Musician

The Good
Musician is one of the first music-based programs that turns your home system into a musical keyboard. Unlike others of its kind, it is quite special as well. It comes with an overlay owners of the program are encouraged to slip over their normal keyboard. The overlay is similar to those musical keyboards for children. It only has 16 keys, but the only difference is the symbols above, which the well-designed, landscape-oriented manual refers to.

The program allows you to record and playback your own masterpieces of up to 81 notes. As soon as you enter each key, a note is displayed on the screen as bass and treble staves, and the note’s name appears at the top of the screen. As you create your own masterpieces, you will recognize the note and its correct pitch. You can also edit the notes if you dislike your composition. I like how the notes scroll left if your piece contains more than four, rather than just blanking the line. I also like the built-in metronome, which helps you keep track of time. It is set at 90 beats per minute, but this can be adjusted from 20 to 199.

The manual is quite detailed and is worth a read before composition. It comprises important topics such as recording, editing, playback, and transposing. A glossary is also included. In between the instructions are songs you can key in, including “This Old Man”, “Brother Jacob”, “The Entertainer”, and “Merrily We Roll Along”. Even if you don’t feel like composing tunes, built-in demos are available to listen to.

The Bad
I can find no faults.

The Bottom Line
Videopac Cartridge 31 is a good music program, nothing more. The overlay is a nice touch; just make sure to slip it on the keyboard before using the program, otherwise you have no idea where the symbols are if you’re looking in the manual. The demos and metronome are excellent. If you have a Videopac and like to compose your own music, you should check this one out.