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Messages - William Ashworth

152
General Discussion / Re: Wish-list item: opaque backgrounds
Yeah, I guess a second layer might do the job. I've been trying to do it on the same layer, with the whiteout's anchor placed after the object on the staff, on the assumption that they would be processed in the order of their appearance in the file. But that doesn't appear to be happening.
153
General Discussion / Re: Wish-list item: opaque backgrounds
I'm just guessing (it's a long time since I've worked with this stuff), but does this mean that the rendering engine renders user objects last? That would explain why "digital whiteout" doesn't appear to work on them. If that isn't the mechanism, what is it?
154
General Discussion / Wish-list item: opaque backgrounds
This is related to something I posted in the "Tips and Tricks" forum a little while ago. It would be nice if certain objects (dynamics; text objects; triplet brackets; perhaps pedal marks) could have an option specifying an opaque background. This would allow easy correction of problems such as dynamic marks colliding with hairpins or triplet brackets crossing slurs. I realize that it is not as simple a programming job as it sounds (it will probably require adjustments in the order in which objects are sent to the printer driver), so I won't look for it soon, but I thought I should put it on the table.
155
General Discussion / Re: Windows Media Player: no sound when playing midi files
Remember: MIDI files aren't sound files, they're a set of instructions to the sound card to produce sounds. They have to go through an interpreter, Win10 has messed with what used to be the standard Windows MIDI interpreter, and according to reports it has caused all sorts of problems. I'm no expert at all - I'm still on Win8.1 (and intend to stay with it as long as possible) - but, as Rich said, there are plenty of experts on line to draw on. Someone will have the answer.
157
Object Plugins / Re: LineSpan.nw
How about an option to have the text break the bracket in the center? That way, this object could be used to create tuplet brackets.
161
General Discussion / Re: Same instrument, different sound
There's a good chance that the more recent file isn't using standard MIDI patch numbers. It may have been written using an Audigy sound card or something similar; these cards often use sound font collections that don't follow the General MIDI (GM) rules. That can really mess up the sound. As Eric pointed out, you need to make sure that your cello part is actually playing with a cello MIDI patch.
163
General Discussion / Re: Tiny bug with Ctrl-P in (my older) 2.75a Beta 10
How about a check box that asked "Save the zoom change?" in every "Save" prompt? If that box was unchecked, and the zoom change was the only change that had been made, the program could exit without saving; if it was unchecked but other changes had been made, the other changes could still be saved; if it was checked, the program could do a standard save, including (or only) the zoom change. Perhaps the editor options could include whether or not the box should be checked by default.
164
General Discussion / Re: Tiny bug with Ctrl-P in (my older) 2.75a Beta 10
I've often wondered why the zoom factor is stored as a file change. When I usually see this come up, it's because I've shrunk the view down to fit a multi-staff file vertically on my screen to watch the playback, and then started to close out without changing the zoom factor back. When working on files, I almost always use the same zoom (4=133%) whatever the file, because the note size and number of measures per screen is comfortable for me at that setting. So having the program save a zoom made temporarily for a specific reason unrelated to my usual workflow is an irritation, not a feature.
165
General Discussion / Re: Problem with online object sync.
I kinda like Win 8.1. I'm dreading the day MS forces us all onto Win 10, though. I installed it, uninstalled it after three days, and now have a piece of software on my machine whose only purpose is to prevent the installation of 10. Fine for now. But when my current laptop wears out....
166
General Discussion / Re: Problem with online object sync.
Not a certificate problem, then. I'd still suspect an upgrade incompatibility. If I understand the problem correctly, it didn't show up until quite recently. That means that the 2.75a betas were working earlier. Now they aren't. What changed? If not anything on local machines, and not anything in the program (Eric was pretty clear on that), then it has to be in something the program calls.
167
General Discussion / Re: Problem with online object sync.
I'm having no trouble in Win 8.1. I suspect Francis hit the nail on the proverbial head. XP is no longer a Microsoft-supported system. Might be a certificate problem; might be something about a recent upgrade to winhttp.dll that makes it incompatible with XP. Backward compatibility beyond Vista may no longer be possible.
168
General Discussion / Re: Enharmonic Spelling - Note Entry
David, you are correct that a sharped note is technically not the same note as the flatted note a step above (G# and Ab are not the same note; G# is a few cents higher than Ab). A good string player, a good singer, or a good wind player will actually perform them that way. And that is precisely the problem that we are trying to solve here.  NWC's "Audit Enharmonics" tool changes everything to sharps. That is only accurate half the time. The difficulty lies in trying to figure out an automated method to determine which of the sharps that result from a given run of the tool should actually be flats. The rules I've given Opagust will be accurate 80%-90% of the time (educated guess), which would mean far fewer accidentals to correct by hand.  I doubt an automated process can be made much more accurate than that, although if someone comes up with one I'd certainly be happy to see my suggestions here superseded. But I'm pretty sure some hand editing will always be needed.
169
General Discussion / Re: Enharmonic Spelling - Note Entry
Shows you I haven't programmed for a while. I forgot to consider the effect of the order conditional statements are processed. But, yes, I think that order is correct. "Change all Abs to G#s" is a brute-force method. "Change all Abs to G#s unless you're in a flat key" is a refinement. And "make sure all G#s lead up and all Abs lead down" is a further refinement.

Thinking about what I said in the light of what you said, I realized that you don't need to do a table read for sharp and flat keys. In sharp keys, leave everything sharp; in flat keys, make everything flat; in C (or when no signature exists), follow my original "brute force" recommendation. Then adjust as suggested in my second refinement.
170
General Discussion / Re: Enharmonic Spelling - Note Entry
Quote from: Opagust –
Maybe I can write a user tool for this....

Interesting idea. I don't think it would require entry from the user, other than to start the tool. In the simplest form, the tool would find accidentals (notes whose pitches are outside the key signature) and change all A#s to Bbs, all Dbs to C#s, all D#s to Ebs, all Gbs to F#s, and all Abs to G#s. That would be like taking a sledge hammer to pound in a carpet nail, however. Two refinements would help:

  • First, check the key signature and, if it's a flat key (any key that uses flats in the signature), leave the Abs and Dbs alone and change the G#s to Abs and the C#s to Dbs. This would simply be a matter of creating two different tables, one for sharp keys and one for flat keys.
  • Second (this is a little harder to describe), check the next note. If the next pitch is HIGHER and the accidental on the note you are working with is a FLAT, change the note to its sharp enharmonic equivalent: Ab to G#, Bb to A#, etc. If the next pitch is LOWER and the accidental on the note you are working with is a SHARP, change it to its flat enharmonic equivalent: G# to Ab, A# to Bb, etc

These conditionals would not produce the best accidental in all cases, but they would be miles ahead of NWC's current make-everything-sharp approach. There would be a lot less hand correcting after a MIDI entry or enharmonic audit.

BTW, "enharmonic" simply means "the same pitch." The black keys on a piano keyboard can relate to the white keys on either side; white-key notes modified by the black key between them are enharmonic equivalents (G#=Ab, etc). If there is no black note between two white keys (B and C, for example), then the enharmonic equivalent of an accidental is the next white note in that direction (B#=C; Cb=B). Does this help?

Over to you....
171
General Discussion / Re: Enharmonic Spelling - Note Entry
Eb tuning isn't required for the Celtic harp, Flurmy. When I was performing regularly, I kept mine tuned to F. I know of at least one harper who tunes hers to C. I don't want to get into a big discussion of this, let alone an argument, but I don't want people to get the wrong impression, either - just in case someone wants to write for the instrument. There are some tunings that are more common than others - it's very rare to find a harp tuned to any sharp key, for example - but there is no "right" tuning.
172
General Discussion / Re: Enharmonic Spelling - Note Entry
Quote from: Flurmy –
....the celtic harp can only have C#, D#, Eb, F#, G#, Ab, Bb!

Depends on how you tune it.  I keep mine with all the strings tuned to the natural notes except B, which is tuned to Bb. (For the uninitiated: the Celtic harp has "sharping levers" which can raise each string by a half-step, but there are no "flatting levers," so only two notes a half-step apart are available on each string - and you have to be able to flip the lever in the middle of a tune to get an accidental, hence most music for the instrument is completely diatonic. Setting the levers properly beforehand allows you to play in almost any key, however.)
173
General Discussion / Re: Enharmonic Spelling - Note Entry
I could live with that. But the conditionals will be a whole lot harder to program if key has to be taken into account. An alternative between Peter's method and mine would be to always assume the most common enharmonic spelling of any given pitch. That would resolve A#/Bb in favor of Bb, C#/Db in favor of C#, D#/Eb in favor of Eb, F#/Gb in favor of F#, and G#/Ab in favor of G#. I'd guess that would cut the number of manual corrections necessary in most scores by 75%-80%.

Or maybe there could be an options tab with radio buttons allowing the user to choose the direction to resolve each accidental during an enharmonic audit.
174
General Discussion / Re: Enharmonic Spelling - Note Entry
I know of no option for this. The same problem exists with "Audit Enharmonic Spelling" - without a key sig, all you get is sharps. That's why I only use that audit (which would otherwise be very useful) as a last resort. IMHO, NWC should default to the old rule-of-thumb that sharps are used going up and flats are used going down. The conditionals shouldn't be too hard to arrange: the algorithm wouldn't have to look beyond the previous and next pitches.
175
General Discussion / Re: Persistent (stuck) notes
Quote from: David Palmquist –
Time well spent on behalf of the rest of us, Rick.....Thank you.

My sentiments exactly - thanks, Rick. I DO use muted notes after ties. I also hide the notes. The ties can then be used to indicate "let ring" for percussion instruments that sustain a tone, like suspended cymbals and vibraphones. Having now been warned, I'll know where to look if hanging notes develop.
177
General Discussion / Re: System broken?
OK. It looks as though a change has occurred that affects only those who regularly log on and log off. Those of us who stay logged on permanently wouldn't see that, obviously. My guess is that it was a security update, and that your previous routine has become a casualty of the ever-escalating war between hackers and network security professionals. My online banking routine has recently been shifted for the same reason - not to my liking, but there it is. And I guess I'm not surprised that I didn't see the system update message that you did. Those things don't normally take very long. If you don't try to log on during the narrow window that the system is down for maintenance, you will not know the maintenance has occurred.
178
General Discussion / Re: System broken?
I'm not experiencing any problems. It would help if John was willing to describe publicly the problems he is having.
179
General Discussion / Re: middle line stem direction default
I'm afraid this is a losing battle. Stem down on the middle line is the accepted standard in the music publishing world, barring extenuating circumstances. One of those circumstances, of course, is when you're using stem direction to indicate the voice; in that case, you should probably be notating one voice per layer and then selecting the entire layer to set all the stems the same direction. Some sources will allow that in stepwise motion the middle-line stem should be the same direction as the stem of the preceding note.; it would be possible for NWC to be programmed to recognize that, but it seems much lower priority than some other things, and it isn't the predominant view, anyway. Should you be able to change the default to what is technically wrong? Perhaps - but the priority problem raises its head again. I'd suggest that the best advice, here, comes from The Princess Bride: "Get used to disappointment."
180
General Discussion / Re: Chord Identifier
To piggyback on what Bart said: barbershop quartet and other close-harmony styles don't use standard chord progressions, at least not all of the time. They depend for their effect on tight voice leading that moves from one chord to another by stepwise motion (all voices move to tones that are at the most one whole step away). This can produce "chords" that are primarily passing tones: they may be able to be named, but the names are meaningless in the context where they are found.

Of course, you may want the names so you can give them to a guitarist or pianist for accompaniment purposes - the functions may not matter. In that case, you are better off ignoring the chords made up of passing notes anyway. Guitarists and pianists - trust me, I play both instruments - guitarists and pianists HATE music that shifts chords on every beat, as barbershop quartet music does. We are far happier playing just the important chords in the progressions, and will usually simply leave the complicated chords on off-beats out entirely. So you really only need the clean, well-defined chords for accompanists' use. And you really should learn to recognize those yourself, because it will help you interpret the music better.

All that being said, there's no real reason that a User Object couldn't be created that would show, after a fashion, the names of chords, or at least one of a chord's names (as Bart said, there is often more than one name for the more complex chords).  But it would be of limited usefulness, and I know of no one who has taken the effort to put one together.
183
General Discussion / Re: RANT: user tools = useless tools
Mike, no, I'm not implying anything about the embedded user tools; however, I haven't tried them and am not likely to. I like the user objects (although I agree with Flurmy that too many of what should be native features are only available through user objects) and have no trouble making them do what I want them to without resorting to preset tools, so the embedded user tools seem superfluous - and, because of my experiences with the regular user tools, unattractive.
184
General Discussion / RANT: user tools = useless tools
Prologue: I once owned a small software company. I was the sole proprieter and the sole programmer. The product was a spelunking-simulation game, written in C++ for DOS, which tells you how long ago this was. The game worked fine but never made a dime, and has long been abandonware: I mention it here to establish my bonafides as someone who really does understand computers.

Rant: User Tools are so DAMN user-unfriendly that it is actually quicker for me to go through an entire score and make changes by hand in every measure than to figure out how to use a user tool to do the job. There is next to no guidance in the forum ("getting started with NWC2 user tools" is only useful if you already know how to install and use them) or in the help screens brought up by the ? in the user tool dialog screens (and no, typing "help" in the input field doesn't help much, either). Syntax is impossible to figure out except by trial and error. I hereby give up on them completely. I'm sure I'll get lots of helpful suggestions: save yourselves the trouble. A facility for global modification should be built into the program; it should be dialog-driven and work on selections and single staves as well as complete files. The rest of the tools - well, you can play with them all you want, but leave me out of it. I'd rather write music, and the user tools as currently implemented only get in the way.

Bottom line: if I'm having this kind of trouble, how in the hell do newbies cope? Do user tools in their current form really help sell the program, or do they drive potential users away?
185
General Discussion / Re: Accidentals
There's the occasional bug discovery (that's what betas are for) and the occasional switch in the way a command you're used to works (that's also what betas are for). And, by its nature, the beta process means changes every week or two that require a new installation with a new beta number. But, yeah, it's "production-ready," if by that you mean ready to use in your daily work. It's just fine for that. I see no reason to delay.
187
General Discussion / Re: Spacing between systems
Mike, the problem is limited to one page. You can't set page margins for one page only. Rick, yeah, I thought of that and will probably do it. Some experimentation will be required, though - I was just hoping there was an easier way. A ghost system would put everything where it belongs automatically.
188
General Discussion / Spacing between systems
Has anyone figured out how to force a ghost system so that spacing throughout a score can be uniform?

I'm laying out the performance score of a clarinet trio (clarinet, cello, and piano). Most of the way through the score, there are three systems per page. At one point, however, to facilitate page turning by the pianist, I've forced a page break one system early, so that on that page there are only two systems. Page vertical justification is set to "on", so NWC obediently justifies the two-system page vertically, resulting in much more white space between, above, and below the systems than there is on the other fourteen pages. It works, but it looks - uh - unprofessional. (I was about to say "like crap.") Forcing an extra "ghost" system onto that page - i.e., a system with nothing in it, including staff lines - would solve the problem without requiring a change in the program, but so far I haven't been able to figure out a way to do that. Anyone else?

(A thought for you, Eric: the logical way to handle this, it seems to me, would be simply to always have the "force a new system" command actually, well, force a new system. If the program sees two system breaks in a row, it should logically force a new system twice, with the first of the two new systems being empty. This doesn't currently happen. Any chance it can be included in the next update?)
189
Object Plugins / Re: PedalLine.fso (version 1.0)
Thanks for the quick reply. I suspected the checkboxes still worked in Standard Class mode but didn't check. You might consider adding that information to the dialog box.
190
Object Plugins / Re: PedalLine.fso (version 1.0)
Finally got a chance to review this. Running it as StaffSig seems to work fine now - thanks.

I do have a couple of suggestions. First, the opening bend of the bracket (when it begins as a pedal-down without a retake, that is, without an immediately previous pedal-up) should be square rather than angled, to match convention. Second, I think it would improve the plug-in if the bracket took its vertical position from the down-pedal: this would allow individual pedal lines to be at different heights, which is important if the bass line goes very far below the staff. And third, it would be nice if there was an option to replace the opening (non-retake) bend of the bracket with the user's choice of the pedal-down symbol or the word "Ped."

Topics for the future. I can start using it now. BTW, the check boxes for opening line, closing line, etc., no longer seem to do anything.

Bill
191
Object Plugins / Re: PedalLine.fso (version 0.2)
Lloyd, as far as I can tell you never got back to this. Any chance you can revisit it, or turn it over to someone else? I'm doing a piano piece with a complex pedal line, and this would be really useful right now.
192
General Discussion / Re: Computer playback
In addition to what Haymo and Rick have pointed out, there's a possibility that an unrecognized clef change has screwed up the sound. This can happen when notes from one staff are copied to another without being transposed to the second staff's clef. It can also happen when you insert a new clef and then forget and write notes as if you're still in the old one. (Reminder: the current clef is always indicated down in the right-hand corner of the screen.)

As everyone else here has said, if we're going to do more than speculate, we're going to need a sample.
193
General Discussion / Re: A way to prevent system break?
I concur with Mike's suggestion re the availability of several spacing options. NWC's spacing is quite open, compared to most older engraved scores I'm aware of. I like it - it's easy to read - but it would be nice to have the option to close it up somewhat without losing proportional spacing altogether.
194
General Discussion / Re: Multiline staff labels
If you follow Flurmy's link you'll actually find TWO solutions, one by Rob, the other by Rick G. I've done essentially what Rob suggests for many years and have found it effective, but Rick's idea intrigues me - it has the advantage of allowing you to see the labels on the editing screen - and I think I'll be switching.

(An item for the wish list - text objects that can include a line feed.)
195
Object Plugins / Re: Ottavamatic.ms (1.4)
Yeah, that works. Or a headless, stemless, muted grace note, which is the fix I've been using. I wasn't looking for problem-solving, just calling your attention to what I'm pretty sure is incorrect notation on the part of the object - although I've seen it both ways. (The Music Publishers' Association guidelines don't mention 8va brackets at all. But when you have something like a trill, failure to extend the bracket really looks kinda silly.)

As for trill.test vs. trill.ms: OK, I'll change it over, although that will also require changing it in all the scores where I've already used it. Curiously, though, trill.test has actually been updating, at least as recently as the fix you put in two months ago. Is any change needed beyond renaming the extension from .test to .ms?

Sorry for my failure to include the Ottavamatic object. I just grabbed the relevant section of the score I was working on - forgot I'd also have to go back to the beginning of the staff. I'll try to remember next time. And Merry Christmas.

Bill
197
Object Plugins / Re: Ottavamatic.ms (1.4)
Looking at this again.....

This clip shows a little problem with the interaction between two of your objects:

Code: [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.75,Single)
|Instrument|Name:"8va"|Trans:12|DynVel:10,30,45,60,75,92,108,127|Pos:14|Wide:Y
|Note|Dur:8th,Slur|Pos:#-3|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Slur|Pos:0|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Note|Dur:8th,Slur|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Slur|Pos:3|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Note|Dur:8th,Slur|Pos:#4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:7|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|User|Trill.test|Pos:12|Span:2|LineType:Jagged|WhichFirst:Auxiliary|AuxNoteInt:2|StartOffset:1.3
|Note|Dur:8th,Grace,Slur|Pos:7|Opts:Muted
|Note|Dur:Half,Dotted|Pos:6|Opts:Muted
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

The 8va bracket should extend the length of the trill.

The easiest fix here would probably be to make the bracket extend for the duration of the last bracketed note by default. I can't think offhand of a situation where that would be inappropriate, but if others can, you could make the current default an option. Or vice versa.
198
General Discussion / Re: smartphone / tablet app
You're right that a smartphone app would have limited editing value, Lawrie. But a tablet app would have plenty.

That said, it should be noted that, although Eric has never actually refused to put out a version of NWC in any OS other than Windows, he has certainly never indicated any desire to do so. He HAS made recent versions of NWC touch-screen compatible, though, and has demonstrated its use on a tablet. A Windows tablet. I suspect that if you really want to use the program on a mobile device, your best approach isn't to hope for an Android or iOS version, but to run out and pick up a Surface.
200
Object Plugins / Re: Trill.ms (1.1)
You do realize there are Bb horns, don't you? The modern version is called the "marching" horn. Historically, in the days of natural horns and trumpets, horns were made in multiple sizes for use in different keys, and the Bb was known as the "alto" horn. It would have had the same harmonic series as the natural Bb trumpet.