Using Chordmaps

A chordmap object represents a collection of chords that provides the foundation of the harmonic structure and the mood of the music. A chordmap contains several pathways with many interconnected chords, providing many possibilities for the composition engine to choose from in determining the chord progression in a piece of music.

For a conceptual overview, see Chordmaps.

For authored segments, applications don't normally need to concern themselves with chordmaps. The chordmap is used at the authoring stage to create a fixed chord progression. However, chordmaps can be used to compose segments at run time and to alter the chord progression of existing segments.

You set the chordmap for a composition when you create a segment by using either DirectMusicComposer8.ComposeSegmentFromTemplate or DirectMusicComposer8.ComposeSegmentFromShape. For more information, see Using Styles.

Once a segment has been created, you can change its chordmap by calling the DirectMusicComposer8.ChangeChordMap method. This has the effect of changing the mood of the music without altering its basic rhythm and melody.