Using The Manual Method
- Powered By Scroll Lists & Automation
With
Maestro's Manual method for entering album descriptions,
collectors enter the majority of information by making selections
from scrollable lists of pre-entered
names. Automated functions built into Maestro augment
this process by filling in some of the album description automatically.
To observe the power of these features, the summary below describes
how to create the Album Cover View shown in the photo using the
Manual method. Details that fill in automatically are mentioned.
(FOR LP USERS: Use of the Archive
method provides a near instantaneous and automated means to enter
an album description of any LP that's in the LP
Archive Library. If used to enter this album, the Notes
Common to All Copies, Album Title, entries in the Critic's section,
and all scroll list selections except for the Play Prompts fill
in automatically with the details shown in the above photo.)
| Click
on ADD button |
To
commence creating an Album Cover View of RCA LSC 2225, click
on the ADD button at the top of the Album Cover
View window (enter/edit
mode). If the ADD button is not selectable as it is grayed
out, clicking on the ERASER button clears the
album description currently displayed which activates the ADD
button. |
| Enter
Information & SAVE |
Enter
the information that describes the album—primarily by making
selections from the pre-entered names available in the various
scroll lists described in the next section. Use typing only
to enter the Album Title, the Notes Common to All Copies of
this Album, and the number "29" in the Critic's section. In
response to some of your scroll list selections, Maestro
automatically fills in portions of the album description as
described in the 4th & 5th sections of this summary. After
completing your entry, click on the SAVE button. |
| Scroll
Lists |
In
the photo, observe the numerous scrollable lists available for
album entry. These are the fields with the downward pointing
arrow on right side. Each scrollable list focuses on a specific
topic applicable to the classical repertoire or to collecting.
Unlike other programs, Maestro's scrollable lists are
useable immediately. They contain the names–correctly spelled–of
470 composers, 14,000 composition titles (!),
420 conductors, 350 orchestras, 950 solo artists, 250 album
labels, 145 album manufacturers, along with many instrument
names, musical categories, and other related items. NOTE:
In entering this album description, some of the scroll list
entries filled in automatically as described in the next two
sections. The Maestro user selected all of the other
scroll list entries from pre-entered names available for selection
in their respective scroll lists. |
| Autofills
1st Composer |
In
the album description shown in the photo, Maestro automatically
inserted "Malcolm Arnold" as the composer of the initial
work on this album after the user selected "Malcolm Arnold"
as the Main Composer. This action eliminates the need to manually
enter the composer of an album's 1st work. After Arnold inserted
automatically, the user selected Tam O'Shanter Overture
as a composition title of the initial work and then selected
the conductor and orchestra that performed that work. NOTE:
The album's Main Composer is the composer whose compositions
are on an album or else the composer that received top billing.
In the reports that you generate, the main composer's name appears
next to the album's title. |
| Autofills
Conductor & Orchestra |
In
the album description shown in the photo, Maestro automatically
inserted "Gibson, Alexander" and "New Symphony
Orch of London" in the Conductor and Orchestra fields that
pertain to ALL of the album's compositions after the
1st. After selecting the name of a composer of any work on an
album after the 1st, the conductor and orchestra fields for
that work autofill with those associated with the album's 1st
composition. To cancel the autofilled fields, simply clear or
change the composer's name or else select a different conductor
or orchestra. NOTE: As more
often than not the same orchestra and conductor perform on all
compositions on an album, inserting these details automatically
reduces the work required and saves time. |
| Intelligent
Use of 14,000 pre-entered Composition Titles |
In
the album description shown in the photo, Maestro automatically
limited the composition titles available for selection in each
Composition scroll list to those written by the selected composer.
For example, after the user selected "Mussorgsky" as composer
of the album's 3rd composition, only Mussorgsky's compositions
were available for selection in the Composition scroll list
where Night on Bald Mountain was the selection. NOTE:
There are 14,000 composition titles preprogrammed (!) and available
for selection in the Composition scroll list saving collector's
from years of agony required to type in those same titles. Although
this pre-entry is an enormous benefit, plodding through 14,000
titles in order to select the one applicable to an album would
be time consuming. The intelligent nature of Maestro Manager's
Composition scrollable list accelerates this selection. See
picture of composition titles pre-matched to their composers. |
Music Categories & Play Prompts
KEY FEATURES: Musical Categories
and Play Prompts are two powerful features controlled by the Maestro's
Musical Category and Play Prompts scroll lists. Users integrate their
style of collecting by adding to the details pre-programmed into these
scroll lists. In this way, Maestro adapts to characteristics
important to each user as user-entered details included in album descriptions
are both trackable and selectable as criteria included in a question
that Maestro responds to. By including a Musical Category and/or
Play Prompts when entering album descriptions, such as "Orchestral",
"Play", and "Rare" used in the photo above, collectors
gain a lot of flexibility in how they file their albums and significantly
increase control over what they own. See Fields & Buttons—Described for greater detail and examples of
Musical Categories and Play Prompts in action.
Gain Control of Your Collection
All information entered when creating an Album Cover View except for
user-entered comments, album title, and instrument names become part
of the searchable knowledgebase that empowers Maestro's librarian-like
ability to answer questions. Because of the variety and ability to
ask questions about any item or combination of items, the more information
that you enter, the more control you have of what you own! Instead
of being limited to answering which albums contain compositions by
Brahms, Maestro can answer questions such as which albums would
my friend Jane enjoy listening to when she visits or which albums
contain piano concertos performed by Emil Gilels where Reiner is the
conductor and the album is recommended by The Absolute Sound.
(Probably not a realistic question though it demonstrates a complex
question that Maestro can address.)
Other
Cataloging Programs
Scrollable lists in other cataloging
programs differ from Maestro's. As these
other programs lack
numerous lists applicable to classical-related topics, users of
these programs must type in a significant portion of each album
description and that's only if other programs have sufficient locations
or fields that can utilize classical-related details. Finding a
logical location to enter/display a composition's composer, conductor,
orchestra, and solo artist can be difficult. With other programs,
the few scrollable lists available are not pre-programmed. Thus,
their lists are not useable until the user/collector enters each
name used in each list via typing in those names! Furthermore, lacking
the intelligent automation found in Maestro, users of these
other programs work considerably harder to create an album description.
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