NoteWorthy Composer Forum

Hello,
I have just started to play piano and in the first place I am using NWC2 as a learning tool to study the melodies of jazz standards. I would like to have a simple way to make those chord symbols "sound" in an extra staff. I have looked into the online documentation and searched the forums to no avail. Still, I am still unsure if there is a golden path in NWC2 to insert chords by entering chord symbols you typically find on leadsheets (e.g. Cm7b5 or Fmaj7).
Thank you for any advice you can give.
Norbert.

Welcome to the forum
Not even a tin path. More like a rocky road.
NoteWorthy has no understanding of chords.

If you look at the sample file Caverns, you will see chords. They are all entered as text. Nothing you enter as text will cause a note to sound. There are fonts to make the chord symbols look better on the printed page, but any notes you want to hear will need to be entered. Like this:

Do you know the note spelling of any chord given its symbol?  If so, you could make a NWC reference file from which the chord and symbol could be copied and pasted into an extra staff.  But NWC has no such native capability and I suspect developing such a user tool (sort of a NWC macro) would be difficult to impossible.

Band In A Box from PG Music may be more what you are looking for if you must have such a capability.  IIRC, it will generate chords when the chord symbols are keyed in on a lead sheet.

If you don't know the note spelling of chords from their symbols, I or a more eager beaver could make a NWC reference file for copying and pasting as I mentioned above.  This weekend would be the soonest I could start.  If you need such a help, post back and also include the type of chord symbols you need (7b9, m7b5, etc.) and I could enter the chord in root position close voicing to give you the sound of the chord types.

There's a file in the Scriptorium helpful files section which may help, although I suspect there are not all of the chord names.

Here is the link:

http://nwc-scriptorium.org/helpful/chordcharts.zip (http://nwc-scriptorium.org/helpful/chordcharts.zip)

Dear Rick, Milton and Rich:
Many thanks for your very helpful comments and hints pushing me in the right direction.
For the time being, I want to stick with NWC (and not flirt with Band in A Box) as I am still hoping it is the right tool for my purposes. I am already in love with the elegant user interface (it's so clearly structured).
Back to my inquiry, it looks as if these are two ways to go from where I am: Either use a NWC reference file for copy and paste (the pragmatic way that gives quick success) or the handsome Mr. Someone sets out and develops a user tool that would allow transforming chord symbols into the right NWC chord notation.
I don't want to wait for Mr Someone so I go for the pragmatic way. The chordcharts.zip (thank you Rich) might be a good starting point for me, although I have some difficulties yet to match the names with the typically used chord symbols, e.g. I suppose that "diminished 7th chord" is equivalent to Adim7, correct? But this is basic notation knowledge and beyond this technical forum, so please ignore.
Thank you for your help.
Norbert

I take it that my first reply was on the right track.  And yes, "diminished 7th chord" is equivalent to "letter of chord rootdim7".  That would be a fully diminished 7th chord, 3 minor 3rds stacked on each other which produces both a diminished 5th and a diminished 7th above the root.  If that made sense and you know then that the note spelling of a Cdim7 (sometimes also symbolized "C^o7") is C-Eb-Gb-Bbb then you obviously can make your own copy and paste reference file.  If that didn't make sense then I can put such a reference file together for you with a little time.  I haven't yet looked at the chordcharts.zip file in the Scriptorium to see how close that comes to what you want.

Hi Norby;
The files on the Scripto Richard pointed you to are a great beginning. One that is missing and you will see fairly frequently in jazz standards is the half diminished chord. It is usually written as something like Cmin7b5 or as Cø7. It is played as a minor 7^th with a flat 5^th.
The other piece to understand is what is meant by the note that some chords use enharmonic spellings. It is most prevalent in the diminished chords where you have a double flat (bb) seventh where instead of showing say bbB it would be written as an A. It looks like the author of the files uses the enharmonic for the double flat seventh on all the diminished chords. I apologize if you know all this, I spent 20 years as a support engineer and I learned never to assume.
A good resource is the chart at the following url. http://www.petethomas.co.uk/jazz-chord-symbols.html. It shows all the chords you are likely to dome across in jazz pieces, along with with a number of common ways of of writing them, such as a delta symbol for a major chord or a - for a minor etc.
I wish you well with your endeavour and if you have more questions either about noteworthy composer or notation in general please ask. As you have seen there are a number of very knowledgeable people here who are more than willing to share their knowledge for the benefit of the rest of us.

Regards
Keith

Hi Norbert -

If you're a bit at sea with all the symbols being thrown around in this discussion, perhaps the two attached .nwc files will help. One is a guide to the way musicians name intervals. The other is a "quick-and-dirty" explanation of how lead sheet symbols are constructed. (It leaves off a few of the more obscure variants, but once you grasp the basic method, you should be able to figure those out as well.)

Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish....

Cheers,

Bill

There is a user tool that may be of some assistance...  RickG helped me with a small project some time ago that was intended to make chords from a source note...

See:
https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/?topic=5738.0

The tools are available from the Scripto:
http://nwc-scriptorium.org/nwc2scripts_make_chord.html

Some example parameters (assuming the chord note on the staff is the root and the tool used is the additive one with accidentals forced):
Maj: 3 5
Maj7: 3 5 7
7 or Dom7: 3 5 b7
Min: b3 5
Min7: b3 5 b7
Dim: b3 b5
Dim7: b3 b5 bb7
Half Dim 7: b3 b5 b7


<edit> correction in italics

Dear Milton, Keith, Bill and Lawrie:

Many thanks for your helpful hints.

It has a been a while now, and I thought I could bring in some positive feedback to this thread and forum at the risk of boring you to death. Well, I take the risk.

Time flies and I am still at the bottom of the learning curve but hey: it is pure fun.
All these symbols seems to make sense at the end :-)

I have borrowed a couple of books from my local public library in the meantime.
The titles "Real Book of Blues" and "250 Jazz & Blues All-Time Hits" are among them and
after having transferred some lead sheets (like "A Mess of Blues" by Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman) into NWC, I was not only able to hear the great tunes and the accompanying chords but also to "reproduce" them on my piano. Slowly (very slowly) but surely (well, this needs still to be approved :-).

The point is that I am already tired of copying and pasting the right chords from one file to the other, at the right place with the right duration, and so I decided to go the rocky path (like Rick prognosticated) and did some coding in Perl ("if your only tool is a hammer then every problem is a nail"). The resulting script is a kind of quick and dirty program that can be viewed at as a proof of concept. It's functioning but it is in its early stage with lots of teething troubles. INPUT: NWCTXT file with one staff containing both the tune and the text chord symbols. OUTPUT: original staff plus second staff with NWC chord representation. 

Example INPUT(snippet):

!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.0,Single)
|Clef|Type:Treble
|TimeSig|Signature:4/4
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted,Slur|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar|Style:MasterRepeatOpen
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Bar
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2
|Note|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-2
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted,Slur|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

Example OUTPUT(snippet):

!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.0,Single)
|Clef|Type:Treble
|TimeSig|Signature:4/4
|Rest|Dur:16th|Opts:Stem=Up
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted,Slur|Opts:Stem=Up
|Rest|Dur:16th|Opts:Stem=Up
|Bar|Style:MasterRepeatOpen
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

Entire Output for more insight:
(1. Staff: Original score,
 2. Staff: Intermediate step with tied chords,
 3. Staff: Chords with aggregated durations)

!NoteWorthyComposer(2.0)
|SongInfo|Title:"A Mess of Blue"|Author:"<Name>"|Lyricist:""|Copyright1:"Copyright © 2009 <Name>"|Copyright2:"All Rights Reserved"
|PgSetup|StaffSize:16|Zoom:5|TitlePage:Y|JustifyVertically:Y|ExtendLastSystem:N|DurationPadding:Y|PageNumbers:0|StaffLabels:None|BarNumbers:None|StartingBar:1|AllowLayering:Y
|Font|Style:Staff Italic|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:10|Bold:Y|Italic:Y|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Staff Bold|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:Y|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Staff Lyric|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:7|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Page Title Text|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:24|Bold:Y|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Page Text|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:12|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Page Small Text|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 1|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 2|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 3|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 4|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 5|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 6|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|PgMargins|Left:1.27|Top:1.27|Right:1.27|Bottom:1.27|Mirror:N
|AddStaff|Name:"Staff"|Group:"Standard"
|StaffProperties|EndingBar:Section Close|Visible:Y|BoundaryTop:12|BoundaryBottom:12|Lines:5|Style:Standard|Layer:N|Color:Default
|StaffProperties|Muted:N|Volume:127|StereoPan:64|Device:0|Channel:1
|StaffInstrument|Trans:0|DynVel:10,30,45,60,75,92,108,127
|Clef|Type:Treble
|TimeSig|Signature:4/4
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted,Slur|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar|Style:MasterRepeatOpen
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Bar
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2
|Note|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-2
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted,Slur|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2^|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:-2
|Rest|Dur:4th,Dotted
|Note|Dur:16th,Slur|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:2
|Bar
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:1
|Rest|Dur:Half
|Bar
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:b3|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:3|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:3
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Bar
|Text|Text:"G"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0|Opts:Stem=Down
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:2
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b3
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:Whole|Pos:1
|Bar
|Ending|Endings:1
|Text|Text:"G7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:7
|Rest|Dur:Half
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar|Style:MasterRepeatClose
|Ending|Endings:2
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:7
|Rest|Dur:Whole
|Bar|Style:Double
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Bar
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
|Text|Text:"B7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:#-5
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:Half,Dotted|Pos:-4
|Rest|Dur:4th
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:2
|Bar
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b3
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Note|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Bar
|Text|Text:"G7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Text|Text:"N.C."|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:2
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2^|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:-2
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:-2|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Bar
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-2
|Note|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-2
|Rest|Dur:4th
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Bar
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Bar
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:-2
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:2
|Bar
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:1
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam
|Note|Dur:16th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:3
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-1
|Bar
|Text|Text:"G7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:2
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
|Bar
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-3
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:b3
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:2|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:1^
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:1^
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Note|Dur:Half,Dotted|Pos:1
|Rest|Dur:4th
|AddStaff|Name:"Staff"|Group:"Standard"
|StaffProperties|EndingBar:Section Close|Visible:Y|BoundaryTop:12|BoundaryBottom:12|Lines:5|Style:Standard|Layer:N|Color:Default
|StaffProperties|Muted:N|Volume:127|StereoPan:64|Device:0|Channel:1
|StaffInstrument|Trans:0|DynVel:10,30,45,60,75,92,108,127
|Clef|Type:Treble
|TimeSig|Signature:4/4
|Rest|Dur:16th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted,Slur|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Rest|Dur:16th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar|Style:MasterRepeatOpen
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted,Slur|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:16th,Slur|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"G"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^|Opts:Stem=Down
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2,0,2
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3,-1,1|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2
|Bar
|Ending|Endings:1
|Text|Text:"G7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:7
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-2,0,2,4|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar|Style:MasterRepeatClose
|Ending|Endings:2
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:7
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar|Style:Double
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Text|Text:"B7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:0,#2,#4,6
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Half,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Chord|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"G7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2,0,2,4
|Text|Text:"N.C."|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Rest|Dur:4th|Pos:
|Rest|Dur:4th|Pos:
|Rest|Dur:8th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Rest|Dur:8th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:Half|Pos:
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:
|Rest|Dur:16th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Rest|Dur:16th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam
|Chord|Dur:16th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^,b3^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"G7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2,0,2,4
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-2^,0^,2^,4^|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-2,0,2,4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Half,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-6,-4,-2
|AddStaff|Name:"Staff"|Group:"Standard"
|StaffProperties|EndingBar:Section Close|Visible:Y|BoundaryTop:12|BoundaryBottom:12|Lines:5|Style:Standard|Layer:N|Color:Default
|StaffProperties|Muted:N|Volume:127|StereoPan:64|Device:0|Channel:1
|StaffInstrument|Trans:0|DynVel:10,30,45,60,75,92,108,127
|Clef|Type:Treble
|TimeSig|Signature:4/4
|Rest|Dur:16th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted,Slur|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Rest|Dur:16th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar|Style:MasterRepeatOpen
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^,b0^
|Chord|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"G"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-2,0,2
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2
|Bar
|Ending|Endings:1
|Text|Text:"G7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:7
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-2,0,2,4
|Bar|Style:MasterRepeatClose
|Ending|Endings:2
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:7
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar|Style:Double
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Half,Dotted|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Text|Text:"B7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:0,#2,#4,6
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"G7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:4th|Pos:-2,0,2,4
|Text|Text:"N.C."|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Rest|Dur:4th|Pos:
|Rest|Dur:4th|Pos:
|Rest|Dur:8th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Rest|Dur:8th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:Half|Pos:
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:
|Rest|Dur:16th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Rest|Dur:8th,Dotted|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Rest|Dur:16th|Pos:|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Bar
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"G7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-2,0,2,4
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-2,0,2,4
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-6,-4,-2,b0
|Text|Text:"F7"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-3,-1,1,b3
|Bar
|Text|Text:"C"|Font:StaffItalic|Pos:9
|Chord|Dur:Whole|Pos:-6,-4,-2
!NoteWorthyComposer-End

I would be grateful if someone can point me to obvious errors.
For instance, I am still unsure if chords always sound to the end of the measure, no matter if there rests in main staff.

Thank you for reading.
And sorry for the long post.

Norbert.

G'day Norbert,

What an interesting start to what, I think, could be a very useful tool.

One obvious error(?) in your nwctxt example is at bar 4 where the total duration is more than 4 beats - of course, this is in the original staff so the tool has worked correctly in that it has replicated the original staff's durations.  But this is not, I think, what you meant... ;)

The timing of chords does not necessarily match the melody.  A common artifice that I see is where a chord will start a bar, and the lyric or melody will commence sometime later.  Maybe only half a beat, but still later, and of course a vamp before a beat is also useful (I apologise for the cheesy 'toon'):

!NoteWorthyComposer(2.0)
|SongInfo|Title:""|Author:"<Name>"|Lyricist:""|Copyright1:"Copyright © 2009 <Name>"|Copyright2:"All Rights Reserved"
|PgSetup|StaffSize:16|Zoom:4|TitlePage:Y|JustifyVertically:Y|ExtendLastSystem:N|DurationPadding:Y|PageNumbers:0|StaffLabels:None|BarNumbers:None|StartingBar:1|AllowLayering:Y
|Font|Style:Staff Italic|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:10|Bold:Y|Italic:Y|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Staff Bold|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:Y|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Staff Lyric|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:7|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Page Title Text|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:24|Bold:Y|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Page Text|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:12|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:Page Small Text|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 1|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 2|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 3|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 4|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 5|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|Font|Style:User 6|Typeface:"Times New Roman"|Size:8|Bold:N|Italic:N|CharSet:0
|PgMargins|Left:1.27|Top:1.27|Right:1.27|Bottom:1.27|Mirror:N
|AddStaff|Name:"Staff"|Group:"Standard"
|StaffProperties|EndingBar:Section Close|Visible:Y|BoundaryTop:12|BoundaryBottom:16|Lines:5|Style:Standard|Layer:N|Color:Default
|StaffProperties|Muted:N|Volume:127|StereoPan:64|Device:0|Channel:1
|StaffInstrument|Trans:0|DynVel:10,30,45,60,75,92,108,127
|Lyrics|Placement:Bottom|Align:Standard Rules|Offset:0
|Lyric1|Text:"This is the mel-o-dy\r\nand so is this.\r\nThis is some more of it.\r\nand then the end.\r\n"
|Clef|Type:Treble
|TimeSig|Signature:4/4
|Rest|Dur:8th
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:8th
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:-1
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:8th
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:8th
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:0
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:1
|AddStaff|Name:"Staff-1"|Group:"Standard"
|StaffProperties|EndingBar:Section Close|Visible:Y|BoundaryTop:10|BoundaryBottom:10|Lines:5|Style:Standard|Layer:N|Color:Default
|StaffProperties|Muted:N|Volume:127|StereoPan:64|Device:0|Channel:2
|StaffInstrument|Trans:0|DynVel:10,30,45,60,75,92,108,127
|Clef|Type:Treble
|TimeSig|Signature:4/4
|Chord|Dur:Half,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-6,-4,-2
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-6,-4,-2
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Half,Dotted|Pos:-3^,-1^,1^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3,-1,1
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-3,-1,1
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:Half,Dotted|Pos:-6^,-4^,-2^
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-6,-4,-2
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-6,-4,-2
|Bar
|Chord|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:-3,-1,1
|Chord|Dur:8th|Pos:-4,-2,0
|Chord|Dur:Half|Pos:-6,-4,-2
!NoteWorthyComposer-End

Norbert;
   Very nice tool there. I also noticed the 4th measure had more than 4 beats to it. I am happy to see that your script did just what it should have though. It could be a mistake, but it could  also be intentional.
   To add to what Lawrie said about chord timing. As in much else in jazz it depends on the individual performers interpretation, or if you are accompanying a soloist, what they might prefer. As you practice, try it different ways and see what sounds best to you. Also if you can find a recording by someone you like that can be used as a clue.  I have seen some lead sheets that use a slash or a slash with a dot on each side to denote that the preceding chord is repeated or sounds, but then again most do not so it is left to your discretion. For me that is the nice thing about jazz. It gives the performer wide latitude to interpret the music.
   One thing I use as a guide is the placement of the chord symbol in relation to the notes in the melody line. If it is noticeably before or after the note then I wil try that first. Sometimes it works sometime it doesn't.
   Keep at it and you will ind a style that works best for you. I look forward to seeing the finished script released as a user tool.

   Changes in red

  Just noticed that there is a problem in measure 16 where you change from C7 to B7. Your root should be B natural however because the preceding chord uses Bb, the root inherits the flat. You might consider having the script force the proper accidental unless it is already in the key signature.
   The other thing I would add is that when you are keying tunes into Noteworthy Composer you should always enter the Key signature even if it is in C. Key of see will show an invisible (grey) natural in the editor. That way if you  want to transpose it to another key you can make use of the transpose routines built into the product.

Regards
Keith