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           G   U   I   T   A   R      S   C   A   N   N   E   R        V 2.1
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                   The study tool for stringed instruments


   
    I N D E X
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    1. DESCRIPTION
    2. SYSTEM REQUERIMENTS
    3. DEMO VERSION 
    4. FULL VERSION AND CONTACT INFORMATION

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    1. DESCRIPTION       
    

    The huble major scale (in a 15-fret guitar), yields more than 44.000
    fingerings, and a simple major chord about 7.000. How then could you
    accomplish the study of this subjects?

    GUITAR SCANNER is a true finder of scales, chords and arpeggios fin-
    gerings. It's not a fingering diccionary, nor a book, neither a chord
    guide. It generates all fingerings at real time, by means of a fractal
    search method which obtains ABSOLUTELY ALL possible fingerings of ANY
    scale, chord or arpeggio.
    
    But its inherent potency consists not only in this, but in its capacity
    to "filter" this combinatorial complexity through stringed instruments
    concepts. By that the fingerings can be organized in order to study them
    from different viewpoints, be related among them, or be adapted to the 
    level of the musician.

    In spite of its name, GUITAR SCANNER can be adapted to any kind of
    stringed instrument, from 3 to 9 strings in any tuning.

    Here are some of the its characteristics:

    -   It works in any stringed instrument from 3 to 9 strings, in any intonation.
     	It provides the configurations for 30 string instruments, as well as
     	alternative intonations for many of them.

    -   It is not limited to any file of formulas. Any scale, chord or arpeggio
	can be found out with this program.
     	Anyhow, 130 scale formulas, and 37 chord types are provided, with each
     	its file, which can be expanded and edited by the user.

    -   Search for chords through obligated string patterns, with control of
     	the inversion of the chords, and the repetition and/or omission of no-
     	tes.

    -   Functions which give you the total control over the practicability of
     	the obtained chord fingerings. You can fix the number of fingers you
     	need to play the fingering, as well as the number of allowed barres.
     	The range for the number of fingers starts with 1 finger (useful for
     	persons who have a physical handicap, or investigaters of the "slide")
     	and continues until 9 fingers (for people who practise "tapping")

    -   Search for chords taking into account the open strings (fret 0), which
     	allows to get fingerings of great sonority, oriented to specific tona-
     	lities.

    -   Search for chords through an adjoining strings range, which enables to get
     	and organize the totality of possible fingerings of any chord.

    -   2 methods to obtain scales and arpeggios.

        > The VERTICAL method, oriented to obtain vertical fingerings, limited
          by a top number of frets, in order to minimize the movements of the
          hand which plays the scale or arpeggio.
	  For high values of the fret width, this method provides a system to
	  "humanize" the obtained fingerings, in order to get confortable long-run
	  fingerings.

        > The NOTES PER STRING method allows to fix the number of notes
          which each string should have. This makes the work of the hand which
          presses the strings easier, because the obtained fingerings are sub-
          dued to a regular cycle. 

    -   Connection of 2 or more scale or arpeggio fingerings in one.

    -   Management of study pages, which allows to mix diagrams from the 3
        work modes (scales, chords and arppegios), and to edit text.
 
    -   Orientation of the diagrams is totally configurable (6 orientations).

    -   Available in 3 languages: english, spanish and catalan.

    None of the obtained fingerings is registrated in any place. All of them
    are found at once by the program. The type of chords and scales to search
    for, are not limited by the formula files (which can be expanded and edi-
    ted). The user can invent a new chord or a new scale, and search for its
    convenient fingerings.

    This program is directed to instrument players of all levels, but first
    of all to these who have planned seriously to get knowledge about their
    instruments.

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    2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 

    - This is a DOS program. Needed version 3.0 or higher.
    - Minimum processor	386 (higher recommended)
    - 4 Mb. RAM
    - Does not need sound card.	     	

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    3. DEMO VERSION

    The DEMO version of GUITAR SCANNER is limited in the following functions:

    - Printing functions are disabled. Only the guide can be printed.    
    - The scale and chord types databases can't be edited.
    - Only the C major chord, the C major scale and the C major arpeggio can 
      be searched.                    
    
    This last thing could seem very restrictive, but it's enough to obtain 
    thousands of fingerings, and to get used to a clear idea of what
    GUITAR SCANNER can do.                           
 
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    4. FULL VERSION AND CONTACT INFORMATION    


    The full version of GUITAR SCANNER costs $51 and can be downloaded from
    http://teleline.terra.es/personal/mar_ram
    
    For further information write us to mar_ram@teleline.es

    Thought up and programed by Mario Vazquez (c) 1999