Arranging - Has anyone tried Notewalk (Noteur)

Joined: 29 Jun 2006 Posts: 69 Location: Cranbrook, Kent

Hi All,
Having been confined to barracks I have been trying to learn more about arranging music for our organ. (68 key Bursens) I have been using Notewalk a free program from http://huizen.daxis.nl/~Ppaardekam/index.htm. I found setting the colours for the melody/ bass notes etc reasonably easy and having one piano roll view with these areas showing different colour notes suits me.
I am starting with nursery rhymes for my grandson and it makes me realise the skill of the real "noteurs" in the business.
What does everyone else do ?.

Nick.

Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 250 Location: Lancashire

Hi Nick,

I have always used Cakewalk for arranging. I am on Pro Audio 9 and i would recomend it to anyone who fancies ago at arranging music.

I started off downloading MIDI files off www.musicrobot.com its basicly a MIDI file seach engine. . . all you do is type in the name of a tune you are after and wolla! there should be several links to various websites containing the MIDI tune you are after, then left click on the title of the tune in the website (if it directly opens the tune in Media Player) and go to 'Save Target As' and save it to your computer!

Once you have your MIDI file you will probably have to delete a few tracks, maybe replace the bass notes and you will have to add counter melody, percussion and accomp, but you will have your main melody.

Hope this helps, although i am only telling you from how i do it on Cakewalk, i dont no if 'Notewalk' is any different as i have never heard of it.

Cheers,

Eddy.

Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 243 Location: Milton Keynes, UK

Notewalk is advertised as being similar to Cakewalk, without the features you don't need for arranging mechanical music. Therefore it should be easier to use, and cheaper Very Happy

Regards,
John

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:00 pm

I've been making some John Smith 20er rolls using Midiboek to print the roll templates and editing the MIDI files with Noteur and PowerTracks from PG Music (http://www.pgmusic.com).

As noted above Noteur is free. Midiboek is also free from the same source http://huizen.daxis.nl/~Ppaardekam/midib1e.htm

PowerTracks costs $49 for first-time purchase, $29 for upgrades.

I find that each of the three programs does somethings better than the others. I prefer using the Piano Roll and Notation windows in Powertracks for note editing, but I prepare the file in Noteur first by transposing notes which above or below the 20er scale, and then stripping out notes which are not in the 20er scale.

PowerTracks has good tools for eliminating note overlap and re-channelling voices, both f which help "flatten" a file.

Noteur is very good for shortening all notes while maintaining a minimum length for a good band-organ sound..

I've only been doing this since November, and my personal skills are still evolving.

I banner-print my rolls on continuous computer paper using a Win 98 computer (XP and Vista do not support banner printing), then punch them on a small home-built foot operated punch.

An article on my methods will be in a forthcoming issue of the COAA Carousel Organ magazine.

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:39 am

The most straightforward music sequencing and editing tool I have ever used, and I have tried a great many, is good old Cakewalk Pro 3. It does everything the organ-music arranger will ever need, and actually allows editing of piccolo tracks right up to MIDI 103, which other versions of Cakewalk simply donâ€™t do. I use it on a daily basis and consider it to be the best version ever, without all the colours and flashing lights and other gimmicks.
Cakewalk Pro 3 is an early windows version, but will work successfully on XP.
It is not still available to purchase, but copies are easily obtained.

Whilst on the subject, instead of printing masters in banner form then having to manually punch the roll yourself, why not consider MIDster Punch. This is a computer controlled punching machine designed for DIY construction and with simple circuitry. Your computer reads the MIDI file and sends control signals to the punch machine. You can set it going, take the dog for a walk and come home to a freshly punched music roll. The time and effort of building the machine is amply repaid compared to the hours involved in manual punching.

More details through my website www.bobessex.co.uk or from me at bobessex@aol.com

Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 313 Location: Wayland, MA USA

Bob--

Can the MIDster punch cardboard book music as well? If not with the existing punch, would an upgrade to a more powerful (perhaps pneumatic) punch be feasible?

Roger

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:47 pm

Roger, and all MMDers following this thread,

The prototype machine I built has a large solenoid actuating the punch and is able to punch cardboard of an acceptable thickness for small book organs.

However, for thick cardboard I would recommend exchanging the solenoid for a pneumatic ram controlled by a solenoid valve.

A large number of MIDster Punch machines have been built worldwide and several have used pneumatics to do the job, either for cardboard or for multiple paper copies. (a modified gas-strut from a car tailgate seems to be the favourite method).

Bob

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:41 am

There is a French site that has some different ideas using a motor to activate the punch in a rotary fashion and references Bob's MIDster Punch. They are punching cardboard books. The URL is http://pagesperso-orange.fr/orgue-de-barbarie/perforatrice_1.htm

Joined: 29 Jun 2006 Posts: 69 Location: Cranbrook, Kent

Thanks All,

Like Eddy I have taken a downloaded Midi file and moved things about by trial and error. With our Melody and counter melody thats ok as all the notes are there, on the bass and accompianment however we have 8 and 10 notes respectively. I do not seem to be able to transpose line by line, selection is only done by bar, am I right?.
How do others overcome this problem.

Nick

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:51 am

The French punching machine shown on the previous URL is, in fact, a MIDster Punch which has been very skilfully adapted and uses a motor and cam system to actuate the punch head. It punches square holes in cardboard very well, it appears.

I never cease to be amazed at the many wonderful and inventive ways that my original design has been adapted. I have a gallery of photographs collected over the past seven years of variations to my design, all using the same MIDster software.

Bob Essex

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:06 am

Has anyone done a gamma file for the John Smith Universal 26 that they wouldn't mind sharing?

Jim Bryan

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:20 am

Jim Bryan wrote:

Has anyone done a gamma file for the John Smith Universal 26 that they wouldn't mind sharing?

Jim Bryan

Jim
There is a gamma file for it but right now I cant find it. It was on the site where you found Noteur but I think it was with one the other programs. Hunt around on the site and you may find it.

I will let you know if I find it also

Jay

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:36 am

Thanks Jay
That is the first place that I looked. The only one I saw there was for the JS 20 note Busker.

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:01 am

Hi folks,

Did anyone ever find a JS-26 note gamma file?

Thanks,
Bob

Joined: 07 Nov 2007 Posts: 42 Location: Herndon, VA USA

Hi folks,

My gamma file for the JS26 is at: http://members.cox.net/wmbusker/JSm26.gam

Wagner