This is a tutorial on how to prepare a score for the Click Tracker patch. At the same time it should teach you on how to use the program.
The Click Tracker reads documents in text format (.txt). For that they should be saved as text-only format - in case you use Word or any other office software you should pay attention to this.
To reproduce a piece with the Click Tracker you must transcribe the score you want to hear to the format readable by this program - basically you must write down the metrical structure of the score.
You start the score by writing the duration of each beat in one line - for example 1 for a full beat. There are 2 possible parameters: the beat duration and the letter "b" to mark the beginning of a bar - separated by a space.
For example here are the first two 4/4 bars of this score:
t 60
1 b
1
1
1
1 b
1
1
1
t 60
1 b
t 120
1
t 30
1
t 90
1
t 60
1 b
.5
2
.666
# now we're at bar 5. the tempo is 60
# 1 b here is the beginning of the bar - the letter b is after the beat duration.
# Here is an empty space. You can have as many as you want.
1 # And some more beats
1
1
1 # And here the end of the bar. It turned out to be a 5/4 bar.
1 b
.2
1.65465439458675
5.14
The options that you saw until now allow you to notation quite complex durations to create irregular bars. But in case your piece is simpler than that you can notate it in another way: through the format x/y - like a normal bar. For example with only a couple lines we can create a simple bar sequence:
4/4 # This goes from 4/4
3/4 # ...
2/4 # ...
1/4 # to 1/4
5/8 # A bar with 5 8th-notes
.5 b # The same written in another way
.5
.5
.5
.5
1.5 b # And a bar with the same full duration but another division.
1
To change the tempo suddenly we already saw the t command. But to create gradual tempo changes - accelerandi and ritardandi - use the command "tc x y" where x is the new tempo and y the number of beats necessary to reach it. The beat duration of the tempo change MUST coincide with the sum of the beats it lasts. If it doesn't the rest of the piece will sound a bit strange.
Here is a 4/4 bar followed by an accelerando with 1 bar duration and one bar in the new tempo:
1 b
1
1
1
tc 120 4 # here is the tempo change command - always write them before the beat
1 b # the accelerando starts here
1
1
1
1 b # and now we're in the new tempo
1
1
1
# And now it slows down to slower as the initial tempo:
tc 50 4
1 b # here starts to get slower
1
1
1
1 b # and now is at MM50
1
1
1
Repetitions of the same bar can be used a lot in modern music. Since the program counts the bars automatically it's different to write the repetitions down and to just repeat a sequence. Also a repetition isn't a new bar (with a different bar number) but the same bar again.
In case you want to repeat a fragment just use the command "rep x y" where x is the number of beats you want to repeat and y the number of times. Put this command just before the first beat of the passage to be repeated. Again - x MUST coincide with the actual sum of beats (you can't use 1 as a value for y). The number of the current repetition will be shown in the screen.
In case you use the "Go to bar" feature (more about that later) to start in the middle of a repetition sequence it won't work. For a repetition sequence to be correctly performed you must play the first note (since the command is before it).
# Here is a new irregular bar back at MM60
t 60
1 b
1
.5
# And now the same bar repeated 3 times:
rep 2.5 3
1 b
1
.5
1 b
1
rep 2.5 4
.5
1 b
1
.5
# And finally the full bar one last time.
1 b
1
.5
The last comand is the "pickup x" comand. In a performance you can't start the click track without warning - so it is possible to repeat the 1st bar as many times as you need in order for the musicians to prepare themselves. The parameter x defines how many times the bar will be repeated.
You can either include this command in the score file (anywhere in the score but I suggest you to leave it on top) - or change it anytime in the patch itself. To have 1 pickup bar write "pickup 1".
As pickup bars aren't exactly repetitions and you must know exactly when the piece is going to start the bar numbers in pickup bars work downwards until they get to 1 - which is point where the score begins. In case you have 1 pickup bar you'll and your chosen output has voice included you'll hear bar "2 [beats] 1". If you have 2 pickup bars then "3 [beats] 2 [beats] 1".
You can adjust the playback parameters (click format - language - recording format) anytime while working with the patch. But you can also adjust them in the score file. Then you don't need to always reset your patch when you load a new score (assuming each score has a different setting). To set a parameter you just write the command "par [parameters]" anywhere in the score. But like with the pickup command I advise you to put these general remarks in the beginning. Note: if you write down more than one command for the same parameter then the last command is the one to be valid.
The available parameters are:
click format - click / voice + click / voice / voice + bar = cl clst st stbb
language - english / german / spanish /portuguese = english deutsch castellano portugues
recording format - wav / mp3 / ogg = wav mp3 ogg
For example to have a click track performed with clicks and recorded in mp3 you write
par cl mp3
par st portugues wav
par clst english wav
The explanation of the score format is finished. The next part handles the GUI and how to work with the program.
File commands (keyboard shortcuts between []):
Open score [o] / reload score [l]- open a score file or reload one (in case you're working a lot on the same file)
Play / Stop [space] - self-explanatory
Set output file [f] - Before you record a click track say where it's going to be recorded and with which name. In case you forget this the program will record it with the same name and place as the score file. You only have to write the name of the file. The termination (.wav ...) will be added by the program.
Play + record [s] - Play the score and record it at the same time. The file is also the recording of the performance so you must let the score play the whole piece (or stop it).
Duration - Indicates the duration (minutes + seconds) of the excerpt you just played.
Bars (total) - Says how many bars are in the score
Playback parameters - these were already mentioned
Audio - settings of the audio format
Language - language setting
Format - recording format
Audio status - either On (preset) or off
Instructions - Click on this for a short reference
Keyboard Control - It is possible to control the patch using the keyboard shortcuts (these were just indicated). You can turn this on/off with the Escape key. If the box is crossed keyboard control is on.
Tempo scaler - if a piece is too fast or slow for you to follow you can just change the scaling factor in the interface. Both original and scaled tempi are shown.
Voume meter + volume level - self explanatory
Bar / Beat / Duration / Repetition - Bar + Beat count / Duration of current beat / Repetition indication
Go to bar - Start directly from a bar
Pickup bar - How many pickup bars you want to have?
That's all there is to it. For more informations/requests contact me at jmmmpais@googlemail.com. If you have a request for a program or need to develop anything else we can discuss it.
(c) Joćo Pais 07.07.2010
t $1 - Tempo in MM - Eg. t 70
[beat duration] b - b marks the beginning of a bar
$1/$2 - abreviated input of regular bars - Eg. 3/4
tc $1 $2 - tempo change. $1 = new tempo / $2 = number of beats necessary to reach it (beat duration of the tempo change MUST coincide with the sum of the beats it lasts) - Eg. tc 120 5
rep $1 $2 - repetition of a fragment. $1 = number of beats to repeat / $2 = number of times to repeat - Eg. rep 4 3
pickup $1 - pickup bar repeats the 1st bar $1 times (bar numbers decrease from $1+1 to 1) - Eg. pickup 2
par cl/clst/st/stbb english/deutsch/castellano/portugues wav/mp3/ogg - playback parameters
Keyboard shortcuts
o - open score
l - reload score
space - play/stop
f - set output file
s - play + record
Esc - turn keyboard control on/off