Introduction to
MAO MAO, kesako, how it works, and why?
Here a little history on the subject:
sounds digitized analog audio data
The concept of module
The future module
The players
digitized sounds are digitized sounds produced by means of a synthesizer called MIDI (Music Instrument Digital Interface). When a note should be played, a command is sent to the MIDI interface MIDI sound card, describing one of 16 output channels, which determines the instrument used, the note pitch and volume. The standard instruments were developed by the International MIDI Association (IMA), giving a relative homogeneity of the recovery of a sound card to another.
However, it remains possible to assign a channel to an instrument from a bank of sounds (Assistant or not the sound card) via a MIDI controller, allowing for new sounds.
MIDI instruments are however not sufficient to restore the human voice or other sounds "natural."
The analog audio data
The sound data is a digital representation of an analog signal, which is typically represented as a wave. When sound is recorded, samples, or samples of the waveform are captured at regular intervals. Sound quality depends on the amount of information contained in each sample, ie the recording frequency, measured in kilohertz (kHz).
The samples are commonly stored in 8 bit (mono) or 16-bit (stereo) at a frequency of 11 KHz, 22 KHz or 44 KHz CD quality audio is characterized by a 16-bit recording at 48 KHz. Any sound, "natural" or not, can be recorded.
digitized sounds require little disk space in that sense, they define a sequence of MIDI control for the soundcard, but are dependent on interpreting the MIDI interface.
Instead, samples allow the refund of any sound, but can be very intensive disk space, one minute analog sound recorded in CD-quality audio can require several megabytes of disk space.
The concept of module
The principle of the module offers an interesting compromise:
instruments are defined by relatively short samples are played and inspired by the method MIDI characterizing a sequence of commands the note pitch, volume, his continued ... and possibly special effects such as vibrato, tremolo, arpeggios ...
The concept of the module was originally developed by Amiga soundtrack of graphic displays, compact programs highlighting the technical possibilities of such machines.
The primary purpose of the module was to play sound as soon as possible, so as to allow the maximum resources available for graphical effects. Its original function
forged its specificities: a compact encoding format, integrating its own instruments, sequential instructions allowing chaining notes to play, as well as sound effects applied to them.
MOD file format has been widely popularized by NoiseTracker, Soundtrack & ProTracker, editors modules for Amiga.
Historically, the modules described four soundtracks, corresponding to 4 independent output channels available to the Amiga (physically, the first and fourth channels are to the right output, the second and third channels to the left exit).
later adaptation modules on PC has flourished in many formats modules, opening new opportunities: a number of soundtracks increased a closer definition of the note to be repaid (temporal evolution - panning - the volume of sound, its output to the left or right channel, its wrapping ...). The future
module
The future of the module might have seemed compromised after the onset of Real Audio and MP3, which offers a refund very true to the theme music and voice compression they are ...
However, it is not!
The module has emerged as a vehicle for original musical composition: Number of
soundtrackers renowned, whose talents are widely expressed in the field of video games (one of the areas of application where the compactness and the musical qualities of the model are of course imposed: Final Fantasy VII is one of the most recent examples ...) continue to use the module to develop their composition ... for distribution in CD Audio, favoring here the quality and reliability of the instruments to the compactness of the final module (to be converted into audio) ...
For budding musicians (including myself modestly party), the module is a very simple way to address the musical composition, to implement a virtually unlimited number of instruments, and facilitate the dissemination of their creations , Because of the compactness of the format ...
Finally, the compactness of the module, opposite the incomparable weight of a MP3 or Real Audio, which, even streaming require loading time therefore, allows those who wish to enliven their pages musically, of provide a musical atmosphere, much richer and far less synthetic than MIDI, without penalizing the visitor with a heavy download
The players The players are software modules designed to decode and reproduce the musical composition described by a format module.
Trackers publishers or modules are software enabling, with a comfortable user interface to compose modules, ie orchestrating a musical based on samples of acting sounds of instruments. The samplers are
software that, thanks to a GUI developed, edit a sound sample in order to improve through filters, or distortion by applying special effects.
All sizes of modules based on the original definition of the MOD format:
modules describe the sound tracks or tracks.
The number of tracks indicates the number of sounds / instruments or samples that can be played simultaneously.
The musical composition consists of rows and rows of elementary instruction defining, for each track, the instrument used, the notes to play, or effects to be applied.
These lines of investigation are grouped into patterns, the largest division within the defining module. The number of rows forming a pattern is generally constant for most module formats (most often set to 64 rows, the number of rows of a pattern for the MOD format), but may vary for new formats such as MDL formats, XM & IT.
Patterns, true musical phrases are organized into sequential list or playlist, thus defining a melody.
A pattern can be played many times in the same module, without consequences for the size of it.
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