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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:

  1. Make sure your keyboard is MIDI capable.
  2. 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.
  3. 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).
  4. 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?

  1. Tools: Options, Record tab
  2. If not set, select the Input Device Driver for your system
  3. Under Import Options, select the placement of the completed notated recording
  4. Click OK
  5. Use File: New to access a rhythm template to use as background play for the record feature
  6. Tools: Record (F4)
  7. Play your MIDI keyboard
  8. F6 to stop recording (or recording will stop at end of background song)
  9. 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?

  1. Tools: Options, Record tab
  2. If not set, select the Input Device Driver for your system
  3. MIDI tab - set MIDI Port Usage to While Active or Always
  4. Tools: MIDI Input Active

The MIDI keyboard will enter the pitch, durations can be set with the computer keyboard quick keys. Top

Is there a dictionary for the music terms in NWC?

View a list of music terms used in NoteWorthy Composer. Top

Can I move the tool bars to be vertical on the side instead of across the 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

Do you have a chart mapping the American note duration names to the English?

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

Can I copy my score to another application?

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

How do I get play back to work?

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:

  1. Open the Windows Media Player program
  2. 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).
  3. 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

My system is cutting off notation symbols, is there a work around?

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

Why does the printed copy cut off the bottom copyright?

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

I am trying to run NoteWorthy Composer for the first time and it says I do not have enough memory. Why?

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

How does the Linear Sweep Contour in the MPC work?

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

After transposing, how do I get the correct play back?

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

How do I direct play back to my MIDI keyboard?

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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