''Will Harvey's Music Construction Set'' (''MCS'') is a music composition notation program designed by Will Harvey for the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-mold ...

and published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted th ...

in 1983. Harvey wrote the original Apple II version in assembly language when he was 15 and in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. ''MCS'' was conceived as a tool to add music to his previously published game, an abstract shooter called ''Lancaster'' for the Apple II. ''Music Construction Set'' was ported to the

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE ...

, Commodore 64,

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a tea ...

(as a booter), and the Atari ST. Two years later, in 1986, Will Harvey released a port for the 16-bit

Apple IIGS The Apple IIGS (styled as II), the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family, is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. While featuring the Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari S ...

, utilizing its advanced sound. Also that year, a redesigned version for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

and

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...

was released as '' Deluxe Music Construction Set''.

Overview

With ''MCS'', a user can create musical composition via a

graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows User (computing), users to Human–computer interaction, interact with electronic devices through graphical icon (comp ...

, a novel concept at the time of its release. Users can drag and drop notes right onto the staff, play back their creations through the computer's speakers, and print them out. The program comes with a few popular songs as samples. Most versions of this program require the users to use a

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

to create their songs, note by note. The original Apple II version supports the Mockingboard

expansion card In computing, an expansion card (also called an expansion board, adapter card, peripheral card or accessory card) is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot (also referred to as a bus sl ...

for higher fidelity sound output. In addition, use of the Mockingboard allows the musical staff to scroll along with the music as notes are played. Without it, the Apple II can't update the display while playback is in progress.

Ports

Electronic Arts ported ''MCS'' from the original Apple II version to the

, and the Commodore 64. The Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 versions use the multi-channel audio hardware of those systems. The

version allows output audio via the IBM PC Model 5150's cassette port, so 4-voice music can be sent to a

stereo system Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

. It also takes advantage of the 3-voice sound chip built into the IBM PCjr and Tandy 1000. The Apple IIGS version was done by the original programmer, Will Harvey, in 1986. This port takes advantage of the built-in

Ensoniq Ensoniq Corp. was an American electronics manufacturer, best known throughout the mid-1980s and 1990s for its musical instruments, principally samplers and synthesizers. Company history In spring 1983, former MOS Technology engineers Robe ...

wavetable

sample-based synthesizer Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be contrasted to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. The principal difference with sample-based synthesis is that the seed waveforms are sampled sounds or instruments i ...

, offering over thirty instruments to choose from (sixteen are digitized and thus realistic sounding), however only two instruments can be selected per song. It supports up to 15 simultaneous voices, stereo audio and MIDI-output. A port of Deluxe Music Construction was also written, scheduled to be in stores by late 1987, but never released. The version of ''Music Construction Set'' for the Atari ST is not a port and shares no source code with the original versions. It was written by Richard J. Plom for Intersect Software Corporation under the name ''The Orchestrator''. It was acquired from Intersect Software by Electronic Arts and rebranded ''Music Construction Set'' in 1987. The Atari ST version is the first version to have supported the new MIDI standard, with this computer's built-in MIDI hardware. The program was completely redesigned for the

and

and renamed '' Deluxe Music Construction Set''. This version has more features, including lyrics and support for IFF SMUS files.

Reception

''II Computing'' listed ''Music Construction Set'' third on the magazine's list of top Apple II education software as of late 1985, based on sales and market-share data. ''Music Construction Set'' sold over a million units. '' Ahoy!'' stated that despite some limitations, ''Music Construction Set'' for the Commodore 64 "will aid both experienced songwriters and dedicated novices alike. It's a powerful music processor and a joy to use".

Overview

Ports

Reception

See also