Default step time
I can’t figure out how to turn off step time for the entire work session. N or Esc turns it off for a note or two, and then it turns back on. When I’m composing, this is not a useful way to work. Can I change the default to normal, so I don’t have to keep hitting N or Esc to change note durations??
Comments
But you don't have to turn off Note input just to select a different note value. You do have to be careful if doing it in a score.
I'm not sure why input keeps turning back on.
In reply to But you don't have to turn… by bobjp
If I want to change the note duration, I have to exit Note Input default. I frequently need to change the duration. Then it automatically turns back on after I enter one or two notes. The default adds NO functionality, as far as I can see. If the automatic reversion to default was not intended, then it’s a bug.
In reply to If I want to change the note… by jbkerman
I use the mouse.
I just finished entering a measure of quarter notes. I want to change the second quarter note to a dotted quarter. I select the dotted quarter from the tool bar and move down to and select the note in question. It is changed to a dotted quarter. No?
I think your bigger problem is why note input turns itself on. You might consider a reset of MuseScore.
In reply to I use the mouse. I just… by bobjp
Precisely. Why does it turn itself on every time I add a second note? How do I reset Musescore? I just installed the most recent release. I don’t remember having this problem with earlier releases, or at least not as bad.
In reply to If I want to change the note… by jbkerman
Do you mean that using the keyboard letters A to G turns note input on? Then yes that's normal and necessary to be in input mode mode to be able to enter notes. And it is immediate, not after two notes.
But you don't need to exit note input mode to select a duration.
In reply to Do you mean that using the… by frfancha
You misunderstand. I am complaining about the Step Time input mode, or whatever obscure name it is called, which does not allow me to change the note duration, but insists that all the next notes will automatically be the same duration. Every time I want to change the note duration, which is very often, I have to either hit ESC or N. This is a PAIN!! I should be able to choose whether I want the Step Time on or off, and have it remain that way. Defaulting is not a good design.
In reply to You misunderstand. I am… by jbkerman
No you don't need to quit the input mode to change duration. Unless your shortcuts are incorrectly managed by Musescore, which could be.
Let's test it :
With the keyboard, enter the 6 following keys:
5
A
4
B
3
C
Do you correctly get 3 different note lenghts : 1/4 A then 1/8 B then 1/16 C?
If not there is a bug somewhere to solve.
In reply to No you don't need to quit… by frfancha
To avoid any historical remnants, I recommend:
and then make the input you suggest.
In reply to To avoid any historical… by HildeK
And you don't even need to press n as MuseScore does it for you
In reply to And you don't even need to… by frfancha
Oh yes, you are right. I have always pressed 'n' to start typing a note so far :-).
You still learn every day ...
In reply to Oh yes, you are right. I… by HildeK
But there is another and a little dangerous behavior:
If you select a measure, then press a number for the duration, then press the note name, first all the rest of that measure is changed, but then a still-selected note is changed at the point where you last made an entry.
To reproduce:
- Take an empty staff, enter a few (quarter) notes
- press ESC - here the problem arises that the last entered note remains selected
- select an empty measure - the note isn't no longer selected.
- press (e.g.) 4 for the eighth note duration - the whole rest will be divided accordingly
- press a note name - the last note of the above input will be overwritten with a quarter note!
It is better to use 'n' after selecting the new measure!
At least this is the case in MuS 3.6.2.
In reply to No you don't need to quit… by frfancha
Oh! It did work. I guess I never tried that. Thank you!
In reply to Oh! It did work. I guess I… by jbkerman
Sometimes it still requires me to hit N. But that seems to be when I enter the note first. Then choosing the duration key doesn’t work. If I pick the duration first, it works as you suggested. Much better.
In reply to Sometimes it still requires… by jbkerman
You wrote:
If I pick the duration first, it works as you suggested.
Not a suggestion at all... that's what the manual says:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/entering-notes-and-rests#selecting-…
especially this part: "Once you have selected a duration, you can enter pitches using the computer keyboard, mouse, MIDI keyboard, or virtual piano keyboard."
You have finally stumbled upon the correct way to enter notes (without reading the manual initially). TLDR?
In reply to You wrote: If I pick the… by Jm6stringer
Don’t be snarky. A good interface, like most of Musescore, can be used well without RTFM. Usually, asking Google turns up the answers for the more obscure things,
In reply to Don’t be snarky. A good… by jbkerman
@jbkerman
For info : people answering you on this thread are not MuseScore team, they are just users like you, taking some of their free time to help you.
While I agree in general with your point of view on good interface, that doesn't remove the need for some introduction to the way the program has been designed. That's certainly the case for special software like music notation for which there is no universal model on how they should work.
And by this I'm not saying the MuseScore design is "the" good one, far from that. Actually their way to require introducing rhythm first is super annoying for me as I often transcribe music from recordings of folk music by old people and the rhythm on the recording is generally unclear. I would love to be able to just enter the notes without rhythm in MuseScore and apply rhythm afterwards, but I can't.
In reply to Don’t be snarky. A good… by jbkerman
But when some basic things don't work the way I expect, the next thing I do is take a quick look at the instruction manual. We've spent several days here discussing a simple problem that could have been solved in minutes with a glance at the manual.
Why did anyone bother to write a detailed manual? Just for the fun of it?
In reply to Don’t be snarky. A good… by jbkerman
You wrote:
A good interface, like most of Musescore, can be used well without RTFM.
True.
That's probably why I find playing Pac-Man easier than using MuseScore... ;-)
However...
Basic note entry is so important to using any notation software that the manual should be the first to reference when struggling at such a fundamental level.
Hopefully, once you get the gist of it, you won't consider MuseScore's note entry procedure "obscure".
You ought to see Lilypond:
https://lilypond.org/text-input.html
In reply to A good interface, like most… by Jm6stringer
Thanks. I get your point. I used to be a programmer back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. I did enough of that so that I don’t enjoy it anymore, except for the occasional HTML tweak. I don’t think I would undertake Lilypond. Part of my point is that most of what I do with Musescore can be learned from the interface. That’s one of the reasons that I like it so much. I found the learning curve, on the whole, really gentle with the exception of the input that I complained about. I do feel like this thread turned into a flame war a little bit, maybe because we’re coming off that discussion of the Save button. It was longer and slightly more unpleasant at times than it really needed to be.
In reply to Thanks. I get your point. I… by jbkerman
I use both but so far I've not engraved a complex piece in MS. For this, I use Lilypond. More or less straight forward and super stable. Also, you only need a simple text editor to input the music which was an advantage for me as I was not allowed to install any not approved software on my job computer.
In reply to You misunderstand. I am… by jbkerman
Step-time mode is the default input mode. If it doesn't work, as bobjp said: have you changed the keyboard shortcuts?
The numeric keys on the keyboard set the duration of the next note. Next to the note names, these are the most important keys when entering notes.
But if you have assigned the number keys to another function, they will obviously not work for selecting the note duration.
In reply to Step-time mode is the… by HildeK
No, I haven’t changed anything. 5 is a quarter note, 6 is half, 4 is eighth, etc.
In reply to No, I haven’t changed… by jbkerman
Okay, so what happens when you perform frfancha's test here;
https://musescore.org/en/node/353827#comment-1204641
In reply to You misunderstand. I am… by jbkerman
@jbkerman... You wrote:
Every time I want to change the note duration, which is very often, I have to either hit ESC or N.
Are you selecting/changing note durations using the mouse, by clicking on the toolbar durations?
In reply to @jbkerman... You wrote:… by Jm6stringer
I prefer to press the number key before or after pressing the letter for the pitch.
In reply to I prefer to press the number… by jbkerman
Enter duration (the number key) first, then the letter.
See:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/entering-notes-and-rests#selecting-…
and:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/entering-notes-and-rests#selecting-…
especially this part: "Once you have selected a duration, you can enter pitches using the computer keyboard, mouse, MIDI keyboard, or virtual piano keyboard."
Try frfancha's test above;
https://musescore.org/en/node/353827#comment-1204641
In reply to Do you mean that using the… by frfancha
Yes I do. If I choose the number on the keyboard when in input mode, it does not work.
In reply to Yes I do. If I choose the… by jbkerman
What happens when you try frfancha's test above?
https://musescore.org/en/node/353827#comment-1204641