I have a chord symbol that I want to modify. I want this chord: B(add4, b6) or 11 , b13.
Right now it looks like this: B(add4, b6)
I want it to have the tenstions (extensions) smaller and on top of each other, like the attachment but the 11 has to be natural and the 13 (or 6) has to be flat.
See the attachment for the closest I can get it (until someone helps me).
Thanks.
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Oliver P. Kent
Sib 7.1.3
MacBook Air 8 GB Ram
OS 10.10.1
As I've sad a hundred times before, use legacy chord input to write symbols the way you want to present them. This involves editing line spacing and alignment in the text style, but it is the only way to beat the restrictions of the new input system.
As it happens I've added a couple of new chord symbols recently. If you let me know your gripes with the newer chord input system then I might be able to remedy them.
My main gripes with the new symbol input, Joe, are that you cannot write slash chords the way that they should look. You cannot tier natural and altered intervals together, and I don't think you can place alteration indicators (+. -, b, #) after interval numbers (please correct me if I'm wrong). I also find the available tiered intervals too small. I've never used the new system since my first testing of them. The only thing I do like about the new system is that it is back-editable. I would be quite happy if this was available in legacy, just as it is in lyric text.
I have attached an example of the way I like to see my more complex symbols.
In the very first version of Sibelius for Acorn RiscOS, the typing of Slash chord symbols and tiered intervals was completely automated. When you typed a slash, the caret dropped down about half a character height and backspaced half a character width so that you could carry on typing the bass note text conveniently tucked in beneath the slash. A similar deal was available for auto positioning of the caret for tiered intervals. When Acorn was abandoned in favour of Windows, this was no longer possible. When I complained, Jonathan Finn told me that Acorn had a superior graphics capability to Windows.
I find it quite remarkable that this has still not been implemented in all of the Windows versions to date.
Yes, I was right that the new chords don't allow + & - after interval numbers. Why on earth not, if b & # can be so placed?
I have attached a file showing how triple interval tiers are compressed in size in comparison to normal size intervals. Apart from being too small to read in the word menu, there are many combinations that are not included.
The new chords are totally unsuitable for the style that I have always followed. I would be much happier if the developers' time was put to bringing legacy chords up to the same ease of writing and editing as that of lyrics.
It would also be useful on occasions to be able to add a cautionary accidental.
If you have (say) Eb key sig and you need E, A or B chord symbol, it's helpful to the player to see that it's intentional and not a typo.
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Roy Moore
London UK (2016)
Sib 7.5,8.0.1-Win 10 pro x64 8gb ram,512gb SSD
Laptop Win 10 pro x64-32gb ram 512 ssd 750 hd
Various East West, Hollywood Strings Gold, Note Performer
I think it is widely understood, Roy, at least in jazz & commercial circles, that chord symbols, unlike figured bass, are atonal, not reliant on key signature.
I didn't know that parentheses round chord symbols had such an affect, Bob. Fake books often use them to display optional changes, or even for turnarounds. How are they actually affected? I've just been playing with this and they seem to transpose OK.
The most obvious issue is that the chords symbols (and I am talking about new-style Chord Symbol Objects here) do not format correctly. Please see the screehshot. So they do not match your other chords in formatting.
At a level that is important to me, such chord symbols do not provide information to plugins that other chord symbols do - this is the same issue for legacy chords, by the way. Chord Symbol Objects parse out the notes of the chord, and tell you what the bass notes are, and a bunch of other lovely things. This makes it possible to do some sophisticated processing of chord symbols.
But if you put parens around the chord symbol, that is all lost.
If you want parens and and want your chords to look like your other ones you need to convert it to a text object/Legacy chord symbol, either manually or with the Bracket Chord Symbols plugin.
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Bob
An experienced user of Sibelius. Sib 1.2 - 8, Windows 7 Pro SP 1 64 bit, 8 G RAM. Year 2016.
Adrian wrote:
>>The only thing I do like about the new system is that it is back-editable.
Another thing I like is - when inputting chords - that the tab key takes you to the next measure. There's no keystroke for that in legacy input – or am I wrong?
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Erik Hagner, Denmark
MacBook5,1 - OS X 10.6.8
Sibelius 7.1.3
Finale 2010b r1
This is certainly an area for development. Perhaps the link between the suffix of the chord and the way it is displayed as a text character could be more sophisticated. Allowing Sibelius to understand #3 but to display and alternative like(3#) would be much more flexible. The engraving options are complicated but obviously do not cover all options.
A user configurable database of chord suffixes, their chromatic and diatonic structures, and alternative text representations would be really useful.
It would also be good to be able to add text which is not to be recognized as part of the chord.
Type Ctrl-k (Windows) or Command-k (Mac OS) start chord symbol entry: then type what you want. Use right-click or Ctrl-click to open a context menu of special features that cannot be typed at the keyboard.
See "Legacy chord symbol input" in the Reference section 5.8.
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Sibelius 8.0.1/7.5.1/7.1.3/6.2/5.2.5, PhotoScore Ult 8.0.4, Dolet 6.4 for Sibelius, Windows 7 32-bit SP1 4GB, Windows 8.1 64-bit 16GB.
I did this in Legacy. Open my sib file (attached), klik on the chord symbol and go to Edit Text Style to see my settings for line spacing and horizontal position. I can write practically any shape and kind of symbol with these settings.
I'll experiment with how to input scale degrees: ie. b6, 4 etc.
Now I'm working around the clock to get that b6 up and under the 4 and I can get back to normal.
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Oliver P. Kent
Sib 7.1.3
MacBook Air 8 GB Ram
OS 10.10.1
Also, the pull-down menu is not apparent in the new chord symbols as in the screenshots attached.
This is way more important than being able to enter a chord using a piano keyboard. Many of the chords we use require both hands to play and I cringe at the thought of playing a Gb7 #11, b9, #9 chord instead of going to my list and choosing "7 #11, b9, #9".
When I compose I have the left hand on the keyboard and the right hand at the computer keyboard number pad and that makes note entry swift and efficient.
That, combined with the fact that I can not put in a chord symbol of my choosing that's not in the newer chord menu without it turning red, keeps me from using the newer chord symbols.
I've always contended what I could do by hand years ago, e.g., large type (play 2nd time only) in brackets, 4 bars per staff, put an accidental in brackets, etc, I should be able to do in my music composition app.
So no matter how many entries are in a chord menu, it seems when someone wants to use a chord suffix not in the chord menu, they end up posting here. The newer chord symbols are not text so maybe it has to have a finite list.
If so, it should be easier to add your own chords to this list.
Screen Shot 2016-01-06 at 5.01.46 AM.png
Kords.sib