Computer Keyboard Input

• Jan 28, 2021 - 00:43

Since midi entry seems to be missing in action for me, I have been using my computer keyboard to input notes. I've looked everywhere trying to find an answer to a simple question. When one is entering notes using the keyboard, the program always goes to the note that is closest to the previous note. If the current note is 'A', then pressing 'C', will enter the note above the 'A'.

However, often you don't wish to go to the default note. This often occurs with intervals more than a fifth from the current note. For example, the current note is 'F' and you want to go to the 'C' above. The program will default to the 'C' below as it's closer. Is there a key combination that will tell the software to go to the alternative note ... i.e. select the larger interval? It would save time in terms of having to stop and adjust octaves. Hope this makes sense.


Comments

There isn't a way to tell it which octave to use before the note is entered, but after the note is in the score, you can quickly change the octave using the Ctrl+up/down arrow shortcut.

So whether you issue one additional keystroke before entering the note to say, "use a different octave than you otherwise would have" or issue the command to change octaves, it's the exact same number of keystrokes either way. So the proposed new command would not save time, but could potentially fit the mind a little better in some cases.

I could imagine a set of "add next note above/below/default" commands. Personally, I can't imagine ever using them for this purpose. But if the same affected the behavior of Shift+letter or Shift+number, which currently always adds the note / interval above instead of below, that might get my attention :-)

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Thank you for your comments. Of course, now that I've thought about it, what you note above makes perfect sense. I guess all out brains work differently and I guess my instinct is to want to anticipate the position of the note rather than adjusting it afterwards. As you point out, it's the same number of key strokes either way.

In reply to by HalInVic

FWIW, you might also want to try the piano keyboard window - see View menu - if you continue to have trouble getting your MIDI keyboard working. Personally, I don't find either of those more efficient than regular computer keyboard. True, there is no octave problem, but it's replaced by an enharmonic spelling problem (since MuseScore can't read your mind about that either), plus there is more of a mental shift required to change durations.

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