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Messages - Fred Nachbaur

251
General Discussion / Re: a few questions please
No, slurs cannot be changed (except for direction) at this time. One thing you can do to help NoteWorthy Software determine what features are needed/ wanted in future releases, is to put your needs onto their Wish List. Many of the features we now take for granted were once Wishes from users.
252
General Discussion / Re: problem with boxmarks font
Select the text item, edit (ALT-Enter or CNTL-E), "Expression Placement" tab, "Justification" - Center, "Alignment/Placement" - at next note/bar. That should position the character right above the note head.
254
General Discussion / Re: Writing for Drums and Percussion
Actually, if the truth be known, I only actually write one staff (or pair of staves, since I find it easier to keep the drums and cymbals separate). I then export those two staves to a Type 0 midi, and use Barry's "Drumkit" utility to generate the visual staff; I then simply import the result midi, copy the resulting staff, and paste it into my composition. ;-)
255
General Discussion / Re: Balance problem
To attempt an answer to your question - I've never known it to be an issue, at least not a significant one. While there will be variances amongst different sound cards and synthesizers, there are other differences (including relative instrument volume, behaviour of volume and velocity, instrument timbre, attack/sustain envelope, all those sorts of things) that would collectively vastly overshadow any minor difference in pan volume.
256
General Discussion / Re: Writing for Drums and Percussion
Just two notes on Peter's reply:

1) Most sound cards / synths will have the percussion channel on channel 10, not 16. Though, there are exceptions; consult the manual for your synth if in doubt.

2) An alternate approach to lots of layered staves is to just have two pairs of layered staves, one visible but muted (notation) and one hidden but sounding (midi). An example is My Best Friend.
258
General Discussion / Re: Problems with Printing
I'm not interested in a food fight over something that's quite cut-and-dried. However, I'd be interested in knowing what purposes other than evaluation to determine suitability you imagine trial versions of shareware programs to have.

I would estimate that over 95% of registered users of NWC are non-professional musicians. Including myself. I have a day job, bills and mortgage payments, all that sort of thing. That's a big reason why I chose NoteWorthy Composer over software costing ten times as much. I'm glad I did, because as an amateur I don't have the time it would take to learn those other packages.

In summary, methinks thou dost protest too loudly.
259
General Discussion / Re: Problems with Printing
So you agree that it's a very good program, but you want it for free.

Don't you think the creators of this software have a right to earn a living?

The purpose of the version you have is to let you evaluate - for free - whether the program is suitable for your needs. The license you agreed to when installing the program makes that quite clear. As to the limitations of the trial version, those are also quite clearly spelled out in Help | Benefits of Registering, so you have no-one to blame for the time you "wasted" in attempting to use the software beyond its license.
261
General Discussion / Re: Balance problem
The only thing I can think of is that the phasing is reversed on the speakers on the second system. Try a different set of speakers, or - better yet - try it with a set of headphones.
262
General Discussion / Re: vibrato...
You may have played a file (either NWC or midi) with the "mod wheel" controller set to something other than zero. If your soundcard came with a way of resetting it, such as a button in its control panel applet, you can do that to restore it to normal operation. Otherwise, a reboot will do.

You can also put an mpc at the beginning and end of your NWC staves; Controller - Mod Wheel; Style - Absolute; "Initial" controller slider - 0; all other settings - don't matter.
264
General Discussion / Re: How does the NWC newsgroup work?
Dave - I don't think anyone wants you to vanish, but if you do decide to disappear I hope that at least a smile will remain. ;-)

As to accessing the NWC newsgroup - there are regulars on the group who use Forte Agent, so I'm sure it's quite possible and practical to use this software to view the NWC group. You probably only need to set up a new account for the ezusa.net server. If you've presently got it running for usenet, you'll probably find that it's on a server provided by your isp: something like news.myisp.net or something. All you have to do is create a new account, and for the server specify news2.ezusa.net (the "2" is important). You can then open the tree to view the different newsgroups available; there will be a "folder" called ntworthy, expand that and you'll find the group ntworthy.nwc -- that's it.

Cheers, and hope you reappear,
Fred
265
General Discussion / Re: 16 parts
The "limitations" you describe have nothing to do with NWC. In NWC you can have a virtually unlimited number of parts (staves).

However, the General Midi (GM) specification only allows for 16 channels, one of which is reserved as a percussion channel (channel 10). However, if you have additional devices (such as the A and B synths on SBLive!) then you can have additional channels -- 16 channels per device. NWC allows you to make use of such additional devices, such that on the SBLive!, for instance, you can have up to 32 channels, two of which are percussions channels.

The same restrictions will apply to any sequencer, scoring program, or other software that uses the MIDI protocol.
266
General Discussion / Re: instuments
Claves are a percussion instrument. See drumref.nwc in your NWC "Samples" folder.

As near as I can tell, Wawanco is a style (like Merengue, Bossa Nova, Cha cha, etc.) not an instrument.
267
General Discussion / Re: accidental alignment
At present you can't change the order of the displayed accidentals, unless you export a metafile and post-process it. (In principle, something similar could be accomplished by exporting a PostScript file and editing that, but it would be fiddly.)

It would be interesting to find out if there are indeed agreed-upon rules for engraving multiple accidentals on a chord.
268
General Discussion / Re: MIDI connection to my computer
You didn't say how you plugged it into the keyboard. MIDI OUT goes to keyboard IN, and MIDI IN goes to keyboard OUT.

Then you have to set the playback device to your MPU-401 device (in NWC Tools | Options | Midi, and preferably also in Control Panel | Multimedia | Midi).
269
General Discussion / Re: In NWC under Staff_Staff Properties_ Instrument
If your synth has 47 piano sounds instead of just 8, that would suggest to me that there are six banks that you can access. A look over the VSC documentation would (one would think) provide the means for accessing these.

An instrument patch assignment normally remains in force until changed again, or until you reset the synth, or reboot the computer (or power-cycle the synth if it's an external hardware unit). If you don't have your instrument patches assigned in your NWC or midi file, then usually all channels will be set to instrument #0 (zero-based) on reboot - and everything will sound like a grand piano unless you individually change the patches assigned to each channel.

Instrument patches can either be set in Staff Properties | Instruments tab, in which case the patch is applied upon playing the file, or by inserting an Instrument Change command. The latter can be at the beginning, in which case it's funtionally the same as the Staff Properties | Instrument setting, or it can be anywhere else in the staff if changes are required - for instance from strings arco (e.g. String Ensemble I) to Pizzicato Strings, and back again.

A great deal can be learned from playfully experimenting with your setup to "see what happens if..." You normally can't break anything by trying different things.
270
General Discussion / Re: Increase note spacing for larger note durations
A possible option is to force system breaks where you want them. The material on each system will then get spread out to fill each line.

This has to be done on the first (top) staff: select the bar line where you want the break, CNTL-E or ALT-Enter to edit, check the box marked "System break."
271
General Discussion / Re: In NWC under Staff_Staff Properties_ Instrument
Hi Walter,

The drawback to this approach is that you'll have to set up all your instrument patches every time you load your NWC file to play (or edit, etc.) It usually makes more sense to include the instrument patches within your file, such that it automatically sets up the desired instruments.
272
General Discussion / Re: In NWC under Staff_Staff Properties_ Instrument
In the drop down list for "Patch List Type" which do I choose? My softsynth allows for two different sound module choices. Mode one is GM2 and the second mode is GS. I understand GS has more instruments.

The Patch List Type dropdown only determines what names are assigned to the instrument patch numbers for your convenience. If you've got your softsynth set for GM mode, then the GM patch list type makes more sense, and if set for Roland GS mode, then  use the GS list.

When choosing a specific mode such as GM or GS, do I make the choice within Note Worthy Composer under Staff_Staff Properties_Instrument, or do I make the choice inside the Roland VSC?

Roland VSC. NWC has no way of knowing into which mode you've got it set. However, once set you can choose the appropriate patch list type such that the names it comes up with match reality.

If I choose the Roland GS mode from within The Roland VSC setup or from within NWC based on the above 5 choices, might the song sound different on another computer that does allow for GS as a playback option. In other words, if the other person only has GM on his computer, will the CD's I recorded in GS mode sound different on his computer during playback?

Yes.

Once I select one of the five choices above do I then choose a particular "Patch Name from the drop down box? I thought I choose my patches/instruments directly from my Roland Virtual Sound Canvas [which also offers an array of patches/instruments]. I don't quite understand this entire section under Staff_Staff Properties_Instrument in NWC in conjunction with my Roland SoftSynth.

I'm guessing here, but it appears from what you say that you can select the instrument in Roland VSC directly. If you set a staff in NWC such that the Instrument assignment is "None", then it will not try to change the instrument patch presently in force. However, if you select an instrument, it will send an instrument patch change command when you play the file, over-riding whatever was set previously. Similarly, you can change an instrument assignment on a given staff "on the fly" later on in the staff, by using a patch change command ("I" or "i" on the keyboard).

Finally, under Staff_Staff Properties_Instrument, what is the "Bank Select" section all about please. I tried to understand the NWC help file but it wasn't detailed enough.

Bank Select only works on sound cards, synthesizers, or softsynths that support them. Since the way (or even if) such features are implemented varies wildly even amongst different implementations of a given type (e.g. GS or XG), it would be impossible for NW Software to provide explicit instructions applicable to all such units. Not being familiar with Roland VSC I don't know if it supports multiple banks, or which controllers would be set to what value to access them. This would be a topic that should be covered in the VSC documentation or help file. By way of example, in Yamaha XG (including the Softsynths) there are various different banks, accessible by changing the value in Controller 32, and one special-effects bank is activated by changing Controller 0.
273
General Discussion / Re: Trying to convert midi to notation - too many staffs result
At the risk of sounding pedantic, it compresses all the notes onto one midi track, rather than NWC staff. There is usually a one-to-one correspondence between tracks and staves, but it's not cast in stone.

Note that if the "Map each channel to a new staff" function is not disabled, NWC will import events on each midi channel onto a new staff in an attempt to preserve the original track structure. That's why Barry was quite explicit in specifying that this be disabled, forcing import of events on all channels into two split staves.
274
Version 1.75 Discussion / Re: How do I get instr.names of new fonts in NWC?
Not trying to steal Ertugrul's thunder, but I happen to be online...

ntwpatch.ini is simply a text file. You can open it in any text editor, even Notepad (or Word or Wordpad if you insist, but be sure to save it back as plain text when done).

The structure of the file will be quite apparent when you open it for editing. I'd suggest making a backup copy of the original just in case you get hopelessly befuddled. Make the additions/changes you like, then save it. That's really all there is to it.

It should be noted that editing ntwpatch.ini doesn't change the sounds per se, it only changes what you see when you select a particular instrument patch number.
276
General Discussion / Re: Change in displaying non-visable beamed notes: kills user tip 82
Thanks for that explanation, Eric. Makes sense, of course. In the more trivial case of all-equal durations it does look abnormal, and since it did not do this in the previous build I took it to be a newly-introduced bug.

This sort of thing makes it all the more apparent how challenging it must be to write a music notation program. Glad it's not up to me!
277
General Discussion / Re: Saving Format
Use the COPY function in Print Preview to create a Windows Metafile (.wmf). You can then open the WMF in a viewer such as the freeware program Irfanview, manipulate it in various ways, and finally save it as a gif. (jpg not recommended for line drawings, gif or png will give better results in a smaller filesize).
280
General Discussion / Re: Change in displaying non-visable beamed notes: kills user tip 82
Well, this seems to be one of those WFM (works for me) cases. Following your example, I see the visible notes and their stems in blue, along with the full beam. The hidden middle note and its stem are grey (correct also).

The phenomenon I was referring to is different. Let's say you have a treble clef on each of the staves; on the top staff visiblity is set to "always" and on the lower staff it's set to "never". Now if you select the top staff it shows blue (correct), if you select the lower staff it shows grey (also correct). But if you select a different staff, it also shows grey because it's ambiguous.
281
General Discussion / Re: Change in displaying non-visable beamed notes: kills user tip 82
I think that what might be confusing is that when layering, if any overlaid items (such as barlines) in the "stack" are invisible, they are shown as grey if none of the layered staves are active. However, when a staff is made active, all visible items on that staff show up in the visible colour.

I suppose one could wish for yet another colour, indicating the "at least one invisible" status in a stack of similar items.
284
General Discussion / Re: Noteworthy
There have been some interesting ones in some of the microsoft programs like the pinball game in Word and the flight simulator in Excel.

(OT) - Surely you didn't think someone wouldn't ask - how are those accessed?
285
General Discussion / Re: My computer isn't playing MIDI files/NWC music
The MPU-401 playback device is the external midi device via the joystick port. If you were to connect an external synth to the joystick port, you'd hear the midi and NWC output on that synth.

You need to change your playback device to the souncard's native midi output. This will probably be called something like "Crystal FM synth" or "Crystal OPL3" or "Crystal midi synth" or something like that.
286
General Discussion / Re: Noteworthy
My opinion: Yes and no. Everything that the program does is documented, but there are some novel applications of some of the program's features which could be considered eggs.

A good many of these usages are documented in the User Tips. If you find any such "eggs", submit them!
287
General Discussion / Re: Installing Boxmarks
Try rebooting your computer, that might be all it takes for Windows to recognize the new font.

However, in general, it's best to use the "Install New Font" utility in the System | Fonts applet. This will insure that Windows knows about the new font on the system. The "shortcut" approach you used can work, but it could also cause weird things to happen. (If such weird things do occur, the best way to fix them in my experience is to use the "Repair fonts folder" utility in "Tweak UI", a collection of Windows utilities available from Microsoft).
288
General Discussion / Re: 2 very basic questions about MIDI / NWC
Just to expand a little:

1: The concept of "track" really only applies to "Type 1" (or the less common "Type 2") midi files. In "Type 0" all events are simply placed in time-order in one single track.

2: In many cases, each track will contain events on only one channel. This is the "sensible" approach in most instances. However, there's nothing in the GM specification which insists that tracks can contain events on only a single channel.

As relates to NWC:

1: While a "staff" (in NWC) is technically not the same as a midi track, there is a one-to-one correspondence when exporting an NWC files as a Type 1 midi. (In a Type 0 midi, of course, the idea of a track structure is meaningless.) Similarly, if a pre-existing midi is imported into NWC, each track usually is imported into a single new staff (if Maximum Single Track Chord Size is set high, e.g. 127).

2: Midi files exported from NWC will always have events on one channel only, on any given track. This is because any given staff can be associated with one channel only (as determined in staff setup), and "channel hopping" on a given staff is not possible. (Note that this is not the same as changing an instrument patch; the channel used will be the same, only the instrument patch changes.)
289
General Discussion / Re: Sound effects (thunder, door creak...)
OK, got the midi and had a look at it. First off, it uses SysEx (System Exclusive) commands at the beginning, one of which apparently specifies GS (not XG!) mode. (Unfortunately I've never delved into the fine points about SysEx, so can't say much more about this.)

The "door creak" effect is in the third track. If you import it into NWC, it'll therefore be the third staff (as you probably know). The instrument assignment is imported correctly, and is patch #125 ("telephone"). In the midi, this track sets Controller 0 to 2. However, NWC apparently does not import bank-select controllers (learn something new every day!)

However, even if the instrument assignment is changed to match the midi, it still doesn't work on my XG system - presumably because the SysEx commands are missing. (NWC does not presently support this.)

But you can get it to work on a true XG system by editing the patch assignment in the third staff. Change it from #125 (telephone ring) to #66 (alto sax), check "Select a patch bank", and set Controller 0 to 64. (Or just copy the assignment from the XG toolbox.) That makes it work on my system (you can go to bar 35 and press Shift-F5 to test it.)

If this still doesn't work on your system, that would tend to indicate that it's not a full XG implementation, but does (at least partly) support GS - if appropriately enabled using SysEx.

Hope this helps.
291
General Discussion / Re: Sound effects (thunder, door creak...)
Yes. The door creak, scream, dogs barking, stuff like that are in a special FX bank. This is accessed by setting Controller 0 to 64 (this is the only time Cont. 0 is used, normally for XG only Controller 32 is used). It can be on any channel except channel 10.

There's a couple XG "toolbox" files at the Scriptorium. If you play one staff at a time using Shift F5, you can readily tell which banks your particular XG implentation supports. (Note: the onboard XG systems such as DS-XG sometimes don't support all of the banks.)
292
General Discussion / Re: Formatting for MS Word
Try setting the paper size for your default printer to 5.5x8.5. (Control Panel | Printers | right-click Properties). The reason is that NWC takes its page size settings from the values given by the current default printer setup.

If your printer doesn't allow a "custom" paper size setting, install a printer that does (using the Add Printer applet), and set it as default (right click | Set As Default). I just checked, the generic "Epson FX-80" works fine for this. It doesn't matter that you don't have such a printer, or even which port you connect it to during setup, it's only installed to pass the allowable printing area to NWC (and other apps that use the printer properties for scaling).

That should give you metafiles scaled to the proper paper size. Note, however, that you'll probably have to muck about with staff point size and fonts sizes to make things work out properly.
293
General Discussion / Re: Static
1: Volume control too high, overloading the analog portion of your sound card, or the input to your amplifier.

2: Some sound cards distort with multiple loud things even before the volume control section; in this case it's a good idea to set the staff volume to something more reasonable on all channels. (For example, 100 instead of the default of 127 can make all the difference.)
294
General Discussion / Re: problems printing my composition
Such printing anomalies can happen if you have staves of different lengths. While NoteWorthy Composer lets you mix 'n' match staff lengths, results can be very unpredictable when trying to print them.

Pad out any short staves with measures of whole rests as necessary, and I'd be willing to bet that your trouble goes away.
295
General Discussion / Re: Why does the music fade/ get quieter?
Without more information - who knows. The obvious answer is that "plucked or struck instruents fade, sustained instruments don't." (I.e. compare a piano with an organ.) But that might not be what you're asking.
296
General Discussion / Re: Printing
Be sure that all your staves are the same length. Fill out shorter staves with whole rests and barlines if necessary.
297
General Discussion / Re: Repeat Previous Measure
PS - you can even fill in the bar with what is actually played, and simply select everything, edit (CNTL-E or ALT-Enter) and set the visibility for the whole works to "never". Then add your repeat symbol near the middle of the bar. It will then play normally, and show only the repeat symbol during printout or print preview.
298
General Discussion / Re: Repeat Previous Measure
You can create an empty measure by putting in a whole rest, and hiding it (visibility = never). You can then add a repeat symbol using a User Font such as "Boxmarks" available from the Scriptorium. Place it just before the (hidden) whole rest, and set alignment "at next note/bar", justification "center".
299
General Discussion / Re: Who wrote Dona Nobis Pacem?
Both composers you mention wrote a piece entitled "Dona Nobis Pacem" (Grant us peace). It's 'apparently an optional part of the ending section of the Catholic mass, so there are probably many other Dona Nobis Pacems around -- just as there are many Glorias, Kyries, etc.
300
General Discussion / Re: No Sound !!
Suddenly, when I select Play, no sound comes out.

Volume control turned down?

The PC sound card is working OK.

How did you determine that?

How can I get to the Noteworthy dialog box which allows adding or taking out sound generator cards to the program?

Tools | Options | Midi tab