Some sugestions: Guidelines; Measure numbers; Technique Names
Hello MuseScore Team and thank you for an excellent work.
I've used Encore, Finale and Sibelius and I'm really enjoying MuseScore. They all have strong and weak points but I'm staying with MuseScore. Besides, I like the open source / sharing philosophy.
I have a few suggestions and it seems easier to place them in a single topic:
Comments
ENABLE GUIDELINES
This is helpful to align expressions, dynamics, etc.
Having the possibility to toggle a grid (visible/invisible) could be nice too.
This example shows a guideline and some dynamic marks just below the staff.
![Guideline.jpg]( "Guideline.jpg")
In reply to ENABLE GUIDELINES This is by Don Giovanni
Have a look at https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/pull/786
In reply to Have a look at by Jojo-Schmitz
Oh yeah!
I was talking about a fixed guideline. But contextual guides to the control point is awesome!!!
In reply to ENABLE GUIDELINES This is by Don Giovanni
I agree guides could sometimes be useful. but they end up being unecessary if you use the capabilities MsueScore already provides to help you align things rather than trying to adjust things manually. For example, dynamics and hairpins are aligned by default, but if you prefer a different default height, you can use the style settings to change both. And if you need them higher or lower for a particular passage (perhaps one system), you can simply select them then use the Inspector to move them together. Or use the keybaord shortcuts for moving things by fixed amounts. In general, I don't recommend dragging to make adjustments as it is imprecise, but you can imprve the precision of the mouse by enabling the "snap to grip" options in the Inspector.
In reply to I agree guides could by Marc Sabatella
"… to grid."
In reply to "… to grid." by Isaac Weiss
I agree with you and I do use the snap to grid option as well as changing the offset on the inspector window.
However, imagine that you have a "p" dynamic and several measures later you now want a "mf". Because they are several measures apart, you can't see them together on screen, making it hard to place them on the same vertical position.
If you have a guideline, you can use it as a reference aligning every dynamic easely.
It's not crucial but a guideline could be handy.
In reply to I agree with you and I do use by Don Giovanni
As stated, though, if their vertical offsets are the same in the Inspector, that means they're aligned horizontally.
In reply to As stated, though, if their by Isaac Weiss
Yes, I understood that.
But that implies that you'd have to remember what offset you used and when you have dynamics, articulation, tempos changing, repeats, rehersal marks, etc, all of them with offsets, it may not be easy.
As a user, I didn't feel the "need" for guidelines but I felt that it would help me write scores more fast.
This is just a sugestion, MuseScore is still a great program with or without guidelines.
In reply to Yes, I understood that. But by Don Giovanni
You don't have to remember - just select it and the Inspector is happy to tell you. And again, if you set your defaults the way you like, and you move elements together, the need to readjust later shouldn't come up very often. It's likely that with improvements to your workflow, you wouldn't be seeing a need for this much. Feel free to post a specific real world score and perhaps we can show you easier ways of getting the job done.
{syntaxhighlighter title="TECHNIQUE NAMES"}TECHNIQUE NAMES{/syntaxhighlighter}
TECHNIQUE NAMES
It would be a great time saver to have some predefined techniques like "pizzicato, arco, ..." that would automatically change the properties to all voices.
What I mean is: by clicking "pizz." not only the text it self would show but also the playback would do so accordingly.
In reply to TECHNIQUE NAMESTECHNIQUE by Don Giovanni
I have an idea that you've discovered how to create these sorts of text on an individual basis (https://musescore.org/en/handbook/mixer#mid-staff-change), but that you haven't discovered that they can be added into the palettes to be "predefined" for the future (https://musescore.org/en/handbook/custom-palettes).
At some point in between the development of MuseScore 1 and MuseScore 2 the decision was made to not offer "out-of-the-box" predefined words in palettes or menus. As I understand it, the reasoning is that once you include a few that are most important to some people, you should also include a few that are most important to another group, and then when are you ever going to stop?
In reply to I have an idea that you've by Isaac Weiss
I see your point.
I'm not sure I'm in total agreement... There is a palette exclusive to hornpipe. I don't play it and I think it's awsome that you remember that they have some special notation.
But believe me I understand your effort to avoid priviledge on an instrument.
I'm guessing that there so many expressions that it's impossible to have them all.
At least allow me to suggest that these "predefined" techniques would be exclusive to the ones that already exist on the Staff Text Properties, such as Normal, Pizzicato, Tremolo.
And leave some room for 2 or 3 customized expression!
{syntaxhighlighter title="MULTIPLE COUNT-IN"}MULTIPLE COUNT-IN{/syntaxhighlighter}
ALLOW MULTIPLE COUNT-IN AT PLAYBACK START
Often I use MuseScore to practice play along.
The built in feature of count-in only counts a single measure and, in a fast tempo, doesn't allow me to grab the instrument.
Could the user be able to choose the number of measures or beats for the count-in at playback start?
I know I can insert blank measures at the beggining but this feature would be nicer.
Also, having the percentage of volume would be useful too.
In reply to MULTIPLE COUNT-INALLOW by Don Giovanni
Both make sense to me
In reply to MULTIPLE COUNT-INALLOW by Don Giovanni
Well, as it is me who implemented the count-in, I clearly remember that this was an option I proposed and which was ruled out for several reasons (which I no longer remember; there might be some tracks in the old forum topics); I kind of remember lasconic in particular did not agree with it, but I may be wrong.
In fact, a compromise was reached by which, if the measure to count is incomplete (anacrusis or play starting in the middle of a measure), another full measure of count-in is prepended.
As the feature was intended to be there, I suspect there might be hooks in the code helping its implementation without re-writing too much code.
If the matter is re-evaluated, I may volunteer to implement it.
In reply to Well, as it is me who by Miwarre
This may be a bit picky, but I would like to see it be setable as "number of beats". For example, if I am rehearsing a phrase, to save time and yet allow a break between repeats, a one or 2 beat count may be preferable.
In reply to This may be a bit picky, but by xavierjazz
Excepted for anacrusis, I personally would find a partial measure count-in more confusing than helpful (4 beats under 3/4 would play back as tack - tick - tack - tack), but of course, I would not be forced to use it!
What I do not understand is your remark about "break between repeats": the count-in feature is not supposed to insert breaks between repeats. Am I missing something?
In reply to Excepted for anacrusis, I by Miwarre
I'm talking about practising a real instrument with MS.
In reply to Well, as it is me who by Miwarre
First of all, I thank you Miwarre for having the idea and implementing the count-in. It's very helpful.
Please re-evaluate. It would be quite friendly to have more measures (or beats).
{syntaxhighlighter title="NOT LOOSING SELECTION"}NOT LOOSING SELECTION{/syntaxhighlighter}
NOT LOOSING SELECTION WHEN DRAGGING
When you have notes selected and then you drag the score, you loose that selection.
I mean, if you have something selected and then you click outside, you should loose the selection. But this shouldn't happen when you dragging to browse the score.
MuseScore should know the difference between a click and a drag.
In reply to NOT LOOSING SELECTIONNOT by Don Giovanni
Came up recently in another thread and several times in the past, see for example https://musescore.org/en/node/48921. Workaround it is use the mouse wheel
In reply to NOT LOOSING SELECTIONNOT by Don Giovanni
I do agree this would be nice, but note that dragging isn't the only or best way of moving about the score. As mentioned, there is the mosue wheel, also page up/down keys, also the Navigator - and these methods don't lose selection.
In reply to I do agree this would be by Marc Sabatella
Thank you for the tips!
{syntaxhighlighter title="MEASURE NUMBEERS"}MEASURE NUMBERS{/syntaxhighlighter}
MEASURE NUMBERS EVERY SYSTEM AND EVERY GIVEN MEASURES
When you have many measures per system it is helpful to have the number showing like every 10 measures. But this unables the number to show at every system.
Is there a way to have both?
Like using selection boxes instead of rado buttons?
In reply to MEASURE NUMBERSMEASURE by Don Giovanni
So basically change the radio buttons into checkboxes. Seems to make sense