Can't figure out how to write drums...
Hello,
I'm becoming mad with the drum editing tool and the software makes me feel like a chimpanzee in front of a padlock...
I tried to list what is going wrong for me here and I'll try to stay calm :
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Let's talk about inserting note with my computer keyboard. You say I should use ABCDEFG letters but there are sometimes multiples choices for one letter. But no keyboard are assigned for the secondary options and I can't see other option than to manually click on it. Not very user-friendly.
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I understood there are two voices. One for the snare and cymbals, and one for the kick and other bass sound. I appreciate this effort about clarity and organization.
But for example, the foot charley and kick are on the same voice. I can't figure out how to put them together on a same beat. If I choose one, the other is deleted. Very annoying. -
Is there a logic in the order of this drum rack ?
I mean, it starts well, with kick and snare and then, I don't know why, you have a tom, then the closed hi-hat, then a mid-tom and the logic escapes my level of understanding...
Consequently, when I want to write some toms, some are in voice 1 and some are in voice 2. If only they were organized by height (from bass to acute or the opposite) but NO, this isn't even the case.
So what is happening here is that I've spent more than one hour trying to write down ONE bar without any success. And the funny fact is that I write music professionnally so time is important (I have no choice but working on this software for this project).
So I mean, maybe I'm completely stupid (and this is a possible answer), but maybe there is a reeeaaal problem concerning the user experience. I watch a simple tutorial on youtube but nothing was helpful to answer my above questions.
I hope your support will help me understand the mysterious logic hidden behind this tool.
Thanks.
Comments
Sorry it has been so frustrating! Have you read the Handbook sections on Drum notation, and on multiple voices? Probably best if you can attach a sample of what you are trying to do so we can guide you better.
To answer your specific questions:
1) There is only one choice per letter in any given drumset, not sure where you are getting the idea otherwise? You can customize which letters do what as described in the Handbook.
2) Two notes on the same beat same voice is called a "chord" (well, it's called that for other instruments). You enter chords in MuseScore using Shift+letter if using the keyboard. Or if using the mouse, simply select the second note in the drum window then click back on the same stem. BTW, you can also customize the voice assignments if you prefer an arrangement other than the standard MuseScore follows.
3) MIDI is the international standard defining the order of drum pitches.