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Messages - Fred Nachbaur

202
General Discussion / Re: Pitch Bending
Further to Milton's comments - I'd suggest using a pitch-bend resolution of 256 for most applications. The default of 32 results in 8 times as many pitch-bend commands being sent.
203
General Discussion / Re: NWC files on web page: Netscape
Search the Internet for a free utility called "programmer's file editor" possible known as PFE32.

Wow, neat! Another PFE fan! ;-)

Click on the link to go to what's left of the PFE homepage. I think that's probably the prime candidate for most austere web page in existence. (Well, almost. He'd have to dump the background to win that distinction.)

One warning: it doesn't like whitespaces in directory or file names.
204
General Discussion / Re: Sawtooth
Ha! I love it. If anything, this underscores the sonic similarities between theremin and bowed saw. Robert Froehner has some great recordings of both, available for free download from his site mentioned above.

The theremin part of the Spellbound soundtrack was, in fact, played by Sam Hoffman, one of the greatest thereminists of all time. I have the Spellbound CD (Stephen, drop me an email if interested), but I believe that the soundtrack to "The Day The Earth Stood Still" is by far the better one. Still stunningly beautiful after half a century.
205
General Discussion / Re: Sawtooth
There seems to be quite the resurgence of "real" saw players. The sound is haunting and very reminiscent of the theremin. And yes, they use real wood-saws.

Interestingly, there's a fellow named Robert Froehner in Texas who is both a thereminist and musical sawyer. Have a look at his interesting Saw and theremin page
206
General Discussion / Re: Exporting to MIDI
File | Save As... | Type 1 midi (using the "Save as Type" pulldown menu).

As indicated, very easy -- but not necessarily obvious! ;-)

Also possible is Type 0 midi, but this is generally not desirable because it loses the track structure. It's useful for certain situations that only a "midi geek" would recognize.
208
General Discussion / Re: NWC files on a web page
Steve -

At first that was a real headscratcher; at first I couldn't figure out what's wrong. Saving your file let me open it in NWC, so it's a standard NWC file. However, trying to open it in the browser shows "gobbledygook" -- but different gobbledygook than usual. It starts out "[NoteWorthy ArtWare]..." whereas an NWC file will normally start out "[NWZ]..."

Aha! It's an "uncompressed NWC file" (byte count 7919 bytes) instead of a "standard NWC file" (which would have a byte count of 1439 bytes). My guess is that this is a file from an older 1.5x or earlier version of NWC, which saved as uncompressed by default. I'll bet dollars to navy beans that your problem will be solved by replacing the file with the "standard" version. You just have to load it into a current version of NWC, and save it back.

Robert - (and anyone else) -
Both Netscape 4 and Netscape 6/7/ Mozilla 1.x simply have to have the plugin DLL(s) in the "Plugins" subdirectory. That's all there is to it, the next time you launch the browser it will find it there. The installer is a convenience, but I've successfully migrated plugins simply by copying the DLL's into the appropriate directory and restarting.
209
General Discussion / Re: NoteworthySoftware.com RSS News Feeds
AdAware gets rid of the evil Gator, along with a host of other disgusting reptiles. The "free for personal use" version is perfectly adequate.

On one occasion that I know of (my coworker), AdAware couldn't remove a couple Gator files and the directory in which they were housed. (Probably because the files were in use.) He simply noted where they were, and deleted them manually.
210
General Discussion / Re: NWC files on a web page
IE tends to let the dot extension on the end of a URL control its handling of a resource.

This is one of the things that makes it much more vulnerable to malware attacks than a browser that insists on the proper MIME type. An executable can be "disguised" as a harmless data file of some sort, and IE will naively open it.
211
General Discussion / Re: Not sending anything to the computer
I wonder how many people HAVE had success with it?

I've had excellent results, on many occasions, using a variety of synths, and three different versions of Windows. Even an old Korg drum machine, under Win3.11.

It's your keyboard, your cable, your PC, your soundcard, you name it - everything else's fault but their software!

If your midi device is working, then the software works. Simple as that. OTOH, the software can't do anything with a signal that does not exist. Doesn't matter if it's NWC, Cubase, Cakewalk, Massiva, Gigasampler, etc. etc. You have to get the hardware and operating system working and passing data to the application before the application can do anything with it.
213
General Discussion / Re: What are you favorite original *.nwc files?
Thanks Gary. Well, a 3-1/2" floppy would pretty much restrict you to midi or NWC files, since it would take several boxes of floppies to get my catalog in mp3 format. ;-)

You can click on my name above (in blue) to view my bio, which includes my web addies.
215
General Discussion / Re: Real sounds
Wups - never mind about the codecs. Mplayer managed to find and download them on its own. (And amazingly enough, it even worked!)

Next question - where do you find an encoder for this format?
216
General Discussion / Re: Real sounds
I recently "upgraded" (and I use that term very loosely) to W98SE from W95c, and no longer have the codecs to play WMAs. Robert, do you know of a simple way to get these codecs without having to install the whole bloated Mplayer 9?

I'd be happy to post Yamaha XG and maybe Roland GS (DirectX - aka "Microsoft Synthesizer") files for comparison, should anyone be interested.
217
General Discussion / Re: again, beaming problem
This problem - and many others relating to multiple voices - was solved by the Staff Layering feature in V1.7 and beyond. Layering gives full control over each voice, and is a very powerful facility.

If the multiple voices are very simple, then the old system is sometimes adequate. However, the layering feature is highly recommended for anything more complex.

I also suggest upgrading to V1.75, there have been many improvements since V1.70.
218
General Discussion / Re: Encoding a song
While a midi file with embedded lyrics is technically not a karaoke file, most decent karaoke players will act "as if" a midi-with-lyrics is indeed a karaoke file. VanBasco's Karaoke Player is one such, it's an excellent freeware player with lots if interesting and useful features. I like it so much I've even written a skin for it, called "Mahogany Pastel".

The extension is basically a convenience for the user. Just as simply changing .mid to .kar does not magically create a karaoke file, so also changing .kar to .mid does not "kill" a valid karaoke file.

Essentially, the difference is in how the lyrics are embedded. IIRC, in a .kar file they are as Meta Text entries, and in a midi with lyrics they are Meta Lyric entries.

You can create "real" Karaoke files using the freeware Karakan program. Before NWC natively included lyrics into exported lyrics, it was the most viable way of doing so. You can copy tye lyrics from the NWC lyric editor window, paste into Karakan's editor, and fine-tune it from there. This is how I created the karaoke files on my site. But now I don't bother, especially since VanBasco doesn't care that they're not "real" karaoke files, playing/displaying them just fine.

There was even a karaoke plug-in available for the original Mplayer, but I can't seem to find it now. I also understand that Mplayer 9.0 includes a codec for karaoke support, though I haven't verified it (too chicken to install it until it's proven itself...)
219
General Discussion / Re: Notate with mouse and/or keyboard
Barry- poke around at second-hand shops, you can probably find an AT keyboard (without the Windows key) for a dollar. ;-)

You'll probably also need an adaptor cable to connect from the old-style DIN keyboard connector to a PS-2 plug.
220
General Discussion / Re: Need advice for hyperlinking NWC files - not HTML
However, my original point was that depending on your ISP, placing or editing an .htaccess file may or may not be easy.

Amen. My stupid ISP runs Apache, but apparently has a global setting that does not allow individual .htaccess files to have any effect. I can upload them with impunity, but nothing happens.

I've talking myself blue in the face trying to get them to implement the proper MIME-types for NWC and a couple other file types, to no avail. They tell me I have to "upgrade" to a "business account" (read: give them more money).

Bloody phone company anyway. Problem is, the cable company are just as thievish, but even less competent.
222
General Discussion / Re: keyboard shotcuts
Instead of ALT-Enter you can use CNTL-E. (That's what I use, partly because it's one-handed, and partly because I'm used to it from earlier versions of NWC.)
224
General Discussion / Re: transform nwc files in pdf files
Have you tried reading the *.log files using a text editor, such as Notepad? This will very probably give you some error information that might help solve the problem.

I use a different PDF writer called "5D PDF Creator"; if I try to use it to create a PDF file with the same filename and location as a file presently open in Acrobat Reader, the resulting file sharing error causes such a .log file to be written instead.
225
General Discussion / Re: Problem with installing WebUpdate 9
I wonder if perhaps IE uses Shift-Reload to provide a "full refresh" like Mozilla, forcing the entire page including images and other objects to be reloaded from the server.

I sometimes have to use this to force a refresh on an image I know has been updated, but Mozilla still loads it from cache even though the html itself is updated.
226
General Discussion / Re: I found 'Hide'...how do I un-hide?
Notes can be made invisible by changing the attribute in the "Visibiltity" tab of the Note Properties dialog. Indeed, just about anything can have its visibility controlled in this way. However, this only affects visibility during printing, and in Print Preview, the NoteWorthy Player program, and the NoteWorthy Browser Plug-in.

In the Composer program's editor, items flagged for invisibility are colored according to the color specified in the Tools | Options | Color dialog, by default a light grey. You can make this white, causing invisible items to disappear completely except where they cross visible items (such as the staff lines). However, this attribute is not a property of the saved file, rather it is a global setting for the program. So you can't use it to make things disappear completely for other users.

A common technique for hiding "messy" stuff from view is to have a completely separate staff for the sounded representation, and cause it to be not displayed in the Page Setup | Contents tab. That way you can spell out trills and other ornaments, tweak note durations, etc. A second, visible but muted staff, is then used to give the "visual" aspect.
228
General Discussion / Re: HELP! Needed
Why does NWC call everything "Song Files"?

There was quite a discussion on this topic some time ago, either on the forum or on the newsgroup, I don't remember which. The end result was that no-one could come up with a suitable generic designation other than "piece." IIRC it was agreed that "NoteWorthy Composer Piece" sounds stultified and perhaps a bit snobbish, and "Song" was the most workable compromise.

That being said, if you have a better suggestion, NW Software has an excellent record of acting upon user suggestions. Who know, maybe your suggestion will find its way into V1.8!
229
General Discussion / Re: transposition
I'm not sure what the question is. Alto clef is a "c" clef. So is tenor clef. The juncture of the two stylized "C's" gives the location of -- you guessed it -- middle "C".
230
General Discussion / Re: MP3 Soundfont
Yes and No. An mp3 is a compressed wav recording, usually of an entire performance, sequence, or other audio content. In that sense it's a "finished product", rather like a cake. A soundfont, on the other hand, is a collection of individual sounds, usually used to assemble a musical work. In that sense, it's a collection of "ingredients."

That being said, you could convert an mp3 back to a wav file (an easy way is to use WinAmp's DiskWriter output plugin), then use a wave editor such as CoolEdit to select a portion of the result, then use Vienna or other soundfont editor to include that snippet into a new soundfont. Finally, use NWC to write a new sequence using that soundfont. ;-)
231
General Discussion / Re: Software MIDI reproduction
Tim - thanks so much. Thanks to your "idiot-proof installer" I got it working right off the bat. Now I have a starting point for learning the capabilities of this amazing software.

Interestingly, even though I don't have a very fast computer by today's standards (AMD K6-II/500) it played every midi I've tried so far perfectly, in real-time; whereas Audio Compositor had difficulty with any but the simplest midi files.

Much appreciated!
232
General Discussion / Re: How do I use text fonts
I'm with Cyril 100% on CharacterMap Pro. I even went so far as to put it on my desktop, with a keyboard shortcut (CNTL-ALT-M) so I can bring it up in a flash.

(NoteWorthy Composer is, of course, on CNTL-ALT-N.)
233
General Discussion / Re: More text formatting problems
If you want the text to be positioned to the left of the anchor, choose "Right" in the "Justification" pulldown in the text properties dialog. Similarly, you can use center justification to position the text such that the anchor is at the middle of the text expression.

Assuming that you are placing chord names, I would recommend putting them at the actual note where the change is occurring (usually the first note of the measure) rather than at the barline. Use left justification, Alignment/Placement "At next note/bar", and be sure to turn Preserve width off.
234
General Discussion / Re: Software MIDI reproduction
Tim- I'd love to get your installer version of Timidity++. I've never been able to get it to work using the "conventional" approach. (I usually don't have much trouble with multi-step installs, but every attempt to install Timidity has given me nothing but grief.)

Unfortunately, the URL you provided gives the infamous 404 "not found" error. Could you please look into this?
235
General Discussion / Re: some other file format
Have a look at https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/?topic=2387, which details an approach that may be useful to you.

Note that if the person on the receiving end has Ghostscript and GSview installed, you can take one less step (the PDF conversion) and send the .ps file directly. However, I do recommend zipping it, since compression will make a big difference in the resulting filesize.

If you're geeky enough to be comfortable with a command-line compression program, get the (free) "gzip" utility; this will compress .ps files and give them the extension .psz. Such files can be directly opened by GSview without having to unpack them first.
236
General Discussion / Re: problem recording with a midi keyboard
Probably the same as Michael's problem. You have to set the midi port to the external (game port) in the Control Panel | Multimedia midi tab. Windows can't detect this automatically, you have to set it yourself.

Another common problem is that the midi cables are connected backwards. The Midi OUT cable from the computer has to go to Midi IN on the keyboard, and vice versa.
237
General Discussion / Re: Phonograph to CD recording
Since this is rather a broad topic, and not even remotely related to NoteWorthy Composer, I can only suggest that you use your search engine of choice to find websites and other resources dedicated to preservation of phonograph records. One rather interesting site is The Record Collector's Guild, which includes amongst other things a listing of software useful for Vinyl Rippers. Also browse the Record Collector's Webring.
238
General Discussion / Re: Beam selected notes
If I remember correctly, this very issue was one of the main factors that led to the development of staff layering, which was considered "experimental" for a couple releases before finally being made permanent somewhere in the V1.5x series.

With very few exceptions, I always use staff layering when there is more than one voice on any given staff. I think it's quite probable that the "chorded notes" option was retained merely to allow reverse compatibility with older files. For new files, the staff layering option gives vastly more flexibility and accuracy of representation.
239
General Discussion / Re: Rolled Chords
Hi, I think I know what you're talking about, but don't know the term for them. Perhaps "alternating tremolo" or something like that.

In any case, there isn't a direct way of doing this in NWC at this time. You could use post-processing of an exported metafile "after the fact," but I can't think of a way to do it within the program itself.

The few times I've run into this I've simply spelled it out. For example, a pair of 1/2-notes beamed together with a double beam would be 8 alternating pairs of 1/16 notes.
240
General Discussion / Re: forte piano (fp)
Yes, indeed it does have to do with the "grey numbers." I'd suggest reading the Help section on the Dynamic Command, with special attention to the sections on volume overrides.
243
General Discussion / Re: Sending music page via Outlook Express
Another possibility (easier) is to use File | Print Preview, navigate to the page you want to send, then click the COPY button. Select "Placeable Metafile (*.wmf)" and click OK. An export dialog box shows up, browse to where you want to save the file and give it a filename ending in .wmf. You can then send this to your friend, who can open it with most windows-based graphics programs, including IrfanView.

Another possibility: have your friends download the stand-alone NoteWorthy Player, they can then watch the score scroll by as they listen to the piece. Finally, the NoteWorthy Browser Plugin might work out; it even allows printing from within the plugin. The one thing I'm not sure of is whether it works with Outlook Express. (I know it works with Netscape/Mozilla's mail client, but can't help with OE.)
244
General Discussion / Re: bug report
A Modest Proposal*

Since there seems to be such disagreement about how grace notes should be treated, what durations they should occupy in time, how much time they should steal from the preceding and subsequent notes, whether or not there should be any overlap with the preceding and subsequent notes, and other such sticky aspects for which it's impossible to achieve consensus, I suggest that grace notes in NWC be done away with entirely. All notes should be spelled out exactly as they are to be played. After all, NWC has the facility to do tripletted double-dotted sixty-fourths, any musician worth his salt should be able to read these.

* cf. Jonathan Swift
246
General Discussion / Re: Using a Greek Font
Thanks, Ann, but Chris's question is a bit of a head-scratcher. The procedure he described should do what you expect. In other words, "WFM" (works for me).

Maybe try a reboot. Amazing what weird Windows problems can be sometimes be cured by restarting.