MIDI Keyboard not advancing from note to note
Hello!
I've just connected a midi keyboard to my computer for note input (very old beast - Hohner PSK60). When inputting notes, it won't proceed to the next note/beat when I press another key, but will just sit there adding more notes to the same beat, basically creating a great big cluster chord on one beat.
In real-time (automatic) the metronome doesn't sound and after pressing a note on the keyboard, it sounds indefinitely, adding more notes if pressed. The only thing which stops the indefinitely sounding note is quitting Musescore and re-opening (turning keyboard on and off doesn't make a difference).
Has anyone come across something like this before and would know how to go about fixing it?
Thank you in advance for your time.
Comments
Generally this means your keyboard is sending note-on messages but no corresponding note-off when you release the key. MuseScore needs these to know when it's time to move to the next note.
In reply to Generally this means your… by Marc Sabatella
Midi keyboards that don't send Note Off commands send a corresponding "Note On, velocity 0" to represent note off. This has been part of the original Midi standard definition since the year dot. Why not fix the midi interpreter to recognise Note On vel 0 as Note Off, like it should be and make the problem go away.
In reply to Midi keyboards that don't… by BarrieB
As far as I know, MuseScore does understand both forms. But, some older or consumer-grade keyboards send neither, apparently.
In reply to As far as I know, MuseScore… by Marc Sabatella
I find it hard to believe that there will be many (any) midi keyboards, that send Note On information, that do not use one of those two valid note off events. Such a keyboard would be completely and utterly useless. If the vel 0 method is in use and Musescore is processing it correctly, then another possibility occurs. When the vel 0 method is used by a keyboard, there is the possibility that they are also using the midi "Running Status" feature where midi status bytes can be omitted from the data stream. Does Musescore correctly recognise and handle "Running Status" data when such a data stream is received at midi in?
In reply to I find it hard to believe… by BarrieB
I have just been having a route round in the developer section on Github, and I see that you have been in deep discussion with messrs. psmkotnin and dmitrio95 on this very topic
I would venture to suggest that there is most likely something not quite right in the implementation somewhere... Furthermore the suggestion that the recognition of the vel 0 note off should be disabled due to anything concerning Midi 2 is a very bad idea. As I understand it, Midi 2 is a negotiated protocol, and if the negotiation fails, then everything should fall back to the midi 1 standard. You should'nt make Musescore so that it will only work with Midi 2.
In reply to I find it hard to believe… by BarrieB
Indeed, there's are probably not many. But clearly there are some, this has been verified. I have no insight into the specific one discussed here.
It may or may not also be the case that there are conditions under which MuseScore does not properly recognize the note-off or note-on-0-velocity messages for some reason - maybe something having to do with timing, or something else, like perhaps something to do with running status. If you can come up with specific conditions and precise steps to reproduce a problem, we can investigate further.
I don't think anyone has ever proposed MuseScore would only work with MIDI 2 for input - far too many existing keyboards out there.
Thank you to both for your time in responding. Do I gather from your replies that this is an issue which needs further investigating from Musescore's side, and on my end I will just have to look for a new keyboard?
In reply to Thank you to both for your… by Sorouthorn
If I were you, I wouldn't give up on the keyboard just yet. What you need to do is establish whether or not you can get your keyboard to function correctly with any other (free) midi software. There are a number of free midi sequencers that you could try. Trouble is that on the whole midi sequencer programmes can be somewhat involved to set up. Three that you could try are:
Sekaiju (most complcated)
Anvil Studio (simpler)
Red Dot Forever (dead simple)
The first two are quite complicated full featured sequencers. "Red Dot Forever" is REALLY REALLY simple. You get little more than video recorder style controls RECORD/STOP/PLAY/SAVE (You can't even actually reload the saved midi file to play it again. But you can play the saved file with media player, Musescore, or any other midi player) . The only setup required in RED DOT is to select your Midi IN/OUT interface.
If you were to load a midi file recorded with any other midi sequencer into Musescore, don't expect it to look like a sensible score, because you won't have made the recording with a suitably synchronised metronome, but the midi file should still play correctly.
If you can get your keyboard to work with one midi sequencer, then it should be able to work with any of them, including Musescore.
If at first you still can't get it to work with some other sequencer programme, it is still not time to give up just yet. Midi keyboards can often be configured to function in a number of different modes. Sometimes the different modes can be chosen depending on the position of physical switches on the keyboard, sometimes configured by settings in a menu system. So if you are not getting anywhere making it work with any other programme, it would be time to consult the manual for the keyboard, and have a look to see if you can find any settings that could be changed that might affect functionality.
If you can get it to work with some other software, I am sure that would be of interest to Marc.
Hope these suggestions will help you get further forward.
In reply to Thank you to both for your… by Sorouthorn
Could be there is a setting on the keyboard that controls whether or not it send note off messages, so perusing the manual could help. If not, a new MIDI keyboard can be had for $50, less for used. But FWIW, I don't find MIDI to be a more efficient way of entering notes anyhow.
In reply to Could be there is a setting… by Marc Sabatella
"I don't find MIDI to be a more efficient way of entering notes anyhow."
That may be so, and I think I didn't hear you say that for the first time. But there is no reason to advise others against MIDI who have not trained for years to find the right key for a note on a computer keyboard, but who may have been able to effortlessly hit the right note on the piano for decades.
(unfortunately had to try google-translate to answer in english)
Sincere thanks to you both. I'll do some digging and if I come up with anything worthwhile I'll let you know.
Would like to add a note that I am having the exact same problem. I hadn't used Musescore in awhile and had updated the software to the latest version. I began creating a simple guitar score and immediately had problem as described above. I'll attach a partial screen capture to show what this looks like. I use a simple USB Midi keyboard that's not give me any trouble in the past (XKey by CME).
In reply to Would like to add a note… by HalInVic
I'm having this issue as well. My keyboard works fine with Sibelius and Logic Pro.
When I play a middle C, the following midi data is transmitted
90 3C 36
90 3C 00
90 3C 00 is the note off communication.
I used Pocket MIDI for osX to monitor the midi data transmitted.