From a practical standpoint on a personal level, I don't think it matters much. Otherwise it would be verboten to make mp3's for uploading to mp3.com or iuma.com or any of those, unless it happened to be using an "approved" (i.e. licensed) encoder.
I think the situation is similar to that surrounding gif images, where the patent holder (Unisys) goes after purveyors of image editing software, not after the end users who use that software to make images. But a gif image is a gif image; how is anyone to determine whether it was made using a licensed lzw encoder, or using a maverick?
My impression is that Fraunhofer (the owner of the copyright on the mp3 algorithm) is more interested in getting royalties from the hardware/firmware mp3 codecs (read: "mp3 players") and high-profile sound editing software companies than they are about end users.
If not - oh well. Like Robert, I've had just about enough of all this copyright bullpuckey. I'll continue to use LAME and BladeEnc, and if they come after me they'll have to come after about a kazillion others just like me. Fat chance.
What options show up in the mixer applet has more to do with your particular sound card (or, more exactly, "sound chipset" since quite a few mainboards have onboard sound) than with what flavour of Winwoes you're running. For instance, my ancient Creative/Ensoniq PCI128 has a monaural mixer input called "modem" and a stereo input called "TV" (go figger) in addition to the usual aux, line, synth, wave, etc. inputs.
Graeme - another possibility is that some of your inputs are hidden. I haven't used ALC recorder in quite awhile, so I don't remember if it "echoes" the current Windows mixer applet setting. Try this: go into the mixer applet (the Windows "volume control", the little speaker icon in the system tray). Then select Options | Properties | Recording button. This will display a list of available inputs, with checkboxes next to them which will enable/disable them from being displayed.
(If you don't have the volume control speaker icon in your system tray, go to Control Panel | Multimedia | Audio tab. Check the box "Show volume control on taskbar")
True, of course. But not knowing exactly what the OP had in mind, the first answer was my best-guess.
A facility that's often useful to spread things back out is to force system breaks. Select the barline (has to be the top-most staff) and edit the barline (select it and ALT-ENTER or CNTL-E), check the "Force system break" checkbox.
This isn't really controllable on a per-measure basis, but you can change it globally (on an entire file) using File | Page Setup | Options tab. Uncheck the box "Increase note spacing for larger note durations."
Aside from possible differences between the evaluation version and the web update, there will be much significant (or even extreme) differences between different users' systems.
Specifically, how your page layout will look will depend on the properties of the default printer on any given system. It is the default printer's properties that NWC looks at in determining the available space for each system. In addition to the margin setting within the NWC program, there will be an "unprintable area" defined for the printer itself.
The above is true even when using "virtual" printers. For instance, if I use the "Applewriter PostScript" device to print to a file, the result is often very different than if I print to "5-D PDF" (aka "Jaws PDF") -- even if I select the same paper size.
The only way I know of insuring that every user sees exactly the same page layout is to send them files in a "predigested" document format, such as PDF, Postscript, or even image files (TIFF, GIF, PNG, etc.)
Yes, the newsgroup still exists. However, since it's a private "registered users only" newsgroup, it does not show up on the public lanbytes listing.
Using Netscape 6-7 / Mozilla 0.9x-1.xx it's very easy to sign up to the Noteworthy newsgroup. However, I'd recommend first deleting your entry for the lanbytes.net server, exit Netscape completely (including quick-launch if active), then restart it.
Then go to the Newgroup signup page and enter your name and registration code. You're then taken to a launch page, which gives you your username and password for access to the newsgroup. Write down the password (or copy to clipboard), then click on the link next to "Server" at the top of the page. This will bring up the news client and set up the account for you. Enter the given username and password (if you copied the password to clipboard you can just paste it in). If you've got the Password manager enabled (recommended) you can have it remember the values you filled in, and logging onto the newsgroup in the future will be completely transparent to you.
If you wish you can have Netscape check the newsgroup automatically every xx minutes by clicking on the server entry, then "View Settings for this Account" | Server Settings.
The filename extension really doesn't have much to do with the nature of the file itself. Some applications (e.g. Media player, VanBasco's Midi player) don't care about the extension, others (like NWC) do.
Simply rename the file to .mid and it will import into NWC if it's indeed a valid midi file. (for instance, right-click on the file "myfile.midi", choose "Rename", and delete the trailing "i").
One of the web updates (7?) included a patch to make it possible for NWC to open even certain types of non-standard midi files. They still have to have the .mid extension, however.
Getting back to your original question - part of the reason why I originally thought it was a joke (and therefore replied with a joke) is that "fuzzy logic" and "probability" are not in the same set of objects, like "cat" and "dog." It's more like "cat" and "bad breath." My cat can (and does) have bad breath, but I cannot directly compare the concepts "cat" and "bad breath."
Similarly, fuzzy logic uses probability, but can't be compared to it. It can even be said that it manipulates it, so in a sense it's a higher concept. In the example I gave, a fuzzy-logic program will at first assume equal probability to all note motions. As it discovers that ti/fa is followed by do/mi more often than can be expected by equal probability, it "weights" the probability of that note motion outcome in the future.
Similarly, fractal motion is unpredictable in a strict sense, but in another sense it's "less unpredictable" than a perfectly random motion. So there are degrees of predictabilities (or, if you will, probabilities), ranging from the purely and completely random Cage-style aleatory, to the highly structured, almost perfectly predictable work of some of the Baroque composers.
It's telling that Robert used Bach for his illustration. It would be meaningless to try to apply fuzzy logic to "best-guess" what the next note is in a Cage composition.
1: Set stem-up (Shift - Up-arrow) 2: Set 1/8 duration (4) 3: Enter the rest (space) 4: Set stem-down (Shift - Down-arrow) 5: Set 1/2 duration (2) 6: Position the cursor where you want the note 7: Press CNTL-Enter.
Done! Note that the resulting "chord" will have the smaller duration (1/8) assigned to it (even though the note will play for the entire 1/2-note duration). You can then set stem-up and add the rest of your melodic line.
Another possible aspect to "fuzzy logic" is the idea of learning. For instance, you could write a computer program that initially assigned an equal probability to all possible note motions. It would watch you compose (or perhaps analyse existing scores) and "discover" that most of the time, if you're playing a ti and fa, you will follow it with a do and mi. It therefore increases the probability for this pairing, and if asked to compose "in your style," will follow ti/fa intervals with do/mi more frequently than others. So in the realm of software development, where the term "fuzzy logic" originated, there's a strong connection with AI (artificial intelligence).
This is perhaps one reason why I find the fractal model of automatic music composition much more satisfying than pure aleatory. Fractals tend to have their own sort of fuzzy logic "built-in", due to their self-similar nature. (Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it "patterned randomness" or something like that.) Artifacts will have a similar, but not identical, structure at different scales. Whether this simulates "real" music more realistically than other approaches is open to debate, but I did find it a useful starting point for "avant-garde" musical compositions on numerous occasions.
A few years ago an interviewer asked Bob Dylan what his biggest recommendation was for aspiring song-writers. He paused for a moment, and said "Learn music theory." With that, my respect for Dylan went up several quantum steps. Although he obviously had no theory training himself, he could see its value instead of just denigrating it, as seems to be the usual tack.
Sure, Bo Diddley didn't have any music theory either. But he couldn't do anything other than Bo Diddley stuff. ;-)
They laughed at Elvis. They laughed at Led Zeppelin. They laughed at Britney Spears. For all we know, "Chris" is another blonde girl with low-cut pants who'll make more money from music than all the rest of us combined!
Elvis and the Zepp were blonde girls? Amazing what one learns on this forum. :-p
These interfaces basically consist of an opto-coupler and a couple resistors. Do a Google on "midi interface" and you'll come up with a kazillion results -- including this one.
The score will be formatted in the way you describe when you go to print it out (either by using a real printer, or by using a virtual printer such as when creating a PDF or PostScript document). You can see how it will look by using the Print Preview feature.
During editing, however, the score is displayed in linear fashion.
Since I usually work on works with several staves, changing the way this works would not be an improvement or "rectification" for me personally. However, when working with small scores, a page-view editing format might be useful for some. I'd suggest filing a request on the wish-list if this is something you'd find useful.
Meanwhile, give it a try the way it is. I think you'll find it eminently workable.
This is one of those "learn by taking it apart" things.
The key is that both staves sweep the same pitch at the same time, but the start of the notes is staggered (syncopated). This insures that when one note reaches the end of the sweep and has to start a new note, the other one is still playing, so you don't notice the short gap.
No, the free stand-alone NoteWorthy Player program does not allow printing.
However, the free Browser Plugin program does allow printing. Your friend the band director will have to install the plugin, then open your NWC file using his browser. Works with Netscape, Mozilla and Opera all versions, IE only if you haven't applied the latest "security" patch. More info on this at news headline #21.
There is an XG patch file that should do the trick for you on The NWC Scriptorium. Delete all but the first staff (using CNTL-D; select the lowest staff, and press CNTL-D until all are gone but the first one) and re-save it under a new filename.
Noteworthy is the only software company I'm aware of, who even maintains a public "wish-list" feature. So I don't think there are any precedents to compare against.
But I think that if I were running a software company, I'd probably not make the wishlist results public either. As David implies, it would not make good business sense to do so. Let's say someone posted a wish for something extremely difficult to implement -- let's say automatic OCR scoring from a gif or jpg image. A visible wish like this would get lots of "votes" from people who would agree, "Yeah, that would be way cool! I want it too!" As a result, the more reasonable wishes would be relatively lost in a wash of more ludicrous requests.
There was a discussion about this somewhere -- I thought it was on this forum, but can't seem to find it. Maybe it was the newsgroup. At any rate, I think it's just called a "target," and as I recall it was (is?) sometimes used to indicate a particular point in the music, rather like a coda symbol.
But why is it in the native NWC font? We can only surmise that NW Software had plans for it somewhere along the line... or perhaps still do.
I don't suppose anyone knows of a MIDI player with a tempo-adjust feature? Seems like the kind of thing karaoke singers would want.
Indeed I do. VanBasco's Midi/Karaoke Player allows relative tempo adjustment in real-time, as well as transposition and volume. Lots more features. If Microsoft knew how to write software, something like this would be the Windows midi player.
Technically, a half-note can't even exist in 6/8, since it would always straddle the "imaginary barline" in the middle of the bar. The duration of a half note would therefore be displayed as a dotted quarter tied to an eighth note.
As to how many beats it get, it depends on whether you're counting "six to a bar" (ONE two three FOUR five six), in which case it would indeed take four such beats. However, it's often more convenient to view 6/8 as two tripletted groups, and you'll find people counting it "ONE - and - ah TWO - and - ah".
If you import the midis into NWC, you can see what instrument patches were used by the file's creator. Just be sure that Tools | Options | Import has "Insert Instrument Changes" checked.
Another option is VanBasco's Midi/Karaoke Player which give a display of the instrument patches currently in use on each channel in one of its display windows.
Another wild guess (since you didn't tell us what kind of card you now have) - you may have your soundcard set for the "legacy" SB16-compatible midi device, rather than the more sophisticated ones that it may be capable of. Look in Control Panel | Multimedia | Midi | Single Instrument. Your available midi devices will be listed there.
If it's set to something like "OPL3" or "FM midi" or "Legacy SB16" or something to that effect -- that'll be the cheesy SB16 device. Select another one and try it out using media player or whatever. (If there's one called "External Midi" or "MPU-401" or something like that, this is for an external synth and won't give you any sound through the sound card.)
Once you find the device that works best for you, NWC will use that device if you've set it to the "Midi Mapper" device in Tools | Options | Midi. Or you can select a different device, bypassing the "default" used by selecting the midi mapper.
Mozilla is (according to their own claim) the "most" standards-compliant browser out there. But note that they're careful not to claim 100% compliance. Nor do they claim to be the "best". They're only trying - as they put it - to design a browser that doesn't suck.
Part of the problem is due to ambiguity in the W3C standards. This is especially problematical when there is a conflict (e.g. poorly written web-pages in which the html specifies one thing, and the css another); which one takes precedence?
Another is that there are still a great many non-compliant web-pages out there. I dare say that the majority of web pages on the 'net are not W3C compliant. Mozilla tries to get around this at least partially by having two modes of operation: "complaint" mode, and "quirks" mode. If if finds a web page that appears to be written with older versions of Netscape (or IE, IIRC) in mind, it goes into quirks mode in an attempt to display it as intended.
In all fairness, part of the blame for the present standards problem can be laid at Netscape's door; it's not quite entirely Microsoft's fault. During the "browser wars" Netscape came up with its own quirks, in an attempt to out-quirk Microquirk. Their action is perhaps understandable, as they were very much under attack, but in hindsight it might have served them better to defend the moral high ground and insist on standards evangelism.
All that being said, the biggest hope we have for a standard internet at some time in the distant future is Mozilla, and similar Open Source projects (such as OpenOffice.org, since Microcrock Office was mentioned in this connection also).
Ned, although you're right, I think you'll have the devil's own time trying to get every r&r guitarist to start playing "power intervals" instead of "power chords." ;-)
Usually this is just referred to as a "chord," as opposed to a single note. Technically, I believe that a true chord has three members, but in common usage even just two notes sounded at the same time are called a chord.
".. an operating system without Internet Explorer..." Have a look at "98lite". It makes IE an optional component, and gives you three shell options besides -- "sleek," "chubby" and "overweight." Your guess as to which option is the w98 default! The "sleek" option is really cool - it retrofits the W95 desktop to the W98 engine... with a remarkable speed improvement. The "preview" version is completely functional, nag-free, and with no time limit. Get it here.
Robert's comment got me thinking -- couldn't NWS automatically reset that flag in the registry during install of the browser plugin? The only side effect is that you'd probably need to do a system reboot after installation. This could be made an option, something to the effect of "If you're using version blah of IE or above, you need to do this. If you're using a real browser, you don't need to bother." ... Well ok, maybe it could be worded more diplomatically... ;-)
For tempo control, the ordinary ritard. gives a linear (constantly changing) tempo over its operating range. A tempo mpc gives additional flexibility in defining the rate of slowdown (or speed-up), you can implement up to four different rates (using the linear style) or up to four discrete tempo changes (using the absolute style).
Dynamics (cresc. and decresc.) affect the note velocity, not channel volume. For changing volume (and other controllers such as expression, reverb, pitch bend, etc.) mpc's are required.
There's a tutorial on using mpc's in the Appendix 1 (Section 7, "Exercises", starting at page 40) of the "NWC Command Summary", available for free download from The Scriptorium.
You only need to be sure that your drum track staff is set to channel 10, and then the notes on the staff will produce the drum sounds, according to the "map" given by drumref.nwc.
Changing to different instrument patches will change to different drum kits on some sound cards. You will have to consult your particular card or synth's owner's manual to find out which instrument patch is used for which kit (jazz, electro, rock, etc.)
Stephen - the "pat" answer would be to refer you to the OpenOffice.org Documentation page - but I imagine you've already availed yourself of the resources there and are looking for a printed book on the subject.
You might have a look at your local bookstore to see if you can find something like "Microsoft Office for Dummies" or whatever. Most functions and operations in OO.o will be similar if not identical to the comparable MS Office ones.
Well, the site is still there, but it does not validate as "proper" html. This might be why it doesn't work on web TV. You might consider emailing the proprietor of the site at mail*AT*cyberhymnal.org (replace *AT* with the @ symbol) with a bug report on this issue.
Or else, consider getting a computer. I have a sense that incompatibilities with web TV will only get worse as time goes on.
Hm... you're right. Alignment is presently at the left-most members of a chord containing seconds, whereas most scores align with the right-most members.
There is no setting that you can change to alter this behaviour. My recommendation would be to submit a feature request to the Wish List, in hopes that this will be changed in a future update.
From the Noteworthy Software front page: Online forum where NoteWorthy Composer users can communicate with each other. From the Intro in the Help section: We have made a forum available where users can interact with each other.
I don't mean to be rude, but I believe this has occurred, even though your problem has little or nothing to do with NoteWorthy Composer. From the "Rules" section: This is a NoteWorthy Composer support forum, intended for messages pertaining to the use of this program.
