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Topic: Importing and accidentals (Read 2535 times) previous topic - next topic

Importing and accidentals

Is ther a was to force NWC to use certain accidentals when importing from a MIDI, such as displaying B and A flats instead of displaying A and G sharps?

Re: Importing and accidentals

Reply #1 –
Not directly. In general, if the source midi has a key signature, NWC will respect that key signature and import accordingly. However, not all midi files have the key signature; it's not a necessary part of the midi spec, and I believe that some midi creators intentionally omit them to make importation into other sequencers more challenging.

If you have access to a sequencer, or other means of adding a key signature to the midi file before importation, it might save you some time. Otherwise, import it as usual, add the proper key signature, and use NWC's "Audit Enharmonic Spelling" tool to fix up the oddballs.

Re: Importing and accidentals

Reply #2 –
Sounds like you could also force the accidentals, create a key signature, then get rid of the accidentals and you would think that the notes would get placed into the key signature. I haven't tried doing this but it might work.

Re: Importing and accidentals

Reply #3 –
Personally I find that the most reliable method of ensuring that the right notes are shown after importing a file is to force accidentals immediately after importation, regardless of whether or not the midi file has key signautres inserted, then enter a key signature, and in particular, I always insert the key signature of C major, as this prevents "inexpected results" if there is a later keychange which you might not have been aware of later in the song, and then audit the enharmonic spelling. Actually, I prefer it when the midi file has no key signature, but even if it does have one, I still find it necessary to go through the piece and check them, since for some reason NWC seems to prefer to place key signatures immediately before the  barline, and I always think they look better after the bar - which would usually be a double barline anyway.

Complicated though this may seem, it does not take long. My only complaint about the way NWC goes about things is that in many cases NWC's version of enharmonic spelling is incorrect. For example, in the key of C major it will always show A# rather than Bb, even though in that particular key Bb is statistically more common when that particular note occurs, or it will show Gb instead of F# in the key of D minor.