1. How to play a part of the notation in the Edit window?
2. Can a given part of notation be repeated automatically?
3. In 'Loop' playing, sometimes there is a minute gap when the play starts repeating. How to avoid it?
4. Since the Melam selection defines the 7 notes, how to write notation for raagams which take a note not in the parent Melam (Bhaashana ragams)?
5. How to write notation for raagamalika with raagams of different Melams?
6. When I play a raagamalika, sometimes I hear strange music. Why?
7. When I play some notation, suddenly the music starts going very fast. Why?
8. When I enter notation and click 'Play' I get a message box saying that the phrase exeeds 16 notes (20 notes in the case of version 1.5 and Version 2.0) and to split suitably. What is this due to?
9. Sometimes when I click 'Play' I get the message that the note duration exceeds maximum and to split suitably. Why?
10.When playing with Flute, sometimes there is a click at the beginning of a new block. How to avoid it?

1. How to play a part of the notation in the Edit window?

You can select (block) any part of the notation using either the mouse or keys just as you do in any text editor like Notepad. To select a part with the mouse, place the cursor at the beginning of the block to be selected, press the left button and drag till you reach the end point and release the button. The selected part will be in reverse color. To select with keys, place the cursor at the beginning of the part to be selected, press Shift key, and keeping it pressed move the cursor to the end point using either the arrow keys and/or the Page Down keys and then release the Shift key.

Once a part is thus selected, clicking 'Play' will play only that part. Clicking the 'Notes Count' button will also show the count of notes in the selected part. Saving as a .wav file will also cover the music in the selected part.

2. Can a given part of notation be repeated automatically?

Yes. Just check the 'Loop' check box and then click 'Play'. If any part of the notation has been selected that part will repeat indefinitely. If no part has been selected the entire notation will be repeated. If you uncheck the box while the music is being played the looping will stop when it reaches the end. You can also stop the play by clicking 'Stop'

3. In 'Loop' playing, sometimes there is a minute gap when the play starts repeating. How to avoid it?

This will happen if there is a forced block symbol '|' or the manual thaalam symbol '+' at the beginning and/or at the end of the selected block. Select the block such that these symbols at the end or the beginning are not included. Since Autothaalam is available in version 1.4 and later there is no need for the '+' symbol.

4. Since the Melam selection defines the 7 notes, how to write notation for raagams which take a note not in the parent Melam (Bhaashana ragams)?

This issue applies to all carnatic music notation writing. The present accepted convention is to put an asterisk (star) ' * ' after the anya swaram note. The same system is used in Gaayaka ex. enter 'paa ma ri ga ma* ri sa' for Saaranga in Melam 65. The note ma* will be played as Suddha Madhyamam though the Melam 65 has Prathi Madhyamam. Put this star immediately after the note and before the symbols like '<' or '>' if used.

5. How to write notation for raagamalika with raagams of different Melams?

At the point where raagam changes put {M nn} where 'nn' stands for the Melam of the new raagam. For instance if the new raagam is Kamas put {M 28}. Be sure to use the Curly Brackets { } ,(shift [ and ]) and not the ordinary brackets. You should put this at the beginning of the song also with the melam number corresponding to the first raagam.

If you have checked the 'Show Playing Blk' check box then, while playing, the melam number in the 'Current Melam' number box will also change showing the melam of the currently playing raagam. At the end it will show the last played raagam. See 'Theera.gka' which is a ragamalika (Theerada Vilayattu of Bharathiar)

6. When I play a raagamalika, sometimes I hear strange music. Why?

When you play part of the notation of a file containing the {M } symbol, you will have to include the {M } in the selected part. Otherwise the melam will be the one last played (as displayed in the melam box). Naturally, if the notation meant to be played in one melam is played in another the result is strange! However, if you want to play only a small part of the notation and the {M } symbol is far above, you can change the melam manually using 'Select Melam' or by selecting the notes from the 'Select Note Type'

7. When I play some notation, suddenly the music starts going very fast. Why?

This is most likely due to unbalanced brackets i.e. not closing a bracket after it was opened. You can check whether the brackets are balanced by clicking the menu 'Bracket Check!'. You may also notice erratic tempo when you select a part of the notation, starting from the middle of a pair of brackets. Avoid using brackets enclosing very long notation.

8. When I enter notation and click 'Play' I get a message box saying that the phrase exeeds 16 notes (20 notes in the case of version 1.5 and version 2.0) and to split suitably. What is this due to?

Notes typed with or witout space between them constitute a single phrase. To seperate phrases you have to use the hyphen ' - ' symbol. At present Gaayaka permits only 20 notes (16 in older versions) in a phrase and if you get the message, you have to split the phrase by putting the hyphen symbol at a suitable point in the music. The notes here include notes used for gamakam. The limitation is generally adequate for lyrics but may sometimes be inadequate for raagam phrase, but this can be overcome by splitting a suitable point.

9. Sometimes when I click 'Play' I get the message that the note duration exceeds maximum and to split suitably. Why?

There is a maximum limitation for the duration of a phrase. This is 8 seconds which is adequate for all practical purposes. You can get this message only if you had forgotton to put the phrase separation hyphen symbol. Or your tempo might have been set very slow - say 96 in which case even a phrase with 10 notes would produce the error. You have to split the phrase at a suitable point in the music.

10. When playing with Flute, sometimes there is a click at the beginning of a new block. How to avoid it?

This is most likely due to the echo from the end of the previous block. Try to reduce the echo strength and see whether it becomes OK. If not put off echo altogether