Chimes and Colors Windows

The Chimes and the Colors windows are both devices to visualize the instrumental sounds SonicMood produces. How to display and modify them is covered below.

Chimes Window

The chimes window contains a moving simulation of wind chimes consisting of 6 metal tubes suspended from a wooden top. While not perfect, the chimes do move as if blown by the wind with the notes and chime movements synchronized. As the musical note volume varies the chime motion varies too, becoming more active as louder, faster notes sound.

Select "Chimes" (⌘4) from the "Window" menu or add the "Chimes" button to the SonicMood toolbar and click it to open the Chimes window. Close the Chimes window by clicking its "close box," selecting "Chimes" again from the "Window" menu, or clicking the "Chimes" button again. You can also show/hide the Chimes window by control-clicking on the SonicMood icon in the Dock and selecting "Chimes Window."

You can move the Chimes window by dragging any part of the window except the lower right corner. Resize the window by dragging the "resize tab" at the lower right corner. Drag the tab to the new size and release.

Preference Settings
Changes to the look and behavior of the chimes and chimes window are made on the "Misc" page of the "Preferences" window (⌘,).

The overall magnitude of the chime motion can be increased or decreased by changing the "Chime Motion Intensity" slider. The setting ranges from very little motion (Horse Latitudes) to lots of motion (Hurricane Alley).

"Chime Arrangement" puts the chime tubes in a row (largest to smallest) or a circle, with appropriate chime tops.

Related information can be found in the "Preferences" Help topic.

Colors Window

The "Colors Window" is like the Chimes window in that it provides a visual representation of the notes SonicMood plays. Each colored bar corresponds to a note that's sounding; its hue, saturation, and intensity related to the note's pitch, duration, and velocity.

To show the Colors Window select "Colors" (⌘5) from the "Window" menu or click the button with the colored bars on the SonicMood window's toolbar (if it's been added). Close the window by clicking on its close box, re-selecting the menu item, or pressing the button again.

When you resize the Colors Window's height, the color bars will become thicker or thinner depending on the new height. If you change Moods or otherwise change the number of notes, the window will resize itself to accommodate the new number of color bars (remember, one for each note).

Like most of SonicMood's windows, you can drag the Colors Window around by click-dragging anywhere in the window that doesn't contain a control (slider, etc.; which for this window is anywhere) - not just the title bar. The last window position and size will be remembered and used when the window is opened again.