Version 2.3.3 of Notation Composer. Please note that a newer version is available. The test results here will likely go stale.
Old test results
The test results you have selected are very old and may not represent the current state of Wine.
Selected Test Results (selected in 'Test Results' table below)
What works
The basic functions seem to work as expected, including MIDI file
transcription, playback, staff editing, symbol insertion,
transposition, metronome, piano roll notation, etc.
See the Howto below for instructions on installing Composer and setting it up.
What does not
All the responsiveness issues from Wine 1.1.7 seem to have vanished in this release!
There is one minor bug with non-modal dialogs, such as the "Metronome Setup" dialog (Perform > setup...). The mouse cursor does not move to the dialog, but rather continues to operate behind it. This only seems to happen in "Add Mode." To work around this issue, either enter "Select Mode" or drag the dialog away from the main window.
What was not tested
This is a fairly large program, so I have not tested every possible
function. Preferably someone who uses Composer more extensively can
provide more input.
The following instructions describe how to install Notation Composer and run TiMidity++ (hereafter referred to as Timidity) as an ALSA sequencer.
Open up a terminal.
The installation program for Composer requires mfc42.dll, which can be obtained with winetricks:
wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks
sh winetricks vcrun6
Run the installation program for Composer. Here, I assume it is in the Desktop directory, and that the version is 2.3.3.
cd ~/Desktop
wine NotationComposer233TrialSmallSetup.exe
Composer version 2.3.3 will start automatically after installation. Please close it to continue.
MIDI playback requires the presence of a MIDI sequencer. Timidity works well for this. If Timidity is not installed on your system, check your distro's repositories. You will also need an instrument patch set, such as Freepats. Slackware users can find the necessary slackbuilds on slackbuilds.org. When Timidity is up and running, start it as follows (I urge you to read the timidity manpage to understand each option):
timidity -iA -B2,8 -Os -EFreverb=0 &
Start Composer.
cd ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Notation/Composer
wine Composer.exe
If all went well up to this point, open up a midi file, click the play button, and enjoy! If you do not hear sound, make sure your speakers are on and check your volume levels. Then, click "Setup > MIDI devices quick setup..." and verify that "TiMidity – TiMidity port 0" is visible under "Select MIDI Playback Device." If it is not, make sure you followed step 5 correctly. Next, click "Test Playback" to listen to a chromatic scale. If you still do not hear anything, Timidity may not be configured properly. Check your distro's documentation and/or forums for any hints on installing and configuring Timidity.
Note: ALSA Playback
On my machine, in Slackware 12.0, the snd_seq_dummy module is loaded by default. When using ALSA in Wine, this module seems to conflict with the actual module for my sound device, snd_hda_intel, causing frequent crashes, no audio output, and an almost unresponsive interface when attempting playback. The solution, of course, is to remove that module (modprobe -r snd_seq_dummy) and blacklist it in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist. The location of the blacklist file varies between distros.
