Composition libraries(6) |
Erasing, duplicating and moving elements [Professional] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] In this lesson, we will complete our
knowledge of the composition libraries with various tips and
advices used to handle the libraries.
When this dialog box appears, it means that the element is not
used in a folder. By answering Yes, you erase this
element of the document permanently. If this element is included
within a folder in the document, it would disappear without
confirmation, because it is always possible to recover it in the
folder where it is used, as we will see a little further. The
confirmation is a safety, in order not to erase an important
element. What you need to understand is that an element placed in
several files remains in fact one single element. The copies you
make by dragging it into various folders are references to the
original. When you modify one of them, the original is modified
and consequently all its references are also modified. When you
erase this element somewhere and that it is also located in other
files, it is simply a reference which is erased, the original
remaining present as long as other references exist. It is only
when you erase the last reference to this element that the
original is erased and in this case, Pizzicato asks you a
confirmation. It can be useful to duplicate an element so that it becomes
independent of its original. For example when you create a
library containing several complex but slightly different
elements. You create one of them, then you duplicate and modify
it without changing the first. Here is the method to duplicate an
element. First of all, this element must be located in the main
view. We will for example duplicate the F Maj icon. Nothing indeed prevents from having two
elements bearing the same name. You can then modify the
duplicate, change its name and its contents without affecting the
original. From this moment, the duplicate behaves in its turn as
an original and can be placed in several folders. A remark is
important regarding the duplication a folder. Only the folder
duplicate will be independent of its original. If the copied
folder contains for example 3 elements, these elements will
remain references to the original elements. In other words, if
you modify an element located in the copied folder, the
modification will also apply to the element located inside the
original folder and vice versa. Notice that the library tool is also available
via the arrow tool. Since Pizzicato 3.1, when right-clicking (Alt-click on Mac) on
a library item in the main view, a contextual menu gives you
access to the various windows already described and to the
removal of the item. By right-clicking in the main view
background, another menu lets you add an item or a score. Library options [Professional] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] In the Options menu , select the
Libraries... item. The following dialog box appears: Notice that before selecting the Generate
score menu, you can make a selection of measures and
staves with the selection tool. In this case, only the
selected measures and staves will be recomputed.
Libraries in the sequencer view [Professional] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] The result of calculation is displayed in a graphic form.
Notice that to get this result, you may disable the option
transcribing in musical notation. It helps you to save time. The operations we did in the score (erase, drag or drag with
the control key) may also be done in the sequencer view. Copying libraries between two documents [Professional] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] Just as it is possible to do with a score,
you can drag a library elements from one document to another.
This lets you use the libraries located in the documents of
the Libraries directory, available when you open a
document. Notice that you can open up to 10 documents
simultaneously. Notice that you cannot directly drag an
element of the first document into a measure of the second
document. It is always necessary to go through the main view
of the destination document. First drag the element into the
main view of the second document, then drag this copy into
the measure of the second document. In other words, only the
elements of the document main view can be used in a musical
score of this document. You took elements of a document and used
them in another. This process is the basic idea of the
composition libraries, even if this example is a little too
simple. You have basic libraries provided with Pizzicato. You
create yourself your own libraries in a thousand different
manners. Progressively while working, the contents of your
composition libraries increase. Moreover, these libraries are
marked by your composition style and allow you to reinforce
the coherence of your work. Simply by dragging some elements,
as we did here, you can access complex structures of
libraries (representing hours or whole days of work) which
you developed before. You can for example prepare
accompaniment structures for the main families of orchestra
as well as standard diagrams of orchestral effects, overall
chords under various families of instruments. After that,
each time you want to place a chord or an effect using for
example 20 different instruments at the same time, you will
just have to open the library, drag the element and possibly
change the chord. In other words, you spend 15 seconds to
complete a work of copy which would easily need ten minutes.
Pizzicato helps you to do the tiresome and noncreative work. Moreover, this method lets you test many
possibilities very quickly. If you hesitate about the
position of the chord in your orchestra score and you have
for example a library with 10 different positions, you just
need to drag them one after the other and directly listen to
the sound effect with the synthesizer. In a few minutes you
hear the 10 possible choices and you can make your choice. If
you would have to modify the score each time to test the 10
cases, you would perhaps spend one hour or you would simply
reject this work and choose a position without listening to
the others. By using the composition libraries, this kind of
work becomes easily possible and allows you to compose more
quickly by leaving tiresome and unpleasing work to Pizzicato. Close this document now, without saving the
changes.
Summary - example of libraries [Professional] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] Here is an example showing how to create a
complete arrangement with several instruments. It is a
bossa-nova music style. The library elements comprise: Examine the contents of each one in order
to understand the basic materials of our Bossa Nova. We have placed the chords progression in
the first staff and it influences the full score. For the
percussion themes, the options Do not transpose and Do
not arrange are checked to prevent the chords of staff 1
to modify them. The piano plays a random rhythmic taken
among 3 different rhythmics and based on the staff 1 chords.
The bass plays a random theme taken among a series of 3. The
notes are arranged and transposed according to the staff 1
chords. The soloist instrument plays a random melody which is
arranged on the chords progression. By opening the dialog box of the Progression
icon with the SHIFT key, you will be able to see the chord
list and the duration associated with each one of them. A last significant remark. If you do not place chords in
the libraries, Pizzicato will not arrange the themes and
melodies. But if the Chord progression window
contains chords, Pizzicato will use them to arrange the
melodies and themes. In some way, it could be easier to write
or modify a chord progression with this special window.
Conclusions [Professional] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] These 6 lessons review the theoretical
characteristics of the library composition system. All
essential information are in them. To exploit all possible
combinations of this system to your advantage, there is
nevertheless something missing which is not acquired by the
reading of a manual: the practice of it. A good understanding of the theory exposed
in these 6 lessons is necessary. Then you will have to make
your own tests and experiments so as to start thinking in
terms of musical libraries. This manual contains some lessons
about the use of the musical libraries. They show you how to
exploit the provided original libraries, using examples and
practical exercises. They give you an approach of composition
which allows the beginner to make his first steps in musical
creation. The professional composer will find in them a
progressive way allowing him to gradually acquire the
practice of the musical libraries. We highly advise you to study and make the
exercises of these lessons. Whether a beginner or a
professional of composition, you will end up being able to
think with the libraries and they will then become a very
powerful tool for your composition work. When you have more practice of the library
use, we advise you to read these 6 lessons again. Areas of
shades will probably be cleared up on concepts which perhaps
seemed too theoretical or too abstract to you at first
reading.
tool.
It is the library tool. Its shortcut is the lower case
letter "L (l)". With it, you can move and erase
library elements directly inside measures in the score
view. Close this Ex069.piz document (without
saving) and open it again in order to recover its
original contents. Open the score view and select the
option allowing to visualize the libraries in the
measures. Drag Melody 1 and R1 into
measure 1. You should now see measures like this: