also by clarifying the ins and outs of BBC BASIC’S SOUND and ENVELOPE statements, and indicating the multifarious uses to which they can be applied.
The first three chapters are therefore devoted exclusively to the language of sound on the BBC: Chapter One will explore the use of the SOUND command to play simple melodies and scales. Chapter Two deals with the somewhat complicated ENVELOPE statement. By breaking this rather confusing command into smaller, more manageable sections, its use and applications shine out much more clearly. Chapter Three delves into channel zero, the noise channel. This essential feature is used to create sound effects and percussive musical sounds.
Chapter Four contains more information about the SOUND and ENVELOPE statements and looks at how the remaining sound channels can be synchronised together.
At this point in the book, before going too deeply into crotchets, quavers and cadenzas, it seemed a good idea for us to go back to school in Chapter Five and learn a bit of music theory, so that all the potential Mozarts and Liszts out there can get off on the right foot! A rudimentary knowledge of music will prove tremendously valuable when we move on and look at auto-composition and harmonising melodies in later chapters.
Chapter Six deals with the problem of multi-part music. A computer is very good at dealing with sequential problems, however when a number of things happen simultaneously, as often happens in music, we must provide the computer with a sensible way of dealing with the information.
Chapter Seven will give you some ideas on the various methods of displaying music. Although music has a complex sign language of its own, microcomputers are ideally suited to embracing this language and presenting it in an exciting new way.
Chapter Eight touches on the interesting field of automatic composition, Can computers really create original, innovative music? You will be in a better position to judge the possibilities after RUNning the programs contained in this chapter.
Chapter Nine is intended to give you still further ideas about applications of music and sound. The programs in this chapter stand up by themselves, as well as illustrating methods and techniques which are explored elsewhere in the book.
Chapter Ten is intended as an inspiration to anyone interested in modern electronic music. Most, if not all, of the new modern instruments are built using the same microchip technology as that of the computer and hence every computer, especially the adaptable BBC, has the potential to be transformed into the equivalent of portions of the effective circuitries of instruments like the Fairlight CMI or the Casio VL-Tone.
Chapter Eleven has been designed to give you a start in the interesting area of interfacing. Another of the BBC’s strong points is the breadth of interfacing possibilities. We will look at a number of useful but simple techniques, none of which require cartloads of additional hardware or, come to that, practical electronic skill.
In the final chapter I turn to contemplating what we can expect in the future. The microcomputer is coming to play a central part in the world of music just as it is infiltrating virtually every other field of human activity. I see this as an exciting development which promises a new era of music just around the corner...