Introduction - Commodore 128 System Manual

INTRODUCTION

The Commodore 128 has one of the most sophisticated built-in
sound synthesizers available in a microcomputer. The
synthesizer, called the Sound Interface Device (SID), is a chip
dedicated solely to generating sound and music. The SID chip is
capable of producing three independent voices (sounds)
simultaneously. Each of the voices can be played in one of four
types of sounds, called waveforms. The SID chip also has
programmable Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release (ADSR)
parameters. These parameters define the quality of a sound, ln
addition, the synthesizer has a filter you can use to choose
certain sounds, eliminate others, or modify the characters of a
sound or sounds, ln this section you will learn how to control
these parameters to produce almost any kind of sound.
To make it easy for you to select and manipulate the many
capabilities of the SID chip, Commodore has developed new and
powerful BASIC music statements.
Here are the new sound and music statements available on the
Commodore 128:
SOUND
ENVELOPE
VOL
TEMPO
PLAY
FILTER
This section explains these sound statements, one at a time, in
the process constructing a sample musical program. When you
are finished with this section, you will know the ingredients that
go into a musical program. You'll be able to expand on the
example and write programs that play intricate musical
compositions. Eventually, you'll be able to program your own
musical scores, make your own sound effects and play works of
the great classical masters such as Beethoven and
contemporary artists like the Beatles. You can even add
computer-generated music to your graphics programs to create
your own "videos."
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