Is the Piano Roll Editor widely used - or useful?
The Piano Roll editor appears to have some similarities with tracks in a DAW, but is it really useful?
First, unlike a DAW, it only displays a representation of one line of a stave.
Secondly, for more complex rhythmic configurations - such as triplets and sextuplets, it's actually easier to write them in standard notation.
I think there are people who work extensively with DAWs and use similar reprentations for music tones and not timings, but really - are they just too restricted to be of serious use?
One thing the PRE in MS can be used for is checking on the timing of features such as grace notes, but that's hardly a killer application is it?
Comments
I think that it actually shows all lines of a stave, not just a single line; it certainly does for guitar TAB.
My only use for it is to validate the processing of plugin/plugout code.
In reply to I th by yonah_ag
Yes - of course. I meant just one instrument line. That's where it clearly differs from most DAWs.
In reply to Yes - of course. I meant… by dave2020X
Maybe it has some historical use but it's really too labour intensive to be an every day tool.
In reply to Maybe it has some historical… by yonah_ag
I tend to agree, but there are people who use similar tools within DAWs rather extensively. Maybe they are people who are unfamiliar with music notation, or perhaps for rhythms this kind of interface really is easier - for some players/musicians - drummers etc.
It's probably little used because it's also pretty well hidden. And also, it's pretty confusing to look at unless you're really experienced with piano roll editors from sequencers or DAW software.
I can't imagine using it for note input, but it's useful indeed for tweaking playback - changing the ontime / offtime of individual notes, etc. It's currently the only supported way of doing this. But, I gather MuseScore 4 will be pretty different in this respect, still not clear how.
In reply to It's probably little used… by Marc Sabatella
The articulation plugin is still supported and also implements such tweaking.
https://musescore.org/en/project/articulation-and-ornamentation-control
Maybe this will become redundant with MS4.
In reply to BSG's articulation plugin is… by yonah_ag
True, I probably should said, the supported way to do that sort of tweaking within the program itself. Plugins aren't "supported" in the usual sense of the word, but the articulation plugins are indeed a way simpler do it, once you've downloaded and installed them!
I don't think currently MuseScore 4 builds support anything like this yet, but I have no doubt the functionality will be coming at some point, if not for 4.0, then for 4.1 or something.
In addition to showing note on/off times, the PRE visually maps dynamics.
Sometimes this can come in handy:
Simple problem:
https://musescore.org/en/node/324942#comment-1097506
More complex issue:
https://musescore.org/en/node/324138#comment-1096138