Hello all,
I am, shall we say, a newbie to this whole music thing (the making of, not the enjoying of and I have been looking for a way to learn music notation as well as how to play this infernal whistle (it probably stops being infernal once I learn to play it huh?)
To that end, I bought a copy of NoteWorthy Composer, which is affordable music software that lets me put the notes down from the sheet music, then play it at a slow tempo so I can learn. It has also helped me start hearing the grace notes, because I can listen to an un-embellished version with Composer, then listen to an embellished version on a CD. First of all, I am interested in hearing if anyone else has gone this route?
Also, I am now running into a bit of a problem. First is that my sound card doesnāt have a D Penny Whistle in itās repertoire of instruments. I have tried a flute, a piccolo and even (gasp!) a recorder. None really sounds like a whistle (well duh, there NOT whistles) and I am starting to understand enough that the different sound is actually a problem. So, my question, once I finally get around to it, is can anyone recommend a sound card that has a passable whistle, or can Midi instraments be downloaded and added to the soundcard?
And second, I have been using a woodblock to mimic a metronome, and it works well, but I would like to get a little more realistic accompanyment, so a drum that approximates a Bodhran would be nice. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance. Now back to torturing the cat She actually swats at my hands when I mess up going from B to high D too many times!
Everything I get ahold of goes into Noteworthy Composer. From there I can take it to midi, abc, gif, pdf, and other formats.
I too like the idea of playing songs at a slower speed to start with and then working my way up to real time! I also like the Mitch Miller style of following the current notes as they play.
As to the hideous sounding instruments (the midi onesā¦not mine), I usually stick with the accordian version. On some fancier sound cards (not mine of course) you can use different patches to add your own instruments, but then, I still havenāt heard of a tinwhistle patch.
Note that the (high D) tin whistle plays an octave above the notation. I find that if you take that into account, the piccolo sounds pretty good.
If you want to listen/play along with sheet music, I recommend ABCMUS. It plays ABC notation music with a wealth of options. Most notably, it will add chords and can āswingā music in jig, reel, etc., rhythm, both features that I find very helpful when learning a tune.
Another great option is Melody Assistant ($35-45 usd) It will open abc files - convert them to midi or mp3 or wav -
you can use it as a metronome -
it also has a built in sound database so that you do not have to listen to cheesy sound card sounds.
Sorry to be so rah rah but Iāve gotten a lot from this program.
On 2002-03-12 01:55, John Allison wrote:
Everything I get ahold of goes into Noteworthy Composer. From there I can take it to midi, abc, gif, pdf, and other formats.
Please, what software do you recommend for converting NWC to ABC, GIF, and PDF?
On 2002-03-12 08:37, srt19170 wrote:
Note that the (high D) tin whistle plays an >octave above the notation. I find that if >you take that into account, the piccolo >sounds pretty good.
So do you just transpose the notes up an octave, or can you setup Composer to show the notes correctly, but play that staff an octave above?
Also, I wasnāt aware that a D is not a D in the whistle world. Is this true just of the D, or do all tin whistles play an octave above?
To get a gif (or any other graphics format for that matter) simply select File | Print Preview | Copy within Noteworthy Composer. This will allow you to copy the page to the clipboard as a sizeable Windows metafile graphic. Then simply paste from the clipboard into your favorite graphics program and save in whatever format you would like.
Is there any Macintosh equivalent yet, for Windozeās Noteworthy Composer?
If not, what would be the best way to scan in a simple lead sheet, from something like OāNEILLāS 1000 TUNES, and then play back the tune, on your iMacās speakers? Preferably, while avoiding the unnecessary complexity of Musitekās SMARTSCORE? (Even the watered-down versions of SmartScore are five or ten times more software than I could ever use, for studying the tin whistle. And besides, SmartScore cannot just simply recognize the Soprano staff, and leave out the left hand for piano staff; at least, I couldnāt get it to work that way, on a piece of sheet music I tested it on. )
Thanks in advance to all here, for your valuable input; and Dale, this is a really great site ā I spent three-quarters of Easter weekend reading many of the various threads, which are a āmotherlodeā of info for players of all abilities. (Iām still not even halfway through, with my reading ā¦ oh, well.)
and I have been looking for a way to learn music notation as well as how to play this infernal whistle (it probably stops being infernal once I learn to play it huh?)