How do I select a specific note or rest without exiting Note Input mode? (Or how do I start playback from a specific bar or note without exiting Note Input mode?)
Just getting into MuseScore and I'm finding it pretty great, except the workflow is a bit awkward when I want to play back a section I just composed.
If I just press Space to start playback after I've composed a bar, playback starts from the last note in the bar. Not super useful, but I can understand why that's the default.
But there doesn't seem to be any convenient way to play back from a specific spot, such as the beginning of the most recent bar, or maybe 4 bars back to get a bit more perspective on how the last bar fits in.
As far as I can tell the least inconvenient way to do this is:
1) Move the cursor way up to the toolbar and click the button to disable Note Input mode (or reach my left hand awkwardly for the 'N' key on the keyboard)
2) Move the cursor back down to basically where it already was
3) Click a note or rest at the position I want to start playback from
4) Hit Spacebar
The workflow would obviously be much more natural if there's a way for me to select a note or rest without having to exit Note Input mode.
The documentation says I can select a custom range by holding Shift and dragging, but if I try that with Note Input enabled it just overwrites my composition with a new note.
I've tried holding CTRL and clicking, same results.
How do I select a note or rest without having to exit Note Input mode?
Comments
"How do I select a note or rest without having to exit Edit mode?"
Don't worry about "exiting Edit mode" etc. - just click on the barline at the beginning of where you want to play back and then press Spacebar. Then when you are ready to start inputting notes again, click on the note or rest before your start point, Right-arrow and start entering notes again.
In reply to "How do I select a note or… by underquark
As far as I'm concerned, I guess the user "Just getting into MuseScore" is confusing modes. In MuseScore, there is a Note input mode: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/editing-notes-and-rests#making-chan…
and a Normal mode (= Editing mode), see: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/editing-notes-and-rests#making-chan…
And what he called Edit mode was for him the Note input mode (with the N activated) ? Correct or not?
His question was therefore how to start again from a playback point while remaining with the Note input mode (N) activated.
In reply to As far as I'm concerned, the… by cadiz1
So, was my advice rubbish?
In reply to So, was my advice rubbish? by underquark
Well, with V3, simply starting playback automatically deactivated Mode "N". This is no longer the case with V4 (I don't know why), Mode "N" remains active. And so, as far as I know, it's not possible to click on a barline or note (at the risk of adding another note/overwriting the one you click on, or filling a rest with a note).
I can think of going back with Ctrl + left arrow, measure by measure, which can be a pain, or the Search function (Ctrl + F), by typing the wished measure number. Maybe others.
In reply to Well, with V3, simply… by cadiz1
It's not THAT big a deal just to exit input mode by pressing N, play what you want to hear, then re-enter input mode by pressing N again.
In reply to It's not THAT big a deal… by TheHutch
It's not that big of a deal, but it is a consistent waste of time and energy, which negatively affects workflow and makes the software feel awkward and incomplete.
I'm hoping there's a way to improve this as the rest of the program feels pretty great to use.
In reply to As far as I'm concerned, the… by cadiz1
Hi cadiz1, yes that's correct, thanks for clarifying.
I had assumed the mode where you edit the score by adding notes was what people were calling edit mode.
To be clear, I'm specifically wondering how to start playback from an earlier part of the song than the last note I just entered, without exiting the "Note Input mode" (the mode where the little pencil icon in the top-left is highlighted)
I've now edited the original post with the correct nomenclature.
In reply to Hi cadiz1, yes that's… by thelatescotty
"To be clear, I'm specifically wondering how to start playback from an earlier part of the song than the last note I just entered, without exiting the "Note Input mode" (the mode where the little pencil icon in the top-left is highlighted)'
As I began to mention in a previous comment (improved here, using the Timeline is definitely better than the Find/To Go feature, Ctrl + F), there are two simple solutions (see GIF below) that never let you leave the Note input mode.
You're in Note input Mode (pencil icon enabled, or "N" shortcut). Let's say you've written a few notes in bar 19, and you want to listen two-three bars back, or more. Simply type Ctrl/Cmd + left arrow for the number of bars you want, or simply left arrow, to go backwards beat by beat, then press "Space" to start playback. And so on, and in the same way, to listen forwards (with Ctrl/Cmd + right arrow).
Open the Timeline (shortcut F12). Simply click on the bar number you want, press "Space" to start playback, change bars as you like, and when you're satisfied with the playback, press "Space" to stop it, and pick up where you left off when entering your notes.
In reply to "To be clear, I'm… by cadiz1
I see.
So there's no convenient way to do it then?
I either have to toggle Note Input Mode every time I want to play back, or essentially do the same thing but with the F12 key instead of the "n" key, or I have to manually jog the position to the specific spot using arrow keys?
Unfortunately hitting F12 doesn't do anything in the version I'm using (4.4.2) — although that said, even if it did work as you suggest that wouldn't be a great solution since the F12 key is even farther away than the "n" key. If anything that option is just slightly more inconvenient than toggling off Note Input Mode.
Hopefully someone might know of a modifier key combo or something like that.
Like we should at least be able to just hold CTRL+SHIFT and click in order to select a note, or something along those lines.
In reply to I see. So there's no… by thelatescotty
"Unfortunately hitting F12 doesn't do anything in the version I'm using (4.4.2) — although that said, even if it did work as you suggest that wouldn't be a great solution since the F12 key is even farther away than the "n" key. If anything that option is just slightly more inconvenient than toggling off Note Input Mode."
I don't think you've understood how the Timeline works (but that's understandable since you're new to the program). It's a very powerful navigation tool: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/timeline
I quote: Timeline is a navigation aid that displays at the bottom of the program window, giving you an overview of the instruments and main structural elements measure-by-measure. You can easily move about the score by clicking on a measure or a structural element.
It's a panel that looks like the Mixer's, and that you let show while you're writing music (there's no question at all of deactivating it, activating it and so on, like the "N" key)
Again, display it, it will perform exactly the function you want, without needing to press and hold any keys, just click, press Space to launch playback, that's what I think you want.
If the F12 shortcut doesn't work (what's your platform?), anyway it's in the "View" menu / Timeline. Give it a try and get back to us.
In reply to "Unfortunately hitting F12… by cadiz1
Ah, yes that does look quite useful!
Unfortunately it seems that it's not just the F12 key that doesn't work — if I go into the View menu and click Timeline, nothing happens.
I've had a look at the documentation link and it looks like it should show in the bottom of the main window, but nothing shows up.
Incidentally I also tried clicking the "Mixer" button since you mentioned the Mixer's panel, and nothing happens when I press the "Mixer" button either.
Maybe version 4.4.2 is just incompatible with Linux Mint? (If so that would be weird, I installed it from the Mint repo...)
In reply to Ah, yes that does look quite… by thelatescotty
" if I go into the View menu and click Timeline, nothing happens."[...]""and nothing happens when I press the "Mixer" button either."
Hmm... something wrong here. Version 4.4.2 is not incompatible at all. You should simply download the latest version 4.4.3 via the AppImage format (the only one supported by the Musescore team), I know there are problems with Flatpak for example. For Mint repo, I don't know, but apparently there are problems too... So, AppImage, please, and it will work.
To download here: https://musescore.org/en/download#AppImage-(recommended)
In reply to " if I go into the View menu… by cadiz1
Aha! Yes upgrading to 4.4.3 does seem to fix that issue — the timeline now appears as expected!
...As does the Mixer. Incidentally this also fixes an issue where 4.4.2 wasn't showing the full filesystem when selecting folders. :)
The Timeline does work for selecting a bar without having to toggle out of Note Input mode. Thanks for that suggestion.
It definitely would still be more convenient to just hold a modifier key and click on a note or rest in the actual score, rather than having to decipher which bar on the page corresponds to which blank square on the timeline. But this is at least a hair more convenient than toggling Note Input mode.
Leaving this as 'unsolved' for now though in the hopes someone else might chime in with a modifier key combo or something like that. (Or at the very least, that a dev might see this and implement it in a future version.)
In reply to Aha! Yes upgrading to 4.4.3… by thelatescotty
You're free to make a feature request on Github, here: https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues
Just log in, open an account (name/nickname, password) and fill in the request.