MusicMaster Blog

by Paul Ziino

So you ran the Automatic Scheduler in your data and when you review and edit the log, you see MusicMaster left a few positions unscheduled. Now the question is, why? Ultimately, the answer is because no song in the available depth passed all the unbreakable rules, thus MusicMaster was unable to fill that position.

So now you go to that unscheduled position, double-click on it to open the list of replacements, and you see a number of options that pass the unbreakable rules. So now the question is, why didn't MusicMaster fill this position with one of these songs?

The answer, as indicated before, no song in the available depth passed all the unbreakable rules. What does this mean? It means that even though some songs in the category passed those unbreakable rules, those weren't the songs being tested at the time MusicMaster was auto-scheduling that position.

Your depths are set in Schedule Properties (Dataset/Schedule/Schedule Properties). The depth is the number of songs that MusicMaster can look at when searching for a song to schedule. If you have 100 songs/slots in the category, and the depth is set at 10, this means MusicMaster looks at the next 10 songs in the 'stack', and if none passes the unbreakable rules, the position is left unscheduled.

If you are consistently getting unscheduled positions in the log for a given category, but you see songs that pass the unbreakable rules when editing those positions, it's a good idea to try increasing the category's depth in Schedule Properties. So in that category of 100 with a depth of 10, had we increased that depth to 15, MusicMaster would have tested 5 more songs. So if song 12 in the stack passed the unbreakable rules it would have been auto-scheduled.

The idea here is to make sure your depths are deep enough to allow the program to find a song to auto-schedule, but not so deep that it's testing songs unnecessarily. A little trial and error will help you find the right depth for each category.

By Marianne Burkett

It happens. You go to open your data, and you get a message “database may be damaged or in use on another workstation” or “database is locked”. The first thing you should check is your Windows Task Manager and look at the list of applications running. If MusicMaster is running – shut down each instance, with the task manager. Try to open the database again. If it still won’t open, and you network your data – check the task manager on other workstations as well. It is possible someone else has their MMwin running more than once. If you cannot find anyone using the database and it lives out there on a server – restart the server. If you are still unable to open the data – call your Music Scheduling Consultant for assistance.

By Marianne Burkett

Summer is coming and thoughts of warm afternoons at the park, pool or beach start circling your brain. You can’t wait. What you’re wondering right now is should you adjust your station programming to reflect the psychology of the season? Is that going to cause you hours of agonizing work in editing logs, or can you easily adjust your rules to force those summer fun songs into each hour? (more…)

Just how important is a MusicMaster backup?  It becomes crucial when things go wrong.  Your mind wanders and you delete an active category.  You are human.  Things happen.  That’s why it’s important to backup.  It’s not overkill to backup every single day.  We recommend it.  Please do.  If you make a mistake you have a backup to restore.  (more…)

By Drew Bennett

Customizing your database with its’ own name and logo and color background is easy. Go to Tools, Options, Database Identification. Here, you can modify the name of your database in the, “Station Name,” field. You can also set the path to an audio file that plays when you open this MusicMaster database and you can also set a path to a logo file you have on your system. That will display your logo when you open this MusicMaster database. Below the Graphic Logo File field, you can also set the color you want for your background. You can choose a solid color, choose a duo of gradient colors and you can choose to display your logo in the center, tile your logo throughout the background or stretch the logo file across the screen. Once you’re done with changing your settings, choose, “Apply,” and, “OK.” Tip: If you’ve made your changes and you have other sections of the software open, choose, “Windows,” then “Close All,” to close any open windows you have and see your changes.

By Paul Ziino

Looking for some “unpredictability” in your clocks? Just trying to keep things sounding fresh? Here’s an idea: try using Proportional clock elements. (more…)

By Paul Ziino

So you have multiple workstations all accessing one central copy of your data. How can you get MusicMaster to open up the data every time without having to click Path and then hunt for the data directory? It’s easy!

Right-click on your MusicMaster shortcut Select Properties Go to the Shortcut tab adjust your Target line so there is a space after MusicMaster.exe, then follow it with the path to your data directory. Like this: C:\MMWin\MusicMaster.exe X:\DataDirectory\.

Note: if any part of the path contains a space, like Music[space]Master, you need to put that part in quotes. Like this: C:\MMWin\MusicMaster.exe "X:\Data Directory\"

Once you’ve set the target line, click Apply and OK. Now when you launch MusicMaster, it will open the program locally, then look to that second path for your database.

By Marianne Burkett

For those MusicMaster users who like to change clocks, add new categories and think of new ways to program your station – hats off to you!

One thing that happens when you add categories, is that your Info Bar starts to grow in size and becomes unorganized. When you create new categories they always fall to the bottom of the list on the Info Bar. You should open the Category Editor and arrange your Info Bar so it makes sense. (more…)

By Laurie Knapp

I enjoy looking for amateur vocal talent on YouTube, but I must say that among all of the cover songs I find, my favorite are the “split personality acapellas.” Acapella arrangements of popular songs, often performed by college singers, feature vocal parts for all lyrics and instrumentation. Many singers on YouTube have taken it a step further. Not having the luxury of a group of talented peers, they perform all the vocal parts themselves. Usually the accompanying video is pulled off quite nicely by six or seven identical heads in split screen. But arranger and producer Kurt Hugo Schneider has found a way to make it a bit more interesting. I don’t want to spoil it by explaining it. You just have to see for yourself!

“Michael Jackson Medley” sung by Sam Tsui

“Taylor Swift Medley” sung by Tiffany Alvord

If you are the kind of person that likes to dig into all the options and preference windows in the software you work with, then you may have already poked around a bit in the TOOLS-OPTIONS section of MusicMaster. If not, I want to encourage you to do so when you have a few minutes! (more…)