Voltas: force playback of alternate endings
I have a simple score, 32 bars that repeat once with two distinct seven measure endings. For editing and review purposes, I would like to select the first beat of measure 32 and have MuseScore playback the second ending only. Have searched the manual and online but haven't yet found a way to force this.
Many thanks,
zzwerzy
OS: Windows 7, Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore version (32-bit): 2.2.1, revision: 51b8386
Comments
You should probably use 'Dal Segno'.
Could you attach here your score?
In reply to You should probably use 'Dal… by Shoichi
Thank you for your suggestion. I'll read up on that.
Score's not finished... but okay.
thanks again,
z
In reply to Well, it's not finished… by zzwerzy
If there is a way... I have not found it :(
First upgrade to at least 2.3.2, maybe also install 3.0.
Not because that would solve this particular problem, bit generally speaking...
Then play with the play count of the measure containing the end repeat barline and/or the play list of the volta(s)
If you select measure 32 of a 32 measure song, it's the last measure of the song, so there would be no repeat to take. If you mean measure 32 is the last measure before the voltas, then there is no way to force MuseScore to take the second ending without letting it playing the repeat first. I've often longed for the same feature.
Entering a feature request (suggestion in https://musescore.org/en/node/add/project_issue?pid=1236) wouldn't hurt anything. Someone might decide to implement it some day. @jeetee likes fixing repeat issues, perhaps he would be interested.
In reply to If you select measure 32 of… by mike320
Well, it is, see abve. It may not be easy and modifies the score, but is possible.
Also you can disable "Play Repeates" in the toolbar (that ":|" icon). That would still play the 1st volta, but then go to the 2nd volta right away, without repeating the measures between start repeat and 1st volta. And all tzhat without modifying the score
In reply to Well, it is, see abobe by Jojo-Schmitz
Modifying the score is an option I would prefer not to suggest or use, though I have done it myself in the past. Turning off play repeats to play volta 1 followed by volta 2 doesn't give you the continuity you want when you're trying to hear what it sounds like the second time. Allowing the user to indicate which time the start measure of a playback is being played would allow the user to hear the song from the point they want.
The play count should be based upon unrolling the score. So, if there is a single repeat inside of a D.S al Coda section, you could start playback on the third time and Playing repeats in the D.S. would be honored if applicable then it would play to the to coda and jump properly.
I'm not sure exactly how the unrolling for playback is done, so I'm not sure how difficult it would be to do this. I'm guessing it should keep track of how many times a measure is being played.
In reply to Modifying the score is an… by mike320
Thank you all for the suggestions and info. It seems the pragmatic workaround is to create a temp score containing the relevant measures, listen and adjust as required and paste any changes back to the working score.
About that upgrade...
Honestly, I'm a little gun-shy after the last go round - a jump from 2.0.2 to my current 2.2.1. Most of my work was noticeably affected by the change in default SoundFont. And the upgrade didn't just change the font, it scrubbed the old one too. Eventually I got it back and now I am leery of making changes. I'll warrant that all the participants in this discussion know more about upgrade questions and issues than I do. So may I ask: Under the circumstances (perfectly happy with program as is, hundreds of hours invested in my charts), what is your advice?
Again, thank you all for entertaining my question about Voltas!
z
In reply to Thank you all for the… by zzwerzy
a) soundfont in 2.2 and later is identical to 3.0. If you want a pre 2.2 soundfont in 3.0 you can have that too, in the same way as in 2.x
b) 3.0 installs in addition to 2.x, not replacing it. Both coexist peacefulley on the same machine
c) you should upgrade your current 2.2.1 to 2.3.2
In reply to a) soundfont in 2.2 and… by Jojo-Schmitz
But note that once you edit your score in 3.0, you cannot go back to 2.x. Safest route for now is to update to 2.3.2. 3.0 is great, but needs some time to stabilize. If you use any plug-ins, for instance, 3.0 is a no-go for now (they don't work yet).
You might want to load copies of some of your scores in 3.0, though, to see if you have any issues to report so they can get fixed sooner.
In reply to But note that once you edit… by mcx
@mcx, very good points.
In reply to But note that once you edit… by mcx
And if not or as long as not finding issues, using 2.3.2 and 3.0 in parallel
In reply to a) soundfont in 2.2 and… by Jojo-Schmitz
Good to know that about 3.0. Will give it a try, do some test conversions, and report as needed.
Will installing 2.3.2 over 2.2.1 overwrite soundfonts (other than MuseScore_General.sf3) currently contained in \Documents\MuseScore2\Soundfonts, like the 2.0.2 to 2.2.1 jump did?
Thanks, Jojo.
z
Other possible workarounds:
1. Start playback from the last beat of the 1st volta
2. Use the play panel to start playback at the correct time, probably around halfway
In reply to Other possible workarounds:… by jeetee
Thanks, jeetee.
Item 1 works, of course. Impractical for this purpose, however, as the user has to sit through 31 unwanted measures to get to the meat.
Suggestion 2. Ah, hope. Have tried to solve this problem with the play panel before, but hopefully gave your idea a try. What happens is: set the play clock to anywhere in the repeated section (second half of song), press play, the play clock immediately reverts to the first play-through (first half of song) and eventually plays the first ending! No joy, but thank you for the suggestion.
In reply to Thanks, jeetee. Item 1… by zzwerzy
What does work (though still impractical) is to press play and then (during playback) drag the playhead on the play panel to the correct position…
In reply to Thanks, jeetee. Item 1… by zzwerzy
If you can see the measure before volta 1 and the first measure of volta 2 at the same time, you can set playback to a point before volta 1, then click the first note in volta 2 when the time comes to jump past volta 1. Basically, if you click a spot during playback, playback will jump to that point.