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TM

The World’s Best Braille Music Transcription Program

from

“Systems you can rely on”

OPTEK SYSTEMS

TM

Manual with Worked Examples version 1.0.1

toc·ca·ta noun Music 1. A composition, usually for the organ or another keyboard instrument, in free style with full chords and elaborate runs. (Italian, from feminine past participle of toccare to touch)

“Don’t know what I want, but I know how to get it” Anarchy in the U.K, The Sex Pistols

“Systems you can rely on”

73 Marion Street, Harris Park

NSW 2150, Australia Copyright 2000 Optek Systems.

All rights reserved.

OPTEK SYSTEMS

Table of Contents

Notices 1 Acknowledgements 1 System Requirements 1 Registration 2 Upgrades 2 Warranty 2 Contact Information 2 Technical support 2

Installation 3

Starting Toccata 4

General Layout 4

Insert and Add mode 5 Inserting Notes 5 Bar Overflows 6

The Palette 6

Creating a New Score 7 Pitch and Placement 8 Modifying a Note Value 8

Translating to Braille 9 Translation Modes 10

More Notation 11 Accidentals 11 Playback 11 Removing Attributes 12 Effect on Modified Notes 12 Naturals 12 Delete notes 13 Select range of notes 13 Paste Selected Notes into another Bar 14 Selection Mode and Parts 14

Parts 14 Part-Bar and Whole-Bar In-Accords 14 Converting to Parts 14 Order of Parts and In-Accords 15 Parts and Stem Direction 15

Chords 15 Embellishment of Chords 16 Interval Doubling 16

Table of Contents

Slurs and Ties 16 Ties and Chords 16 Removing Slurs /Ties 17

Navigating the Music score 18 New Page 18 Track Mouse Position 18 Keyboard controls 18 Play Back options 19

Lyrics 20 End of Phrase Marker 22 Doubling Lyrics 23

Printing and Embossing 23 Embossing the Braille Music 23 Printing the Braille Music 23 Printing the Music Notation 23

Saving Files 24

Loading Files 24

Braille formatting choices 26 Bar-over-Bar format 26 Braille Options Dialogue Box 27 Show Clef Signs 27 Show Hand Signs 27 Show Staff Name (“instrument”) 27 Show Tempo 27 Show Measure No. (“Bar number”) 27 Measure on Free Line 27 Show Tracker Dots 28 Show Lyrics 28 Show Capital Sign 28 Show Repeats 28

Settings 28 Start Measure No. 28 Music Indent 29 Lyric Indent and Lyric Runover 30 Bars / Section 31

Format 31 Bar-over-Bar / Section-by-Section 31 Line Between Sections / Parallels 31 Grade II Braille 31 Octave Sign at Start of every Measure in Bar-over-Bar Format 31 Showing Instrument Names 32 Line Width and Page Length 33

Table of Contents

Embosser Options 34 Line Width / Page Length 34 Page Numbering 34 Embosser Port 34 Windows Device 34 Embosser Braille Table 34

Music Score Options 35 System Settings 35 Staves per System 35 Tempo 35 Staff Number / Name 35 Maximum No. Bars / Page 35 Stave Settings 36 Clef 36 Key 36 Beats / Measure and Beat 36 Unify Key 36 Unify Time 36 Voice and MIDI Channel 36

Bar Dialogue Box options 37 Clef Changes 37 Time signatures and Key Changes 38 Deleting Clef Signs and other objects 38

More complex Music Notation 39 Beaming 39 Autobeam 39 Manual Beaming 39 Tuplets 39 Converting to Triplets 40 Preserving Note Stem Values 40 Tuplet Ratio 40 Dynamics and Expression 41 Fingering 41 Pedal, Pause, Turn, Arpeggio Marks 42 Crescendo marks 42 Music Repeats 42

Six Key Entry and Saving Braille Music 42

The Event Info Dialogue Box 43

Scanning Music and loading MIDI or NIFF files into Toccata 44

Starting SharpEye 44

Table of Contents

Bohemian Rhapsody – worked example 45 Recognising the Image File 46 Brace Staves for Each Instrument 46 Correcting Errors 46 Editing Bohemian Rhapsody 47 Save as NIFF or MIDI ? 48 NIFF options 48 MIDI Output Options 48

MIDI files and Toccata 49 Loading MIDI files in Toccata – worked example 49 Correcting MIDI omissions in Toccata 50 Other Editing required – NIFF or MIDI 51 Dynamics omitted 51 Title Page Editor 51 Add Phrasing Marks to Lyrics 51 Set Braille Options 52 Save as a Toccata file 52

Troubleshooting 53

SharpEye Music Reader 55 Introduction 57 System requirements 57 Installation 57 Brief guide 57 Scanning 57 Music Editor 57

Overall Process 58 Image And Music Windows 58

Scanning 59 General 59 Scanner settings - colours 59 Scanner settings - resolution 59 Scanner settings - brightness 60 Scanner settings - misc 60

Loading and Editing an Image 60 Reading the image 60 Zones 61 Music Editor 61

Saving Music Files 61 Saving as MIDI 61 Short notes wrong 62 Saving as NIFF 62 Parts and voices 63

Multi page scores 63 Batch processing 63

Table of Contents

Miscellaneous Options 64 Window Positions 64 MIDI output options 64 NIFF output type 64 Directories for image and music files 64

The Music Editor 65 Warnings about rhythm problems 65 Selections 66 Deleting objects 66 Modifying Symbols 66 Clefs and keys 66 Time Signatures 67 Lyrics 67 Rests 67 Notes and chords 67 Moving symbols 68 Creating symbols 68 The right button 68 Choosing a symbol 69 Joining staves 69 Irregular Systems 70 Editing guidelines 70 Keyboard shortcuts 71

Problems and Tips 72 Limitations on notation recognised 72 Image quality 72

Tips and techniques 72 Adding notes to the right stave 72 Selecting overlapping note heads 73 Partial measures 73 Split measures 73 Gray notes won't go 73 Vertical alignment 73 Chords entered as two notes 73 Missed notes in beamed groups 73 Rests in the wrong voice or stave 73 Hidden overlaps 74 Incomplete voices 74 Images from unusual sources 74 Black rectangles in display 74

Notices and System Requirements

Page 1

Notices

Optek Systems retains all ownership rights to the TTooccccaattaa TM computer program and other computer programs offered by Optek Systems including all associated documentation and materials. The Toccata source code is a confidential trade secret of Optek Systems. You may not attempt to decipher, reverse-engineer or decompile Toccata, or knowingly allow others to do so. Toccata and its documentation may not be sublicensed and may not be transferred without the prior written consent of Optek Systems.

Toccata is licensed to be used on only one computer at a time. You may not make copies for the purpose of installing Toccata on additional computers even if at the same location. Only you, your employees and contractors who have agreed to the above restrictions may use Toccata..

Your right to copy Toccata and this manual is restricted by copyright law. Making copies, adaptations or compilation works without prior written consent of Optek Systems is prohibited by law and constitutes a punishable legal violation.

Optek Systems may revise this manual from time to time without notice.

Toccata program was written by Nigel Herring. On-line Help was written by Nigel Herring and Terry Kenaghan. This manual written by Peter Cracknell.

Toccata and Toccata Manual are copyright of Optek Systems. TTooccccaattaa is a trademark of Optek Systems. SharpEye Music Reader copyright Graham Jones, VISIV, 21e Balnakeil, Lairg, Sutherland UK Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the kind and very comprehensive assistance of Jane Ware of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB UK), and the very useful comments and suggestions of Bettye Krolick in the US, in the development of Toccata.

System Requirements Toccata is a 32 bit computer program which will run on Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT workstation 4. There is no Mac version available.

Your computer processor should be an Intel Pentium or compatible, 200 MHz or faster (400 MHz recommended)

Your computer should have a 3½ inch floppy disk drive and 8MB of free space on the hard disk

The RAM should be 32 Mb or greater (64 Mb recommended) The sound card should be SoundBlaster compatible and the associated drivers

should be able to process MIDI playback The computer screen should be SVGA and the resolution 800x600 or greater

Support and Upgrades

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Registration

In order to receive Technical Support it is necessary to register your purchase of Toccata.. This is just a matter of emailing, writing or faxing to us your name, the name of your organization and contact details, and the Serial Number of your copy of Toccata . If you have email, Registering with us also allows you to receive notification of improvements and upgrades to Toccata and information about related products.

Upgrades

The cost of upgrading from previous versions of Toccata depends on how old your version is compared to the latest version as specified by Version Number. The Version Number of your software is printed on the Installation Disks, on the Toccata “splash screen”, and in the About item in the Help Menu. Your Serial Number is also displayed in these places. Your registered User Name, Serial Number and Version Number are required by us prior to the issue of an upgrade. Freight charges will depend on shipping costs from Australia.

Warranty

Optek Systems provides Toccata, and this manual, "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Contact Information

Contact your local supplier, or Optek Systems directly at : OPTEK SYSTEMS PO BOX 436 HARRIS PARK NSW 2150 AUSTRALIA

Telephone (+612) 9891 6600 Fax (+612) 9891 6875 Email [email protected] Web http://www.mpx.com.au/~terryk

Technical support

The support staff at Optek Systems will, to the best of their ability, assist with questions concerning the use of Toccata or problems that may arise. However, Optek Systems cannot provide instruction in the rudiments of music notation, the rules of Braille Music, or the basic operating techniques of computer use, and we refer enquiries of this nature to specialist instructors or publications.

Optek Systems may support via telephone and fax, but we would prefer email enquiries. You must give us the following information :

Your Registered User Name, the Serial Number and Version Number of Toccata and the version of Windows your are using (95/98/NT/2000).

Please describe what you were attempting to achieve and the problem. If the problem is with a Toccata file, please send this as an attachment, along with a copy of the Toccata.ini file, which is located in the \Program Files\Toccata folder.

All problems relating to SharpEye with Toccata must be directed to Optek and not to the writer, Graham Jones of VISIV. In addition to the information specified above, please also include copies of, as attachments 1) The scanned image (as a TIF file using Packbits compression) 2) the SharpEye MRO file 3) the MIDI file. Please draw attention to the relevant issues and explain what you were attempting to achieve.

Installation and Setup

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Installation Software Protection Dongle Before installing the software, locate the Software Protection Dongle which was supplied with Toccata. Plug this onto your Parallel Printer port (or a spare USB port for the USB version) – you may then attach a printer cable to the back of the Dongle if required. If a Dongle is not present when Toccata is installed or run, the program will run in “Demo Mode”. Toccata in Demo mode is fully functional except that work cannot be saved, and only small amounts of Braille can be embossed.

If installing to a network Make sure you have full Network Administrator rights

Setup

Insert Disk 1 into the floppy drive of your computer Make sure no other programs are running On the Desktop, select MY COMPUTER, Control Panel, Add / Remove Programs Click on INSTALL, click on NEXT, click on FINISH Insert disks as prompted If Setup asks whether you wish to Keep or Replace Existing Files, select Keep

Screen Settings

Toccata will not display correctly unless Small Fonts are specified in Windows Display Properties. To check that this is set, or to set Small Fonts

Select MY COMPUTER, Control Panel, Display Properties Click on the Settings Tab Set Fonts to Small Fonts – if this control does not appear, click on the Advanced

Button, and then on the Fonts control. Click on the OK button until the Display Properties closes down. You may need to restart your computer if prompted.

SharpEye Music Reader

If you wish to use the SharpEye Music Reader as your Music Recognition program, install it after installing Toccata using the disk provided – see page 57.

Fonts If you find after install, and after rebooting your computer, that the musical notes and Braille fonts appear strange, you should open the Fonts folder (in the Control Panel, under Settings in the Start Menu of Windows), find the font called OPTEK BRAILLE FONT and double click on it to show the font details. Close the Font, then repeat for the Font called TOCCATA.

Printer Settings Toccata by default embosses directly using LPT1. It is not necessary to install any drivers specific to your embosser. However, if you are using Windows95/98 and you want to use a Printer Driver (which allows you to utilise Windows Print Manager to queue print jobs), instead of directly using LPT1, refer to the instructions on page 34.

UNINSTALLING To uninstall the Toccata software, select the program in the Add/Remove Programs list (START, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs). Note that Un-installing Toccata will remove the program but not any music or Braille that you have created. A full install procedure is required to re-install Toccata, even if the machine had Toccata previously installed. It is not necessary to un-install Toccata if you are simply moving the dongle between computers that have Toccata fully installed.

Getting Started with Toccata

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Starting Toccata From the Windows START Menu, select Programs, then the Toccata folder, and then the Toccata icon (you may wish to add a Shortcut to your Desktop – refer to your Windows Help for instructions on how to do this). Toccata will start and play the first bar of J S Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. The Toccata “splash screen” will appear. With the mouse’s left button, click anywhere on the splash screen, which will then disappear revealing the Notation Editor screen. You are now ready to use Toccata ! We shall start with a simple worked example, beginning with placing musical notes in the Notation Editor, then translating this simple piece to Braille music, embossing it, and saving your work. Subsequent sections will deal with more complex music, the variations in Braille music formatting, and how to load MIDI files from music score scanning programs such as SharpEye.

General Layout Toccata is divided into four regions - a Menu Bar at the top of the screen, below which is a Toolbar, below which are a Palette of notes and the Editing Window.

The Menu, Toolbar and Palette will be described in greater detail shortly, but we shall begin with the major region, the Editing Window. The Editing Window can either show just the Music Notation Editor (shown above) or just the Braille Editor, or a half of each, one above the other. The Braille Editor displays the translated Braille equivalent of the music displayed in the Music Notation Editor. First place notes into the Music Notation Editor, referring to the original printed music score you are working with. Then switch the Editing Window to display the Braille Editor and review the translated Braille Music.

Before you can place notes into the Notation Editor, you have to learn about the two Modes of placing notes, Insert and Add Mode, and how to select note values from the Palette. The next section explains the general concepts, and then develops a worked example which progresses from simple note placement to a real musical example, with Lyrics, chords and so on.

Menu Bar

Palette

Toolbar Editing Window


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Insert and Add mode

Inserting Notes

Notes can only be clicked into the score if either Insert or Add Mode have been selected. Nothing will happen when you click on the music staves until you specify one or the other mode of placing notes. When you click on the INSERT button on the Toolbar, Insert Mode is selected. These buttons are like “radio buttons” – if one is “switched on”, the other is “switched off”. It is quite important that you understand the difference between the two modes.

On ordinary sheet music an attempt is made to space the notes in a bar in such a way that the rhythmic beat is clear. If quavers (1/8 notes) occur amongst crotchets (¼ notes), they will occupy only half the space of a crochet to show that they are played in half the time of a

crotchet.

Insert Mode in Toccata automatically takes care of beat alignment for you. When you place notes on the stave, Toccata works out where they should go in terms of the beat according to their note value. All you need to do is click on the pitch line. Insert Mode is the main mode used when placing single parts and is the most convenient method for most music.

Add Mode, in contrast, places the note almost where you clicked it. Almost, but not quite, because Toccata divides each bar up into an exact number of beat units called quantiles. By default, each bar is divided into quaver (1/8 notes) quantiles, but you can increase or decrease this by clicking on the quantise control buttons. When you “click in” a note in Add mode, it goes to the nearest quantile beat position. You should attempt to place the added note at approximately the correct beat position, otherwise notes may be superimposed upon each other when the new note “snaps to” the nearest beat position (quantile). If the new note is the same pitch and value as the note it superimposes, the original note will disappear in the score – but still exist, and still be shown in the Braille! To correct such an occurrence you will either need to use the Undo feature CTRL Z or the Event Info feature (see page 43)

Add mode allows you to place notes more freely than Insert Mode. Its main use is when working with multiple Parts (see page 14) and with MIDI files (see page 44). Theoretically, you could squash up eight quavers (1/8 notes) into the first beat in Add Mode and the translated Braille would look the same, but the score would look very messy and would be difficult to follow when checking – see the example below


Page 6

Bar Overflows

In terms of the translated Braille, Toccata doesn’t care whether you use Insert or Add Mode, as long as your bars “add up”, ie there aren’t more notes in a bar than are allowed by the time signature – for example more than 8 quavers (1/8 notes) in a 4/4 bar. Insert Mode will actually “ding” with an error sound and show “overflow” notes in red should you accidentally place them. Add Mode however, is quite happy to allow “extra” notes – and in both cases, the Braille translation will show as many notes as you erroneously placed – so beware! Clearly, using Insert Mode has tremendous benefits from an error-checking point of view, especially in pieces with lots of notes in a bar.

Take care when editing an already completed bar, even in Insert Mode. If you add a Dot of Prolongation (for example to a crotchet (¼ note) Toccata will not always indicate an overflow.

The Palette

Having set the mode by clicking on the Insert Mode button, you can now select any note value from the Palette (displayed on the left side of the screen) by single clicking (left mouse button). Alternatively, press the numbers 1 to 7 on either the keyboard or the numeric keypad – 1 being a semibreve (whole note), 2 a minim (½ note) and so on. By default, Toccata already has a crotchet (¼ note) selected. A double click will place notes into the score in the bar that the mouse pointer is in. Notice that the shape of the mouse pointer changes from a traditional arrow pointer to the note value shape you have selected from the Palette. Some of the objects shown in the Palette are notes and rests, the other objects modify existing notes, as briefly explained below :

Note Values – Semibreve (Whole note), Minim (1/2 note), Crotchet (1/4 note), Quaver (1/8 note), SemiQuaver (1/16 note), DemiSemiQuaver (1/32 note), Semi Demi Semi Quaver (1/64th note)

Articulation – (1) eg Staccato or shortened note (2) Dot of Prolongation (extra half note)

(1) Chords - Add note to Chord (2) Ties or Slurs notes together (3) Beaming

Rests – from Whole Bar Rest to 64th note rest

Crescendo and Decrescendo marks

Accidentals – (1) Sharp sign (2) Flat sign (3) Natural Sign

Repeats – (1) End of Piece Bar Line (2) Start repeat (3) End Repeat (4) First Time Repeat (5) Second Time Repeat (6) Double Bar Line

Tuplets – beam group of notes to be played within one beat


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Creating a New Score

Having learnt about Insert and Add Modes and how to select notes from the Palette, you are ready to place notes into the Notation Editor. Toccata automatically creates a new blank score for you at startup – two staves in 4/4 time in the key of C. The worked example that we shall develop in the following pages is in ¾ time so we will need to change from the default 4/4 time signature displayed. To do this we need to create a new score as follows

Click on File in the Menu Bar, then click on New

Click on the “No” button when asked whether you wish to “Save current work?”

The Stave Options Dialogue Box will appear

In the Stave Options

Dialogue Box, click on the down arrow in the Beats / Measure control to change the beats from 4 to 3

Click on the “OK” button.

The Stave Options Dialogue Box gives the user complete control over the setup of the score, including key and time signatures; this will be discussed fully in the section entitled Music Score Options (page 35). Here we just needed to specify ¾ time, and this is now shown on the score.

Note and Rest values can be selected from the Palette by a single left mouse click or by pressing 1 to 7 on the keyboard or numeric keypad. The notes themselves can then be clicked onto the stave by a double left mouse click. The notes will appear on the stave at the pitch position that the mouse was at when you double-clicked.


Page 8

Pitch and Placement

With Insert Mode on, and a crotchet (¼ note) selected from the Palette, place the following notes into the first bar by double clicking with the left mouse button – use the “head” of the crotchet cursor to position the note.

If you make a mistake when clicking, and position a note at the wrong pitch, you can correct this very easily. Position the pointer over the errant note. Now just hold down the left mouse button and “drag” the errant note up or down the stave to the correct vertical position and release the left mouse button. Notice how the note turns blue when you click on it – this indicates that it “has focus”. As you point to a note, notice also the information displayed in the Toolbar’s Note Information Panel :

The Note Information Panel shows which Stave, Bar and Beat the pointer is on, and also the note pitch – in this case A in the fourth octave. This panel is particularly useful in Add Mode, because as you move the pointer along the bar, even if no notes are placed, the Panel shows the current beat position so you can place them more accurately.

Stem Direction - note that Toccata automatically aligns the note stem for you. For notes pitched above the central line of the Treble Clef (B), the stem points downwards. For notes below the central line the stem points upwards. You may over-ride the automatic settings at any time by single clicking with the right mouse button on an already placed note. This reverses the stem direction. This may be useful for the sake of clarity in certain pieces, particularly those with Parts, but has no effect on the translated Braille.

Modifying a Note Value

To change an existing note’s value, select another note from the Palette, move the pointer to the note to be changed and single click on it. To modify an existing note’s value – eg make it dotted – select the modification from the Palette, move the pointer to the note to be modified and double click on it.

The new note values will appear, and you will see an immediate effect on the subsequent notes in the Bar, which will “shuffle along” to their new beat positions. Try changing the 1st note in the example above to a dotted crotchet, and then the 2nd note to a quaver (1/8 note):


Page 9

Translating to Braille

So far you have learned the basics of placing and editing notes in the Music Notation Editor, and we will continue elaborating this example to explore other aspects of notation. Before we do this, it is probably a good time to introduce the Braille Editor Window, so that you can see the effect and inter-relationship between the notes in the Notation Editor and the resultant Braille side by side as the example develops.

You should have a Bar of notes : a dotted crotchet (G), a quaver (1/8 note - A), and a crotchet (G). To translate this to Braille, select OPTIONS from the Menu Bar, and then TRANSLATE

The Editing Window will change to a blue screen displaying the Braille for the bar you have composed – this is the Braille Editor Window.

To switch back to the Music Notation Editor, either select VIEW from the Menu, then SCORE, or click on the SCORE VIEW Button on the Toolbar. At any time you can switch between Music and Braille by clicking on either the SCORE VIEW button or the BRAILLE VIEW button.

Either click on OPTIONS, then TRANSLATE,

Or

Press CTRL T

On the keyboard


Page 10

You may also display both together by selecting VIEW, BOTH from the Menu.

Translation Modes

When you select TRANSLATE from the Options Menu, Toccata performs a Full Translation of the entire piece, even if you have only changed one note in one bar. This is always the safest way to translate, because changes in one bar may affect the Braille in another bar. For example, slurs between bars, or the insertion of a change of Time Signature will have a major bearing on subsequent bars.

Another mode, called Immediate Translation, shows instantly the Braille for the current bar as you insert notes into the Music Notation Editor. This is particularly useful for beginners, and obviously you should have BOTH the Notation Editor and Braille Editor in view simultaneously (select View Menu, Both). To activate Immediate Translation, select Options Menu, Immediate Translation – the shortcut is CTRL M.

In any event, it is important to appreciate that translation is a “one-way street” ie changes in the music are reflected in the Braille, but if you make changes to the Braille these are not reflected in the Music.

The default Braille formatting in Toccata is Bar-over-Bar, which is the most common layout used in Braille music, but you may also select the Section-by-Section format. By default, Hand Signs are shown - .> for the Right Hand, and _> for the Left Hand. Bar (also known as ‘Measure’) numbers are shown in the left margin (without the number sign #). All these are optional and can be changed through the Braille Options Dialogue Box (see page 27) – to access this, select the OPTIONS menu, then BRAILLE – or press F4.


Page 11

More Notation

Accidentals

Sharps, Flats and Naturals (“accidentals”) can be placed by selecting the required symbol from the Palette and double clicking on the note. For double-sharps or double-flats simply double click again. A third double click will restore the note to its original pitch

Note : In music score, and in Braille Music, it is inferred that an accidental will apply to all subsequent same-pitched notes in the Bar without having to mark each with the accidental sign. This rule also applies to notes in different octaves, but sometimes, for clarity’s sake, accidentals in other octaves occurring in the same bar are also marked. In Toccata it only matters to the playback whether you include these accidentals. To illustrate how Toccata handles accidentals we shall use our previous example and sharpen the first G – remember to double click on the note.

Listen to the music by clicking on the Playback button

Playback

Playback is a very useful feature in Toccata, as it can quickly draw the user’s attention to mistakes in the notation, especially for familiar pieces. Notice the yellow “tracking bar” which follows the music in real time, and the Stop Button and Timer. Clicking anywhere on the music will clear the Timer. Pressing SPACEBAR at any time stops playback.

Notice that the second G note sounds as a G sharp even though you did not put a sharp sign on it. This is because Toccata knows that by marking the first G as G#, subsequent Gs will sound sharpened if they occur in the same octave. However, in the Braille, the sharp sign is not shown for the second G, as it did not appear in the notation, but is implied :

A .>'%"\'I\ Sharp Sign 1st G 2nd G

Tracking Bar Stop Button Timer

1st G 2nd G


Page 12

Now change the second G (in the fourth octave) to a G in the fifth octave by “dragging” the note up the Staff – make sure you have a crochet selected from the Palette, position the pointer over the G, hold down the left mouse button and drag the note up to its new position, then release the left mouse button

When you select Playback you should notice that the second G does not sound sharpened, and this is because Toccata only automatically changes the sound for notes in the same octave. To hear the notes accurately you will need to put a sharp on the second G. Of course, this will also now appear in the Braille Music. This is how the Music and Braille will look if you sharpen the second G :

A .>'%"\'I%.\

Removing Attributes

To remove a Sharp or Flat, first make sure you have the same Sharp or Flat sign selected from the Palette, then double click on the note until the sign disappears. Try removing the sharps from the example so far.

Effect on Modified Notes

Notice how when you removed the sharp from the first G, which is a dotted note, not only did the sharp disappear, but also the note changed back to a crotchet (¼ note) . For Modified Notes, such as Dotted or Staccato notes, making any change to its attributes will force a reversion to its original timing value.

This reversion also occurs if you change the pitch of a modified note by dragging it up or down the staff. You can avoid this by clicking on the Palette note value twice until no note is shown as “selected” on the Palette. In this state you should find that dragging modified notes, such as dotted notes, will keep their timing value

Naturals

Placing a Natural sign on a note indicates that the note is to be played “naturally”, without sharpening or flattening, despite a preceding note in the bar being sharpened or flattened, or the key signature of the bar including a sharp or flat for that note. Do not confuse this with removing an accidental as described above. In the example below, the top staff has a sharp removed from the second G, but musically it is implied to still pertain because of the preceding sharpened G. In the bottom staff, the second G is naturalised. These differences are reflected in Playback, and in the Braille.


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Upper staff '%"\I\

Lower staff '%"\I*\

You may also check and adjust pitch, accidentals, and timing modifications directly for any note by invoking the EVENT INFO BOX, (see page 43).

This function is invoked by pressing F8, or TOOLS menu, EVENT INFO.

Delete notes

To delete a note, click on the DELETE MODE button, then double click on the note. It is not necessary to select the corresponding note value from the Palette. You will know that the pointer is focussed on a note because it will turn green.

If Parts are present you must also select the appropriate Part button to delete notes in that Part.

Select range of notes

You can select a range of notes and delete them all in one go. Click on the SELECT MODE button. Position the mouse pointer in one corner of an imaginary rectangle that will enclose all the notes. Hold down the left mouse and “drag out” the selection rectangle to enclose the notes. You may now :

Delete the selected notes – press the Delete Key on the keyboard Cut the selected notes to the Windows Clipboard – press CTRL X or Edit, Cut

Copy the selected notes to the Windows Clipboard – press CTRL C or Edit, Copy

In the Upper Staff, the Sharp sign was Removed In the Lower Staff, the Sharp was Naturalised


Page 14

Paste Selected Notes into another Bar

If you have selected some notes and copied or cut them to the Windows Clipboard, you may then move the mouse pointer to another bar in any Stave, click to bring focus to that bar, and Paste the notes into that bar by pressing CTRL V.

Selection Mode and Parts

Parts, which are described below, are two or more melodic lines occurring in the same Staff or Clef. In Toccata, it is possible to denote an Upper Part in orange and a Lower Part in pink. Where there is only one melodic line in a Staff (the normal case), notes are referred to as “No Part” and shown in Black.

Selecting a range of notes and then deleting the notes enclosed will delete all notes in all Parts within that selection. You cannot Select just the Upper, or just the Lower Part.

However, if you Select and Cut or Copy a range that includes Parts, and then Paste that range into another Bar, the separate Parts are preserved.

Parts

Where two or more melodic lines occur in the same Clef, each line is referred to as a Part. Toccata shows each Part in a separate colour in the Music Notation Editor. Toccata normally enters the main flow of music as black coloured notes, and where other Parts occur these black notes are referred to as “No Part”.

When entering the notes for a new Part, Add Mode must be selected (see page 5), otherwise, if Insert Mode were used, a Bar Overflow would occur. To select a Part, either click on the Parts button on the Toolbar, or from the Options menu, select Assign Part (CTRL R). The example below shows two parts, upper and lower, with appropriate note stem directions. Note that where two or more Parts occur in a Bar, they must be complete, including all rests, except whole-bar rests.

Part-Bar and Whole-Bar In-Accords

Toccata does not support Part-Bar In-Accords, only Whole-Bar In-Accords. This means that all Parts in every Bar must “add up” ie rests are not implied and must be shown. In actual music scores, Parts are often incomplete, and you will need to insert the “missing” rests for correct translation.

Converting to Parts

If you need to add a Part to existing (“No Part”) notes, first convert the No Part notes to a Part, and then Add the opposite part. Select the Part colour you wish to convert to, then click on the matching note values on the Palette and single click on each note to be converted.


Page 15

Order of Parts and In-Accords

When working with Parts in the Notation Editor, you should be aware of the order in which Toccata translates them to Braille. Braille music always shows the main flow of music first, then any Parts, which are described as being In-Accord with the main Part. Therefore, you must always show the main music in the colour that will be translated first. Where No Parts exist, this is always the default Black notes. Where Parts exist in a Stave, the order of translation depends on the Clef, according to the following table :

Order of Translation of Parts

Clef First Second Third

Treble Black (No Part) Upper (orange) Lower (pink)

Bass Lower (pink) Upper (orange) Black (No Part)

Parts and Stem Direction

If when adding a part you need to, or accidentally, place a note at the same spot and pitch as an existing note, the added note will show a stem in the opposite direction to the existing note, to indicate that two notes occur at the same location. You cannot add a third note at the same location.

Chords

Chords occur where notes of the same timing value in the same Part occur at the same beat. Chorded notes always have the same stem direction, determined by the placement of the “first” note of the chord. As far as Toccata is concerned, the “first” note is taken literally as the first note placed by you. It does not matter which note you choose to place first, but remember that the stem direction of the chord will depend on whether the “first” note is above or below the centre line of the Staff. You might think that constructing the rest of the chord is just a matter of ADDing in notes at the same beat, but you should not do this, and instead use the Chord tool from the Palette.

To put a new note chorded with a “first” note, select the Chord symbol from the Palette then move the mouse pointer to the “first” note which will then light up in blue. Double click at the pitch you require and the note will go in. With the Chord mode selected you can move over the entire score and chord notes as required. You may place all the “first” notes and then come back and chord them, or you can build each chord as you go.

Which note in a chord is the “first” note in the Music Notation Editor actually has no impact on the translated Braille because Toccata uses the following Braille rule for chords – Chords in the Left Hand are denoted with the lowest pitched note first, Chords in the Right Hand are denoted with the highest pitched note first. In the following example the first chord was started with an F in the fourth octave as the “first” note on the score, and the second chord was started with a C in the fifth octave, but the Braille will be identical for each chord :

A .>.?+9?+9

Place the first note of a chord, then select the Chord button from the Palette (the cursor changes shape as shown) Double click the other notes in the chord.


Page 16

Embellishment of Chords

It is important that all “embellishment” of the chord eg Staccato, Dot of Prolongation are put onto the “first note” before the Chord is built – if you don’t do this, the order of translation may be incorrect.

Interval Doubling To save space in repeated chord patterns, the technique of Interval Doubling is used automatically by Toccata, and this may often be combined with Repeats (see page 28), as in the example below :

Slurs and Ties

A Slur indicates that the notes within the slur are to be played smoothly together. A Tie occurs between adjacent notes at the same pitch and indicates that the time value of the later note is to be added to the earlier note. Ties and Slurs are placed in the same way in Toccata and have the same symbol in the music notation, though they result in different symbols in the Braille. Slurs and Ties may be within a Bar, across Bars and even across Pages. They must be in same Part. Nested slurs (slurs within slurs) are allowed up to three levels. Ties and Slurs must always be the last notation added to a Bar

To Slur or Tie notes, select the Tie/Slur Notes button from the Palette and then double-click on the first note. A “begin Tie/Slur” symbol will appear. Move the pointer to the later note (for a Tie) , or the last note in the series (for a Slur), and double click on that note. The Tie/Slur symbol will connect the notes.

Ties and Chords

To tie all the notes in a chord to another chord, move the pointer over the “first note” of the chord (which will light up in blue), hold down the SHIFT key, and then double click to initiate the Tie/Slur. Then SHIFT and double click on any note in the second chord.

.>"&++GHG+77!0EH0G+

Slurred notes Tied notes

"=CCHIJYJICG.?`C?


Page 17

Removing Slurs /Ties

Slurs and Ties are removed by selecting the Delete button from the Toolbar and then double clicking anywhere on the Slur or Tie.

Worked Example – “Silent Night” You will have enough information now to complete a few bars of the example we have been working on. Try and use the Select, Copy and Paste functions to save time – notice that the basic note patterns are repeated in Bars 1 and 3, and 5 and 7. Remember that you will have to click once to bring focus to each bar you wish to work with, and that you may need to click the Insert Mode Button back on if you have been using the Delete or Select Modes in order to put in more notes or the Chord mode to put in chorded notes.

#C4 A .>"\'I\ P' \'I\ P' .O: T' N? "R' S[ _>_P' N'9 P' N'9 R' O'# P' P' Q] AJ .>.?'J[ _>_['H]


Page 18

Either the Size Control

Or the View

Menu

can be used to show the Music

larger or smaller, but more or less

will be displayed in the available

space

Navigating the Music score

New Page

When you complete a page of music in the Notation Editor (10 bars for a 2 Stave system), if you need to create a New blank page press CTRL with ENTER.

The Music Notation Editor can be easily navigated using ordinary Windows controls, namely the Vertical Scroll Bar on the right hand side of the Window, and the Horizontal Scroll Bar at the bottom of the Window. You may not always see these controls, depending on whether or not the music is completely displayed in the available space. This depends on the amount of music, the resolution of your computer display, and the Size Control. You may display the music at between 50% and 400% of normal size by either clicking on the Size control or selecting View Menu, Size and the desired percentage.

Track Mouse Position If the Size selected is wider than can show two complete bars in the available space, a Horizontal Scroll Bar will be available. Toccata also has a feature (normally switched on) called Track Mouse Position. This shifts the Bar that the Mouse pointer (arrow pointer) is on fully into view, allowing editing of that Bar if required – you will still need to single click to bring focus to that bar. You may wish to turn this feature off if you find the movement too jumpy, and you can do this by selecting the Options Menu, Track Mouse Pos or pressing CTRL L.

Keyboard controls

Apart from using the mouse controls, you can navigate the score using keyboard controls. Bear in mind that Toccata can only show a maximum of 10 Staves per Page. Cursor Down / Up Move up or down one Stave HOME / END Move display to leftmost or rightmost Bar CTRL HOME Go to Top of current Page Page Up Display Top of Previous Page – if only one page, Top of Page Page Down Next Page, same relative Stave Position New Page CTRL Enter Left / Right Cursor If Mouse Tracking is Off, scroll left and right CTRL G Go to Page CTRL N Goto Bar Number


Page 19

Play Back options

You can control the music Playback with the Playback or Stop buttons

Toccata normally plays back all Staves, for example Bass and Treble Clef, together, but you may choose to hear only one selected Staff by deselecting the Combine Staves option in the MIDI Menu.

With Combine Staves deselected you can select the Staff to be played by clicking on it before clicking on the Playback Button.

You can also choose to Follow Playback or not ie see the yellow bar move through the music, and you may choose to see or hide the Timer.

If you find the playback a bit jumpy, you may improve this by reducing the music Size (to display more on the screen), turning off the Timer and possibly also the Follow Playback options.

Whether Staves are Combined in Playback or not, Toccata always translates to Braille all Staves in the piece, unless the MIDI Channel for any particular Staff has been set to Off, in which case that Staff will not be either played back or translated to Braille. The Midi Channel option is in the Stave Options Dialogue Box, which can be displayed by pressing F2, or from the Options Menu.

To set a Staff to Off for

Playback or Translation

purposes Select the Staff Select Off from the MIDI Channel list Click OK


Page 20

Lyrics Braille Music with Lyrics has two components – the lyrics as a stream of words, followed by a single stave of musical melody. A vocalist can work out the way the lyrics are to be phrased by singing one syllable per each note of the melody, unless a Slur occurs in the music, indicating that a single syllable is to be sung over a number of notes (as for example in Handel’s “Messiah” for the first syllable of the word “Amen”).

When using Toccata to compose or copy vocal scores you should create a new score with just one Stave (usually the Treble Clef). If the original piece you are copying from shows piano accompaniment, you would normally create a separate 2 Stave score for that; Braille music is normally provided separately for vocalists and accompaniment.

However, if you wish to present a combined score, you should create a 3 Stave system, the first Stave being the Melody, and then Treble and Bass Clefs in the usual way. Lyrics, and Lyrical Slurs, will be applied to the Melody Stave. When translating the Braille, you may only wish to show the Lyrics and Melody for a vocalist, in which case you can omit the lower Staves, by using the “Setting a Staff to OFF” method shown on the previous page.

In this manual we have developed a simple 2 Stave piano piece called “Silent Night” as a worked example. We shall continue with this example, as the piece is so familiar. However, for existing scores in Toccata, there is no way of adding a new Stave – if you try increasing the number of Staves in the Stave Options Dialogue Box, all your notation is erased. Luckily, the Treble Clef provides the melody satisfactorily, so we can simply omit the Bass Clef and add lyrics to the Treble, which becomes the Melody Stave.

To insert lyrics into Toccata, a special text editor called the Lyric Editor is used. Lyrics are entered bar by bar, and you should use hyphens to break up words that have more than one syllable. With the music for “Silent Night” :

Click the mouse pointer in the first Bar of the Melody stave (the Treble Clef). Press the “L” key on the keyboard to start

the Lyric Editor Type the letters Si- lent with hyphen as

shown Click on the OK button, or press Enter

Putting the hyphen immediately after the first syllable (“Si”) breaks the word and forces the next syllable to go to the next available note :

However, anybody who knows the tune will remember that the first word is sung as if there were three syllables, not two ie “Si i lent”. In printed music score, this may be shown as “Si- - lent” with an extra hyphen to indicate the syllable splitting. Technically, you could type this into the Lyric Editor and it would appear correctly in the notation, but you should not do this, because, as it stands, the translated Braille will incorrectly imply that “Silent” is to be sung over only two notes, not three. As mentioned above, the lyrics in the translated Braille music are shown as a stream of whole words, and all phrasing is worked out from the music in the Melody Stave. Therefore, it is essential that you put Slurs into the Melody Stave to achieve split-syllable phrasing. Slurs automatically force syllables to go to the next available note :

The Melody Stave has a Slur, which forces the next syllable to the 3rd note


Page 21

Using the Slur tool on the Palette, slur the first and second notes in Bars 1, 4 and 10, and then using the Lyric Editor, enter the lyrics as indicated below :

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4 Bar 5

Si- lent night, Ho- ly night! All is

Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8 Bar 9 Bar 10

calm, all is bright, ‘Round yon Vir- gin

When translating this to Braille lyrics are always shown in the Section-by-Section format :

Use the Braille Options Dialogue Box (F4 or Options Menu, Braille)

The translated Braille music in Section-by-Section format should appear as follows :

#C4

Silent night1 Holy night6 all is calm1

all is bright1 'Round yon Virgin

A "\'CI\ P' \'CI\ P' .O: T' N? "R' S[

AJ .?'CJ[

The first two lines (ignoring the time signature on the top line) are the lyrics, the last two lines are the music for the Melody (Treble Clef), each line of which shows the Bar or Measure Number in the left margin. Braille Music readers will notice that even though 8 Bars / Section was (by default) specified in the Settings column, this is over-ridden when lyrics are specified, and all the lyrics for the whole piece are shown in the first Section. Transcribers would now attempt to split up the lyrics into more readable chunks, whilst at the same time trying to fit as much onto a line as possible – this can be achieved in Toccata using End of Phrase Markers.

Select Section-by-Section

Click in the Lyrics box

Click OK.


Page 22

Bar 4 night!\ Bar 8 bright,\

End of Phrase Marker

To show lyrics in Braille Music in more readable “chunks”, there is a phrasing mark that can be employed in the Lyric Editor called the End of Phrase Marker. If you place a backslash\ (next to the Backspace Key on the keyboard) after a lyrical phrase, the Braille will break the section at that point. Lyrical phrases follow musical phrases and may be shorter or longer than a Bar.

Toccata also has an automatic phrase marking facility, which inserts End of Phrase markers after punctuation in the lyrics eg after commas, periods and so on. When you come to translate, if Toccata detects no phrase marks in the lyrics, you are prompted “No Lyric Phrase Marks detected in Stave 1 – Add phrasing marks automatically based on punctuation?” Automatic phrasing may be sufficient for many lyrical pieces, but often more than one short phrase can fit on a Braille line, and if the two phrases are naturally associated eg “Silent Night,” + “Holy Night!”, then Braille Music transcribers might want to use an End of Phrase Marker (\) after the second phrase rather than breaking at the comma (“Silent Night,”). Try adding in “backslashes” to the Lyric Editor for Bars 4 and 8 of “Silent Night” – click in the Treble Clef for those Bars, press L on the keyboard, and the Lyric Editor will show the lyrics you have already entered; just add a \ at the end of the words and click on OK or press Enter

Before you translate this to Braille, two other optional refinements can be selected from the Braille Options Dialogue Box (F4) :

Below is the resultant Braille if these refinements and phrase marks are implemented :

#C4 ,SIL5T NI


Page 23

Doubling Lyrics If adjacent words or phrases are repeated, Braille music often shows a lyric doubling sign to save space. You may put braces {..} around words or phrases that you want doubled in the Braille, omitting the second occurrence from the Lyric Editor. Tripling is achieved with a double brace eg {{yeah}, and for more than three repetitions precede the first brace with a number eg 4{la}.

This completes the section on Lyrics. The next short section deals with Embossing (printing with a Braille printer) the Braille Music, and Saving the work we have done as a file.

Printing and Embossing

Embossing the Braille Music

Make sure that your embosser is connected, either directly, or via a switch box, to the parallel printer port of your computer. Select File menu, Emboss or press CTRL E. See (page 34) for more detailed information about Embossing issues.

Printing the Braille Music

It is also possible to print an ink copy of the Braille Music using an ordinary printer. This shows the Braille dots, and may be useful for proof-reading purposes. Instead of selecting LPT1 as the Embosser Port (see page 34), select a Windows Device and choose a printer.

Printing the Music Notation

To print a hard copy of the music in the Notation Editor, make sure your printer is connected and then select File Menu, Print or press CTRL P. The standard Windows print dialogue box will appear. You may print any number of copies of either just the current sheet (page) of music score or ALL pages, or a range of pages. Click OK or press Enter to print.

You may choose between different qualities of printout by selecting a printer resolution from Options Menu, Printer.


Page 24

Saving Files

To save your work as a file, select File menu, Save, Toccata. Type in a file name eg “Silent Night” and then Click on the Save button (or press Enter). This will save the notation you have worked on with a file extension .TOC.

Notice that there was also the option to Save Braille Music, and this allows you to save the translated Braille separately as a .BRM file; however, remember that you can always generate the Braille at any time for a Toccata file by Translating once loaded. BRM files are in ASCII text format and can be directly embossed from any computer, even if Toccata is not loaded. BRM files are also compatible with the Duxbury Braille Translator program.

Loading Files

In the next sections of this manual we shall be working with a more complicated sample file, supplied with Toccata. To load this, select File menu, Load, and then choose Toccata from the three available file types, which are :

NIFF MIDI Toccata Braille – (just the translated Braille for a

piece, without Music Notation)

In the Load Toccata File Dialogue Box, click on the file called “Mozart” and then click on the Open button.


Page 25

This will load the file called MOZART into the Music Notation Editor, the first page of which is shown below :

W A Mozart “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”

Braille Formatting

Page 26

Braille formatting choices –

STYLES Toccata has been set to translate music to Braille according to the most common layout (Bar-over-Bar) so that for everyday usage it will not be necessary to make any adjustments – just press CTRL T to translate and then CTRL E to emboss. This will work fine for ordinary Bass and Treble Clef music in the KEYBOARD Style. However, as already seen, the LYRIC Style requires the Section-by-Section format. One of the great strengths of Toccata is the ease with which it is possible to switch between formats and make fine adjustments, according to the requirements of the Braille Music reader. For example, Toccata could generate “Silent Night” in KEYBOARD Style for a piano accompanist, and also another version in LYRIC Style for a vocalist. This section of the manual describes all the features available for formatting the Braille Music.

Five STYLES are instantly available for translation. KEYBOARD, INSTRUMENTAL, LYRICS, SINGLE LINE and USER. When a style is selected from the Style Menu, translation is immediately performed. All subsequent translations, CTRL T, will use the selected style.

Bar-over-Bar format (Keyboard Style)

The main usefulness of the Bar-over-Bar format is that it “lines up” vertically each Bar in each Stave, making it easy to follow, in time, the music across a number of Clefs. This is also what printed music score does, by the use of Bar lines. However, no attempt is made in the Braille to line up individual notes, and the Braille reader has to keep a count of the timing value of the notes shown in each bar. Here is how the first 6 bars of Eine Kleine Nacht Musik will look in Bar-over-Bar format using the default settings :

%%#D4

A .\'0"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO

.\'"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO

"\'0E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO

^:'0_#_E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO

E .\0"#\`CHJIH SRSRG]`CGID.G

"E++EEEEEEE+ E//EEEEEEE/

"HHVHHV "IIIIID"GI

_HHHHHHHH HHHHHHHH

For the sake of clarity (though at the expense of compression) transcribers may wish to indicate the Clef names, or the instrument names (Viola, Flute etc). They might also wish to put a blank line between each parallel – a parallel being the equivalent of the Stave in the music score. For keyboard music, it is customary to indicate hand signs rather than Clefs ie left hand / right hand. Normally the Octave Sign is not shown at the start of every Bar, (though it is always shown at the start of every new line), but it can be included if required.

Adjustments like these are achieved by using the Braille Options Dialogue Box, which can be selected from the Options menu, or by pressing F4. The features of this box are now described in more detail.

## 4/4 staff 1 Bar 1 - 4 staff 2 Bar 1- 4 staff 3 Bar 1 - 4 staff 4 Bar 1 - 4 staff 1 Bar 5 - 6 staff 2 Bar 5 - 6 staff 3 Bar 5 - 6 staff 4 Bar 5 - 6

Braille Formatting

Page 27

?7#ACJ %%#D4

Braille Options Dialogue Box

Show Clef Signs In some pieces it is useful to show the Clef Name eg Treble Clef or Bass Clef. However, this is more suited to music with two clefs only. In our example of Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, three of the four Clefs are Treble, so showing these may not be as relevant as showing the instrument name (see below).

Show Hand Signs Keyboard music can show either Clef signs, or Hand Signs eg Left Hand and Right Hand. Showing Hand Signs is more commonly used than showing Clef signs. Obviously Hand Signs are not relevant to pieces for stringed instruments.

Show Staff Name (“instrument”) In orchestral music, it is common to show instrument names, rather than Clefs. To save space, instrument names are abbreviated eg VC for Violincello. These abbreviations are used to replaced the default names for the Staffs – Staff 1, Staff 2 etc. This process is fully described on page 32.

Show Tempo If selected, the tempo of the piece is shown is shown on the top line of the Braille music, preceding the key and time signatures eg

Show Measure No. (“Bar number”) Measure (Bar) numbers occur once for each Parallel but only for the top stave of each Parallel.

Measure on Free Line Bar Numbers appear indented on own line above each Parallel. This format takes up more space, but the Parallels are more clearly separated.

A .\'0"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO .\'"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO "\'0E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO ^:'0_#_E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO E .\0"#\`CHJIH SRSRG]`CGID.G "E++EEEEEEE+ E//EEEEEEE/ #A .\'0"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO .\'"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO "\'0E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO ^:'0_#_E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO #E .\0"#\`CHJIH SRSRG]`CGID.G "E++EEEEEEE+ E//EEEEEEE/

eg Treble >/L or Bass >#L

eg Left Hand _> or Right Hand .>

Braille Formatting

Page 28

Show Tracker Dots

In Bar-over-Bar format only, tracker dots are used for clarity where a Bar in one Staff has numerous notes (eg semiquavers 1/16) but the same Bar in other Staffs has few notes. For example, in Bar 23, the third Stave is considerably fuller than the other Staffs.

Show Lyrics

Lyrics in Toccata are always in the Section-by-Section format – see previous example on page 21. You must select both the Section-by-Section button as well as Show Lyrics check box.

Show Capital Sign

The Capital Sign indicates that the next letter in the Braille was a capital in the printed version. This only applies to lyrics and expression marks (eg “Andante”). Where a whole word is capitalised, two capital signs precede the word.

Show Repeats The Repeat sign 7 is used to save space in the Braille where the same patterns of music recur in the same Stave, either within the same Bar (“Simple Repeats”) or across various Bars (“Complex Repeats”). The button next to the Show Repeats check box activates the Repeat Options dialogue box, which allows you to choose whether to apply Simple or Complex Repeats. Complex Repeats will also include Simple Repeats. Below is an illustration of simple repeats :

with repeats _HHHH7 or, without repeats _HHHHHHHH

Settings

Start Measure No.

Toccata will normally start Bar (“Measure”) numbering at 1, but there may be occasions when you wish to specify a different number, for example if you have taken an extract from a piece. If you split a long piece of music into various separate files, you will need to add 1 to the last Measure Number of the preceding file in order to continue with correct numbering.

Another common and important instance is where the first notes of a piece are an upbeat or anacrusis, and not counted as a complete Bar, and here the Start Measure must be set to Zero. For example below:

;:'.IDIDI ''''' ;E00:EE:E0

.QR ''''''''''' G++]GG]G+

.I99III9I##III# GHIHGHIG

_EEEEEEEE ''''' EFGFEFGE

#D%#C4 J "F HGFCGCHG

,

''''''

Braille Formatting

Page 29

Note : it is not important as far as the Braille translation is concerned exactly how notes in an anacrusis are placed in the Music Notation Editor; it would not matter if the quaver (1/8 note) shown above was placed at the first beat or the third beat. However, if you playback the music, it will sound more accurate if it is placed at the last beat.

Music Indent

Toccata normally indents the Braille music by 2 spaces from the left margin. This value may be increased or decreased if required. If Bar numbering is shown, a “spare space” will always occur after the Bar number, even if the Music Indent is set to zero, or if the Bar number has more digits than the Music Indent.

A spare space is always shown, even if Bar numbers are omitted and the Music Indent is zero, in order to allow for special “margin signs” like the “Runover Continuation” 'sign. The Runover Continuation sign indicates that the following music is the continuation of a broken (or “hyphenated”) Bar. This only occurs where there is too much music in one Bar to be shown on one line. This frequently occurs where Expression marks such as “Allegro con brio” etc are used. Broken bars end with a hyphen " sign. Runover music appears coloured red in the Braille Editor Window.

The following example includes a Runover, and samples of the Braille are shown in various formats :

Bar-over-Bar with Music Indent 2 and Measure Numbers in Margin #D4

AJA .>'>Sempre>legato"(CJCIC.E)CHCJCI"

.ZCFC"JCE"(CICHC.D

_>'_OT

AJB .>.GHEH8"J8.F"W

_>^)CCEFH=^)(C)_GF^W

Bar-over-Bar with Music Indent 2 and No Measure Numbers #D4

.>'>Sempre>legato"(CJCIC.E)CHCJCI"

.ZCFC"JCE"(CICHC.D

_>'_OT

.>.GHEH8"J8.F"W

_>^)CCEFH=^)(C)_GF^W

Braille Formatting

Page 30

Section-by-Section with Music Indent 2 and Measure Numbers in Margin #D4

AJA >Sempre>legato"(CJCIC.E)CHCJCI"

.ZCFC"JCE"(CICHC.D GHEH8"J8.F"W

AJA _OT )CCEFH=^)(C)_GF^W

Lyric Indent and Lyric Runover

Lyrics, which are always shown Section-by-Section, normally start at the left margin (zero indent). Runover is normally indented 4 spaces. The example below shows the default indents, with Measure Numbers. In this example, to demonstrate Runover, the Phrasing Mark (\) has been removed from after the phrase “Music music for a while” where it would normally be expected :

c M

Music music for a while shall all your

cares beguile1

D "['IU .P`CFF=CFECD WX.F"ITCNCZD')

G .YC)CIX

shall all1 all1 all1

G' "I.:XJ .$X"

shall all1 all1 all1

H' "I%]XJ %(C%=CFX"

Lyrics, in Grade I Braille, indented 4 at Runover

Phrase marks in Lyrics force new lines in Braille and these Lyrics start at left margin

Braille Formatting

Page 31

Bars / Section

This setting controls the amount of Bars shown in each Section when using Section-by-Section format, normally 8 Bars. The setting has no effect in Bar-over-Bar format.

Format

Bar-over-Bar / Section-by-Section

These are “radio buttons” ie only one button can be ON, and clicking one on automatically switches the other OFF. Click on the formatting style you wish to use.

Line Between Sections / Parallels

For the sake of clarity, a blank line can optionally be used to separate Sections in Section-by-Section format, or Parallels in Bar-over-Bar format. In the example below, we shall use the Section-by-Section format for “Eine Kleine Nacht Musik” (see page 25 for the score), first without a separator line, and then with a separator line, which makes the Braille much clearer : %%#D4 A >/L.\'0"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO E .\0"#\`CHJIH SRSRG]`CGID.G G .IH\`CHJIH SRSRG]`CGID.G A >/L.\'"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO E "E++EEEEEEE+ E//EEEEEEE/ G "E++EEEEEEE+ E//EEEEEEE/

%%#D4 A >/L.\'0"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO E .\0"#\`CHJIH SRSRG]`CGID.G G .IH\`CHJIH SRSRG]`CGID.G A >/L.\'"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO E "E++EEEEEEE+ E//EEEEEEE/ G "E++EEEEEEE+ E//EEEEEEE/

Grade II Braille

When selected, Lyrics and Title will be shown using contracted (Grade II) Braille.

Octave Sign at Start of every Measure in Bar-over-Bar Format

In keyboard music, an Octave Sign is optionally shown at the start of every Bar in Bar-over-Bar format, even though it may not be required for Braille clarity. Octave Signs show the octave that a note occurs in eg . for the fifth octave. Octave signs always occur at the start of a new line, after interruptions to the music, if the interval between successive notes is greater than a third and the second note is in a different octave, and always if the interval is a sixth or greater.

Without Lines between Sections it is easy to mistake the start of a new Section

With Lines between Sections, the Staves are more clearly displayed, but the Braille music will be longer

Braille Formatting

Page 32

Showing Instrument Names

As mentioned previously, there is a method of showing the names of the instruments in an orchestral piece, rather than the Clef name, which, as in the case of “Eine Kleine Nacht Musik” is not particularly useful as three of the Staffs show Treble Clef anyway. It would be better to indicate Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola and Violincello. To save space, these are abbreviated to “VL1” “VL2” “VLA” and “VC”.

To achieve this, “Show Staff Name” must be selected from the Braille Options Dialogue Box (see page 27) and you must also rename the staffs to the abbreviations shown above, otherwise the Braille will show “Staff 1” “Staff 2” etc. To rename the staffs, you need to bring up the Stave Options Dialogue Box by pressing F2, or selecting Stave(s) from the Options Menu.

Click in the Staff Number/Name edit box and type VL1 – this will over-write the contents which by default should be “(Staff 1)”. Click on the down triangle symbol next to the edit box and this will show all the Staffs. Click on the second staff and over-write this as VL2. Repeat this for the remaining staffs, and then click on the OK button.

For Playback purposes, you may also wish to select different Voices for different staffs (instruments). The quality and range of the available voices will depend on your computer sound card and its drivers. For each staff (instrument), click on an instrument name from the list in the Voice edit box.

Overleaf is the Braille for the first 14 Bars of “Eine Kleine Nacht Musik” in Bar-over-Bar format, without Page Numbers, with Measure Numbers shown on a free line for clarity, and showing instrument names

Click in the Staff Number / Name box and type your abbreviated instrument name Click in the Voice box and choose an instrument voice for playback purposes

Braille Formatting

Page 33

%%#D4 #A

>vl1' .\'0"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO

>vl2' .\'"#E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO

>vla' "\'0E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO

>vc' ^:'0_#_E\'E HEHJO ?'I?'I DIGIO

#E

>vl1' .\0"#\`CHJIH SRSRG]`CGID.G

>vl2' "E++EEEEEEE+ E//EEEEEEE/

>vla' "HHVHHV "IIIIID"GI

>vc' _HHHHHHHH HHHHHHHH

#G

>vl1' .IH\`CHJIH SRSRG]`CGID.G

>vl2' "E++EEEEEEE+ E//EEEEEEE/

>vla' "HHHHHHHH IIIIID"GI

>vc' _HHHHHHHH HHHHHHHH

#I

>vl1' .HH(=&=HH)IHI JJZDJD:V .OP

>vl2' ":+.DDEED)! HHGG\V "TN

>vla' "EEEEEEEE EEEEO M

>vc' _HHIIJJGG HHIIT M

__________________________________________________

#AB

>vl1' .ZD'?YJ'W ")I'[HGFG HXIXJXV

>vl2' ")I'[!H'\ "$$?[ "EXGXHXV

>vla' _QR ''''' "??[: EX"EXEXV

>vc' _OP ''''' _??:: JXEXHXV

Line Width and Page Length

By default, Toccata assumes you are embossing with standard Braille paper, which measures 40 characters wide by 25 lines deep. Depending on your embosser, and the paper you use, you may wish to change this. Select Options menu, Embosser (F5), and then specify a Line Width and Page Length.

25 lines can be fitted on one Braille page with the default settings. There are four spare lines on this page, but this is not enough to show a complete new Parallel (5 lines required)

The next Parallel is therefore forced over to a second Braille page. This is indicated on screen by a horizontal line

Braille Formatting

Page 34

Embosser Options

The translated Braille generated by Toccata is sent as ASCII text, without control characters, to the embosser connected to your computer. This means that Toccata should be set up with margins and page lengths that correspond to those set up on your embosser. This can be achieved by using the Embosser Dialogue Box :

Line Width / Page Length

Match these settings to your embossers margins

Page Numbering

Page numbers will be automatically inserted into the Braille music, but one line will be reserved as a Page Number Line, reducing the number of lines per page to one less than the Page Length indicated.

Embosser Port

Select the Port that your embosser is connected to, normally LPT1:

Windows Device

If you click on Windows Device, you will be able to take advantage of Windows Background Printing, but you must specify the Generic / Text Only Printer from the list box, otherwise the embossed Braille will be garbled. If the Device list does not show an entry for Generic / Text Only, you must add this Printer Driver and re-start Toccata. To add a Printer Driver :

Select MY COMPUTER, Printers, Add Printer, then click on NEXT Make sure Local is indicated and select NEXT In the Manufacturers list, select GENERIC, then NEXT In the Printer Port, select your preferred LPT, usually LPT1 then select NEXT Where it says “Do you wish Windows to use this as your default printer?” select NO,

then select NEXT Where its says “Do you wish to print a test page? ” select NO and then FINISH

Embosser Braille Table

The embosser should be configured to the U.S. ASCII Braille Table. Refer to the instruction manual of the embosser if the Braille Table needs to be changed.

Music Score Options

Page 35

Music Score Options

All options pertaining to the configuration of the Music Score are set via the Stave Dialogue Box, which is displayed when you select File menu, New. From here you may specify how many Staves there are, what instrument name is associated with each Staff, what Clef is shown on each Staff, and which instrument voice will sound for each Staff during playback (see page 19). You may also set the Key signature and Time signature, the tempo, and the number of Bars shown on each page.

By selecting File menu New you have complete control over the Score, but you also erase whatever music was in the Music Notation Editor (you will be prompted whether you wish to save your work). If, instead of starting from scratch, you wish to make Score option changes to music already loaded, you can bring up the Stave Dialogue Box at any time by pressing F2 or selecting Options menu, Stave(s). It is important to understand that in this case not all options are available; you will not be able to change the key or time signatures or the tempo, or the number of Bars displayed – all you can really do is adjust options pertaining to individual Staffs eg the Clef of the Staff, or the instrument name.

The Stave Dialogue Box is shown on page 32. Below is a description of each option :

System Settings

Staves per System

In Toccata, the terms Staff and Stave are interchangeable – though normally “Staff” is the singular and “Staves” is the plural, occasionally “Stave” is also used as the singular. A group of Staves, for example the group of four Staves in our arrangement of “Eine Kleine Nacht Musik” on page 25, is called a System. Ordinary piano music is therefore a 2 Stave System. You may set between 1and 16 Staves Per System by clicking the up or down triangle (“spin buttons”).

Tempo

The Tempo, or the metronome mark, will affect the Playback, and, if “Show Tempo” is checked in the Braille Options Dialogue Box, will be shown before the Key and Time Signature. You can only change Tempo in this way for New scores. You may change Tempo for playback purposes for any Bar using the Tempo control on the Toolbar but this has no effect on the Braille music.

Staff Number / Name

The text shown here is what will be displayed in the Braille music if “Show Staff Name” is selected in the Braille Options Dialogue Box; see the worked example on page 32.

Maximum No. Bars / Page

The default settings are for a 2 stave system, with 20 Bars per page. Toccata always shows 2 Bars side by side, so a standard new Score will display 5 Systems per page.

You may wish to reduce the number of Bars per page if your computer is slow, as displaying fewer Bars speeds up the screen refresh, which in turn allows notes to be placed more quickly, and music to be played back in a smoother manner.

Music Score Options

Page 36

Stave Settings

Clef

You may select one of the four Clefs – Treble, Bass, Alto and Tenor – by clicking on the down triangle and then clicking on a Clef name. This is then associated with the Staff shown in the Staff Number/Name box. Repeat this process for all the Staffs.

Key

The Key signature for the music can be selected from the Key box. This applies to all Staves, and can only be adjusted for New Scores.

Beats / Measure and Beat

Use these controls to set the number of beats in the Bar (Measure) and the note value of each beat. So, for 6 quaver (1/8 note) beats per Bar (6 / 8 time), click the Beats / Measure control up to 6 and the Beat control up to 8.

The button marked sets Common Time, and the button marked sets Cut Common Time (2/2). If either of these is selected, these symbols will appear as the Time Signature in the Score and equivalent Braille.

Unify Key

If “Unify Key” is un-checked, a Key signature will have to be applied to each Staff. However, Toccata in this version cannot process different Key signatures across Staves, so Unify Key should be left checked.

Unify Time

It is technically possible to apply different Time Signatures for each Staff if the Unify Time box is un-checked, but normally the same Time Signature is applied to all Staves, so this box should remain checked.

Voice and MIDI Channel

The Voice List Box can be used to associate the sound of a particular instrument (a “Voice”) with a particular MIDI Channel. The sound card in your computer works with a system of 16 MIDI Channels. A Channel can have only one Voice, but that Channel can be used by any number of Staves. Therefore, to make each Stave have a different sounding Voice in playback, it is necessary to associate it with a unique Channel – except for Channel 10, which is reserved for Percussion. The assignment of Voices to MIDI Channels has no bearing on the translated Braille. Remember that there is also a Channel OFF option, and you may use this to remove a Stave from Playback and Braille translation – which is a useful method for extracting instrumental parts from an orchestral score – see page 19.

Music Score Options

Page 37

Bar Dialogue Box options

The Stave Dialogue Box is the means by which the entire Score is structured. However, you may need to make changes to a particular Bar (Measure) or to the music flow from a particular Bar onward. The Bar Dialogue Box, which can be displayed by pressing F3 or by selecting Options menu, Bar, is the means for achieving this, as described below :

Clef Changes

To insert a Clef change, position the mouse pointer just to the left of the note and press F3 to display the Bar Dialogue Box. Check the Beat Position is correct – it should be slightly less than the note ahead of which the change is to occur. If it is on the note, or behind the note in terms of beat position, you may manually correct this by clicking on the up/down triangles (spin buttons) adjacent to the Beat box. Finally, click in the Clef box to select a Clef. Click OK and the Clef sign will appear on the Score.

All subsequent notes, in all following Bars, will be repositioned according to their equivalent placing on the new Clef. If you wish to revert to the original Clef, or another Clef, you will need to repeat the process above at the appropriate point in the music. In the example below, there is a momentary change to Treble Clef in the second Stave, but the original Bass Clef is re-established in the next Bar.

If, as in this example, you wish to re-establish a Clef at the start of a new Bar, you must position your mouse pointer after the last note of the previous Bar, rather than ahead of the first note of the new Bar.

Press F3 whilst your pointer is in the Bar you wish to make a change to. When inserting Clef changes, check the Beat position is slightly less than the note ahead of which the change is to occur

Music Score Options

Page 38

Time signatures and Key Changes

Changes to Time or Key Signature apply automatically from the beginning of the Bar your mouse pointer was in when you press F3 to display the Bar Dialogue Box. It is not possible to position such changes within a Bar. By choosing an appropriate “radio” button, you may apply the change just to the Bar (Measure) you initiated the change in, from this Bar to the end of the piece, or specify a Bar at which the music will revert to the previous Time or Key Signature.

The example below shows a change for Time Signature in Bar 3 (to 6/4) which automatically reverts to 4/4 in Bar 4 because “Apply to this Measure Only” was selected.

Key changes will also be “naturalised” in the following Bar if “Apply to This Measure Only” is selected. However, in the following example, a key change to D was made in Bar 3 and “Apply From This Measure to Measure : 4” specified. Notice how the “To Measure” you specify includes that measure, and that the reversion to previous key occurs in the measure after that. Reversion is achieved by automatically placing natural signs.

Changes to Key Signature always apply automatically to all Staves – ie you cannot restrict a Key change to one Clef only. Also, note that by changing Key, Toccata does not transpose the notes – they remain at their original pitch positions. This also means that in Playback, the original pitch is preserved. If you require the notes to Playback with pitch appropriate to the new Key, you will need to re-insert each note one by one. New notes added or inserted into the Bar will acquire the correct pitch. None of this has any impact on the translated Braille.

Deleting Clef Signs and other objects

Clef Signs, Time and Key Signatures are objects, just like notes; technically, they are referred to as “Events with no time”. They can be detected and deleted using Event Info (see page 43), or by simple deletion – select the Delete button from the Toolbar, point to the object (eg a Clef Sign) and double click when it turns green. You may need to click once first in the Bar to bring focus to the Stave. Deleting Clef Signs will cause a “re-build” of the Score as notes adjust their pitch positions.

More complex Music Notation

Page 39


This section will cover the remaining notation topics, including Beaming, Tuplets, Dynamic Expression, Pedal Marks, Musical Repeats and direct Braille editing using six-key entry.

Beaming

Autobeam

Toccata will normally be in Autobeam Mode, which means that if you are inserting multiple notes with the value of a quaver (1/8 note) or smaller, Toccata automatically beams them. Beamed music is generally clearer to read on the Score than individual notes, but is not indicated in the Braille. To select or de-select the Autobeaming option, press CTRL B or select Options menu, Auto Beam.

Manual Beaming

With Auto Beam switched off, you may at any time Beam a group of notes that occur within the same Beat, as long as they are in the same Part (see below).

Click on the Select Button from the Toolbar and mark out the range of notes to be beamed by holding down the left mouse button. Click on the Beaming button on the Palette.

Then click with the right mouse button in each beat of the marked out area and the notes will be beamed as shown below. Notice that Toccata works out the stem direction for notes above and below the centre line on an averaged basis.

Tuplets Beamed notes always have an even ratio of notes to beat – 2 quavers (1/8 notes), 4 semiquavers (1/16) and so on. Tuplets have an odd ratio. The most common tuplets are Triplets eg 3 quaver notes to be played in the space of 2 quaver notes (a single beat of 4/4 time). Tuplets are indicated by beamed groups with a bracket which includes the Tuplet Number.

Beat 1 Beat 2


Page 40

Converting to Triplets

To convert a group of notes to a Triplet, follows the steps below :

Preserving Note Stem Values

Toccata will attempt to fit Tuplets to the span of a single beat unless the Tuplet ratio is adjusted (see below). For example, if crotchets (¼ notes) had been selected, instead of quavers (1/8 notes) in the example above, Toccata would have automatically converted the crotchets to a quaver triplet, as this would be the closest note value fitting the beat. If you wish to force Toccata to preserve the original stem value, you should hold down the SHIFT key whilst right clicking.

Tuplet Ratio

To alter the Tuplet Ratio, select Options menu, then Tuplet Ratio and click the appropriate “radio button”.

Tuplets are shown on the score to occupy approximately their beat length. If semiquaver (1/16) tuplets are involved, they need to be compressed to occupy a half-beat, and to achieve this you need to alter the Tuplet Ratio, which is normally set at 1:1 ie 1 Tuplet to 1 Beat. Semiquavers require a 1:0.5 ratio.

If crotchets are to be selected instead of quavers (1/8 notes), you will need to alter the Tuplet Ratio so that a 3 Crotchet Tuplet will occupy the space of 2 beats, or a 1:2 ratio.

1 Click on SELECT 2 Click on Tuplet button in Palette 3 Mark out the notes 4 Right mouse click inside the

marked out area. To preserve original note value hold down SHIFT key whilst clicking. Triplet sign will bracket the notes

5 Beam the Triplet


Page 41

Dynamics and Expression

Dynamics and Expression marks can be placed anywhere on the score using the Dynamics Editor, which is invoked by pressing the letter D at the appropriate point in the score. Marks are placed at the beat that the pointer was on, and at the same pitch position.

Expression marks are simply typed into the Editor eg Allegro or mf sempre stacc. The Braille will show exactly what you have typed, with appropriate “word signs”, except for the special case for the word crescendo. If you use write out the full word crescendo it will appear in full in the Braille, but if you use the abbreviation cresc. It will appear as cr.

Marks, once placed, can be moved to other positions by simply “dragging” them ie by holding down the left mouse button on the Mark, repositioning the pointer and then releasing the mouse. Marks cannot be edited once placed, but they can be deleted by selecting Delete mode from the Toolbar, and then double clicking on the first letter of the Expression mark (it will go green when it has focus).

Special signs can be typed into the Dynamic Editor, according to the table below : Mark Keyboard Description Segno S Capital S Coda O Capital O Trill

optek systems - pentronicsmusic score options 35 system settings 35 staves per system 35 tempo 35...

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