Looks like a real musical instrument, and sounds like a real orchestra.
Has look and feel of the real musical instrument.
Converts computer keyboard into a piano keyboard. You can actually play music pieces on your QWERTY keyboard.
Download and enjoy it for FREE!!!

CONTENT:

1. About the program
2. System Requirements
3. Downloading and Installing
4. Launching
5. Documentation and On-Screen Help
6. For Best Results
7. Known issues
8. Legal Notices

'ARPTON SF Synthesizer Arpeggiator Player' is a new, fully rewrited and improved FREE version of the famous electronic musical instrument emulated in software. It turns a PC keyboard into a MIDI input device and provides you with a way to play live music without use of a conventional music keyboard.

You no longer need to purchase expensive synthesizers without trying to play ARPTON SF™ first.
You can play alone, play with any MIDI or MIDI-Karaoke accompaniment, and sing into a microphone at the same time.
This may be useful when you first get started, or if you are on the move with ARPTON SF™ installed on a laptop and would like to play music without dragging a keyboard around.

'SF' in a name ARPTON SF™ means 'SoundFonts'.
ARPTON SF™ can generate sounds using any General Midi(GM) SoundBank, that contains SoundFonts for all Instruments. (files with extension .sf2). You can decide whether to send the output to headphones or to a pair of speakers.
Even the beginner will become very comfortable with the program from the first step.

For Starters:

• Allows kids and adults to play live music on a computer without buying a separate electronic musical instrument.
• Provides an opportunity to perform using just a PC keyboard before spending money on the "real thing".

For professionals:

• Capable of creating amazing arpeggios and loops that can be included in music compositions.
• Can be used to generate melodic sequences in real time with endless variations.
• Can be used to compare different SoundFonts and SF SoundBanks

'ARPTON Synthesizer Arpeggiator Player' contains the following components:
 

Virtual instrument:	* ARPTON SF™ provides you a way to play music using PC keyboard. * It will satisfy many hobbyists for whom playing music is fun.
Synthesizer	* ARPTON SF™ includes a Java built-in Synthesizer, called GERVILL. * Synthesizer itself does not contain any sounds. It is just a controller which receives and executes MIDI commands (MIDI Messages) to play sounds stored in a SoundBank. * Since GERVILL Synthesizer is SoundFont-compatible, you can download from Internet and add up to 10 additional SF SoundBanks. * You can select a SoundBank that satisfies your music taste.
SoundBanks	* A Soundbank contains a set of Instruments that can be loaded into a Synthesizer. * In General MIDI specification a bank contains 128 programs that correspond to specific instrument sounds. * Soundbanks may have a different sound quality, so you can test all of them and choose soundbanks that satisfy your musical taste. * ARPTON SF™ uses SoundBanks in a form of 'SoundFonts' (files with extension '.sf2'). * SoundFont 'bank', instead of sound emulation, contains sampled audio waveforms (or 'samples') recorded using real instruments. * There are tons of FREE .sf2 files available on Internet.
Arpeggiator	* ARPTON SF™ includes the full-featured professional grade arpeggiator, which allows you to color your performance in a wide variety of ways. Your imagination is the only limit. * Arpeggiator can be used as a powerful tool for creating amazing arpeggios and loops for your compositions and arrangements.
MIDI Recorder	* ARPTON SF™ automatically records the last arpeggio variation and saves it to a standard MIDI file that can be played back or used later in your compositions.
MIDI Player	* ARPTON SF™ includes a MIDI Player that plays MIDI (.mid) and MIDI-Karaoke (.kar) files. * The MIDI Player can play music files using any GM SoundBank, added to ARPTON SF™. * You can listen to MIDI compositions and play ARPTON SF™ keyboard at the same time. * You can adjust the tempo and set the volume balance between the MIDI Player and your performance.
Karaoke Player	* ARPTON SF™ can extract and display text and lyrics from MIDI and MIDI-Karaoke files (if they contain such information) in a text area of the MIDI Player's panel, or save them in a file. * You can connect a microphone to your PC and: Listen to music from a MIDI file Play the keyboard Sing the song using lyrics on the screen. * All at the same time.

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2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
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ARPTON SF™ will run on any modern PC.
 

OS	Windows
Java Runtime Environment(JRE)	* ARPTON SF™ is written in JAVA programming language and includes 'JAVA SE Runtime Environment 8 (JRE 8)'. * Works on any 'Windows' computer and doesn't require JAVA to be installed on your PC.
Standard Keyboard and Mouse
Internet connection	* For automatic updates.
Speakers or headphones	* Hi-Fi speakers or headphones are recommended
OPTIONAL	* Third party software to edit MIDI files. * Notation software to convert MIDI files to sheet music. * MIDI cable and external MIDI synthesizer.

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3. DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING
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• DOWNLOAD ARPTON SF™ for WINDOWS
• Downloaded file 'ARPTON_SF3EXE.zip' contains 2 files: 'ARPTON_SF3EXE.exe' and 'ReadMe.txt'.
• Unzip the downloaded file 'ARPTON_SF3EXE.zip' to any folder on your computer.
• Double click on file 'ARPTON_SF3EXE.exe' to run an installer.
• ARPTON SF™ will be installed to 'C:\ARPTON_SF' folder.
• Shortcut 'ARPTON SF' and Internet shortcut for 'www.arpton.com' will be added to Desktop.
• ARPTON SF™ will start and check for updates.
• If new updates are available, ARPTON SF™ automatically updates itself and restarts with the latest updated version.
• To launch ARPTON SF™, click 'ARPTON SF' icon on a Desktop.

You can move 'ARPTON_SF' folder to any other location on your PC, or even to another computer.
To update a Desktop shortcut, delete it, and run ARPTON SF™ from a new location (run 'ARPTON_SF\run.bat').
The Desktop shortcut will be recreated, pointing to new location.

NOTE:

• ARPTON SF™ does not make any changes to your computer.
• Does not requires JAVA to be installed on your PC.
• Uses its own JRE (Java Runtime Environment).
• Can be moved to any other location on your PC, or even to another computer.
• Can be deleted from your PC by deleting the folder 'ARPTON_SF'.

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4. LAUNCHING
===============

To launch ARPTON SF™, click 'ARPTON SF' icon on a Desktop. ARPTON SF™ will start and check for updates.
If new updates are available, ARPTON SF™ updates itself and restarts with the latest updated version.

When you finish and click button 'Exit', ARPTON SF™ asks you: 'Save your settings?'
Click one of the buttons:

• 'Yes' - to save current state, which will be restored when you start ARPTON SF™ next time.
• 'No' - to forget current state and start 'ARPTON SF' later with default settings.
• 'Cancel' - to cancel exit and continue to work.

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5. DOCUMENTATION AND ON-SCREEN HELP - "HelpDesk"
=====================================================

ARPTON SF™ documentation can be viewed using on-screen HelpDesk when you run the application.

HelpDesk contains 6 tabs:
 

Instruments	* Used to select any of 128 General MIDI instruments (programs) from a current SoundBank.
Player	* Used for playing MIDI and MIDI-Karaoke files.
Colors	* Used to choose background and keyboard colors.
What is	* General information. (click to view online)
Help	* Learn about ARPTON SF™ controls.(click to view online)
How To	* Answers to common questions.(click to view online)

On-screen HelpDesk can be toggled between hidden or shown mode using 'HelpDesk' menu .

The ARPTON SF™ documentation is provided as a set of HTML files located in 'ARPTON_SF\html' folder. You can view and print these files using your default Web browser.

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6. FOR BEST RESULTS
===================

ARPTON SF™ is an easy program to use and doesn't require any special knowledge.
In order to quickly get familiar with the basic features just read the information available through the on-screen HelpDesk.

To take advantage of all included features, we recommend you to read the provided documentation.

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7. KNOWN ISSUES
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When playing chords on a PC keyboard, some notes are missing.

Solution:

The reason for this effect is the difference in internal circuits of PC keyboards.
Some PC keyboards does not allow to press too many keys at the same time.
Some keyboards recognize more keys pressed at the same time, and some less.
You may need some experience with using your keyboard to learn if it has such restrictions.
You may need to try different keyboards.

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8. LEGAL NOTICES
=================
* ARPTON SF™ is a trademark of ArptonSoft, LLC.
* All products names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
* End User License Agreement.

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9. CONTACT INFO
================

• Click CONTACT US
• or send a regular email to 'arptonsf@gmail.com'
  Please type "ARPTON SF" in a 'Subject' line, otherwise you email will be filtered with AntiSpam System.