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Options menu


Please note that all settings located in the Options menu are global (i.e. program level) settings. For example, if you change the master tune of ChordPulse, this will apply to all sessions you load.


Precount...

In this window you can specify the duration, sound, delay, and loudness of precount:




Reference Tones...

Tune your instrument using this function. Select pitch, octave and repetition rate. Alternatively, tune ChordPulse to your instrument by changing the frequency of the A440 reference.




Visual Transpose...

You can set a visual transpose for the chords and musical notes you see in ChordPulse. This will not affect the actual pitch at which the music plays. Visual transpose is useful for transposing instrument players (like saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, etc.) and also for guitar players using a capo.



Please note that visual transpose applies to:

   - chords (as seen on the main display)
   - chord selector
   - "Export Chords To Text File..." function (in File menu)
   - musical note visualization modes that are not based on the piano keyboard

but it does not apply to:

   - musical note visualization modes based on the piano keyboard
      (The piano keyboard will always show what a piano player would play.)

If you activate visual transpose (change it from the default C to any other musical note), then each time ChordPulse starts you will see a reminder for three seconds.


Chord Audition...

ChordPulse lets you listen to chords, chord notes, chord roots or bass notes while the music is not playing, see page Chord audition. In this window, you can set the mode (Off, Chord, Arpeggio), musical instrument, and loudness of the chord audition function:

Chord audition settings


Chord Symbols...

In this window you can specify how you would like the half diminished seventh chord and the augmented seventh chord to be notated on the screen.

If you select compact notation for the half diminished seventh, the chord will be displayed as "7", otherwise "m7b5" will be used. Regardless of the option selected here, in exported text files the half diminished seventh chord will be shown as "m7b5".




Output...

ChordPulse outputs MIDI messages that can be sent to a MIDI output device to generate sound in real time. Alternatively, the musical information can be exported to standard MIDI files for further processing or playback. A General MIDI compatible synthesizer (software or hardware) is required to create an accompaniment with the intended musical instruments. In this window, you can select a MIDI output device and define which MIDI channels to use for communication:




MIDI output device

Select a General MIDI compatible MIDI output device to be controlled by ChordPulse. If there are more devices available on your computer, select the one that sounds best in your opinion.


MIDI channels used

Select the MIDI channels ChordPulse uses to communicate with your MIDI device. One channel is used for drums (always MIDI channel 10), six additional channels are used by different instruments of the accompaniment. "UI tones" refer to musical notes that are not part of the accompaniment, for example: musical notes used for the chord audition or reference tones functions.



Musical Note Visualizer

Visualizes the musical notes that are currently being played by ChordPulse. You can select a visualization mode from this menu or you can click on the actual visualization in the main window to switch to the next mode. The available visualization modes are:

   - Full Piano Keyboard
   - Compact Keyboard
   - Split Keyboard
   - Split Notes
   - Note-Octave Matrix

Please note that the visual transpose (i.e. transposing instrument) function does not apply to visualization modes based on the piano keyboard: piano keyboards will always show what a piano player would play.

In the 'Split Keyboard' and 'Split Notes' modes, musical notes are separated based on musical instruments. If a musical instrument is part of the bass section (e.g. an electric bass guitar), then its notes will be visualized as bass notes. If an instrument is part of the chords section, its notes will be visualized as chord notes, including notes that may function as bass notes (e.g. the left hand part of a piano pattern).

In the "Note-Octave Matrix" visualization mode, the musical notes are shown in a grid. The vertical position indicates the octave of a note (with the highest octave at the top).


Musical Note Visualizer Options...

In this window, you can customize how musical notes are visualized in the different visualization modes:




Show Chord Notes In Chord Selector

If enabled, small dots will be displayed in the chord selector to indicate which musical notes are part of the selected chord. For options and more details about chord voicing, please see "Chord Voicing..." in "Play" menu.


Show Actual & Total Time

Shows/hides the actual play position and total length of the session.


Show Bar Numbers

Shows/hides bar numbers next to bar lines (below the chords). The density of bar numbers can be customized in the "More..." window (see below).


More...

In this window you can find additional options to customize the user interface of ChordPulse:




Flat notes by default in new session

Choose whether you prefer flat or sharp notes as the default musical notation for new sessions.


Warning before deleting an unsaved session

If enabled, a warning is displayed before opening a session, starting a new session, or leaving the application with an unsaved session.


ESC key can be used to exit program

If enabled, hitting ESC on the keyboard will be equivalent to selecting "Exit" from the "File" menu if no dialog box is currently open.


Single click closes "Style" / "Tempo" / "Key shift" selector

If enabled, the "Style" / "Tempo" / "Key shift" selector closes automatically after selecting an item (e.g. music style). If disabled (default), the selector stays open after selecting an item (e.g. music style), so you can try out multiple settings conveniently (e.g. preview several music styles).

Also, you can double-click an item to select it and close the selector simultaneously (so there is no need to move the mouse away and click in an empty place outside the selector in order to close the selector).


Show bar numbers

Shows/hides bar numbers below the chords. You can also specify the density of bar numbers here.


Show Bars

Shows/hides the bar lines below the chords.


Model - Silver

Choose between a bright and dark version of ChordPulse.


Model - Wide

Choose between a wide and compact version of ChordPulse.


Model - Key shift buttons

Show or hide the key shift buttons (reset/+/- key shift controls) of the main window.


Display text color

Select a color for the text used on the main black display.


Chord colors

Select a coloring method for the chords:

   - "Match text": all chords have the same color: "Display text color"
   - "Alternating": chord colors match "Display text color",
         but every 2nd chord is darker
   - "Spectrum":chords are colored based on their bass notes
   - "Pastel spectrum": a less saturated version of "Spectrum"


Color gradient for slash chords

If this option is enabled, the bottom part of a slash chord will be colored based on the bass note, the top part will be colored based on the chord root note, with a smooth gradient between the two colors. If disabled, the chord will have a single color based on the bass note.


Chord & page look

Select a visual style for the chord and page sensors.


Chord cursor

Show/hide the chord cursor below the chords. The chord cursor shows which chord is actually being played. In pulse mode, the cursor pulsates with a frequency defined by the current tempo.





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