NoteWorthy Composer Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ) Answers to the following
questions are based on the latest version of NoteWorthy Composer. In addition to
this page, you may find the User Tips & Tricks page and the
Forum helpful. The NoteWorthy
Composer Help file also includes a list of "Answers to Common Questions."
List of FAQ Titles

How do I set up to use a MIDI keyboard with
NWC?
To get MIDI keyboard input to work, here are a few things to try:
- Make sure your keyboard is MIDI capable.
- Make sure the cables are connected correctly. Some systems like MIDI In
to MIDI In and some like MIDI In to MIDI Out. Even though there is a standard some do it
the opposite.
- In NWC, Tools:Options, Record tab, make sure you have selected the In
Port of your sound card. (You may even want to go through each selection and test).
- Make sure you are following the proper procedures for MIDI keyboard input
- listed in the next 2 questions and answers.
If you still cannot record, the problem is most likely the device driver
for the input of your soundcard. You should re-install from the setup disk that came with
your sound card. If this does not correct the problem, get the latest update driver
software from your sound card manufacturer. Top
How do I record live play from my MIDI
keyboard?
- Tools: Options, Record tab
- If not set, select the Input Device Driver for your system
- Under Import Options, select the placement of the completed notated
recording
- Click OK
- Use File: New to access a rhythm template to use as background play for
the record feature
- Tools: Record (F4)
- Play your MIDI keyboard
- F6 to stop recording (or recording will stop at end of background song)
- Recording will appear where you set it in Import Options
Top
How do I use my MIDI keyboard to select the
pitch for notes I want to enter at my own pace, not live - step time?
- Tools: Options, Record tab
- If not set, select the Input Device Driver for your system
- MIDI tab - set MIDI Port Usage to While Active or Always
- Tools: MIDI Input Active
The MIDI keyboard will enter the pitch, durations can be set with the
computer keyboard quick keys. Top
View a list of music terms used in NoteWorthy
Composer. Top
Yes, NoteWorthy Composer has dockable tool bars. You can move
them to one side, to the middle of the screen, or any other place on the screen that is
best for you. To move a tool bar, left click and hold inside its border, drag it to where
you want to place it and release the mouse button. To vertically align the tool bar, drag
it one side of your screen. Top
American |
English |
Medieval |
whole |
semibreve |
semibrevis |
half |
minim |
minima |
quarter |
crotchet |
semiminima |
eighth |
quaver |
fusa |
sixteenth |
semiquaver |
semifusa |
thirty-second |
demisemiquaver |
-- |
sixty-fourth |
hemidemisemiquaver |
-- |
Top
If you are writing a paper on music or putting together a music test,
you may want to insert parts of staves or songs from NoteWorthy Composer into
another application, like a word processor. To do this:
- Create the staff section or song that you want to move to another
application and save it.
- With the file open, select the File: Print Print Preview.
- Click Copy.
- Select a file format or clipboard.
- Next, paste (Ctrl+V) to your other application. The Print Preview Copy
feature copies pages at half of their actual printed size. You can make the copied page
match the actual printed page by simply doubling its size in the other application.
Tips: Some variables to change in the Print, Page Setup
and Printer Setup commands for better performance:
- Printer: The higher the printer resolution, the larger the file, which
requires more RAM for using the file. For example, if the printer is set for your laser
printer and the bitmap cannot be created, select your fax software.
- Font size: If you will be placing the staff in a smaller area, selecting
a smaller font size in NoteWorthy Composer should give better results.
- Margins: If you only want the staff to take up 4 inches in width by two
inches in height in the other application, go ahead and set those margins in NoteWorthy
Composer.
Edit: Copy Special can also be used to copy a section of the song to
paste into another application. Top
A quick check is to make sure you have only the MIDI Mapper selected as
the "Device used by play back" in Tools: Options, MIDI. If this does not
help........
The first thing to note is that sound cards support a variety of sound
generation methods. For starters, the audio out from a CD player may be run through the
amplifier in your sound card to generate sound. In addition, almost all sound cards
include a digital audio section that works with audio samples, such as *.WAV files.
Neither of these sound types are MIDI sound. Your card, and your Windows system, must be
configured for MIDI, whether by you, or an installer provided with your card.
When setting up NWC for MIDI, it is important that your system already
be configured for MIDI support via a sound card or MIDI interface. In most cases, you need
to make sure that MIDI synthesis is supported by the card, and is operational within
Windows. You can test to see if MIDI is supported by your system by doing the following:
- Open the Windows Media Player program
- Open the "CANYON.MID" file, which comes with Windows and should
be in your \WINDOWS directory (or \Windows\Media is you are using Windows 95).
- Press the play button
If no sound is heard, or some other problem prevented play back, then
MIDI is not properly setup on your system, or it is not supported. If sound is heard, then
NoteWorthy Composer should be able to play back files on your system.
If it failed, you may need to re-install the software that came with
your sound card. If this does not work, you may have a IRQ or DMA conflict in your system.
Most sound cards provide a diagnostic utility that can help you solve problems like this.
Please refer to your sound card's instructions for additional details.
If it succeeded, then you are probably playing back songs within NWC
that use channels not supported by your card. If you play the song NOWELL.NWC, you should
be able to hear something, even in this situation. This is discussed further in the answer
to questions 1 and 2 in the Common Questions section of the help file. Top
This is a problem with your display driver.
The best general solution is to get an update from the manufacturer that
corrects the limitation in the driver. However, you may want to try another option. You
can add the OutlineThreshold option to your WIN.INI file under the [TrueType] section, as
shown below:
- [TrueType]
- TTEnable=1
- ;
- ; The OutlineThreshold option can sometimes be used to get the
- ; NoteWorthy Composer music font to be fully displayed by a
- ; buggy graphics display driver
- OutlineThreshold=32
This very often will work, but it also causes some display distortion on
many types of equipment. Top
NoteWorthy Composer adds the print margins to the edge of the
paper. It does not add the print margins to your printer's unprintable area.
It is an option of the printer whether to send information to the
application noting the printer's unprintable area and the print start point. NoteWorthy
Composer may not be receiving this info from your printer and that is why Print
Preview may show the copyright info on the page and then it does not print.
You will need to increase the bottom margin. Top
If you really has enough memory (4 Meg recommended), the problem is most
likely a corrupted file. There is only a 50/50 chance that reinstalling from the same
*.exe file will fix the problem. It would be best to download again the *.exe file again
and install from the new download. Top
The Linear Sweep Contour defines how large a change to the controller
value will be considered significant. In the case of pitch bend, where the value can be
swept over thousands of values, each and every change of only 3 or 4 is not very
important. In this case, you might use a value of 100, or even more, depending on how
smooth you wish the pitch bend to be. This allows NWC to lean out the number of control
changes sent to the MIDI device, which can significantly improve performance.
Think of it like this. If you started at 0 and wanted to count out loud
to 10000 in 2 minutes, then:
- Using a contour setting of 1, you would count like this: "1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9..." all the way to 10000, and you would have to speak very fast
to finish in 2 minutes.
- Using a contour setting of 100, you would count: "100, 200, 300,
400, 500..." all the way to 10000, and you would probably have no trouble finishing
in 2 minutes.
The same is true in an MPC. A higher contour value makes it easier for
NWC to change the value from the value of 1 up to the value of 10000. Top
This behavior is controlled by the "Update staff play back
transposition" checkbox in the Transpose dialog. When checked, the results after the
transpose will sound at the same pitch, even though you transposed. If you did not mean to
leave this checked, you can reverse the effect by going into Staff Properties (F2), the
Midi Tab, and changing the Transposition field to "+0" (example), rather than
the "+3" (example) that it was changed to after the Tools, Transpose command was
used. Top
Make sure you have the correct device for access to your keyboard
selected in Tools: Options, MIDI, Devices Used by play back. It should be the only device
selected. It may be named external something or mpu something. If you do not have the
device needed as a selection, then this is not supported on your system or has not been
installed correctly or at all. Install/reinstall the drivers for the out port of your
sound card. Top
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