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Topic: re: PS to whole staff missing (Read 6218 times) previous topic - next topic

re: PS to whole staff missing

PS I don't even get a whole measure, just enough room to insert key and time sig.and only ONE note..

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #1 –
Press the "*" key.  This will insert a bar line.  You may do this anytime you want an additional measure.

OR

Press the letter "b" and a bar line dialog box will appear.

-- debo

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #2 –
Dee: Apparently, you are new to the program. Relax, nothing is wrong. NWC does not give you a big, empty staff for you to fill in (there are other music programs that do). Instead, NWC creates the staff as you go along. In other words, the train tracks don't exist until you have a train.

Also, NWC1.75 allows you to place notes without regard for measure bars. Even if you set a 4/4 time signature, NWC1.75 does not auto-insert a bar. You do that yourself, by hitting the TAB. But you can have NWC retroactively insert bars (or correct the position of your own bars), if you wish. This is called "audit."

When you get to your final staff system, it may or may not run across the full printable width of your page. This is within your control. As you develop experience with the program, you will learn how to do it.

One other thing: As you create your music, it runs continuously from left to right in the music editor. That's true whether you have one staff (instrument), or many. The "wrap" of the staff is not visible until you look in print preview. Be sure that you have a printer driver installed, for that to work properly.

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #3 –
Thank you both for answering my 'stupid' question..I am new to this program, having used the 'others' on my older Win95 computer.  One more 'stupid' question..if I grab the kind of note I want (quarter, half) from the tool bar and try to insert with the mouse it doesn't materialize unless I click on the right mouse button and choose enter?  (2 steps?)

Is there a help section for entering notes in real time from a midi keyboard?

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #4 –
faq #53: How do I record live play from my MIDI keyboard?

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #5 –
Regarding the "two step" mouse click: You are trying to use NWC the way that "other" programs work. That's not the most efficient way to use NWC.

You can, if you wish, (1) click the note icon, (2) move the cursor to the desired staff position, and click (which only fixes the cursor), then, hit "enter."

The faster way: (1) Learn which keys correspond to which note durations, (2) Use the cursor up/down arrow to position the cursor (you can slo use the mouse), (3) "enter."

The advantage to the second method is that if you are entering music by reading it from a sheet, you don't have to move the mosue or even look at the computer screen (if you don't make mistakes).

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #6 –
In fact, you can streamline the process even more by using the right-hand ("numeric") keypad.  Do NOT have the num-lock on!  You have cursor keys and enter right under your fingers and you can change the value of the notes using the "+" and "-" keys, "+" increasing the duration, "-" lowering it.  You also have "/", for ties and "*" to insert bars.  The only keys that are generally used in entering notes that are elsewhere are "7" (natural), "8" (flat), "9" (sharp), "." (dotted note), "," (staccato) and "space" (rest).  You can also use the "tab" key (at the far left) for bars.

There are a lot of other keys, but those are the one I happen to use most.  Things like selecting a note or notes to apply properties, such as beams or triplets, can also be done, as can the additon of the properties.  Generally, if you let the mouse-pointer hover over a menu choice a "tool-tip" will pop up showing what keyboard combination has the same function.

I'm only partially weaned from the mouse, others here seem to do almost everything from the keyboard.

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #7 –
I'm keyboard oriented.  I mainly use it for note entry, but the mouse is handy for highlighting things or for clicking on things where the keyboard command is a little awkward.

I should point out that I use an articulated keyboard (Microsoft "Natural"), so sometimes my fingers have to be grouped awkwardly to use the command.  While it didn't take long to use, the standard keyboard I used to have was easier for NWC notation.

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #8 –
Cyril wrote: "Do NOT have the num-lock on!". I wonder why!? In that case, I have no direct access to any number. I need to press shift to access them, on the numpad or the standard keyboard. (I should mention that I ain't using a QWERTY kbd). If I use the CAPS LOCK I won't have access to ",", ";".
I use the (right) thumb to move the cursor, and 1-9 for notes values (length&accidental), and + and - when correcting length values.

Anyway, the mouse is rarely more useful/efficient than the keyboard. This is not the case only with NWC, but with many office software (unless you're a painter).

Have fun with NWC quickness :)

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #9 –
Marsu,

My usage is on the keypad:

cursor movement:
8 = up arrow
4 = left arrow
etc.

Note value:
+ and - to change from current

I have never gotten used to the inverted-T arrangement of the cursor keys between the regular keyboard and the keypad, while the cursor keys on the keypad just feel more natural.

So I do have to reach for the accedentals.

While I use a QWERTY keyboard, I have it set to US-International, so I have most of the accented characters avaliable, via "dead keys" (~, `, ^, ", ') and/or CTL-ALT combinations (e.g. CTL-ALT-Shift-4 = £, CTL-ALT-[ = «, etc.).

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #10 –
Those of us who use a laptop normally don't use the numeric keypad, because there is no numeric keypad.

A portion of the regular keypad can be defined as a numeric keypad, by removing its functionality from regular alphabetic usage.

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #11 –
How can you use a laptop normally for NWC?
Every laptop I've ever heard sounds AWFUL for MIDI.
Did you do something to yours that makes it work?

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #12 –
My laptop also sounds awful for MIDI. I mostly use NWC for sheet music, not MIDI.

If I want to hear the music, I use headphones, not the little bitty speakers on the laptop. The built-in soundcard is mediocre. If I want to export as MIDI then play it so that it sounds good, I use a separate software synthesis program that does not rely on the "instruments" in my computer's sound card. (See info about making WAV from your MIDI, among the NWC user tips).

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #13 –
Most laptops that I have used have a plug in numeric keypad.  It usually plugs into the mouse port, but it's relatively cheap to buy a two-tailed adapter that allows you to run both at the same time.

Another option is to buy a regular qwerty keyboard - probably around $20 - and plug it in to your laptop.  Again, you'd need the two-tailed adapter, but since this keyboard will have a numberic keypad, you won't need the one that came with the laptop.

It works - I've been using that combination at work for years.  The full size plug in keyboard is much easier to work with than the on-board one, and doesn't do some of the quirky things the laptop keyboard will do, such as make your cursor jump if you rest your hand on the top of the laptop the wrong way.

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #14 –
Sorry if this thread reacts as if I were acting as a troll; it wasn't my intention.
What I've noticed is that NWC is usable with many different keyboard configurations. Having a qwerty kbd or not, 101/102 keys or 88(92?). For 70 I wonder ;)
Thank you all for your explanations on how you use your keyboard: there are hints that I'll probably try&keep.

On a laptop, there is often a modifier key called Fn (function, in blue, red or green) that allows some keys to act as the numpad.
A laptop is very good to enter music with NWC anywhere, anytime. I'd like to have one, even an old 486 SX with win95. The sound quality doesn't matter at that time.
 

Re: re: PS to whole staff missing

Reply #15 –
I mostly use NWC for sheet music, not MIDI.
Yeah, me too, but I have to listen to what I'm doing, to make sure I didn't forget any accidentals and other stuff.
The sound quality doesn't matter at that time.
It matters to me.  I can't stand that cheesy sound.