noteworthy composer? bar lines?

Robert, I believe that you are talking about Noteworthy Software..is that correct?

You can vertically align the notes in the same measure with upper notes (stems up) and lower notes (stems down) if you write the upper notes first and then go back to write the lower notes as "chord" notes from the menu.

This will force the second line of notes to fall directly beneath the first line of notes and you set stems up or down from the icons.

If you ever have a single note that requires both an up-stem and a down-stem, enter the first note with the up-stem icon active, then make the down-stem active and press Ctrl+Enter. In effect, you are entering the note twice, once with stem up and the second time with stem down.

Hope this helps.

Cliff E. (classic guitarist)

Intro: (Not the answer) Typically up and down stems within the same staff indicate separate voices. Choral (SATB) music it is often noted on two staves with the Soprano/Alto on the top, and Tenor/Bass on the bottom. Stems for Soprano and Tenor will be up, Alto and Bass will be down.

(the answer) Knowing "voices" (above) to write piano (or other polyphonic) music, you'll want the stems facing the same direction. The trick is to having all the notes that move together in the same voice. I don't know how NWC does that, it might be by building a "chord" by adding intervals above or below the note that is already on the staff, or you may be able to do it globally after-the-fact by highlighting the measure (or individual notes) and force them to be in one voice or the other by a menu pull-down. (These are the ways that Sibelius allows you to change voices)

... wherever you have poly rhythms (say, eighth notes above a quarter note) you'll still want the stems up/down arrangement since that is easier to read than having moving eighths above a set of tied eighths.

This is a non-issue and it doesn't confuse musicians because the width of a note stem is different than the width of a bar line. I suggest you take a look at some published music. we've dealt with this issue in the same clearly understandable way for the past 350 years when notation had developed most of the features we are familiar with today.

Friend this type of composing will limit your interest in music and also will limit your skills of music in developing a better musician. I suggest you that the best composers are those who learned western musical notations and also western classical notations. This will definetly help you in growing a better composer plus better director.