Musescore does not see input from MIDI keyboard.

• Aug 27, 2022 - 09:42

I am trying to use Musescore with my Roland U-20 MIDI synthesizer. Unfortunately nothing happens. I have used this keyboard successfully with Finale on the same system (Windows XP desktop). I am sure that all the settings are correct in Musesore. What can I try next?


Comments

I cannot "dump" Windows XP. I have an old system because I need to have the use of a parallel port for other hardware. Anyway I cannot find anywhere where it says that Musescore is not compatible with this os.

In reply to by Hippo71

Check the download page. It clearly lists Windows 7 as the minimum
I believe it is the Qt version used, that changed bween 2.x and 3.x, and ISTR that Qt dropped XP support with the version we use for 3.x. (Qt 5.9)
Edit: see https://wiki.qt.io/Qt_5.9_Tools_and_Versions.
See also https://wiki.qt.io/Qt_5.4_Tools_and_Versions, seems even MuseScore 2's Qt 5.4 is not supported on XP.
Alsi https://forum.qt.io/topic/115540/qt-app-for-windows-xp/2 claims "the last version supporting WindowsXP is Qt 5.6, as far as I know.", so that may still work.
Certainly no testing of MuseXScore 3 on XP was ever done.
"Not supported" doesn't mean that it won't work, just that if anything goes wrong you're on your own.

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

Since my last message I have been able to successfully install MuseScore 1.1 on my desktop. There is still one problem and it also exists with version 3.6.2 on my laptop. That is that there is terrible keybounce on high notes. Strangely this is not the case with low notes. Is there something that I can adjust for that in the software?

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

We already discussed this in this thread. You suggested using QT ... which is even earlier. I didn't want to bother with makefiles because I don't understand how to do that. So I chose the earliest posible ready to use version for on my desktop which is running in Windows XP. But, as I said in my last message, the keybounce problem also exists in the lastest version of MuseScore in Windows 10 on my laptop so it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the version or the OS.

In reply to by Hippo71

No, I didn't suggest using QT, I mentioned the different Qt (lower case t) versions MuseScore uses and their compatibility with various Windows versions. MuseScore 1.3 uses the same version as 1.1 (Qt 4.8), but even MuseScore 2.x, using Qt 5.4, should be OK with Windows XP.

As far as Windows XP itself is OK, which IMHO it is not. Better use a more modern Windows version and use XP in a virtual machine for those legacy apps you're having.

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

As you can tell I am not extremely computer savy. I am user and not a computer scientist. I don't know what IMHO means. I could try and use a later version of MuseScore on my desktop but that would not solve the keybounce problem. I know that because, as I said in my last message, it also occures is the most recent version of MuseScore in Windows 10 on my laptop. I cannot use a more advanced version of Windows on my desktop as I pointed out in my first messages on this thread.

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

I was wondering about that. What you say is possible. I have been trying to repair my Roland U20 keyboard which I didn't mention because it didn't seem relevant. Several keys could not be pressed. It turned out that the weights inside those keys had come loose which blocked them. It was necessary to completely dissassemble the keyboard in order to repair that. When I reassembled it half the keys wouldn't produce any sound. I will have to make a second attempt. But it does seem odd that the key bounce only occures with high notes. I just tested the keyboard with Finale on my laptop. The keybounce happens there as well but less so. I am not sure what I can do about that.

While it's certainly possible you might be able to repair your U-20, and also get MuseScore 1.3 running well enough on your XP system, and you might also be lucky enough to avoid the viruses etc that XP exposes you to, it's definitely worth considering the possibility of simply replacing whatever other hardware you have that still requires a parallel port so you can run everything on a more modern computer. Or get a USB to parallel parallel port adapter like this one. Or find a way to connect your older device to the XP machine, but use MuseScore 3.6.2 with a more modern one.

FWIW, I used a U-20 and Windows XP back in the day - twenty years ago :-)

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

It is unfortunately not possible to replace the equipment which requires a parallel port. Otherwise I would have done that years ago. I have heard that adaptors like you suggest are not always capable of performing like you want them to. I am still hopeful of being able to repair my Roland. The problem seems to be in the ribbon cable which connects to the keys. I will have to completely dismantle it all over again so that I can access the connections which are under the keys. MuseScore version 1.1 does work with my keyboard with the exception of the key bounce. I think that the other gentleman is correct that the problem is with the keyboard and not the software. I have come to that conclusion because it does the same thing with other software.

In reply to by Hippo71

Indeed, sounds like it's almost certainly the keyboard. Still, MsueScore 1 is incredibly outdated and limited in pretty huge ways.

For only $10-$20, I'd recommend at least trying the USB adapter. After all, parallel ports were never designed to handle speeds even remotely close to what USB can do. Seems pretty hard to believe any device intended to work with only the speed offered by parallel port would be hampered in any way..

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

The device which uses the parallel connection has a specialized connector on the other end. It is not possible to use the kind of cable which you are talking about. I had to make the cable myself. It uses a special interface. They made a USB model but they are all sold out so I haven't been able to get one.

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