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Topic: Features (Read 4081 times) previous topic - next topic

Features

I am a pretty much satisfied registered user
of NWC; like everybody else, though, I have
wishes (perhaps some of them are possible already
but I just don't know how to achieve them).
As feedback to the authors, here are the things
I would like:

1. A way to transpose selected notes only (not
a whole staff). This is so obvious that it
must be possible already, but I can't figure
it out.

2. More flexibility in inserting MIDI data
such as sysex and odd controllers.

3. Configurable default values for the velocities
of dynamics (this should be a *staff* property).

4. Some kind of configurable native support
for trills and string tremolo.

5. The ability to configure default percentages
for regular, dotted, and slurred notes (again,
per staff). For example, to get a synth to
truly play legato, the notes should overlap;
maybe there is some way to get NWC to overlap
the notes, but it doesn't seem to.

Haha, now here's what I REALLY want for version 2:

Note properties (when you right click on a selected
note, "selection" should not be grayed out).
Selecting properties brings up a window that
allows you to adjust everything about that note.
Including:

* Actual start time and duration (to "humanize"
the time values)

* Velocity

* One-shot midi information (like controller values)

* Finally, the ability to add sequences of controller
values for pitch bend, arbitrary controllers, channel
pressure, etc. Ideally, this would be a little graph
for the duration of the note that allows the user to
add points and view the resulting graph.

Obviously, copying notes would copy the associated
midi note properties. Also, some thought would
have to be given to how to configure the default
settings for new notes.

Although this "note properties" feature would take
some effort to code, it seems fairly self-contained
and would make a good program truly great.

derek

Re: Features

Reply #1 –
Wow, what a well thought-out wish list. Any of those feaures would be welcome additions, all of them would be heaven! :-)

Fred

Re: Features

Reply #2 –
Ha! A nice list indeed, but not even vaguely overlapping with my own. I could care less about the playback; I mostly use it for debugging. What I use NWC for is typesetting arrangements for my group. I want better control over printing features

For example:

I want to be able to specify line breaks. I have a whole lot of pieces which are an A section and a B section, and the A section is 4 measures, the B section is 8. I want the A section on one line, and the B section on two lines below. Right now, I can sometimes get that if I get the margins and point sizes exactly right, but I can't always adjust that.

I want to be able to eliminate the space between master section open and close bar lines.

I want to be able to eliminate the space between master section close bar lines and the end of the piece. (I just this minute downloaded v 1.55a, which if I am correctly understanding the upgrade notes does this. That would make me happy.)

Etc.

If anyone has suggestions on formatting pieces for printing, I'd love to hear them.

Re: Features

Reply #3 –
Heh, I have some printing wishes as
well, but since I use NWC as a composition
tool rather than as a pretty-printer they
are secondary in importance to me. But
there are a few things I'd like (again,
maybe these are possible but I haven't
figured them out):

1. It would be nice if the label for
a grand staff would be centered between
the two staves rather than each staff
having its own label (as an option, so
I can label it "piano").

2. Even with the options set as suggested
elsewhere on this site, the music takes
up too much horizontal space.

3. I'd like an alternate label for the staffs
on page two and so on, like the scores I
buy at the bookstore.

4. (suggested elsewhere I think): the option to
not show a staff at all if the whole line is
just rests (again, like the scores I buy).

derek
(but gimme "note properties" first, haha)

Re: Features

Reply #4 –
These are all great wishes but like all wishes must be tempered with patience.
The right place for wishes is in the Wish List.
Please duplicate your wishes there where NoteWorthy Support will find them.

Re: Features

Reply #5 –
Hi Derek,

Great Wishes! Please put them in the Wish List area of the NWC site, as suggested. Wishes do come true!

Regarding your original message item #1, transposing selected notes only instead of whole staff, if you truly mean transpose key in the purest sense, you can copy and paste your selected notes to a new (temporary) blank staff (be sure you have the right key sig inserted), transpose the staff, then copy and paste the results back to your original staff. Takes a bit of work, but works.

If you don't really want to transpose in the technical sense, but just want to move the notes (and add the accidentals yourself afterward to complete the key change) -- works OK for small sections -- you can select the notes you want to move up or down on the staff, then hold down SHIFT and CTRL keys and use the up or down arrows to move the block of notes up or down on the staff. Then add the key sig, accidentals etc.

There may be other ways; these work OK for me.

Sue

Re: Features

Reply #6 –
My comments...

Derek - 3. Lets get all the standard music notation supported, like trills, glissandos, 8va, hairpin crescendo, etc.

Not just notes, but every music element should have properties - at least a Visible property.

Rebecca - 1.55 eliminates the space between master section close bar lines and the end of the piece. You do this in the Staff Properties (F2), not exactly where I expected it.

Re: Features

Reply #7 –
This sounds like version 3 to me, not even 2 (LOL)
But its good stuff, particularly about tremolo.
I also want to point out one more thing; Ability to control accenting. On a previous string concerning this a friend provided a table of the standard accenting values for NWC. What would be particularly useful would be control of each single accent, in both a positive and a negative way; so one could put a -30 value or a +30 (the standard, I think), with the sign over the note having the respective shape; ">" for positive values and "<" for negative values. This would overcome accenting problems particularly faced in drum scores where use of mpc's affects all the drumming instruments and not one only (e.g. Base drum AND cymbal instead of Cymbal only).

Re: Features

Reply #8 –
For now, a partial workaround would be to give each instrument in the drum kit its own staff, which could optionally be layered to give a single visual staff. This way each instrument (bass, snare, HH, etc.) could have its own dynamics and accents (though not volume MPC's, since they affect the entire channel). Just be sure that all of the drum channels are assigned to the same midi channel (usually 10).