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Main Window
The Main Window is the central workspace of Shakuhachi Assistant, a shakuhachi notation editor and sequencer.
It provides the tools needed to create, edit, play, print, and manage Shakuhachi Songs. The application supports musical notation, multiple tracks, MIDI playback, and shakuhachi-specific articulations.
The main window consists of several areas:
| Area | Description |
|---|---|
| Menu Bar | Access to all application commands |
| Top Toolbar | Frequently used file, editing, and playback commands |
| Notes Toolbar | Note lengths, octaves, articulations, and note entry |
| Score Area | Displays and allows editing of the current song |
| Virtual Shakuhachi | Provides an instrument-based interface for entering notes |
| Status Bar | Displays track, notation, tempo, position, and page information |
The visibility of some interface elements can be changed through the View menu or application preferences.
The File menu contains commands for creating, opening, saving, importing, exporting, and printing songs.
Shortcut: Ctrl+N
Creates a new Shakuhachi Song.
Use this command to begin a new composition or arrangement.
Shortcut: Ctrl+O
Opens an existing Shakuhachi Song from disk.
Shortcut: Ctrl+S
Saves the current song.
If the song has not yet been saved, the application prompts for a filename.
Saves the current song under a different filename or location.
Use this command to create a separate copy of a composition.
The Import submenu provides:
- MIDI... — Import a MIDI file into the application.
Importing MIDI allows you to work with musical material created in other applications.
The Export submenu provides two MIDI export commands:
- Current Track to MIDI... — Export the selected track to a MIDI file.
- All Tracks to MIDI... — Export the song's tracks to a MIDI file.
These commands allow compositions to be used with other MIDI-compatible software.
Opens the page setup dialog to configure printing parameters.
Displays a preview of how the score will appear when printed.
Opens the printing dialog.
Shortcut: Alt+F4
Closes Shakuhachi Assistant.
If the current song contains unsaved changes, the application may prompt you to save them.
The Edit menu contains commands for modifying notes and musical structure.
| Command | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Undo | Ctrl+Z |
Reverses the previous editing action |
| Redo | Ctrl+Y |
Reapplies an undone action |
| Command | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cut | Ctrl+X |
Removes selected notes and copies them to the clipboard |
| Copy | Ctrl+C |
Copies selected notes |
| Paste | Ctrl+V |
Inserts copied notes |
Shortcut: Delete
Deletes the selected notes.
Shortcut: Ctrl+A
Selects all notes in the current editing context.
Opens the editing protocol, which provides information about recorded editing operations.
Combines selected notes using the application's tie-note operation.
This can be useful when working with connected note durations.
The Time Signature submenu provides:
- Insert... — Insert a time signature change.
- Delete — Remove a time signature change.
Applies grace-note notation to the selected musical material.
The Tempo Map submenu provides:
- Insert Tempo Change...
- Insert Linear Tempo Change...
- Delete Tempo Change
Use these commands to define tempo variations within a composition.
Opens the dynamics dialog for configuring dynamic markings or playback dynamics.
Provides a notation-related preference for the treatment of repeated notes.
Adds or removes a breath mark.
Breath marks indicate where the performer should take a breath.
Applies the Suru articulation or notation option.
Applies the Oh Kari notation option.
Opens the remarks editor for the selected musical material.
Opens the Song Properties dialog.
This dialog allows you to edit:
- Title, author, and description
- Version information
- Layout settings
- Tempo and time signature information
- Song statistics
See Song Properties (DialogPiece).
Opens the Track Properties dialog for the current track.
It provides settings for:
- MIDI instrument
- Track name
- Volume
- Pan
- Reverb
- Transposition
- Shakuhachi playback effects
See Track Properties (DialogTrack).
Toggles the note insertion mode.
Use this option to control how new notes are inserted into the score.
The View menu controls notation appearance, navigation, and the visibility of interface components.
Opens the notation selection dialog.
Use this command to select or change the notation system used for the current track.
The following zoom commands are available:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| Zoom In | Enlarges the score |
| Zoom Out | Reduces the score |
| Moderate Size | Restores a moderate display size |
| Full Page Size | Adjusts the view to display a complete page |
| Command | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| First Page | Ctrl+Left |
| Last Page | Ctrl+Right |
| Previous Page | Ctrl+Up |
| Next Page | Ctrl+Down |
These commands allow you to navigate through multi-page compositions.
Enables or disables the current track.
A disabled track does not participate in normal playback.
Shows or hides the main toolbar.
Shows or hides the note editing toolbar.
Shows or hides the virtual shakuhachi interface.
Toggles the display of Western musical notation.
This provides an alternative representation alongside the shakuhachi notation.
Switches between the application's light and dark appearance.
The Player menu provides playback controls.
Shortcut: Ctrl+Space
Starts playback using the selected playback mode.
Available playback modes include:
| Playback Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Play From Beginning | Plays the song from the beginning |
| Play Selection | Plays the selected musical passage |
| Play Current Page | Plays the current page |
| Play From Current Position | Starts playback at the current position |
Shortcut: Ctrl+End
Stops playback.
Enables or disables repeated playback.
This is particularly useful when practicing a selected musical passage.
The Tools menu contains additional utilities and configuration commands.
The metronome provides two independently configurable beat types:
- Down Beat
- Up Beat
These can be enabled or disabled separately.
The metronome settings, including sound and volume, are configured in application preferences.
The Favorites submenu provides:
- Add... — Add an entry to the favorites collection.
- Organize — Manage existing favorites.
Favorites provide convenient access to frequently used items.
Opens the application preferences dialog.
Available settings include:
- General application behavior
- Playback style
- Notation layout
- Metronome settings
- Notation conventions
- Default song templates
See Preferences (DialogPrefs).
The Help menu provides information and documentation.
Shortcut: Ctrl+F1
Opens the user guide.
Displays the application's license agreement.
Displays information about Shakuhachi Assistant.
The top toolbar provides quick access to frequently used commands.
| Button | Function |
|---|---|
| New | Create a new song |
| Open | Open an existing song |
| Save | Save the current song |
| Cut | Cut selected notes |
| Copy | Copy selected notes |
| Paste | Paste notes |
| Delete | Delete selected notes |
| Undo | Undo an editing operation |
| Redo | Redo an editing operation |
| Zoom In | Enlarge the score |
| Zoom Out | Reduce the score |
| Options | Open application preferences |
| Song | Open Song Properties |
| Start | Start or stop playback |
| Repeat | Toggle repeated playback |
The toolbar can be shown or hidden through View > Show Top Toolstrip.
The notes toolbar provides controls for entering and editing musical notation.
Select the duration of notes.
The available note lengths include:
- Whole note (
1/1) - Half note (
1/2) - Quarter note (
1/4) - Eighth note (
1/8) - Sixteenth note (
1/16) - Thirty-second note (
1/32)
Dotted and combined durations are also available, including:
1/2 + 1/4 + 1/81/2 + 1/41/2 + 1/81/4 + 1/81/8 + 1/161/16 + 1/32
The octave control allows you to choose between shakuhachi registers, including:
- Otsu — Lower register
- Kan — Higher register
Toggles the breath mark for the selected note.
Notes can be entered and edited using the score interface and the virtual shakuhachi.
The selected note length and octave affect note entry.
The score area is the main editing workspace.
It displays the notation for the current song and allows you to interact with notes.
Click a note to select it.
The application also supports keyboard-based selection and editing operations.
Depending on the selected note and editing mode, you can:
- Change note pitch
- Change note duration
- Change octave
- Insert notes
- Delete notes
- Cut, copy, and paste notes
- Add articulations
- Add breath marks
- Add remarks
Right-clicking in the score provides access to editing commands.
The context menu includes operations such as:
- Play From Current Position
- Cut, Copy, and Paste
- Delete
- Select All
- Transpose
- Tie Notes
- Time Signature
- Grace Note
- Tempo Map
- Dynamics
- Breath Mark
- Suru
- Oh Kari
- Remarks
The availability of individual commands depends on the current selection and editing context.
The virtual shakuhachi provides an instrument-oriented interface for interacting with notes.
It can be shown or hidden through:
View > Show Virtual Shakuhachi
The interface supports note entry using the shakuhachi's fingering-oriented representation.
This can be useful for users who prefer working directly with the instrument rather than selecting notation symbols from menus.
Shakuhachi Assistant supports multiple tracks.
The current track can be selected using the track selector in the main window.
Each track can have its own properties, including:
- Name
- MIDI instrument
- Volume
- Stereo position
- Reverb
- Transposition
- Shakuhachi-specific playback settings
Use Edit > Track Properties to configure the selected track.
See Track Properties (DialogTrack).
The status bar displays information about the current editing and playback context.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Track | Current track |
| Notation | Current notation system |
| Tempo | Current tempo |
| Position | Current position in the song |
| Page | Current page |
Some status bar fields can also be used to access related functions.
The following shortcuts are available in the main window.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+N |
New song |
Ctrl+O |
Open song |
Ctrl+S |
Save song |
Ctrl+Z |
Undo |
Ctrl+Y |
Redo |
Ctrl+X |
Cut |
Ctrl+C |
Copy |
Ctrl+V |
Paste |
Ctrl+A |
Select All |
Delete |
Delete selected notes |
Ctrl+Space |
Start playback |
Ctrl+End |
Stop playback |
Space |
Start/stop playback using the toolbar command |
Ctrl+Left |
First page |
Ctrl+Right |
Last page |
Ctrl+Up |
Previous page |
Ctrl+Down |
Next page |
Ctrl+F1 |
User Guide |
Alt+F4 |
Exit |
- Select File > New.
- Open Song Properties to enter the title, author, and description.
- Select the desired notation system.
- Configure the track instrument and playback settings.
- Select a note length and octave.
- Enter notes using the score editor or virtual shakuhachi.
- Adjust tempo and dynamics as required.
- Use the player to listen to the composition.
- Save the song using File > Save.
- Select File > Open.
- Choose the song to edit.
- Navigate to the desired page.
- Select notes in the score.
- Use the editing commands to modify the notation.
- Preview playback.
- Save your changes.
- Open the song.
- Select the desired track if exporting only one track.
- Open File > Export.
- Choose Current Track to MIDI... or All Tracks to MIDI....
- Select the destination filename.
- Confirm the export.
- Open the song.
- Select File > Page Setup to configure printing.
- Select File > Print Preview to inspect the layout.
- Adjust the score layout or zoom as needed.
- Select File > Print.
- Use Ctrl+S regularly to save your work.
- Use Undo and Redo when experimenting with notation.
- Enable Show Western Notation when comparing shakuhachi and Western notation.
- Use Loop to practice difficult passages repeatedly.
- Use Track Properties to balance the playback of multiple instruments.
- Use Song Properties to keep composition metadata organized.
- Use Dark Mode for an alternative display appearance.
- Use the Favorites menu for convenient access to frequently used items.
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