Modern Music Maker

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Modern Music Maker
Startscreen
Developer	Dave Korn
Company	Firebird
Publisher	Firebird, Domark, Ocean
Release	1987, 1991
Licence	Proprietary
Platform	C64, Amstrad CPC
Genre	Music Software
Operation
Media
Language(s)
Information	Often in bundles aka Ubik's Music

The Modern Music Maker was published by Firebird in 1987 than Ubik's Musik.

Later in the bundles this program was also renamed in Modern Music Maker.

This populary program was used by a few musicians for computer music in games.

Description

The Modern Music Maker is a sequencing based music software allowing composition of music using the SID chip. The program consists of a main pattern sequence page in which patterns can be written and a live music/instrument editing feature. Both were simple to use and controlled by the user input from the keyboard, predominantly using the F-keys to change values in the instruments to generate the sound and typing number values into the pattern sequences.

Using

Music Editor

Operation is performed using the keyboard, and in some cases via function keys.

The cursor keys can be used to select the SID voice (channel) to be edited or to highlight the input within that voice.

There, you can enter either the note (sequence, A–G) or the repeat and note duration (Repeat) directly in hexadecimal form. The note range C0 through B7 can be used, with a note length of 0 through 32 (hexadecimal 0 through 20).

The finished music can be saved either as a tune for further editing or as a finished piece on Datasette or floppy disk.

• Pressing the key combination SHIFT +CTRL +RESTORE  will restart the program. This will clear the music storage!

Functions Keys

• F1 : Puts the contents of the selected area into the clipboard
• F2 : Replaces the contents of the selected area with the contents of the clipboard.
• F3 : Inserts the contents of the clipboard below the cursor.
• F4 : Deletes the contents of the selected area
• F8 : Plays all sequences or music in a continuous loop (play/pause)

Sequenz Editor

You can edit an entered sequence by pressing the key combination SHIFT +RETURN . In the sequence editor, the notation is displayed using commands, not just numerical values!

The sequence editor.

Block Commands

To enter Block Editor mode, press the key combination CONTROL +B .

• kill: Delete a block using the K  key.
• copy: Copy a selected block using the C  key.
• transpose: Use the T  key.
• RUN/STOP : Exits block mode.

Menu

• The RUN/STOP  button opens the main menu or exits submenus or other program sections to return to the editor.

The only one menu of "Ubik's Musik".

Live Play / Edit Voices

When this menu item is selected, a synthesizer keyboard appears that you can play directly (activated by pressing the F8 key) or use to adjust certain settings using the cursor and function keys.

The synthesizer keyboard with a lot of options.

Slide Rule

You can create slides under this menu item. Use the F1 through F8 function keys to set, increase, or decrease the parameters in the selected area!

The slide rule menu.

Changing Memory Areas

To modify the memory area for the music you create—which is normally located in the memory range $BFFD-$D000—for example, to integrate it into your own programs, there is a dedicated tool called "UBIK'S RECOLATOR".

Software Bundles

It was also inside of a few bundles or compilations:

• The Commodore Creation Pack from Domark (1987) contains on two floppy disks:
  • Modern Music Maker (1A)
  • Split Personalities (1B)
  • The Image System (2A)
  • Pitman Typing: Keyboard Skills (2B)
• Ocean-Bundle with Terminator 2-cartridge and The Image System (1991)

Links

• CSDb
• Review Zzape64! #31; October 1987
• Modern Music Maker at retroport.de
• Modern Music Maker at preservation64.de
• vgmpf.com

Videos

• "The Silverbird Selection Review - Ubik’s Musik (Commodore 64)" at witchfinder1976