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Old 01-17-2010, 05:10 PM
Crochetty Crochetty is offline
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Default Composer unpredictable and won't save

I'm afraid I have given up on Notation Composer except to play midis and make temporary alterations to key signatures or instrumentation to aid practice sessions. When composing I have found that, after about the first dozen or so bars of music, further progress is practically impossible because the software enters combinations of notes (and/or rests) which bear no relation to what I intended. My music is of the simplest kind, 3/4 or 4/4 time and in easy key signatures so it is not that I am getting tangled up trying to do something complex. If I can handle the software sufficiently well to get a dozen or so bars finished without hiccups of this sort, I can see no reason at all for problems to start appearing.
It would also help if I could make alterations to the music in .mid or .not files and then save the altered files but they will not save. For example, usually I will change the lead (or melody) instrument and perhaps also the key signature, but on saving the file and then re-opening it I find that there has been no change from the original.
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Old 01-17-2010, 06:30 PM
Sherry C's Avatar
Sherry C Sherry C is offline
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Default Re: Composer unpredictable and won't save

Howdy,

Quote:
Originally Posted by Crochetty View Post
I'm afraid I have given up on Notation Composer except to play midis and make temporary alterations to key signatures or instrumentation to aid practice sessions. When composing I have found that, after about the first dozen or so bars of music, further progress is practically impossible because the software enters combinations of notes (and/or rests) which bear no relation to what I intended.
What method are you using for entering notes?
What kind of combinations of notes/rests are you seeing that you didn't intend? (eg. "trying to enter a dotted quarter note, but get a quarter note tied to an 8th note")


Quote:
It would also help if I could make alterations to the music in .mid or .not files and then save the altered files but they will not save. For example, usually I will change the lead (or melody) instrument and perhaps also the key signature, but on saving the file and then re-opening it I find that there has been no change from the original.
The most typical reason for this is that when you make changes and use "Save", the file saves as a .not file. This keeps the original .mid (MIDI) file intact, and without alteration. So, if you now re-open the original .mid file, it looks like you haven't done anything. That's because you haven't done anything to that original .mid file The "worked on" file is now a .not file, and that is a separate file than the original .mid.

If you want to make changes and save them as a .mid file, or replace the original .mid file you started with, then you'll need to use "File/Export..as MIDI".

The reason for this procedure is that while Composer (and Musician) can open .mid files, many of the things that are done to them to make a nice score (such as titles, Free Text, performance markings, etc.) are not stored in a .mid file. Someone who opened a .mid file, made those sorts of changes, and then attempted to save their work in a .mid file would lose all their work.

So, my guess is that you have not lost your work, it's just in a .not file rather than the .mid file. Most likely the .not file that has your work in it has the same name as the .mid file you started out with. If you haven't made your own "custom" folders to put your songs in, then if you're using XP, please take a look in C:\Program Files\Notation\Songs and see if you see your songs in that folder. If you're using Vista or Windows 7, then the Songs folder should be in c:\users\YOURNAMEHERE\AppData\Roaming\Notation\Son gs

Or you can just take a look on your opening screen. You'll see the last few songs you've worked on in the file list. You should see the filename, and whether it is a .not or .mid file, and the file path (the folder where you can find that song.)

If the above information doesn't help figure out the "where did my work go?" question, please let me know.

Also let me know about what is happening with the composition process. We want the software to work right for you, and it should be easy. If there's a way to improve it, then we want to do that

ttfn,
Sherry
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