Expressions in NotePad 2011

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Hubregt
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 8:28 am
Finale Version: NotePad 2011 Mac

Post by Hubregt » Thu Oct 06, 2011 9:22 am

Having used ConcertWare on a Mac Powerbook 520 of the same generation for almost two decennia, I'm now testing NotePad 2011 on a MacBook Pro under OSX 10.7.1 to see if it meets my (humble) needs.
I found out that there are many (not clearly documented) features, that makes the program more versatile than it seems at first sight. Nevertheless, I encounter a problem with entering expressions.
The helpful 'Help'-function promises that 'You can select an expression to put in the score, edit an existing one, or create a new one.' Until now, I've been unable to add expressions like '(poco) rall.' or 'allarg.' otherwise than by creating text boxes. Is there a way to do this properly in NotePad so that the self-created expressions are shown in the expressions dialog box?

In my big jump forward I could consider grading up to e.g. PrintMusic, but I'd like to be quite sure that I'm not overdoing.
Any advice of more experienced users is more than welcome!

Thanking you in advance for every useful remark,

Hubregt Hogerheijde


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Peter Thomsen
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Finale Version: Finale v27.4
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Post by Peter Thomsen » Thu Oct 06, 2011 2:05 pm

It's been a while since I have been using NotePad.
Does NotePad have the Expression Tool (icon: mf)?
If it doesn't, then you have found an error in the documentation.
Since NotePad has very limited layout options, it may not be able to neither create nor edit expressions.

The full Finale has buttons for editing and creating expressions.
See the attached screen shot which also shows the so called expression categories which are convenient time savers.
You can edit an expression category - change font, font size, font style, positioning &c. - and all the expressions in the category are updated in one go.
Attachments
ExpressionSelection.jpg
Expression Selection from the full Finale
ExpressionSelection.jpg (44.94 KiB) Viewed 5931 times
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

Hubregt
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 8:28 am
Finale Version: NotePad 2011 Mac

Post by Hubregt » Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:23 pm

Thank you very much, Peter.
Indeed it must be an error in the documentation: the NotePad Help is mentioning the sidebar showing up in your screen dump, but definitely absent in the dialog I get when using the Expression tool.
NotePadexpressions.jpg
NotePadexpressions.jpg (12.64 KiB) Viewed 5928 times
As I'm primarily interested in printing transposed parts, I could do with entering tempo expressions as text, with no effect on play back. I wonder, however, would PrintMusic enable me to do the things you describe? (Upgrading to a full version of Finale! seems an expensive overkill.)

Hubregt Hogerheijde

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miker
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Finale Version: Finale 27.4
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Post by miker » Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:31 pm

Yes, you can create expressions in PrintMusic. However, my recommendation would be to try SongWriter2010. It actually has a few features that PM2011 lacks.
Finale 27 | SmartScorePro 64
Mac OS 13.2.1 Ventura
Copyist for Barbershop Harmony Society

Hubregt
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 8:28 am
Finale Version: NotePad 2011 Mac

Post by Hubregt » Mon Nov 21, 2011 10:21 am

Thank you for your advice and sorry for the delay in my response!

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