Ongoing issues with Note Input and keyboard.
Again today I am struggling to get Musescore to work as intended. Again the program fails to recognize MIDI input. MIDI monitor shows that MIDI messages are generated by the MIDI keyboard, but MS does not respond. Preferences I/O shows blanks for MIDI IN and Out. I select the devices from the drop down menu and restart MIDI devices. Click OK. Immediately return to Preferences and the In and Out boxes are blank. The Advanced tab shows the correct devices, but no response from MS. Restart program. No response. Restart CPU. No Response. Reset to Factory inputs. Restart CPU. Now I Do get response to MIDI keyboard, but notes do not sound on note entry. Check Preferences, and yes both Enable MIDI and Play Notes on Input are checked. Let playback continue for a few minutes (sometimes this works to get Note Input to sound) but don't work.
Over months of effort, I fight this battle over and over. I am trying different MIDI keyboards and different computers. On My PC and now on my MAC. Usually after some effort I can get the program to work, but cannot ID any specific thing that is wrong in Preferences of with the devices I am using. Again, I know MIDI signals are generated because MIDI monitor shows a log of Note On and Note OFF.
In comparison Pianoteq works first time every time. Sees the MIDI keyboard and the audio device, on every keyboard and any computer.
Just. don't.know.what.to.do.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| 05-01-22 7a. Fetching the Miller.mscz | 34.92 KB |
Comments
What is the specific device, and have you tried updating its driver?
Also, I think you might be doing things in the wrong order. I suspect clicking restart MIDI may actually clear any changes you had made previously. So consider clicking that first if necessary, then selecting the desired device, then simply hitting OK.
In reply to What is the specific device,… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks Marc,
The device I am using is a Native Instruments Audio 6. When I open MIDI Studio the device appears and the test function returns a chirp as usual. The device also appears under the icon at the top of the screen, and it is selected. iTunes plays music through it, as does Pianoteq. The device and Musescore have been working during (2) three-hour work sessions on previous days.
Taking your advice, I opened MS and in the Preferences I/O tab selected the MIDI keyboard (Doepfler LMK2) as MIDI Input and the Audio 6 as Output. The device was shown when I opened Preferences. I hit OK, but did not Restart MIDI Devices. Got no response from the keyboard. Notes do sound during Note Entry and when clicked with mouse. Playback is normal. Checking back to Preferences, the MIDI In and Out fields were blank. Again made selections and hit OK. No response when playing notes on the keyboard. Checking Preferences again, found the I/O fields are again blank.
Restart MS. Results same as above.
Restart MS. This time the I/O fields in Preferences show my choices from above selections. The notes now sound when I play the keyboard. Notes do Not sound during Note Entry. Check Preferences and MIDI input is checked, and Play Notes on Entry also checked. I can enter notes with keyboard but no sound.
Restart CPU and then open MS. Results are the same as the previous session. Keyboard works; No sound when clicking notes with mouse or when doing Note Entry. I can enter notes from the keyboard, but no sound is heard. Playback is normal.
I have had similar behavior on the PC platform. The problems occur from time to time, seemingly without specific cause. I work every day, and can go weeks without incident. Then I'm back to square one.
I did make a recent change- I bought a new keyboard two weeks ago and although it is a class compliant MIDI keyboard, the PC doesn't recognize it (a long sad story), and so tried using the MAC.
I installed MS on the MAC two days ago. The keyboard was recognized right away, and MS and all other programs had been working until today.
Dunno what to do next. It is possible to write music when you can't hear the notes during entry, but it is far from ideal.
In reply to Thanks Marc, The device I am… by cwhitem
I'd recommend simply leaving your MIDI keyboard disconnected, then, so sound can work normally. MIDI is seldom the most efficient way to enter notes anyhow.
In reply to I'd recommend simply leaving… by Marc Sabatella
I am not as concerned with efficiency as much as an effective way to get the music I hear in my head onto the page. My brain is in sync with the piano keyboard, where I work out the music. Reading your posts elsewhere, you evidently use the QWERTY keyboard to write your music. That doesn't work for me. The Musescore documentation would seem to indicate support for using a MIDI keyboard for note entry. Should I conclude from your comment above that your support is limited to the way you work? Not particularly helpful to suggest that I set aside my way of working, rather than try to help me to get the keyboard to work with the program in the way the documentation says it should work.
In reply to I am not as concerned with… by cwhitem
I’m not suggesting MuseScore shouldn’t or doesn’t work with MIDI - I’m just being realistic. Hardware and their device drivers are complicated, and while it works 99% of the time, the 1% where it doesn’t can be hard to debug, and I don’t have that sort of expertise. So I’m just trying to give a practical solution so you can get back to work today.
If for some reason typing note names isn’t convenient for you, another possibility is the Piano Keyboard window where you can click images of piano keys. Another is using the mouse.
But sure, somehow or other I’m sure it’s possible to debut the hardware / device driver problems on your system - it’s just that it tends to be difficult and require experience with the specific device, driver, and OS in question. I don't have that, but maybe someone else does.
In reply to I am not as concerned with… by cwhitem
So let's think about this. I think the best way to troubleshoot is to test each component. If you use the Audio 6 for both input and out put, let's disconnect everything and start over. If you can connect your keyboard without the Audio, try that first. Always connect and turn on midi stuff first. Then start MuseScore. Always. If you have to connect the keyboard using the Audio 6 at least just use system speakers for output. Once a simple setup works, then you can add layers.
I did further tests including trying to use without an audio device. Not a good test, since the Mac Mini can't produce MIDI output without a device.
Then tried a series of tests, writing down results , and working step by step.
Opened Musescore 3 and found no sound from MIDI keyboard. In Preferences, the I/O MIDI field were blank. Filled it all in and hit OK - no change. Reset MIDI devices - no change. The I/O fields always go blank when I do this. On re-start of MS, the MIDI I/O fields selected in the previous sessions are restored (this seems to be the pattern). Have not been successful in getting them to remain populated in a current session.
Once I have MIDI working in a new blank file, I can get sound from the MIDI Keyboard, and I can enter notes with any method and get sound; and I can get sound when I click on a note.
Then open an exiting file. Notes on the MIDI keyboard do sound, but Note Entry and click note do not create sound. If I then begin to delete instruments from the file, four at a time, I start to get sound at Note Entry, but it is intermittent and distorted. I get a double-strike with a hiccup after each strike.
Subtract more instruments, and the response is no longer intermittent, but still have the distortion.
Conversely, if I begin to add instruments to the above mentioned blank file that was acting normal to start, the sound begins to distort. and after I add eight or so instruments, I no longer get sound on Note Entry or note click.
Am I hitting a limitation of the program?
What version MuseScore?
Have you seen the following link, which offers a variety of solutions for various configurations?
https://musescore.org/en/node/96811
Do any of those seem useful (perhaps restore factory settings)?
Does the very last sentence apply to your "Native Instruments" software?
In reply to What version MuseScore? Have… by Jm6stringer
Thanks so much for your help.
I am running MS 3.6.2.548020600 Version 3224f34 on a MacMini. This is a fresh install a few days ago. As part my ongoing effort to remove the issues I have been experiencing, I upgraded the MAC OS to Monterey yesterday. This did not affect the issues in any way. I am not running Native Instruments
Komplete Kontrol software. I am using their device KK Audio 6, which has firmware, but no software or driver.
I looked at the list of possible causes, and I have tried many of them in earlier efforts to chase the problems I have been having. Let me be clear. Playback always works. The issue is that I get no sound on Note Entry. While I can work the way, it interferes with my process if I can't hear the notes as I enter them. I have tried multiple things, all with my existing MSZ files, which have as many as twelve instruments. Setting those aside, I have uncovered what may be a clue, described below.
As it stands today, on startup of MS, if I work with the blank Untitled file that shows up automatically, all works normally, except I get a double-strike on Note Entry. (but no distortion)
If I add four instruments, the sound I get on Note Entry becomes distorted - I hear the double-strike and each note is followed by a hiccup. If I add four more instruments I get no sound at all on Note Entry. If I remove one instrument, I get the distorted double-strike sound. If I continue subtracting one instrument at a time, the sound gets progressively less distorted, although the double-strike continues.
Thinking that maybe the double strike has to do with signals from the keyboard I changed the MIDI input from the keyboard itself to the Audio 6, but that makes no difference.
I would be grateful for any direction you might offer.
Still having an issue with this a month later. Did anyone find a solution?
I'm not suing a midi keyboard, I'm only using QWERTY and I'm only trying to do a string quintet.
At the moment I've resorted to using the 'strings' instrument to map out the notes but there must be a more efficient way to do this.
Currently using Musescore 3 and I've never run into this problem before
In reply to Still having an issue with… by haydenjohnsmu
Can you please elaborate (or start a new topic)?
You're responding to a topic specific to MIDI input and start by saying you are not using it but have the same issue?! If you're not using MIDI input then how would it be the same issue?
In reply to Still having an issue with… by haydenjohnsmu
I had the same issue for a few hours. I did the following:
Now MS recognises my input from MIDI keyboard.
I think this is because a glitch in MS - it shows "note input" as selected when in fact the program thinks it is deselected. Same issue applies widely to many other softwares and functions.