Musician Archive

Hey all. Had some luck the past few days reading the various alias and macro posts in the entertainer and musician forums. I've enjoyed writing and occasionally performing songs in game -- essentially lyrics recited in time to the flourishes -- but have had a tough time working out the timing of the macros so that the words show up when I want them to. Once I saw a few posts alluding to using hotkeys to trigger lines in the aliases, I realized I wouldn't have to mess with timing any more. I can simply cue each lyricalline of my song at the appropriate time with the touch of a button.

Here's all it takes: Create a text file in your SWG folder that lays out the flourishes and the order you want them played. Example, here's the music portion of the alias I created for a ballad/traz song I arranged, "Starkad's Lament," an ode to my lonely toon. I named the text file "lament".

xxx: /startmusic ballad; /pause 4; /pause 5; /pause 5; /flourish 3; /pause 10; /pause 5; /flourish 5; /pause 5; /flourish 4; /pause 5; /flourish 5; /pause 5; /flourish 4; /pause 10; /pause 5; /pause 5; /flourish 3; /pause 10; /pause 5; /flourish 5; /pause 5; /flourish 4; /pause 5; /flourish 5; /pause 5; /flourish 4; /pause 5; /flourish 2; /pause 5; /flourish 7; /pause 5; /flourish 2; /pause 5; /flourish 7; /pause 10; /pause 10; /pause 10; /pause 5; /pause 2; /flourish 3; /pause 5; /flourish 8; /pause 5; /stopmusic

Now when I'm in game and want to play this song, I equip my traz, type /load lament.txt, then type xxx. My character will begin to play the music. Now for the lyrics. In the same text file, I simply added twelve extra lines (it's a three verse song), one for each line I want to sing:

xxa: /sing Never returned, never to see...

xxb: /sing My ma and my pa on Mon Calamari...

xxc: /sing Never to drift, never to swim...

xxd: /sing Back to the waves in which I was born in

xxe: /sing Sailed out too far, over the edge...

xxf: /sing Shut from my room, fell off the beds...

xxg: /sing Never returned, never to see...

xxh: /sing My ma and my pa on Mon Calamari

xxi: /sing Never to drift, never to swim...

xxj: /sing Back to the waves in which I was born in...

xxk: /sing Eggshells are cracked, scattered the nest...

xxl: /sing Starkad is lost here along with the rest

Now go to an empty row in your hotbar and create twelve macros, one for each line. The first can be called xxa, and simply read "/xxa". Second can be xxb, third xxc, etc. If you assign xxa to F1, when you press that key your character will sing line 1. F2 for line 2, etc. This way I sing the lines manually by just moving down my hotbar row and control when each line gets performed. No more fiddling with the timings at all. And, since my songs tend to be twelve lines apiece, I can use this arrangement for every song I perform. (Just load the appropriate text file for each song in your repertoire.) This system should work for any song and instrument in the game. Though I still don't know how I'm supposed to be singing with a horn jammed in my mouth...

Hope this is all of interest. Not sure if anyone's even messing with songs and lyrics much, but I'm enjoying it.

Later, entertainers.

Mauries

"Starkad"/Gorath server

Why dont you just stick the /xxa /xxb etc in the /xxx macro? save yourself some clicking. I've often wondered how musicians play flourish 8, where you hold your arms out and dance around...

I have 2 full songs and 1 in progress. Since all songs are in 4/4 time as long as you maintain this it usually works with any song. Now to perfect it a specific song will be needed and flourished to be co-ordinated. One song is weak where as my second often gets very high praise (Cruising in my YT-1300, Mos Eisley, Dearic and Coronet have all heard it in the Radiant server), and for some reason it seems to go with most type of music. The other song would need variously tempo changes, hence why I don't think it works so well. I've tried playing witht he pauses and such, but it doesn't seem to work.

Plus Cruising is funny

Singer, musician and dancer on Eclipse here, I have a show that I do with an ever expanding repertoire (visit webpage for details). I tend to use my toolbars for flourishing and clothes so songwise I put the main things into the alias file then am free to interact with the audience whilst singing.

As for singing with a horn in your mouth, my personal rp stlye is not to. K'vera never greets anyone outloud if she is playing a wind instrument, it is something like: K'vera ,akes a welcoming gesture to Ilureah with her musical instrument.

For songs either Kvera sings and dances with musicians playing, or sings solo whilst playing the mandoviol A case of finding what works for you on the occassion.

My favourite piece so far is the duet I arranged, you can see a pic of it in performance at:http://www.belvdere.demon.co.uk/screenShot0854.jpg.html

Another recent one which I couldn't resist doing was footloose using rock

((Incidentally the waltz is 3/4 so assuming you just have not set anything to that one yet ))