[Begin errata slip.]
----- IMPORTANT NOTICE! -----
The "pre-recorded data cassette tapes" referred to in the instructions are no
longer going to be made and distributed. Please disregard any game buttons,
instructions, and warranty information relating to the use of such tapes. This
includes the "READ TAPE" buttons designated by the overlay and the reference
material on those buttons which is stored in the "HELP" function of your
cartridge. In your instructions, pages 13 through 16 Are No Longer Applicable.
Specific references to cassette tapes on pages 4 and 36 should also be
disregarded.
Correction on page 7:
Song in Memory (Button #12) -- The Song You Recorded (page 10)
4540-0270
@ Mattel Electronics, Inc. 1983. Hawthorne, CA 90250.
PRINTED IN U.S.A. All Rights Reserved. (L001)
[End errata slip.]
MELODY
BLASTER TM For 1 player
I N S T R U C T I O N S
Intellivision MATTEL ELECTRONICS
USE WITH ANY INTELLIVISION@ MASTER COMPONENT, COMPUTER ADAPTOR, AND
INTELLIVISION@ MUSIC SYNTHESIZER.
[Fake screenshot of a Mattel Electronics title screen. The title is printed
twice.]
Is it a game? Is it educational? Is it a musical instrument? Yes,
it's a musical extravaganza including all three. It's MELODY BLASTER -- a game
of falling notes that you shoot down with lasers activated by a musical
keyboard. At the same time it's educational because as your skills improve
you're learning to play songs like THE ENTERTAINER or even BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH.
Or use MELODY BLASTER as a regular musical keyboard and play up to six notes at
a time. A special feature even allows you to record your own melodies. Create
your own series of notes to blast down!
----- BEFORE YOU BEGIN -----
Insert the game cartridge in the Computer Adaptor. Turn the TV and Master
Component ON. Press [RESET] on the Master Component to get the ECS screen.
[Illustration of a cartridge being inserted into the Computer Adaptor, which is
being inserted into an Intellivision II Master Component.]
[Illustration of the Music Synthesizer being plugged into the Computer
Adaptor.] Press the [disc] on either hand controller and another screen looks
like this:
Press button [2] and an asterisk will appear to the right of "Cartridge." Next
push the [ENTER] button and see the MELODY BLASTER title screen. [Screenshot
of the ECS Main Menu, with the asterisk on the 2 CARTRIDGE line.]
INSERT OVERLAYS
Slide MELODY BLASTER overlays into the Hand Controller frames so they cover the
keypads.
[Illustration of a Melody Blaster left overlay being inserted into an
Intellivision II Hand Controller.]
----- THE GAME -----
[Screenshot of the PLAY RIGHT game in progress. Arrows point to "LASER BEAM,"
"WHOLE NOTES," "STEMMED NOTES," and "RED LINE."]
The object of this game is to score as many points as possible while learning
to play music on a Music Synthesizer. You will hear a song and see a series of
falling nores. Play the keys on the Music Synthesizer keyboard in time with
the song and hit as many notes as you can. The closer the falling notes are to
the red line when you hit them, the more points you score.
The notes to hit are the ones with stems on them. [Stemmed note] The computer
will hit the others. [Whole note] Each note appears directly over a Music
Synthesizer key on the screen.
This lets you know which key to hit on the actual Music Synthesizer keyboard.
The moment you strike a key, a laser beam shoots up and strikes the note. If
you miss, the beam gives you a visual guide to how close you are.
Watch the color of the falling notes to determine which key to strike on the
keyboard. A green note is hit by striking a black key. A note of any other
color is hit by striking a white key.
The name of the song you are playing is at the top of the screen. There are
eleven songs already in the computer's memory, but you can add more with tapes
(sold separately) or you can record your own melody line using the RECORD mode.
----- CHOOSE THE GAME -----
There are seven basic ways to play MELODY BLASTER. Use the left hand
controller to select one of these by pressing the labeled button on the
overlay. More advanced features are covered later.
Computer Plays
The computer plays both hands. In this mode you see where the notes fall for
any song and you hear what the song should sound like when all the notes to
that song are played. The computer shoots down all the notes using laser
beams. None of the notes have stems.
[Close-up screenshot of the game screen with Whole Notes and Stemmed notes
falling onto the keyboard. Below is the caption: "COMPUTER: [Whole note]
YOU: [Stemmed Note]"]
Play Right
The computer plays the left hand notes while you play the right hand notes.
Each stemmed note that you strike at the moment it crosses the red line gives
you another 100 points. Try to shoot down as many notes as possible by playing
the melody with the proper timing between notes.
Play Left
The computer plays the right hand notes this time while you play the left.
Only the left hand notes have stems. The more notes you hit, the higher your
score.
Play All
This time you are on your own. You must play using both hands. All the notes
will have stems, so try to hit them all.
Duet
Play a DUET with your computer by pressing this button. The computer will
sound the melody and will drop stemmed notes. You must play the same melody
AT THE SAME TIME. Use your keyboard to fire the lasers as the computer drops
the notes. If the computer and you play together, you will hit all the notes
perfectly and make beautiful music together.
Play Anything
This mode allows you to play up to six notes at a time. You can play anything
you like and hear it as you play. Let your imagination and musical ear take
you anywhere!
Tap Melody
An easy way to learn a song is to learn the timing first. This button allows
you to find the right rhythm to a song without the skill required to play the
exact notes. Simply press any key on the music keyboard in time with the music
and a laser automatically shoots down and plays the correct melody (right hand)
note. Your timing is all you need to worry about. TAP MELODY works best in
the SLOW!, SLOW, and MED modes.
----- CHOOSE THE SONG -----
Song Buttons
Push any button on the right hand controller and hear a song. Before you begin
select one of these songs:
[Illustration of an Intellivision II Hand Controller with the right overlay
inserted. Arrows point to "Song 1 (Button #1) -- Blaster's Blues," "Song 2
(Button #2) -- Row, Row the Boat," "Song 3 (Button #3) -- When the Saints...,"
"Song 4 (Button #4) -- Chopsticks," "Song 5 (Button #5) -- Birthday Song,"
"Song 6 (Button #6) -- A Bach Fugue," "Song 7 (Button #7) -- Greensleeves,"
"Song 8 (Button #8) -- Jingle Bells," "Song 9 (Button #9) -- Beethoven's
Fifth," "Song 10 (Button #10) -- The Entertainer" (Clear), "Song 11 (Button
#11) -- Twinkle, Twinkle" (0), and "Song in Memory (Button #12) -- The Song You
Recorded (page ?) The Song You Taped (page ?)" (Enter).]
----- CHOOSE THE SPEED -----
Two buttons on the left hand controller allow you to select the speed (tempo)
of the song at any time.
[Close-up illustration of the bottom row of the left overlay.]
[Note]Slower
Each time you press this button, the speed (tempo) of the song slows down.
There are four speeds: SLOW!, SLOW, MED, AND FAST.
[Note]Faster
Each time you press this button, the speed (tempo) of the song will increase.
The same four speeds are possible.
----- GAME BEGINS -----
Now you're ready to start the game. Each selection (CHOOSE GAME, CHOOSE SONG,
CHOOSE SPEED) immediately changes the game which continues until you are
prepared to play it. So whenever you're ready, position your fingers on the
keyboard and press the key directly in line with the falling note just as that
note hits the red line. You score 100 points and hear the note played. If you
hit the note a little above or below the line, you score fewer points. The
score will erase at the end of the song and the song will automatically start
over unless you select another. Press the disc to pause the action or to note
your score at the end of a song.
The TILT feature keeps you from hitting too many keys at once in an attempt to
score more points. If you do, the word TILT will block out your score. You
won't lose any points, but no points may be score while the TILT is blocking
your score.
----- SPECIAL FEATURES -----
There are other special features that you may select using the buttons on the
left hand controller.
[Illustration of an Intellivision II Hand Controller with the left overlay
inserted. Arrows point to "CUT BEGIN" (Top action buttons), "CUT END" (Bottom
action buttons), and "PAUSE" (Disc).]
[Note]Record
This button allows you to record a single melody line (no chords) into memory
and play it back later.
When the memory is filled completely with notes, a "FULL" message will appear.
Press the disc to end the recording and immediately hear the song played back.
Later, in order to hear what you've recorded, press the [MEMORY] button on your
right-hand controller.
You can only play one note at a time into the computer's memory.
Play games with your song just like any other song in the computer's memory,
but PLAY RIGHT and PLAY LEFT modes work the same as the PLAY ALL mode (only
stemmed notes fall). If there isn't a recorded song in memory, a "NONE"
message prints out. The song is erased from the computer's memory when you
turn the unit off.
[Note]Help
Push [HELP] and you will see a quick summary of each button's function on the
hand controllers. Simply press that button once and the summary will appear.
Press [Disc] to return to game.
[Note]Change Tone
This button allows you to alternate between short tones and long tones on any
given melody. Each push of the button changes the sound.
Cut Begin
The "CUT" buttons allow you to cut off part of a song. The music remaining
after you cut repeats until you cut it again or you reselect the complete song.
Press the [CUT BEGIN] button at the point where you want the song to begin
again. When the song reaches its end, it will start over at the point that you
marked by pressing the CUT BEGIN button. To hear the complete song again,
simply press that song button.
Cut End
This button is similar to the "CUT BEGIN" button only it marks a NEW ENDING to
the song. The song now ends the moment you press the [CUT END] button. To
hear the complete song again, simply press that song button. If you cut a song
down to one note or less, an "EMPTY" message will appear.
CUT BEGIN and CUT END allow you to choose a particular part of a song that you
might be having some difficulty with and have just that part repeat over and
over again so that you can practice it.
Pause
The DISC will pause the game at any time. Press the [DISC] again to resume the
game.
Note: You can push any button, anytime and get a response.
[Illustration of a Disc.]
READ TAPE *
Follow these steps to read new songs into memory from a data cassette tape:*
[1] Connect your cassette tape recorder to the ECS module using connector cord.
Each of three plugs is inserted into the proper tape recorder outlets:
earphone, microphone, and remote. (For further instructions, see your
OWNER'S MANUAL.)
[2] Adjust the tone control (if present) to TREBLE.
[3] Adjust the volume control to the middle of its range.
[4] Insert the tape and rewind to the beginning.
[5] Push [PLAY] on your recorder. (Nothing happens since the recorder is now
controlled by the Intellivision Computer.)
[6] Press [READ TAPE] button on your hand controller. "READING" appears on
your screen which indicates that the songs are being fed into the memory of
your Intellivision computer.
[Close-up illustration of the second row of the right overlay.]
* Pre-recorded tapes sold separately. (See enclosed card for details.)
[7] If an "ERROR" or "NO DATA" message replaces the word "READING" the problem
may be improper tape recorder hookup, tone control not fully Treble, volume
control too high or too low, damaged tape or even no tape in your recorder.
Fix the problem and try again by pressing the [READ TAPE] button.
[8] The Intellivision computer will automatically shut the tape recorder off
when the memory is full. Usually 3 to 5 songs fill the computer's memory.
Not all the songs on the tape may fit in the computer's memory at once.
(To stop a tape in the middle of a "READING" press [RESET] or stop the
tape.)
[9] If you press the [READ TAPE] button again, the memory is erased and new
songs (if there are any left on the tape) are read.
[10] Note: You may start the tape at any point you like. For instance, you
may only want to play the last song. Just fast forward your recorder to
the song you want. (Make sure you unplug the remote plug and earphone plug
from your recorder first.) To get to the song you want, count the gaps
between the songs because you will not be able to identify them by hearing
them. You will hear a strange series of sounds instead of music because
the songs are pre-recorded digitally. The gap between the songs may be
identified by relative silence. It is best to start the tape during one
of those gaps so you can read the whole song.
HOW TO PLAY TAPED SONGS
[1] Press [MEMORY] button (button 12). If there is only one song in the
memory, the song automatically plays. If there is more than one song, keep
reading.
[Close-up illustration of the bottom row of the right overlay.]
[2] The following message appears onscreen: TO PLAY SONG, PRESS 1 THRU ___.
The blank may be filled by the number of songs there are in memory.
[3] If the message reads: TO PLAY TAPE SONGS, PRESS [1 THRU 4]. Your
selection should be one of four songs.
[4] Press the numbered button on the right hand controller which corresponds
with the number of the song you want.
[5] Example: If you select song #3 by pressing button [3], the song title
appears at the top of the screen and the computer plays that song for you
until you select another song.
[6] The moment the recorder has read the first song from the tape, you may play
it by pressing the [MEMORY] button. In this case, no message
[Close-up illustration of the top row of the right overlay.]
appears because there is only one song in the memory. The computer will
select it for you and start playing it immediately. The rest of the songs
continue to be read while you play the first song. You can play any game
while the taped songs are being read.
Note: A message will remain onscreen until replaced by another message.
----- ADDITIONAL HINTS -----
[Note] Try recording a melody and then challenging a friend to play it on the
YOU PLAY ALL game. The winner is the one who comes closest to matching the
tune. OR he could challenge you to play his song and compare the score to
the one he got on your song.
[Note] Get some eerie experimental sounds by cutting a melody down to one note
using the CUT END button and then playing over it with your music
synthesizer. Alsotry changing the speed and see what happens.
[Note] Never stop experimenting with your MELODY BLASTER. You'll be surprised
at the number of things you can do with it.
----- THE ABC's OF EASY-PLAY SPEED MUSIC -----
PLAYING THE MELODY
Melodies are made up of NOTES and are played by your right hand on the upper
keyboard, or solo section. Seven letters -- A through G -- repeated over and
over, name every note you'll ever play. They name every key on your keyboard
too. Speed Music makes it easy by using these letters in each note.
[Illustration of a musical staff with a Treble Clef. All the white notes from
F2 through C5 appear in succession on the staff and are mapped to their
respective notes on a piano keyboard.]
SHARPS AND FLATS
In Easy-Play Speed Music, a SHARP (#) tells you to play the very next key to
the right and a FLAT (b) tells you to play the very next key to the left.
These are usually black keys. [Close-up illustration of a piano keyboard. The
letter C appears on Middle C and a white dot appears on the C# note above. The
letter B appears on B3 and a white dot appears on the Bb note above.]
TIME VALUES
In music, time is measured in BEATS. The illustration shows the types of notes
you'll play and how many beats each type gets.
RESTS are shown in the lower part of the illustration, along with the number of
beats each type gets. A rest indicates a period of silence, when you don't
play. However, rests still must be counted.
[Illustration of two musical staffs, one above the other, each with Treble
Clefs. First on the top staff is a quarter note on A3, labeled "A", with an
arrow labeled "1" pointing to it. In the same place on the staff below is a
quarter rest, where another arrow with the same label points down to it.
Next on the staff is a half note, also on A3, labeled "A", with an arrow
labeled "2" pointing to it. In the same place on the staff below is a half
rest, where another arrow with the same label points down to it. After that
on the top staff is a dotted quarter note, again on A3, labeled "A", with an
arrow labeled "3" pointing to it. Nothing appears here in the bottom staff.
After the dotted half note is a whole note, again on A3, labeled "A", with
an arrow labeled "4" pointing to it. In the same place on the staff below is a
whole rest, where another arrow with the same label points down to it.
Next is an eighth note on A3, labeled "A", with an arrow labeled "1/2"
pointing to it. In the same place on the staff below is an eighth rest, where
another arrow with the same label points down to it. After the eighth note are
two connected eighth notes, also labeled "A", with arrows labeled "1/2"
pointing to it. In the same place on the staff below are two eighth rests,
where other arrows with the same labels point down to each.]
THE STAFF, MEASURES
AND BAR LINES
The STAFF consists of five lines and four spaces and each is named with one of
the letters A through G. Any note that appears on one of the lines or in one
of the spaces is called by that letter-name.
The S-shaped symbol at the beginning of the staff is called the TREBLE CLEF and
tells you all the notes that follow are to be played by your right hand.
The staff is divided into equal sections by using vertical lines called BAR
LINES. The sections between the bar lines are called MEASURES.
[Illustration of a musical staff with a treble clef and two barlines.]
TIME SIGNATURE
The two numbers at the beginning of a song are known as the TIMS SIGNATURE.
The top number indicates the number of beats in each measure. The bottom
number 4 tells you each quarter note ([Quarter note]) receives one beat.
[Illustration of two musical staffs, each with a treble clef. The first has a
3/4 time signature and three quarter notes on E3 which are mistakenly labeled
"F". Arrows point from above at each note, and below the notes are labeled
"1", "2", and "3" with respect to their beat counts.
The second staff has a 4/4 time signature and four quarter notes on E3
which are also mistakenly labeled "F". Again, arrows point from above at each
note, and below the notes are labeled "1", "2", "3", and "4" with respect to
their beat counts.]
TIES
A TIE is a curved line connecting notes on the same line or in the same space.
It indicates the first note is struck and then held for the total time value of
the tied notes.
[Illustration of a musical staff with a treble clef and 3/4 time signature and
two measures. In the first measure is a dotted half note on E3 which is
labeled "E" and is slurred, or tied, to another dotted half note in the second
measure. Below the first note is the caption "3 + ..." and below the second
note is the caption "... 3 = 6."]
|: REPEAT SIGNS :| AND DOUBLE ENDINGS
These tell you to play certain parts of a song more than once. If a song has
more than one set of lyrics, you'll generally see repeat signs.
Sometimes a repeated song, or part of a song, has two different endings. In
these cases, DOUBLE ENDINGS are used.
[Illustration of a musical staff with repeat signs extending from the beginning
to roughly two-thirds of the staff. A continuous arrow below points from the
beginning, right to the repeat sign, back to the beginning repeat sign, then
right again to the end. Below are the captions "Play once through to sign. Go
back to other sign or beginning of song and play a second time." and "If more
music -- keep going."]
[Illustration of a musical staff with a double ending. A continuous arrow
below points from the beginning, right to the repeat sign, back to the
beginning repeat sign, then right to the beginning of the first ending. It
skips over the first ending now and goes to the second ending, then continues
to the end. Below are the captions "Play first time using first ending. Go
back to other sign or beginning. Play second time --," "(skip first ending),"
and "play second ending. If more music, keep going."]
PLAYING THE ACCOMPANIMENT
Accompaniment consists of CHORDS, indicated by CHORD SYMBOLS in your music:
[C] [G] 7.
Generally, there are three ways to play chords: One finger, traditional or
three-note Easy-Play chords. Your owner's guide can help you decide which
methods your keyboard is capable of. Be sure to try them all.
N.C. tells you "No Chord" is played -- just the right-hand melody.
SUBSTITUTE CHORDS appear in brackets [ ] to the right of a chord symbol -- use
whichever sounds best to you.
Like substitutes, OPTIONAL CHORDS are up to your taste and preference. They're
not necessary to the song but they do make the accompaniment more interesting.
These are the SMALL chord symbols that appear above the melody. The small 7
that appears to the right of certain chords indicates another form of optional
chord. A seventh is a fuller-sounding chord. However, they are not necessary
-- it's a matter of personal taste.
[Sheet music for "BLASTER'S BLUES," "ROW, ROW THE BOAT," "WHEN THE SAINTS...,"
"CHOPSTICKS," "BIRTHDAY SONG," "A BACH FUGUE," "GREENSLEEVES," "JINGLE BELLS,"
"BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH," "TWINKLE, TWINKLE," and "THE ENTERTAINER."]
----- 90 DAY LIMITED WARRANTY -----
Matterl Electronics wrrants to the original consumer purchaser of any cartridge
or cassette it manufactures that the product will be free of defects in
material or workmanship for 90 days from the date of purchase. If defective,
return the product along with proof of the date-of-purchase to either your
local dealer or, postage prepaid to:
Mattel Electronics Service Center (EAST)
10 Abeel Road
Cranbury, New Jersey 08512
Mattel Electronics Service Center (WEST)
13040 East Temple Avenue
City of Industry, California 91746
for repair or replacement. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and
you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. This warranty
does not cover damage resulting from accident, misuse or abuse.
FOR COLOR TV VIEWING ONLY
----- Intellivision MATTEL ELECTRONICS -----
@ Mattel Electronics, Inc. 1983. Hawthorne, CA 90250
PRINTED IN U.S.A. All Rights Reserved. L001 4540-0920