Difference between revisions of "SOUND"

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== Description ==
 
== Description ==
 
<code>SOUND</code> calls [[OSWORD &07]] to generate sounds. It is most
 
<code>SOUND</code> calls [[OSWORD &07]] to generate sounds. It is most
commonly used to generate sounds with the internal sounds generator, but it
+
commonly used to generate sounds with the internal sound generator, but it
 
can also be used to create speech or MIDI sounds, as specified by the
 
can also be used to create speech or MIDI sounds, as specified by the
 
channel parameter.
 
channel parameter.

Revision as of 01:00, 2 February 2019

SOUND is a BASIC command to make sounds.

SOUND
Availability Present in all original versions of BBC BASIC.
Syntax SOUND <numeric>,<numeric>,<numeric>,<numeric>
Token (hex) D4 (command)
Description Generates sounds.

Description

SOUND calls OSWORD &07 to generate sounds. It is most commonly used to generate sounds with the internal sound generator, but it can also be used to create speech or MIDI sounds, as specified by the channel parameter.

Defined channel numbers

&0xxx Sound generator
&1xxx Sound generator
&20xx Watford Electronics Speech system[1]
&FExx MIDI control [2]
&FFxx Speech system [3]

Implementation

Internal sound system

SOUND &0xxx,volume,pitch,duration

SOUND &1xxx,volume,pitch,duration

The channel number encodes &HSFC where:

  • H: Hold 0 or 1
  • S: Sync 0 to 15, 0 to 3 usually implemented
  • F: Flush 0 or 1
  • C: Channel 0 to 15, 0 to 3 usually implemented

The internal sound system implements 4 channels (1 on the Electron), but extensions can increase the number of supported channels. For example, the Electron Sound Expansion supports four channels, and MIDI redirection can support 16 channels treating each channel as a polyphonic note. Channel 0 is conventionally a 'noise' channel.

The volume, pitch and duration are 8-bit numbers with bit 8 and higher ignored.

Watford Speech

SOUND &20xx,word,library,0

Watford speach commands can be sent with SOUND &2000, which is usually coded as SOUND 8192.

Uncertain if b0-b7 of the channel number is ignore or if the channel is checked for being equal to &2000.

MIDI control

SOUND &FExx,command,note,velocity

MIDI commands can be sent with SOUND &FEFF and SOUND &FEFE which are usually coded as SOUND -257 and SOUND -258.

  • SOUND -258,Command,Note,Velocity - (channel=&FEFE) Send raw MIDI command
  • SOUND -257,Command,Note,Velocity - (channel=&FEFF) Send to current channel

If Command is &0000-&007F it is a MIDI data byte and sent stright to the MIDI system unchanged. This allows extended sequences to be sent, such as MIDI System Exclusives.

If Command is &0080-&00FF it is a MIDI command byte. Command bytes &80-&EF are channel-specific commands. SOUND -258 uses them as supplied, SOUND -257 sends them to the current MIDI channel by adding the current channel to the bottom nybble. So, if the current MIDI channel is 4, SOUND -257,&80... will send to MIDI channel 4 and SOUND -257,&8F will send to MIDI channel 3.

Note and Velocity should be supplied as with bit 7 clear (ie, &00-&7F), though bit 8 and higher are ignored.

Speech system

SOUND &FFxx,command,0,0 The channel number indicates what to do with the command, the command is an 8-bit number with bit 8 and higher ignored.

  • SOUND &FFFx,number,0,0 - speak from PHROM 15-x with word number. From a coding view this is usually written as SOUND -1,n,0,0 to SOUND -16,n,0,0.
  • SOUND &FFBx,address,0,0 - speak from PHROM 15-x from the absolute address.
  • SOUND &FF60,command,0,0 - start sending speech using phoneme 'command.
  • SOUND &FF00,command,0,0 - continue sending speech using phoneme 'command.

Trivia

In the original development of BBC BASIC, the sound command was BEEP which can be seen from the token position for SOUND, alphabetically with other keywords starting with 'B'[4]:

 Originally:   Became:
 D4: BEEP      D4: SOUND
 D5: BPUT      D5: BPUT
 D6: CALL      D6: CALL
 D7: CHAIN     D7: CHAIN
 etc.

References

Jgharston 00:30, 2 January 2008 (UTC)