MuseScore and Roland Drum Tutor software
It appears there are a number of others on here using MuseScore in conjunction with Roland's Drum Tutor electronic drum software. I thought it would be beneficial to create a single thread where we can document tips, tricks, issues, and experiences related to using these two pieces of software together.
For those of you not familiar with Drum Tutor, it is a piece of software from Roland that provides feedback to the drummer to make sure one is playing the right note(s) at the right time. More specifically, it is comparing the drummer's pad triggering to a MIDI file that the software is playing. Correctly played notes get a blue circle around them, early/late/extra/incorrect notes get a red "X", and missed notes remain unmarked. There is also "game" mode with falling colored blocks (like in "Guitar Hero" or "Rock Band"), but if you're using MuseScore, then you're probably playing in notation mode. One of the nicest features of the Roland software (in my opinion) is the ability to open MIDI files other than the ones included and get the same feedback functionality from the software with those files.
So without further ado, here is tip #1:
Preserving Tempo Adjustability of User-Generated MIDI Files In Drum Tutor
MuseScore version 1.3, revision 5702
Roland Drum Tutor DT-1 version 1.00
Operating System: Windows XP
I can't take credit for discovering or solving this issue, as it was covered in a previous thread (which was actually how I found MuseScore to begin with). As mentioned in Luthierzan's thread ( http://musescore.org/en/node/16612 ), a MIDI file saved from MuseScore without explicit tempo information will be stuck at a fixed tempo when opened in Drum Tutor. The fix is quite simple. In MuseScore:
1. Click the first note or rest of your score to select it.
2. Choose Create --> Text --> Tempo... from the top menu or use Ctrl+Alt+T (keyboard shortcut).
3. Choose one of the pre-defined tempos and click OK. (Don't worry if you can't find the exact tempo you want or the name means nothing to you - you can change both of those things later.) The tempo name should now appear above that first note or rest.
4. To change the tempo value, right click the tempo text and chose Tempo Properties... Click the up/down arrows, use the up/down arrow keys on your keyboard, type in a value, or use the scroll wheel on your mouse (cursor must be over the value box for this last method to work). Click OK.
5. To change the tempo text displayed, double click the tempo text and edit to your liking. Click elsewhere to finish.
6. To move tempo text, simply click and drag it. While dragging, a dashed line between the tempo text and the note or rest that it is associated to will be visible. This step is optional and really only needs to be done if the tempo text is overlapping something else visually.
7. To delete tempo text, single-click to highlight and press Delete on your keyboard. This is just informational. Don't actually delete the tempo text associated to that first note/rest.
The MIDI file should open up in Drum Tutor with the default tempo that you assigned, yet still be adjustable within the Play Panel tab.
Alternate methods:
In MuseScore 2.0, it looks like you can set tempo during New Score creation (same dialog where you select Key Signature):
http://musescore.org/sites/musescore.org/files/Create_new_score-Key_sig…
I haven't tried this as I'm using 1.3, so perhaps someone else can chime in if it works for files opened in Drum Tutor.
Comments
tip #2
Location of Roland-provided Exercises and Songs
MuseScore version 1.3, revision 5702
Roland Drum Tutor DT-1 version 1.00
Operating System: Windows XP
Ever played one of the Roland-provided* exercises or songs and wanted to modify it or take an excerpt from it? Well, those exercises and songs are just MIDI files, located here (in my installation at least):
C:\Program Files\Roland\V-DrumsTutorDT1\Script\DTV\Exercise
C:\Program Files\Roland\V-DrumsTutorDT1\Script\DTV\Song
Obviously, you'll want to make a copy and stick it somewhere else instead of editing the original. Be sure to change file permissions on your copy so that it's not Read Only.
I made a copy of the first exercise and opened it up in MuseScore. It had a stave for bass guitar and another one for percussion (or at least, it had a neutral clef). The percussion one did not appear to be a standard 5-line drumset, as the notes (closed hi-hats, bass drum, and snare) were all way down below the lowest line (6 or more lines down). I was able to add a 5-line drumset stave by going to Create --> Instruments (keyboard shortcut "I") and chosing Unpitched Percussion --> Drumset 5 lines --> Add. Also, looking at the Mixer (Display --> Mixer or keyboard shortcut F10), that second stave was associated with Piano 1. Anyone know if there's a way to convert that second stave to be a drumset stave or perhaps copy notes over to a drumset stave?
*To avoid stepping on any copyright toes, it would probably be best to keep any modified copies or excerpts to yourself for your own personal practice, as the original MIDI files are copyrighted by Roland. Although, they'd probably be more concerned with someone making money off pirated or reverse-engineered copies of the software than someone trying to sell MIDI files.
reference information #1 and tip #3:
MIDI note number cross-reference and drumset streamlining
MuseScore version 1.3, revision 5702
Roland Drum Tutor DT-1 version 1.00
Operating System: Windows XP
note
Roland Drum Tutor
General MIDI Level
1
MuseScore 1.3
35
kick
acoustic bass drum
acoustic bass drum
36
kick
bass drum 1
bass drum
38
snare
acoustic snare
snare (acoustic)
40
snare
electric snare
snare (electric)
41
tom 3
low floor tom
tom 5
42
closed hi-hat
closed hi-hat
hi-hat closed
43
tom 3
high floor tom
tom 4
44
foot closed
pedal hi-hat
hi-hat pedal
45
tom 2
low tom
tom3
46
open hi-hat
open hi-hat
hi-hat open
47
tom 2
low-mid tom
tom 2
48
tom 1
hi-mid tom
tom 1
49
crash
crash cymbal 1
crash 1
50
tom 1
high tom
tom
51
ride
ride cymbal 1
ride
52
crash
Chinese cymbal
China
53
ride
ride bell
ride (bell)
55
crash
splash cymbal
ride (bell)
57
crash
crash cymbal 2
ride (bell)
59
ride
ride cymbal 2
ride (bell)
Roland info from page 30 of DT-1 owner's manual.
General MIDI info from http://www.midi.org/techspecs/gm1sound.php#percussion .
MuseSource info from Edit Drumset dialog (right-click any measure in a drum score and chose Edit Drumset...).
If you're primarily going to be using MuseScore to make drum scores for Drum Tutor, you can make your life a little easier by creating a custom drumset since there are 20 notes in the above table and you really only need 10 for Drum Tutor. Here's what I did:
1. Right-click any measure in a drum score and chose Edit Drumset...
2. Keep notes 36, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 51. Clear out the other named notes by selecting each one, deleting the name from the Name field, and changing the Note head field to Invalid.
3. A few of the 10 remaining notes will need a little tweaking to match the notation used by Roland. Rename Tom 5 to Tom 3. Go through each of the 10 notes and make sure the Note head and Staff line match the Roland notation on page 2 of the Drum Tutor owner's manual.
4. Save your custom drumset by clicking the Save button. I just called mine vdrums.drm and stuck it in the templates folder since there was some other French drumset in there.
To load your custom drumset in a new drum score:
1. Right-click any measure in the score and chose Edit Drumset...
2. Click the Load button.
3. Navigate to and highlight your custom drumset file. Click Open.
4. Click OK.
5. Save your score.
6. Close and reopen MuseScore.
7. Open your score and the Drums palette should now only have 10 notes.
update on tip #2:
"Fixing" MIDI-import Percussion Stave and Note Lengths
MuseScore version 1.3, revision 5702
Roland Drum Tutor DT-1 version 1.00
Operating System: Windows XP
I figured out how to replace the piano with a drumset and get the notes back up on the stave when opening a copy of one of the Roland MIDI files:
1. Right-click a measure on the percussion stave and select Staff Properties...
2. Click the Change Instrument... button.
3. Select Unpitched Percussion --> Drumset 5 lines and click OK.
4. Instrument names should show up in the long and short instrument name fields and the checkbox next to Use drumset should be checked. Click OK.
If you don't care for having "Drumset" or "Drs." showing in front of the percussion stave, you can clear those name fields while still in the Staff Properties dialog or you can select that text and press Delete on your keyboard when you're back out in your score (you'll have to do this for the one "Drumset" text and any one of the "Drs." texts). You can also put custom text in there, but that can only be done via the name fields in Staff Properties.
The other issue I had when opening one of the Roland MIDIs was the note lengths. Upon import, I had just accepted the default "Shortest note on import" of 1/64. The bass line came through with reasonable note lengths, but the percussion notes were all 64th notes. The fix for that one just required choosing 1/8 for "Shortest note on import" since those were the shortest notes in that exercise as displayed in Drum Tutor.
In reply to update on tip #2: "Fixing" by dbotos
Did you find a way to specify hand notation in imported MIDI?
DT-1 has an additional layer of information about which hand you need to strike each played note.
I wonder if any editor can achieve this - maybe the answer hidden inside duplicated notes?
In reply to Did you find a way to specify by Dmitry Krasnikov
Do you have a midi file containing L/R info? Can you attach it? then we can try to see how this information is stored. Or maybe it's mentioned in the user manual?
In reply to Do you have a midi file by [DELETED] 5
try this midi.
right-left notation is on the screenshot
In reply to try this midi. right-left by Dmitry Krasnikov
Thank, actually someone already figure it out here https://musescore.org/en/node/16649
The L/R are encoded in the MIDI file as Sysex. Problem is MuseScore cannot be used to add Sysex to the MIDI output right now.
In reply to Thank, actually someone by [DELETED] 5
Thank you very much!
I once started a topic about the problem that a midi file made in Musescore had the problem that the tempo could not be changed, I worked it around by opening and saving the file with the program Midi-editor.
This week I updated Musescore to 2.0 and it appears to be solved.
In 2.0, did you have to use Tempo Text or specify some other tempo than default in order to get a midi with changeable tempo? I need to give 2.0 a whirl. Haven't messed with MuseScore in a while. Sometimes I'm lucky just to find time to sit down at the drums. :-/
In reply to In 2.0, did you have to use by dbotos
No, I didn't have tot do some like that.
Just save as a midi file, open het in drumtutor and the tempo could be changed with Drumtutor which wasn't possible with midi files made in older versions of musescore.
Hi, sorry, I'm new to drumming and Musescore, my son has started lessons and uses the Trinity Rock and Pop exam books. We have a Roland electric drum kit and the VDrum tutor software. Are the songs from the books available to download as a midi file anywhere please? It would be great to work through the books but use Vdrum tutor too to practice. Thank you.