Interpretation Settings

Form

Form settings control the transformation and rendering of Figure segments.

Anchors

How the pitch of an Anchor is influenced by the previous anchor:

Independent: Anchors don't influence each other.
Linked within 1/8: If the previous anchor is within this distance, an attempt is made to map the current anchor relative to that.

Only anchors of the same symbol type can influence each other, where a chord change falls between them and the resulting difference to the notated pitch is not too extreme.

Range

How to deal with segments that happen to reach outside their assigned playing range or the total pitch range of the instrument.

Open: Allows all notes outside the instrument's total pitch range to pass through. This is potentially dangerous, as it might randomly trigger key switches or have other unwanted side effects.
Clip: Keep a segment as rendered and drop any notes that fall outside the total pitch range of the instrument. This is safe but may skip some notes.
Shift: Transposes a segment as a whole in order to fit it into the individually assigned range (upper, middle, lower), or at least the total pitch range of the instrument. Notes that happen to fall outside the total pitch range are dropped.
Fold: Breaks down a segment into smaller parts in order to fit it into the individually assigned range (upper, middle, lower), or at least the total pitch range of the instrument. Notes that still fall outside the total pitch range are dropped.

Limit Strictly

When applying Shift or Fold, limit output to the individual playing range of a segment (upper, middle , lower). Otherwise the total pitch range of the instrument is allowed.

Preserve Harmony

When applying Shift or Fold, do so in increments of octaves rather than scale steps. This is useful where harmony is more important than relative melodic movement.

Strings

Select a particular tuning for a string instrument. The tuning controls how segments of type Chord are rendered.

Auto-Split

Divide and transpose long sustained notes that create unwanted dissonances by violating the Harmonic Context. Consider only notes that overlap into the dissonant context by at least this set length.

Monophonic

Limit output to a single voice.

Legato

Stretch successive notes to close gaps between them. Notes farther away than two bars away not considered.

Tie Notes

Merge successive notes of the same pitch into a single note.

Segment Voicing

Allow individual chord segments in the Figure parameter to override the default voicing suggested by the Harmony parameter.

Segment Inversions

Allow individual chord segments in the Figure parameter to override the default inversion suggested by the Harmony parameter.

Harmony Alignment

For the inversion and voicing of chords, the previous chord is taken into account if this has been set in the Harmony parameter. Deactivate this to generate all chords independently of each other.

Harmony Dissonance

If set in the Harmony parameter, minor seconds are allowed in chords. Deactivate this to avoid dissonances.

Voice Leading

Voice leading determines how melodies are supposed to be carried across multiple chord changes.

Material

Limits the set of notes that can be used. Rhythm guitar, for example, benefits from playing only chord notes.

Look Ahead

How much earlier all Figure segments tagged with Look Ahead are supposed to respond to the next Harmonic Context. With a positive value, the next chord and scale are picked up earlier, with a negative one they are delayed.

The choice largely depends on rhythm and the sound envelope of an instrument. A phrase that pushes ahead benefits from an early response. Different values for multiple instruments can create dissonances and blurring effects.

Strategy

None: Disables voice leading.
Default: A balanced all-purpose setting.
Adaptive: Adapts to the figure automatically by forcing rhythmically more significant notes to be harmonically stronger.
Adaptive (dynamic): Notes with higher velocity are forced to be harmonically stronger.
Adaptive (dynamic and rhythmic): Notes with higher velocity or longer duration are forced to be harmonically stronger.
Stabilizing: Starts with a full scale and continually increases emphasis on the chord as the measure proceeds. Obfuscates chord changes to some extent.
Solo: Affords extra leeway for melodic nuance.
Strong: Strong emphasis on chords with only few scale tones in between.
Medium: Allows more scale tones between chords.
Weak: Full scale allowed between chords. Can lead to interesting results, but may sound indifferent or dissonant at times.

Cooperative

Follow a stricter policy to avoid conflicts with other instruments. Disable this for more dissonance and variety.

Preset

Synfire offers an array of templates for different instruments and uses that you can recall here.

Preset: Select a predefined preset from the drop-down menu.
Auto-Detect: Let Synfire examine the Figure and suggest a preset.
Save: Save current settings as a new preset. It will appear in the menu Parameter > Insert Template.
Bypass: Interpretation and voice leading are completely disabled. Symbols are rendered literally, consequences be damned.
Generate Pedal: Estimate sustain pedal action from Figure and Scheme. Very good for melodic piano phrases and brass solos.

Auto-Chords: Automatically generate a sustained chord for every harmonic context in Harmony.
Auto-Bass: Automatically generate a sustained bass note for every harmonic context in Harmony.

Note: The Express and Pro editions allow for much more detailed control of voice leading, how an instrument is supposed to respond to harmony changes, the amount of dissonance that is allowed and how to deal with an instrument's playing ranges.