Trills and Broken Chords?

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Trills and Broken Chords?

2003-12-01 03:36 am

I can't find any option for these. I write out trills as 32nd or 64th notes. What about broken chords for piano? I can't remember if there is an official word for it, but the notation symbol is usally a jagged line that runs vertically. Instead of playing all the notes in the chord at exactly the same instant, you roll your hands, (usually from bottom to top). Is there any way to notate that in NWC?
Thanks!

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #1 – 2003-12-01 04:03 am

Several of the user fonts ( Boxmark2, Boxmarks and NWCOrn) that you can get from the Scriptorium

http://nwc-scriptorium.org/

have a symbol that can be inserted as text ahead of the note.

For playing the sound back, use hidden grace notes for each element of the chord, in front of the chord itself, with each note tied to the chord, and the entire group slurred. The grace notes can be set to 32nd, 64th or even 128th notes (for this you have to use the mouse, or make a 64th, highlight it and press the minus sign).

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #2 – 2003-12-02 01:47 am

128th notes are not available.
Using hidden grace notes is okay if there are no accidentals, otherwise it's no good.
I prefer to use a hidden staff for such things.

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #3 – 2003-12-02 08:26 am

Glad you like my signature, Gary.

You're right about the 128th. I miscounted the flags.

Some user fonts have text based sharp and flat signs, those could be used to get around the accidental problem in the grace notes versus the chord.

I agree, however, that the hidden staff works better with accidentals. In fact, it works better without accidentals too.

I would show just the chord, muted, on the main staff, and use the grace notes with the chord on the hidden staff for playback. That way the grace notes will rob time from the chord.

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #4 – 2003-12-02 02:39 pm

Thanks for the tips, I'll give it a try. Too bad this is not a set function of the program!

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #5 – 2003-12-11 10:32 pm

The problem with using grace notes though is not only does it sound wrong, but you cant arpeggio over two bars using it. I've been doing it a very hard way; in the bass, having 64th notes tied to the chord, which isn't shown as it's real lenght because of the 64th notes. It's tied to, say a 32nd note. Then in treble I have a rest for the duration of this arpeggio (64th note) and do another one. It's really quite time-consuming.

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #6 – 2003-12-12 01:30 am

Frank, I agree there are many things that NWC won't do naturally, but the program only costs $39!!! NWC is elegantly simple. I've seen other types of software that got improved so much that they became too complicated for users. The DOS based versions of Microsoft Works, for instance.

One significant strength of NWC is the ability to use various workarounds. Eric was a genius to have a user forum and user tips on the website. These have been a feature for many years. If you can't find your answer, there will often be a user of the forum who can offer you a suggestion or workaround. In other words, the support is A-one.

Zephros, crossing a bar line with this arpeggio shouldn't be a challenge. Use real notes (32nds or 64ths, or whatever) before the bar line and grace notes after it. Do this in the unmuted hidden staff. Use normal notation in the visible staff, but mute those notes. Time consuming? Yes. But this workaround should work.

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #7 – 2003-12-12 05:46 pm

The thing to be careful about is that grace notes all "play" with the same duration, regardless of what kind of note you use. Quarter note grace notes will sound with the same duration as 32nd note grace notes. That makes it difficult if you are using actual note values at the end of the previous measure and grace notes at the beginning of the current measure. I've requested on the wish list that grace notes play according to the duration of the note selected. Maybe others should pipe in to bump this up on the request priority.

Thanks,

John

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #8 – 2003-12-12 11:07 pm

I didn't realize the playback did that. I agree improvement is needed. The uncrossed grace note should rob its full time from the time of the following note, and NWC should differentiate between grace note values.

NWC also needs to give a crushed note too - that's the grace note with a slash across its stem. This type of grace note is played as fast as possible, immediately before the note following it, so does not rob time.

I'm going to screw up the correct names, but I think one is assiaggatura and the other one is appoggiatura.

NWC uses the wrong symbol for the grace note it actually supports.

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #9 – 2003-12-13 03:23 am

I just wish that the grace notes had grace-note-sized accidentals...

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #10 – 2003-12-13 03:40 am

I want grace notes to have a "steal time" property: Steal from following note (the current method), steal from previous note, and don't steal time at all (for "cue" notes). I notate drumming, including flams, which are a light tap just ahead of the accented tap. The accented tap must be exactly on the beat. I've already made this request to the wish list. Does it help to make wishes more than once?

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #11 – 2003-12-13 04:39 am

This has been one of my wishes for a long time - I get round it by using a hidden sounding stave with the grace note as a normal 32nd or 64th note belonging to the time value of the previous note, but it would be great to have the options of selecting which note you want the crushed note to "steal" time from. Until we can do this, the grace note remains an appoggiatura only.

Re: Trills and Broken Chords?

Reply #12 – 2003-12-13 04:52 am

I forgot to add this to my previous reply - David, the name you are looking for is Acciaccatura

In "real" musical life, these crushed notes are played as quickly as possible - one way of thinking of them is by playing the crushed note simultaneously with the main note, but lifting the crushed note finger immediately. The main note should always sound ON the beat - unlike the appoggiatura.