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Messages - Lawrie Pardy

4
General Discussion / Re: Sound problem
Firstly, please excuse the detail - I know you're a long term user, but I figured it best to give a detailed reply in case a newbie read this and wondered what I was going on about.

OK, I'm not sue what you mean by "sounds awful" but I'm going to assume you mean it sounds discordant.

If that's the case, then the first place I would look is for an erroneous key signature.  If the staff is in "C" or "Am" then make sure you still have a key sig.  It will be a hidden (faint) natural sign on the "F" line, and you have to enter it yourself, they are not automatic.

Another thing to check is that the clef is correct - E.G. an erroneous tenor clef instead of an alto clef can easily be missed but would cause all sorts of odd results.  Ditto any other clef substitution but they would be more obvious.

Next you might check to see if there's an erroneous staff transposition.  Check the properties for each staff:
Select a staff; press <Alt+Enter>; select "Instrument [tab]"; check the "Transposition" scroll box; rinse and repeat...
Normally this will be "0"* unless you have performed a transposition for a transposing instrument (E.G. saxophone) in which case it should be a number of semitones opposite to the transposition you did (E.G. transpose +9 for an Alto sax, the transposition in the staff properties should be -9).

It should be noted that if you've transcribed a score from a source that has transposing instruments included then the transposition scroll box in the staff properties needs to be updated accordingly.  See below for a table of common transpositions.

NB this transposition could also be in an instrument change object <I> or "Insert|Instrument Change..." <Alt+I> then <I>.
Locate and highlight the Instrument Change object; press <Alt+Enter>; select "Instrument [tab]"; check the "Transposition" scroll box as above for staff properties.

When transposing a staff "Tools|Transpose Staff", or <Alt+T> then <T>, the dialogue asks via a checkbox if you want to "Update the staff playback transposition".  This is used to transpose from concert pitch to the correct notation for a transposing instrument and will enter the reverse change as discussed above for the Alto sax example.  If you are changing a piece to a new key completely, then UNCHECK this box, otherwise if you are transposing for a transposing instrument then you should check it.

It is very important when using this feature that the staff have a key signature, even if it is in "C" or "Am" (this would be a hidden natural on the F line).  If this is not there the transposition has problems.

Some common instrument transpositions (where TC means Treble Clef):

InstrumentInst. KeyTrans from Concert Pitch (semitones)Reverse trans. for staff properties (semitones)
Trumpet, Sop SaxBb+2-2
Horn in F, TC F Tuba? (never seen it done)F+7 (+7 or +19)-7 (-19)
Alto Sax, Tenor (Alto) HornEb+9-9
#Tenor Sax, TC Trombone, TC Euphonium etc.Bb+2 (or +14)-14
#Bari Sax, TC Eb TubaEb+9 (or +21)-21
#TC Bb TubaBb+2 (or +26)-26
.
<edit> N.B. F Tuba has been edited - if an F tuba were ever to be put in transposed treble clef (unlikely but who knows), then you would have to lower it by an extra octave compared to a Horn in F) </edit>
.
# this is a little dependent on how the score was first written.  Quite often a score will be originally set up an octave high for ease of notation, BUT the playback must be an octave lower than would at first appear because these instruments are at least an octave lower than written Treble Clef at concert pitch. 

When I'm preparing a score that will include transposed instruments, I will usually preset the staff transposition accordingly, E.G if there's a Tenor, or Bari Sax, I will preset the staff transposition to -12, notate in concert pitch, then transpose the staff accordingly (+2 for the Tenor and +9 for the Bari), WITH the staff playback checkbox mentioned earlier checked.  This will result in the correct final staff transposition of -14 for the Tenor and -21 for the Bari.

Note that Trombone (excluding Bass Trombone), Tuba, Euphonium, Tenor (Alto) Horn, and Baritone are  written in Transposed Treble for British tradition brass bands (this includes Salvation Army scores) otherwise Trom, Euph, Bari. and Tuba are written in Concert Pitch bass clef - the only exception I've seen to this is the occasional European score that also includes BC versions of Trombone, Euph or Baritone in Bb - in these case the BC score is transposed - a true sacrilege IMHO.

Note also that in old scores, the Horn was written in bass clef without a key signature and referred to as Horn in F, or Horn in D etc. to denote which crook was being used.  In "modern" literature (from sometime in the mid 20th century) Horn is always written in transposed F, in both Treble and Bass clef, WITH a key signature.

Horn is hard... - https://www.hornmatters.com/2008/08/transposition-tricks-old-vs-new-notation/
especially for us non-horn players.

* there are cases where it might be -12 for certain instruments - this is just an octave shift for instruments that are normally notated an octave high, like a guitar, bass guitar, or double bass - I'm sure there are others.
6
User Tools / Re: NWCCONVERTOR
Hi Gust,
confirmed.  Perhaps, given this is a problem that will certainly occur in the future, you could specifically check for these problems during conversion and either delete or replace them with a flag - maybe "BLANK"?

Also, and I don't know if it's a problem specific to my installation or Win11, NWCCONVERTOR can't seem to remember how to open the MusicXML file with Musescore.  The correct path is in the options screen, but if you press OK, the config file is updated without the entry, UNLESS your browse to it beforehand.  Then if you press OK the config file is saved with the correct path and it all works until next time you run NWCCONVERTOR, where, even though the correct path is in the config file, NWCCONVERTOR ignores it and you have to browse to it again...
7
User Tools / Re: NWCCONVERTOR
Hey Gust,
thanks for the quick response.  I tried this quick test file and Musescore didn't like it at all, it threw 39 errors, though NWCConvertor seemed happy.

The source .nwctxt file is just the first one that I found on my system when I went looking for a test file.
The MusicXML file is the output from V 2.0.05.05 (NB I had to ad .txt to the filename to get it to upload - you will need to remove this for Musescore to recognise it)

I concede this may be an unfair test...
9
User Tools / Re: NWCCONVERTOR
Quote from: Mike Shawaluk –
I was able to get the score to convert without errors by stripping out a few things. Specifically, I removed the segno and coda markings, since I was pretty sure they wouldn't have worked the same in the MusicXML file.
This is not really viable for me, some of my scores have over 50 staves...
10
User Tools / Re: NWCCONVERTOR
The only version I have that is currently working at all for me is:
2.0.05.01 - NB I haven't exhaustively tested this one so it may also throw similar errors with the right file.

The later ones either create unusable MusicXML files or else throw a bunch of errors like the ones you've listed.

11
User Tools / Re: NWCCONVERTOR
Quote from: Flurmy –
Lawrie, you missed the point.
I started with a .nwctxt file and, after the conversion,  my only option is to save it as  .nwctxt!   :o
I think I'm able to code myself such a converter.  :))
I need a file .musicxml or .mxl.
Sorry mate, I missed that little subtlety...
NWCCONVERTOR should do the conversion to MusicXML for you though - I've used it for exactly that in the past...

OK, just did some testing with Versions 2.0.05.04, 2.0.05.03 and 2.0.05.01
None allowed me to select "save as type" other than .nwctxt, BUT the offered filename ended in .musicxml and saved as such.

However, when I tried to open the saved musicxml test files the ones from the two more recent versions would NOT import into Musescore while the older one did just fine.  Something is broken...
12
User Tools / Re: NWCCONVERTOR
Quote from: Flurmy –
There is more.
I clicked "Select NWC txt file", loaded my file, selected the options, got "Conversion completed", clicked "Save as" and the only option is to save it... as .nwctxt!  :))
This is correct.  The compressed NWC file format is proprietary, which is a big part of why .nwctxt exists in the first place...  Or so I understand.
13
General Discussion / Re: Merry Christmas
Hey Eric,
good to see you online again.

Praying you have a fantastic 2026 mate.

"5-bit era" is a bit obscure for me though... :D
16
General Discussion / Re: "Text" window size
Quote from: lawrroc –
<snip>
The problem with the "line break" (or next line) still needs to be solved without resorting to the infamous %br%. But it's not a big problem.
Hi Lorenzo,
I hate to break it to you, but %br% IS the only mechanism for PageTxt.nw to start a new line.  By design, it doesn't recognise any other kind of line break.
FYI, %br% wasn't even included in the original release of PageTxt.nw, it was added later.
18
General Discussion / Re: Strong accent
Hi Lorenzo,
it sure is.  Simply use the caret <Shift+6> as you did in your question.  It will automatically flip when below the note.

I found it interesting that you call it "sforzato" - I've always understood it to be "marcato"*
I've only ever seen "sfz" and variants (e.g. sffz" etc.) for "sforzato"

* played full note length in classical literature, but short in jazz and often contemporary literature.
19
Object Plugins / Re: PageTxtMaestro.nw
Just a FYI, EVERY PgTxt that is going to be printed in any print MUST have a different name.

That said, when I write a set of charts for, say, a big band, I have a set of standard PgTxt objects that are at the start of every staff.  they are all identical and use variables to present different content.  One attribute they all have is that they are only visible on the top staff.

That way if I hide all the other staves so I can print, say, the Guitar part, it becomes the top staff and all the PgTxt objects on it are active, then I can hide it and unhide, say, the Bari part.  Again, all the PgTxt objects on the Bari part become active and work as intended.

PgTxt objects can have any name you want to give them, you aren't limited to the standard names.  E.G. I have Subtitle and Subtitle2 in my standard set.  They reference variables defined in the Info dialogue, just like all the other ones I use.  This way I can just create a new file from my chosen template and all the objects are pre-defined - I never have to edit them, excluding exceptional circumstances
21
General Discussion / Re: Windows 11
Hi David,
as long as you have the 2.8 beta installer you'll be fine.  Uninstalling 1.75 should have no effect on 2.8 but if you keep the 2.8 installer safe, you can reinstall it if something does actually go wrong.
23
Object Plugins / Re: BarLabel.ms (1.2)
OK, that makes sense to me.  Like my march card example, it's a bit unusual and not likely to happen very often.
24
Object Plugins / Re: BarLabel.ms (1.2)
hi fathafluff,
could you explain your reasoning a bit please?
The reason I ask is that when rehearsing, bar numbers (and rehearsal marks, of course) are used to locate a place for the band/orchestra to start together for working on a section, or maybe even just a single chord in a bar.

Taking your example into account, if there was a need to work on, say, bar 6, do we call it bar 6, or 16?
Say the MD calls it bar 16, it could create some confusion for those not familiar with the double numbering of the repeated section.

With the above in mind, I'm also aware of some older pieces, most commonly marches on march cards, where some parts have (again using your example) 20 bars at the start and the second block of 10 are different to the first block, but other parts have the first 10 bars the same as 11 to 20, so the music has a repeat in those parts.  Thus you end up with some parts with a different bar count to others.  These charts usually don't use bar numbers but the confusion is real...

I'd love to hear your thoughts.
26
General Discussion / Re: Old files don't open
Quote from: Faysalshire –
It's my first time to use registered version. I was downloaded and write all music after that i was deleted cause i didn't have a credit card whatever, i made a lot of files and tried to open but nothing appears. I wrote my own music can someone help how to open an old files thnks? I was using noteworthy composer 1.75 thnks again.
Something doesn't make sense here... You said you didn't have a credit card, how then could you possibly have downloaded a registered version?
You cannot get the registered version without paying for it first.
If you are a registered owner of a V1.75 licence then the upgrade is $15 USD but you MUST have a valid V1 licence, otherwise V2.75 is $49 USD.
Either way, you must first buy it before you get it.

I think you must have downloaded the demo version.
The demo version has several limitations:
Quote
Specifically, the following commands are unavailable in this demo version: File->Open Backup, Save, Save As, Export, and Tools->User Tool.
27
General Discussion / Re: What's a plus?
Quote from: Flurmy –
In current violin music, pizzicato with the left hand is indicated by a + above the note (see: Alban Berg - Violin Concerto).
Ok.

But in ancient music (and not for violin)? For example, Telemann for flute (see figure).
(My best guess: accent.)
Dunno - you could well be right.

Quote
And the vertical dashes? For example, Telemann for flute (see figure).
(My best guess: staccato.)
Possibly staccato, but if I encountered it while sight reading I'd probably immediately think staccatissimo.
28
General Discussion / Re: REINSTALL nwc after computer crash
Hi Gilbert,
I would remove those details if I were you.  Try to avoid being scammed.

There are plenty of USB CD and DVD devices that you can purchase for very cheap and you can install from the CD that way.
31
General Discussion / Re: REINSTALL nwc after computer crash
Further to David's reply, no, you shouldn't need to buy anything AFAIK.

The upgrade from 2.5 to 2.75 was a freebie.  Simply install 2.5 from your CD, run NWC, and then click:
Help|Access NoteworthyComposer.com* and it should take you to a relevant upgrade page.

Follow the prompts from there.

* The actual item might not be named exactly that but it will be informative, and I hope obvious.  It's a while since I ran 2.5...
32
General Discussion / Re: Beats in a bar
Hi Andrew,
we could probably use a little more context:
3 minims is 6 beats, but a dotted minim plus 3 quavers is 4 1/2 beats.

Do we assume it's a 6/4, or maybe a 3/2 bar?
How do the quavers line up with the minims below?

Have you learned how to make chords and rest-chords?
Or perhaps it might be best approached with layered staves.

Perhaps you could post an image of the source?
33
General Discussion / Re: Fonts.ini
Hi Flurmy, TBH, I'd completely forgotten that feature as I install my font suites into the Windows Fonts folder...
35
General Discussion / Re: Two in the place for three
Arguably, you could put a bunch of restchords with hidden rests in the right hand and fiddle the rest portion values to fit it in, BUT you can't beam restchords, and the playback wouldn't be quite right as it would inevitably be uneven.

Sadly, tuplets have always been something of a bugbear in NWC.

Check out Warren's post above.
36
General Discussion / Re: Two in the place for three
I would just place the crotchets, then add text dots that are position left at next note bar - pad the text entry with leading spaces to position the dot where you want it.  No messing around with tempos, which would affect other staves that may not have tuplets to worry about.
37
General Discussion / Re: Copying a guitar chord in GuitarChord.ms
Are you wanting to copy the object to other places in your score, or do you want to copy the image to another application?

For the former, simply highlight* the anchor (a small, greyed, image at the bottom left of the chord grid) and use your normal copy process.  In my case I use the windows <Ctrl+C>, <Ctrl+V> combinations.

* I position the cursor just to the left of the object and press <Shift+RtArrow>

For the latter, I have no idea other than to perhaps print to, say, a PDF and then copy the image from the PDF; or maybe take a screen shot and use something like MSPaint to clip the chord grid from that.
38
General Discussion / Re: starting NWC application
Quote from: Marianne van Harten –
I tried to start my NWC, but it wouldn't.
So, I installed it again, but still it wouldn't

How can I delete NWC completely - including the registry settings - so that I can do a clean install?
Hi Maryanne,
there are 2 ways I know of, but before that rather drastic approach, can I ask an obvious question, plus one a little less so?

1) Have you restarted the PC?  The only times I've ever had a problem (about twice) starting NWC is because it still had a process running in the background that Windows hadn't cleaned up.

2) has your anti-malware software recently been updated?  There may be a false positive that is silently killing NWC.  I would do a scan and check for reports.  If there's nothing I'd then disable it and try NWC again - might be good to not be online while the anti-malware is disabled, and definitely do the scan FIRST.

OK, now to answer your question:
a) you should be able to use add/remove programs (later versions call it Programs and features) in control panel.
OR
b) in the install directory (normally "C:\Program Files (x86)\Noteworthy Software\NoteWorthy Composer 2") there is "uninstall.exe".

I don't know how thorough this will be in cleaning up your appdata directory:
:localappdata:\Noteworthy Software\nwc2

or object plugin directory:
:programdata:\Noteworthy Software\nwc2\UserPlugins

NB - my install has been modded so much over the years that I'm not certain these are the defaults, though I think they are.
41
General Discussion / Re: Scripts and programs
Love the Ada Lovelace example.

Please correct me if I'm wrong (likely) but the way I now understand it is that a program ends up being compiled, whereas a script has come to mean any language that requires an interpreter to be running, and halfway between that are the semi-compiled languages though the compiling step would make me consider them programming languages rather than scripting languages.

Thus: C, Pascal etc. are programming languages - they need to be compiled before they will do anything.
VBScript, Javascript, php etc. are scripting languages - they use an interpreter to parse a text file in real time.
Then there's the semi-compiled languages that are compiled into an intermediate format (e.g. Bytecode) but still require a runtime component to interpret the semi-compiled "program".  I believe .NET, java and python are current examples of this approach.
42
Object Plugins / Re: Ottavamatic.ms (2.0)
Quote from: bjhall1950 –
I'm new to all this. I've tried using the Ottavamatic.ms command for notation on a song for our church pianist.

I guess I'm doing something wrong. How do I get it to display the 8va-------------- over or under the notes? Do I blank out the other options in the dialogue box? It doesn't work that way. I've tried that, but still don't get the object to display or print.

So far, the only way I can get the markings I need is to use insert text. I know that isn't right, but it is the best I can think of.

I've been a NWC user for many years. I'm just now needing this object to work. Any help would be appreciated.

BJ
Just to make sure you're using the object correctly:
  • Insert the object (normally at the start of a staff) and make sure the parameters suit your requirements - the defaults usually will
  • At the location in the staff where you need the 8va et al to appear place an Instrument Change (press <I>).  You can clear all the patch details if you want, just make sure the transposition reflects what you need(E.G. add 12 for 8va, -12 for 8va bassa)
  • If you are notating a transposing instrument, take the pre-existing transposition into account for not only the instrument change but also the objects parameters.  IE for a tenor sax, the pre-existing transposition will be -14, so you need to tell Ottavamatic about it in the "Staff Transpose" field, then when you want the 8va, use -2 (12 semitones higher than the existing transposition) in the Instrument Change dialogue
  • To remove the 8va etc. simply put in another Instrument Change return the staff to "0", or to the original transposition for a transposing instrument.
43
Tips & Tricks / Re: Page number font size
Quote from: deltaeupher –
How can I increase the font size for page numbers?
There are 2 relatively easy ways.
  • For the standard, garden variety page numbers, the font used is called "Page Small Text" in the |File|Page Setup...|Fonts (Tab) dialogue - simply increase the size from the default of 8.  This has the drawback of affecting ALL text entries that use "Page Small Text"
  • If you have looked at "User Objects" at all, you can use the "PageTxtMaestro" and "PageTxt" objects to replace the default page numbering and you can select alternative display fonts in the "PageTxt" object.  Just remember to turn page numbering OFF in |File|Page Setup...|Options (Tab).

The PageTxtMaestro system is introduced here:
https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/?topic=9215.0

To check to see if it is already installed; simply open a score, press <J> to open the object dialogue, press <p> to take you to the "p"s in the list and if you have it installed then you will see "PageTxt.nw" and "PageTxtMaestro.nw" in the object type list.

The "PageTxtMaestro" objects are quite powerful and can give excellent results when you learn to use them effectively.
45
General Discussion / Re: Missing missing octave accidentals
I think it's because they're in octaves and thus could be correct.
Check this snippet that detects the error correctly (notice that the 4th note in the 1st bar is erroneously affected by the accidental on the preceding note - this is a long time quirk of NWC):
Code: [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.751,Single)
|Clef|Type:Treble
|Key|Signature:F#,C#|Tonic:D
|TimeSig|Signature:4/4
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:4
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:n-3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:4
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3,4
|Rest|Dur:4th
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3,n4
|Rest|Dur:4th
|Bar
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End
48
General Discussion / Re: NWC wouldn't start
Hi Marianne,
I know it's a cliche, but my go to for anything like this (has never happened to me with NWC) is a restart of Windows...

Still, I just did a quick check on my system.

I haven't run NWC since my last reboot (yesterday):
I opened the task manager, scrolled down through background tasks to where NWC2 would be if it was running, and predictably it wasn't there.
I launched NWC and it appeared in the background tasks momentarily, then the NWC window overlaid the task manager and I couldn't see it anymore, but when I switched to task manager NWC was now in the Apps section.

My guess would be that it runs as a background process while initialising, and once initialised moves from background to a running app.  That's just a guess mind you.

If I'm correct, then something is preventing, or delaying initialisation.  The above mentioned reboot might be all that's needed.
If that doesn't work I'd restart again, and without launching any apps I'd run Disk Cleanup - ONLY select Temporary files at this point (2nd last in the list), perform the cleanup and try again.

Beyond that I'm not sure.
49
General Discussion / Re: Quantisation
Quote from: karandre –
Bonjour   Lorsque je charge un fichier midi dans NWC par le mode importation ..j'ai le choix de la quantification ..mais souvent cela ne fonctionne pas sur toutes les portées. C'est pour cela que je demandais s'il était possible une fois un fichier Midi importé de quantifier portée par portée .
Greetings,
This will depend on the way the MIDI file is already quantized.
You can do some adjustment during the import by setting the note and rest resolution.
For what it's worth, MIDI import in NWC has always seemed to me to be lest than stellar given that it seems to try to do an exact representation of the MIDI quantization in notation.
Playback will be fine, but appearance not so much.
I know of no automated internal mechanism to adjust things post import.

These are the settings I have by default in my system:

(Courtesy of Google Translate:)
Salutations,
Cela dépendra de la façon dont le fichier MIDI est déjà quantifié.
Vous pouvez faire quelques ajustements pendant l'importation en définissant la résolution des notes et des silences.
Pour ce que ça vaut, l'importation MIDI dans NWC m'a toujours semblé être moins que stellaire étant donné qu'elle semble essayer de faire une représentation exacte de la quantification MIDI en notation.
La lecture sera correcte, mais l'apparence pas tellement.
Je ne connais aucun mécanisme interne automatisé pour ajuster les choses après l'importation.

Voici les paramètres par défaut de mon système :