Turn off automatic note entry mode

• Mar 5, 2012 - 13:38

Hi there,

I'm finding with my working style I would prefer to be able to enter notes using the computer keyboard without musescore automatically entering note entry mode.

For example, sometimes I enter two notes that I want to tie together, let's say an A. I press A twice, then I have to press N to exit note entry mode and move to the previous note to add the tie with shift +. I would prefer not to have to press N.

For me it's also preferable for changing durations. For example to change from a semi breve to a semi-quaver, I would rather press 3 once without having to press N to exit note entry, than pressing Q 4 times in note entry mode.

Is this possible?

Thanks

Comments

• Mar 5, 2012 - 13:52

I agree that there is room for improvement here, although I'd put it differently - I'd never want to leave note entry mode, but would want to be able to add ties to existing notes and change durations from within that mode. So to me, it's not a question of changing the behavior of the mode; just a matter of adding new commands within note entry mode.

But in the case that can be done much more simply than what you are describing. Ties are created within note entry mode not bu entering the notes separately and then adding the tie, but by entering the first note, selecting the length of the second but not actually entering the note, then hitting "+".

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• Mar 5, 2012 - 15:52

Not wanting to enter note entry mode was the subject of your thread, yes, but this one seems a bit different. Related, certainly, but different. I have mixed feelings about whether hitting a letter key while not in note entry mode should switch to note entry mode. I suspect that particular point will become moot with the "repitch" mode of 2.0. But I agree with Derek that the ability to change duration of existing notes - including to do so by adding dots and ties - would be very useful

Actually, in the case of ties, I'd call the current behavior a bug. Why *shouldn't* it work to move the cursor to a note and hit "+"? I wouldn't necessarily expect it to connct two existing notes, just to have the normal behavior of extending the current note just as it does if you had hit "+" immediaely after entering the note instead of entering more notes and then returning.

So, I'd proposing fixing the tie command to work correctly even after entering more notes then returning. But I'd also suggest having a modifier - Alt, say - that, when pressed in conjunction with a number or with the dot, would have the effect of altering the current note rather than setting the duration of the next note to be entered. So, Alt-6 to tuen a note into a half note / minim. Hmm, either that, or a new simple command that takes whatever the currently selected "next duration" is and applies it to the current note. So, 6 *followed by* this new command to turn the note into a half note / minim.

I think these would be pretty useful features for relatively little implementation cost! I wonder, does Sibelius do anything like this?

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• Mar 5, 2012 - 17:18

I thought I remembered it being that you needed Alt to change duration in Finale? Or maybe that's just in Simple mode, which is the mode I used mostly once discovering how efficient its shortcuts were.

Anyhow, I asked about Sibelius because MuseScore's input mode is otherwise so similar. If they've already implemented this, it could make a useful model. And if they haven't, then we could have a leg up in this dpeartment.

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• Mar 5, 2012 - 18:34

IIUC, Marc is proposing (at least) two things:

1) Having the usual command for tie (default '+') to work also while in note entry mode. I think the exact behaviour it has outside note entry mode would be fine here too.

2) Having a quick way to change the duration of a selected note while in note entry mode. Again I assume it should behave the same way within and without note entry mode; namely:

* if a note is lengthened, it 'eats' the following notes/rests
* if a note is shortened, the difference is filled with rest(s)

Did I summarize correctly?

For what is worth, for 2), I would prefer to have a "new simple command" which applies the duration selected in the palette to the selected note, rather than an additional modifier (I never remember modifiers!).

Also, with a modifier, in the shortcut configuration dlg box, there would be an additional entry for each duration ("Change selected note to breve", "Change selected note to semibreve", ..., maybe including dotted and double dotted durations, and what about tuplets?). With an additional command, there would be only one additional shortcut.

If there is a general agreement, it would be the case to post 2 feature requests.

Thanks,

M.

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• Mar 5, 2012 - 19:34

1) Having the usual command for tie (default '+') to work also while in note entry mode. I think the exact behaviour it
has outside note entry mode would be fine here too.

That's not quite what I said. The usual command for tie *does* work while in note entry mode - not to connect two notes, but to extend the most current note by the amount currently selected in the palette. That is the usual way to create ties. However, it only works if you press "+" immediately after entering a note - you can't enter more notes then come back via the cursor keys and then expect "+" to work. That is what strikes me as a bug.

After all, the keys that modify pitch and duration (up/down, ctrl--up/down, q, w) all work identically on the currently selected note whether you have just entered it or come back to it via the cursors, as do the keys for adding or changing pitches (letter, shift-letter, shift-number). Only the tie command fails to work when you've returned to a note. So I consider it a bug, not a feature request. It is probably related to this: #9927: unable to create tie in Note Input mode after editing length of note.

To recap: rather than have the tie command do two different things to the currently selected note depending on how you got there - extending the current note by selected amount if you've just entered the note, or connecting it to the next note if you've returned to that position via the cursor - I am merely suggesting that it always do the first of those two. At least, when pressed while in note entry mode. When pressed outside of note entry mode, I don't mind if it retains its current behavior of connecting adjacent notes.

#2 you summarized correctly. Note we are not talking here about implementing anything like the "insert mode" that has been requested often; you are correct that I am talking about eating time from the next note or inserting rests. Same behavior as Q and W. Although I note that should an "insert mode" ever be implemented, this same facility to change the currently selected note's duration would be at least as useful in that mode.

For what is worth, for 2), I would prefer to have a "new simple command" which applies the duration selected in the palette to the selected note, rather than an additional modifier (I never remember modifiers!).

The main advantage of the modifier is that it makes it more Finale-like. Not sure about Sibelius, which is one reason I asked. But I think I agree that I'd prefer a new command that applies the palette duration. A couple more advantages of that approach: it would presumably be simpler to implement that way, it would requires only a single keyboard shortcut, and it actually mimics the behavior of "+" described above (which also takes the current palette value and applies it to the current note, albeit by extending rather than replacing).

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