 Expert
or novices can convert MIDIs to music, compose their own, or create an
entire arrangement in a few clicks of the mouse button.
ConcertWare by Jump! Music is a you do it all program for creating and editing music with or without a MIDI keyboard. Installation was a snap. Just pop in the disc and run the setup program. All that ConcertWare needs to run is a 386 with 2MB of RAM and about 5MB of free hard drive space. Although a MIDI keyboard is not required it is very helpful. Upon running ConcertWare you are presented with a grand staff, a virtual keyboard, and transport controls for playing the selected piece of music. If the graphics and user interface seem a bit bland its because it was originally designed for the Macintosh. Although it is highly customizable, it can be annoying at times to navigate through. Entering music is a snap. First you start by selecting a note value from the toolbar on top and either playing a note on the keyboard or selecting it from the virtual keyboard on the screen. To enter a rest select the note value and press the rest button on the toolbar. Entering other frills to the song can be a tad bit more complicated to learn at first but then you get used to them. Entering things such as volume markings and accents as well as chords can be done from drop down menus on the screen. Things like time changes, tempo changes, instrument changes, etc. are all done through the menus. Entering items such as repeats, key signatures and time changes are done from the Insert menu. If you would like to see the full power of ConcertWare choose to open one of the pre-composed files in the music directory and see what is possible. For example “Toccata and Fugue” is a very good demonstration of what ConcertWare is capable of doing. As for the documentation and online help, ConcertWare comes with a 200 page instruction manual that is very comprehensive. It takes you through all of the features and little extras that are contained within the program. The online help is useful when you want to know what a certain button or menu item does. All in all ConcertWare is a very comprehensive program for creating and editing music wether it be for a single instrument or an entire orchestra. Its intuitive features and wide range of options allows it to be a powerful and highly customizable program for users of all degrees of skill. ConcertWare retails for $39.95. The Jump!Music homepage is at http://www.jumpmusic.com. Jeff Escamilla is a sophomore at Communications Arts High School. He spends his spare time working on and fixing computers. He is also a member of the Taft Raider Band playing trumpet. |