apps.musicaldna.com

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FAQ Sections

Playing Music
Building a Song
Saving / Opening
Recording Music
Sharing Music
Advanced Editing
Menus / Settings
Troubleshooting
Advanced Tips

1. Playing Music

How do I make music with this?: Touch points around the circle to play notes, chords and melodies.

Can I play more than one note at a time?: Yep. In fact, touching multiple notes creates musical shapes! Touch two notes to create a line ('interval'). Touch three notes to create a triangle ('triad'). Touch four notes to create a trapezoid ('seventh chord').

Is there an easier way to play multiple notes at the same time?: Yes! You can do this by simply touching the center of the circle. This will replay the last shape or note you played.

How do I add or remove a note from a shape?: Touching notes while holding the center of the circle will add or remove those notes from your shape.

Is there an easy way to shift a shape to a different position ('key')?: You can rotate a shape to a different key by holding the center of the circle, and dragging any of the shape's notes around the circle. This is really fun!

How do I raise or lower the pitch, or change octaves?: Simply slide your finger around the circle (in either direction) to raise or lower pitch through the octaves.

How do I change instrument sounds?: Change instrument sound by opening Workspace in the Main Menu and selecting the Main Instrument option (Main Menu / Workspace / Main Instrument). This will open the Instruments selection menu, where you can select from a variety of sounds. When you touch the name of an instrument sound, this automatically closes the Instrument menu and applies the new sound.

Can I hear what an instrument sounds like before applying it?: Absolutely. When you are in the Instruments selection menu, touch the speaker icon to the right of the sound to sample it. This will not change your current instrument sound. When you find the sound you want, touch the instrument name. This will close out the Instrument menu and apply your new sound.

Where can I quickly find a "musical shape" to put in a song?: Touch the Shape Palette in Main Menu (Main Menu / Shape Palette) to find a collection of over twenty different shapes most commonly used in music. This one's great for new musicians!

2. Building a Song

What are the circles in the corners of the screen?: These circles are used to help you build a song by storing stacks (or 'sequences') of notes and shapes. You can build up to four different stacks of note/chord combinations: one in each of the corner circles.

What's the point of making corner stacks?: Stacks help you build more sophisticated compositions, and they also help you play songs more easily. For example, by putting shapes ('chords') in one stack and notes ('melodies') in another, you can build a song and play different parts at once. This helps a lot in performance and especially when recoding your music. It also prevents you from hitting unwanted notes!

How do I create stacks?: Add a single note to a stack by holding a note, while also touching the corner of your choice. To add an entire shape to a stack, touch the middle of the screen (which will play your last shape) and then drag your finger to a corner.

How do I play stacks?: Just tap on a stack to cycle through the notes and shapes within it. Each item will be played in the exact order in which it was added. When you reach the end of your sequence, it will start again.

Is there a fast way to return stacks to the beginning?: Pro Tip Yep. To return stacks to their beginning (or the first note or chord in the sequence), simply touch the song title. This will reset all four corners to item one.

How do I remove something from a stack?: There are several ways to remove an item from a stack. If you are in the main Workspace, swipe the note or shape you wish to remove out of the stack. Or, you can remove an item from one stack and add it to another by dragging it between stacks.

Within Stack Edit, you can delete an entire stack by hitting the CLEAR button (on the top of the screen). You can remove an individual item from a stack by touching the red X to the left of that item. To enter Stack Edit, open the Main Menu, and touch the EDIT button on top of the stack you'd like to edit (Main Menu / Edit ).

Can I move notes or shapes from one stack to another?: Yes. Slide a note or shape from one corner to anther in order to relocate it. You must drag an item all the way to another corner in order for this to work.

3. Saving / Opening

How do I save a song?: Hit Save it in the Main Menu (Main Menu / Save). You will be prompted to enter a title. Saving will keep everything in your current Workspace including your current recording, corner stack sequences, and instrument settings.

Will I lose my work if I close the app?: No. Unless you specifically start a new Workspace or open an earlier song, your current project should always remain as you left it, when you closed the App.

How do I start over or get out of the song I'm currently in?: Hit New in the Main Menu to start over with a clean slate (Main Menu / New). You will always be given the option to save a Workspace before doing anything that may overwrite it.

How do I open an earlier song? Where do my songs go when I save them?: When you save a song it gets placed in the My Songs submenu of Open (Main Menu / Open / My Songs). When you are in the My Songs list, touch the title your desired song. This will automatically open that song in the main Workspace.

Are there any song demos I can see?: There sure are. The Musical DNA Library contains a bunch of demos that you can see, play along with, and even edit. Look out for new demo songs in future updates! To open a song in the Musical DNA Library go to Main Menu / Open / Musical DNA LIbrary. Touch the title of the song you'd like to play to open it in the main Workspace. You will need to press the Play button for the song to begin.

4. Recording Music

How do I record music using this app?: First touch the red Record button in the main Workspace. Recording will not start immediately; it will begin as soon as you play a note. Hit the red X to cancel recording, if you don't want to keep what you just played. Hit the green check to stop recording and keep what you just played. You can immediately listen to what you just recorded by hitting the Play button. To record multiple layers in one song, simply pres Record again. This will NOT erase anything you've laid down before. Instead this will allow you to keep adding layers or tracks to your song.
If you decide you don't like the layer you just recorded, you can Undo it by going to Main Menu / Workspace / Undo Last Track. You can continue to Undo your most recent track one layer at a time, all the way back to the very beginning of your recording. Just be careful because once you Undo a track, you can not get it back!

How do I listen to my recording?: The Play/Pause button starts and stops playback. You can quickly move to different points in your recording using the Playback Slider. This is really pretty, by the way!

How do I save a recording? Where do I reopen recordings in the app?: Hitting Save in the Main Menu (Main Menu / Save) saves your recording as well as all other content in your Workspace. Be sure to save changes to your Workspace before opening a new song. You will always be reminded to go back and Save your current workspace before doing anything in the App that may overwrite unsaved changes. To open a saved recording (or Workspace), go to Main Menu / Open / My Songs. This will open your entire Workspace, including your recording.

How do I add another track or layer to a recording?: Hit Record to add another track or layer to your current recording. This will NOT erase anything you've recorded previously; instead it will let you add another layer of music to your song! You can actually activate Record during playback of a song as well. So at any point during playback of your current song, hit the Record button and anything you now play will be recorded as a new layer. If your song is not in playback mode, hitting Record allows you to start recording from the very beginning of your song. Your current recording will only start playing when you start playing your new layer or when you hit the Play button. As long as the App is in Record mode, anything you now play will be recorded. Remember to hit the green check to stop recording your new track and keep what you just played. Hitting the red X will cancel recording and not save what you just played.

Can I undo a recording or single track? Can I erase the entire recording and start again?: Yep. Go to Main Menu / Workspace and select either Undo Last Track (to delete the last recorded layer in your current recording) or Clear Recording (to delete the entire recording). Don't worry! Neither of these will delete your stacks or instrument settings.

5. Sharing Music

What does the Share feature do? What exactly is shared?

Generally speaking, Share let's you make the music you created with the Musical DNA App available to your friends through four different options:

Post a video of your recording on Facebook
Post a link on Twitter to view a video of your recording on the Musical DNA Viewer page.
Email a link (to yourself and other recipients) to view a video of your recording on the Musical DNA Viewer page.
Collaborate on a piece of music with another friend who has the Musical DNA App

The Facebook, Twitter and Create Video Share options will ONLY be enabled for those songs that include actual recordings. For example, if you have a workspace that contains corner sequences but have never recorded anything, you won't be able to generate and share a video until making a recording. Videos are not actually created or stored on your device. Instead, Musical DNA will create these videos and then send you a video link. When posting to Facebook, videos are embedded right onto your Wall. Please note that videos posted to the Musical DNA Viewer page contain access to an embed link, which enables anyone viewing that page to embed the video elsewhere. This way you and your friends can post your Musical DNA video in other places, as desired.

Collaborate is a different and more sophisticated feature. It transfers your entire Workspace to another Musical DNA App user. All contents of your Workspace, including corner sequences, recorded layers, and all settings, will be shared with your collaborators. Collaborators can then add more parts to your song, change instrument settings, record new layers or tracks, etc.! They can then send this Workspace back to you, or pass it on to others to continue the the collaboration. Your collaborators will receive an email from Musical DNA with a link that opens your Workspace on their device. For this to work, collaborators must open this email on a device containing the Musical DNA app.

How do I create a video of my recording?: Create a video of your recording by going to Main Menu / Workspace / Share / Create Video, or by touching the Share icon next to a song in the My Songs list (Main Menu / Open / My Songs). This will email a link to view a video of your recording to yourself and any other recipients whose email addresses you've entered. Musical DNA will send the email as soon as your video is ready to view. The Create Video Share option will ONLY be enabled for those songs that include actual recordings.

How do I post a video of my recording on Facebook?: Post a video of your recording on your Facebook page by going to Main Menu / Workspace / Share / Post on Facebook, or by touching the Share icon next to a song in the My Songs list (Main Menu / Open / My Songs). This will automatically generate a video of your song that gets embedded on your Facebook Wall for all to see! You will be prompted to login to your Facebook account through the App using Facebook Connect. Here you can also add a message to accompany your Wall post. Posting to Facebook will ONLY be enabled for those songs that include actual recordings.

How do I post a link to a video of my recording on Twitter?: Post a link to a video of your recording on Twitter by going to Main Menu / Workspace / Share / Post on Twitter, or by touching the Share icon next to a song in the My Songs list (Main Menu / Open / My Songs). You will have to login to your Twitter account through the Musical DNA App to Tweet, and will be able to post a 140 character message (including the video link, which Musical DNA will generate for you automatically). The Post on Twitter option will ONLY be enabled for those songs that include actual recordings.

How do I collaborate on a song with a friend?: You can share your workspace with another App user through the Collaborate option in Share. This person MUST have the Musical DNA App (tell your friends to get it)! Access the Collaborate feature via Main Menu / Workspace / Share / Collaborate, or by touching the Share icon next to a song in the My Songs list (Main Menu / Open / My Songs). Recipients will be emailed a link that will open up your entire workspace on the recipient's device. They will then have access to your stacks and your recording and can edit your workspace however they'd like. This will NOT affect anything stored on your phone. For example, if you share a song with a friend and they delete a stack or your recording on their device, this will not affect anything on your device. Alright ... share, collaborate, and listen ;)

6. Advanced Editing

What is Stack Edit for?: This is for advanced sequence editing and to change stack instrument settings (such as instrument sound and volume). When in Stack Edit, you can change the order of notes or shapes in a sequence, as well as remove items you no longer want in your stack.

How do I change the order of items in a stack?: Open the Main Menu, and then tap a corner EDIT button to open that stack. Hold and slide notes or shapes up or down to reposition them. To hold an item while scrolling through the stack list (in order to reposition that item anywhere in the sequence), touch and hold the item's icon on the right of the menu. Release to drop the item where desired.

Can I combine the contents of different stacks?: Yes! Open the Main Menu, and then tap a corner EDIT button to open that stack. When in Stack Edit, slide another stack (from any of the four corner circles) into the open stack list. This will duplicate the added stack (guest stack) and insert it as a single item into the stack you are currently editing (host stack). The guest stack will only appear as one item in your stack list. You will not be able to edit individual elements of the guest stack.

If I add one stack to another in Stack Edit, do I lose the added stack?: No. If Stack 1 is inserted into Stack 2, it is simply duplicated (as a single item) inside of Stack 2. However, nothing about Stack 1 itself changes. You can still open and edit Stack 1 directly. The only way to lose or delete an entire stack from a corner is to manually remove all of the items from it one by one, or by selecting CLEAR when editing that particular stack.

How do I erase an entire stack quickly?: Open the Main Menu, and then tap a corner EDIT button to open that stack. Once in Stack Edit, touch the CLEAR button (at the top of the screen) to delete ALL contents of the stack.

How do I name or rename a stack?: Open the Main Menu, and then tap a corner EDIT button to open that stack. Touch the stack title to name or rename it.

Can I change the instrument used in a stack?: Yes. To do this open the Main Menu, and then tap the corner EDIT button for that stack. Touch the current instrument name (which you'll find on top of the Stack Edit list) to open the Instruments Menu. Here you can select a new sound for your stack by touching the instrument name.

Can items in a single stack have different instrument sounds?: No. All items in a single stack can only have one instrument sound. The default stack sound is determined by the first item placed in that stack. For example, if the first item added to a stack has the Marimba sound, then all subsequent items added to that stack will assume the Marimba sound. You can, however, change the sound assigned to an entire stack by accessing the Stack Edit menu. To do this, open the Main Menu and then select the EDIT button on top of the stack you'd like to edit. Touch the instrument name (which you'll find on top of the Stack Edit list) to open the Instrument Menu and change the stack sound.

How many different instrument sounds can I play at once?: You can play up to five instrument sounds in real-time by assigning a different instrument to each of the four corners, as well as the main Workspace. Of course your recordings can have as many instrument sounds as you like, because you can add unlimited layers containing different instrument sounds.

Can I set different volume levels for each stack?: You betcha. To set a stack's volume, open the Main Menu, and then tap a corner EDIT button to open that stack. Adjust that stack's volume using the slider below the instrument name.

7. Menus / Settings

Where do I start?: When you first open the app, you'll see an intro screen with options to take a Guided Tour of the App, see Demos of music created using the App, or jump right in and Create music! You can turn off this intro screen by checking the box next to "Don't show me this again." If, at some point, you'd like to turn on the intro screen again, go to your iPhone Settings, select Musical DNA from the Apps listed there, and change "Hide Welcome Screen" to OFF.

How do I open the Main Menu?: Touch the Main Menu button. It's the large circular button on the bottom of the screen (see the iPhone diagram to the left). You will see this button on every screen in the App, and it both opens and closes menus.

How do I close a menu?: Touching the Main Menu button will close out of all open menus and return you to the main Workspace. Touching the X on a Menu will take you back 'one level' to the previously opened menu screen.

Can I change note labels to flats?: Open Settings in Main Menu to toggle note labels (Main Menu / Settings / Note Labels). You can choose sharps, flats, or turn note labels off completely.

Can I remove the note and chord names above the circle?: Yes. Open Settings in Main Menu to toggle the Chord Identification feature (Main Menu / Settings / Chord ID).

How do I remove the corner stack numbers?: Go to Main Menu / Settings / Corner Count to toggle the corner stack numbers on and off.

Can I turn off the moving stars?: Yep. Go to Main Menu / Settings / Starfield to turn off the Starfield effect.

8. Troubleshooting

What do I do if a note is stuck on, or keeps playing even though I'm no longer pressing it?: To clear a stuck note, simply a) touch the Title of the song at the top of the main workspace, or b) touch the Record button and then touch the red X right away to cancel recording.

What do I do if a chord is stuck, or keeps playing?: This is quite rare. Occasionally, when sliding a shape from a corner to the center of the circle while simultaneously touching more than one note on the circle, multiple notes may become stuck on. To solve this, first try either a) touching the Title of the song at the top of the main workspace, or b) touching the Record button and then the red X to cancel recording. If neither of these solutions work, we suggesting rebooting the App. Don't worry, your Workspace and recordings should be preserved on reboot.

What can I do if Stack Edit is sluggish?: On certain devices, App response may become sluggish within the Stack Edit area. This may slow down the scrolling function, among other things. If this occurs, try exiting out of Stack Edit and then re-entering it. In more severe cases, rebooting the App may be required to solve this.

I'm having problems combining stacks. What can I do?: In Stack Edit, dragging one stack into another can be finicky: it may not always seem to work, but it does. Make sure you do this slowly, and carefully slide the stack you wish to add towards the center of the screen. It should then appear in the Stack Edit list. Continue to hold the added stack while you scroll through the list, in order to place the added stack in the desired position.

The Starfield is being weird. What should I do?: The starfield is a fun, inspiring background! It does, however, sometimes take on a personality of its own. If you find it behaving "out of sorts", you can turn off the Starfield by going to Main Menu / Settings / Starfield.

Why is share not working?: Using any of the App's Share functionality requires a Network connection. Posting on Facebook or Twitter requires that you have an active account and correct login information for these services.

9. Advanced Tips

Using empty corner to help duplicate stacks.: If you don't have any items in a corner stack, you can still access Stack Edit to duplicate another stack inside of the empty one. Although you will not see an EDIT button appear on top of an empty stack when opening the Main Menu, you can still enter Stack Edit by touching the empty corner stack. Then, you can still drag another stack (guest stack) into the currently opened stack (host stack).

"Punch In" to record.: You don't have to start recording at the very beginning of a song. You can drag the slider to any point in your song and start recording from there. If the song is paused and you hit Record, the App will wait for you to play something before recording commences. If your song is already playing and then you hit Record, the App will start recording right away. Obviously, if you don't play anything at this point nothing gets recorded. This is a way to easily "punch in" or record at precise points in a song without having to cue it up exactly.

Creating drum sounds in the App!: While the Musical DNA App does not YET feature percussion or drum sounds, there are some creative ways to create such sounds on your own. The fastest and easiest way to create drum sounds is by using the Master Key shape. Find the Master Key via Main Menu / Shape Palette / Specials / Master Key. Once this shape drops onto the Workspace, hold it from the center and slide it into a corner. This can be your snare drum sound! The Master Key shape will still be active in your Workspace. Now, touch and hold the center again. Take another finger and touch and hold any point around the circle (the Master Key hits them all), and then rotate the shape counter clockwise to lower its overall pitch. You can release the center as soon as you've begun rotating. Go about as low as you can in pitch, and then hold the center and drag the shape to another corner. This is your bass drum! Finally, in similar fashion, hold and spin another Master Key clockwise as high as it will go in pitch before sliding it to yet another corner. Now you have a cymbal sound!

You can experiment with the corner stack instrument sounds to change their characteristics. For example, Marimba mimics a ride cymbal for your cymbal Master Key; Pan Flute works well for a snare; Synth Bass makes a nice bass drum. Also, playing the highest notes possible for a certain instrument (e.g., Marimba) sounds convincingly like chimes, ride cymbals, etc. Playing these in staccato fashion (i.e., hitting and quickly releasing) will increase their resemblance to percussion sounds, in many cases. Experiment and have fun!

Music connects us all!

Have a great song you've created with the Musical DNA App?

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