NVDA Composer 1.6.3

NVDA Composer is a keyboard-first, screen-reader-friendly music sketchpad inside NVDA. It is designed for fast note entry without a visual piano roll: choose a step length, enter notes from the keyboard, listen immediately, and save the result as a small text project.

The add-on exists partly for practicality and partly for nostalgia. It brings back the immediacy of classic monophonic ringtone editors and Nokia-style ringing tones, but with modern conveniences: NVDA speech feedback, undo and redo, plain-text sharing, MIDI import/export, WAV rendering, and Nokia .rng import/export.

Projects can be saved as NVDA Composer TXT files, imported from MIDI or Nokia ringing tones, and exported as MIDI, WAV, or Nokia .rng. Playback can use NVDA tones, smoother local audio, or a Nokia-style tone engine for that older phone-composer feel.

Non-NVDA users can try the web version of the composer at https://onj.me/nc.

What's new in 1.6.3

Updated package metadata for NVDA Add-on Store distribution.

What's new in 1.6.2

Updated release metadata and added a link to the web version of the composer.

What's new in 1.6.1

Added Ctrl+Shift+S to select all events and copy the full share clip in one step.

What's new in 1.6.0

Added F8 to cycle the live playback engine while in the composer window.
Playback modes now cycle through NVDA tones, smooth local audio, and Nokia-style local audio.
The selected playback engine is stored persistently in NVDA's configuration, so your last choice is remembered.

Keyboard shortcuts

Global

Shortcut	Action
`NVDA+Alt+N`	Open NVDA Composer.

Playback and transport

Shortcut	Action
`Enter`	Play from the start.
`Ctrl+Enter`	Play from the cursor.
`Shift+Enter`	Play up to the cursor.
`Ctrl+Space`	Pause or resume playback.
`Esc`	Stop playback.
`F8`	Cycle live playback engine: NVDA tones -> smooth local audio -> Nokia-style local audio.
`Ctrl+F`	Toggle follow playback.
`Ctrl+Shift+F`	Toggle snap on pause.

Step length for new notes and rests

Shortcut	Action
`1` to `6`	Set step length from whole note through 32nd note.
`0`	Toggle dotted step for new notes and rests.
`Ctrl+9`	Toggle triplet step for new notes and rests.
` (grave, often `¬`)	Enter a custom step length.

Editing durations of the current note or selection

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+Left` / `Ctrl+Right`	Shorten or lengthen by one step.
`Ctrl+1` to `Ctrl+6`	Set duration from whole note through 32nd note.
`Ctrl+0`	Toggle dotted duration.
`Ctrl+9`	Toggle triplet duration.

Navigation and entry

Shortcut	Action
`Left` / `Right`	Move the timeline cursor by one step.
`Home` / `End`	Jump to the start or end of the timeline.
`Space`	Insert a rest.
`Up` / `Down`	Shift the input pitch by one semitone.
`Alt+Up` / `Alt+Down`	Shift the input pitch by one octave.
`Page Up` / `Page Down`	Increase or decrease tempo by 1 BPM.
`Shift+Page Up` / `Shift+Page Down`	Increase or decrease tempo by 10 BPM.

Note-entry layout and scale

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+K`	Toggle Grid versus QWERTY note-entry layout.
`Ctrl+T`	Toggle Scale mode versus Chromatic mode.
`Alt+Left` / `Alt+Right`	Cycle through scales.

Selection and editing

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+A`	Select all events.
`Backspace` / `Delete`	Delete the current event or selection.
`Shift+Up` / `Shift+Down`	Transpose selected note(s) by one semitone.
`Ctrl+Up` / `Ctrl+Down`	Transpose selected note(s) by one octave.
`Ctrl+Z`	Undo.
`Ctrl+Y` or `Ctrl+Shift+Z`	Redo.
`Ctrl+C`	Copy selection.
`Ctrl+V`	Paste.
`Ctrl+Shift+C`	Copy share clip, including optional metadata comments.
`Ctrl+Shift+S`	Select all events and copy the full share clip.
`Ctrl+Shift+V`	Paste and optionally import metadata.

File and project commands

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+N`	New project.
`Ctrl+O`	Open or import a project or supported file.
`Ctrl+Shift+O`	Open or import, starting in the demos folder.
`Ctrl+S`	Save.
`F12`	Save As.
`Ctrl+E`	Export.
`Ctrl+P`	Set tempo from prompt.
`F1`	Open the full documentation.