Archive

The Archive is the library and the administration center for the notations.

Here we find more than 300 authentic Percussion notations of traditional Westafrican rhythms for Djembe Ensemble (Djembe, Kenkeni, Dundun, Sangpan, Dundunba), collected from various resources including internationally known master percussionists.

We select a title from the list.
The properties of the notation are shown and may be adjusted.

Now we can Load the notation for playback and editing.

Notation Player/Editor

Here we see the Editor interface, the controls for the Notation Player and the Instrument Visualization.

The wellknown rhythm Djolé is loaded.

The schematized drums show the tones being played.
The music is played with sampled sounds of original instruments.

The control bar allows several playback related and other operations:

• exit the notation, save your modifications and return to the Archive
• show and hide the Editing Area
• show and hide the Instrument
• loudspeakers on/off
• show and hide the Tuner
• play the notation from the first position at the left in the editing area
• adjust playing tempo in Beats per Minute
• adjust Swing feeling
• metronome
• position counter
• show and hide the Archive from where further notations may be loaded
• show the documentation (web)

The Notation Window has two parts.

The upper part is the Overview for the notation, the scrollbar lets you navigate quickly forth and back.
The measures are numbered on the lower border.
The little squares represent the notes on the drums. Alternating colors signify alternating hands.
The time is subdivided by the vertical metrum lines: a measure contains a number of beats and every beat contains a number of pulses, one pulse being the finest resolution in time.
The black rectangle defines the Editing Area within the notation, to be displayed in the lower part.
The green vertical line indicates the cursor position in the editing area. When the notation is played the cursor moves over the scrolling notes. The notes at the cursor position are displayed accordingly as flashing circles in the Instrument Window.

The lower part is the Editing Area for the notation.
The measures are numbered on the lower border and the beats on the upper one.
Here the notes are represented by note symbols. They may be set or reset by clicking on the note lines.
Note-by-Note playing: Moving the cursor from left to right will also sound the notes, where notes on the same vertical metrum line will sound together at the same time.

The Instrument Window is synchronized with the notation.

The drums are represented by circles for every tone.
When the notation is played or the cursor is moved over the editing area the circles related to the notes are displayed with flashing colors. There are mixing Volume and Panorama controls as well as Mute and Solo for every drum. This is very helpful when learning a notation step by step.

In connection with the Beats per Minute tempo slowdown and with looping parts of the notation the Instrument Window is most useful as an infinitely patient teacher for the notations being played.

Clicking on the circles will sound them to control the tuning.
Clicking on the note symbols activates the Tuner Window.

How to loop and edit parts of the notation:

Clicking on a measure number at the lower border selects the measure for looped playback. This works also for the beat numbers at the upper border. Cut/copy/paste editing is available also as well as changing the number of pulses in a beat or a whole measure.

Tuner

How to tune the instrument. This feature is not so important for drums as it is for Kora and Balafon. Anyway, it's there.

Clicking on the Tuner button brings up the Tuner Window.
The sounds of the instrument can be tuned up and down microtonally in Cents (100 per halfnote) or chromatically in halfnote intervals (12 per octave).
Volume and Panorama can be adjusted.
Predefined traditional tunings can be chosen, custom tunings can be created.

How to tune single sounds and octaves:

Clicking on a note symbol in the Instrument brings up the Tuner.
The tuning will affect only the selected note and optionally all its octaves.

Fun stuff

• Change the instrument before you load a notation in the editor, i.e. play Kora tunes with Percussion or with Balafon, Ngoni - strange music!

• Change the tuning, use equidistant or modal tunings, the music gets a different mood!

• Play around with the Swing slider, the rhythm gets a different feeling!

• Play around with the Transpose slider, shifting the played notes up or down on the instrument changes the modal scale!

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Copyright © 1997 Harald Loquenz. All rights reserved

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