Note Input

• Dec 20, 2016 - 01:31

Recently, I have been writing this piece, and something weird happened with note input. When I input a note, the pitch does not play like it usually does. It will work occasionally but almost every note has this problem.

Somebody please help me out with this.


Comments

Also, please be more specific about the problem - what exactly are you doing, what are you expecting to happen, what happens instead. Be as precise as possible - step by step instructions are ideal. Then we can try to do the same thing and understand if the problem is with the score, the program, or how you are trying to do things.

In reply to by Pistol Pete

Again, in order to do more than guess, we would need you to attach your score and give precise steps to reproduce the problem. One possibility is, you might be trying to input a note that is outside the playable range for the instrument. It's also possible the dynamic marking in the place you are trying to enter notes is very quiet and your speakers aren't turned up loud enough. It's also possible the staff has been muted in the mixer. Without the score and steps to reproduce the problem, it's impossible to know what is going on.

In reply to by Pistol Pete

At the bottom of the field you're typing your reply in on this forum, there is an item called "File attachments". Click on it and it will expand, revealing a browser button to choose the file to be uploaded.
Select the particular score you're currently having difficulties with. Wait for the progress bar of the upload to finish.

In your post then state in which measure of that score you start and which notes you try to enter (ideally a keyboard/mouse sequence you've performed). This should allow us to try the exact same thing in hopes of reproducing and discovering what you're experiencing.

In reply to by Pistol Pete

And it normally does indeed; but you said it doesn't for you (not always). So again:
Which notes in which measures did you attempt?
For which instruments?

We really need exact steps; you have to help us help you!

EDIT: I've just attempted inserting a note in measures 2 or 3 for each instrument and each time there was playback as expected.
Do you make use of a custom soundfont?

In reply to by Pistol Pete

Again, please be *specific*. Which measure, which instrument, which note has a problem?

For example, I tried the following:

1) click measure 123, soprano sax staff
2) press "N" to enter note input mode
3) press "C" to enter a C

This works perfectly. The question is, can you give equally precise steps to show a problem? I can't find any way to make it fail.

As for soundfont, unless you deliberately removed the default soundfont FluidR3Mono, then you *are* using a soundfont. If you did deliberately remove this soundfont, then that is your problem right there - MuseScore won't produce sound without one.

In reply to by Pistol Pete

So you are saying when you repeat my steps above *exactly*, you don't hear anything?

First check View / Synthesizer to be sure you haven't removed the FluidR3Mono soundfont. Also make sure you haven't reduced the volume too far. Also check your speaker volume (in your operating system as well as any physical volume controls on the speakers or amplifier or whatever device you are listening through). Because the steps I described above work perfectly for me.

Also, tell us if you hear playback when you hit the space bar to play the whole score. If not, check your soundfont and volume settings again because really, it pretty much has to be that from what you are describing.

In reply to by Pistol Pete

In that case, there shouldn't be a reason you're not hearing playback upon entering notes.
So lets try the following:

  1. Open up the Synthesizer.
    Play back the score. You should now see the volume meter light up; correct?
  2. With the Synthview still open, click on an existing note in the score (not in note input mode).
    The volume meter briefly lights up: correct?
    Do you hear that note being played back?
    Note that if you click slower (mouse button down - hold - mouse button up) the note will sound slightly longer than if you perform a quick click.
  3. Click on the rest of the soprano sax in measure 123. Press C without going into note input mode first.
    The volume meter should once again light up and the note be played back; correct?
  4. Now that MuseScore entered note input mode for us, press 6F. This will enter a halve F into the start of m124.
    Again the meter should light up and the note be played back; correct?
  5. Now use the mouse and in the toolbar select the 128th note duration. Click on the middle line in m122 of the Bass Clarinet.
    I'm guessing this is the point where you don't hear playback. But if you look at the meter, you'll see it has lit up briefly.
    Now click to input the same note on the next beat again, but this time make it a slow click (mouse down, hold, mouse up). Now you'll likely do hear the playback, simply because the sample generated is longer.

Please perform this step-by-step plan and answer the questions on each step.
If you use mouse input and click briefly, then instruments with a slower attack range probably are quite hard to hear (but they are played back, cfr. the volume meter). The reason that both Marc and myself didn't notice this, is because we both mostly use the (computer) keyboard to enter notes. It is not only a way faster method of note entry once you get the hang of it, playback of the entered samples here is the same as if you'd perform a slow-click with the mouse.

In reply to by jeetee

1) Correct

2) Correct, Yes

3) Correct

4) Correct

5) Here's the problem. When I input the note, I don't hear playback, nor do I see the meter light up. Every 5th or 6th successive note I enter will sometimes work fine, but otherwise, you are right. This is where the problem is.

In reply to by Pistol Pete

So it sounds like you are saying playback works just fine when using the keyboard to enter notes, only sometimes it does not when using the mouse? Can you try each staff in turn - using measure 122 for each - and see if there are any where it works better for you than others? Also be sure to keep checking the meter and report if there are cases where it lights up but you cannot hear sound. Turn up the volume on your system louder than usual when doing this to be sure it isn't just a question of slow attack making short notes harder to hear.

Sounds like maybe your mouse is defective, but then it wouldn't be entering the note at all, so I don't know if that really makes sense. Is it a physical mouse or a touchpad? I'm wondering if it somehow has to do with the timing of the mouse down and up events. Another thing to test, then, would be using the piano keyboard window (see View menu) to enter notes and see if they sound that way. If you have a MIDI keyboard, that would be interesting to test as well.

For me, though, the meter lights fully and I have no problem hearing the note when following step 5 *precisely* as described.

In reply to by Pistol Pete

Please be *specific*. Which measure of which staff do we enter notes into, what notes do we enter, etc. I tried a few random notes in a few random measures and had no problems. In order to understand what might be going on to cause you to perceive a problem, we need to know *exactly* what notes you are trying to enter into what measure of what staff.

EDIT: my post crossed with the one above, sorry, didn't mean to repeat what was already said.

the pitch does not play like it usually does

Please then also mention how (if?) the pitch plays back now.

My slightly educated guess would be that this is now the first time you're writing for a transposing instrument. In that case the sounding and written pitch are different by the instruments transposition unless you turn the 'Concert Pitch' display mode on (https://musescore.org/en/handbook/concert-pitch)

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