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<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></A>

<UL CLASS="ChildLinks">
<LI><A NAME="tex2html729"
  HREF="node17.html#SECTION001710000000000000000">Tempo</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html730"
  HREF="node17.html#SECTION001720000000000000000">Time</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html731"
  HREF="node17.html#SECTION001730000000000000000">TimeSig</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html732"
  HREF="node17.html#SECTION001740000000000000000">Truncate</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html733"
  HREF="node17.html#SECTION001750000000000000000">BeatAdjust</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html734"
  HREF="node17.html#SECTION001760000000000000000">Fermata</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html735"
  HREF="node17.html#SECTION001770000000000000000">Cut</A>
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<HR>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION001700000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="sec-time"></A>
<BR>
Tempo and Timing
</H1>

<P>

<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  has a rich set of commands to adjust and vary the timing of
your song.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION001710000000000000000">
Tempo</A>
</H1>

<P>
The tempo of a piece is set in Quarter Beats per Minute with the
``Tempo'' directive.

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Tempo 120  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
sets the tempo to 120 beats/minute. You can also use the tempo command
to increase or decrease the current rate by including a leading ``+'',
``-'' or ``*'' in the rate. For example (assuming the current rate is
120):

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Tempo +10  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
will increase the current rate to 130 beats/minute.

<P>
The tempo can be changed series of beats, much like a ritardando or
accelerando in real music. Assuming that a time signature of
<SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN>, the current tempo is 120, and there are 4 beats in a
bar, the command:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Tempo 100 1  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
will cause 4 tempo entries to be placed in the current bar (in the
MIDI meta track). The start of the bar will be 115, the 2nd beat will
be at 110, the 3rd at 105 and the last at 100. Note: the value of the
macro $_T<SMALL>EMPO</SMALL> will reflect the final value, not the
intermediates.

<P>
You can also vary an existing rate using a ``+'', ``-'' or ``*'' in
the rate.

<P>
You can vary the tempo over more than one bar. For example:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Tempo +20 5.5  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
tells 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  to increase the tempo by 20 beats per minute and to step
the increase over the next five and a half bars. Assuming a start
tempo of 100 and 4 beats/bar, the meta track will have a tempo
settings of 101, 102, 103 ... 120. This will occur over 22 beats
(5.5 bars * 4 beats) of music.

<P>
Using the multiplier is handy if you are switching to ``double time'':

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Tempo *2  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
and to return:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Tempo *.5  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
Note that the ``+'', ``-'' or ``*'' sign must <SPAN  CLASS="textit">not</SPAN> be separated
from the tempo value by any spaces. The value for T<SMALL>EMPO</SMALL> can be
any value, but will be converted to integer for the final setting.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION001720000000000000000"></A> <A NAME="time"></A>
<BR>
Time
</H1> 

<P>
Before we go further with the T<SMALL>IME</SMALL> command: It really should be
called <SPAN  CLASS="textit">Number Of Quarter Notes In A Bar</SPAN>, or something equally
verbose.

<P>

<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  <SPAN  CLASS="textit">doesn't</SPAN> understand time signatures. It just cares about
the number of quarter note beats in a bar. So, if you have a piece in
<SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> time you would use:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Time 4  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
For <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">3/4</SPAN> use:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Time 3  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
T<SMALL>IME</SMALL> can accept fractional values. This can be useful if you
have, for example, a piece in something like <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">5/8</SPAN>. You could
always use T<SMALL>IME 5</SMALL> and use 5 quarters/bar instead of 5 eights.
But, if you used Time 2.5 you end up with 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  expecting 2.5
quarters, which is the same as 5 eights. This makes other programs
expecting time signatures very happy.

<P>
For <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">6/8</SPAN> it's easiest to use ``6''. You could use ``2'' or
``3'', but you do need to remember that this also sets the chord
offset (used in chord data lines) defaults. So, if you set T<SMALL>IME
  2</SMALL> you would set chords (without using the extended ``@'' notation,
<A HREF="node8.html#chord-position">here</A>) on beats
1 and 2. If you use the recommended ``6'' you will also need to double
your T<SMALL>EMPO</SMALL> setting since <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">6/8</SPAN> is about eighth notes
and 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  really likes quarters.

<P>
Changing the time also cancels all existing sequences. So, after a
time directive you'll need to set up your sequences or load a new
groove.

<P>
An optional setting for T<SMALL>IME</SMALL> is T<SMALL>ABS</SMALL>. This option
defines the chord position stops used when parsing a chord data line.
Assuming a T<SMALL>IME 6</SMALL> (for a <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">6/8</SPAN> section) you would set
chords with lines like:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Time 6
<BR>
1  C  /  /  G
<BR>
2 C / / G7  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
In this case we are changing chords on beats 1 and 4. All those extra
'/'s are a bit of a pain and distracting. As an alternative, try:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Time 6 Tabs=1,4
<BR>
1  C   G
<BR>
2 C G7  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
The end result is the same, but with much less typing.

<P>
The T<SMALL>ABS</SMALL> command requires a comma separated list of tab stops.
The first stop must always be 1 and the last must be less or equal to
the integer value of T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>.

<P>
As a convenience you can combine the setting of T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>,
T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>S<SMALL>IG</SMALL> and T<SMALL>ABS</SMALL> easily for common time signatures.
Simply use a known time signature as the sole argument. For example,
to set up for a waltz:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Time 3/4  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
This will set the beats per bar to 3, the time signature meta
event to ``3/4'' and the chord tabs to 1,2,3. The following table
shows the known time signatures, etc.<A NAME="tex2html71"
  HREF="#foot9251"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">17</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN></SUP></A>.

<P>
<DIV ALIGN="CENTER">
  
		<Table CellSpacing=0 Width="80%" Align="Center" CellPadding=10 BGColor="#dddddd" Border=3>
           <tr> <td>
	       <TABLE CELLPADDING=3 BORDER="1">
<TR><TD ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textit">TimeSig</SPAN> </B></TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER"><SPAN  CLASS="textit">Beats/Bar</SPAN></TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT"><SPAN  CLASS="textit">Tabs</SPAN></TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" COLSPAN=3><SPAN><B>Duple</B></SPAN></TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">2/2</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">4</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 3</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">2/4</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">2</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 2</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">6/4</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">6</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 4</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">6/8</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">3</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 2.5</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" COLSPAN=3><SPAN><B>Triple</B></SPAN></TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">3/2</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">6</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 3, 5</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">3/4</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">3</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 2, 3</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">3/8</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">1.5</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 1.5, 2</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">9/8</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">4.5</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 2.25, 4</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" COLSPAN=3><SPAN><B>Quadruple</B></SPAN></TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">4</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 2, 3, 4</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">12/8</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">6</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 2.5, 4, 5.5</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" COLSPAN=3><SPAN><B>Quintuple</B></SPAN></TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">5/4</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">5</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 2, 3, 4, 5</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">5/8</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">2.5</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" COLSPAN=3><SPAN><B>Septuple</B></SPAN></TD>
</TR>
<TR><TH ALIGN="CENTER"><B><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">7/4</SPAN> </B></TH>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">7</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE> 
	
           </td></tr>
        </Table>
 
</DIV>

<P>
Many time signatures can have different meters. For example, in
<SPAN  CLASS="textbf">6/8</SPAN> you could have 6 or 2 beats/measure. In these cases we
leave it to you to set the T<SMALL>ABS</SMALL> to the correct values for your
piece.

<P>
In addition to the above values, 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  also recognizes the special
time signature ``Cut'' and ``Common''. They are internally translated
to <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">2/2</SPAN> and <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN>.

<P>
If the time signature you need isn't listed above you can set it in
the following manner: Assuming <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">13/4</SPAN>:

<OL>
<LI>Set the MIDI meta event 
      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>TimeSig 13/4  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

</LI>
<LI>Set the Time 
      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Time 13  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

</LI>
<LI>Optionally, in the same command as the T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>, set the
  chord tabs if desired. By default they'll be a 1,2...13.
</LI>
</OL>

<P>
<SPAN  CLASS="textit">Important: The T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>, T<SMALL>ABS</SMALL> and T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>S<SMALL>IG</SMALL>
  values are saved and restored with grooves!</SPAN> If, in your song, you
set T<SMALL>IME 3</SMALL> and then load a G<SMALL>ROOVE</SMALL> created with a
T<SMALL>IME 4</SMALL> setting you will have 4 beats per bar. Not the 3 beats
you are expecting. In most cases you do not want to use T<SMALL>IME</SMALL> in
a song file ... leave it for libraries.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION001730000000000000000">
TimeSig</A>
</H1>

<P>
Even though 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  doesn't use Time Signatures, some MIDI sequencer
and notation programs do recognize and use them. So, here's a command which will
let you insert a Time Signature in your MIDI output:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>TimeSig NN/DD  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
or (<SPAN  CLASS="textit">not recommended</SPAN>, use the ``/''):

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>TimeSig NN DD  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
The NN parameter is the time signature numerator (the number of beats
per bar). In <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">3/4</SPAN> you would set this to ``3''.

<P>
The DD parameter is the time signature denominator (the length of the
note getting a single beat). In <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">3/4</SPAN> you would set this to
``4''.

<P>
Note that the single slash character is optional.

<P>
The NN value must be an integer in the range of 1 to 126. The DD value
must be one of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64.

<P>

<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  assumes that all songs are in <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> and places that
MIDI event at offset 0 in the Meta track.

<P>
The T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>S<SMALL>IG</SMALL> value is remembered by G<SMALL>ROOVE</SMALL>s and is
properly set when grooves are switched. You should probably have a
time signature in any groove library files you create (the supplied
files all do).

<P>
The common time signatures ``common'' and ``cut'' are supported. They
are translated by 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  to <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> and <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">2/2</SPAN>.

<P>
Important: <SPAN  CLASS="textit">this command does not have any effect on internal
  timing in 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> .</SPAN> It only sets a Meta event in the generated MIDI
  file. You must set the time (beats per bar) with the T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>
  command.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION001740000000000000000"></A> <A NAME="truncate"></A>
<BR>
Truncate
</H1> 

<P>
It is not uncommon to find that the time signature in a song changes.
Most often this is to generate a short (or long) bar in the middle of
a phrase. <A HREF="#eg:trunc">This example</A> shows a
few bars of a popular song which changes from cut time to
<SPAN  CLASS="textbf">2/4</SPAN> as well as 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  code to generate the correct MIDI
file.

<P>

		<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
		   <tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
	      <SPAN  CLASS="textbf"><BIG CLASS="XLARGE">Mixed Time Notation</BIG></SPAN>  <A NAME="eg:trunc"></A>	
	 	   </tr> </td>
           <tr> <td >
		     
    <IMG WIDTH="90%"  SRC="mupex/truncate.png" ALT="Lost Image">

<P>
<BR>
<BR>

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>KeySig Bb 
<BR>
Groove Country 
<BR>
Bb  
<BR>    / 
<BR>    / / Eb 
<BR>
Bb 
<BR>
Truncate 2 
<BR>
Eb // this is a 2/4 bar 
<BR>
Bb 
<BR>    /   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>
 
	
	       </td> </tr>
        </Table>

<P>

<P>
The T<SMALL>RUNCATE</SMALL> reduces the duration of the following bar to the
specified number of beats. For example:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Truncate 3  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
will create a bar 3 beats long.

<P>
T<SMALL>RUNCATE</SMALL> works by shortening the duration and deleting the
pattern definitions in the unused section of the bar. Normally, the
ending of the bar's pattern is the part skipped.

<P>
However, you can also force the segment of the current pattern which
T<SMALL>RUNCATE</SMALL> uses with the S<SMALL>IDE</SMALL> option. For example, if you
would like the next bar to have 2 beats and to use the second half of
the pattern:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Truncate 2 Side=Right  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
You can even use the ``middle'' part of the pattern by using a value
for the S<SMALL>IDE</SMALL> option:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Truncate 1 Side=2  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
would force the next bar to have 1 beat using the pattern starting at
offset 2 in the bar. To illustrate the above case, assume you have a
C<SMALL>HORD</SMALL> sequence defined as:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Chord Sequence 1 4 80; 2.5 8 90; 3 4 100; 4 8 100;   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
The option S<SMALL>IDE=2</SMALL> will convert the S<SMALL>EQUENCE</SMALL> to be:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Chord Sequence 1.5 8 90;   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
which will be used in the following bar.

<P>
The number of bars in which T<SMALL>RUNCATE</SMALL> is in effect is normally
one (the next bar). However, you can change this with the
C<SMALL>OUNT=</SMALL> option. For example, you might want to create a sequence
with different G<SMALL>ROOVES</SMALL>:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Truncate 1 Count=4 
<BR>
Groove PopBallad 
<BR>
C // 1 beat bar 
<BR>
Groove PopHits 
<BR>  / // second 1 beat bar 
<BR>
Groove PopFill 
<BR>  /  // third 1 beat bar 
<BR>
Groove PopBalladSus 
<BR>  /  // final 1 beat bar 
<BR>
Groove PopBallad 
<BR>  / // normal 4 beat bar   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
You can specify both the number of beats and the S<SMALL>IDE</SMALL> as
fractional values. This can be handy when your song is in a compound
time. For example, the song `` Theme From Mahogany'' is in
<SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> time, but one bar is in <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">5/8</SPAN> time. We have 4
beats in each bar, and don't really have an 8 beat time to use (we
could, but it makes our input a bit more complicated), we simply
convert the second time to <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">2.5/4</SPAN> (not a legal time
signature!). This is cleanly handled by the following snippet:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Truncate 2.5 
<BR>
Groove PianoBalladFill 
<BR>
Timesig 5 8 
<BR>
C  
<BR>
Timesig 4 4  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
The arguments for the S<SMALL>IDE</SMALL> option are:

<P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">Left</SPAN></DT>
<DD>the start of the pattern (the default),
</DD>
<DT><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">Right</SPAN></DT>
<DD>the end of the pattern,
</DD>
<DT><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">Value</SPAN></DT>
<DD>an offset into the pattern in beats (can be
  fractional).
</DD>
</DL>

<P>
A few caveats:

<P>

<UL>
<LI>Both the S<SMALL>IDE</SMALL> and C<SMALL>OUNT</SMALL> options are value pairs
  joined with a single ``=''.

<P>
</LI>
<LI>The chord data in the truncated line(s) must contain the correct
  number of chords. Having too many chords will generate an error.

<P>
</LI>
<LI>When using S<SMALL>OLO</SMALL> or M<SMALL>ELODY</SMALL> data an error is
  generated if the data falls outside of the duration of the shortened
  bar.

<P>
</LI>
<LI>You cannot use T<SMALL>RUNCATE</SMALL> to lengthen a bar. If you need to
  lengthen a bar (perhaps a <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">5/4</SPAN> bar in a <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN>
  song you just need to create a bar with the additional beats (in
  this case a 1 beat bar).

<P>
</LI>
<LI>If your sequencer or other destination (perhaps you are using a
  notation program to read 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> 's output) uses T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>S<SMALL>IG</SMALL>
  information (see below), you may need to update it before and after
  a truncated section.

<P>
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
The example file <TT><SPAN  CLASS="textbf">egs/misc/truncate.mma</SPAN></TT> shows some examples of
this command.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION001750000000000000000"></A> <A NAME="beatadjust"></A>
<BR>
BeatAdjust
</H1> 

<P>
Internally, 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  tracks its position in a song according to beats.
For example, in a <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> piece the beat position is
incremented by 4 beats after each bar is processed. For the most part,
this works fine; however, there are some conditions when it would be
nice to manually adjust the beat position:

<P>

<UL>
<LI>Insert some extra (silent) beats at the end of bar to simulate a
  pause,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>Delete some beats to handle a ``short'' bar.

<P>
</LI>
<LI>Change a pattern in the middle of a bar.

<P>
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
Each problem will be dealt with in turn. In <A HREF="#eg-pause">this
  example</A> a pause is simulated at the end of
bar 10. One problem with this logic is that the inserted beat will be
silent, but certain notes (percussive things like piano) often will
continue to sound (this is related to the decay of the note, not that

<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  has not turned off the note). Frankly, this really doesn't work
too well ... which is why the F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL>
(<A HREF="#fermata">details here</A>) was added.

<P>

		<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
		   <tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
	      <SPAN  CLASS="textbf"><BIG CLASS="XLARGE">Adding Extra Beats</BIG></SPAN>  <A NAME="eg-pause"></A>	
	 	   </tr> </td>
           <tr> <td >
		     
  
      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Time 4 
<BR>
1 Cm / / / 
<BR>    ...
<BR>
10 Am / C / 
<BR>
BeatAdjust 1 
<BR>    ...</B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

	
	       </td> </tr>
        </Table>

<P>

<P>
In <A HREF="#eg-mixed">this example</A> the problem of
the ``short bar'' is handled. In this example, the sheet music has the
majority of the song in <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> time, but bar 4 is in
<SPAN  CLASS="textbf">2/4</SPAN>. This could be handled by setting the T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>
setting to 2 and creating some different patterns. Forcing silence on
the last 2 beats and backing up the counter is a bit easier.

<P>

		<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
		   <tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
	      <SPAN  CLASS="textbf"><BIG CLASS="XLARGE">Short Bar Adjustment</BIG></SPAN>  <A NAME="eg-mixed"></A>	
	 	   </tr> </td>
           <tr> <td >
		     
  
      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>1  Cm / / /   
<BR>    ...
<BR>
4  Am / z! /   
<BR>
BeatAdjust -2   
<BR>    ...</B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>
 
	
	       </td> </tr>
        </Table>

<P>

<P>
Note that the adjustment factor can be a partial beat. For example:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>BeatAdjust .5  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
will insert half of a beat between the current bars.

<P>
Finally in <A HREF="#eg-overlap">this example</A>, the
problem of overlapping bars is handled. We want to change the
G<SMALL>ROOVE</SMALL> in the middle of a bar. So, we create the third bar two
times. The first one has a ``z!'' (silence) for beats 3 and 4; the
second has ``z!'' for beats 1 and 2. This permits the two halves to
overlap without conflict. The B<SMALL>EAT</SMALL>A<SMALL>DJUST</SMALL> forces the two bars to
overlap completely.

<P>

		<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
		   <tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
	      <SPAN  CLASS="textbf"><BIG CLASS="XLARGE">Mid-Bar Groove Change</BIG></SPAN>  <A NAME="eg-overlap"></A>	
	 	   </tr> </td>
           <tr> <td >
		     
  
      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Groove BigBand 
<BR>
1  C   
<BR>
Groove BigBandFill 
<BR>
2  Am 
<BR>
3  / / z!
<BR>
BeatAdjust -4
<BR>
Groove BigBand
<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;  z! / F   
<BR>
5  F
<BR>    ...</B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>
 
	
	       </td> </tr>
        </Table>

<P>

<P>
<SPAN  CLASS="textbf">Note:</SPAN> A number of the items discussed above are much easier
to handle with the T<SMALL>RUNCATE</SMALL> command, <A HREF="#truncate">here</A>.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION001760000000000000000"></A> <A NAME="fermata"></A>
<BR>
Fermata
</H1> 

<P>
A ``fermata'' or ``pause'' in written music tells the musician to hold
a note for a longer period than the notation would otherwise indicate.
In standard music notation it is represented by a
``<!-- MATH
 $\rotatebox{270}{\textbf{(\raisebox{.5ex}{.}}}$
 -->
<IMG
 WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="4" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0"
 SRC="img4.png"
 ALT="\rotatebox{270}{\textbf{(\raisebox{.5ex}{.}}}">''
above a note.

<P>
To indicate all this 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  uses a command like:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Fermata -2 1 200  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
Note that there are three parts to the command:

<P>

<OL>
<LI>The beat offset from the current point in the score to apply the
  ``pause''. The offset can be positive or negative and is calculated
  from the current bar. Positive numbers will apply to the next bar;
  negative to the previous. For offsets into the next bar you use
  offsets starting at ``0''; for offsets into the previous bar an
  offset of ``-1'' represents the last beat in that bar.

<P>
For example, if you were in <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> time and wanted the
  quarter note at the end of the next bar to be paused, you would use
  an offset of 3. The same effect can be achieved by putting the
  F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL> command after the bar and using an offset of -1.

<P>
Note: for best results the F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL> should be placed
  <SPAN  CLASS="textit">after</SPAN> the bar (a negative offset). See the implementation
  discussion, below, for details. A warning is printed when placed
  before the bar.

<P>
</LI>
<LI>The duration of the pause in beats. For example, if you have a
  quarter note to pause your duration would be 1, a half note (or 2
  quarter notes) would be 2. <SPAN  CLASS="textit">Warning: the duration is in beats;
    it is not a note duration.</SPAN>

<P>
</LI>
<LI>The adjustment. This represented as a percentage of the current
  value. For example, to force a note to be held for twice the normal
  time you would use 200 (two-hundred percent). You can use a value
  smaller than 100 to force a shorter note, but this is seldom done.

<P>
</LI>
</OL>

<P>
<A HREF="#egpause">This example</A> shows how you can
place a F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL> before or after the effected bar.

<P>

		<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
		   <tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
	      <SPAN  CLASS="textbf"><BIG CLASS="XLARGE">Fermata</BIG></SPAN>  <A NAME="egpause"></A>	
	 	   </tr> </td>
           <tr> <td >
		     
    <IMG WIDTH="90%"  SRC="mupex/fermata.png" ALT="Lost Image">

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  Equivalents
<BR>     
<BR>    // Placement before bar (not recommended) 
<BR>
Fermata 3 1 200 
<BR>
C 
<BR>
Gm7 
<BR>     
<BR>    // After bar, the right way! 
<BR>
C 
<BR>
Fermata -1 1 200 
<BR>
Gm7   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

	
	       </td> </tr>
        </Table>

<P>

<P>
Here <A HREF="#egpause2">the second example</A> shows
the first four bars of a popular torch song. The problem with the
piece is that the first beat of bar four needs to be paused, and the
accompaniment style has to switch in the middle of the bar. The
example shows how to split the fourth bar with the first beat on one
line and the balance on a second. The ``z!''s are used to ``fill in''
the 4 beats skipped by the B<SMALL>EAT</SMALL>A<SMALL>DJUST</SMALL>.

<P>

		<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
		   <tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
	      <SPAN  CLASS="textbf"><BIG CLASS="XLARGE">Fermata with Cut</BIG></SPAN>  <A NAME="egpause2"></A>	
	 	   </tr> </td>
           <tr> <td >

<P>
  <IMG WIDTH="90%"  SRC="mupex/fermata2.png" ALT="Lost Image">

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>C     C#dim 
<BR>
G7   
<BR>
C     /     C#dim 
<BR>
G7 z! 
<BR>
Fermata -4 1 200 
<BR>
Cut -3 
<BR>
BeatAdjust -3.5  
<BR>
Groove EasySwing 
<BR>
z! G7 C7   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>

	
	       </td> </tr>
        </Table>

<P>

<P>
The following conditions will generate warning messages:

<P>

<UL>
<LI>A beat offset greater than one bar,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>A duration greater than one bar,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>An adjustment value less than 100,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>A positive offset (placement before the effected region).
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
<SPAN  CLASS="textbf"><BIG CLASS="LARGE">Implementation</BIG></SPAN>

<P>
This command works by adjusting the global tempo in the MIDI meta
track at the point of the fermata. In most cases you can put more than
one F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL> command in the same bar, but they should be in beat
order (no checks are done). If the F<SMALL>ERMATA</SMALL> command has a
negative position argument, special code is invoked to move all note
on, program and controller change events to the start of the effected
area and note off events to the end. In addition, existing tempo
changes are rationalized to make it ``just work''. This means that
extra rhythm notes will not be sounded inside the fermata--probably
what you expect a held note to sound like.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION001770000000000000000"></A> <A NAME="cut"></A>
<BR>
Cut
</H1> 

<P>
This command was born of the need to simulate a ``cut'' or, more
correctly, a ``caesura''. This is indicated in music by two parallel
lines put at the top of a staff indicating the end of a musical
thought. The symbol is also referred to as ``railroad tracks''.

<P>
The idea is to stop the music on all tracks, pause briefly, and
resume.<A NAME="tex2html72"
  HREF="#foot9268"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">17</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">2</SPAN></SUP></A>
<P>

<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  provides the C<SMALL>UT</SMALL> command to help deal with this
situation. But, before the command is described in detail, a
diversion: just how is a note or chord sustained in a MIDI file?

<P>
Assume that a 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  input file (and the associated library) files
dictates that some notes are to be played from beat 2 to beat 4 in an
arbitrary bar. What 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  does is:

<P>

<UL>
<LI>determine the position in the piece as a midi offset to the
  current bar,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>calculate the start and end times for the notes,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>adjust the times (if necessary) based on adjustable features
  such as <SMALL>STRUM</SMALL>, <SMALL>ARTICULATE</SMALL>, <SMALL>RTIME</SMALL>, etc.,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>insert the required MIDI ``note on'' and ``note off'' commands
  at the appropriate point in the track.

<P>
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
You may think that a given note starts on beat 2 and ends (using
<SMALL>ARTICULATE 100</SMALL>) right on beat 3--but you would most likely be
wrong. So, if you want the note or chord to be ``cut'', what point do
you use to instruct 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  correctly? Unfortunately, the simple answer
is ``it depends''. Again, the answers will consist of some examples.

<P>
In this first case you wish to stop the track in the middle of the
last bar. The simplest answer is:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>1    C 
<BR>  ...
<BR>
36 C / z! / 
<BR></B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
Unfortunately, this will ``almost'' work. But, any chords which are
longer than one or two beats may continue to sound. This, often, gives
a ``dirty'' sound to the end of the piece. The simple solution is to
add to the end of the piece:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cut -2  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
Depending on the rhythm you might have to fiddle a bit with the cut
value. But, the example here puts a ``all notes off'' message in all
the active tracks at the start of beat 3. The exact same result can be
achieved by placing:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cut 3  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
<SPAN  CLASS="textit">before</SPAN> the final bar.

<P>
In this second example a tiny bit of silence is desired between bars 4
and 5 (this might be the end of a musical introduction). The following
bit should work:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>1  C 
<BR>
2   G 
<BR>
3   G 
<BR>
4   C 
<BR>
Cut  
<BR>
BeatAdjust .2 
<BR>
5   G  
<BR>  ...</B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
In this case the ``all notes off'' is placed at the end of bar 4 and
two-tenths of a beat is inserted at the same location. Bar 5 continues
the track.

<P>
The final example show how you might combine <SMALL>CUT</SMALL> with
<SMALL>FERMATA</SMALL>. In this case the sheet music shows a caesura after the
first quarter note and fermatas over the quarter notes on beats 2, 3
and 4.

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>1       C     C#dim 
<BR>
2       G7   
<BR>
3       C     /     C#dim 
<BR>
Fermata 1 3 120 
<BR>
Cut 1.9 
<BR>
Cut 2.9 
<BR>
Cut 3.9 
<BR>
4       G7   / C7 / 
<BR>
5 F6   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
A few tutorial notes on the above:

<P>

<UL>
<LI>The command

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Fermata 1 3 120   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
applies a slow-down in tempo to the second beat for the following
  bar (an offset of 1), for 3 beats. These 3 beats will be played 20%
  slower than the set tempo.

<P>
</LI>
<LI>The three <SMALL>CUT</SMALL> commands insert MIDI ``all notes off'' in
  all the active tracks just <SPAN  CLASS="textit">before</SPAN> beats 2, 3 and 4.

<P>
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
Finally, the proper syntax for the command:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>[TrackName] Cut [Offset]   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
If the voice is omitted, MIDI ``all notes off'' will be inserted into
each active track.

<P>
If the offset is omitted, the current bar position will be used. This
the same as using an offset value of 0.
<BR><HR><H4>Footnotes</H4>
<DL>
<DT><A NAME="foot9251">... etc.</A><A
 HREF="node17.html#tex2html71"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">17</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN></SUP></A></DT>
<DD>These are known to 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> .
  There are many more valid time signatures. Gardner Read lists over
  100 of them in  <SPAN  CLASS="textit">Music Notation</SPAN>.

</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot9268">...
resume.</A><A
 HREF="node17.html#tex2html72"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">17</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">2</SPAN></SUP></A></DT>
<DD>The answer to the music theory question of whether
  the ``pause'' takes time <SPAN  CLASS="textit">from</SPAN> the current beat or is treated
  as a ``fermata'' is not clear--but as far as 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  is concerned
  the command has no effect on timing.

</DD>
</DL>
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<ADDRESS>
Bob van der Poel
2016-06-11
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