Extra Measures

You can insert extra measures before and after the regular measures in a sequence or pattern part. A single extra pick-up measure can be placed at the beginning, and any number of extension measures can be placed at the end. The pick-up measure is played only when the segment containing the measure is first played. Extension measures are played only when the segment plays to the end and stops. Extra measures are not heard when the segment loops.

Extra measures are not numbered in the timeline and are shown with a darker shading. The notes are displayed with hash marks.

The following illustration shows a pick-up measure that occurs before measure 1 of a pattern part.

To add extra measures to a sequence track or part in a pattern, first open the Properties window for the track or part.

For a sequence part, click the Change button in the Sequence Track Properties window. The following Set Extra Bar Length dialog box appears.

For a pattern part, click the Length button in the Part Properties window. The following Set Part Length dialog box appears.

In either of these dialog boxes, select Display pick-up bar to add a pick-up measure. To add extension measures, enter a value in the Extension bars text box, or select a value by clicking the up-down arrows. Click OK.

You can also add an extension measure by extending the length of any note in the previous measure.

You can enter notes in extra measures just as in any other measure.

To record notes into a pick-up measure by using Real-Time Recording, first set at least one count-in bar in the Metronome Options Dialog Box. You can record pick-up notes in the last count-in bar before regular recording begins.

Note DirectMusic Producer allows only one second of pick-up notes to be heard. If notes are more than one second before the start of the segment or pattern, they are clipped or silent during playback. However, applications can extend the prepare time in the DirectMusic playback of your file, making notes audible that occur more than one second before the beginning of a file. For more information, see DirectX Audio Help in the DirectX SDK documentation.