Various extended techniques
1) I am currently writing a more avant-garde piece that requires the use of clarinet multiphonics.
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~emrich/chapter3-3.html
The actual notation can be somewhat faked (using different voices, etc.), but the fingering charts, as far as I know, need to be imported as picture elements. This would be an invaluable thing to add for any serious avant-gardist, both notation and the ability to draw a fingering chart.
2) Violin harmonics are quite a norm in the repertoire, but the only extended technique in musescore is pizzicato. I would like to suggest adding a different sound and input method (instead of the tedious noteheads), and for more traditional repertoire, the ability to inpute harmonics without actually putting in the sounding note. Also, col legno, etc., would be an excellent bonus.
3) In some pieces, performers are called to do percussive effects on their instrument. I don't really want to add a drum part to sub in every time, so can drum sounds be available for every instrument? That would be extremely useful.
4) Multiple acciaccaturas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZN8erzQXlQ
In this piece, one sees long strings of acciaccaturas (grace notes with a dash through the stems). I understand that one can simply put in grace notes and then add the slash as a line, but again, I would like some more integrated notation.
I understand that many of these techniques are very rare, but it would open musescore to professionals and students alike. I doubt George Crumb will like it, but it will at least stop me from notating everything on paper.
Comments
Given that an acciaccatura by definition takes no time from the main note it makes nonsense to have more than 1 horizontally.
In fact these are not acciaccaturas. Mr Kanasevich's key to his notation system is quite clear on that.
Really most of the notation for this score is not conventional, and I think it is unlikely that any modern music engraving applications would be able to produce this score without resorting to graphic import.
I suspect it could be done in MuseScore, but it would be incredibly fiddly, but then it would also be a problem in Finale, and I doubt Sibelius would be any better.
Whilst I'm happy for people like Mr Kanasevich to push the boundaries of both notation and technique, I think it is unlikely for this kind of thing to be implemented in MuseScore unless someone that knows about this stuff is prepared to do the necessary programming.
In reply to Given that an acciaccatura by by ChurchOrganist
No, the notes are not real acciaccaturas, but they are notated as thus. He has indicated that it is to be played as fast as possible, but this is unnecessary because it has become the norm in modern notation.
What is conventional is quite difficult to define, because since Stravinsky, cutout scores, senza misura, etc. have all become very conventional, and any serious academic composer (certainly those of Darmstadt) uses techniques far more expanded than those that Kanasevich's, who is certainly not a master (yet).
But let us consider that this is the direction that young composers are taking: hours on end in conservatories are taught on how to get around the pointless barriers put up by software made with outdated mindsets. There are tricks, indeed, but they should be replaced with a notation input realistic for the 21st century and not for Bach. Even Bach would have struggled to input the puzzle cannons of the Musical offering into Musescore.
So if Musescore wants to remain a software for casual transcriptions of popular music, than it can stay as it is. However, I have used Sibelius and find it impossible to do many of the things that Musescore's flexibility allows me to do. Therefore, I simply ask that the program be a sort of shelter for "poor modernists" struggling to input a single measure in Sibelius or Finale.
In reply to Perhaps Musescore is more about casual transcription? by Haotian Yu
I applaud your enthusiasm and zeal for the avant-garde, but I'm afraid the practical traditionalists carry a few hundred years of inertia, so you may have a longer wait for clarinet multiphonics, percussive effects, etc.
However, you can make images of fingering charts or other symbols and drag them onto a score:
http://musescore.org/en/handbook/image
Also, non-traditional accidentals (eg. half sharp, half flat) for quarter tones can be found in the accidentals palette; and microtones, with some tweaking of the note properties, can even be played back.
Finally, for students and young composers:
The next released version of MuseScore will support figured bass notation, although that might be more a tool for traditionalists as I've only used such in the past for the harmonic analysis of, you guessed it, 'old' music. ;-)
Tablature and chord diagrams will also be supported in the future release - perhaps more appealling to other poor modernists?
Regards, and good music...
In reply to Poor modernists vs. practical traditionalists by Jm6stringer
Would like to explore the options you mentioned about tweaking note properties . How can I find out more about this. I must say I've had sibelius for 2 months now and i haven't been using it because Muse seems to have the same and best programming. I just found out the easier way of making tuplets and was shocked when I discovered the same thing works here. Only thing I need are better soundfonts with bowing, harmonics ,flutters and a few expression playback. Sibelius is expensive and doesnt offer as much as people think it does! Ive yet to discover its potential Im sure but after 3 years with Muse Im still discovering things here!!! You people saved my life!!! Ive seen the cents thing on here so I will be able to figure out quartertones & such!
Regarding fingering charts - surely there are many "fingering chart" notations as there are people who produce them. I don't see how MuseScore could possibly be in the business of supporting every possible combination of circles, dots, squares, lines, and so forth that someone might want aside from implementing a full scale drawing program. And I don't see that being a very valuable thing to do, since there are already fine open source graphics programs out there.
Regarding harmonics, not sure what you mean exactly about noteheads being "tedious".
Regarding the multiple acciaccaturas, I agree it would be nice to have a way of entering this non-standard notation directly. But really, is there are any advantage to drawing the slashes through each note rather than doing what MuseScore does, which is the more standard way of notating this?
In reply to Regarding fingering charts - by Marc Sabatella
O.K, I get it about the finger charts: however, is there a way to attach a picture to a note, just like attaching an articulation, etc.?
The harmonics are tediously difficult because properly notated harmonics are always hollow, like half notes. However, if one selects the diamond shape note head (s1mi head) to represent the harmonic and uses it on a quarter note one gets a filled-in note head. Therefore, one needs to use half notes to replace every single one of them...
In reply to O.K, I get it about the by Haotian Yu
You can enter all your harmonics as regular notes, then Ctrl click on each one (or Shift click on successive notes) to select a group. Then, you can change the note head to s1mi (or even change the filled-in note heads to the half note head) all at once.
Regards.
In reply to Harmonics notation by Jm6stringer
I don't think that produces the desired half-note look, even if it is so in the palette.
In reply to I don't think that produces by Haotian Yu
It does - I have used it in Guitar music using harmonics.
Admittedly that was using a nightly build so there may be issues with 1.3
In reply to It does - I have used it in by ChurchOrganist
I found the solution, credit to Mr. Sabatella!
In reply to O.K, I get it about the by Haotian Yu
Yes, you can drag a picture to a note, and it stays attached just like n articulation.
As for the noteheads, you can change from solid to hollow noteheads in the same place you change the notehead (note properties for 1.3, inspector for development builds). I guess if you're using palette, that might not be obvious.
In reply to Yes, you can drag a picture by Marc Sabatella
Thank you!
In reply to Thank you! by Haotian Yu
There are two similar looking note heads. Both heads can be accessed by two different means.
1. In the Note Heads palette there is the 's1mi' head which you referenced earlier. Also, there is another, called the 'half diamond head' (top row in palette, 3rd icon).
2. In the Note Properties dialog (right click on a note) the 's1mi' head shows as 'mi' in the drop down list for Note Head Group. The 'half diamond head' is simply 'diamond'.
Note Properties (as Marc mentioned) is where you can also change the Note Head Type to a half note (hollow) head.
Now, if you create a half note of each head, you can see that they look similar, and depending on your screen size and/or resolution, they can almost look identical, especially if you make either (or both) small.
The 'mi' (or 's1mi') note head is primarily used with others (do, re, mi, etc.) for shaped note solfege singing or sight reading.
Regards.