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SibDemo/Read?Me/Reviews/New?Scient
This website contains an archive of files for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Acorn Archimedes, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64 computers, which Dominic Ford has rescued from his private collection of floppy disks and cassettes.
Some of these files were originally commercial releases in the 1980s and 1990s, but they are now widely available online. I assume that copyright over them is no longer being asserted. If you own the copyright and would like files to be removed, please contact me.
| Tape/disk: | Home » Personal collection » Acorn hard disk » apps » sibelius |
| Filename: | SibDemo/Read?Me/Reviews/New?Scient |
| Read OK: | ✔ |
| File size: | 08DA bytes |
| Load address: | 0000 |
| Exec address: | 0000 |
File contents
New Scientist 22 October 1994 IF MUSIC BE THE INPUT OF COMPUTERS, TYPE ON Students at the Royal Academy of Music in London can now come to orchestral composition classes with floppy discs instead of manuscript paper, then hear their homework brought to life by an electronic orchestra. The discs are read by a computer, itself linked to a synthesiser that reproduces the sounds of all the instruments. Any changes suggested during the class can be entered straight away, and played on the synthesiser. The completed score can then be printed out on normal music paper. "For the first time ever, students can hear a full orchestra playing what they have written," says Paul Patterson, head of the composition department at the academy. "At the click of a mouse button we can rejig the score to add timpani, or change the way the brass or woodwind parts of written, and immediately hear how it sounds. It's fantastic." The academy is using a computer program called Sibelius, which runs on an Acorn RISC personal computer. It was written over a period of six years by the brothers Ben and Jonathan Finn, who live in Cambridge. Complete systems are on sale for under �2,000. The academy has installed Sibelius workstations in its studios so that students can compose onto disc without needing to buy their own system. There are two ways for the composer to enter music into the work station. To write notes onto a conventional music stave on the screen. the composer positions a cursor with a mouse and then uses the keyboard to register the note's duration. Alternatively, the composer can play music into the PC from a keyboard connected via a MIDI port, the standard digital music interface. A number of MIDI programs already let composers print music, but are slow to cope with changes. "You have to go through a long sequence of keystrokes before you see anything appear on screen," says Patterson. "It can take twenty minutes to redraw the screens for a full score." The secret of Sibelius is that it works like a modern wordprocessing program. It processes and formats all the information as it is entered, updating the full score 10 times a second. New notes appear on screen as they are written or played, and are immediately available for printing��
00000000 0a 4e 65 77 20 53 63 69 65 6e 74 69 73 74 0a 0a |.New Scientist..| 00000010 32 32 20 4f 63 74 6f 62 65 72 20 31 39 39 34 0a |22 October 1994.| 00000020 0a 0a 49 46 20 4d 55 53 49 43 20 42 45 20 54 48 |..IF MUSIC BE TH| 00000030 45 20 49 4e 50 55 54 20 4f 46 20 43 4f 4d 50 55 |E INPUT OF COMPU| 00000040 54 45 52 53 2c 20 54 59 50 45 20 4f 4e 0a 0a 53 |TERS, TYPE ON..S| 00000050 74 75 64 65 6e 74 73 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 52 |tudents at the R| 00000060 6f 79 61 6c 20 41 63 61 64 65 6d 79 20 6f 66 20 |oyal Academy of | 00000070 4d 75 73 69 63 20 69 6e 20 4c 6f 6e 64 6f 6e 20 |Music in London | 00000080 63 61 6e 20 6e 6f 77 20 63 6f 6d 65 20 74 6f 20 |can now come to | 00000090 6f 72 63 68 65 73 74 72 61 6c 0a 63 6f 6d 70 6f |orchestral.compo| 000000a0 73 69 74 69 6f 6e 20 63 6c 61 73 73 65 73 20 77 |sition classes w| 000000b0 69 74 68 20 66 6c 6f 70 70 79 20 64 69 73 63 73 |ith floppy discs| 000000c0 20 69 6e 73 74 65 61 64 20 6f 66 20 6d 61 6e 75 | instead of manu| 000000d0 73 63 72 69 70 74 20 70 61 70 65 72 2c 20 74 68 |script paper, th| 000000e0 65 6e 20 68 65 61 72 0a 74 68 65 69 72 20 68 6f |en hear.their ho| 000000f0 6d 65 77 6f 72 6b 20 62 72 6f 75 67 68 74 20 74 |mework brought t| 00000100 6f 20 6c 69 66 65 20 62 79 20 61 6e 20 65 6c 65 |o life by an ele| 00000110 63 74 72 6f 6e 69 63 20 6f 72 63 68 65 73 74 72 |ctronic orchestr| 00000120 61 2e 20 54 68 65 20 64 69 73 63 73 20 61 72 65 |a. The discs are| 00000130 0a 72 65 61 64 20 62 79 20 61 20 63 6f 6d 70 75 |.read by a compu| 00000140 74 65 72 2c 20 69 74 73 65 6c 66 20 6c 69 6e 6b |ter, itself link| 00000150 65 64 20 74 6f 20 61 20 73 79 6e 74 68 65 73 69 |ed to a synthesi| 00000160 73 65 72 20 74 68 61 74 20 72 65 70 72 6f 64 75 |ser that reprodu| 00000170 63 65 73 20 74 68 65 0a 73 6f 75 6e 64 73 20 6f |ces the.sounds o| 00000180 66 20 61 6c 6c 20 74 68 65 20 69 6e 73 74 72 75 |f all the instru| 00000190 6d 65 6e 74 73 2e 20 41 6e 79 20 63 68 61 6e 67 |ments. Any chang| 000001a0 65 73 20 73 75 67 67 65 73 74 65 64 20 64 75 72 |es suggested dur| 000001b0 69 6e 67 20 74 68 65 20 63 6c 61 73 73 20 63 61 |ing the class ca| 000001c0 6e 20 62 65 0a 65 6e 74 65 72 65 64 20 73 74 72 |n be.entered str| 000001d0 61 69 67 68 74 20 61 77 61 79 2c 20 61 6e 64 20 |aight away, and | 000001e0 70 6c 61 79 65 64 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 73 79 |played on the sy| 000001f0 6e 74 68 65 73 69 73 65 72 2e 20 54 68 65 20 63 |nthesiser. The c| 00000200 6f 6d 70 6c 65 74 65 64 20 73 63 6f 72 65 0a 63 |ompleted score.c| 00000210 61 6e 20 74 68 65 6e 20 62 65 20 70 72 69 6e 74 |an then be print| 00000220 65 64 20 6f 75 74 20 6f 6e 20 6e 6f 72 6d 61 6c |ed out on normal| 00000230 20 6d 75 73 69 63 20 70 61 70 65 72 2e 0a 0a 22 | music paper..."| 00000240 46 6f 72 20 74 68 65 20 66 69 72 73 74 20 74 69 |For the first ti| 00000250 6d 65 20 65 76 65 72 2c 20 73 74 75 64 65 6e 74 |me ever, student| 00000260 73 20 63 61 6e 20 68 65 61 72 20 61 20 66 75 6c |s can hear a ful| 00000270 6c 20 6f 72 63 68 65 73 74 72 61 20 70 6c 61 79 |l orchestra play| 00000280 69 6e 67 20 77 68 61 74 0a 74 68 65 79 20 68 61 |ing what.they ha| 00000290 76 65 20 77 72 69 74 74 65 6e 2c 22 20 73 61 79 |ve written," say| 000002a0 73 20 50 61 75 6c 20 50 61 74 74 65 72 73 6f 6e |s Paul Patterson| 000002b0 2c 20 68 65 61 64 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 63 6f |, head of the co| 000002c0 6d 70 6f 73 69 74 69 6f 6e 20 64 65 70 61 72 74 |mposition depart| 000002d0 6d 65 6e 74 0a 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 61 63 61 64 |ment.at the acad| 000002e0 65 6d 79 2e 20 22 41 74 20 74 68 65 20 63 6c 69 |emy. "At the cli| 000002f0 63 6b 20 6f 66 20 61 20 6d 6f 75 73 65 20 62 75 |ck of a mouse bu| 00000300 74 74 6f 6e 20 77 65 20 63 61 6e 20 72 65 6a 69 |tton we can reji| 00000310 67 20 74 68 65 20 73 63 6f 72 65 20 74 6f 0a 61 |g the score to.a| 00000320 64 64 20 74 69 6d 70 61 6e 69 2c 20 6f 72 20 63 |dd timpani, or c| 00000330 68 61 6e 67 65 20 74 68 65 20 77 61 79 20 74 68 |hange the way th| 00000340 65 20 62 72 61 73 73 20 6f 72 20 77 6f 6f 64 77 |e brass or woodw| 00000350 69 6e 64 20 70 61 72 74 73 20 6f 66 20 77 72 69 |ind parts of wri| 00000360 74 74 65 6e 2c 20 61 6e 64 0a 69 6d 6d 65 64 69 |tten, and.immedi| 00000370 61 74 65 6c 79 20 68 65 61 72 20 68 6f 77 20 69 |ately hear how i| 00000380 74 20 73 6f 75 6e 64 73 2e 20 49 74 27 73 20 66 |t sounds. It's f| 00000390 61 6e 74 61 73 74 69 63 2e 22 0a 0a 54 68 65 20 |antastic."..The | 000003a0 61 63 61 64 65 6d 79 20 69 73 20 75 73 69 6e 67 |academy is using| 000003b0 20 61 20 63 6f 6d 70 75 74 65 72 20 70 72 6f 67 | a computer prog| 000003c0 72 61 6d 20 63 61 6c 6c 65 64 20 53 69 62 65 6c |ram called Sibel| 000003d0 69 75 73 2c 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 72 75 6e 73 20 |ius, which runs | 000003e0 6f 6e 20 61 6e 0a 41 63 6f 72 6e 20 52 49 53 43 |on an.Acorn RISC| 000003f0 20 70 65 72 73 6f 6e 61 6c 20 63 6f 6d 70 75 74 | personal comput| 00000400 65 72 2e 20 49 74 20 77 61 73 20 77 72 69 74 74 |er. It was writt| 00000410 65 6e 20 6f 76 65 72 20 61 20 70 65 72 69 6f 64 |en over a period| 00000420 20 6f 66 20 73 69 78 20 79 65 61 72 73 20 62 79 | of six years by| 00000430 0a 74 68 65 20 62 72 6f 74 68 65 72 73 20 42 65 |.the brothers Be| 00000440 6e 20 61 6e 64 20 4a 6f 6e 61 74 68 61 6e 20 46 |n and Jonathan F| 00000450 69 6e 6e 2c 20 77 68 6f 20 6c 69 76 65 20 69 6e |inn, who live in| 00000460 20 43 61 6d 62 72 69 64 67 65 2e 20 43 6f 6d 70 | Cambridge. Comp| 00000470 6c 65 74 65 20 73 79 73 74 65 6d 73 0a 61 72 65 |lete systems.are| 00000480 20 6f 6e 20 73 61 6c 65 20 66 6f 72 20 75 6e 64 | on sale for und| 00000490 65 72 20 a3 32 2c 30 30 30 2e 20 54 68 65 20 61 |er .2,000. The a| 000004a0 63 61 64 65 6d 79 20 68 61 73 20 69 6e 73 74 61 |cademy has insta| 000004b0 6c 6c 65 64 20 53 69 62 65 6c 69 75 73 0a 77 6f |lled Sibelius.wo| 000004c0 72 6b 73 74 61 74 69 6f 6e 73 20 69 6e 20 69 74 |rkstations in it| 000004d0 73 20 73 74 75 64 69 6f 73 20 73 6f 20 74 68 61 |s studios so tha| 000004e0 74 20 73 74 75 64 65 6e 74 73 20 63 61 6e 20 63 |t students can c| 000004f0 6f 6d 70 6f 73 65 20 6f 6e 74 6f 20 64 69 73 63 |ompose onto disc| 00000500 20 77 69 74 68 6f 75 74 0a 6e 65 65 64 69 6e 67 | without.needing| 00000510 20 74 6f 20 62 75 79 20 74 68 65 69 72 20 6f 77 | to buy their ow| 00000520 6e 20 73 79 73 74 65 6d 2e 0a 0a 54 68 65 72 65 |n system...There| 00000530 20 61 72 65 20 74 77 6f 20 77 61 79 73 20 66 6f | are two ways fo| 00000540 72 20 74 68 65 20 63 6f 6d 70 6f 73 65 72 20 74 |r the composer t| 00000550 6f 20 65 6e 74 65 72 20 6d 75 73 69 63 20 69 6e |o enter music in| 00000560 74 6f 20 74 68 65 20 77 6f 72 6b 20 73 74 61 74 |to the work stat| 00000570 69 6f 6e 2e 20 54 6f 0a 77 72 69 74 65 20 6e 6f |ion. To.write no| 00000580 74 65 73 20 6f 6e 74 6f 20 61 20 63 6f 6e 76 65 |tes onto a conve| 00000590 6e 74 69 6f 6e 61 6c 20 6d 75 73 69 63 20 73 74 |ntional music st| 000005a0 61 76 65 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 73 63 72 65 65 |ave on the scree| 000005b0 6e 2e 20 74 68 65 20 63 6f 6d 70 6f 73 65 72 0a |n. the composer.| 000005c0 70 6f 73 69 74 69 6f 6e 73 20 61 20 63 75 72 73 |positions a curs| 000005d0 6f 72 20 77 69 74 68 20 61 20 6d 6f 75 73 65 20 |or with a mouse | 000005e0 61 6e 64 20 74 68 65 6e 20 75 73 65 73 20 74 68 |and then uses th| 000005f0 65 20 6b 65 79 62 6f 61 72 64 20 74 6f 20 72 65 |e keyboard to re| 00000600 67 69 73 74 65 72 20 74 68 65 0a 6e 6f 74 65 27 |gister the.note'| 00000610 73 20 64 75 72 61 74 69 6f 6e 2e 20 41 6c 74 65 |s duration. Alte| 00000620 72 6e 61 74 69 76 65 6c 79 2c 20 74 68 65 20 63 |rnatively, the c| 00000630 6f 6d 70 6f 73 65 72 20 63 61 6e 20 70 6c 61 79 |omposer can play| 00000640 20 6d 75 73 69 63 20 69 6e 74 6f 20 74 68 65 20 | music into the | 00000650 50 43 20 66 72 6f 6d 0a 61 20 6b 65 79 62 6f 61 |PC from.a keyboa| 00000660 72 64 20 63 6f 6e 6e 65 63 74 65 64 20 76 69 61 |rd connected via| 00000670 20 61 20 4d 49 44 49 20 70 6f 72 74 2c 20 74 68 | a MIDI port, th| 00000680 65 20 73 74 61 6e 64 61 72 64 20 64 69 67 69 74 |e standard digit| 00000690 61 6c 20 6d 75 73 69 63 20 69 6e 74 65 72 66 61 |al music interfa| 000006a0 63 65 2e 0a 0a 41 20 6e 75 6d 62 65 72 20 6f 66 |ce...A number of| 000006b0 20 4d 49 44 49 20 70 72 6f 67 72 61 6d 73 20 61 | MIDI programs a| 000006c0 6c 72 65 61 64 79 20 6c 65 74 20 63 6f 6d 70 6f |lready let compo| 000006d0 73 65 72 73 20 70 72 69 6e 74 20 6d 75 73 69 63 |sers print music| 000006e0 2c 20 62 75 74 20 61 72 65 20 73 6c 6f 77 20 74 |, but are slow t| 000006f0 6f 0a 63 6f 70 65 20 77 69 74 68 20 63 68 61 6e |o.cope with chan| 00000700 67 65 73 2e 20 22 59 6f 75 20 68 61 76 65 20 74 |ges. "You have t| 00000710 6f 20 67 6f 20 74 68 72 6f 75 67 68 20 61 20 6c |o go through a l| 00000720 6f 6e 67 20 73 65 71 75 65 6e 63 65 20 6f 66 20 |ong sequence of | 00000730 6b 65 79 73 74 72 6f 6b 65 73 0a 62 65 66 6f 72 |keystrokes.befor| 00000740 65 20 79 6f 75 20 73 65 65 20 61 6e 79 74 68 69 |e you see anythi| 00000750 6e 67 20 61 70 70 65 61 72 20 6f 6e 20 73 63 72 |ng appear on scr| 00000760 65 65 6e 2c 22 20 73 61 79 73 20 50 61 74 74 65 |een," says Patte| 00000770 72 73 6f 6e 2e 20 22 49 74 20 63 61 6e 20 74 61 |rson. "It can ta| 00000780 6b 65 0a 74 77 65 6e 74 79 20 6d 69 6e 75 74 65 |ke.twenty minute| 00000790 73 20 74 6f 20 72 65 64 72 61 77 20 74 68 65 20 |s to redraw the | 000007a0 73 63 72 65 65 6e 73 20 66 6f 72 20 61 20 66 75 |screens for a fu| 000007b0 6c 6c 20 73 63 6f 72 65 2e 22 0a 0a 54 68 65 20 |ll score."..The | 000007c0 73 65 63 72 65 74 20 6f 66 20 53 69 62 65 6c 69 |secret of Sibeli| 000007d0 75 73 20 69 73 20 74 68 61 74 20 69 74 20 77 6f |us is that it wo| 000007e0 72 6b 73 20 6c 69 6b 65 20 61 20 6d 6f 64 65 72 |rks like a moder| 000007f0 6e 20 77 6f 72 64 70 72 6f 63 65 73 73 69 6e 67 |n wordprocessing| 00000800 0a 70 72 6f 67 72 61 6d 2e 20 49 74 20 70 72 6f |.program. It pro| 00000810 63 65 73 73 65 73 20 61 6e 64 20 66 6f 72 6d 61 |cesses and forma| 00000820 74 73 20 61 6c 6c 20 74 68 65 20 69 6e 66 6f 72 |ts all the infor| 00000830 6d 61 74 69 6f 6e 20 61 73 20 69 74 20 69 73 20 |mation as it is | 00000840 65 6e 74 65 72 65 64 2c 0a 75 70 64 61 74 69 6e |entered,.updatin| 00000850 67 20 74 68 65 20 66 75 6c 6c 20 73 63 6f 72 65 |g the full score| 00000860 20 31 30 20 74 69 6d 65 73 20 61 20 73 65 63 6f | 10 times a seco| 00000870 6e 64 2e 20 4e 65 77 20 6e 6f 74 65 73 20 61 70 |nd. New notes ap| 00000880 70 65 61 72 20 6f 6e 20 73 63 72 65 65 6e 20 61 |pear on screen a| 00000890 73 0a 74 68 65 79 20 61 72 65 20 77 72 69 74 74 |s.they are writt| 000008a0 65 6e 20 6f 72 20 70 6c 61 79 65 64 2c 20 61 6e |en or played, an| 000008b0 64 20 61 72 65 20 69 6d 6d 65 64 69 61 74 65 6c |d are immediatel| 000008c0 79 20 61 76 61 69 6c 61 62 6c 65 20 66 6f 72 0a |y available for.| 000008d0 70 72 69 6e 74 69 6e 67 ff ff |printing..| 000008da
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