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Topic: Channel surfing? (Read 4147 times) previous topic - next topic

Channel surfing?

In the "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" department, I read in a MIDI reference recently that it's possible to change channels in the middle of a MIDI track. I've poked around a little in the NWC help file but don't see any indication that NWC supports this.

I think this would be a useful feature for those of us doing orchestral notation in NWC. Quite often you have more than 16 instruments in the score, although fewer than 16 play at any given time. With the one-channel-per-track model, it can be difficult to manage this.

Imagine a case where you want to introduce a 17th instrument (say, a shakuhachi) that plays only when either the flutes or the clarinets are silent, but can't realistically share the flute or clarinet staff. You could assign the shakuhachi to the flute's channel when clarinets are playing and to the clarinet's channel when the flutes are playing, but because you can't switch channels in the middle of a track, you'd have to create two NWC tracks for it, one for each channel that the shakuhachi will be playing on, and overlay them, making sure to insert the appropriate invisible rests in whichever staff isn't playing at the moment. Or you could create two hidden shakuhachi tracks and a third track for display/printing that displays the combination of what's on the two hidden tracks. Either of these would be a lot of work, which would get even worse if you had to have the shakuhachi jump among 3 or more channels.

If NWC supported changing channels in the middle of a track, you could just create a shakuhachi staff and choose a free channel whenever you wanted it to play.

Would this be a difficult enhancement to make?

Re: Channel surfing?

Reply #1 –
Changing channel assignments on the fly (or "channel surfing", as Grant put it in his delightfully droll manner) is big on my wishlist also. This would certainly greatly improve NWC's functionality, especially with those big orchestral works. (Richard Woodroffe has mentioned how nice this would be also.)

Such a tool could make quite a mess, though, if you're not careful. It would be especially difficult to post-process a Type 1 midi file that results from this, since presumably the channel changes would occur within the same track.

Also it bears pointing out that NWC is certainly not the only sequencer/scoring program that lacks this facility; the versions of both Cakewalk and Cubasis that I own do not allow channel changes within a track.

Nonetheless, it would certainly be a boon for more advanced users.

Re: Channel surfing?

Reply #2 –
I agree fully on the helpfulness of channel surfing. The capability is one of the primary reasons I use a second sequencing program in addition to Noteworthy (not that I would ever change from Notewothy, mind you).

Re: Channel surfing?

Reply #3 –
I can see the advantage but with the major flaw of making a MIDI file I don't believe this feature has a very high priority (unless NWC wants to add a huge inherent bug in the software). I truly believe that adding drum notation will be the biggest step forward.

Re: Channel surfing?

Reply #4 –
I'm afraid I don't understand your objection. What do you mean by "the major flaw of making a MIDI file" and "a huge inherent bug in the software"? It is part of the MIDI specification that the channel is allowed to change in the middle of a track. I don't see how supporting this feature could be considered "a huge inherent bug". (Anyway, if you're afraid it would cause trouble, you could simply avoid making use of the feature.)

I understand that there's a lot of interest out there in improved drum notation in NWC, but I truly have little need for it myself. If this is going to turn into a game of dueling priorities, I'll see your drum notation and raise you n-tuplets.

Re: Channel surfing?

Reply #5 –
1'm s0rry gr@nt bu2 1 d0n't l1ke y0ur t0ne! y0u h@ve @ ver1 self0bsessed t0ne 1n y0ur mess@ges @nd 1 d0n't l1ke 1t! th3 questi0n 1sn't 1f, bu2 wh3n w1ll th3y @dd th3 dru~ tr@ck fe@ture?

Re: Channel surfing?

Reply #6 –
Gee, I'm sorry if my posts offend you. We're even, though. Yours has offended me.

I'd like to think that n-tuplet support, like improved drum notation, is more a matter of when than if. In any event, there's probably room for both large and small improvements in NWC's future. Compared to drums and n-tuplets, I suspect "channel surfing" would be a relatively small effort, and would be worth considering.

w0u£d you £1ke ~y p0$t$ @ny b3tt3r 1f 1 typ3d th3~ £1k3 th1$?

Re: Channel surfing?

Reply #7 –
y0 m@n, 1f y0\/ c0ul4 d0 th@t 1 w0uld th1nk y0u w3r3 t00 c0o1! gr00v7 m@n!
 

Re: Channel surfing?

Reply #8 –
Look, Mazbo, you know that's irritating.
I don't even see why you type like that when it shows your lack of intelligence. If you want your voice to be heard, don't garble it!!!