three beginner's questions
I am sorry, if I am posting this in the wrong category. I have some probably noob questions.
- It is great that, unlike in older versions of MuseScore I can now enter several notes at once with a midi keyboard. However, when I switch off Editing-Mode (N), I cannot play other than homophonic. Is this a current limitation or an error in my setup? (It greatly impedes composing with this program)
- Is there a function that allows me to double or half all the note's lengths in a selection?
- Is there a way to prevent the default note-length from jumping back to quarter notes each time I activate editing mode?
thanks for your help -
S
Comments
Hello, and welcome. Those are very questions, but unfortunately, we don't have very good answers right now.
- Live playback of MIDI is indeed limited to monophonic as far as I know. Could you explain what about your workflow makes this an impediment? I guess maybe you want to experiment and try out ideas using MuseScore as your sound engine even though you are not actually entering notes? Seems the obvious solution is to listen to the keyboard audio rather than MuseScore's in such cases.
- Half/double is something we plan to eventually support. So far there are plugins for 1.3 that partially do the job, but only partially, and I don't think they work with 2.0 yet.
- The default note legnth on entering edit mode depends on what is selected when you enter. If you have a half note selected, then that sticks. But if you have a full measure selected, then it does indeed default to quarter note. Probably not exactly what you want, but maybe it helps?
In reply to Hello, and welcome. Those by Marc Sabatella
Thanks for the prompt reply!
1. Yes, like you say: I would like to be able to test how to continue a piece I am writing. Using keyboard output is awkward, because I would either have to switch every time or mix the keyboard output with the Musescore output. This is not only awkward, but in both cases the sounds will not be anything like identical. All of this would again greatly disturb the workflow of composing - it's nothing like simply sitting at a piano (or any other instrument) with pencil and paper.
I'd love to see this feature implemented (and surely will support MuseScore financially because it seems to me the best OS notation programme out there). I would hope implementing it would not be much of an issue, since polyphonics is already working in principle? Lacking polyphonics is what kept me off Musescore for years. I left the windows-world ten years ago, which left me without a means to use computers for composing, and I am sad still not to be able to reproduce the simple workflow of capella 2004.. But I'll be patient :-)
I'm surprised that not more people are missing this.
2. Great!
3. Is there a reason why it should default to quarters in that case? Again - one more click necessary, less good for workflow.
In reply to Thanks for the prompt by Septimius
I think most people don't miss it because MIDI isn't really a particularly popular input method. Most people just type notes on their computer keybaords, which is really just as efficient and doesn't require extra hardware. Then, if you do have a MIDI keybaord as well, you can use it for working out your ideas, but enter them directly into MuseScore.
As for 3 - well, it has to default to *something*. If you've selected a specific note, it can use that value. but if you forget to select a specific note, how could MuseScore possibly know what to use?
Fascinating. Personally, I cannot imagine finding it efficient to let's say enter a D maj 7 9 chord as quickly on a computer keyboard as on a piano keyboard - it's just one stroke, rather than searching. Same for melodies. When you have your left hand on the numbers' block of the computer and the right on the keyboard, you can almost in realtime play to write the score. I couldn't imagine that on the computer for more complex pieces.
As for 3. - why not the last value selected?
(sorry, seems this comment got attached to the opening post rather than to Marcs second reply)
In reply to Fascinating. Personally, I by Septimius
There are certain things like chord entry that can be done faster with MIDI input, but other things can be done faster using the keybaord - like getting correct spelling for accidentals, or entering markings other than notes. I'm not saying it can never be faster, but MuseScore really is optimzied pretty well for keybaord entry, and you can indeed enter music very quickly that way. Throw in the fact that most users prbably don't own MIDI keyboards, and those that do would probably want real-time input anyhow rather than step, and anyhow, that's why this issue doens't come up very often. Oh yeah, also, most instruments can't play chords anyhow, so this really only comes up when writing for piano, guitar, etc.
Also, what you describe is an unusual case on top of that. It appears you are composing as you enter the music rather than composing first - perhaps using pencil and paper as an aid - then transfering to MuseScore. That in itself is perhaps unusual - many people using MuseScore are transferring existing music (whether self-composed or otherwise) and not making it up as they go along along. So the need to try out ideas while entering music does not exist. And for those who *are* composing as they go (I do that occasionally), they probably aren't *that* concerned with efficiency of note entry, since they are presumably spending much more time working out their ideas then entering the notes as it is.
None of which is to say that it woudn't be nice to get chords to play. just trying to give some context - what you are describing doing is probably quite unusual.
In reply to Fascinating. Personally, I by Septimius
There are certain things like chord entry that can be done faster with MIDI input, but other things can be done faster using the keybaord - like getting correct spelling for accidentals, or entering markings other than notes. I'm not saying it can never be faster, but MuseScore really is optimzied pretty well for keybaord entry, and you can indeed enter music very quickly that way. Throw in the fact that most users prbably don't own MIDI keyboards, and those that do would probably want real-time input anyhow rather than step, and anyhow, that's why this issue doens't come up very often. Oh yeah, also, most instruments can't play chords anyhow, so this really only comes up when writing for piano, guitar, etc.
Also, what you describe is an unusual case on top of that. It appears you are composing as you enter the music rather than composing first - perhaps using pencil and paper as an aid - then transfering to MuseScore. That in itself is perhaps unusual - many people using MuseScore are transferring existing music (whether self-composed or otherwise) and not making it up as they go along along. So the need to try out ideas while entering music does not exist. And for those who *are* composing as they go (I do that occasionally), they probably aren't *that* concerned with efficiency of note entry, since they are presumably spending much more time working out their ideas then entering the notes as it is.
None of which is to say that it woudn't be nice to get chords to play. just trying to give some context - what you are describing doing is probably quite unusual.
As for why not "last value selected", I'd guess tht's appropriate only a small minority of the time. Anything we guess is likely to be wrong most of the time. I can't really see any way MuseScore could possibly know what type of note you are about to enter.
In reply to There are certain things like by Marc Sabatella
Thanks for your explanations. I had no idea how uncommon my case is - that no one composes through midi. I find it so much better than paper and pencil (just like I don't write books without a wordprocessor any more). It's so much faster, you can easily erase or move things round, you can have it play instantly (especially if what you write is beyond your own skills or has more than one instrument). Well, pencil it stays, then.
Or going back to installing XP and capella..
Or let's call it a feature request. I guess I would even pay someone for implementing it, if it is as easy as I hoped.
(as for the other point - I probably have mixed up something here. Not important anyway. Thanks again.)
In reply to Thanks for your explanations. by Septimius
We could do an easy fix. Currently we receive events, we queue them. Then, for each event, we stop all notes, and then we play the note, we set a timer to stop all notes after a given duration.
A quick fix could be to *not* stop all notes before playing the notes. Of course, it will not be perfect yet. If the user press and keep pression a C, wait X milliseconds and press a D, the D and the C will play together only for the given duration - X ms.
Would that be an improvement?
A proper fix would be to deal with the note off event properly. That's possible but it will probably not happen before 2.1. While the quick fix can be done for 2.0.1 that would be released soon.
In reply to Thanks for your explanations. by Septimius
I wouldn't say *no one* does what you are describing. Just that the specifics of what you describe - not just composing with the aid of a MIDI keyboard, but actually entering the music via the same MIDI keyboard immediately upon composing it - isn't really that common. It's of course a common way of working with a *sequencer*, but somewhat less so with a notation program. And in case case, of the people who are doing this, most probably simply do what I suggested - use the audio from their keyboard. Perhaps using headphones for that, but the computer speakers for MuseScore. Or whatever works.
Meanwhile, the quick fix sounds better than nothing to me!
In reply to I wouldn't say *no one* does by Marc Sabatella
Wow. Thank you for that offer. If I understand correctly, the quick fix would not enable chord play, because the time distance between the note input would be minimal. If yes, I'd say better don't waste time on that fix, and I wait for 2.1, hoping the issue can be solved there more properly.
In reply to Wow. Thank you for that by Septimius
It would enable chord play but as it is right now for notes, you would not be able to play a "true" half note. The duration of the sound would be capped by the first pressed key + the default duration. Also, if you would press C D C D very fast, the C would not stop before the D but last until the default duration.
In reply to It would enable chord play by [DELETED] 5
Ah, I see! Same thing, unfortunately. I think as long as it does not fully behave like a piano, and I have sound where I cannot control it, I would not be able to use it (forgive me my sensitivity to these matters). So I'm all for MuseScore 2.1. Thanks for your efforts (It is really amazing at what speed you write replies here!)
In reply to Ah, I see! Same thing, by Septimius
I created an issue for this [[nodetitle:#56371]]