Lawrence Casserley - Vista Clara
HH30.M9v01
MAX/msp program for MacOS 9.x


Instruction Manual

1. What is included

The following files are included in the folder "Vista Clara":

ASIO Drivers - folder into which a copy of your audio interface driver must be placed
data_mapping - stores MIDI note mapping data
data_preferences - stores preference data
data_sequence - stores sequence data *
default_mapping - used to retore default MIDI note mapping *
default_preferences - used to restore default preferences *
freq_table - table to convert note numbers to actual frequencies *
Manual01.txt - this file
Vista Clara.01p - the MAX/msp program for Vista Clara

* The starred files are locked because they contain data required by the program and should not be altered.


2. Installation

Drag the folder "Vista Clara" to a suitable place on your hard disk.

Place a copy of the ASIO driver for your audio interface in the folder "ASIO Drivers" inside the folder "Vista Clara".

If using MIDI, ensure that OMS is set up correctly to use your MIDI interface.


3. Audio Setup

The program for Vista Clara contains four "ring modulators", each with separate inputs and outputs. These use input and output channels 1 to 4 respectively. You may need to map these onto the correct I/O channels on your audio interface. To do this "Open DSP Status Window" in the "Set Preferences" function, discussed below; then click "I/O Mappings" at the bottom right of the window. Input and output channels may be selected via the popup menus beside each channel number. Once these are set no further audio setup should be required.


4. Using the Vista Clara Program

Double click on "Vista Clara.01p" to start the program.

The program for "Vista Clara" generates the modulation frequencies shown in the score and provides up to four independent "ring modulators". Each of these is made up of two single sideband modulators based on the Hilbert Transform, one generating sum tones, and the other difference tones. Any number of modulators from one to four may be used, but, in the composer's experience, using several microphones covering different ranges of the piano and modulating them independently provides a more satisfactory and controllable result.

The program allows three methods of generating the required modulation frequencies:
A - A sequence of the frequencies in order is contained in a MAX "coll" object; the sequence may be advanced to each new frequency by pressing the space bar on your computer's keyboard. This is the default option.
B - The sequence may be advanced by playing a MIDI note on a keyboard or other MIDI controller.
C - The notes may be mapped to MIDI notes and played on a keyboard or other controller. There is a default mapping, which tries to use the closest equally-tempered notes to the frequencies, but this requires a full-sized keyboard, and may still need some octave shifts. You may create your own mapping through the "MIDI Control" function.


The program opens with the default front panel, which contains the following:

Top left - the "Select Control Method" popup menu, which is used to select one of the methods outlined above. Click on the menu and drag to the desired control method.

Top Centre - a "System Status" indicator, which reports the current state of the program.

Top Right - the "Select Function" popup menu, which selects between several functions for setting up and controlling the program. Click on the menu and drag to the desired function. The part of the display below it will change accordingly.

Middle Left - "Sequence Data" readouts, which show where in the piece the sequence is located currently.

Bottom Left - "Modulation" readouts show the frequency number (1 to 21) and frequency selected currently.

Bottom Right - this part of the display will change according to which function is selected by the "Select Function" popup menu.

The default function is "Audio Levels", which shows the output levels in the four channels. If an overload is shown it will be necessary to reduce the level of signal being sent to the computer.

The "MIDI Control" function allows setting of MIDI parameters.

Top Left - the "MIDI Note No" indicator shows the last note number received by the program. This is a useful indicator of what your MIDI controller is actually sending.

Top Centre - the "Note to Map" popup menu selects which frequency from 1 to 21 you want to assign a MIDI note number to (see MIDI Mapping below).

"Top Right" - the "Set MIDI Channel popup menu allows you to set the most convenient MIDI channel for you controller.

Below these are a popup menu to enable or disable MIDI Mapping and three buttons as follows:

"Clear Mapping" erases the contents of the mapping memory. This should be done before creating a new mapping, and may be useful if you have gone wrong and wish to start again.

"Save Mapping" will save your current mappping to the "data_mapping" file in the "Vista Clara" folder, overwriting any previous mapping.

"Restore Defaults" will reload the "default_mapping" file into memory.

Click on a button to perform its function.

MIDI Mapping - select "MIDI Notes" in the "Select Control Method" menu, then to create a new MIDI mapping, first select the required MIDI channel; then enable MIDI mapping with the popup menu; select a frequency to map, and then play the note that you wish to map to it. After mapping is complete disable mapping with the popup menu and the keyboard will now select the mapped frequencies. NOTE that while MIDI mapping is enabled any notes played will continue to be mapped to the frequency selected by the popup menu. It is possible to map several notes to one frequency if desired, but one note can only be mapped to one frequency. Always ensure you have disabled mapping when you are finished. When you are satisfied with your mapping click on "Save Mapping" to make it permanent.

The "Rehearsal Tools" function actually contains only one tool! The popup menu allows you to set the sequence to the beginning of any section of Vista Clara; simply click on the menu and drag to the section number you require - these are the large numbers in boxes above the piano staves.

The "Set Preferences" function allows you to set some preferences that will be automatically selected when the program starts. These are:

Control Method - the "Select Control Method" menu will be set to the state selected.
Function - the "Select Function" menu will be set to the state selected.
MIDI channel - will be set to the number selected.
Auto Save - by default the program automatically saves these parameters, and the program will start up as it was left. This may be disabled if desired. 

To save the current state click on "Save Current Settings". NOTE - this will save the last Function selected before selecting "Set Preferences", not the "Set Preferences" function!

To restore the default state click on "Restore Defaults".

To change the auto save setting click and drag the popup menu. NOTE - as the "Auto Save disabled" option stops an automatic save from happening the "Auto Save Disabled" state will not be remembered the next time unless you follow it with "Save Current Settings"!

The "Save Current Settings" function also includes a button to open the "DSP Status" window. This displays a number of system parameters, and will be useful for setting up I/O channels, as described above. Click on "Open DSP Status Window" to do this.

Please report any problems, bugs or suggestions for improvement to: <LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:leo@lcasserley.co.uk">

Lawrence Casserley - February, 2003