Note Input Mode
Hi,
Thinking of the usability of your software, I supposed that some additional functions would be nice to add to the Note Input Mode:
1) Changing notes' duration by the mouse wheel.
2) Holding Shift key would add a dot to the note.
3) Holding Ctrl key would insert a pause of the selected length.
Thanks, hope it helps somehow.
Best regards,
Comments
Oops, wrong thread
Let me explain the general idea of more effective note input as I see it:
First, in the Note Input mode you choose the note duration by the mouse wheel, then you make a click on the music staff to place the note. If you want a rest, hold Shift, if you want a dotted note hold Ctrl. This all is only when you input notes with mouse and has nothing to do with keyboard shortcuts. I believe it is more convenient for a user this way, at least for me it is.
Hope you got the idea, perhaps you'll like it or I may be wrong in something else. It's all up to you.
Thank you very much
In reply to Let me explain the general by dmitro
Have you *tried* keyboard entry? It's definitely much more efficient. Consider - how would pressing shift *and* clicking on the staff (two actions) beat simply pressing "0" (one action) to enter a rest? That's two actions versus one to achieve the same result.
In reply to Have you *tried* keyboard by Marc Sabatella
@Marc: consider those who don't know notes on a firstname basis...
In reply to @Marc: consider those who by Jojo-Schmitz
Are there really that many people who know how to read and write music but don't know note names? I have to think that would be incredibly rare. Not knowing how to read music at all - now that's common enough, but such people are more likely to be wanting MIDI input than marginally more efficient mouse input. Wanting to shave a fraction of a second off mouse input seems like something of interest only to people who are intimately familiar with music notation and would thus actually notice those fractions of a second adding up. And these are precisely the people for whom keyboard entry would be faster yet.
Anyhow, I'm no saying there would be no point. But I do question how much effort is worth spending making an inherently inefficient not entry method marginally more efficient, when there are already two much more efficient note entry methods available to those who value efficiency. Actually, *three* much more efficient note entry methods come 2.0 and its piano keyboard.
In reply to Are there really that many by Marc Sabatella
Actually, almost 80% of french musicians :)
In reply to Actually, almost 80% of by [DELETED] 5
Oooh, good point.
A dot can already be added to a note by pressing the . (period) key.
People, this is not because I don't know note names. Look, to enter a dotted note in a usual way we must: choose the note's duration with a digit key, choose a dot with a NumDel and click the staff to place the note. After that we have to press NumDel again to toggle a dot off. The same goes for a rest key 0, we have to toggle it on and off after use. In my way we can only use a mouse, don't have to press digit keys and toggle pause and dot keys on and off. To hold and release a key is more ergonomic than press it twice.
Well, this all is a matter of habits and preferences, so let everyone decide is it worth it or not.
In reply to People, this is not because I by dmitro
The reason note names came into it is that I don't understand why, if you are concerned with efficiency, you are clicking on the staff rather than typing note names. Typing note names is more efficient than clicking on the staff for most people - unless, as mentioned, you aren't familiar with letters for note names (perhaps because you use do, re, etc as is the case in France and a few other places). It kind of seems to me you might not be aware that simply typing is an option, or that it is generally much more efficient than clicking. You seem to be avoiding mentioning that possibility for some reason, and that is part of what I am trying to understand - *why* are you not considering the option of typing as a way to solve the efficiency problem?
Among other efficiency advantages, If you type your notes rather than click on the staff, there is no need to toggle the rest off - simply type the letter name you want. Type 0 for a rest, a letter for a note - no toggling is involved. That particular inefficiency goes away instantly if you simply type instead of click on the staff. But I do agree that a modifier you hold while clicking in order to enter a rest would be a nice improvement for those who for whatever reason enter notes by clicking rather than typing.
Even if you do use choose to continue clicking rather than typing to enter notes, you still wouldn't normally need to toggle the dot, though. The dot automatically disengages the moment you choose a different duration, as you normally would when using dots (eg, dotted quarter is normally followed by eighth, so you've got to change to eighth anyhow, which automatically disengages the dot).
In reply to People, this is not because I by dmitro
That adding a dot could also be achieved via mouse wheel method you proposed, its is a duration after all
eighth <-> dottet eighth <-> quarter <-> dotted quarter <-> half <-> dotted half <-> whole
In reply to That adding a dot could also by Jojo-Schmitz
it is a good idea (very, very)!
And I am familiar with letters for note names. Apparently my English is not very good=\\\\\
In reply to it is a good idea (very, by dmitro
Could you please then humor me and explain why, if you are familiar with note names, you aren't using the more efficient typing method of note entry and are instead still clicking on the staff to enter notes? Are you understanding that you don't have to click *at all* during note entry - not ever? And that if you use the typing method, then rests are no longer toggles? And that dots do not normally need to be toggled at all?
I am new here. I discovered musescore a few weeks ago and made a tiny demo song. I am not a musician, I am a computer programmer + Library tech. and I know the basic French terminology of music. My primary use would be for personal fun or be used in video games.
As I tested the software, and the keyboard input was horrible. It was very confusing since there is no logical positioning of the notes with the keys of the keyboard. It's like if you played a piano where I randomly shuffled the keys.
The 2nd problem is that when there is an ambiguity on where the note is placed, it use the closest position. So for example, if my las not was "Sol", and I want to drop back to a "Do" when it will raise to the "Do" of the next octave instead forcing me to move the note 1 octave lower manually.
So my suggestion is really simple, position the keys physically adjacent to each other on the keyboard. For example:
Use the QWERTYU line for the high octave of the partition and use the ASDFGHJK for the lowest octave of the partition. I don't know if there could be enough space to insert "Bemol"(b) and "Diese"(#) keys too. Else simply holding shift or ctrl for the # and "b" could do the job.
Thank You
You can customize. Do not forget the names of the notes.
Anyway welcome aboard and...buona musica
In reply to Questionable by Shoichi
Interesting, that could work as a similar solution, there is only 1 octave is mapped, but would still be much better.