Is a picture worth a hundred words?
One day perhaps we might think of a List of musical symbols like here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_symbols
and to each of them add the link to the handbook.
Just an idea (maybe old too).
Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.
Comments
I think this is a good idea. What I would like to see is the same page in every language with a list of translations like:
Measure (American English)
Bar (British English)
Measure (French)
Batutte (Italian)
Compás (Spanish)
Takt (German)
With only the language in parenthesis translated to the correct language. Not all of my translations may be correct.
The purpose of this would be for non English speakers to possibly find posts in the more vast English forums.
In reply to I think this is a good idea… by mike320
Ciao mike320. have I already given you my resources? ;-)
http://www.musictheory.org.uk/res-musical-terms/italian-musical-terms.p… (also German and French)
In reply to Ciao mike320. have I… by Shoichi
Thanks, this is really helpful! I barely know the German terms for things, but the people I can ask (the kantor of my choir, for example) use only the German terms, and I’m also trying to learn the English terms for MuseScore.
Having a table with multiple languages side-by-side could help.
In reply to Thanks, this is really… by mirabilos
@mirabilos, What is your native language?
Edit: I'm guessing German, but your name sounds Spanish.
In reply to @mirabilos, What is your… by mike320
How does Thorsten Glaser sound Spanish? :-)
In reply to How does Thorsten Glaser… by Jojo-Schmitz
mirabilos sounds Spanish. I didn't know his real name.
In reply to mirabilos sounds Spanish. I… by mike320
I thought so :-)
In reply to Ciao mike320. have I… by Shoichi
@Shoichi, I know your not an expert on Italian musical terms, but you could ask on the Italian forum for a term you are not familiar with. The table you linked to has terms most musicians of every language are familiar with. For example Crescendo is written either "Crescendo" or "cresc." in every language, even if they use a strange alphabet like Russian and Chinese. The table does not have translations for things like a half note (I think Italians say blanco) or most of the items on the original link you provided.
I would expect those who translate the manual to provide the proper musical terms for their languages on the English page and their own page. If I made the page, I would enter the English and Spanish and rely on others to translate into other languages.
Ideally we would be able to have a table similar to what you have linked to so we don't have to put a picture with a list of translations like in my example, but I don't know how to do that in the manual. This question is directed at anyone who knows the answer: How do you make a table with smaller fonts than the default so there can be a table with maybe 15-20 columns on the page.
In reply to @Shoichi, I know your not an… by mike320
Minim/Half note/Minima
My idea is simpler, to include in the handbook the images, a page like Wikipedia's (after all the glossary is already present), maybe precisely that if is allowed to use it, and add links to the various topics.
As in the handbook, a drop-down list may allow you to switch from one language to another.
Then the translators will be able to intervene as for the other resources
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossario_musicale_(A-H)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Musical_notation?uselang=it
In reply to My idea is simpler, to… by Shoichi
Sorry, but I think something did not get translated properly. I sounds like you want a dropdown menu included in the handbook. I don't think this is possible. If you want a dropdown to change the language for the online handbood, this already exists:
but I suspect you already know this.
The Italian Musical Glossary you have linked to does not exist in English. The Italian one is layout very well. The links within the descriptions are very convenient. The English version has too many entries so that it would not be useful for our purpose.
Perhaps we could set up the Glossary to look more like the Italian Glossary with pictures inserted and links to Wikipedia pages included? I would still like something that includes The English term on each page along with the translated name to make it easier for everyone to use the English forum.
In reply to I think this is a good idea… by mike320
Lilypond has such a glossary: http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.18/Documentation/music-glossary/index.html
(the site is down currently, probably temporary)
In reply to Lilypond has such a glossary… by [DELETED] 5
I will consult several glossaries to clarify a meaning and to assure symbols used by MuseScore are included.
I've been doing some testing and I think a Tutorial would be a good place for this. We can use the same table feature used in the handbook and make it as wide as needed to allow for as many languages as needed. A horizontal scroll bar will appear if needed to allow viewing translations not visible on the standard screen. I would suggest the first language be English (American), then French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish then other languages as people decide they need to be added.
What do you think?
It's a good idea, one I've considered a number of times in different forms. I also remember the old Finale "visual index" that was a crazy score demonstrating all the different features of the program, with a "link" to the section in the manual (actual, this was on paper at first, so not a real link). One drawback, though, is that really, for the majority of things you can show pictures of, the documentation isn't likely to be all that helpful - it just basically amounts to "here's where to find that in the palette, now double click it". The real trick is to find a similarly visual approach to actions, not just symbols.
In the "Quick Answers" I am developing for my website, I am experimenting with a related idea, trying to come up with graphics to represent concepts, by using a little more context:
https://masteringmusescore.com/go/quick-answers
In reply to It's a good idea, one I've… by Marc Sabatella
The main reason for this is to allow for people to learn what a symbol is, not necessarily how it is used in MuseScore. The polyglot feature is what I consider the most important, everything else will simply be a bonus. MuseScore has been a polyglot from as early as I have seen. This will help with people who want to learn, for example, what a baritone clef is. It will help with the many people who have accidentally entered a baritone clef when they actually wanted a bass clef. A link the the appropriate MuseScore palette would not be a bad idea.
The issue is the implementation of it. A handbook page improving the glossary would be very nice. A Tutorial page would be sufficient. We would then need to put a link in the glossary to it.
In reply to The main reason for this is… by mike320
Or, more simply, add images to the glossary where possible/necessary. It seems more feasible and requires less work (who?) ;-)
In reply to Or, more simply, add images… by Shoichi
I'm willing to take on the task. Since I don't program and it won't take forever to translate the manual to Spanish, I'll have time at some point. I would very much like to allow for the different languages to also have the English equivalent. I would also like a link to an explanation of the item in Wikipedia or somewhere online. I'm just trying to decide the best way to go about it.
About the link to the item online. A number of people are becoming interested in writing music because of programs like MuseScore. The handbook could become a tool to encourage and enable these people to learn more about music. It will never replace a proper education, but it could be very useful.
In reply to I'm willing to take on the… by mike320
Only for the repository of ideas...and if labels were links?
mission impossible?
In reply to Only for the repository of… by Shoichi
One of the things I've seem mentioned is the possibility of making it possible to press F1 when you see something like that and a help window will pop up for the item. The goal is to use the manual as the basis for the help. I hope an improved glossary would be able to be incorporated into this idea.
In reply to One of the things I've seem… by mike320
For the record it already works to press F1 on any element to get help on, but only once the element is already added to your score - it doesn't work when hovering over a palette cell. That's something that may be addressed as part of a GSoC project.
In reply to For the record it already… by Marc Sabatella
And F1 currently takes you to a handbook page. It doesn't open a dialog with info from the handbook.
I've been thinking about how to make this work with the current handbook. Perhaps an entry could be set up something like this:
Picture of item - *** English name (other name in GB), Definition. On a new line an icon with link to handbook and an icon with link to the internet/wikipedia.
*** = Used only in translations. This would be the translated name of the item. The handbook would have a < ! - - comment - - > explaining this which should be removed from all translations except the English.
Ideally the internet/wikipedia link would be changed to a translated page.
I wanted to make a mock definition, but I'm so artistically challenged I couldn't make the pictures the right sizes and line up like I'm explaining. I'm sure it's possible I just don't know how to do it. For example, you can usually take a picture of any size and then place it inline with a consistent size followed by text on the same line. If someone did one as an example, I could follow it and do the rest of the glossary.
In reply to I've been thinking about how… by mike320
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/glossary
and a rough example to copy/paste...
In reply to https://musescore.org/en… by Shoichi
I think I can use this as a starting point. I would be curious if it is possible to put a link on a picture so clicking on the picture will take you to either the MuseScore handbook page that explains how to use it, or an external page that will further clarify the uses of the item.