I'm interested in writing music for a marching band; however, I can't seem to add such dynamic variances as a forte piano, usually followed by a crescendo. Whenever I place a forte and a piano under a note, noteworthy just plays the note piano without the forte impact.
You might want to put the fp as text and use an mpc to actually handle the change in volume.
To re-phrase the above reply: In NWC, under certain conditions, the user has independent control over how the music looks (as printed) and how it is played (as MIDI).
I have never had a problem with this. Are you doing this from the pull down menus?
Insert > Dynamic > Mezzo piano
Insert > Dynamic variance > crescendo
When I do this, I always hear volume differences in the playback.
Ann
Actually, right now I can't even get a crescendo on a sustained note. I've tried specifying a starting and ending volume and putting a crescendo in between, but it doesn't work.
Try loading in the VOLTEST.NWC file that's in the samples directory and see if the note gets quieter.
Not all soundcards support volume changes on one note.
If this file doesn't work, then you can be reasonably sure that your soundcard doesn't.
I tried using the VOLTEST file, and it did work, but when I tried to replicate it in another file with a crescendo instead, it didn't change. I think it has something to do with the gray numbers next to the dynamic markings, but I'm not sure
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.
Well, I just got Finale 2003, which is so much easier to use than Noteworthy. Not to say noteworthy is bad, but Finale has so many more options and useful utilities. Finale is more geared toward different instruments, rather than pianos that sound like instruments, like noteworthy. If you want to write music for just a piano, stick with noteworthy. But if you're interested in stepping up to something better, check out Finale 2003.
How much does it cost?
"Finale is more geared toward different instruments, rather than pianos that sound like instruments, like noteworthy"
Sean, I don't understand what you mean. How an instrument sounds has nothing to do with Noteworthy, and I must disagree about music other than piano. Noteworthy works fine for orchestral works. See MY WEBSITE (http://timbrechbill.250free.com) for examples. All the music was composed and rendered to midi with Noteworthy Composer.
No doubt that Finale is better, but you may also want to post what you paid for Finale!!!
Let's say better at some things. Ease of use is not generally considered one of them ;-)
Well, yes, Finale is expensive, where it can cost $800 for a personal license, but I work for a high school music departments, so I was able to get it free on my school computer and only $150 for one at home
$800?
YIKES!!!!!
I'd like to say I take back the things I said about Noteworthy. It's a good program, and Finale and Noteworthy can do just about the same when it comes to MIDI playback. However, the real difference lies in the way it appears on the screen and in printed form. Finale makes it very easy to export different parts from a score and print them individually. Plus, instead of trying to remember exact value transpositions for different instruments, Finale has all the transpositions. So, Noteworthy is an excellent program. However, Finale makes it easier for me personally.
(...)makes it very easy to export different parts from a score and print them individually(...)
Sean,
it seems you've just missed one of the best features of NWC!!!
I have only one file for my orchestral or choir compositions, and printing the whole stuff or only the parts I want --even individually-- is at 2 clicks only!
And Finale is much more difficult to learn, IMHO!
(not counting the cost, of course)
With NWC you can have as many templates as you want, including ones with the already set transpositions for instruments sets. Your limit is your imagination.
I don't know about Finale on PC, I only use it on a Mac, but it crashes too much!