Harmony Assistant

Harmony Assistant is a useful software for computer-assisted tunes writing and composition.

Harmony Assistant's harmonizing capabilities enable the composer to build quickly and efficiently accompanied tunes, with multiple instruments and drum background.


Harmony Assistant Downloads:

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Harmony Assistant for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP

Harmony Assistant for Mac OS 8 and 9

Harmony Assistant for Mac OS X


Harmony Assistant Main Features:

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Harmony Assistant as Score editor

If you use often printed scores, it'll be easy to enter them on your computer : Harmony processes almost all the break symbols used in musical writing, and uses them while playing the music. A powerful editor allows you to place and move easily the notes on the staves.
Appoggiaturas, slurs, trills, mordent, vibrato, etc can be linked to a note and played.
Similarly, pedal, ottava, dynamics, tempo changes will be heard when playing music.
Many document templates are provided. You can also define your own.
If needed, you can restrict access to your document by a password and protect your work : for example, it will be possible to play your tune but not to modify it.
The mode page allow to edit the score as "on paper".

Automatic accompaniments generation and drums sequences

Automatic accompaniments can be generated : they'll be harmonized with your tune and will be played with it. You'll be able to create your own accompaniment sequences as simply as dropping notes on staves. You can edit drum or percussive sequences and use it in your tunes, by placing them at the desired locations on the score.

Chord grid calculation

Harmony can find automatically the chords matching the notes on your score, and shows the score chord grid. You can then edit and modify this grid to rearrange your tune.

Digital output

A complete digital instrument database is integrated to Harmony, which gives hi-quality musics, even if you don't own professional hardware. A basic sound card (SoundBlaster AWE64 for example) is enough on PC, no specific device is needed on Macintosh. Digital effect processors (Reverb, Chorus, Distortion, Wah...) can be applied anywhere on score.

Digital sound editor

You can record your own sounds from a CD or a microphone (or load a sound file like .AIFF or .WAV) , and use them as instruments in your tunes. You can also record complete digital audio tracks from a CD or a microphone (or import them from a WAV, AIFF or MP3 file), edit them and use them in your documents. These digital tracks can be mixed with regular or MIDI staves.

Compatibility

Your tune files can be played either on PC or Macintosh, since Harmony exists on both platforms. Harmony allows also to import and export musics in MIDI, Rich Midi, ABC,TAB,KAR format as well as in digital formats like AIFF, WAV or MP3. Harmony can read MOD and S3M files. For example, you can then convert easily a MIDI file to MP3. Scores can be exported in PICT, BMP, EPS and used with a word processor or an image editor.

Tablatures and chord diagrams

Guitarists and Bassists haven't been forgotten : Harmony calculates tablatures and displays the chord diagrams. You can even define your own stringed instrument and calculate tablatures for it ! Harmony Assistant can also compute tablatures for all fretted string instruments (Banjo, Balala?ka, Ukulele ...) but also for Harmonica, Appalachian Dulcimer, Diatonic Accordion and Baroque Lute. A complete library of guitar chord diagrams is given with Harmony. You can complete this library by defining easily your own chords.

Real-time MIDI input

If you own a MIDI keyboard, you can perform real-time MIDI input. Above this, you can record at the same time a digital audio track. You can then record your voice with the microphone while you play on keyboard...

Lyrics

You can relate lyrics to a tune, and let the music play in Karaoke mode : lyrics scroll while you are singing. Of course, Harmony loads and processes the MIDI Karaoke file format (.KAR). Harmony manages Karaoke with several voices (useful for choirs). You can record a complete track from an audio CD, soften the singer's voice and replace it by your own. "Shape notes" notation from Gospel choirs (FaSoLa) are recognized.

Graphics and colors

Graphics in black and white or color (in BMP or PICT format) can be inserted at any point on the staves. All the symbols can be colorized, globally or individually, in order to enhance the attractiveness of your document. For example, you can set all "C" to blue, and "D" to green... Useful if you're learning musical notation. You can drop texts and comments where you want on the score, and define your own background patterns.

Tune printing

Printing is widely user-defineable.You can define what staves you want to be printed or not, whether you want the ruler, tune name, or the complete lyrics below the score. You can also print the complete sorted list of guitar chord diagrams to make a very useful customized handbook. You can even print punched cards for street organs !

And many other cool features...

like drum editing, floating tool palettes, multi-voices staves, floating tool palettes, gregorian notation, help window ...