Documentation

Product Brief (Client’s Requirements)

The client, Richard Langley Music e-learning, requires an accessible multimedia product that will help music students understand the concepts of musical scales and keys and that will assist in their learning. The product must be suitable for use on the Web or to be marketed on CD. The product interface needs to be self explanatory and easy to use.

Product Description

• The Music Slide Rule is primarily a musical theory teaching aid that demonstrates what major scales are and the way they are stepped out on a keyboard.

• The program demonstrates how the major scales can be transposed from one to another while the underlying pattern of tones and semitones remain the same.

• Musical notes with key signatures are displayed for each scale, providing theory revision for musicians of various levels.

• The sounds of the scales can be played providing aural training and to demonstrate the tonal colour of the various major scales.

• The interface is designed to be clear and easy to use with minimal instruction.

Purpose and Market

The Music Slide Rule is developed primarily for Music Teachers trying to convey the musical theory of scales and keys. Also the program is beneficial for musicians who are not completely clear about these concepts or need revision.

The product is designed for adults as well as children over 10 (generally).

Required Environment

The platform required to run this program is a Mac or PC running a Web Browser -Internet explorer IE6 and a Flash 6 Plugin. (Sound not available with Flash 5.)
If the program is being run from a Compact Disk a computer equipped with a CD Player is required.

Design Choice

The program was designed on Flash as it is a popular medium – it is readily available, and operates in the environment documented above.

It was decided to make the key board one complete image for each scale and to have the each audio scale consisting of eight notes attached to that respective keyboard image. (See below for alternate design). This was considered the easiest approach while still achieving the desired purpose, requirements and aesthetic objectives.

Alternative Design

An alternative design could incorporate the keys being highlighted one at a time as the musical notes are sounded.

This would require extensive design modifications where each key is an independent image to which a single associated note would be attached. Extensive coding would be required to highlight the keys and sound the respective notes in sequential order for the twelve major scales.

Another design tool that could have been used is Macromedia’s Authorware or the program could have been designed with HTML and Javascript, however it was decided Flash was the more versatile tool and the design outcomes could be more easily achieved without extensive coding.

Additional Suggested Information & Review

Technical and graphical advisors suggested that the background colour of the Title text was to too dominant and detracted from the keyboard. This suggestion was incorporated.

Other suggestions that could be incorporated in a later version2;
• That a musical note be sounded when the user clicks on actual keys.
• To have interface appearance colour options.

Several Technical Persons tested and reviewed the design and besides the suggestions documented above, all felt the design criteria was well covered.

Copywrite and Intellectual Ownership Statement

The Design Concept and the Logo remains the property of Richard Langley Musical e-learning.

The Flash .fla files, prepared images and all associated code remain the property of RJL Web Development.

Deployment of the Music Slide Rule

a) Access From the Internet
• Click the Internet Explorer icon on the Desktop or Taskbar of the computer or the icon for whatever browser you may be running.
• In the Address Box, type the URL to the site containing the program.
• Navigate to the web page containing the program – the program will automatically run.

b) From a floppy disk or CD
• Insert the disk containing the program into the appropriate drive and Open Windows Explorer or my Computer.
• Double click on the Drive icon.
• To start the program Double click the file named MusicSlideRule.swf

c) From the hard drive
• The file can be copied to the computer's hard drive and accessed by clicking the MusicSlideRule.swf file.

Operating Instructions

• Start the program as outlined above.
• On the left side of the screen Click the button to see the chosen Musical Scale stepped out on the keyboard.
• To turn off the sound click the button named “Sound Off”.

Technical Appendix 1

Web designers can incorporate this product into their sites in the form of a standard Flash “.swf ” file.