Complete piano pedal pallet
I think it's great that MuseScore has the Ped_____| notation, But there are other symbols that pianists need as well. For completeness, I'd like to see:
1) the modern style of pedal notation. In this style, there is not "Ped" marking, just a line with a bar at both ends.
2) __/\___ this is used to quickly release then reapply the pedal
3) S.P. ............* This is notation for the sostenuto pedal--the middle pedal of a grand.
4) una corda * apply and release the una corda pedal--the leftmost pedal of a grand.
5) tre corda another direction to release the una corda pedal.
6) editorial pedal markings. These are dotted lines in a lighter font placed on top of a normal pedal marking. For example, 2 above would sometimes have a continuous solid line with a dotted gray /\ at the editorial pedal point.
Also, there are midi controls for at least some of these effects. It would be great if at least the damper pedal were interpreted by Musescore. Are there any plans for this?
Comments
Una corda and tre corda can be written out using staff text.
In reply to Una corda and tre corda can by David Bolton
That's true, It would probably be possible to write out the S.P. and use a line and star to complete the marking, but, would one be able to assign a MIDI action to these staff texts?
In reply to true by MDMilford
MuseScore does not interpret these as you already pointed out. I don't know if there is an official MIDI signal for these or not. Probably the una corda could be faked with a quieter dynamic (similar to upright pianos).
In reply to MuseScore does not interpret by David Bolton
Here is a website that explains it: http://jedi.ks.uiuc.edu/~johns/links/music/midispec.htm#Foot . This site explains all the available MIDI controllers. Most interesting for pianists would be:
1) the hold pedal, which is number 64
2) Sustenuto pedal, #66
3) Soft pedal, #67
Also interesting for slurs of wind and bowed string instruments is,
4) Legato pedal #68
This site also describes aftertouch messages that are needed for volume changes on a single note. The pitch wheel messages could be used to interpret accidentals such as half-flats, etc.
I think, if Musescore could support even just a few of these controllers, it would be a great leap forward.
In reply to There are signals by MDMilford
since the star for the release of the damper pedal and sostenuto pedal are the same symbol, but would be required to send different midi messages, I'd recommend attaching them in one symbol much like a volta line. That way pieces that do not use the sus pedal can still use the old "Ped *" notation, anchoring the beginning and end to different notes. The sostenuto pedal marking would be the same way, but placed below the damper marking. una and tre corda markings could be placed anywhere and very well could be staff texts, but they still have MIDI messages attached to them that could be useful.
so I guess, until these marks can be interpreted, it would be good to be able to have 1 and 2 above in museScore to make possible having normal, modern pedal markings. eg. |____/\__|
I also agree. I only recently downloaded MuseScore program, but I have already encountered this pedal problem. My biggest issue, however, is that you cannot continue the pedal to the next line. It indicates that you must release the pedal, then hold it down again. If you're going for a muddier sound, which I am, I need the pedal for the entire phrase, not just for a few measures. If the phrase continues on to the next line, due to space issue, then I cannot pedal as I first wanted.
In reply to I agree by xMusicx
Pedal lines can be continued to the next line just like other lines can be. I'm guessing you are trying to use the mouse to extend the line? That's not how it works. See Line in the Handbook - it's done via double click then shift-arrow. Otherwise, all you are doing is adjusting the line graphically but not changing its playback effect.
In reply to Pedal lines can be continued by Marc Sabatella
This works somewhat, but I found that the Shift-Arrow doesn't snap to every possible chord, but only to the ones in the staff that the Ped marking was attached to. This is a problem when there are multiple staves (like for a piano) and you want the pedal to start from some note in one staff and end at some note in another staff.
In reply to This works somewhat, but I by lwq
True. See #15513: Pedal markings under grand staff can only be attached to notes in staff attached to. You can always extend by full measures at a time, but note-by-note doesn't always work unless you place some dummy hidden notes on the bottom staff. Hopefully they'll find a way to address this for the next major release.