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-   General music tips and questions (http://www.notation.com/vb-forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2848)
-   -   Anything a newbie should know? (http://www.notation.com/vb-forum/showthread.php?t=34121)

Robert 06-12-2017 04:40 AM

Anything a newbie should know?
 
Hello Everyone,

I'm Rob, from the Capital of Australia, Canberra, where it's cold.

I think I may have just found the right notation software for me. I only have the trial version now, but I think I love Composer 3 already.

I'm been making music for over 40 years and am reasonably up to date with music technology. I have tried most of the leading DAWS, and notation programs, and hopefully, NS Composer 3 will help me get my music written down so others can enjoy.

I have been using StaffPad for a few years if you have seen it yet, it's pretty amazing. But it really only works with a MS Surface Pro 4. http://staffpad.net/

What I'd like to know, are there things a newbie should know about Composer 3 before I buy it?

I've had a look around and tried out several functions, but of course, it's limited with the trial version.

I did notice that it did not translate my midi file as well as some other programs do; such as, it didn't set the tempo correctly. I had one piece at 70 bpm, but it brought it in at 120 bpm, any thought?

My DAW is Mixcraft 8. I compose mainly post-classical and jazz, that's why I use Mixcraft. Here's my sounds, if you are interested. https://robjkennedy.bandcamp.com/

I hope to talk to many of you soon.

Cheerio

Rob

dj 06-12-2017 09:48 PM

Re: Anything a newbie should know?
 
Hello, Rob:

I'm surprised to hear that you have trouble with tempii on loading midi files. I've never run across any issues like that (and I've been using Notation Software products since before there WAS Notation Software! ;)).

If you could, try uploading the midi file in question here and I'll have a look at it, just to see what happens on my end.

As for tips for newbies, I think you'll find that Composer is about the most user-friendly notation product around. A lot of users have found it to be very easy to learn and quite powerful enough for both beginner and a lot of advanced work. As an example, last year, I arranged and orchestrated one of my musicals entirely in Composer, used the Export to WAV feature to distribute sample music to potential performers, used the Export to PDF feature to prepare Piano-Vocal, Vocal and Conductor's Scores, along with each instrument's part -- AND was able to re-orchestrate some parts quickly when different instrumentation was needed.

Keep experimenting and I think you'll find Notation Software to be a very good value for money.

Hope that helps.

David

Robert 06-12-2017 11:12 PM

Re: Anything a newbie should know?
 
1 Attachment(s)
Hello David,

Thanks for the reply.

I have attached the midi file. I recorded it at 70 bpm. When I load it into MuseScore or Finale, it says it is 70 bpm and plays it at 70 bpm. When I load it into Notation Software, it says it is 120, but plays it at 70 bpm.

I imagine I can just write on the score the correct bpm, but if I actually slow it down to 70 bpm in Notation Software, it plays it much slower than composed.

Love to know what you think.

Can I get a print copy of the manual for Notation Software David?

Cheers and thanks again.

Rob

rrayner 06-13-2017 02:14 PM

Re: Anything a newbie should know?
 
Hi Rob,

Welcome to Notation!

Not to toot my own horn (pun intended), but to get a quick look/listen to the power of Notation Composer, see the thread on my fairly complex piece at:

http://www.notation.com/vb-forum/sho...light=broadway

You can download the score directly from:

http://www.notation.com/vb-forum/att...5&d=1346103993

This was originally scored for male chorus, so the voices have been replaced by strings.

Ralph Rayner

dj 06-14-2017 12:40 PM

Re: Anything a newbie should know?
 
1 Attachment(s)
Hi, Rob:

Thanks for posting the WINTER.MID file. Very nice piece with a haunting melody.

The trouble you're having is that you seem to have recorded the piece without setting the tempo in Composer, so, while you were playing at 70 bpm, Composer recorded along at the default 120 bpm.

You'll note that the downbeats in the music don't necessarily meet up with the bar-lines in the transcription. You played at 70 bpm, but the recording progressed at 120 bpm.

So, when you reset the tempo to 70 in Composer, it actually slows down your recorded data to about 45 bpm.

Two possible solutions: 1) re-record after setting the tempo in Composer to 70. You can play free-style, without a metronome, in which case the notation will probably not jive totally with the bar-lines and will need correction; or use the metronome feature (under the Perform menu) and record a strict-time version, then use the GraphOverNotes(TM) feature to draw in rubatii and fermatii as you need.

OR

2) use Composer's Rebar feature on your already recorded version to record new bar-lines that will adjust the notation to fit the tempo you actually recorded at. I've attached a .not version of your file with the first few bars "rebarred" to show you how the feature can work. It's well documented in the user's guide, but it does take some fiddling to get right.

Yes, you should be able to get a hard-copy of the manual, but you'd be best to contact the help desk on that. (Yeah, I like paper pages, too.) ;)

I hope this helps.

David

Robert 06-15-2017 02:49 AM

Re: Anything a newbie should know?
 
Hi David,

Thanks for that, it's a great help. I'll dig into those features and see how much better I can get my manuscript.

Cheers

Rob


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