WikiComposer Music Composition Software Quick Reference
WikiComposer Version 1.1 Reference
WikiComposer Version 1.1 Reference
Description
WikiComposer consists of two related applications: The first is a music editor that allows the manipulation and performance of files in the MIDI format,
as well as the control of external MIDI devices. The second, online version, is the combination of the music editor described above and a Wiki: A system for providing
universally editable information.
With the latter, many people may be the co-composers of a given work over any span of time.
Basic Operations
Deploying and Running
The Desktop Version of WikiComposer is installed and run in a conventional manner.
The Online Version is runnable in any modern browser, and has been
tested in Internet Explorer and Firefox. You can run it directly from WikiComposer.
Generally speaking, no configuration is needed. However, WikiComposer's actual environment is a Java browser
Plugin, version 1.5 or later, which may be absent from a particular computer.
If the application fails to run, the Java plugin may be installed at no cost.
The layout of the Application
The editor consists primarily of Staff Views. Each type of Staff View presents the same music in
a different way:
Traditional Staff Views show music using normal notation already familiar to most people.
Piano Roll Views show music as linear bars, the placement and length of which indicate note characteristics.
Piano Rolls make certain kinds of editing easier, as the pitch and position is apparent from the consistent
spacing of the notes.
Overall Views show a "high level" view of the musical score.
At the top of the application is an ordinary menu, which contains most of the commands that are described in the following text. Where appropriate,
some commands have both menu entries and shortcut keys, while some have only one or the other.
Adding and Editing Notes
When a traditional staff or Piano Roll is present, notes may be added by clicking the mouse on it, or by
pressing the space bar. The note will be added at the exact location of the Cursor note, which itself may
be moved by normal mouse motion, or by using the arrow keys. In addition, the Page Up and Page Down keys move the Cursor by a full octave.
The Home and End keys move the note forward and backward one measure. Control-Home and Control-End move the cursor to the beginning and
end of the staff.
Many of the operations familiar through word
processors are available. For example, notes may be highlighted by dragging the mouse over them.
Such notes may then be altered in a variety of ways:
Highlighted notes can be copy-and-pasted by pressing Control-C, then Control-V.
...or cut-and-pasted by pressing Control-X, then Control-V.
...or deleted by pressing the Delete key.
They may be moved by holding down the Control key, and then pressing the arrow keys.
Their dynamics can be altered by holding down the V key, while moving the mouse up and down.
Many (but not all) operations may be reversed by pressing Control-Z (Undo).
You may alter the cursor in the following ways:
To change the length of the cursor, press the comma or period buttons (the same as the < and > keys).
Hold down the Control button to change the cursor by 1/16th of a note.
To change the snap-to of the cursor, press the open "[" and closed "]" bracket keys. The snap-to determines
the precision of the cursor's placement. The snap-to may also be reduced by 1/4th temporarily by holding down the control key during normal mouse movement.
To limit mouse movement to the major scale, press the A key.
To add or subtract a third from the length of the cursor, press 3 or Control-3.
To change the cursor to a specific note length press a numeral:
1: Whole Note
2: Half Note
4: Quarter Note
8: Eighth Note
6: Sixteenth Note
9: Thirty-Second Note
To alter the Cursor Length more exactly, hold down the "E" key and move the mouse left or right.
To dot a note, press D.
Playing Music
WikiComposer has numerous methods of playing music, each of which has a specific purpose:
To play the whole piece, press the P key.
To play a particular measure, press the M key.
To play a measure of the current staff only, press Shift-M.
To play the current position, press the S key.
To play upto the current position, press the "`" key, and then a number. Once again: That is the key at the top left hand
of the keyboard, which also contains the tilde "~" character. The number that you press indicates how many measures prior to the
current measure will be played, upto the current position. This is one of the best ways to play music, since it allows
you to hear the notes just before the notes you are editing.
To loop the entire piece, press Control-L
To loop the previously paid type of playing, press the L key.
To allow the cursor to automatically play whenever it is moved, press the Shift key. This may be turned off by pressing Shift again.
To stop playing, press the Q key.
Other types of Editing
To set the tempo, or time or key signature, select Staff > Set Time/Key signatures. The changes will take place in the location of the cursor note, unless specified otherwise in the form.
To set the instrument, select Staff > Set Instrument.
To set the volume, go to Staff > Set Volume. This method of altering dynamics is unwieldy, and so it is recommended
to use the mouse to change dynamics: Simply highlight the desired notes, hold down the V key, and move the mouse up and down.
Other types of Workspace configuration
To change the number of measures displayed, press the Minus and Equals keys. To zoom in and out, press Control-Minus and Control-Equals.
To change which staff is displayed in a Piano Roll, press Control-N key to advance from one Staff to the next.
To change which staves are displayed in a traditional View, go to Staff > Configure Multi-Staff View. This will allow you to limit
a certain View to display only certain staves.
To attach or detach views, go to Staff > Attach Views Together. This feature allows two views to control one another, with
the effect that you automatically see what you are editing in both.
To show notes from every staff in the same Piano Roll, select Staff > Toggle Ghost Notes.
To insert or delete blank space into a score, press the Insert or Delete buttons.
Workspace Information
To alter the information provided on the title bar, press Shift-T. This toggles a variety of information related
to the Cursor: Current staff, position, pitch, length, and so on.
To see information pertinent to the current workspace, select Show Information from the menu element at the top right of the window.
This contains the current file name, application version number, etc.
To see the message log, go to the same menu element, and select Display Message Information. You will notice that the latest message is
always displayed at the top right of the main application window.
Administrative Operations
System Utilities - Desktop Version
The desktop version of WikiComposer saves and loads files in a conventional manner. The Demo version of the software limits the size of the files
which you may save.
To upgrade from the Demo version to the Full registered version of WikiComposer, go to http://www.wikicomposer.com/desktop_version.htm.
Then go to Registration > Register, and submit the code you receive. Note that you will need an active Internet connection to do this.
To save a file using a new name, go to File > Save As. This will allow you to choose the name of your file and the folder into which it
will be saved.
To save a file using its current name, go to File > Save, or press Control-S
To save a file using its current name and to automatically backup your previous work, go to File > Save (and backup current).
This will save your current work to a file using current name, and create a backup file with the date appended to the name. This will
allow you to keep a record of the changes you have made over time, and allow you to recover old versions as needed.
To open a file, go to File > Open, or press Control-O. As of version 1.1, MIDI files are the only supported format.
Controlling External MIDI Devices.
To see the list of available devices, go to File > External Devices
To change the state of a given device, select "Open Device" or "Close Device" next to its name, and press "Submit Selection". You may open or close multiple
devices at the same time in this manner. Notice that currently-open devices are listed at the top of this form.
To Record from the open MIDI device, go to Play > Record. To record in a looping fashion, go to Play > Loop Record
Be aware that most MIDI devices, such as keyboards, often appear as "USB Audio Device" or similar, reflecting the type of
connection, rather than the type of device
System Utilities - Online Version
The online version of WikiComposer is just that...a Wiki. As such, all information that
is viewable and editable by one person, is viewable and editable by every person. This fact is reflected in
the process to save and load music. The file browser, however, is of a format familiar to most users.
The file browser is loaded by selecting File > Network Save/Load. The tree on the left of the window
contains folders, each of which contains files. The files, listed on the right, may be loaded into the application.
Additionally, every version of every file is available, reflecting the various edits it has undergone.
To log into the application, go to File > Login. The form presented allows both the use of existing accounts, as well as the creation of new ones.
By default, users enter the application under a guest account, which allows most functionality.
To load a file, highlight its name and press Load
To load an earlier version of a file, highlight its name and press Old Versions. The listed old versions may
be loaded in the usual way. If you know the version number you want, you
can enter it into the "Versions" text box instead.
To save a file, press Save. This will save the file using the name in the Name textbox. You will
be asked to enter a comment, at which point you may also Cancel the operation.
To see an HTML link to the current file, select "Show Information" from the menu in the top-right section of the
application. An example of such a link would be: http://www.WikiComposer.com/applet.jsp?uid=1