note input

• Jul 18, 2016 - 12:31

Note input problem. This happens when I start note input. If I want to place, say, a minim into a 44 bar which has a full bar rest in it, I click on the rest and Musescore always produces a crotchet, no matter that I have asked for a minim by clicking the minim button or pressing 6. In other words, I can only ever get a crotchet, and I have to change it into whatever note I want. What am I doing wrong?


Comments

Hard to say for sure, but I am guessing you are trying to select the duration *before* entering note input mode. That doesn't work. You need to select the desired duration *while* in note input mode.

In reply to by DLascelles

Not sure what you mean "flick back to a crotchet each time". Once you enter note input mode, you would generally *stay* in note input mode while entering notes. So you wouldn't really see this 'flick back" very often. And it's the exact same number of keystrokes / clicks either way, once you get in the habit of doing it correctly. But sure, to help prevent these sort of beginner mistakes it might be nice if the selected duration "stuck" when entering note input mode. Just be clear that it won't actually save any keystrokes / clicks.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Marc, I would be hesitant to characterise that as 'beginner mistakes.' Few people are at your level of expertise with the program, but I think I've gotten past the 'beginner' stage, and that still happens to me occasionally when I'm thinking more about the result and less about the process. When I'm composing, and even moreso when I'm arranging a harmony to an established bass or melody, I go in and out of Note-Entry mode all the time. It is easy to forget which mode one is in when doing that sort of work.

As for saving keystrokes, you are right that both methods require the same number of clicks/keystrokes. However, recovering from a 'goof' requires an Undo command plus a repeat of the proper sequence of keystrokes, so if the program could be modified to make the selection of a duration 'sticky' whether in note-entry or not, it would save keystrokes for many people in the long run.

In reply to by Recorder485

I didn't mean that going in and out of note input mode was a "beginner mistake". I meant that accidentally selecting duration *before* entering note input was a beginner mistake - this was what the OP seemed to have done and didn't even realize it wasn't correct. Of course even experienced users might make this mistake occasionally, but in general, once you know the program, it shouldn't happen very often. And no progrram can prevent mistakes, after all. On the other hand, there ins't much of a downside to making the change, so saving those couple of clicks/keystrokes on those occasions does seem like a fine idea to me.

I don't understand. If you select a full measure rest, press 6 and then press N, MuseScore will stick with a half note. The only reason for MuseScore to go back to another duration would be if the user selects a note of a different duration since out of note input mode, MuseScore will select the duration of the selected note/rest.

Can someone explain exactly the steps that are non optimal?

In reply to by [DELETED] 5

Ok now I think I get it.
* you need to be out of note input mode
* AND you need to have nothing selected so MuseScore doesn't know where you are in the score and what you will do next.
* Then press half note or press 6
* And then you decide to select a rest or a note (in this case, MuseScore will default to the note/rest duration and so override your selection, for a full measure rest it will default to quarter note)

If I'm correct, and that's the flow you are using (it's different to what you describe), we could try to maintain the selected duration for full measure rest. Not sure if it's a good idea when the user selects an actual note.

In reply to by [DELETED] 5

Good point about selecting a starting point. I think selecting an actual note or rest should still change the duration to match that note or rest, if it's not an empty measure. There's also the case where nothing is selected at all, such as when you start at the beginning of a blank score.

In reply to by DLascelles

??? I can't reproduce thsat. Even you make the mistake of selecting a duration before entering note input mode, the duration switches to quarter note the moment you switch to note input mode. The duration never changes when you actually enter the note, at least note in any case I can think or or find. Try it yourself and if you find steps to reproduce the problem, post them here - that would be a bug that needs fixing.

Again, though, if you do it correctly - select duration *after* entering note input mdoe - it works perfectly, no frustration whatsoever. So it really is worth it to get in the habit of doing it correctly.

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