JReg
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Registered: 12-2009
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 Suggestions to help classical guitarists.
First, I want to say that I really like SSX Pro; it is a great program. I have recently started using SSX Pro as a replacement for Finale/Allegro. I have been using Allegro for about three years. There are several reasons I prefer SSX to Allegro, not the least of which are better scanning results and greater control over music notation shapes such as note stems and beams. However, a few suggested upgrades to SSX would really help improve classical guitar notation.
First, classical guitarists do not use TAB notation; they read standard notation. It consists of only one staff line, but can have as many as four voices. I submit the following suggested upgrades to SSX for classical guitar music.
1. Allow drawing of random straight lines in enf files.
a. Diagonal versions of these lines are used to indicate shifts in fingerboard position rather than glissandos. SSX needs to allow random placement and random diagonal angles—basically a line drawing tool.
b. Also, horizontal versions of these lines are used to indicate how long a barre is needed. For example, CV4---------------- means a barre over the first four strings is required at the fifth fret for the duration of the line. The 4 would be a superscript. It would be nice if the end of horizontal lines had an option for a half-downward-pointing bracket as in the hidden duration of trills in SSX.
c. Both of these can be approximated. The fingerboard shift can be accomplished with the slur tool and then straightening out the slur, but the result is not really a straight line. The horizontal line can be inserted with text but there is not really a good way to include the half-down bracket at the end of the line.
2. This suggestion may be due to a bug in the program. Nevertheless, it would be helpful if the text tool would lock on other fonts such as Webdings after they are loaded and selected. Some symbols are used to indicate rest strokes as opposed to free strokes. When I switch to Webdings to use the equivalent of keystroke 6 for a downward pointing arrowhead, it produces the correct symbol the first time only. However, the text tool does not remain in Webdings for subsequent text inserts of the arrowhead; it reverts back to the default font after every insertion of the arrowhead. This is strange, because when I use other fonts (say Times Roman 8pt) for fingering, it remains in that font for as long as I wish to add all the guitar fingering. I have a workaround for this, but it is not convenient. It requires copying and pasting outside the text tool and then repositioning the symbols to where I need them.
Thank you for considering my suggestions. Again, SSX is a great program and is quickly becoming my program of choice for classical guitar music. The above are just suggestions to help with classical guitar music.
Reg
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1/26/2010, 10:38 am
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