Playback from selected measure
Hi
I want to play my song always from the selected measure o time, as it is in sound editing software.
Currently, Musescore plays the song after the last played note.
For example: we select the measure 10, we play the music from measures 10 to 12 (lets say its last note), then we pause it (space key), the selection is still in measure 10, but if we push again the play button (or space key), the song is played from measure 13.
I have solved this provisionally by using the bucle playback button, but always need to select the measures that are needed.
Regards
Comments
Playback starts from selected note, if any.
In reply to Playback starts from selected by Jojo-Schmitz
Well, we select the note and playback starts there, then musescore plays, lets say, 10 notes and we pause it, after that is when playback countinues in an 11th note, while the first note is still selected. I'd like that playback starts again in the first selected note.
Thanks for your comment
You can use the loop feature to always play from a selected note when the spacebar (or play button) is pressed:
In the above example, while playing, pressing the spacebar will pause the playback. Then, pressing the spacebar again will commence from the begin loop flag, rather from where playback was stopped.
See:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/play-mode-0#loop
Regards.
In reply to You can use the loop feature by Jm6stringer
Currently I use this way, but now we need to have selected the first note to the last note to play, I'd like to have the option to start in a selected note and if it is not selected a last note to play, musescore plays till the end of the file.
Regards
(sorry for the language, I doubt about my english)
In reply to Currently I use this way, but by NicolasMcDonald
Open a score, then in the play panel assign the first note for the loop. Don't select a last note at all. Press the play button and playback will start at the first note of the loop and play until the end.
Is this what you want?
Regards.
In reply to Open a score, then in the by Jm6stringer
It is better, now just one last step to what i have in mind: on that loop mode, if i want to select a new starting note, i'd like the option to select it with just one click without having to assign the new first note in the play panel again and again for each new starting note.
You helped me to express what i wanted. Thanks
In reply to It is better, now just one by NicolasMcDonald
You don't need to use the Play Panel to assign a loop point - just define keyboard shortcuts for the loop operations in Edit / Preferences / Shortcuts.
In reply to You don't need to use the by Marc Sabatella
Thank you, i've assigned [ctrl+space] and works fantastic!
I would have liked to assign [ctrl+rigth click] and directly make the assignation at the same time as selecting the note but now i have enough
Thanks a lot
In reply to You don't need to use the by Marc Sabatella
--Please add a STOP button, please, please, please--
I'm struggling with the same issue, the loop playback fixes the problem somewhat, but I think the best option would be to have somewhere a "Stop" button. So the spacebar can still work as Play-Pause, but there's a button that can be assigned to any key, that stops the playback in progress, and when you press the spacebar again it starts form the selected note.
Why I would use this feature so much?
Most of the time, I use Musescore as an aid for learning a score, so I write down the piece I need to study, grab my instrument and play along.
When I make a mistake I don't want the playback to advance any further, I just want to stop, click a note to start (a bit before the problem) and try again, (stop) and again (stop) and again...
So I'm holding an instrument, a bit away from the computer, and finding the mouse cursor, opening tabs, finding the loop button, etc. is not really practical.
I just found that I can open the playback menu with F11, and I can probably assign some other shortcuts to make the process faster, but I think a STOP button is more simple and intuitive and thousands of users would greatly benefit from having it in the next version.
So please add a Stop button and people will love it. Thanks a lot!
In reply to --Please add a STOP button,… by nzwork
I'm not understanding why simply using Space doesn't solve this problem. Could you explain further? If you press Space, it stops. If you then select a note, select a note, and press Space again, it starts from that point. Isn't that exactly what you are asking for?
In reply to I'm not understanding why… by Marc Sabatella
space stops at the last note it played, and continues from there, I understand here a command is wanted that starts from the note that had initially been selected again.
In reply to space stops at the last note… by Jojo-Schmitz
I could see that being a valid request, but I read the following: " I just want to stop, click a note to start (a bit before the problem) and try again". That's specifically not starting from the note that had already been selected.
FWIW, the loop feature can be used pretty effectively to restart from the same place over and over if that is what is desired. Simply select the region you want to practice, hit the loop command (which can be assigned a keybaord shortcut if you like, and now Space works to keep restarting there.
So as far as I can tell both use cases are already handled very well. Not bad for a program whose primary function is notation, not to be a practice aid!
In reply to I could see that being a… by Marc Sabatella
Hi, I'm sorry if I wasn't clear with my previous post, I'll try again.
I think your program is awesome I love it and I use it a lot. I also understand it's primary function is notation which it does extremely well and the resulting scores look very neat both on screen and printed.
I mostly use MuseScore for transcriptions or to write down my own compositions and quite often while composing (and also when I practice) I find that I need to hear a section a couple of times. If I already know which measures I'll be rehearsing again and again I can set a loop, but oftentimes I don't know it beforehand. So what I'd love to have is something that allows me to do that quick repeated listening "on the fly".
About the Spacebar: being so large on the keyboard it's perfect to reach at any time and it currently works superbly to start and stop the playback... (the first time)
As I'm trying to be more clear on this post, let's call "Hit" each time I press the Spacebar:
"Hit 1" The playback starts from the beginning (or the last selected note) This is excellent.
"Hit 2" Stops the playback, so far so good.
"Hit 3" Playback resumes from the current playing position: Very useful, but sometimes I don't want to go on, specially if I stopped the playback because I spotted something wrong. In those occasions setting a loop is a working option, and of course it's very well handled, I agree with you on that, but I think it would be very useful to also have a button to forget the current playback position.
In other words: When "Hit 3" resumes the playback it feels to me that "Hit 2" was more like a "Pause" than a hard "Stop" and quite often I need a hard stop that forgets the current playing position and lets "Hit 3" to behave exactly like "Hit 1" did. So I can just click a note and do: "Start - Stop", "Start - Stop" a couple of times, always from the same note, without having to set a loop. Very spontaneous, very intuitive. ("Hit 1", stop, "Hit 1", stop, "Hit 1"... and let it run to the end of the piece if I don't stop it again)
How do I get to do that with the program as it is? Well as I said, I use the loop function if I know beforehand it will be needed, but most of the time I just click a note, hit the Spacebar to start, hit it again to stop, and then, instead of reaching for the mouse and scrolling back (maybe to the previous page), and clicking again the note I wanted... I just reach for the arrow keys: I hit Right Arrow, to jump from the selected note to the next, then I hit Left Arrow to return to the note I needed, and then I can hit the Spacebar again to confidently start the playback from the note selected. Reaching for the arrows is faster than reaching for the mouse and scrolling, but sometimes I forget to do use the arrows, and confidently start the playback... not from the selected note.
Honestly, I would like very much to have the chance to set the Spacebar to work as Play/Hard Stop every time, and to set another button for the "Pause" function (that remembers the current playback position). But if that's not to be considered, at least to have a "hard stop" button that I can shortcut to some key would be great.
Actually, in MuseScore 2 as it is, when the playback is running I can stop it using either the Spacebar or the "Escape" key. And then, Spacebar resumes the playback the same way for both cases. So... what if "Esc" could stop the playback as if "Hit 1" was an error, forget the current playing position, and let you use the Spacebar as "Hit 1" again?
Ok, I hope this time I was a bit more clear, sorry if it was way too long. Thanks for the wonderful program you have given us all. Best regards.
In reply to Hi, I'm sorry if I wasn't… by nzwork
Per Marc's suggestion to use a shortcut (menu item: Edit -> Preferences -> Shortcuts), I defined the 'loop in' shortcut as the letter L.
See:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook-advanced-topics/preferences#shortcuts
So...
After I stop playback, I now have two possibilities, i.e. playback options:
1. Press spacebar again for playback to resume from where it pauses (as you have mentioned).
2. Press 'L' and the start loop flag appears at the original starting note, so playback reverts to that note when the spacebar gets pressed again.
Also, selecting a different note and pressing 'L' will relocate the start loop flag to that new note - having those same two playback options.
(No need to use the right arrow, left arrow, spacebar combination.)
Regards.
In reply to Per Marc's suggestion to use… by Jm6stringer
Precisely. You don't have to know beforehand and that you will want to restart playback from the original position. You can set the loop in point with a single keystroke even after pausing. So again, you can already get exactly what you now say you want already - an easy way to restart playback from the previous position. As well as what you originally asked for - the ability to click a new position and start there. As well as the default behavior - continuing where you left off. All three behaviors are already available and just a click away.
In reply to Precisely. You don't have… by Marc Sabatella
Ok, I get it, there's a faster way to use the loop function and I'll start using it from now on, but it requires some tweaking. It's good enough for me, but it demands a bit of knowledge, and it's not very intuitive.
I bet that just as I got frustrated and came here looking for an answer, there must be hundreds of users, probably basic users, who'll never do that, and won't find it.
In my mind (I'm not saying I'm right, I know this is wrong and lazy) In my mind, a loop function sounds like something you have to explore and learn before you can properly use it, something that might have a powerful set of options... when you only need one.
Besides, many of us arrive to MuseScore after years of using lots of different programs and players and DAWs or whatever, where most of them have a stop button you can use without setting a loop. It's just a common place, it's just like the QWERTY keyboard that's only useful because we are all too familiar with it.
So thanks a lot for all the explanations, everyone who replied and helped. I know how to better use MuseScore now. I understand my suggestion is not something the program actually needs, I see it more like a tiny improvement for we basic users finding our way around. Thanks
In reply to Ok, I get it, there's a… by nzwork
I would just add that it is important to keep in mind that there are different types of "basic users" will have different expectations and different notions of what is "intuitive". You mention years of using lots of different DAWs, but probably the vast majority of users have never even heard the term DAW before much less ever used one. Loop functions in are something probably only a very small percentage of users have need for, which is why there are no default shortcuts for them. There actually used to be, but we got tons of complaints from people who were accessing it inadvertently and didn't understand what was happening. And FWIW, in programs I have used that make a differentiation between Pause and Stop, the effect of Stop is to clear all memory of the previous start point, so the next playback starts at the beginning. Whereas I have used quite a few that work exactly like MuseScore in this respect.
Anyhow, the point is, it's impossible to produce something that is "intuitive" for everyone, because everyone is different, with different previous experience and different expectations for what they want to get out of a notation program. So the best we can do is provide useful functions and document them and support them and when someone wants and help people discover how to use these these useful functions in a way that best addresses their own particular unique needs.
In reply to Precisely. You don't have… by Marc Sabatella
It's not rocket science, EVERY music player has these three features, play, pause, stop. Even audacity has it, but well we'll avoid adding a stop button cause we're different!
In reply to Per Marc's suggestion to use… by Jm6stringer
Jm6stringer: Yes, it is perfect, I defined the shortcut like you said and it works like a charm, thanks.
In reply to space stops at the last note… by Jojo-Schmitz
Yes! That's it Jojo-Schmitz! You said in just a few words!
In reply to I'm not understanding why… by Marc Sabatella
I has worked for me in the past, but not in my current score. It is quite frustrating. Play begins from bar 9 most times, regardless of what is selected. Even if there is a loop active.
(There is no Play Panel in MS4 but there is the Loop button.)
Maybe it's the presence of a third-time bar. —Aha. I deleted the first, second and third time bars. Now it works. Maybe I need to post a bug. (So much time spent on this ...)
MacOS 14.0
Macbook M1 Pro
MS 4.1.1
In reply to I has worked for me in the… by griffin25
Three things.
Please post this in a separate thread'
Yes, there is a play panel in MU4.
This score can't possibly work. There is no such thing in notation software as a triple (or double) DS. And that's just for starters.
In reply to Three things. Please post… by bobjp
Regarding point 3, it is a pretty weird score. But the example score shows that MS is selecting the playback point not just from the selected note (or bar) or the last note played, but also depending on some other strange context related to jumps interpreted from score indications. This is not desirable, although yes it works in most cases.
In reply to Three things. Please post… by bobjp
Further regarding Point 3. I eliminated all jumps and segno signs. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd time bars remain. Still the same problem.
Regarding Point 2, I can't find it. And the MU4 Manual has no mention of it in "Playback commands". Are you talking about the Play section of the toolbar?
In reply to Further regarding Point 3. I… by griffin25
Yes, the playback section in the toolbar. You can undock it, to see it in full
In reply to --Please add a STOP button,… by nzwork
This ppl are from other galaxy that they dont understand what's basic stuff OMG. It's always the same with free software and I doubt if they do it on purpose.
In reply to This ppl are from other… by colesessano
As explained above, what’s basic to one is unnecessary to another. But being free has nothing to do with it. If someone with the necessary development skills finds it important, they implement it. This just hasn’t happened yet, but who knows, maybe in time someone who finds it important will volunteer.
In reply to As explained above, what’s… by Marc Sabatella
It is possible to implement start/pause/stop using cmd in a plugin but it's a bit hit and miss because the playback cursor position cannot be set directly and I haven't found any way of detecting the current playback state, so using spacebar and/or UI playback controls can interfere with the plugin code.
#39156: Add command (button/shortcut) to play again from starting point