Importing MIDI with pickup bars

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WSplawn
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2010
Total Posts : 88

Posted 8/22/2014 9:57 AM (GMT -6)

I have attached two files. One is a .xml file and the other the way it came into Finale 2014. The file is a public domain song of "I heard the bells on Christmas day." The song is in 4/4 time and has a pickup bar of one quarter note. Because of this pickup bar the Finale score is off by one beat. My guess is that this is a fairly common problem but I don't know how to deal with it. Does Finale have anything built-in to rectify the problem or is there some other reasonably painless solution?

Thank you for your consideration.

Finale 2014 user - Sacramento

File Attachment :
214.mid 6KB (audio/mid)

This file has been downloaded 180 time(s).

File Attachment :
I Heard the Bells Orig.musx 95KB (application/octet-stream)

This file has been downloaded 279 time(s).

Charles Lawrence
Registered Member

Date Joined Dec 2009
Total Posts : 3638

Posted 8/22/2014 10:02 AM (GMT -6)

This topic was recently discussed here http://forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=5&m=435419

"Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about!"

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Zuill
"The Troll"

Date Joined Oct 2003
Total Posts : 29077

Posted 8/22/2014 10:24 AM (GMT -6)

This file has more that needs fixing than just the pickup. There would need to be changes at the beginning of each verse. I didn't try opening the MIDI file, but took your Finale file and made necessary adjustments. I would probably save myself time by just entering this simple carol manually, rather than taking this MIDI file and importing. There are just too many edits. Those take more time than starting from scratch.

Zuill

"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

~~Finale 2002b, 2003a, 2004b, 2005b, Win XP SP3~~, 2011b Win 7 64bit, 2012a Bought and Paid For (Hopefully soon 2012b with some of the MAJOR BUGS fixed--well, now with 2012b and some of the bugs are fixed) 2012c, with some bug fixes. 2014c at present.

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File Attachment :
I Heard the Bells Orig Revised.musx 97KB (application/octet-stream)

This file has been downloaded 283 time(s).

WSplawn
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2010
Total Posts : 88

Posted 8/22/2014 12:12 PM (GMT -6)

Thank you both for responding, and thank you Zuill for taking the time to work with the file.

I have discovered I can do what I want by using a Music Editor and simply moving all the notes to the left by one beat. In this case I am using Band In A Box. But I was wondering if Finale does or is able to do the same thing with its MIDI tool. If so, it might be better for me to learn how to use it instead of Band in a Box. I realize the file has other problems but it makes no difference in this case because this is only for testing to try to figure out how to deal with MIDI files with pickup bars. So I guess the question is, does the MIDI tool have the ability to nudge or slide music to the left or right?

Thank you again

Finale 2014 user - Sacramento

Zuill
"The Troll"

Date Joined Oct 2003
Total Posts : 29077

Posted 8/22/2014 12:23 PM (GMT -6)

As I said, the pickup in the beginning is one issue. If you looked at my revised file, you'll see I also had to adjust the rhythm in between each verse by having a 2/4 bar there to get the rhythm back on track. So, just adjusting the beginning back one beat doesn't fix the rest of the file.

Since a MIDI file is not bound by time signatures, things can come through quite convoluted. When extra beats can be added to hold notes longer (like a fermata), the regular occurrence of beats in a normal meter can be shifted, as was evident in this file.

I had to do the shifting to get things back on track for each verse. I overfilled the measure in Speedy, opted to shift beats forward, deleted the added beats, then changed the meter to 2/4. I repeated this for each verse. Don't count on the MIDI Tool for this. It has other uses.

Zuill

"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

Favorite Forum quote: "Please, everybody, IGNORE THE TROLL!"

Post Edited (Zuill) : 8/22/2014 12:26:15 PM (GMT-5)

WSplawn
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2010
Total Posts : 88

Posted 8/22/2014 12:41 PM (GMT -6)

@Zuill

"Don't count on the MIDI Tool for this. It has other uses."

That answers my question. Thank you again.

Finale 2014 user - Sacramento

Charles Lawrence
Registered Member

Date Joined Dec 2009
Total Posts : 3638

Posted 8/22/2014 3:18 PM (GMT -6)

Once you have imported the MIDI file into Finale, you can shift the notes without using the MIDI Tool. Use the Select Tool and drag/drop. Do as outlined in the other thread. As Zuill said, the MIDI Tool has other purposes. Don't try to cut down a tree with a pocket knife!

"Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about!"

GPO4

"There is a world of difference between a person who has a big problem and a person who makes a problem big." – John Maxwell

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