Post by eataninja on Aug 6, 2011 11:18:53 GMT -6
Hello and welcome to the Mario Paint Hangout 
. You may have come here in search of information about Mario Paint Composer. This FAQ should answer any basic questions you have about the program. If, for whatever reason, there is a question not represented on this FAQ, let me know and I will gladly add it. DO NOT ASK A QUESTION THAT IS ALREADY ANSWERED ON HERE. Thank you and enjoy your time here on these forums
1. What is Mario Paint Composer?
Mario Paint Composer is a freeware program that expands on the capabilities of the composer in the SNES game Mario Paint. It has gained a cult following on YouTube, with several compositions garnering over a million views. It's very user-friendly, and you learn how to use it fast. You'll be making compositions on the level of the greats in no time.
2. How do I get Mario Paint Composer?
unfungames.com/mariopaint/. Just click the down load button and extract the files from the folder, and you're set.
3. How do I place a note?
Click on the instrument you want to use at the top of the screen. The area under the instrument bar represents a musical staff, ranging from A3 to C5. (If you don't know how to read music, I would suggest you take a crash course before you use this program). Left click on the part of the staff that corresponds to the note you want to place. For instance, if you want to place an E3 note, left click on the bottom-most black line on the staff.
4. How do I make a flat or a sharp?
Control-click for flats, shift-click for sharps
5. How do I erase a note?
You can press the eraser button at the bottom of the screen, or you can right click on a note to erase it
6. What do the vertical lines mean?
The yellow vertical lines represent measures. The blue vertical lines represent subdivisions within the measure. Depending on the tempo that you use, the yellow lines can represent everything from whole notes to sixteenth notes, with the blue lines representing that subdivision times four (eg. if the yellow bars are quarter notes, then the blue bars are sixteenth notes). Read below for more information and for some clarification.
7. How does the tempo bar work?
Remember what I said above. The tempo bar is what makes those subdivisions click. Basically, depending on what subdivisions you need in your song (if the fastest note you need is a sixteenth note for instance), then you would multiply the tempo of the song by four. To clarify:
Tempo X1 - Yellow bars are whole notes, blue bars are quarter notes
Tempo x2 - Yellow bars are half notes, blue bars are eighth notes
Tempo X3 - Yellow bars are quarter notes, blue bars are sixteenth notes
Tempo x4 - Yellow bars are eighth notes, blue bars are thirty second notes
Tempo x5 - Yellow bars are sixteenth notes, blue bars are sixty fourth notes
The slider only brings the tempo to about 350. To reach higher tempos, hold the + button next to the slider until you reach the desired tempo.
8. What do the 3/4 and 4/4 buttons do
The 3/4 button decreases the number of subdivisions within each measure from 3 to 2, effectively creating a 3/4 measure. It's rarely used, so don't worry about it too much.
9. What do the loop and rewind buttons do?
The loop button loops the file back to the beginning when it finishes. It's often used for short, one-file songs. The rewind button rewinds the file back to beginning, so you don't have to do it manually.
10. How does the Arranger work?
The arranger allows you to string files together to make a full-fledged song. Load up the file you want to add under the song tab and click "Add File" on the arranger tab. Repeat as many times as you need to. If you make a mistake, use the "Delete File" button to remove the file from the arrangement, or use the "Move Up/Move Down" buttons to change the location of the highlighted file.
11. What do the green bars do?
The green bars modify the volume of all the placed notes on a single line. Move the bars up to increase the volume of all notes on the line. Move the bars down to decrease the volume of all notes on the line.
12. What is the low A glitch?
The low A glitch allows you to shorten a note without decreasing its volume. On an EMPTY LINE, click on the border between the green volume bars and the staff. When a note of that instrument reaches the glitched note, it will abruptly cut off. The note has to be placed on an empty line to work, but you can place notes after a glitched note is placed. You can put multiple glitch notes on one line.
13. What is dickspeed?
In Mario Paint Composer, you can only place up to five notes on a line. To get around this limitation, you can multiply the tempo by 16 and place any excess notes on the line before or after the "main" line. Look at some of the videos I mention below for a better example of this.
14. What are echoes?
To echo a note, place two notes of the same instrument an eighth or sixteenth beat away from each other. Lower the volume of the second note. This creates an "echo" effect, useful for lengthening the value of a note.
15. What are soundfonts?
Soundfonts are sets of new sounds custom made for the Mario Paint Composer engine. A host of soundfonts can be found here: mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=soundfonts. A soundfont manager can be found here: (can someone link me to Cat's manager? I can't find it lol)
16. What are tempo gaps?
Basically, at a certain point in Mario Paint Composer's coding, there are large areas where tempo doesn't seem to increase. At a certain "breaking point", the tempo will suddenly increase to where it SHOULD be at. Read more here: mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=mods&action=display&thread=183
17. What is Mario Paint Composer v1?
This was the version of MPC before v2 came out. It has no piranha/boo/shyguy/coin, and no arranger feature. Download it here:
mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=download&action=display&thread=3127
18. What is Mario Paint/Mario Sequencer?
Mario sequencer is a simulator of the original Mario Paint. There are no sharps and flats, a 32 measure limit, no dickspeed, and three notes on a line. Notes will also cut off when another note is played. Download it here: 778.jugem.jp/?eid=93
19. What is Triple Mario Sequencer?
A version of Mario Sequencer with THREE separate staves, allowing for nine notes per line. Download it here: mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=download&action=display&thread=2934
20. What is Advanced Mario Sequencer?
A project by Ford Prefect that adds improvements to the original Mario Paint Composer program. Find out more about it here: flyx.org/projects/ams
21. How can I record my work?
Camstudio and Debut are two good free screen recorders. If you can't set up to record without a microphone, refer to this thread for assistance: mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=discuss&action=display&thread=22. If you can;t get that to work, post in the recording sub-forum and ask for a recorder.
22. How do I upload my work to YouTube?
Sign up for a YouTube account (you need a GMail to sign in) and click the Upload button to upload your video.
. You may have come here in search of information about Mario Paint Composer. This FAQ should answer any basic questions you have about the program. If, for whatever reason, there is a question not represented on this FAQ, let me know and I will gladly add it. DO NOT ASK A QUESTION THAT IS ALREADY ANSWERED ON HERE. Thank you and enjoy your time here on these forums 1. What is Mario Paint Composer?
Mario Paint Composer is a freeware program that expands on the capabilities of the composer in the SNES game Mario Paint. It has gained a cult following on YouTube, with several compositions garnering over a million views. It's very user-friendly, and you learn how to use it fast. You'll be making compositions on the level of the greats in no time
.2. How do I get Mario Paint Composer?
unfungames.com/mariopaint/. Just click the down load button and extract the files from the folder, and you're set.
3. How do I place a note?
Click on the instrument you want to use at the top of the screen. The area under the instrument bar represents a musical staff, ranging from A3 to C5. (If you don't know how to read music, I would suggest you take a crash course before you use this program). Left click on the part of the staff that corresponds to the note you want to place. For instance, if you want to place an E3 note, left click on the bottom-most black line on the staff.
4. How do I make a flat or a sharp?
Control-click for flats, shift-click for sharps
5. How do I erase a note?
You can press the eraser button at the bottom of the screen, or you can right click on a note to erase it
6. What do the vertical lines mean?
The yellow vertical lines represent measures. The blue vertical lines represent subdivisions within the measure. Depending on the tempo that you use, the yellow lines can represent everything from whole notes to sixteenth notes, with the blue lines representing that subdivision times four (eg. if the yellow bars are quarter notes, then the blue bars are sixteenth notes). Read below for more information and for some clarification.
7. How does the tempo bar work?
Remember what I said above. The tempo bar is what makes those subdivisions click. Basically, depending on what subdivisions you need in your song (if the fastest note you need is a sixteenth note for instance), then you would multiply the tempo of the song by four. To clarify:
Tempo X1 - Yellow bars are whole notes, blue bars are quarter notes
Tempo x2 - Yellow bars are half notes, blue bars are eighth notes
Tempo X3 - Yellow bars are quarter notes, blue bars are sixteenth notes
Tempo x4 - Yellow bars are eighth notes, blue bars are thirty second notes
Tempo x5 - Yellow bars are sixteenth notes, blue bars are sixty fourth notes
The slider only brings the tempo to about 350. To reach higher tempos, hold the + button next to the slider until you reach the desired tempo.
8. What do the 3/4 and 4/4 buttons do
The 3/4 button decreases the number of subdivisions within each measure from 3 to 2, effectively creating a 3/4 measure. It's rarely used, so don't worry about it too much.
9. What do the loop and rewind buttons do?
The loop button loops the file back to the beginning when it finishes. It's often used for short, one-file songs. The rewind button rewinds the file back to beginning, so you don't have to do it manually.
10. How does the Arranger work?
The arranger allows you to string files together to make a full-fledged song. Load up the file you want to add under the song tab and click "Add File" on the arranger tab. Repeat as many times as you need to. If you make a mistake, use the "Delete File" button to remove the file from the arrangement, or use the "Move Up/Move Down" buttons to change the location of the highlighted file.
11. What do the green bars do?
The green bars modify the volume of all the placed notes on a single line. Move the bars up to increase the volume of all notes on the line. Move the bars down to decrease the volume of all notes on the line.
12. What is the low A glitch?
The low A glitch allows you to shorten a note without decreasing its volume. On an EMPTY LINE, click on the border between the green volume bars and the staff. When a note of that instrument reaches the glitched note, it will abruptly cut off. The note has to be placed on an empty line to work, but you can place notes after a glitched note is placed. You can put multiple glitch notes on one line.
13. What is dickspeed?
In Mario Paint Composer, you can only place up to five notes on a line. To get around this limitation, you can multiply the tempo by 16 and place any excess notes on the line before or after the "main" line. Look at some of the videos I mention below for a better example of this.
14. What are echoes?
To echo a note, place two notes of the same instrument an eighth or sixteenth beat away from each other. Lower the volume of the second note. This creates an "echo" effect, useful for lengthening the value of a note.
15. What are soundfonts?
Soundfonts are sets of new sounds custom made for the Mario Paint Composer engine. A host of soundfonts can be found here: mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=soundfonts. A soundfont manager can be found here: (can someone link me to Cat's manager? I can't find it lol)
16. What are tempo gaps?
Basically, at a certain point in Mario Paint Composer's coding, there are large areas where tempo doesn't seem to increase. At a certain "breaking point", the tempo will suddenly increase to where it SHOULD be at. Read more here: mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=mods&action=display&thread=183
17. What is Mario Paint Composer v1?
This was the version of MPC before v2 came out. It has no piranha/boo/shyguy/coin, and no arranger feature. Download it here:
mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=download&action=display&thread=3127
18. What is Mario Paint/Mario Sequencer?
Mario sequencer is a simulator of the original Mario Paint. There are no sharps and flats, a 32 measure limit, no dickspeed, and three notes on a line. Notes will also cut off when another note is played. Download it here: 778.jugem.jp/?eid=93
19. What is Triple Mario Sequencer?
A version of Mario Sequencer with THREE separate staves, allowing for nine notes per line. Download it here: mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=download&action=display&thread=2934
20. What is Advanced Mario Sequencer?
A project by Ford Prefect that adds improvements to the original Mario Paint Composer program. Find out more about it here: flyx.org/projects/ams
21. How can I record my work?
Camstudio and Debut are two good free screen recorders. If you can't set up to record without a microphone, refer to this thread for assistance: mariopaintcomposer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=discuss&action=display&thread=22. If you can;t get that to work, post in the recording sub-forum and ask for a recorder.
22. How do I upload my work to YouTube?
Sign up for a YouTube account (you need a GMail to sign in) and click the Upload button to upload your video.
. I'll update #24 and #25 when I get the chance (I have no time right now lol and I've already worked on this for over 2 hours 
