Drum Beats are the easiest patterns to recognize because they are short and repeated often. This program has only one drum beat. [To hear the drum beat, click the Drums button and the Play button in the Main window.]
Bass Lines are also easy patterns to recognize, for the same reasons. This program changes Bass Line patterns every four bars by default. [To hear a bass line, select a chord progression for use in the Chord Progression window and then click the Bass button and the Play button in the Main window.]
Chord Progressions are easy to recognize because they do not usually exceed four chords each and are normally repeated often. This program has several pre-written forms chord progressions and allows for new ones to be generated as well. [To hear a chord progressions, select a chord progression for use in the Chord Progressions window and then click the Play button in the Main window.]
Melody Phrases are the hardest patterns to recognize because they often appear with variations that obscure the basic pattern. [To hear a melody, make a phrase in the Melody (Phrases) window and then click the Play button in the Main window.]
The program illustrates the following basic patterns.
Bass Line types are:
| Root | root held throughout the bar |
| Dotted Root | root repeated in "dotted" rhythm i.e., a dotted quarter note followed by an eighth note followed by a half note |
| Root Fifth | root on the first beat of each bar and dominant on the third beat of each bar |
| Dotted Root-Fifth | root and fifth as in Root-Fifth (above) but in "dotted" rhythm as in Dotted Root (above) |
| Walking Scale | bass moves in quarter notes up and down the notes of a scale |
| Walking Chord | bass moves quarter notes up and down notes of a chord (presently, triads only) |
Bass Lines are set automatically by the program unless manually set in the Bass Lines window.
The standard length can be compressed to 2 bars (by inserting 2 chords in each bar) or expanded to 8 bars (by inserting 1 chord in every other bar) or expanded to 16 bars (by inserting one chord in every 4 bars).
Chord progressions can be "phase shifted" beginning on any chord in the sequence, e.g.:
| example sequence | I | VI | IV | V |
| phase shifted one position, beginning on the second chord in the sequence |
VI | IV | V | I |
| phase shifted two positions,
beginning on the third chord in the sequence |
IV | V | I | VI |
| phase shifted three positions,
beginning on the fourth chord in the sequence |
V | I | VI | IV |
Chord Progressions are generated in the Chord Progressions window.
A phrase normally starts on the first beat of one bar and usually ends on the first beat of the next bar. However, phrases can be shifted up to 3 beats ahead (i.e., pick-up notes) or 2 beats behind the first beat of the bar.
Phrases have these features:
| Contour | the shape of the phrase (flat line, rising line, falling line etc.) |
| Duration | the time between the onset of the first note in the phrase and the release of the last note. Duration may vary between one-half a beat (a single eighth note) and 16 half beats (8 beats). |
| Range | the interval (musical distance) between the highest and lowest pitches in the phrase |
| Spread | notes within a phrase can be spread out in different ways. Think of spreading your fingers on a table top; fingers can be spread evenly or clustered in the center or clustered (with difficulty) to either side with a gap in the middle. |
Melody Phrases are made up in the Melody (Phrases) window.