Other bagpipe software

[pipesgtdeb1963]

Re: Other bagpipe software

It would be nicer if you can hear the embellishments clearer. I suppose that might have to do with the sound card in your pc?

[Salem Piper]

Re: Other bagpipe software

I'm running BMW Gold in Windows Vista and have had no problems with it since I installed in about 6 months ago. They're working great together.

Cheers,

[blackeagle]

Re: Other bagpipe software

I've used PiobMaster in the past, but since I primarily use Mac I wanted something mac-compatible so I got CelticPipes. They are pretty similar as far as the drag & drop. I only wish the Mac version of CelticPipes was able to import PiobMaster files. So far only the Windows version is capable of this.

[whistler]

Re: Other bagpipe software

Blackeagle, that sounds frustrating especially if you have a lot of PiobMaster files, but unfortunately PiobMaster files are in a very Windows-specific binary format. They could (in theory) be converted for Mac compatibility but that would involve a lot of nasty byte manipulation. I think CelticPipes will support this (and DrumScriobh import) on the Mac eventually though.

For now, if you have access to a Windows machine, you could always install CelticPipes on it, just to convert your files to .cep or .bww, and then copy them on to your Mac for CelticPipes to open.

[DMacNeil]

Re: Other bagpipe software

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bob864</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Based on what's been written by the guy who wrote BMW and the guy who distributes BMW, it seems kind of unlikely that the program will ever be upgraded....

I noticed that the advertisement in the current issue of The Piping Times states that BMW Gold is compatible with Windows Vista. I've noticed from other threads that some people have considerable difficulty in working around this compatibility. </div></div>

Randy,

Bagpipe Music Writer Gold is currently compatible with every Windows platform. The most common problem people have run into is Windows Vista 64 bit. One of the main issues with Windows Vista 64 bit is that it only allows 32 bit or 64 bit installers/programs, the installer for BMW Gold is 16 bit. Every copy of Bagpipe Music Writer Gold shipped from December 1 2008 onwards will use a new installer. The other main issue with Windows Vista 64 bit is that you have to manually install Fonts. Instead of the installer copying the fonts into the Windows Fonts Folder, you have to use the Add Fonts feature inside Windows Vista. Hope this helps.

Based on what's been written by the guy who wrote BMW and the guy who distributes BMW, it seems kind of unlikely that the program will ever be upgraded.

To me, the biggest issue with BMW is that it doesn't follow any of the rules of engraving (aka typesetting) music. To me, looking at a page printed in BMW is like listening to a piper playing out of tune. Just horrid.

I've tried a couple of the other bagpipe programs. More than one of them has serious problem in that they will allow the user to input too many notes into a measure. I use Sibelius, which is not specific to bagpipes, but makes beautiful engraving and easily has the best user interface of any notation software I've tried. Unfortunately it's very expensive -- I don't think I could justify the cost for my own use.

Bob,

If you have an issue with Bagpipe Music Writer Gold please contact us through our support email instead of a public forum. By doing this we can address any problems/concerns you have with our product.

[The Scottish Piper]

Re: Other bagpipe software

Heatherbelle turned me on to Celtic Pipes. It's really a great program. Also, I have heard great things about Bagpipe Music Writer Gold and I have used PiobMaster and found that pretty great. I would say that probably most of the software out there is very good for what people use it for.

Cheers!

Lauree

[CollinsPipes]

Re: Other bagpipe software

How does do you create gracenotes in Sibelius?

[bob864]

Re: Other bagpipe software

How does do you create gracenotes in Sibelius?

In sibelius, you pick the type of note using the numeric keypad, and enter the note with the name of the note.

Example: press the "3" on the numeric keypad to select 1/8 notes, and then type "abcdefg" to enter a scale. You can also enter the notes on the staff by clicking, and you can use the left &amp; right arrows to scroll through the tune and the up &amp; down arrows to change the pitch of any individual note. Anytime you press a different key on the keypad it selects a different type of note. There's a graphic representation of the keypad on the screen so you don't need to remember which key is which. You can also click the visual representation instead of using the physical key.

The keypad has 4 different modes. You pick them by clicking on the little icons at the top of the visual representation, or you can do it with the keypad itself, though I don't remember how to do it that way just now. Anyway, the default mode has all your basic notes and rests. The 2nd mode has some other things, including gracenotes. The default gracenote appears like a little 1/8 note -- you get three flags by pressing the key on the keypad that corresponds to 3-flagged notes.

You enter the gracenotes the exact same way you enter the melody notes, by typing the name of the note or clicking on the staff. You can also copy and paste. If there are a lot of birls or throws or whatever I might select one and then paste it in. Usually I keep a plain high-g gracenote on the clipboard because it's the most common. Then I can just type in the note name and &lt;ctrl&gt;-V to paste a high-g gracenote. If it's a doubling I'll just paste three of them and move the 2nd and 3rd.

I'm sure that all sounds confusing, but it really isn't. It's a lot easier to show how to use software than it is to describe it. It only takes me a few minutes to input a tune, which seems similar for advocates of pretty much any notation software.

There's a guy on the Sibelius forum who wrote a plugin to simplify inputting bagpipe embelishments, but it only runs on version 5.0 and I have version 4.0.

[T-Town Piper]

Re: Other bagpipe software

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: John Collins</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How do you create gracenotes in Sibelius?

...In sibelius, you pick the type of note using the numeric keypad, and enter the note with the name of the note...press the "3" on the numeric keypad to select 1/8 notes, and then type "abcdefg" to enter a scale. You can also enter the notes on the staff by clicking, and you can use the left &amp; right arrows to scroll through the tune and the up &amp; down arrows to change the pitch of any individual note. Anytime you press a different key on the keypad it selects a different type of note...The keypad has 4 different modes. You pick them by clicking on the little icons at the top of the visual representation, or you can do it with the keypad itself...the default mode has all your basic notes and rests. The 2nd mode has some other things, including gracenotes. The default gracenote appears like a little 1/8 note -- you get three flags by pressing the key on the keypad that corresponds to 3-flagged notes...You enter the gracenotes the exact same way you enter the melody notes, by typing the name of the note or clicking on the staff. You can also copy and paste. If there are a lot of birls or throws or whatever I might select one and then paste it in. Usually I keep a plain high-g gracenote on the clipboard because it's the most common. Then I can just type in the note name and &lt;ctrl&gt;-V to paste a high-g gracenote. If it's a doubling I'll just paste three of them and move the 2nd and 3rd...I'm sure that all sounds confusing... </div></div>

?? This is simple?? And some have suggested that Bagpipe Music Writer is difficult to learn and just a bunch of code. "Thrd" is throw on D, "dbc" is double C, "brl" is a birl and "gbr" is a G gracenote on a birl. Now that seems simple. Like you said, different strokes for different folks - and horizontal bars still don't bother me.
(Sorry Bob, couldn't resist - )

Bruce

[Skyhawk]

Re: Other bagpipe software

All this makes abc notation look very easy... and it's an open format to boot... Can't beat that.

[bob864]

Re: Other bagpipe software

?? This is simple?? And some have suggested that Bagpipe Music Writer is difficult to learn and just a bunch of code. "Thrd" is throw on D, "dbc" is double C, "brl" is a birl and "gbr" is a G gracenote on a birl. Now that seems simple. Like you said, different strokes for different folks - and horizontal bars still don't bother me.
(Sorry Bob, couldn't resist - )

Bruce

It sounds a lot more complicated in writing than it is in practice.

Mostly you just type the names of the notes -- kind of like using Microsoft Word. The Sibelius people have really thought out the user interface; it's one of the key features compared to it's rival, Finale. The people who favor Finale say, "yeah, it's easier, but you can't control all the details."

For some people, memorizing a lot of textual abbreviations might be easy. I'd probably always be typing "trd" or "thr" or "dthr" instead of "thrd."

For me, I really like software that lets you do everything with the keyboard -- the mouse hurts my hands and takes longer too.

If BMWG had output comparable to abcm2ps I'd probably get it, just because it would eliminate needing to proofread embellishments.

[pancelticpiper]

Re: Other bagpipe software

I completely agree with Bob about the note spacing and barring in BMWG. It just doesn't LOOK like printed music usually looks.

Specifically, the last note of the bar is shoved right up against the barline, and ornaments are oddly spaced vis a vis the note that they're played upon. But just the overall spread of notes across the bar is odd-looking.

But now an entire generation of pipers have got used to reading BMWG music so it's appearance seems normal. It's when I show BMWG music to non-piper musicians that I get a reaction: they always comment on how ungainly it looks.

As Bob has stated, all you have to do is get out any old hand-set book of pipe music to see the difference.

That's what I liked about PiobMaster: you can drag and drop the notes to where you want them in the bar. Unfortunately, PiobMaster is extremely limited in many ways: you can only put four equal bars per line, tunes must be made of four-bar or eight-bar phrases, there is a very limited number of time signatures, etc etc etc. (At least my version of PiobMaster. Perhaps it has been improved since.)

BMWG is superior in so many ways, allowing a wider variety of time signatures (but still not all), allowing the time signature to change within a tune, allowing the playback tempi to change within a tune, etc etc. If only 1) it had a drag&amp;drop feature so that the user could determine note spacing and 2) it allowed the writing and playback of up to four-part harmony.

[MarcusAbsent]

Re: Other bagpipe software

You alter the note spacing in bmwg by typing the word space before or after the note you enter depending upon where you want the note.

Have a look at the music in the print preview if you still want more separation then just type space again. Keep repeating until you have the notes where you want them.

In the example you cite where you want the note further away from the barline you would type space after the note but before the barline eg. thrd D_4 space !

[tjm]

Re: Other bagpipe software

I've been working with an open source piece of software, abc4j, to add various features that make it suitable for Pipes and Drums. If there are any Java programmers interested in helping please PM me! I never could write a decent state machine, so the greatest need right now is for a BWW parser.

--Tim.

[DallPiobaire]

Re: Other bagpipe software

Okay, I have a question related to my other post here.

I am gradually going blind, it is immensely easier for me to read music from the computer monitor, than from sheet music. Eventually, I will need something that will do text to speech, so it will read the notation to me.

I am fairly computer savvy, but get easily annoyed and frustrated with code writing. So, a drag and drop would be nice! Also, the ability to import, or scan, music into the program would be a must, as well as fairly decent playback.

I wrote the folks at PiobMaster, and they told me that thier new version, soon to be out, would probably be my best bet. I would like to hear suggestions from you guys on the true functionality of these apps, as would apply to my situation.

All, and any help is greatly appreciated