Chord Suffixes in SongWriter 2012 for Mac

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giraut
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2020 8:32 pm
Finale Version: Songwriter 2012 Mac
Operating System: Mac

Post by giraut » Sat Mar 07, 2020 8:50 pm

Beginner here. I searched the forum for answers, but nothing quite dealt with my problem.

I have started using the now-unsupported SongWriter 2012 and am trying to see if it will meet my very modest needs or if I have to upgrade to the full Finale, which is really more program than I need.

I'm trying to create a very simple lead sheet for a very simple song -- really just chords. But imagine my surprise when I attempted to put in an A minor seventh chord (not exactly an arcane one) using the fairly common "Am7" notation, and was told that the program "could not find the suffix 'm7' and would I like to select another suffix?" Fine. I tried "Amin7" -- no luck. Then "A-7" -- nope. Even "Aminor7" -- nada. So I went to the so-called chord library and found 272 suffixes, most of them pretty récherché and some of them incomprehensible -- but nothing that represented even a basic minor triad, let alone a minor seventh.

So, being somewhat stubborn, I experimented with the font I was using for chords (JazzCord) and changed it to JazzText -- no good. Then to plain Jazz -- no good. I stopped before testing every single available font because I had a feeling it wouldn't help.

If I'm unable to put a simple chord like this into my lead sheet, I'm not hopeful I'll be able to put in more complex ones. So I'm wondering if anyone knows a fix for this issue. I'm trying to avoid paying $200 to upgrade to Finale when I'd only use a tiny fraction of its features.

Many thanks.


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Peter Thomsen
Posts: 6604
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:47 pm
Finale Version: Finale v27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by Peter Thomsen » Sat Mar 07, 2020 9:40 pm

You can get the chord suffix ‘mi7’ - like e. g. Ami7.
Would that be acceptable for you?

But you can not type the chord symbol Ami7 as the four characters A - m - i - 7.
To enter the suffix, first use the “colon method”:
Enter A:0, and hit Return.
You get to the Chord Suffix Selection where you can scroll to the suffix ‘mi7’.
Note the suffix number, and remember it.
In this example let us say that mi7 is suffix #44.
Remember 44.

The next time you need the Ami7 chord, enter it as A:44.

The culprit is your choice of the (template with the) JazzCord suffixes.
The suffix mi7 is one font character, not three characters.
Hence you can not enter the suffix by typing the three characters m - i - 7.

This issue is isolated to suffixes that use the JazzCord font.

If you instead use a template with another suffix font, then you can type the suffix directly, character by character.
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

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miker
Posts: 5993
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:28 pm
Finale Version: Finale 27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by miker » Sat Mar 07, 2020 9:42 pm

Peter beat me to it, as usual!
Finale 27 | SmartScorePro 64
Mac OS 13.2.1 Ventura
Copyist for Barbershop Harmony Society

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