I do not want to use the mouse
On the one hand I think musescore is a very good program, but on the other hand it is not musiciansfriendly. Musescore hurts musicians.
I am a professional. So my tendons are suffering by playing my instrument. So software, where you can use only the mouse, me tendons feel always a little pain, after using this software for a long time.
Software, which allow to use mainly the keyboard, do not bother me. The reason is simple. More variation of the fingermovements. So the risk of Repetitive-Strain-Injury-Syndrom https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetitive_Strain_Injury_Syndrom or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetitive_strain_injury is lower.
This was the reason, I decided nearly twenty years ago, using capella instead of finale. Comparing musescore with capella, capella is the more healthier software for a professional.
The possibilities to what commands i can define a shortcut are to low.
Comments
I am a little surprised that you get tendon problems from the mouse and not the keyboard. Most experts in ergonomics will tell you that typing mostly causes repetitive stress, rarely the mouse. If you have problems with the mouse try a tracking ball (takes a while to get good at it, but my wife is very happy with one and can't handle the mouse). I'd also recommend to research a bit on the ergonomics of computer use: Proper sitting position; sitting too low like on a regular dining chair leads to bad hand position on the mouse as well as on the keyboard.
In my experience there is a lot you can do from the keyboard in Musescore, I think you ought to study the handbook to see the options. You can even define keyboard shortcuts for man purposes. On Musescore I spend much more time typing than using the trackpad.
In reply to I am a little surprised that by azumbrunn
I am pretty sure that your experts talk about officeworkers. It depends on the rate of mouseuse and keyboarduse. If you higher the mouseuse you also higher the stress for the tendon. Imagine to type a letter with a mouse. Keyboard is the problem, because the main amount in offfice work is typing, not using the mouse.
I know the possibility of shortcuts im musescore. I tried to imiate in musescore my use in capella. There is no way. Main problem, no shortcuts for symbols of the palettes.
The other reason I love shortcuts, they are so much quicker.
In reply to I am pretty sure that your by hasenfuss
Thank you for your feedback. I know that one of the goals of MuseScore in the long run is to be entirely keyboard accessible.
If you can be bothered to share the commands you're missing the most at this point, it could help the developers with prioritizing the implementation list within the accessibility feature.
I definitely agree we want everything to be keyboard accessible - that is indeed the long term goal (for me anyhow).
Meanwhile, I hope you realize that many things *are* keybaord accessible, and that the mouse is needed mostly only for palette items, and these can all be applied via double click, which reduces the number of mouse movements considerably over what would be required for drag & drop.
Right now based on your examples. fingering is probably the biggest issue where keybaord shortcuts would help you. Most users probably don't enter nearly as many finerings as you seem to, and that is probably what this hasn't been a big priority yet. There have been vsrious proposals for making fingerings easier to enter; you might want to search these forusm to find them and add your comments.
In reply to I definitely agree we want by Marc Sabatella
It is not the fingering.
It seems to me, the developers decide what is important for the user. But every user is different. So if a user have different priorities than the devs thought, the user have a hard job.
On the other hand software shows possibility, the devs did not think about. You said in an other post, musescore is not meant for play along. But what you can do now, is in many cases easier, than with a DAW. But if somebody will really use this possibilities, he will be annoyed without shortcus
I see many possibilities to use musescore in my guitar lessons. But I know, if usability is low, the pupils (child) do not want to use it.
So it is always a good idea to keep the things flexibel. In this case more/absolut freedom in creating shortcuts.
Somebody said, there are to much things, so you can not define enough short cuts.
But if you can use shortcuts like Ctrl+A+1+2 and Ctrl+A, there will be enough keycombinations.
In reply to Right now based on your by hasenfuss
If it's not the fingerings, could you explain what you are having trouble with? Offhand, I didn't notice much else that could not easily be entered via the keyboard. Perhaps there are shortcuts you simply haven't learned about, and if so, we can help you.
In reply to If it's not the fingerings, by Marc Sabatella
First at all, thank you for your offer. I am using DAWS and musicsoftware since twenty years. So I only try to find out, whether musescore is better choice or not.
With this twenty years of experience I think I can say, there are software, that obey the user or the user have to obey the software. Musescore is in my opinion more the second one.
And that was the point, it would be better to make things more configurable than to estimate/understand the will and wish of the user. Because the next user is totaly different.
But by the way, for people, who deal with the fingering problem. They should export the score as a PDF and use Foxit (PDF-Viewer). With shortcuts it is more simpler to write with this PDF-viewer the fingerings than in musescore.
In reply to First at all, thank you for by hasenfuss
By the way, did you notice that the
"edit/preferences" menu item makes
"shorcuts" table available to the user
as one of the tabs in the preferences
window -- and that they are user-
definable - so you can add/change
any keystrokes to the events in the
table (pretty much everything)?
In reply to By the way, did you notice by subharmonic2
Yes I know, but you are not able to define a shortcut for a special symbol of the palette.
In reply to First at all, thank you for by hasenfuss
I think you will find very many things *are* configurable - shortcuts for palette items are one of the very few things that are not. Someday, we do hope to make this controllable by the keybaord as well. but meanwhile, if you are finding anything else not working the way you expect, tyhere is a good chance it is simply a misunderstanding, so if you do explain what you are having trouble with, we can certainly help.
Here's one suggestion which may help.
(a) do not enter both rhythm and melody at the same time.
Hit 4b, 5bb, 6.b, etc. -- i.e. do the rhythm first, on the same
note ("B" in the example)
Then switch to the "respell pitches" mode and play notes
on your MIDI or virtual keyboard without being careful about
rhythm.
On-screen MIDI keyboards also allow the use of one of the
keyboard rows as the instrument keys - so if you fire that up
and make sure MuseScore accepts MIDI input from your
virtual keyboard, you will be able to use that.
Adjusting notes by octave now and then, as MScore will
automatically place new ones close to the previously
entered notes.
(b) But the tip I mentioned is this: use a tablet (a "drawing
tablet" peripheral e.g. one from Wacom) instead of a mouse.
They are cheap, you do not need a big one, they plug into a
USB socket -- and the equivalent of a mouse click is just a
touch of the pen.
So whether you are using a virtual on-screen keyboard or
wish to navigate menus, it is much faster and does not strain
the wrist. The double click is one press on a button located
on the pen - or on the tablet with your other hand.
(I have not tried tablets with enabled touch screen functionality yet)
At least it works for me. I hate them mice too: slow and the
awkwardness of of even single clicks (not speaking of double
clicks) is irritating, yes.