MusicEase FAQ

You need to run under compatibility mode for an earlier version of Windows --- say Windows 95. To do this, start Windows Explorer (right-click the mouse on the Start button and then select Explore) and browse to the MusicEase Folder (under C:\Program Files). Then right-click the mouse on MEW.EXE, then click on Properties, then click the mouse on the Compatibility tab, check "Run this program in compatibility mode for", and then select Windows 95. Also check the box lower down that says "Run this program as an administrator". Then click OK or Apply.

Microsoft is moving away from supporting .hlp style help files. However you can still access help within our programs using the Run command.

Click the Start button , click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Run.

In the Open box, type WINHELP. When Windows Help appears, click File on the menubar and then Open and then navigate to the MusicEase help file ("musicez.hlp") in the MusicEase folder in the Program Files folder and click OK.

Tip: For quick access to the Run command, drag it from the Start menu to the Quick Launch toolbar, where you can access it with a single click.

What you need to do is first save the piece as a MIDI file. Click File and then Save-As, browse to the folder in which you wish to save the midi file, and enter for the name a string of characters that ends with ".mid". For instance,

    mysong.mid

Then play the file using Windows Media Player or similar program. One way to do this is to double click on the midi file using Windows Explorer.

This probably results from a damaged or missing Windows file. Microsoft provides instructions on how to fix this at their support site at

However another fix some have used is to do a search for AUTOEXEC.NT. You will probably find it in C:\WINDOWS\REPAIR. Copy and paste it into C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32. That should fix the problem. This may be the simplest route to follow.

Can you describe in detail how one can automatically add proper tenor/plectrum chord diagrams to the "lead sheet".

1) Create a single MusicEase file containing chord fret diagrams for each chord for each pitch (you need only create this file once.) By this we mean you need to decide the range of pitches that are likely to appear in all the melodies that will ever be used in your lead sheets. Then determine all possible chords that may be used. Since each pitch may appear as the melody note to be played for any chord, for a given pitch you need to provide fret diagrams for each chord. This is done by creating a MusicEase file consisting of single notes and fret diagrams. Each note will appear many times, each time with a different fret diagram. These pitch/fret-diagram combinations determine which fret diagram will be used when adding a fret diagram to a melody note when it is being played with a specific chord. The MusicEase file "CHORDS4P.CHD" provides a sample of what this might look like. The sample file covers only white notes from the B below middle C to the E a little over an octave higher for only the chords C, F and G7. It would be more realistic to include the notes with accidentals and also to include all other chords that might appear in a melody. However this file will work for melodies like Annie Laurie (see the MusicEase file "ANNIEL.MEZ") in the key of C which don't contain accidentals or chords other than C, F, or G7. The fret diagrams in this file are for the top four strings of a guitar.

2) Then, to automatically add the fret diagrams defined in this file to a melody with chord names, load it as the set of chord frame definitions to be used when automatically adding fret diagrams (select Load Chord Frame File under the File Menu and then select the file you created in step 1 --- e.g. "CHORDS4P.CHD").

3) And then automatically add fret diagrams by invoking Chords under the Tools Menu and then selecting "Add chord fret diagrams". For instance, load "ANNIEL.MEZ" and then add chord fret diagrams.

Hewlett-Packard is notorious for making really BAD printer drivers. You need to select the best H-P driver for your printer that comes with Windows -- not an OEM H-P driver. This invariably fixes the problem.

MusicEase simply creates a MIDI file and then uses the Windows MCI player to play it. Thus you need to insure that your windows' multimedia player is configured to play MIDI files. (Windows comes with some MIDI files you can use to test with.)

Digital River (www.digitalriver.com) handles this aspect of our business. Go to their site and then to their Download page. This contains directions on how to re-initiate your download. If you still have problems, call Digital River at 1-800-656-5426.

Position the cursor at the first chord and invoke Shift - Tie from the Modify Menu.

First enter the number of staves in the system with the correct clef signs, etc. Then position the cursor on the first staff and press lower case "o" bringing up the connect menu. Specify which connections you want between this and the next staff. Then move the cursor to the next staff and repeat this operation. Do this for every staff except the last in the system. Instrument headings (which appear to the left of the staves) can only be entered in the professional version.

Once you have done the above, each time you press the Enter key, you will start a new system. Pressing Backspace when the cursor is at the start of a staff will append that system to the end of the previous system.

The "o" command only connects the staff containing the cursor and the staff following it. Thus you need to repeat the "o" command with the cursor positioned on the second and third staves also. This will connect all 4 staves into a system. As they are the first system and have just been defined, they may not line up temporarily. You can then just, for instance, click on the "Unjustify tool" and things will line correctly. Once you have defined this system, pressing the Enter key will begin a whole new system so you don't have to repeat the "o" command anymore. And pressing Backspace when the cursor is on the first note of a staff will append that system to the previous system.

It's probably because you are printing out long ties or slurs. At 600 dpi you have a lot more dots and if your printer doesn't have enough memory, this memory (buffer) will fill up before the whole page has been sent. You don't need any more memory on your computer.

No.

The professional version of MusicEase will import MIDI files. The MIDI files should have been created using a steady playing tempo. The MIDI files need to be quantized first using a sequencing program like Cakewalk before they are imported into MusicEase.

Go in under the Modify Menu and select Staff. Then click on the entry that says "Make clef invisible at beginning of current staff". Once you have done this, all following staves created by pressing <CR> will also start with invisible clef signs.

MusicEase uses any scalable (TrueType) windows' fonts. So as long as you have a font that provides characters with these marks on your computer, you can use them for lyrics, dynamics, etc.

Then to obtain a TIFF file

• Set your windows printer to a postscript printer (e.g., an Apple Laserwriter).
• Print your piece to a file. (The resulting file will be a postscript file.)
• Load the postscript file into GhostView.
• Then use File|Print with "Print to file". There is a large selection of output file types (including TIFF) and several resolutions, and the Help button is useful.

Yes, Just insert an invisible note using an uppercase "I" instead of "a" or "b" or etc.

You could use invisible notes or you could insert a tuplet of 11 notes to be played in the duration of 8 (one option for tuplets is to display nothing indicating it is a tuplet as opposed to, for instance, a bracket with a 8 in it.)

Fingered tremelos are used for certain woodwind notations. MusicEase does have the kind you want with 3, 2 or 1 slashes.

Yes, these are standard symbols with both the standard and professional versions of MusicEase.

MusicEase Professional can shrink the music within the program itself. That is, you can scale the music down so that a normal sized page of music prints out as the size of a postage stamp if you want. What you would probably want to do is set the margins in MusicEase Professional to fit the page size you need. Then scale the music smaller and justify (or even re-castoff first) until the music and verses look like you want. See also an earlier section of this FAQ dealing with GhostView for information on importing MusicEase score printouts into other programs.

Yes, you just specify that there is NO METER. Then you would be responsible for inserting any bar lines as opposed to MusicEase automatically displaying single bar lines at the end of measures.

The professional version allows you to scale down everything - notes, text, and all to a smaller size (down to 30% of the size in the evaluation version) but not larger. Both castoff and justify take the scale into account.

Yes, the professional version allows you to make any staves in a system invisible. You could print out a single part or just several parts this way. Also when saving in the professional version, you are asked in you want to save only the visible staves. This allows you to create an extraction which is what we recommend as often you would want to condense large sections of rests and etc.