The Practice page appears in the Library Options property window. It also appears in the All Levels area of Default Options, and optionally in the New Library process.
In addition to the controls shown below, there are extra buttons which are common to all property windows.
It defines a series of parameters which affect the way that ChordWizard explores and practices scale positions in Scales View. Some settings also have an impact on the Scale Chart reports.
It also configures the inbuilt metronome which helps you keep timing in practice sessions. The voices and volumes used for the metronome beats can be changed with the Sounds page of the Workspace Options.
Controls
Scale Fret Span
Specifies the maximum fret span that can exist between the lowest and highest fret in a scale position.
The easiest for playing is 4 Frets, where each of your 4 fingers can be dedicated to a single fret. However more scale positions will be available if you relax this setting to allow a larger fret span.
The Automatic option will automatically select the optimum fret span for you based on the largest fret interval between the strings of the current instrument.
With an automatic fret span, a guitar in standard tuning will have scale positions limited to 5 Frets, while a mandolin in standard tuning will have scale positions limited to to 7 Frets, since it has larger intervals between string pitches.
Show Positions
Determines whether Scales View works with Partial Positions or Full Positions.
With partial scales positions, the lowest and highest note included are always the root note of the scale, and cover exactly one octave. There may be more than one partial scale position at each fret position.
With full scale positions, the lowest and highest pitched note included may be any of the notes of the scale, and they may cover more than one octave. There is only one full scale position (or sometimes none) at each fret position.
Shortcuts are provided for this option on the Scales Bar and the Scales Menu.
Show Labels
Specifies whether scale notes which are not part of the current scale position should be shown on the Fretboard in Scales View.
If you select Position Only, overlay labels will be shown only for the notes which are part of the current scale position.
If you select Entire Fretboard, the scale position labels will be supplemented with gray labels indicating every location on the fretboard which makes one of the notes in the current scale.
The extra labels can help you to choose a different scale position, but also make the fretboard display more complex.
Scale Practice Repeat
In Scales View, you can configure Single Practice or Cycle Practice runs to have demonstration and practice phases. You have the following options:
Mute Once Only - Demonstrates playing the scale position once silently
Play Once Only - Demonstrates playing the scale position once with sound
Mute then Mute - Demonstrates the scale position silently, then repeats silently for you to follow on your own instrument
Mute then Play - Demonstrates the scale position silently, then repeats with sound for you to follow on your own instrument
Play then Mute - Demonstrates the scale position with sound, then repeats silently for you to follow on your own instrument
Play then Play - Demonstrates the scale position with sound, then repeats with sound for you to follow on your own instrument
The Mute/Play settings apply only to the notes of the scale position. The metronome (see below) and harmony chord (if selected) will still make sounds during a Mute phase.
Scale Practice Cycle
Specifies how long you want a Cycle Practice session in Scales View to continue for.
This can be Unlimited, in which case it will continue until you explicitly stop it, or cause it to terminate by switching to another view, or opening a popup window.
Or, you can specify a maximum duration of 4 Steps, 8 Steps, 12 Steps, 16 Steps or 20 Steps.
The step numbers are counted out on the Practice Panel during a Cycle Practice session.
Metronome Period
You can have a metronome beat play during practice sessions to help you keep time.
The Period dropdown list specifies the number of beats per bar that you want the metronome to work with. There are four options, which suit most common music time signatures, as listed below:
2 Beats - for 2/4 time
3 Beats - for 3/4, 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8 time
4 Beats - for 4/4 or common time
5 Beats - for 5/4 time
Metronome Play
This dropdown list specifies whether to use the metronome for practice sessions and whether to play each beat in the bar. You have the following options:
(none) - Turns the metronome off for practice sessions
All Beats - This plays every beat in the bar and is the usual choice
Odd Beats - This plays only on odd beats of the bar
Even Beats - This plays only on even beats of the bar
The last two options are useful for some practice techniques, and are only available for periods of 2 Beats or 4 Beats.
Accent First
This option causes the metronome to accent the first beat of each bar by playing it with a different sound. This helps you keep you synchronized with the bar structure of the practice session.
If you have chosen to play only on Even Beats, the second beat will be accented instead.
Reset
The Reset button resets the Practice settings to those that are defined in Default Options.
See Also
