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Topic: Wish List or ? (Read 3826 times) previous topic - next topic

Wish List or ?

First off, Kudos to NWC staff for a terrific piece of software that is totally affordable, and for the excellent e-mail support they gave me when I first started using NWC. I asked a lot of dumb questions (some were already answered in the HELP, but I didn't find it), and always I received thorough answers. I have had a ball using NWC, can't thank them enough for it.

I've read several posts on this forum, and although I'm about to ask for a few additional features as others have, I also have to remind myself, this software does NOT cost $500, so if some things are the way they are, well, look at what you already have!

Wish List (someone please tell me if there is a way to do any of these already):

1. I'd like to be able to choose where measure number notation appears in the viewed and printed score. I mainly use NWC for music for my church choir, and I currently pencil in measure numbers where I might like the choir and piano to restart.

2. In lyrics, NWC uses an underscore to hold a space in the score. I would like to use underscores as they are printed on most choral music I see -- to notate the carry over of a word across ties or multiple notes (when there are not multiple syllables). For instance, the word "saints" may be sung across two or three notes, so it would be written as "saints___________" to indicate this. I currently use hyphens (e.g. "saints--------"), it accomplishes the purposes but does not look quite right.

3. In printed choral music, all staves are connected with a single bar line. The solo (top stave) only has the single bar line, the next two staves (SATB choir) are marked together with Orchestral staff, then the final two (piano) staves are marked with the Grand Staff. In NWC, I am only able to connect all staves with the Orchestral staff, and then additionally mark the piano staves with Grand Staff. If possible, I would like the ability to more closely match traditional printed choral music.

4. At a key change, NWC prints naturals (to nullify the previous key) and then prints the new key signature. I would like a way to not print the naturals, only the new key signature.

5. I would also like to be able to "hide" (not print) portions of staves that are all rests (e.g. during piano solo, don't print vocal staves; when a vocal solo occurs in the middle of the piece, don't print the staves before and after it).

Again, thanks for all the wonderful things the software DOES do, and at a very affordable price! If some of my wishes can come true, well, that's terrific too!

Sue Morton

Re: Wish List or ?

Reply #1 –
Sue,
Like you, I am a relative newcomer to Noteworthy, and although I own other software which does some of the things you ask for (numbers 2 and 3 of your list) I still find Noteworthy the best music software even though it's cheaper and doesn't have as many possibilities in printing musical symbols as my other software.

As far as question 5 is concerned, the only way I have found to do it is through printing selected pages and adding spaces to bars in order to bring the required bar to the top of a page.

Here follows a wordy example ....

I have a version of a carol which starts with Soprano solo, trumpet and organ. 21 bars on, the full choir comes in and out goes the trumpet. To achive a good printed copy, I selected the soprano, trumpet and organ staves which took up 20 bars. The first 18 covered two pages. I then selected all staves except the trumpet and the 19th bar was three bars before the end of page four. I therefore added alot of spaces to bar 18 so that bar 19 came to the top of page 5. I could then print from page 5 onwards. I applied the same sort of technique to later on when the trumpet came back in.

This is a fiddle and takes a bit of time and patience - but it works. - Where there's a will .... etc.

Enjoy Noteworthy - it's a treasure.

Richard

Re: Wish List or ?

Reply #2 –
Sue,

About your point 4, (key changes), I'm sorry to tell you
that NWC does it well. Any strict musician would agree with this
way of writing key changes.
About 'vanishing' staves sometimes, add it to the wish list
and for the moment proceed like told on the 'Differents staff...' point.
For point 2, you may try to use Alt+0150 and Alt+0151 instead of
the hyphen. it may look better. Otherwise I see a solution : adding marks that
a program i'd write changes into the desired lines... as I currently do for
(de)crescendo signs. (restriction : PostScript print)

Hope this helps !

and enjoy NWC, it's really a treasure.

Re: Wish List or ?

Reply #3 –
Me too! (relative newcomer!)

Point 2 (carrying a single syllable across words) can
be accomplished by placing a slur (not a tie) over/under the
notes that are to be used for the word. I've also found that
a hyphen can be used as a placeholder. Not only does it represent a
syllable(note), but it also prints out under the appropriate note.

Noteworthy appears to be so damn good, that it applies single syllable lyrics to an
entire slur. I've done an arrangement of "Jesus is Coming Again", a Vineyard song (talk about
a baptism of fire!) which really stretched this area (it's in 6/8, which a Gaelic double
time feel). If you want to mail me, I'll send it to you.

I have to agree with you, this software is absolutely brilliant! For $US39, it
is completely stunning. Best value software that I've ever seen. Like you, I got it
to do arrangements for church. Those old hymns just don't work these days!

To all the guys at Noteworthy, keep it up. What you need is a feedback mail ID.

Bet you'd get heaps, all positive!