============================================================================== The Usual: No warranty, express or implied, is extended to users of this software. The author is not responsibility for any damage or inconvenience or anything else resulting from the use of this software. Whaddya want for nothing? Use it, abuse it, pass it around. If you like anything, or if you don't like something, let me know: Michael Rees 217 Huckleberry Road Farmington, New York 14425-7051 USA An email or a nice postcard isn't too much to ask, is it? * * NB: These tools were compiled as 68030 code. If you want or need a version * for a different processor, let me know. * (Developed on an Amiga 2000 w/68030 + 11M with SAS/C v6.56 and Bars & Pipes Professional v2.5c beta2 (7/20/94).) The Bars&Pipes® Tools and supporting documentation in this package are © 1994-1997 Michael Rees. All right reserved. ==============================================================================  The Unusual: Here are a very few of the tools I've written for Bars&Pipes over the past several years for your perusal and amusement: · Duration Filter - reroute events based on durations; · MegaBranch - a configurable branch tool replacement; · Modomatic - an automodulator that really works; · UpIsDown - real intervallic inversions; and · StickIt - a sort of a joystick-type control change generator. Some things I've developed over the years have become standard in most of the tools I write. One of these is always displaying the track name in the title bar of a tool's edit window -- much easier than trying to remember which tool goes with what track when a bunch of windows are open. Another is the addition of a new 'special type' for tool: Real-Time. These tools respond to control changes and vary their internal states in some way. Also, most Real-Time tools can write a sysex message "snapshot" to the track they're in. When the transport is running and a Real-Time tool is set to respond to sysex, the tools change themselves to the way they were when the sysex was written. Cool, huh? It is in my line of endeavor, which is algorithmic composition. There is one cavet about these tools. They use 1 as their manufacturer ID, which is assigned to Sequential Circuits. Probably not a big chance of conflict, but you should be aware of that just in case. (And I did it in honor of Dave Smith, who is a nice guy. And I still wish I had my ProOne back, or the balance of what has been owed me for 10 years from the buyer...) So, have a go at some of these and let me know what you think. There are about a zillion more lying about on my harddisk that are more or less esoteric than these. Any favorable feedback on these and I'll hack up some documentation for some others and foist those upon you too. And just who am I, I'd like to believe you wonder silently? Just another crazy composer of that weird computer music with NO COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL (i.e. nullis pretti), driven to software development because there is no choice but to build my own little world for noisemaking. What? m. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Duration Filter TOOLID: DrFi (0x44724669) DESCRIPTION: The Duration Filter tool is a configurable, controllable filter which reroutes note events based on their durations. SPECIAL TYPE: Branching, Real-Time. USAGE: PipeLine, ToolPad. CONTROLS: Oh, my; what a load of controls, eh? Well: Some gadgets appear multiple times in connection with sundry other gadgets. The Mystery Note gadgets allow you to set various parameters from a pop-up note menu. The pop-up pipe gadgets control what happens to control change inputs. The plug deletes them; the straight pipe passes them; the elbow branches them (or deletes them if the branch output is not connected. The Duration: slider sets the test value for the filter. This setting is what the tool tests incoming note durations against to determine whether they are branched, or passed down the pipeline. The State: gadgets control the operation of the tool. If CChg is selected, the controller set with the CChg: slider will turn the tool on and off with MIDI switch on and switch off values, respectively. The < / > gadget determines whether notes with durations less than or greater than the Duration setting are branched. The Off and On gadgets disable and enable the tool. These gadgets change in response to the CChg: controller. If the Controller Mapping gadget is selected, things get trickier: the tool's test duration is controlled by the lower CChg: controller. Control change values are mapped to the range set by the Max: and Min: gadgets. The range can be quantized to the value set by the Quantize: slider, or not if the slider is set to Off. The current test duration is displayed in the Now: line so there some some hope of keeping track of what's happening. There is also one menu. The Show CC Numbers item lets you toggle the CChg: slider displays between numbers, and MIDI standard controller definitions. As usual, the miniature camera in the edit window title bar writes the tool's state to the track as a system exclusive message. (The Snapshot menu item duplicates the snapshot gadget. A sysex snapshot is inserted into the track: · at the song position pointer if the transport is running; · at the track's left edit flag if the track's window is open; or · at the main window left edit flag if the track's window is not open. What happens with system exclusive messages is determined by two menu items. The tool responds to its sysex messages when the Use SysEx item is checked. When the tool receives one of its sysex snapshots, it will change its internal state to that reflected in the sysex message. If the tool's window is open, the display will be updated to reflect the new setting. Unless Free SysEx is selected, the tool passes these events to the next tool in the pipeline. Foreign sysex events are always passed down the pipeline. Note that snapshots and sysex do not function in the ToolPad. Control changes, however, are functional when the tool is used in the ToolPad. NAME: MegaBranch TOOL ID: MBra (0x4D427261) DESCRIPTION: MegaBranch is a selective branching tool: no more branching, or elbowing, or passing events unless you want to. SPECIAL TYPE: Branching; Real-Time. USAGE: Pipeline, ToolPad. CONTROLS: For each type of event, there is a pop-up menu that allows you to select whether that type of event is passed down the pipeline, redirected to the branch out, or duplicated and sent to both destinations. In conjunction with the CC: slider, you can set a destination for each control change number. Three menu items facilitate setting all controllers to the same destination. As usual, the miniscule camera in the edit window title bar writes the tool's state to the track as a system exclusive message. The Snapshot menu item duplicates the snapshot gadget. The time of the sysex message is: · the current song position pointer if the transport is running; · the track's left edit flag if the track edit window is open; or · the song left edit flag if the track edit window is not open. Note that you can't take snapshots from the ToolPad. (If you can tell me how to get at the real clip that's being edited, I'll be happy to add it to all my tools that use sysex snapshots.) What happens with system exclusive messages is determined by two menu items. The tool responds to its sysex messages and changes its internal state according to the sysex message when the Use SysEx item is checked. If the tool's edit window is open, the gadgets are updated to reflect the new state. Unless the Free SysEx menu item is selected, the tool passes these events to the next tool in the pipeline. (Foreign sysex events are always passed down the pipeline.) The Use SysEx and Free Sysex settings, and the currently displayed control change number are not changed by any sysex message the MegaBranch tool receives. In addition, sysex doesn't work when the tool is in the ToolPad (because I can't figure out what's screwy with it). NOTE: You probably should not change the destination for Note events while the transport is running (until I decide I need to add support for tracking them) because, unless the sysex is synchronized with the notes, you might very well end up with stuck notes. The tool was fat enough without matching up note ons and note offs, and I don't need to do that right now anyway. So, there. NAME: Modomatic TOOL ID: AMod (0x414D6564) DESCRIPTION: Modomatic is similar to the Auto Transpose and Auto Modulate tools from the Creativity Kit, but it works correctly. Note and Polyphonic Aftertouch events are transposed according to the Note On events received at the merge input. SPECIAL TYPE: Merging, Ontime, Realtime. USAGE: Pipeline. CONTROLS: The Axis gadgets determine the basis for transpositions. The distance between the Axis note and notes received at the merge input determine what change is applied to notes flowing through the pipeline. Ordinarily, Modomatic does a straight transposition ("modulation" in Bars&Pipes parlance). The Mod gadgets allow you to alter that behavior. When the Key/Scale gadget is selected, the tool locks its output to the current Key&Scale/Mode (which can be mighty confusing if you play a C Major scale and it comes out F# Lydian). To disregard the octave of the merge input, select the PitchClass gadget. Then, Modomatic concerns itself only with interval and direction. For example, set the axis to C, and squirt in a G5 on the merge input. The tool transposes pipeline inputs by +7 halfsteps, the distance from C to G. So, a G#6 received from the pipeline leaves Modomatic as D#8. If the next merge input is an F5, the transposition changes to -5: 5 halfsteps because that is the distance from C to F; a negative transposition because the new merge input note is lower than the previous. The Route gadgets control what happens with notes and poly aftertouch events received by the tool. You can choose to pass (the straight section of pipe), or free (the plug) Original, untransposed events, and/or events received at the merge input. The three Reset gadgets determine when the tool resets the transposition to 0. Start resets when you select the transport's play-from-beginning gadget; Play causes a reset when you punch the transport's play gadget. The Now gadget resets the transposition immediately. As usual, the dinky camera in the edit window title bar writes the tool's state to the track as a system exclusive message. The Snapshot menu item duplicates the snapshot gadget. The time of the sysex message is: The current song position pointer if the transport is running; The track's left edit flag if the track edit window is open; or the song left edit flag if the track edit window is not open. What happens with system exclusive messages is determined by two menu items. The tool responds to its sysex messages when the Use SysEx item is checked. Unless Free SysEx is selected, the tool passes these events to the next tool in the pipeline. (Foreign sysex events are always passed down the pipeline.) Lastly, the Auto Snapshot menu item causes the tool to write sysex every time the transposition changes. This allows you to preserve that perfect transposition sequence that you played without using up an extra track to record what you played. NAME: UpIsDown TOOLID: INVR (0x494E5652) DESCRIPTION: The UpIsDown tool inverts the intervals between notes in a sequence. This is a "real" inversion without regard for key (e.g. an ascending m7 becomes a descending M2). SPECIAL TYPE: Branching, Real-Time. USAGE: PipeLine, ToolPad. CONTROLS: Controls in the UpIsDown window provide control over some aspects of the tool's operation. The Initial Note gadgets allow you to set the pitch class and octave for the basic of the inversion, similar to the Flip tool's axis setting. The Initial Note specification is used only if the Use gadget is selected, and then the UpIsDown tool behaves mostly like the Flip tool. If Use gadget is not selected, the UpIsDown tool uses the first note it receives as the basis for inversion. The Initial Note gadget also displays the current basis for inversion when the CChg gadget is selected, and the Use gadget is not selected. The Reset On gadgets control when the UpIsDown tool reinitializes its internal initial note, The first two, Start and Play, correspond with the start and play transport controls. If the Start gadget is selected, the UpIsDown tool resets its initial note whenever you click on the start-from-beginning transport control. If the Play gadget is selected, the tool resets its initial note whenever you click on the transport play control. The value used to reset the initial note depends on the settings of the Initial Note gadgets. If neither of the Reset On gadgets is selected, the UpIsDown tool never resets its initial note. The CChg gadget resets the initial note whenever the designated controller's value is greater than 63 (a switch on). If the initial note Use gadget is selected, a switch on resets the tool's initial note to whatever is selected in the Initial Note gadgets. Otherwise, when the tool receives a switch on message, it resets its initial note to the next note it receives. In this case, when the tool receives the next note, the Initial Note gadgets are updated to show the current initial note. Three pop-up pipe menus allow you to select where the tool sends its control changes, and input and output notes. A straight pipe sends events on down the pipeline; an elbow pipe sends events to the tool's branch output; a plug deletes the events. Note that you cannot select a plug for the output notes. As usual, the miniscule camera in the edit window title bar writes the tool's state to the track as a system exclusive message. The Snapshot menu item duplicates the snapshot gadget. What happens with system exclusive messages is determined by two menu items. The tool responds to its sysex messages when the Use SysEx item is checked. Unless Free SysEx is selected, the tool passes these events to the next tool in the pipeline. Foreign sysex events are always passed down the pipeline. Snapshots and sysex don't work when the tool is in the ToolPad. NAME: StickIt TOOLID: Stkt (0x53746B74) DESCRIPTION: The StickIt tool emulates a joystick for generating control events. Drag the slider gadget around, and the tool sends events. All this and more... If the transport is running and you drag the humongous joystick-type slider, the new events replace any matching events (events of the same type the tool is squirting out) already in the track. AND the tool saves a list of new events. When you punch stop, you can choose to replace matching events in the track with the new events, mix the new events with existing events, or leave the track alone and trash the new events (i.e., the tool can be nondestructive -- see below). This can be a handy tool if you have, for instance, a Wavestation A/D and don't like always having to reach over and to twiddle with that teeny little joystick it has on the front panel. SPECIAL TYPE: Ontime, Realtime. USAGE: Pipeline. CONTROLS: The StickIt tool window has several intriguing gadgets, and one menu, and an annoying requester. The requester pops up when you stop the transport only if you generated events while the transport was running. You get three choices of what to do with the events: · Mix mixes the new events with any already in the clip; · Replace deletes old events in the clip, and sticks in the new ones; · Nope leaves the clip alone and frees the events you generated. (There is another requester that alerts you if the track's clip is locked because the tool can't save anything in that case.) The Min, Mid, and Max gadgets set the slider to the minimum, middle, and maximum of the ranges for the axes respectively. The gadgets for the axes (MinX, MinY, etc) set only the axis to which they refer. Unless a Defer gadget is selected, using a Min, Mid, or Max gadget also send a control change. The Send gadgets force the tool to send a control change event. Use them in conjunction with the Defer gadgets to gain greater control over when the tool sends events. When selected, the Defer gadgets turn off an axis. You can still drag the prop gadget, but events are not sent until you smack the Send gadget. The Play gadget allows you to watch the prop gadget whiz around in response to control changes received by the tool. If you can manage to grab the pot you can still move the gadget, but events are not sent by the tool unless you whap a Send gadget. It's not very useful, but sort of fun. The menu item Playback CCs duplicates the functionality of the gadget. The configuration gadget (the small pliers in the title bar) expands the window to show the gadgets that allow you to select the types of events the tool generates, and the range of values in the events. The configuration gadget also shrinks the window again to get all that junk out of the way when you are just grooving with the tool. The Event sliders allow you to select the kind of event the tool generates for each axis. You can choose control changes, mono aftertouch, or pitch bend. (The tool sends only 7-bit pitch bend.) The CC# slider sets the control change message to be sent. You can toggle between displaying names or numbers with the menu selection Show CC Numbers. In addition to the slider display, the selected controllers are also displayed on the left side of the main area of the window in a small font. (This is handy if you, like me, can't remember what controller is on which axis from time to time.) The High and Low sliders set the range of values sent on each axis. Note that the tool a bit strangely if the range is less than the Res setting. (I suppose I should do a sanity check on that, but you can do more easily as I just thought of it.) The Res sliders set the resolution for event generation. Changes in values less than this are not sent. In the title bar is the ever-popular Snapshot gadget (the wee camera). Click on this gadget to write the tool's current state to its track as a sysex message. If the transport is running, the message is saved at the time the Snapshot gadget is clicked. If the transport is not running, the system exclusive message time is the same as the left Edit flag. The track's Edit flag position is used if the track window is open; the Tracks window left Edit flag is used if the track edit window is not open. Snapshots won't occur any closer than the length of the default note from the position at which a new snapshot is to be inserted. For example, if the default note is a quarter note and you snapshot a tool at measure 2, beat 3, the tool will delete any of its own snapshots found between 2.2.01 and 2.3.191 before inserting the new snapshot. If the track's window is open, the default note set for the track is used. Otherwise, the default note set in the Global Parameters window is used. Most of the StickIt tool menu items duplicate the functions of gadgets; a couple provide additional goodies. Show CC Numbers toggles the display for the CC# sliders between names assigned to controllers in the MIDI spec, and your basic digits. Use SysEx toggles response to tool sysex messages. The StickIt tool disregards its sysex unless this item is selected. When the item is selected, the tool changes its current state to that saved in the sysex. Note that the tool does not change the state of the Use SysEx item so that you can choose to use or not use tool sysex as you please. Playback CCs duplicates the Play gadget. The Auto Replace item allows you to avoid the annoying requester that pops up after stopping the transport (if you generated any events with the tool). When Auto Replace is selected, the tool automagically replaces any events in the clip with the new events generated. Otherwise, you have to make a selection from the requester to determine the disposition of the events. The Snapshot item duplicates the functionality of the Snapshot gadget.