Using Templates

A template is a special kind of segment that can be used in composing a playable segment of music at run time. The template sets the length of the segment and any loop points. It provides the command track, which controls changes in the groove level and the choice of embellishment patterns. It also prescribes how the chordmap is used in composing the segment, by specifying from which signpost group each new chord must come.

A template is represented by a DirectMusicSegment object.

There are two ways to obtain a template:

• Obtain one from a template file. You load the file as a DirectMusicObject and query for the IDirectMusicSegment interface. For more information, see Loading Objects.
• Create one from a shape, using the IDirectMusicComposer::ComposeTemplateFromShape method. You choose the length, the overall shape, whether intro and end embellishment patterns are to be played, and how long the ending is to be. You get back a pointer to the IDirectMusicSegment interface.

Once you have obtained a template segment object, you can pass it to the IDirectMusicComposer::ComposeSegmentFromTemplate method, along with pointers to a style and a chordmap. You also supply a rate of harmonic motion, which sets the frequency of chord changes. The ComposeSegmentFromTemplate method creates a segment and returns a pointer to its IDirectMusicSegment interface at the address given in the ppSectionSeg parameter. It is this pointer that you pass to the IDirectMusicPerformance::PlaySegment method.