P-Soft

software manual

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Table of contents :

1. Software
1.1 Description
1.2 Opening the software
1.3 Sections of the software window
1.4 Principles
1.5 Managing the registers and the banks
2. P-Soft Walkthrough
3. MIDI assignments
4. Score writing

To make a quick walkthrough of the software, go directly to chapter 2. P-Soft Walkthrough.

To read the requirements for the score writing, go to 3. Score writing.

1. Software

1.1 Description :

This software is part of an extension for an acoustic instrument. It is distributed in the objective
of letting users program an environment for the treatment of effects and write scores for
acoustic instruments in real-time.

The software is inspired by the effects treatment device LXP15 or more precisely by one of its
algorithms.

In order to take full advantage of the graphical interface, you should define the resolution of your
screen as 1152 x 720.

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1.2 Opening the software :

P-Soft is supplied in the form of a MaxMSP file. To open P-Soft, you need to have
a version 6.1.10 of MaxMSP Player installed on your computer.
You can download MaxMSP Player for free here:
http://cycling74.com/downloads/runtime/

Once you have appropriately installed the MaxMSP software, start by opening up Max
Runtime. From the File menu, open the file P-Soft.

To be able to work properly, you need to make sure that the input and output sound parameters
of your computer and of MaxMSP are defined according to the sound card used.

The management of audio and MIDI are taken care of by the host software MaxMSP. For more
details, you can read the MaxMSP user manuals:
http://cycling74.com/docs/max6/dynamic/c74_docs.html

1.3 Sections of the software window - Panels:

The software opens up in a sole window divided in three parts:

1 Pedals
2 Effects Editor
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3 Parameters

1 - PEDALS
This panel allows the user to control and emulate the real pedals used by the device. This is
also panel for the musician with the main information: which parameters are assigned to which
pedal, the name and number of the selected register, visual position of the pedals.

2 - EFFECTS EDITOR
This is the centre for editing the effects parameters assignments. Each parameter can be
assigned to a pedal and the range of this assignment can be modified. The assigned
parameters are yellow and the non assigned are green.
Here you can save the registers, rename them or initialize them.

3 - PARAMETERS
This panel contains the basic settings of the software: audio, MIDI and the possibility to save or
open banks. It is also in this panel that you set the general input and output sound level for the
treatments.

1.4 Principles :

With the software you can simulate the pedals played by the musician and program the
Registers and Banks.

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The physical pedals are represented by the sliders in the PEDALS panel.

There are 8 pedals (one On/Off and 7 continuous control pedals):

Pedal 1 On/Off
Pedals 2 to 8 Continuous control (the more you press the pedal, the higher the slider rises)

Like the physical pedals, the sliders remain in position even if the menu with the registers has
been changed.
The pedals values vary from 0 to 127.

Each pedal is affected to one treatment parameter whose name is indicated above.

The Transposition and Tuning sections show the real values of these parameters.

The editing of assignments and treatments is done in the EFFECTS EDITOR panel:

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Each parameter can be defined as follows:

directly the value of the parameter with the slider or the number showing this value below
the minimum and maximum limits (represented graphically by the coloured bar) with the
boxes above the slider (digital boxes or the menus)
the number of the pedal affecting the parameter between the predefined minimum and
maximum levels

When a pedal is assigned to the parameter, the coloured bar turns yellow. Without any
assignment the bar remains green.

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This is the treatment scheme:

All the parameters of audio input/output and MIDI assignment as well as the bank management
are done in the PARAMETERS panel:

Here you can edit, control and change the audio input and output of your sound card. You can
also affect the inputs of the MIDI controllers in order to simulate the pedals.

To quit the application, click on the Quit button.

1.5 Managing the registers and the banks:

Registers :
The treatment states are registered in the Registers. Once the configuration of the parameters
is finished it is possible to save the register using the button Register - Save. To generate a
state with no assignments, click on the Reset button. The register will then be set to zero.

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NB the registers are not saved separately on the disc, but the Register - Save only saves
them in the computers RAM. To open and close the registers you will use the banks.

Banks :
You have 8 registers to work with. The 8 registers compose a Bank.
You can save all the 8 registers in one bank on your hard drive using the button Save As
To open a file click on Bank - Open.

2. P-Soft Walkthrough:

To take the first steps with P-Soft:

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1
Open the Max Runtime application.

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2-
In Max Runtime open the file P-Soft.

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3-
First and foremost you need to configurate your sound card and choose one input and two
outputs in the P-Soft.
To do this, follow these steps:

1 Click on Open to access to the configuration panel of your sound card

2 Start up the P-Soft and turn on the audio
3 Select the input of your microphone (mono input)
4 Select the left and right exits of your sound card

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Once you have set your sound card you can observe the input level in the P-Soft.

You can now open the input volume.

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Select the DNA register in the PEDALS panel and place the pedals sliders like this:

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Now open the output volume and make a sound. You will observe the Output levels.

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Now modify the level of Pedal 3 which is connected to the transposition and listen to the result:

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The transposition interval shows at the bottom of the PEDALS panel.

At the same time, as you move the Pedal 3, you can observe in the EFFECTS EDITOR panel
the transposition represented as a note played on the virtual keyboard:

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Make changes on Pedal 3 between 0 and 127 the extreme positions. Despite these changes,
you may observe in the EFFECTS EDITOR panel that the transposition only varies between the
transposition to an octave lower and unison.
Observe the yellow bar just above the virtual keyboard it graphically covers the distance
between an octave lower and unison.

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Now click on the menu on top left of the Pitch Interval parameter:

You will have the possibility to define a new lower limit to the transposition on the scroll down
menu. Select Unison:
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You now have the limits of the transposition set to the minimum Unison and the maximum
Unison:

If you move the Pedal 3 in this configuration, there will be no change in transposition as the
minimum and maximum levels are equal. The coloured bar indicates a sole note the unison.

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Now change the maximum level for the transposition and choose one octave above:

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Observe that the coloured bar covers the space between unison and the octave above.

Move Pedal 3 and listen to the transposition which now goes up to the octave above.

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Now reverse the minimum and the maximum setting the minimum to the octave above and the
maximum to Unison:

If you move Pedal 3 now, you will transpose inversely as you draw up the pedal slider, the
transposition lowers and as you draw down the slider, transposition gets higher.

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Now click the menu for selecting the pedal assigned to the parameter. It is located at the bottom
on the right of the Pitch Interval parameter. Select . This means none of the pedals control
the parameter:

Then click on the note Do shown as a dot below. You are doing a fixed transposition at
unison.

You can now observe that the coloured bar has turned green, which means that no pedal is
assigned to the parameter:

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If you move the Pedal 3 now, there will be no transposition, as the pedal is no longer connected
to this parameter.
However, you can still choose a fixed transposition which will remain assigned to the parameter
without any change.

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12 -
Now click on the registers menu in the PEDALS panel and reselect the first register called
DNA:

Pedal 3 is now again assigned to the Pitch Interval parameter with the original maximum and
minimum levels.

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Select registers 1, 2 and 3 and observe the changes in the assignment of pedals and the
configuration of parameters in the EFFECTS EDITOR panel:

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14 -
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Once you have returned to the DNA register, click the button Register - Reset:

All parameters are set to zero the neutral position, without pedal assignments and with the
minimum and maximum levels at their widest:

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Please note that the Input Level and Output Level parameters have been initialized to 100. If
you want to make the sound pass through the effects, you need to push up the levels like this:

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Change and modify the parameters to play with the pedals, and save the state of each register.
To save all 8 registers on the hard drive, you have to click the button Bank - Save As

You receive a dialogue box to save the file containing the complete configuration of all registers.

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Return to the first register DNA. Lower completely Pedal 2, which currently commands the
sound entry parameter in the Input Level effects.

You may observe that the level on the EFFECTS EDITOR panel is 0 as well:

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Now click once on the Pedal 1 slider. It turns completely yellow. If you click again, it turns back
black. This is the On/Off pedal. You can only press it with your foot or let it go.

Observe what happens to the Input Level parameter. The volume jumps from 0 to 127 at once.

Now place Pedal 2 halfway:

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And click again on the On/Off pedal. The volume of the parameter now jumps from half (value of
Pedal 2) to maximum. If you turn off Pedal 1, the value of the Input Level falls back to half (value
of Pedal 2).

Pedal 1 functions like follows:

I It always affects the input volume

II When it is turned off, it leaves the input level in its current position
III When it is turned on, it turns the input volume level to its maximum

NB :
The On/Off Pedal 1 is the only one that cannot be assigned to an effect parameter. This pedal is
permanently assigned to the InputVolume level and in a relative manner. When pressing the
pedal, the input opening rises to maximum and falls back to its initial position.

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4. Score Writing :

In order for the musicians to be able to play your scores, you must indicate the information
according to certain requirements defined by interpreters and composers who have already
worked with this material.

Here is an example of a score:

Alxander Mihalic - DNA

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Important :

Each register is used for one piece or for a part of a piece.

This is important for the musician so that he can master the instrument and understand what he
is playing in order to express your work musically.

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Using the three staves

You will write in three staves

The musician needs to have a clear idea of what sound he should produce and of how to
produce it. He therefore needs to be able to repeat the sound like on any acoustic instrument,
listening to what he is playing.

Here is what is written in the three staves :

1 the acoustic instrument (classic notation)

2 the sound effect (classic notation, possibly mixed/combined with graphics)

This staff must be readable and understandable in order to let the musician know what sound
the composer wishes to obtain. The more you detail the resulting sound with classic notation,
the better chances there are that the musician will correctly interpret your score.

3 the tablature for the pedals. Here you should indicate the position of each pedal or their
evolution in time.

The musician will perform the gestures according to these indications to obtain the resulting
sound described in the second stave.

Sergio Blardony - Cronica para entenderse con Io antiguo

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Tablature for the pedals

Writing a tablature for the pedals

Continuous pedals
To inform the musician on which pedal he needs to press and to what level, we represent
symbolically a pedal as a rectangle more or less filled according to the pedals position. If the
pedal is at its off position, the rectangle is white. If the pedal is pressed to its maximum, the
square is entirely black. All intermediary positions are expressed visually. Here is an example
with different positions:

At the same time you must indicate the number of the pedal on top of the rectangle to let the
musician know which pedal to modify.

If you want to change a pedal continuously, you should indicate the curb in the rectangle in the
score during the time needed. You can also indicate which foot (L, R) should play the the pedal
next to the pedal number.

Notation of pitch changing

In case you want to indicate precise information - such as transposition interval, simply note the
interval value in a cercle at the corresponding moment in the score.

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The On/Off Pedal 1

The first pedal is indicated only by its number, as it is not possible to vary its value otherwise
than by pressing the pedal or releasing it. There are two possibilities for playing Pedal 1: either
you press and release it quickly, or you can press it for a longer time.

In the first case you should note the instant of pressing the pedal as a line and an arrow
indicating the desired moment in the score.

Sergio Blardony - Cronica para entenderse con Io antiguo

If the time for pressing the pedal is longer, you should note this as a line expressing the desired
time like this:

Sergio Blardony - Cronica para entenderse con Io antiguo

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Remind the pedals positions regularly

Always mark the position of all the pedals after a certain time or just before a moment of an
important transformation. Reminders are noted in brackets:

It is in fact very difficult for the musician to reconstitute the pedals positions if only one of them
is indicated. The best way of doing reminders is to resume the positions at the beginning of
each line or at key moments for the repetition of the musical piece.

Keep in mind that the more precise and clear your score is, the better the chances are that it will
be repeated and played correctly.

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Examples of effects:

Here are a few examples of effects. To play them, choose the DNA register, place the pedals
in their initial positions and change their positions according to the score.

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example 1: Freezing notes

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example 2: Freezing notes with transposition

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example 3: Adding chords to a maintained note

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example 4: Adding a cluster to a maintained note

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example 5: Creating a loop

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