Scala Release Notes

Latest version: 2.2

Version 2.22w

New Features

• Added a Directory dialog.
• Added text search in scale descriptions.
• Improved Convergents dialog, with Stern-Brocot tree navigation.
• Various improvements of the Edit dialog, some attributes were made directly editable, like FREQUENCY and INTERVAL.
• Added Filter button to Input dialog which removes text not being a pitch value.
• Updated Sagittal notations.
• Improved Chord dialog with playback memories.

Version 2.21z

New Features

• New commands Play and Play/Stop in the Windows version, which plays a MIDI file without starting an external MIDI player.
• Various improvements of the MIDI Relay function.
• Various improvements of the Chromatic Clavier.

Version 2.2n

New Features

• The Edit Scale dialog has been upgraded. Columns can now be sorted and pitches edited inside the pitch list. Also a slider has been added to adjust a selected pitch. The columns can be rearranged by dragging the headers.
• The program numbers in sequence files have been changed, causing an incompatibility with existing files. They range now from 1 to 128 which makes them the same as in the Sound Settings dialog. Therefore in all program statements 1 must be added to the program number.

Version 2.2

New Features

• The user interface has had a major upgrade. Many items can be accessed via key-shortcuts now. Text can be displayed using antialiased fonts. The text problems have been solved. Copying and pasting works now. The mouse wheel works. Graphics display correctly under Windows. Dialogs have been tidied up. Text size can be easily changed.
• MIDI files can be converted to Scala sequence files for manual control of the retuning process.
• Sequence files can be converted to a MIDI file with MIDI Tuning Standard messages (more polyphony, no more channel switching).
• Several dialogs were improved.
• Drag and drop of Scala files.
• New commands Equaltemp/Vanish, Harmonic/Over_Under and Mode/Sequence among others.
• Support for Sagittal notation systems.
• A note for blind users: The accessibility layer works only under Linux/Unix and not under Windows. Drawing of text is now done completely by the user interface modules and not by Windows anymore. This means that screenreaders which hook into Windows routines cannot read anything anymore. Scala 2.06 will remain available on request via email.

Bug Fixes

• Converting a sequence file to a MIDI file doesn't run out of channels too quickly anymore.
• The timesig statement in a sequence file caused a timing error.

Version 2.06

New Features

• Scale tables can be written to a HTML file.
• New dialogs for retuning MIDI files and creating temperaments.
• New command for creating differentially coherent scales.
• Many smaller improvements.

Known problems

• There are some minor problems with screen text. It doesn't support horizontal scrolling and sometimes the text gets messed up. Then resize your window a bit to redraw the text. In the future this widget will be replaced with a better one, once it's finished. Copy and pasting text from the main window doesn't work yet on the Windows 9X/NT platform.

Version 2.05

New Features

• Scales can be played on a "split-key" chromatic clavier on the screen.
• A new dialog for setting the base frequency.

Version 2.04

Bug Fixes

• The Yamaha XG type instruments are now retuned correctly.

New Features

• Scales can be heard via MIDI sound in the Tonality Diamond and Edit dialogs.
• Chords can be heard in the chord list dialog.
• Triads can be played in the triad player dialog.
• The Help window dialog has been improved. Users can now double click on subjects.

Version 2.02

New Features

• The Tools menu has been split into an Analyse and a Tools menu.
• Some plots (graphs) can now be made of a variety of scale properties.
• Extra dialogs were added and others improved.

Version 2.0

Bug Fixes

• FIT sometimes would sometimes give a "computation error".

New Features

• A graphical user interface has been added with menus, dialogues and windows to show the scale, command history and to enter and edit scales, select modes, etc. The most important commands have been made into menu items. Command entry by text is still possible.
• Only two commands have been added since version 1.7:
  Approximate/Mould
  Show/Attribute Intervals

Version 1.8

Bug Fixes

• The EXAMPLE/MIDI command would sometimes give up too quickly for too many simultaneous notes and program numbers.

New Features

• Some new notation systems were added.

• Some new chord names were added.

• SHOW DATA gives more scale properties.

• The following new commands were added:

  Key/Centre
  Lattice/Notation/Triangular
  Set Int_File
  Show/Notation Scale
  Show/Interval/Notation Scale
  Show/Octcps Scale
  Show Shifts
  

Version 1.7

Bug Fixes

• EXAMPLE/MIDI sometimes left notes on in complex MIDI files.

• SEND/MIDI didn't work for the Yamaha SY77/TG77 synthesizer.

• The screen background colour wasn't set correctly under Windows 2000.

New Features

• Some new notation systems were added.

• Some new keyboard mappings were added.

• Some new pitch attributes were added, among which Harmonic Entropy.

• A command for finding occurrences of chords in a scale, from a list of chords. A list with more than 200 is also included.

• The LATTICE command can now make use of note names.

• The APPROXIMATE/WEIGHTED command can now use any pitch attribute function for scale approximation by just intervals.

• A stellated CPS can be created.

• The path of a ratio in the Stern-Brocot tree can be displayed.

• A scale can be tempered for improving the number of consonant intervals in the scale.

• The mode and interval lists were expanded and some tips added.

• The following new commands were added:

  Chords/All_Show
  Chords/Cents_Show
  Chords/Match
  Cps/Corner/Scale
  Cps/Expanded/Scale
  Cps/Scale
  Cps/Stellated
  Cps/Stellated/Factor
  Cps/Stellated/Primes
  Cps/Stellated/Scale
  Cps/Superstellated
  Cps/Superstellated/Factor
  Cps/Superstellated/Primes
  Cps/Superstellated/Scale
  Egalize/Model
  Farey/Minimax
  Lattice/Notation
  Load/Chord
  Load/Chord/All
  Mode/Equal
  Pipedum/Scale
  Pipedum/Tetra/Scale
  Pipedum/Vertices/Scale
  Ratio/Farey/Constrained
  Ratio/Stern
  Show/Sorted Transpose
  Stretch/Match
  Subtract/Mediant
  

Version 1.6

Bug Fixes

• UNDO didn't restore the scale description.

• FIT/HARMONIC could give a computation error.

New Features

• A notation system for just intervals was implemented which shows the 3-limit name, plus or minus commas.

• Many other new notation systems were added.

• The name for degree 0 is now no longer restricted to C.

• Transformation of scales between systems with compatible notations: REPLACE/NOTATION.

• The same feature can be used in translating scores into microtuned MIDI files with the EXAMPLE command. If names are used to denote notes, then one (equal) temperament can be changed for another without altering the score.

• The SHOW DATA command gives more values, such as Rothenberg Efficiency and Stability.

• SHOW DATA now detects if a scale is a chain of identical triads.

• Consistent representations of any ratio in equal temperaments can be found: DIVIDE/CONSISTENT.

• The least maximum error approximation to a scale can be found; for an octave based chain of fifths: CALCULATE/MINIMAX and for a non-octave based equal temperament: FIT/MINIMAX.

• Pitches can now be selected based on attribute value: LIMIT/MAX_ATTRIB and LIMIT/MIN_ATTRIB.

• Some commands accept a wider range of parameters and more options.

• The following new commands were added:

  APPROXIMATE/INSERT
  
  CALCULATE/MINIMAX
  CALCULATE/MINIMAX/NOOUTPUT
  
  DELETE/EGALIZE
  
  DIVIDE/CONSISTENT
  
  FIT/MINIMAX
  
  LIMIT/MAX_aTTRIB
  LIMIT/MIN_aTTRIB
  
  LOAD/CENTS
  
  REPLACE/NOTATION
  
  SAVE/CENTS
  SAVE/CENTS/KEEP_TEXT
  
  SET FACTOR
  SET OFFSET
  SET TOLERANCE
  
  SHOW/SCALE LOCATIONS
  SHOW NOTATION
  

Version 1.5

Bug Fixes

• The notation of 22-tone equal temperament is changed.

New Features

• On PC it is now a Win9X/NT 32-bit console mode application and no longer a DOS application. Also first Linux release.

• The lattice of a rational scale can be shown in triangular form.

• The command EQUALTEMP/DATA shows the consistency levels and Paul Hahn's diameter values and more other things.

• Many new note name systems were added for the command SET NOTATION.

• FIT/MODE now shows maximal evenness.

• The command SET ATTRIBUTE has a few new options.

• The command CALCULATE can show note names in all systems.

• Synthesizer support has been added for Yamaha XG and Roland GS & JV/XP types (testers wanted).

• Some commands accept a wider range of parameters and more options.

• The following new commands were added:

  APPEND/SCALE
  
  BISTEP/PERMUTATION
  
  COLLAPSE/ALL
  
  DELETE/MODEL
  
  DISCARD/EQUAL
  
  DOUBLE/COUNTER_LOG
  DOUBLE/LOGARITHMIC
  DOUBLE/SUBC_HARMONIC
  
  EXCHANGE/EQUAL
  
  FAREY/BEATS
  
  INVERT/INTERVAL
  
  ITERATE/MODE
  
  KEY/ALL
  
  LATTICE/TRIANGULAR
  
  MORPH/ABSOLUTE
  
  MULTIPLY/MATCH
  
  PERMUTE/MATCH
  
  PROJECT/MATCH
  
  QUANTIZE/LINEAR/ROUND
  QUANTIZE/LINEAR/TRUNCATE
  
  REPLACE/MODEL
  
  SET DESCRIPTION
  SET DIFF_DEGREE
  
  SHOW ET_DIFF
  SHOW/EQUALMODE LOCATIONS
  SHOW/MODE LOCATIONS
  SHOW/CHORD SCALE
  
  SPAWN/DETACHED
  
  SYMMETRIZE/COUNTER_LOG
  SYMMETRIZE/LOGARITHMIC
  SYMMETRIZE/SUBC_HARMONIC
  
  VARY/LINEAR

Version 1.41

Bug Fixes

• PYTHAGOREAN/EQUALBEATS gave incorrect results if the octave was not 2/1.

• KEY made the program end with an exception if the current scale was empty.

• The EXAMPLE commands had the following problems:
  • When trying to use a different equal-command for each track,

    0 track 1
    0 equal 17
    !!!!
    0 track 2
    0 equal 19

    it would say "invalid format : 0 track 1", because it could not locate the tuning before entering track 1. Inserting a dummy equal-statement before the first track would work around the problem.

  • Empty lines in the input file could cause unpredictable results.

  • Tempo statements with a time value of 0 (absolute or relative) made previous tempo statements with time 0 lost.

  • Some enharmonic equivalences of note names that were not in the same octave were not handled correctly, for example in 15-tET, B and C are equivalent so B.0 = C.1 but instead B.0 was interpreted as C.0.

  • Negative octaves with note names didn't always work correctly, for example: A.-2.

  • A large number of parameter statements could cause a program crash.

• EQUALTEMP/DATA could cause a program crash for divisions 0 till 4 when Scala was run in a DOS window.

Version 1.4

New Features

• The EXAMPLE command to create xenharmonic MIDI files from input text files has been made much more powerful. One can now use more than one instrument, define tracks, insert controller messages, use note names instead of only note numbers, specify relative time, use more than one scale, use a default scale and specify any quarter note division.

• Several new note name systems were added for the command SET NOTATION.

• Erv Wilson's operations "Purvi modulation" and "Marva permutation" are implemented (MODULATE/GENERATOR and PERMUTE/GENERATOR).

• Roots of "polynomials" with arbitrary exponents can now be calculated. This is needed if one wants to calculate non-octave equal temperaments with certain beat rate properties.

• Text files produced by JICalc with scales can be converted to Scala scale files.

• Farey parent and child ratios can be calculated.

• Harmonic scale approximations can be searched for a scale (FIT/HARMONIC).

• Beat rates can now be shown with a built-in command (SHOW BEATS).

• The COMPARE command has been enhanced.

• The help file has been converted to HTML format so it can be read with a browser, and printed out in better style. It is roughly 64 pages A4.

• An HTML version of the mode list was added.

• The following new commands were added:

  ADD/ADD
  ADD/MEDIANT
  ADD/SUMMATION
  
  CATALOGUE/SCALE
  
  DELETE/FLOATS
  DELETE/INTERVAL
  
  EXCHANGE/INTERVAL
  
  EXTEND/CHILDREN
  EXTEND/PARENTS
  
  FIT/HARMONIC
  
  IMPORT/JICALC
  
  INPUT/LINE
  INPUT/INTERVAL/LINE
  
  ITERATE/MEMORY
  
  MODE/COMPLEMENT
  
  MODULATE
  MODULATE/GENERATOR
  MODULATE/INTERVAL
  
  PERMUTE/GENERATOR
  
  POLYNOMIAL/SOLVE/POWER
  
  PRODUCT/MEDIANT
  
  PYTHAGOREAN/EQUALBEATS
  PYTHAGOREAN/GIVENBEATS
  
  RATIO/CHILDREN
  RATIO/PARENTS
  RATIO/CHILDREN/PARENTS
  
  REPLACE/EQUAL
  REPLACE/SMALLEST
  
  SAMPLE/COMPLEMENT
  
  SHOW BEATS
  
  SHOW/TOTAL INTERVAL
  
  SHOW TEMPERINGS
  
  SUBTRACT/DIFFERENCE
  SUBTRACT/SUBTRACT
  
  VARY/INTERVAL

Version 1.3

New Features

• With the EXAMPLE command you can now create xenharmonic MIDI files, taking another MIDI file as input. Pitch bend commands will be inserted using the available MIDI channels for different notes. As long as not too many different notes sound at the same time, this method works for any tuning. So you can take some MIDI files from the net or off some cd-rom, retune them ad libitum and hear them on a soundcard or synthesizer. You can also filter out program and controller messages. The mapping between note numbers and scale degrees is customisable. At http://www.prs.net/midi.html are the Classical MIDI Archives. I have tried several of John Sankey's Bach files. They are already in a well-temperament but can be retuned just the same.

• The ANSI.SYS screen driver is no longer required so it works fine under Win 95 and NT too.

• The ECHO command can now be used with lexical functions returning pitch data to a string in various formats.

• The new LATTICE/DIAMOND command shows a Partch diamond diagramme.

• The new BISTEP command makes a least squares fitting of a scale with two step sizes to another scale.

• SHOW COMBINATION shows which combination of intervals from a given set form a given interval by addition or subtraction.

• SET NOTATION allows a choice of different notation systems. For instance if 31-tone ET chosen, those note names are given with SHOW SCALE.

• The new AVERAGE command changes a scale by taking a moving average of the pitches.

• A few other new commands are: SIEVE, RECTANGLE, MORPH, CPS/CORNER, ASSUME.

• More items were added to the SHOW commands, like SHOW DATA and SHOW SETTINGS.

• More mode names were added to the list of modes, now more than 600.

• More command files were added, a list is in file cmdlist.txt.

• There is one backward-incompatible change, the TEMPERAMENT command was removed. Instead there is a command file, temper.cmd, which does exactly the same. And TEMPERAMENT/VARIED is now PYTHAGOREAN/VARIED.

Version 1.2

New Features

• The MIDI Tuning Standard's bulk dump is now supported.

• A new command POLYNOMIAL/SOLVE finds roots of polynomials (for equal beating tunings).

• A new command EXAMPLE creates from a customisable template universal microtonal MIDI-files with the pitch-bend method and dynamic channel allocation.

• Fret positions can now be calculated.

• More items were added to the SHOW commands.

• A new command CHORDS shows chord approximations.

• Some commands were improved to accept a wider parameter range and more qualifiers. For example the MODE command now accepts a literal string of intervals.

• More tips were added.

• More keyboard mappings were added.

• More mode names were added.

• The interval list is now also in French.

• More command files are included to do scale manipulations.

Bug Fixes

• Some minor bugs were fixed and one major one in the PIPEDUM command.

Version 1.1

New Features

• The LATTICE command can now also make pseudo 3-D lattices.

• The COMPARE command can now save scale comparison results.

• The CPS command is enhanced.

• EQUAL/DATA provides more equal temperaments' info.

• There is a new DISCARD command to throw away commas or other hairy intervals.

• Polynomials can now have arbitrary powers.

• The QUANTIZE command now has optimal fitting and consistent fitting.

• More items were added to the SHOW commands.

• A new TIP command provides useful tips.

• A program to convert a text representation of a MIDI file to a MIDI file has been added (not written by me). This allows users to assemble tuning dumps for unsupported instruments themselves, with the new hexadecimal output of the SEND command. If anyone will have successfully done this, please let me know.

• More command files are included to do scale manipulations.

• Two backward-incompatible changes were made to the command language, to REDUCE and COPY/PITCH.

Bug Fixes

• And some bugs were fixed, most notably the system-exclusive MIDI files will now play correctly with the MS-Windows player.

Version 1.0

• Initial public release.

5 Oct 2006