NOTATION
There are 8 Tracks for writing and composing FORMULAS. Select one of 16 Instruments
for each Track, or leave it empty. A maximum of 8 Instruments can be played at one time (one
per track).
Select one of four digits, 0, 1, 2, 3. Each digit indicates a different level of intensity. 0 (or
leaving the box blank) is a silence, 1 is low, 2 medium, and 3 high. So, the intensity of the sound
varies according to the number entered, but what about note length? How do you write the type of
note? The system is easy to understand even if you don’t know anything about music, because it’s
really just maths. Enter as many digits as you want, from 0 to 8, in each beat. If a whole beat
represents a crochet, you can program any note from a crochet (1), to a demisemiquaver
(11111111). To make the first of the eight notes high intensity, the fifth medium intensity and all
the others low intensity, enter 31112111
To make a sound last a whole Beat, enter only one digit (0, 1, 2, 3, according to the intensity
required) in the Beat box. To fill a Beat with two sounds of equal length, enter two digits. To fill
the Beat with three sounds of equal length, enter three digits, and so on. In other words, to make a
number of notes of equal length play in a single Beat, enter the same number of digits. For
example:
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
1 11 211 1131
In this example all the notes in Beats B1 and B2 are low-intensity, in B3 the first note is
medium-intensity and in B4 the third note is high-intensity.
The 0 is used to indicate a silence, but it is also used to lengthen a note, representing either a
tie or a dotted note, or to show that one note lasts longer than another. For example, to write three
notes of different lengths in one Beat, divide the Beat into equal parts, using the shortest note as the
measure. To write three notes with one note lasting half the beat and the other two notes together
lasting the other half (one quaver and two semiquavers, for example) divide the Beat into four and
write 1011. The 0 adds another quarter of a beat to the first 1. A blank box or a Beat with a 0 means
a silent Beat. Here are some examples.
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4 B5
01 1110 110 1011
The rhythmic unit can be divided by any number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.). When this unit
lasts one Beat, follow the instructions outlined above, but what if it lasts longer than one Beat?
This is slightly more complicated, as the notes have to be distributed proportionally among the
beats. The distribution is calculated using the least common multiple rule. The least common
multiple is calculated by multiplying the number of notes by the number of beats they last. This
least common multiple is divided by the number of beats and the notes are divided into the same
number of groups as the number of beats that the artificial group lasts. For example:
NOTES
-1-
Here, three notes last two beats. The least common multiple is found by multiplying notes
(3) by beats (2) = 6 (least common multiple), so you write a total of six digits. However, as only
three notes are to sound, the other three numbers which do not sound are zeros (0) between the
notes. The formula is: 101010, distributed in two beats: (B1) = 101 (B2) = 010.
This is the theory, but it is rather complicated. It is best summarised as follows:
Number of beats= 4 Number of notes= 3
Digits to be entered: 3 (notes) x 4 (beats) = 12
As only 3 of the numbers are notes which will sound, the other 9 digits are zeros, distributed
evenly between the three notes. 9 ÷ 3 = 3 zeros per note. The result is: 1000+1000+1000
So, each sound (1) is followed by the number of notes (three) in zeros (000), distributed
among four beats: (B1) 100 (B2) 010 (B3) 001 (B4) 000
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
100 010 001
Here are some examples, because a picture is worth a thousand words. In the following
examples all the sounds are low intensity (1).
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
1
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
1 1
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
1 1 1 1
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
1 0 1
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
1 1 1
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
11 11 11 11
-2-
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
10 01 01 1
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
11 01 01
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
1111 1111 1111 1111
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
1011 1011 1001 0101
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
1011 1110 1001 1100
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
11111111 10001111 10001011 11101101
ARTIFICIAL GROUPS
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4
100 010 001 000
NOTES B1 B2 B3
10 01 00
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6
1 1 1 10 01 00
NOTES B1 B2
11 111
NOTES B1 B2
101 010
-3-
NOTES B1 B2 B3
1001 0010 0100
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6
1 1 1 1001 0010 0100
NOTES B1 B2
1111 11111
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6
1 1 1 10010 01001 00100
NOTES B1 B2
1111 111111
NOTES B1 B2
100111 111100
NOTES B1 B2
1111 1111111
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6
11 11 11 1001001 0010010 0100100
NOTES B1 B2 B3
10010010 01001001 00100100
NOTES B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6
11 11 11 10010010 01001001 00100100
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