Realize Chord Symbols: a few ideas for improvements
In the "Realize Chord symbols" dialogue, the "Notes" column shows the basic notes of the chord but not necessarily the actual realization of the chord.
Suggestions
- Remove the "Show more/less" button and always make the "ID / Name / Intervals / Notes" section visible.
- Incorporate octave numbers into the "Notes" column.
- Immediately update the "Notes" column in response to any change to "Interpretation" or "Voicing" in the "Override" dialogue.
- Add an "Apply" button to allow the user to hear various realizations, if desired, before closing the dialogue.
Would it be possible, even, to do this from the Inspector? A "Notes" text box could be added (showing the chord as a series of note letters and octave numbers). This would update with changes to "Interpretation" and "Voicing". A "Realize" button would allow the user to create the same chord on the music staff.
Comments
These are good ideas! The notes shown are meant to be the actual realization, but there is an extra root shown. Having this control moved to the Inspector makes sense. So does using an associated fretboard diagram to select the voicing which has been suggested before.
Ultimately, I could also imagine the Inspector control allowing complete customization of the voicing. But unlike the other ideas discussed here, that would involve a format change - a way to save that customized voicing to the score file and then read it back. Definitely something I could imagine happening for MuseScore 4.
In reply to These are good ideas! The… by Marc Sabatella
"allowing complete customization of the voicing". I second that. But best of all: allow the choice: make this change the 'new normal' (for this user), or specific for this file.
In reply to "allowing complete… by elsewhere
That's harder to define, though. First, if you define one particular G7 chord to be voiced G F B E Ab , that's all well and good for that specific chord in that specific context, but it's unlikely to make musical sense for any other G7 chord anywhere else - the whole reason you chose this voicing probably has to do with what the melody note is, what notes are in other instruments, what the next chord is, etc.