Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Messages

This section allows you to view all Messages made by this member. Note that you can only see Messages made in areas you currently have access to.

Messages - Andrew Purdam

101
General Discussion / Re: Bar length
And whilst that implies that there are shortcomings that we all grumble about (me included) and then get on without, maybe it also suggests that there is a good solid infrastructure that the whole shebang is built on, and that - given time - these features that we currently workaround to achieve will eventually come to fruition.

I am currently pursuing the User Tools thingy for all I am worth at the moment, and I think we have opened up quite a vista here.
102
General Discussion / Re: Clipboard Feature
Whoah!

Don't misunderstand me! I'm just a user like you guys.
But my feeling is that that would be the order of events.
As to the timing... way beyond my ken.
103
General Discussion / Re: Drum Roll Notation
Comping signs!
I _knew_ there were some more noteheads I wanted in there.
Actually the other one would be the square looking ones found in old manuscripts, though I guess not many people write those any more... :-)
104
General Discussion / Re: Thoughts on NWC - importing MIDI, MIDI playback, NIFF/MusicXML
I think that part of what Rob was referring to was that NWC2 now has the capability of interfacing with tools that can be written by the user. I've written one already that converts those funny dot combinations back into triplets (though it needs some input from the user to recognise the triplets).
The MIDI import of NWC can be tweaked (mainly adjusting note granularity and rest granularity) to achieve better results, but it does all take a fair bit of time to go through the import wizard each time.
As I don't use the import wizard much, this feature has been of little interest to me.
105
General Discussion / Re: Clipboard Feature
You'd need to ask Eric that question. (I suppose you are!)
My hunch is that multi-stave clips will be a little way off, as we wait for the dust to settle single-staff clips.
I imagine that multi-staff or "block" cut-and-paste would happen first.
106
General Discussion / Re: The Release(asking when)
David said:
"Nevertheless, you might want to share the originals with someone else, so even the liberal licence doesn't solve that problem."

Well, there is the freeware NWC2 player.
And if two different people are working on a file as a project, shouldn't they both have licences anyway? The very first thing I did with my first shared project on NWC was ensure my working partner had a licensed version of NWC as well.

It is still cheap enough to do that, I reckon.

Also, if you have an older version, you can still use it.
Many folks on the public beta program are using two version side by side. Confusing, but doable.
107
General Discussion / Re: screenshot of nwc2 beta
Dear Me,

That was the point. NWC2 doesn't look very different to 1.75 (apart from shapes of slurs and some new noteheads). It's what is under the hood that counts.
For instance (edited from Noteworthy Software's help in NWC2):
• Hear notes as you add them to the staff
• Hairpin/graphic crescendo/diminuendo note properties
• X noteheads for percussion notes
• Diamond noteheads for other non-pitched and harmonic notes
• A blank notehead for unusual circumstances
• Percussion Clef
• A new Instrument Tree mechanism
• New Bi-directional Clipboard Text
• New user tool mechanism for scripting clip text processing
• Lyricist field (in addition to the existing Author/Composer field)
• User control over note stems
• Slurs are now drawn to the contour of the enclosing notes
• Default beam placement and slant have been completely redesigned
• Grace note scaling is now more consistent with standard conventions
• Accidentals and other note symbols are now scaled on grace notes
• Grace notes are slurred independently from primary notes
• New "Use stem for articulations" option for selected notes
• Inverted fermata is now automatic when placed below the center of the staff
• Hidden items show in active and inactive colors for quicker identification
• New note alignment algorithm (the notation alignment scheme has been totally redesigned)
• Mouse pointer in editor uses system cursor when run on a Windows XP system

The User Tool thing is where it gets really interesting. I've now written tools to rewrite triplets that look weird after importing a midi, a tool to adjust rest placement, one to transpose chords written as text (eg guitar chords, including bass notes eg Am7/C), and one that extracts parts from polyphony. I'm currently working on a tool that automatically beams notes in funky time signatures like 13/8 (which I tend to notate a fair bit).

HTH,
A
108
General Discussion / Re: Importing triplets in NWC2
G'day Dave.
I'm the author of the tripletise User Tool that Robert mentioned. (I don't work for Noteworthy Software, but I've turned my hand to coding some user tools to keep my brain active).

If you had the v2 preview (1d) and downloaded the user tool thingy, then you'd be able to automatically post-process things that you suspect to be triplets into properly notated triplets. It works a treat on simple imports and saves a stack of time.
Another user, Gennaro Granito, has already enhanced it to work with triplets with rests as well. Scarey stuff.

The whole discussion is on the Noteworthy 2 newsgroup (noteworthy.nwc2beta).
To have access to that and the user 2 preview, you need to qualify for the preview program. That's detailed at http://www.noteworthysoftware.com/nwc2/
109
General Discussion / Re: percentage oin the lower right corner
It's the percentage of objects used for that stave. I think the limit is now something like 30,000 objects, so even 3% is about 1000! Seems like a lot until you think that one measure might contain 5-15 objects. 100 measures isn't very long.

(PS: I made up all of these numbers, but you get the idea).
110
General Discussion / Re: Piano Roll View on NWC...?
I can't really think why.
If I want a piano roll, then I use a sequencer.
Next we'll be asking for Fruity Loops view...
It's a Notation Processor, not a sequencer.

That's my tuppence worth.
111
General Discussion / Re: Noteworthy Plug-in Problem with IE 6.0
In a nutshell, there are browsers like Opera, Mozilla and NetScape, all of which work on Windows, and should support the Noteworthy Plugin. I can vouch for Mozilla, having just used it.

See http://www.noteworthysoftware.com/composer/plugin.htm for more info, including the line:
This product has been tested with all of the following browsers:
- Netscape Navigator 4.75
- Netscape Navigator 4.08
- Netscape Navigator 3.04
- Netscape 6
- Opera 6
- Opera 5
- Internet Explorer 6 (SEE NOTE)
- Internet Explorer 5.5
- Internet Explorer 5
- Internet Explorer 4
- Internet Explorer 3 (32-bit) (requires installing with "Other Browser" option)

HTH,
A
113
General Discussion / Re: Multiple measures of rest
I agree with Geoff. However, I must say that my personal need for such a facility is actually zero. And yet (!) I see that this sort of functionality would be handy to several composers/transcribers of small ensemble (especially duet) music.

I guess it comes down to "how many people want the next feature to be included?"
(Along with "how hard is it to implement?" ;-)

A
114
General Discussion / Re: guitar chords
C. Shore, (cute moniker, btw :)

I guess the only thing to do is to write them yourself. If you are not a guitarist, then grab a book, like Cyril suggests, and then just nut out the chords that you need. As you do each new chord, create a library of them in a separate NWC file, from which you can copy and paste in the future.

One thing I really LIKE about NWC is the ease to set up our own libraries of things like guitar chords, mandolin chords, bouzouki chords, drum patterns, etc for our own personal use. And we can even share them around. So if you DO create one, C, why not send it to the Scriptorium for sharing?
115
General Discussion / Re: Users Guide Online
Yes. The Command Reference by Barry Graham, Richard Woodroffe et al is quite old now.
I guess as soon as someone volunteers to update it, it will get done.

I'm not sure what Noteworthy Software release with their CDs now.
117
General Discussion / Re: Fine-Tuning Print Variables
There are two tweaks that I think v2 might be in a better position to implement than v1.

Cue size notes. (Now that we have cue size accidentals).

Global and local "squeezing" of notes, to allow more to fit on a line. There are so many times I complete a piece and no matter how I tweak thing, I end up with my final measure all on its own on a final page. :-(

Okay, three tweaks.
Separate staff sizes (heights) for first and subsequent pages. This is simply to work around the change in layout due to titles on the first page. I'd be happy with a global (spread staves vertically to fill page) tick box.
118
General Discussion / Re: NoteWorthy Composer 2 Public Preview
Tina's right. NWC let's you use different banks and instrument settings. Even though most people publically use General Midi, you are by no means restricted to that.

To embed a soundfont in a single NWC file sounds a bit silly to me. Why not just let folks know where to get the soundfont, and they can install it in their sound card. Another problem here is that afaict, there is no generic standard for automatic/dynamic installation of soundfonts. So then NWC would need to know about, say, SBLive, SB Gold, Audigy, Yamaha, Roland daughterboard, soundsynth, etc. With all that in mind, I applaud Noteworthy's common sense in avoiding creating bloatware.

If you want friends to hear your version as it is on your soundfonts, why not render your NWC performance into an MP3?
119
General Discussion / Re: NoteWorthy Composer 2 Public Preview
Thanks Tina (and NWC).

I guess that says it, doesn't it?
"Our plan calls for anyone that purchases version 1.75b directly from NoteWorthy Software will be granted a license to download and use version 2 when it is released."
120
General Discussion / Re: NWC is a mighty nice program, BUT...
Lew, I'd like to hear your suggestions, too. :-)
Why not post them here?
Debo, it would have been safer to use eg
"debo1 webjemm net and change the spaces to the obvious".
I don't know if spam-crawlers come through this part of the universe, but if they do, they may have just collected your latest "safe" e-mail.
123
General Discussion / Re: Mac version?
Just a few "corrections" from the "Way I See It".

Big Mac is correct. The "free" version of NWC is a trial version. If you like the program, why not support the developer and buy it? The shareware price is way below what you'd pay for Finale etc.

The trial version doesn't have a time-limit, but is slightly crippled (number of saves) and slightly nagware (on printouts). It has been a long LONG time since I've used the trial version, but I believe this is still correct.

If you don't have PC and Windows emulation on your Mac, you won't be able to use NWC. I guess it is beyond the resources of Noteworthy Software to port NWC to other platforms. As Big Mac said, there are other shareware (maybe even freeware) notation processors out there for the Mac. I think there is even a wysiwyg ABC processor available.
124
General Discussion / Re: GLISSANDO
Damn! I wrote out a whole explanation but the submit didn't work. I keep getting "Invalid Page Request
Invalid attempt to post a new reply. Use the links on the web site."
:-(

Try again. In short, yes.
1) If a piano gliss - very easy. Simply notate.
2) If trombone, violin, etc more tricky.
a) Need to use pitch-bend "multipoint controller" (NWC's midi effect controller). Pitch bend is normally set at  2 semitones, so not too hard to do a bend of up to 4 semitones.
b) To do more, you need to link them over two channels, overlapping the volumes to get a smoothe gliss. This is a bit tricky, but feasible.
c) See Gliss Example by Fred Nachbaur for an example. You will need to look at the hidden staves to see what's going on.

HTH.
125
General Discussion / Re: 2 against 3 or 3 against 4
Following on from Warren, you can do three half notes "tripletted" (select all three and press Ctrl-T) for three against four.
Two notes against three (say in waltz 3/4 or jig 6/8) can't be done using a duplet - as NWC only does triplets natively. Best bet for 2 against three is to simply dot the notes. Looks a little strange but is legit.
126
General Discussion / Re: Internet Explorer and the NWC Browser Plugin
Eric said: "Acrobat Reader uses Microsoft's ActiveX technology to plug into Internet Explorer, so it is safe from the change being discussed here. In effect, that appears to be what Microsoft wants everyone to do. I think Microsoft understands this very well."

That's assuming ActiveX is safe. LOL!

So will NWC look at being an ActiveX plugin for IE users? I don't think I'd mind at all moving away from IE to something a little less gargantuan. Opera, eh?

I tell ya, Eric, if NWC added a native Linux platform, I'd be off Microsoft windows in a flash!
127
General Discussion / Re: Internet Explorer and the NWC Browser Plugin
In Winamp's case, "Nullsoft gave'th the Winamp2 plugin architecture, and Nullsoft take'th it away..."

erm... are you meaning that new WinAmps will not work with the NWC plugin?

What will that leave us with?
1) NWC plugin for Opera, NetScape and not IE
2) Noteworthy Player for IE >6.0 users
3) No Winamp plugin any more
4) Noteworthy Player as usual.

Well, that's still as good as Adobe Acrobat's free reader, and they're gonna be hit by this change just as much.

Are Microsoft a bunch of idiots?
129
General Discussion / Re: Not sending anything to the computer
Someone said: "I wonder how many people HAVE had success with it?" (connecting kb to PC to use with Noteworthy). Assuming it was a survey and not a blanket negative comment, The config mentioned worked fine for me when I tried it five years ago. I don't use it at the moment 'cos I don't need it.

It is a shame that the above user couldn't resolve their problem. We'd all need more details to be able to help, tho'. btw: did Mike actually fix his problem? :)
132
General Discussion / Re: Problems with Newgroup
Hey! What about a News Forum? :-)
Okay, so it doesn't have files, but it has the warm, huggy feelings. We can post links to uploaded (somewhere) files!

Anyway, ntworthy.nwc has resurrected itself at least for now. No guarantees. You will have to do a reload or reset of the group, though, as they've stuffed up the numbering again.

Eric, how hard would it be for you to whack an NNTP server on one of your machines? I guess the problems would be in maintaining security, though I don't know what can happen with news servers. If the other problem is copyright of uploaded songs, that could be a hard one to control unless everyone was very good.
134
General Discussion / Re: Newsgroup Anomaly?
It seems that ezusa have chosen to renumber posts starting about two-three days ago. For some reason, the id numbers have been set to 190 less than they used to be. So many newsreaders won't pick up the next 190 posts (when the numbers will then be higher than the highest number - used to check if there are new posts).

The upshot? Reset/reload the headers for the newsgroup (do a "Catch Up" or similarly named thing with it). If OE doesn't do the right thing, try deleting and reloading the group. Note that this may take some time as there are over 14000 posts.

HTH,
Andrew
135
Version 1.75 Discussion / T&T: Another NWC Patch
Here's an NWC patch for the Goldstar MIDI ART GS100R (midi box) Bank 1. Download the zipped ntwpatch.ini file (7K) that includes this patch and others. You can replace your ntwpatch.ini file with this file or cut and paste the info you need.
136
Tips & Tricks / Turns and Mordents
Further to printing trills. This same method of Insert: Text can be used for turns and mordents. In this case, improvise the symbols with tilde "~" or some slashes "//" Remember to set the text to bold and turn off Preserve Width under the Expression Placement tab of Insert: Text.
137
Tips & Tricks / Arpeggiating Chords
For arpeggiating chords (you know, that little squiggly symbol in front of a chord, meaning "ripple up"):

  • Go to sixty-fourth notes.
  • Run the chord up in a run of individual notes, and bar them together to make them look neater. If you have three or six notes, you may want to tripletize them to make them a little faster. If you have five notes, you could tripletize just the first three.
  • Work out how much time you have left in the chord and enter the chord using notes of that length. This will probably require dotting and maybe even double dotting or (rarely) tying of two individual chords to get the right note length.
  • Tie (using the "/" key) each arpeggio note to its corresponding chord member.
  • Press F9 to implement all the ties.
  • Press F5 and be amazed!
This works well, though if you are using very fast tempi you may wish to increase the note length of your "arpeggiators."  Download the file arpeggio.nwc (1K) to see an example.
138
Tips & Tricks / Trill Sound and Trill Print
If you want both the Trill Sound (achieved through manual scoring at this stage), but also a score that prints without the notes, but a TR. above the note:

  • Add the tr. (or tr~~~) using Insert: Text, placing it where you would like it to go
  • Create a new stave with the appropriate time and key sigs and fill with empty bars (use whole rests) up to the bar you need the trill
  • Add the appropriate notes to do the trill
  • When printing, simply exclude the new staff
The only trills that this won't work too well on are those that "borrow time" from the main note, and don't start with that note (e.g. D C B C, as opposed to, say C D C B C). This is because the main note (C in this case, which will be in the original staff) will sound at the same time as the first auxiliary note (D in the first case, and a nice unison C in the second case). This makes much more sense having tried it out.