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Messages - Fred Nachbaur

101
General Discussion / Re: Making the Grand Piano really sound grand
Carrie, that's an interesting observation.

At the risk of taking this too far off topic.... To me, the mono version sounds marginally louder. I went back and checked, just to be sure I didn't make an error in recording, and sure enough, both the stereo and mono versions have the same total energy. (In fact, if you have your sound card connected to a stereo amp with a stereo/mono switch, you can hear that the two files sound exactly the same with the switch in the mono position.)

So perhaps we have here yet another psychoacoustic phenomenon to explore further.
102
General Discussion / Re: Not sending anything to the computer
What do you mean change it to NT?

Applies only to XP, in which you can select various "compatibility modes."

Since you're running ME (a DOS-based Windows version like 95 and 98) you don't have that option, and therefore don't need to worry about it. ;-)
103
General Discussion / Re: Note & rest Chords of different duration
For help on the chording issue, have a look at the help file, Chord Member Command

Layering is in many cases the easiest, most flexible way of dealing with multiple voices on a single staff. Layering is enabled via the Page Setup Command and is selected on a per-staff basis using the Staff Properties Command, in the Visual tab

[Note: The links shown in blue above will take you to the online help on NoteWorthy Software's site, but you can access the same information off-line using the built-in "Help" system. Press F1 for context-sensitive help, or select Help from the title bar.]
104
General Discussion / Re: Making the Grand Piano really sound grand
Yes, Adam, I'm quite familiar with "brainwave synchronization", which is the more generic term for Monroe's "hemisync". (Actually, I'm surprised he was able to get a patent, probably the patent was for a particular device rather than the concept itself.)

I even posted an experimental brainwave sync piece on the NWC newsgroup some time ago (it was on the old server so isn't available anymore), and got a bit of flak for it because one person did not follow the explicit instructions to use headphones.

At any rate, the whole brainwave sync thing *does* suggest subconscious mixing, as you point out. But it's not a physical or direct neurological function, as near as I can determine. This is grist for the third installment of the Psychoacoustics Experiments, when I one day get that proverbial Round Tuit.

As to the pitch bend question -- converting from cents to pitch-bend units is easy. There are 100 cents in a semitone, and there are 4096 pitch-bend units in a semitone. Thus, there are 40.96 pitch-bend units per cent. ;-)

For direct frequency conversions, I either use a calculator, or if I've got a bunch of them to do I use my Harmonic Analyser in a slightly atypical usage. (Note: doesn't work with NT-based versions of Windows, e.g. W2k, XP.)
105
General Discussion / Re: Making the Grand Piano really sound grand
For the sake of completeness (and certainly not to contradict Peter's or Carl's observations), there is a psycho-acoustic phenomenon known as "phantom bass", in which the ear apparently "fills in" a missing bass note below a perfect fifth.

Check out this experiment for a demonstration. (Seems that some people hear the phantom bass, others don't.)
106
General Discussion / Re: MIDIs not replaying correctly
As has been stated, the problem is your SB16. IIRC it has a maximum polyphony (the number of notes that can be sounded at the same time) of 16.

Are you using the pedal controller on your piano (or harp) staves? If so, that could be part of your problem. As long as the pedal controller is invoked, all new notes add to the polyphony and aren't removed until the "pedal release" command. With the pedal down, it doesn't take long to reach your 16 note polyphony limit.
109
General Discussion / Re: Tempo indications
The maximum magnification sometimes has items misaligned as well. Are you saying that it is the most accurate?

Yes. I've found that the maximum magnification agrees best with actual physical printouts. Any disparities are very minor (at least in my experience).

As a user of NWC for quite awhile before the Print Preview function was made available, I was quite used to doing my final adjustments using an external program (GSview), and frequently still do so for the final touchups. I "print" the file to a "virtual PostScript printer" connected to "File", then view the file in GSview. This has the advantage of allowing me to make changes in the NWC editor, and a simple ALT-Tab toggles me to the external "print preview" to look for the next misalignment. I can thereby fix up a bunch of things at a time, before making the next "test print." (GSview is smart enough to update the file if it's been modified.)

Since most of my "cosmetic" work is done for the benefit of publishing via PDF files, this helps to insure that WISIIWIG (What I See is indeed What I Get).
111
General Discussion / Re: Tempo indications
When in doubt, trust the print preview, since that's how it will look if actually printed out to hardcopy.

That being said, there can still sometimes be subtle alignment differences between Print Preview and actual printing. These will be negligible, however, if you do your final print previewing at the maximum magnification. Hint: to quickly go to maximum magnification, go back (right-click) one step from the minimum magnification (default). The sequence is circular. ;-)
114
General Discussion / Re: Record to Noteworthy with virtual keyboard
Are you trying to use the virtual piano for step recording? If so, it won't work because NWC needs to have focus in this mode. However, it should work for you in real-time recording mode. Note that you have to be playing an existing file such as a rhythm template while recording (see the Help facility).
118
General Discussion / Re: NWC and Windows XP
Alright, try copying a file from the CD directly into the Samples folder. Do they work?

If not, here's where I'm treading on thin ice since I don't run XP; but it just might work. Right-click on the filename (in the Samples folder) from Explorer, Properties, and uncheck the Read-only attribute checkbox. Does it work now?
119
General Discussion / Re: NWC and Windows XP
Do the samples files that come with the program (in the "Samples" folder of your NWC program folder) work correctly? Knowing this might help narrow down your problem.
120
General Discussion / Re: chant recitatives
I'm not sure why you're saying it's not possible, there's no reason you couldn't write with no barlines. This is in fact one of the big advantages of NWC over all other similar programs of which I'm aware.

However, there will be difficulty in trying to print a score with no barlines. What you have to do is to put a barline on all staves wherever you want a system break (set the System Break checkbox for the top staff just to be sure).
121
General Discussion / Re: Chord problem after Web Update 9
As far as I know, nothing has changed in this regard in WU9. It still works the way it always has, which is:

If no stem direction is assigned, you can add a chord members of differing duration, and the program automatically assigns note directions.

If a stem direction is assigned for the first note, the opposite stem direction has to be assigned for the second.

More than two different durations are not allowed, but more than two notes are, provided that 1) the notes are either of the two durations already established, and 2) the new notes are not "out of range" for that duration. For example, if you have a 1/16 G (stem-down) and a 1/8 B (stem-up), you can add a 1/8 D (stem-up) but not an 1/8 E below the 1/16 G.

If you still want to regress to a previous update version, you can do so by:

1) Uninstall the program,
2) Re-install the program from your original install CD,
3) Apply only the updates you want.
122
General Discussion / Re: Yamaha SYXG-70 Doesn't work in Windows XP
Unless I'm mistaken, all those other players simply use whatever device you've got set in the midi mapper. So, if you set NWC to use the midi-mapper, the exact same device should be used.

Re: sysex, no. NWC doesn't support this at the present time.
123
General Discussion / Re: Browser problem at cyberhymnal.org
Warren - sorry, that was a definite "oops." Apparently I experimented with a second device for the strings and forgot to change it back. The file has been corrected (you will probably have to clear your cache to get the updated version.)

Furthermore, this was probably not the best choice of a sample file. Unless you happen to have Yamaha XG sound, it's unlikely that you'll hear it as intended.

A hardware-independant recording of the piece is available at My IUMA site
124
General Discussion / Re: Browser problem at cyberhymnal.org
Some ISP's are stupid about the mime-type issue -- my present one included. Though they're running Apache servers, user control of mime types using .htaccess files is disabled.

I had quite an extensive go-around with them, and they refused to either 1) let me set my own mime-type, or 2) set it for me, on my home user account. Of course, if I were to pay twice as much for a "business" account, then suddenly everything becomes possible. Buggers.

They did make one concession, which I suppose is better than nothing, in setting the mime-type for .nwc to an existing binary type; application/octet-stream, to be precise. As you can see by clicking on this link this does at least let you download it properly from Netscape 7, Mozilla, Galeon, etc.  (without trying to display it as text), even though it doesn't work with the browser plugin.

From Netscape 7.1 and recent versions of Mozilla you also have the option of "opening using the default application" (usually NWC, though NWP would work also) if the application/octet-stream mime type is used.
126
General Discussion / Re: Composition Help
Taking it a step further -- if it "sounds good to you," there's most likely an explanation. Similarly, if it "sounds dumb" there's very probably a technical reason.

Music theory is all about what's been found to work. It's not an end in itself, nor is it an absolute. It's a largely empirical set of caveats that can help you write / perform better music.

Sure, go ahead and break the rules, and see what happens. There are situations where parallel fifths sound way cool. But, by the same token, if you haven't taken the trouble to learn the rules, you won't have that power of discrimination. Knowing "what works and what doesn't" can save you a lot of time and frustration trying to fix something that doesn't sound good to you!

And yes, there is a different set of "rules" in Jazz than there is in Baroque. They may be more subtle, and less codified, but it's those implicitly understood "rules" that make the difference between a top-grade jazz band and a cacophony of enthusiastic amateurs. ;-)
127
General Discussion / Re: MPC is not working properly
Well, the description of the problem you're having doesn't quite make sense, since volume mpc's and "stock" dynamics control two completely different things. The Volume controller (which is what's changed by the volume mpc) is rather like a volume control on the entire channel, where dynamics change the velocity of each note (how hard you "strike" it).

There is one exception: using "Volume overrides" on dynamics, and then applying dynamic variances (cresc. or decresc.) This ends up behaving exactly like a volume mpc, in that it sends a series of volume controller commands. So if you're simultaneously using volume mpc's and dynamic volume overrides, the two will essentially be fighting each other.
128
General Discussion / Re: Problem with rest in a Chord
Set stem-down (Shift-down arrow). The "stem down" button in the toolbar should light up. Set 1/4 duration (3). Press Space bar (this enters the rest.)

Set Stem-up (Shift-up arrow). The "stem up" button should light up. Set dotted 1/4 duration (3, then .) Place the cursor on the line corresponding to "C". Press CNTL-Enter. This enters the first note. Move the cursor up to the E. Set dotted duration (.) and press CNTL-Enter. This enters the second note.

Now, there's a problem. The durations you described don't add up to the same total time. Left hand has two beats (1/4's), whereas right hand has three beats. This has to be resolved.
130
General Discussion / Re: short cymbal notes
Yes, I've found that to be what happens on my Yamaha synth also. On channel 10 percussion instruments, even though a note-off command is sent, the note isn't turned off!

A solution is to use a volume or expression mpc (preferably the latter, allowing you to use volume for overall staff loudness). Absolute style, two steps; at t=0, set expression to the "normal" value (127 by default), and at t=1 set it to zero. Resolution - as needed to give the effect you desire. Be sure to restore it just before the next note.
131
General Discussion / Re: Why Noteworthy not use the Encore and Cakewalk record system?
Wow, many questions.

1) Different people have different needs. I'm not a very good piano player, so for me the mouse and (computer) keyboard is the fastest and easiest way to work.

NWC is not a sequencer. It has midi capability, but its main purpose is music notation. If you need a sequencer, then use Cakewalk, Cubase, or Massiva. I haven't tried Encore, so cannot comment. If you then want to develop your score further, you can save it as midi, and import into Noteworthy.

2) Many people find Noteworthy very easy to understand and work. For example, I produced an entire album of music, and am slowly working on a second one, all using Noteworthy. As in 1) above, different people have different needs.

2a) After each performance, the recorded information has to be placed somewhere. The way NWC was designed, that "somewhere" is a new staff. It does not have to be permanent, you can copy the notes out of it and then delete it if you like.

2b) Noteworthy simply uses a different approach than the other programs you mention. You can accomplish the same thing by selecting the notes in each new section, and using Copy (or Cut) and then Paste into your "master" staff.

2c) This depends on the key signature in force. There are tools available to change keys and enharmonic spellings in the Tools menu.

2d) You can put as many voices on one visual staff as you like, by using the Staff Layering feature (see the help file, or use the search option on this forum).

(un-numbered) You can put a single "piano" label on a pair of staves by using "non-breaking spaces" (ALT 0160) for the staff name, one ALT 0160 for the RH and two for the LH staves. Then add the word "Piano" (followed by regular spaces as needed) as text, right-justified and positioned midway between the two staves. Take a look at the CAVERNS.NWC file in your SAMPLES folder as an example (look at it in Print Preview to see the final result).

About your "more and more problems" -- NWC Forum "Search" is your friend.
132
General Discussion / Re: NWC on Linux!
Linux books tend to have cute titles, too, with trademark pictures of animals on the covers. A title that doesn't exist yet but really should is AWB.

Another one that really should exist is [abbr=Getting NWC's Font To Work Under Wine]GNWCFTWUW[/abbr]. So far I haven't figured out how to get around that little problem. The book would, of course, have a picture of a meadowlark on the cover.

Yes, I had a look at Matt Johnson's instruction on the Scriptorium. Guess I'm one of the "faint-hearted" types referred to there, think I'll wait until someone comes up with a point-and-click RPM solution.
133
General Discussion / Re: NWC on Linux!
Oh, 554 words is nothing in the Linux world. It's absolutely staggering how much as been written on the subject, even the built-in "man" (manual) command can go on for many pages, on each of hundreds of native *nix commands.

If you're averse to reading, Linux is not for you. There's even a classic Linux "amusements" program called "xpenguins", in which these penguins walk and fly around the screen doing various cute things. One of the cute things is to sit down periodically and flip pages through a big book. ;-)
134
General Discussion / Re: NWC on Linux!
Yes, I can see that there might indeed be issues with XP, since it runs under the NT kernel rather than DOS. For the DOS-based Windows versions (up to and including ME) it's easy to remove the bootloader from the MBR, you just boot into DOS and type "fdisk /mbr". (This information is in the Quick_Startup.pdf file for Mandrake 9.1.)

[From ME, since it doesn't by default come with a "reboot into DOS" option, you'd have to do it from a floppy boot.]

I don't think it's farfetched to imagine Apple providing Quicktime components for Linux. I thought that the present uneasy partnership with Microsoft was far less likely, and yet it happened. (Though it may not last much longer, with Apple providing its own browser, by all reports far superior to IE.) AOL/Time Warner? Piece of cake. AOL's mission in life is to be a thorn in Bill's side. They've spent big bucks on the open-source Mozilla project, essentially thwarting Microsoft's attempt at web domination.

Microsoft itself? You never know. It comes down to whether they can make money at it. If there's a dollar to be made, they'll make it. Bill's present mission is to "make the Chinese pay for software." Maybe if he succeeds with this one (or, more likely, finally gives up) he'll try to sell xsnow to xpenguins. ;-)
136
General Discussion / Re: NWC on Linux!
Robert, are you sure you didn't install it using the "blank space in the Windows partition" without defragmenting and backing up all data like they asked you to? :-p

On a more serious note, there is at least one definite shortcoming to Linux as it pertains here; it does not yet do sound and music very well yet. I'm having the same kind of difficulty getting midi devices etc. recognized as are many of the unfortunates running XP. When it comes to networking, Linux is unsurpassed. When it comes to other applications like office software, graphics apps, file management, etc. it's anywhere as competent as the later Windows releases. But it might be awhile before that same slickness migrates into sound and midi management.

Another area in which Linux was traditionally handicapped was in the GUI. But now, I think it easily surpasses any other OS in that regard. I can't think of a single thing I've done so far where I *had* to use the console; everything (or almost everything, depending on which Windows Manager you use) can be done by click / doubleclick within the GUI.

Probably the easiest WM for Windows users is KDE (KDE Desktop Environment). It behaves very much like Win32, even down to the "Start Menu". All the usual Windows operations are there. You want themes? There's a kazillion of them.

If you want a look-and-feel more like Macintosh, no problem. Within moments you can shift to the GNOME Windows Manager, the other popular "middle-of-the-road" WM. Want a really fast and minimalist WM that makes Win3.11 look overdpme? Window Maker does exactly that; which is to say, as little as possible. A bit too austere for you? No problem, a nice alternative (but still very snappy) is Blackbox.

At the other end of the spectrum is Enlightenment. This is a very hoitie-toitie WM, beautifully animated and loaded to the pits with fancy graphics. (I found its actual interface somewhat counter-intuitive, though. Guess that's part of the snob appeal, just as the controls on a Rolls-Royce aren't where your average Ford Tempo driver expects them to be.)

The other area where there have been massive UI improvements is in software installation. Used to be you had to type long and arcane commands into the console, one mistake and you were toast. Not anymore, with RPM (RPM Package Manager). It's wonderful, a bit like playing Black Sabbath at 78 speed. Download anything with the .rpm extension, and just double-click on it. Voila, it's installed. As near as I can tell this is only available on the later builds of some of the distros, such as RedHat and Mandrake (I'm using the latter).

Now you just have to figure out where it put it. ;-) Althouth, usually that doesn't matter. For instance, I installed Wine by doing exactly that - double-clicking on the install file. I then just had to do a file search for the configuration program "winesetupk". After running that, it didn't matter any more where Wine was located; I just double-click on the Windows .exe and away it goes.

In short, it's unlikely that Linux will ever replace Windows and Mac for casual users. But for people serious about computing generally, and with perhaps a bit of the gypsy in the soul, it provides an eminantly workable alternative.
138
General Discussion / Re: NWC on Linux!
And, the last time I dealt with RPM was when I slowed down Judy Collin's recording of "Both sides now" from 45 to 33 so I could sing along.

That's gotta be the inverse operation to "playing Black Sabbath on 78-speed."
139
General Discussion / Re: NWC on Linux!
ROTFL! Robert, what a priceless post.

Your points are all valid, of course. I don't know how to compile a Linux program either ("Yet!" he adds defiantly), and in fact it's even hit-and-miss if I can properly install a pre-compiled binary without an RPM (sort of an "install wizard" thingie for Linux).

There's much to be said for setting up Linux on a box that has "established" hardware on it. There are resources for finding out if specific hardware has been tested, if anyone else is still interested after Robert's tale of woe, A listing of URLs for a wide range of Linux builds is available in this post at linuxiso.org

I myself have a hardware conflict involving my two soundcards; the "legacy" SB16 devices are apparently at war, both trying to usurp the same (fixed) DMA's and IRQ's. This is one thing to be said for Windows, it's quite easy for the average bear to disable one (or even both, if desired) to resolve the conflict; it must be possible in Linux, but I haven't found it yet.

I'll close with the comment that my first reaction to Linux after installing it for the first time three years ago was exactly the same as Robert's. It's taken me this long to get the nerve up to try again. This time, though, I'm absolutely loving the experience.

Must be senile dementia starting to set in, or perhaps I'm a closet masochist.
140
Version 1.75 Discussion / Re: Tie Glitch
The first thing I'd do would be to use the Find facility to search for hanging ties (it's one of the Find options).

Another possibility is that you've got a tie going nowhere. This can happen if you tie two or more notes, then delete the last note (or move it). The tie will then try to find the next instance of that note, if it doesn't find one it will hang indefinitely.

A third possibility is that you're using the "pedal" controller to sustain the note(s) on a staff, and forgot to turn it off again later.
142
General Discussion / Re: NWC on Linux!
Just a few random thoughts, as a new (and still very green) Linux user:

New distros are getting much better in terms of user-friendliness. In many ways, it's already far easier to install and run Linux than Windows (I refer specifically to my experience with Mandrake 9.1). We can only hope that WinE will eventually become easier to configure and use also.

Tying into another thread about the use of TiMidiTy -- This soundfont-based rendering machine is included in the Mandrake distro by default, once your system is installed, TiMidiTy is already there, configured, and ready to go.

While I'd love to see a native NWC build for Linux, I can understand Noteworthy Software's hesitance in providing one. The *nix community is so used to getting everything for free, that you have to wonder if makes business sense to try to earn a living selling software to *nixers. It would actually make more sense, from this standpoint, to address the opposite end of the spectrum; Macintosh. Mac users are quite used to a closed architecture, and having to pay significant sums for their software.

For myself, I've given myself a year to emigrate from the Billyville, that strip-mall and gated community faceless commercial wasteland along the freeway to the future. I sincerely hope I can get NWC running under WinE by then.
143
General Discussion / Re: Shave and a Haircut...
Tip for Netscape/ Mozilla (and probably also Konqueror, Galeon etc.) users: Clicking Reload only refreshes the html content. If you want to force a refresh on all images and other content, hold SHIFT whilst clicking Reload. This is sometimes necessary to see the updated version of an image that has changed, but retains the same filename.
145
General Discussion / Re: Cadenza's and Overtures
"2. They are used to denote possession, for example:
the dog's bone
the company's logo
Jones's bakery (but Joneses' bakery if owned by more than one Jones)"

Or, "the cadenza's beginning..." etc.

Seems you didn't get my little joke.
147
General Discussion / Re: View prn file
PCL files are a proprietary file format by HP. If memory serves, one of the reasons for the development of PostScript is that HP was rather snooty about licensing PCL.

Anyway, a company called Pageview has a PCL manipulation program for sale, and once also offered a free viewer called "Formview." This is what I used to convert a bunch of PCL circuit diagrams I had from the DOS days. I see now that they've dumped Formview, but replaced it with a "demo" version of their PCL Tools program. From what I can see, it offers pretty much full functionality (and quite a bit more than was offered by Formview, for that matter). It might be just what you need.
149
General Discussion / Re: Midi device fails to open...
Not sure where to start... except perhaps by pointing out that in the 32-bit Windows versions (W95, 95a-c, 98, 98se, ME and AFAIK w2k and xp also) the midi-mapper is actually in the Midi tab of the Control Panel "Multimedia" applet.

Good luck!
150
General Discussion / Re: NWC to MIDI to WAV to MP3, WMA, MP4, OGG - here is how to do it
While we're on shareware and such... "Audio Compositor" does essentially what Timidity does, and there was a time when I would have recommended it over Timidity because of its ease of installation and use. However, Tim's excellent "Timidity installer for dummies" got rid of that problem. However, there's still a place in the world for Audio Compositor, since it's *very* easy to change to different sound fonts for rendering your midis.