Guidance needed in learning Scala

Hi all,

I've finally bitten the bullet, installed Scala, and begun trying it out.

Challenge #1:
----------------
I've spent a few hours in the last two days starting to get to grips with
Scala. I've worked my way through the tutorial. This, one might fairly
assume, is intended for Scala-neophytes to get their feet wet with. As
such, it may be the only software introduction available for musicians
who want to learn about alternative tunings. I was astounded by the
depth of my ignorance! There are so many terms I had not yet seen - in
over a month on the tuning and tuning-math lists, and with much research
following the links in messages on those lists - that I fear they would
frighten off any but the stoutest heart ... After all, we're there to make
music, right? - rather than learn heaps of esoteric jargon ... With Scala
as an introduction, alternate tunings would seem to present, not just a
steep learning curve, but an almost insurmountable barrier. Don't get me
wrong; I'm sure Scala is competently written and reliable software - it's
just that I was hoping for a gentler introduction.

Is there an easier way to get into using Scala than thru the tutorial?

I'd love to find such a way. Potentially, I'll be able to interest many
other
musicians, through the Music SIG of the Melbourne PC User Group, in
exploring alternate tunings - but not if the means at hand seem to require
a couple of degrees in musicology and maths ... 8-o. I've actually stuck
my
neck out, and promised to present some of this stuff within the next two
months. (How wonderfully the news of one's imminent demise focuses the
brain ... !)

Challenge #2:
----------------
So far, I've had no luck in SENDing a tuning to my Roland E-28, a GS
instrument, using either SET SYNTH 107 or SET SYNTH 109. This is
rather puzzling ... I'm _dying_ to hear some of the scales I've been cooking
up!

Can anyone help me please? Undying musical gratitude will be your reward,
even a dedication of the first Scala .seq files notating my newly-liberated
compositions ... :-o

Regards,
Yahya

------------------------------------------------
Yahya Abdal-Aziz
Yahya@MelbPC.Org.Au
Melbourne PC User Group
Convener, Music Interest Group
------------------------------------------------
PS - MelbPC (the Melbourne PC User Group) has about 12,000 _current_
members.

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--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Yahya Abdal-Aziz" <yahya@m...> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I've finally bitten the bullet, installed Scala, and begun trying it
out.
>
> Challenge #1:
> ----------------
> I've spent a few hours in the last two days starting to get to grips
with
> Scala. I've worked my way through the tutorial. ...
>
> Is there an easier way to get into using Scala than thru the tutorial?

Look for a file called "dummies.txt" in the directory or folder where
you installed scala.exe. This is a gentle introduction by Joseph
Pehrson, with addenda by Robert Walker and Manuel.

--George

George,

You wrote:
________________________________________________________________________
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2005 17:40:26 -0000
From: "George D. Secor" <gdsecor@...>

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Yahya Abdal-Aziz" <yahya@m...> wrote:
...
> Is there an easier way to get into using Scala than thru the tutorial?

Look for a file called "dummies.txt" in the directory or folder where
you installed scala.exe. This is a gentle introduction by Joseph
Pehrson, with addenda by Robert Walker and Manuel.
________________________________________________________________________

Thanks heaps! :-)

Regards,
Yahya

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