The original version of this page can be found at : http://forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=11&m=338169
Posted By : Poet - 8/9/2011 12:01 PM
Greetings Plugin Developers,

I do not have the expertise nor inner mental competence to figure out how to make this Finale Plugin and need this Plugin created by a developer to buy and put within my Finale software. A subroutine created that can transpose/change all the possible chromatic 12 pitches within any style musical material/composition into 12 other/new pitches. What I need is a Finale Plugin that can do this. I have some background in programming not C++ and have written up the problem statement and description very exactly and should be fairly easy for a Finale Plugin developer to understand quickly. I will not post the description of the plugin here; but will email it to any interested developer that contacts me.

I know you must all be very busy in your own lives and perhaps no one in these Forums has much time personally to spare for a matter such as this. Still, Hopefully, you will give this request your consideration. I've been composing mostly chamber music with some jazz quintets and assorted works over the past 35 years. Probably about half of my 800+ works were written before there even was notation software. I was active in the MN Composer's forum in the late 1980's. I am 54 years old now and very tired. Due to an ongoing illness these past 21 years my life path diverged from any normal or traditional path of living within this world. As a composer I'm quite obscure within my generation although still a bit known and remembered fondly by some of the original members of the Minnesota Composer's Forum now known as the American Composer's Forum. I live on an extremely low fixed income, $731 a month. Due in part to my illness I have no family, few local friendships and lead a very solitary existence having had a rather difficult life these past 21 years.

There is really nothing left of life for myself except for doing my work.

My background includes besides a B.A. in musical composition and a semester studying in Vienna; studies in other subject matter including some now probably out-dated computer programing languages. I was very skilled with PASCAL right about the time C first was released. Also knew a few older languages before that time around the late 1980's I think. I mention this because I understand very well the algorithmic process even if I do not at this time know C++. I can not at this time learn another computer programing language such as C++ as well as figure out the proper coding to create a finale Plugin myself. What might take someone who is a developer a few days to design and accomplish might take me many months or not be possible at all in my current circumstances; plus I am worn out already. Simply put I need a notation tool to manipulate all the pitches within a given score up to and including all 12 chromatic notes/pitches; and to change/shift/transpose them into a different configuration through out that score.

I will email a full and clear description of what's needed to any developer who contact's me.

I am willing to pay some developer of Finale Plugins to code and make me such a Plugin.

I have as mentioned above little in financial resources but if after being given a fairly accurate estimate in cost by a Finale Plugin developer, my hope is I can find a way to come up with that payment amount. I'm hoping that the plugin described below created and coded by a developer already familiar with Finale plugins will not be extremely costly or be completely outside my means to pay.

My composing is at a stand still and has been for over a year due to my need for this Plugin. I hope you or one of your fellow Finale Plugin developers might accept doing this custom plugin job. This plugin is for my exclusive use and not to be distributed, sold, open sourced or in any way used by anyone but is for my exclusive use alone. Later in a few years to a decade when I am ready this exclusiveness in my using it alone might not be needed any longer. For the foreseeable future this Plugin is only for myself no matter who makes it no one but myself may make use of it. This has to do with the fact that as a composer I've already invested in the work that is underlying this plug-in's formation over 3 decades of difficult and time consuming research. I have little in life; little recognition too. Please abide by this and respect this.

If you who is reading this does not see to helping me with this small project; please any other Finale Plugin developers that you know personally or respect which you think might assist me in this please let me know who they are.

I am gladly available to answer or clarify any questions or aspects of this problem too.

Sincerely,
Richard Byron Strunk b.1957


"Focus is what aspect one is noticing" -Cage
"or Not" -Strunk

Post Edited (Poet) : 11/2/2011 11:58:05 PM (GMT-5)


Posted By : saxop - 8/20/2011 4:50 PM
I'll bet you could hack this with a text editor. I haven't tried it, but my general steps would be:

1. Write your original line of music that needs to be transposed.
2. Export to MusicXML.
3. Do a search for each note that you need to replace (you'll have to make it look for the accidental elements as well as the note elements). Replace them with the notes you want. Since you will probably have to do these searches one at a time, when you do the replace, you might include some special extra character that will prevent subsequent matches (like A4* instead of just A4).
4. After replacing all of the notes, do a search for your special character (*) and delete them.
5. Save the file and import it back into Finale.
6. If the original beam angle, stem, etc. settings are retained, clear them so that Finale will reformat the music properly.

Not the prettiest solution in the world, but it would be free.

Posted By : Poet - 8/30/2011 2:26 PM
Thanks saxop!

Yes I have something similar in mind, but done as a plugin within finale manipulating the underlying code within a finale file. That is what I need done even if it cost's. I'm currently writing the Plugin using Pascal and will have it finished hopefully this week; then I'd need someone to translate the Plugin program from Pascal into C++ possibly with slight improvements and then add the preface code and post script code already available on a Finale Plugin Dev's website plus check the code overall for any implementation quirks too. I've been needing this Plugin since 1996; It will get done this year regardless of cost. Should be easy for anyone here who knows C to translate my Pascal version and not that difficult or time consuming to set it up for implementation in Finale. I'll post or send the Pascal version of the Plugin to anyone willing to take this on; and of course ill pay them a prearranged and fair price to finish it up.

A few things I need right now or ASAP to anyone out here that knows:

I need to know exactly the code which represents each of the 12 pitches/notes within the source code underlying a design view of a Finale music score file.
Such as the actual coding in a finale file for these notes:

D D# Eb E F F# Gb G G# Ab A A# Bb B C C# Db

Are the accidental and the graphic note symbol together in the coding and be treated or grouped as a single text string to both be changed in some kind of a find and replace function?
Are the actual pitch and the graphic note symbol of the pitch together in the coding and be treated or grouped as a single text string to both be changed in some kind of a find and replace function?

Does one have to change a coding for the accidental and the graphic note symbol separately or is that one operation?
Does one have to change a coding for the actual pitch or the graphic note symbol separately or is that one operation?

The actual code that is used within the source code of a finale file representing the various spellings of the 12 notes I need now.

Thanks ahead of time to any that can and do help me on this.


"Focus is what aspect one is noticing" -Cage
"or Not" -Strunk

Post Edited (Poet) : 8/30/2011 3:34:25 PM (GMT-5)


Posted By : Jari Williamsson - 10/16/2011 4:01 PM
I'll do a "pitch replacer". I'll do it a bit differently than you suggested, but it should suit your purposes quite well when it's completed.


Jari Williamsson

Windows XP, Pentium 4
2.40 GHz, 4 GB RAM

www.finaletips.nu - The Finale Productivity Tips site


Posted By : Jari Williamsson - 10/30/2011 5:49 PM
JW Change Pitches 1.01 (available for download from the tips site) should now do what you need. However it only works on Finale 2010 and later versions.


Jari Williamsson

Windows XP, Pentium 4
2.40 GHz, 4 GB RAM

www.finaletips.nu - The Finale Productivity Tips site


Posted By : Benjamin Tubb - 11/15/2011 3:22 PM
Pitch re-mapping use to be available using Percussion Mapping, which I wanted to do at one time, before the complete overhaul of Percussion Mapping was implemented. I suspect that is still can if one "finesses" with the associated configuration files. In my case I wanted to implement Joseph Schillinger's Scale Expansions as Percussion Maps for all possible to/from combinations, of a typical (for a starter) 7-note Major Scale, although of course any scale could be done so.

The method would remap all octaves of any 7-note scale to another corresponding tonal expansion's equivalents. Jari, if you read this, please consider the convenience of this (as a "variation" technique), as, using the C Major scale as an example, its expansions are the following. Modal derivatives are indicated by S1, S2, thru S5:

S0E0 = CDEFGAB
S0E1 = CEGBDFA
S0E2 = CFBEADG
S0E3 = CGDAEBF
S0E4 = CAFDBGE
S0E5 = CBAGFED

Likewise
S1E0 = DEFGABC
S2E0 = EFGABCD
etc.


Benjamin Robert Tubb, Finale Engraver
F2K12, Intel 3.2GHz P4 CPU using Windows XP Pro SP3 with 4GB RAM
Owner of Public Domain Music
Editor and Compiler of
Henry Clay Work: Complete Songs and Choruses (2002)
Arthur Clifton (aka Philip Antony Corri): Selected American Songs (2009)
All are published by Kallisti Music Press.


Posted By : Poet - 11/20/2011 12:50 PM
This seems irrelevant to my post and not at all what this post is about.


"Focus is what aspect one is noticing" -Cage
"or Not" -Strunk


Posted By : N. Grossingink - 11/23/2011 3:41 PM
Poet said...
This seems irrelevant to my post and not at all what this post is about.


"Your" post on "everyone's" forum - no?

N.


Finale 2010b, 2011c, testing 2012
TgTools, Patterson Plugins, QuicKeys 4
Mac Mini 2.4 Ghz Intel, 2GB RAM - OSX 10.6.8
New Belgium 'Trippel' Ale

"Anyone who tells a lie has not a pure heart, and cannot make a good soup."

– Ludwig van Beethoven