General
Songtrix has the following general specifications and features.
| Songtrix Gold, Songtrix Silver and Songtrix Bronze are functionally similar, but designed for different playing levels. The Gold Edition can operate at Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels, with an unlimited capacity for chord types and scale types. The Silver Edition is designed for Beginner and Intermediate level only, with less chord types and scale types. The Bronze Edition is designed for Beginner level only, with only basic chord and scale types. It also does not allow the How Music Works tutorials to be printed or play sounds, and does not allow songs to be exported to other formats. |
Song Tracks
| Sound Tracks | Five tracks can produce sound during playback: the Melody, Riff, Rhythm, Bass and Drums tracks. Tracks can be split into smaller repeat segments, to quickly propagate a musical pattern or rhythm throughout the song. |
| Harmony Tracks | The harmony of the song is based on the Chords track which, together with the Rhythm track, can create a wide variety of chord rhythm patterns very easily. The Scales track can be used to model the key centres in the song. |
| Lyrics Track | A Lyrics track is provided to hold the lyrics of the song, and it works closely with the Melody track to help you place the syllables of the lyrics correctly. Syllables can be automatically rejoined into words for printing. |
| Track Linking | Tracks can be linked together to guide the development, or update the events, of each other. In a fully linked song, selecting different chords can automatically reharmonize the other tracks to suit the new harmony. |
| Song Events | Songs are constructed from musical events such as chords, strums and drum rolls, as well as individual notes. They provide easy access to musical effects such as vibrato, slide and pitch bend, that create realistic and expressive musical performances. |
Song Timing
| Song Bars | Songs may be up to 999 bars in length (approximately one hour of music) and may include one or two pickup bars. |
| Time Signatures | The following time signatures are available for use in songs, and can change at each or every bar if desired: 1/2, 2/2, 3/2, 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 7/4, 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 8/8, 9/8, 10/8, 11/8, 12/8, 13/8, 14/8, 15/8. |
| Time Divisions | Songs can be based on the following tick divisions of a quarter note: 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, 192, 216, 240, 288, 360, 384, 432, 480, 576, 600, 648, 720, 768, 864, 960. |
| Snap To Grid | For precise timing, events locations and durations can be restricted to the following divisions of a quarter note: 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24. Alternatively, complete timing freedom is possible, to capture the human expression of a performance. |
| Tempo | The master tempo of a song can vary from 30 to 240 qpm. Tempo changes can be placed at each or every bar, if desired. |
Music Theory Engine
| Playing Level | Operates at Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels, and can provide gradual transitions between them. |
| Chord Types | 57 chord types are supplied. These can be activated, deactivated, adjusted and extended without limit. |
| Scale Types | 36 chord types are supplied. These can be activated, deactivated, adjusted and extended without limit. |
| Integration | Music theory awareness is built into the workspace with a range of tools to help you explore and develop harmonic progressions in your song. With track linking, you can use key centres to interpret, inform and guide the creative process |
| How Music Works | The How Music Works tutorials are included with Songtrix. They start with the basics of sound, and progress through to the advanced topics of songwriting and improvisation, providing sample sounds to demonstrate each point of music theory. |
Staff Notation
| Compilation | While songs are constructed from intuitive visual events such as chords, strums and note rolls, Songtrix compiles these automatically, continuously and accurately into staff notation layouts, which are available within the workspace and in printed reports. |
| Key Signatures | Key signatures may be changed at any or all bars, and the staff notation is automatically updated to accommodate them, naming notes of chords and key centres appropriately wherever possible. |
| Resolution | Song events can be broken into staff symbols on the following divisions of a quarter note: 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24. Smaller divisions show more timing detail, but appear more visually complex. |
| Figuration | Several options influence the compiling and layout of staff symbols. These include sizing, spacing, selection of parts, and the use of clefs, beams and other staff figuration features. |
| Color Coding | Staff notation can color-code the symbols of each track differently. Alternatively, each symbol type (notes, accidentals, key signatures) can have its own color in all tracks. |
Midi Implementation
| Master Volume | Master Volume can be implemented with a choice of Volume Sysex, Channel Volume or Expression controllers for playback, import and export. |
| Modulation | The Modulation controller is implemented by the Vibrato Note and Vibrato Chord events in melody and rhythm tracks. |
| Pitch Bend | The Pitch Bend controller is implemented by the Bend Note and Bend Chord events, which are available in melody and rhythm tracks. |
| Sustain Pedal | The Sustain Pedal controller is implemented by the Sustain Note and Sustain Chord events, which are available in melody and rhythm tracks. It can also be applied automatically between each chord change. |
| Portamento | The Portamento controller is implemented by the Slide Note and Slide Chord events, which are available in melody and rhythm tracks. |
| Expression | The Expression controller is implemented by the Dynamic Note event in melody tracks. |
| Track Setup | Other controllers (including Voice and Voice Bank, Channel Volume, Pan Position, Reverb and Chorus) are implemented in the setup for each track. |
Style Engine
| Generation | Automatic style renditions are generated from the examples of musical styles that are stored in style files. The process is transparent and highly accessible, making it easy to design new styles. |
| Hybrid Use | Style events are generated in the song wherever autostyle segments are placed. This allows styles to be applied with great flexibility across the whole song, or only in specific areas of it. Style events can be captured and edited to achieve a desired effect exactly. |
| Style Modes | A song can use styles in two different Apply To modes. For All Tracks mode, all song tracks are based on the same style for ease of use. Alternatively with Each Track mode, each song track can have a different style, offering a vast selection of possible style combinations. |
| Substyles | Each style can define up to four substyles (indicated with letters A, B, C and D) for different dynamic effects. Substyles include Intro, Fill In or Ending passages to create smooth transitions when they change, start or finish. |
| Time Signatures | Styles may natively support multiple time signatures. If a style does not, Songtrix can synthesize other time signature patterns to accommodate any song, from the rhythmic pattern of a single example meter. |
Song Publishing
| Package Song | Songs can be packaged to prepare, and optionally protect your work, for successful and secure publication, viewing and playback on other computers. They can be published on the ChordWizard Network for exposure to a global audience. |
| Song Protection | Songs can be encrypted and protected to enforce the display of credits; prevent editing; prevent copying; prevent exporting; and prevent printing. |
| Publisher Link | A link to the publisher can be embedded in songs to reinforce their claim to copyright and provide a mechanism for them to be contacted. |
| Passwords | Protected songs can be optionally unlocked with a password, offering the ability to distribute protected work, but allow selected recipients greater access to it. |
| Song Ratings | The ChordWizard Network publishing mechanism is structured so that members can rate and comment on the works they download, giving feedback and supporting the publisher's claim to copyright. |
Import and Export
| Import Midi | Midi files can be imported with several options to control the conversion. Part of the process involves analyzing and extracting the chords played in the music, which Midi files do not supply. |
| Export Midi | Songs can be composed in the rich creative environment of Songtrix and then exported to Midi files for use by audio production software, to add vocals, acoustic instruments and effects for final mastering. |
| Export Wav | Songs can be directly mastered to WAV files for burning onto CDs. |
| Export Mp3 | Songs can be directly mastered to MP3 files (using an installed MP3 codec) for transferring to portable MP3 players. |
Printing
| Color Printing | Songs can be printed with a wide variety of layouts and report types, each of which can be printed in full color or monochrome. |
| Print Preview | A Print Preview facility is included for viewing the layout and content of reports before printing. Features page zoom, multi-page view, and integrated access to printing layout options. |
| Report Templates | Supports the preparation and printing of reports with a consistent visual style, using report templates to store the settings of a report layout. These can be instantly reloaded. |
| Staff Reports | Songs can be printed in staff notation, the universal format for communicating written music. It is generated automatically, with many options to customize the layout and formation of symbols. |
| Lyric Reports | Lyrics can be printed in a text-based layout that presents the verses of the song in well-formed stanzas. Optionally, chord symbols can accompany the lyrics. |
| Tutorials Reports | Any topic or tutorial in the The How Music Works tutorials can be printed, or the whole set of tutorials can be printed as a book complete with table of contents. |
