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Topic: Feature request: adding chord notes quickly by selecting name of the chord (Read 2821 times) previous topic - next topic

Feature request: adding chord notes quickly by selecting name of the chord

All

Maybe it's already in somewhere, but what I miss is a quick way to enter chords with/without a fundamental bass.

Let's say I want to place a "whole duration" Dm chord with a F as fundamental bass.  I now manually have to select "whole duration" by pressing number 1, then I have to set the fundamentall bass note F and next I set D F A (by using CTRL+ENTER).

It would be nice if there was some option where you can select your chord (Dm in my example) and an optional fundamental bass  (F in my example) and which then puts the actual chord F D F A on the staff.

The "guitar chord" plugin is meant for guitar strings.  The "ChordPlay"-plugin does support playing the chord you entered, but it only displays the name of the chord in the staff and does not set the actual notes. If I'm correct ChordPlay neither has an option to define the fundamental bass.

Regards
Ino

Re: Feature request: adding chord notes quickly by selecting name of the chord

Reply #1 –
Do you have any idea how this might deal with voicing? I.e., which octave each note of the chord is in? It makes a big difference in the chord sound. Guitars voice differently depending on the fingering you use for the chord; banjos voice differently than guitars; pianos voice depending on the whim of the player, or the composer, or the way the music is moving; you get the idea. Given that reality, I don't see much use for automating the placement of chord tones; they would usually have to be moved after the program had placed them.

Re: Feature request: adding chord notes quickly by selecting name of the chord

Reply #2 –
What you are looking for should be possible with a user tool. The chord name and bass note (and possibly the octave) could be prompted for by the tool, and it could then insert the chord using the current duration (I am assuming that a user tool can determine the currently specified duration when it is run.)

Re: Feature request: adding chord notes quickly by selecting name of the chord

Reply #3 –
Quote from: Mike Shawaluk –
I am assuming that a user tool can determine the currently specified duration when it is run.
Unless there have been recent improvements to the API, the current duration is not available.
There are ways to get the info by forcing keystrokes into NWC. I abandoned that approach years ago.
Registered user since 1996

Re: Feature request: adding chord notes quickly by selecting name of the chord

Reply #4 –
Quote from: Mike Shawaluk –
(I am assuming that a user tool can determine the currently specified duration when it is run.)
You are correct. Anything with a duration will contain Dur: and it is simple to keep it intact when changing a note to a chord. On a note, Pos: will contain accidental, position (offset from center line), and tie--a chord will contain sets of these separated by (a) comma(s).  Just wish it came with tempo, time signature, key, and clef.

This is my attempt as building a chord: guitar.htm.  In the same folder doOctave.js changes a note to an octave chord.

I assume duration means half note, sixteenth note, etc., not that a note might play for 0.125 seconds.
Since 1998

Re: Feature request: adding chord notes quickly by selecting name of the chord

Reply #5 –
Years ago I created a chord builder called "MakeChord".  It requires you to manually enter any note of the chord (I usually made it the bottom), including duration.  Then you run the tool, pass parameters to it to define what additional notes are required (e.g. 3 5 to make a standard major triad) and it will do the rest.
It's pretty clunky I guess, though over the years I have used it to great effect.  Due to my lack of programming skills there ended up being 2 versions, one to "add" accidentals to chord members, and one to make the added accidentals cumulative (eg if the 3rd was already sharp then specifying a #3rd would make it a double sharp.

It became most useful when I had a series of chords that were all relatively the same.  I.E. several chords in a row would be major triads, I could place all the bottom notes, select 'em then run the tool.  <edit> they didn't need to be the same note...  Could do, say, a scale, run the tool with a 3 5 parameter and make triads of all the scale members.  Key signature would define Maj, Min, Dim etc. - ALSO, you could do a Force Accidentals and run with additive accidentals to get really funky if you wanted to.

I also made several invocations of them in my user tool list so I could just pick a major triad,  (3 5) or 1st inversion (-4 3) or minor 7th (b3 5 7) etc.

Not quite what you're asking for, but maybe of some help...

Original posting for them here:
https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/?topic=5738.msg37381#msg37381
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.

Re: Feature request: adding chord notes quickly by selecting name of the chord

Reply #6 –
Lawrie, you reinvented the numbered or Figured bass!

My old keyboard had a sort of "help" for beginners: in an octave you press a key and you get the relevant major chord, in another octave you get the relevant minor chord.
I never used it in 40 years...