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Topic: Drum X head font revisited (Read 18359 times) previous topic - next topic

Drum X head font revisited

What if some one with a font making program made an EXACT copy of the Noteworthy font (keep the name and the size of the notes the same) except for changing all the heads to X heads? Couldn't we then take the origional font out of the folder and put in this one for a drum staff? We could even replace the G clef with a drum clef such as []. Have we already tried this idea? I was just wondering....

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #1 –
I have, in fact, tried it. It works. No problem.

If the phony-font is named NWCV15 (internally, not just the file name) and installed in place of the real thing, then you get X-head, or flying pigs, or whatever you put into the font. The catch is that the effect is global: You cannot have ordinary note heads on one staff, X-heads on another.

If the phony-font is named something else of 6 characters, such as BANGER, and if a hex editor is used to change "NWCV15" into "BANGER" for a particular NWC output file, then the file will use "BANGER" rather than "NWCV15" when it prints.

However, there is a catch: I would not be able to distribute such a font, not even to NWC users, unless I custom-draw the characters that are in common (for my own private use, that's not necessary). The reason is that the NWCV15 font is the intellectual property of you-know-who. A version that primarily copies the existing characters, with a few changes, would be a bad-boy product.

Musical symbols, as such, cannot be copyrighted as a typeface in the Unites States. But the computer data that draws the symbols, being a computer program, is subject to copyright. This applies to derivative works. But symbols re-drawn from scratch, even if in the same character locations, would be just fine. Again, this is in the United States. In some other countries, such as Germany, the look of a typeface can also be copyrighted, although I do not know if NWCV15 is unique enough for that.

It would certainly be a no-no to distribute a re-drawn font if it contained information that implied it was a product of Noteworthy Software.

The bottom line: If you happen to won a font editor program, and want to try changing the note-head shapes, or substituting a double-bar clef for the G clef, it will work.

Keep in mind that note stems are drawn in NWC to match the right or left note side, depending on stem direction. But you might not like the appearance with X-heads, if you want the stem to meet at the upper-right or lower-left corner. The workaround would be to displace the X characters, and remember to also displace the notes in NWC in the opposite direction. This is a big deal for a small problem.

The ultimate solution would be for Noteworthy Software, in a "version 2.0" release, to allow a staff-by-staff selection of notation font.

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #2 –
One other thing: Certain items in a NWC file are directly drawn, not from the font. This includes staffs and note stems, and a few others. So changing the font would not change ordinary NWC stems into custom squiggles, or change the staff into dashed lines, etc.

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #3 –
Greetings

I simply don't understand the problem then.

All the users who want to notate tracks with X heads will be satisfied if Noteworthy "ENDORSES" your font. I mean, they endorse all the other hings users have done. They "endorse" Noteworthy websites, user created utilities. Why can't they endorse the X head fonts? Then they won't have to create one themselves!

I just don't get it! LOL

Marc

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #4 –
Yes, endorsing sounds good, but if NoteWorthy is not willing to do this, then can't we work with Robert Allgeyer's drum font? I don't know if it would be too much work, but it seems that you could put the charaters from his drum font in their correct positions and size them down to the correct size. You would then, of course, rename it to NWCV15.

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #5 –
Makes no difference to me. Here's my E-mail address.

But I would absolutely have to know what style of X to put. The three basic characters are the note-heads for whole notes, for half notes, and for quarter (and shorter) notes. presumably, a standard X will work for the last of these. But what about the others? Bigger X? Diamond? Solid?

Keep in mind that the way stems meet the note-heads is not adjustable by a font.

Also keep in mind everything I wrote above. If you want your music to have both standard and X-head notes, you will have to create separate files (one for each style) and put separate WMFs into a document, or something like that.

Although I'm not exhibiting the desired X-head font at this moment in time, there are a number of X-head characters in the "MusiSync" font, free at my web site

http://www.icogitate.com/~ergosum

and while you are there, be amazed by the "MusiTone" fonts.

I do this as a penance for my off-notes in the choir.

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #6 –
I mentioned this in my first reply, but it bears repeating:

A font is recognized not by its filename, but by its internal name. The file name can be changed by anybody. But the internal name can only be changed with a font editor. This, I can do, but the average user can't.

So, it does not help to create a font internally called [whatever] with file name NWCV15 in order to "fool" your system. At best, it just won't work. At worst, you will confuse your system.

Incidentally, to see what I am talking about: Most of you have a font called "Symbol." That is both its file name and internal name. If you have a hex editor (free ones are available), take a WMF file exported from NWC (NOT the program!) and find and replace "NWCV15" with "Symbol." Then place the edited WMF into a word processing document. Presto! Except for drawn objects (staff, beams, stems) the notes and symbols have turned into Greek. :-)

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #7 –
It IS my browser that is doing the job, and a bad job its doing. I only worded it that way because a separate window comes up for downloading.

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #8 –
The problem, according to Netscape, is that the file to download does not exist. Also, why do I need a hex editor when MS Dos Edit seems to do the job just fine?

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #10 –
Thanks for banger, but I can't download it. I got to the site, but when I clicked the download button, everything worked find, but the downloader never was able to connect to the server. It just stayed there saying it was connecting to the server. I don't really need this font, but others might.

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #11 –
Try disabling your download manager (I guess GetRight?) and let your browser do the job.

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #12 –
Opps, somehow the ZIP file was corrupted on the file server. I will re-upload Banger today when I get the chance.

As for the DOS editor, maybe it works-- but since I don't use it, I wouldn't know.

Incidentally, although I do not recommend it, if you make a backup of the NWC executable and edit NWCV15 to Banger, then the program will display and print X-head notes directly. Again, this is not recommended!

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #13 –
I thought you could do that with NWC, but you're right it is _risky_ business
 

Re: Drum X head font revisited

Reply #14 –
For those of you who have used my "Banger" font to make x-head notes in a WMF exported from NWC: Another user has posted a comparable font on the Scriptorium. The methodology is virtually identical. However, his instructions are more accessible to the average user, since they do not require a hex editor. Therefore, the "Banger" font is obsolete. I will remove it in the near futire. Anyone who is already using it may continue to do so.

Since there is more than one message thread on this subject, I am posting this notice in duplicate.