Import / load midi not loading 32nd notes

• Oct 19, 2021 - 13:18

Hello,

When I loaded a midi file that has 32nd notes, the score shows them at 8th notes. I tried the Edit>Preferences>Midi to "shortest note: 32nd" and reloaded the midi file but with the same result. I also tried 64th as the shortest note and still no luck. Any tips?


Comments

Normally this should work fine, and in fact it's more common to have the opposite issue - notes you intended to play as eighths that were "off" by just enough that they still register as shorter values. Anyhow, impossible to guess what might be going on without seeing the MIDI file in question. if you attach it to a comment here, we can understand and assist better.

In reply to by VGF666

The sound like staccato eighths to me in the original - are you are they were meant to be thirty-second notes, thus taking up a total of only a half beat between the four of them instead of two beats as shown? Or maybe you mean, you want them notated as 32nd notes but with rests in between so they still are still half a beat apart and thus take up two beats between them? That would not be the recommended / standard way to notate this type of passage - staccato eighths are much clearer to read. But if you do wish to show the 32nd notes and rests for whatever reason - perhaps as prelude to adding more notes in the gaps? - uncheck "Simplify durations" in the import window, then Apply.

In reply to by VGF666

To be clear: if you want the 32nd notation, uncheck (meaning, turn off) the simplify durations option. But only do that if the goal is to add more notes in those rests, because otherwise, it's unnecessarily hard to read. Realistically, a pianist is not going to play it any different whether you notate it as staccato eighths, or as sixteen notes alternating with sixteenths rests, or thirty-second notes with lots more rests. But they'll be shooting you dirty. So that's why you should stick with the easiest to read.

And yes, notate the staccato - but in your example, MuseScore did that for you already (that's what the dots represent).

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Can I ask you a separate question? You obviously know a lot about music and the reality of performance vs composition vs scores. My question concerns the text that is sometimes included at the beginning of a score, for the conductor or whatever. Is there a standard way that the vocalization in choral pieces is done, when there are no lyrics involved? Is there a word for that? Is it okay to mention, or a standard way to say, that the singing can be just "la la la" or whatever, open to the interpretation of the conductor?

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Thanks! OK how about this one. As far as I can tell, the timing of these two are the same, with different ways to notate the same thing. If so, question: Which one is more standard, or in other words, which one would be easier and better for the performer/conductor to handle?
Screenshot 2021-10-22 151020.png

In reply to by VGF666

The second by a mile. This should happen automatically when importing MIDI, but if further edits result in problems like the first, the command Tools / Regroup rhythms fixes it.

I also recommend studying up about how music notation works - not just how to read the notes, but the rules of how/why it’s written the way it is.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Thank you! I didn't know about the Tools / Regroup rhythms option. The first example is what Musescore gave me, it's good to know I have a way to potentially regroup them automatically.
Also thx for your advice re learning more about music notation. Can you suggest a resource?

In reply to by VGF666

MuseScore gave you the first on MIDI important? That shouldn't happen; can you attach the MIDi file that produced that error?

If you mean, that's what it gave you if you enter it explicitly, well, yes, MuseScore does display exactly what you ask it to, so if you ask it to display something incorrect, it will do that. But it shouldn't have created that by default on MIDI import.

And no, I don't have any specific recommendation for books / courses on notation fundamentals. It's covered a little in my Basic Music Theory course, but that's really more about teaching music, with notation rules covered only here and there as needed (see https://school.masteringmusescore.com/p/basic-theory)

In reply to by VGF666

The first version follows standard notation practice.

The second version would cause much headscratching and mumbling about "who wrote that and why?" It might get played correctly, eventually but there is little hope of anyone doing so without a lengthy preliminary analysis of how the notes fit with the beats. The first version makes that obvious.

In reply to by VGF666

As I said before, the version with the ties is absolutely correct, you had said MuseScore gave you the unreadable mess with the double dots and not a single beat in clearly sight. That's why I was confused - MuseScore wouldn't not normally make that msitake.

Stick with the default, it's correct and infinitely easier to read because you can easily see all four beats.

Hello,
in the MIDI-Import Settings, you can to uncheck "Simplify durations". Unfortunatly, other durations (2nd chord) are affected with this too.
32thMIDI_Import.png

VGF666... You wrote (in your various posts):
As far as I can tell, the timing of these two are the same, with different ways to notate the same thing. If so, question: Which one is more standard...?
and:
I would definitely want to follow standard notation practice.
and:
Can you suggest a resource?

See:
https://musescore.com/marcsabatella/rhythmic-patterns
for the 8 basic recognizable patterns
and:
https://musescore.com/marcsabatella/notation-rules-rhythm
for the importance of ties

In reply to by Jm6stringer

Thanks for the plug :-). Those are handouts from the online course I mentioned. I make the handouts available for free, but the course itself is quite inexpensive and goes into much more detail (video, etc). Still, as I said, the course is more about theory, only touching on notation rules here and there, so you'll learn more about notation rules from other sources. Still, the info on these handouts is useful and relevant here.

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