Instruments

ScaleMaster includes many different virtual instruments. Above we are seeing the bass instrument with the position selector. All string instruments have 24 frets available and the piano instrument comes with 88 keys.

 

Positions

The position selector is only available on iPads because the tool strip center button serves a different purpose on iPhones as mentioned before. On iPads we have different displays of the position window depending on instrument. For the piano instrument it shows the 5 main octave positions and on string instruments the first 12 frets. Those 12 positions shown are not all that is available, just the most common ones. Again, we have 24 frets available.

Another way to shift an instrument to a different position is the two-finger drag. Tap the instrument with 2 fingers, hold still for half a second and drag it in the desired direction.

Documents save the instrument's position. This is an important feature in ScaleMaster. The thought behind it is that we want to enable the creation of position specific exercises. This way it is possible to create a guitar exercise with the instrument in the fifth position. Select A major as scale maybe and then record an ascending two-octave scale with the recording feature. Now we can play this document back at any speed we desire and even engage auto-reverse to have ScaleMaster play the scale up and down for us.

Lastly let's mention once more the default position button (third button from the left in the tool strip). It sends string instruments back to first position and centers the piano instrument around middle c.

Tuning

String instruments like the violin, cello or banjo can be detuned (scordatura). The tuning for button in the tool strip opens the tuning window with an appropriate amount of sliders for each instrument.

 

Summary

Banjo, Bass, Cello, Double Bass, Guitar, Mandolin, Piano, Viola, Violin. There are very few people that play all of these, but as long as the one instrument that counts - yours - is included, we are making headway. Of course most of these instrument have particular clef requirements. So let's head over to the notation view and check out how it can help us with everything.

The next chapter will focus a bit more in detail on the notation view and things like changing clefs.