Musescore desperately needs "freeform" notes entry - example attached
Maybe Musescore can already do this, but considering the number of questions about this that I came across and lack of answers, while researching this issue, I tend to doubt it.
The issue is simply this: Musescore works in the form of a grid. The time signature determines the grid. You can only enter notes and rests where the grid allows it - e.g. four quarter notes within one measure. So far so good. On top of that, you don't get to decide where you want your clef placed - MuseScore figures it out for you. Same with many other things. This works great for a score that does not depart from expectations.
Problems arise when you are writing an improvisation for piano that spans both left and right-hand staff, and has no time signature, and goes through clef changes, and so on and so on. As the number of exceptions increases, the MuseScore's ability to deal with them decreases. I have spent about half a day today, trying various tricks but none can produce the result I need. I still hope that I simply don't know MuseScore well enough, but at the same time, entering notes in some "freestyle" fashion should be an easy option. It is akin to typing without using an automatic spell-checker. To try to recreate a freestyle note entry within a rigid and unforgiving grid-based system is an exercise in futility.
Please take a peek at the attached example and let me know what you think. Is it doable in MuseScore within a reasonable amount of time and with reasonable effort?
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| PIanoSoloMuseScoreExample.jpg | 169.17 KB |
Comments
Probably doable (I do not intend to prove that every nuance of your piece is doable but I suspect that I would find a way to do it), but you have to enter notes in the way that MuseScore is set up for and is capable of and you will keep running into problems that you need to solve or find a workaround for. Start by setting the measure as long as you need it or set it longer and then reduce the duration once the notes have been entered. Cross-staff notation and clef positioning is trickier but still doable. Getting playback exactly the way you want it requires more effort.
How un-rigid do you want the program to be? Do you want to position the notes yourself rather than have them snap to the lines and spaces. place the accidentals exactly where you want them, move every single element left or right if you have to make an adjustment? As indicated, you can make the measure as long as you need and you can also turn off auto-placement for many elements via the Properties tab.
In reply to Doable but you have to enter… by underquark
Thank you for your reply. I think that right now the most important things are: arbitrary positioning of the clef, an arbitrary connection of notes (eights, sixteenths, etc) between the left and right hand (which is allowed now, but limited as it disallows other things), and above all, the ability to place a note wherever I want to.
Compare that to Photoshop or other similar programs where you can turn on "snap to grid" and while it helps, it also limits you and everyone has felt that frustration with an object is simply refusing to be positioned where you need it. In Photoshop, you turn "snap" off, and you are on your merry way. Not so in MuseScore.
For instance, I want to be able to have a run of notes go through both staffs, like an ascending arpeggio that is played by one hand at a time, interchangeably (left, right, left, right, and so on until the top end of the keyboard), but also be able to insert perhaps a bass note that the left hand would play here or there while the right is busy with the arpeggio. How would MuseScore know where I want that odd note? There is no way. It could only work if the notes could be entered and positioned arbitrarily, with no respect for time signature or how many notes are in each measure or staff and so on. Such a run that has no respect for time signature or length of a measure is not uncommon.
In reality, all that is needed is for the underlying code to allow for this. Perhaps the side effect will be limitations with playback (I Imagine the current setup makes playback easier), but even that can be solved - the playback can simply read notes, left to right, and figure out when to strike that odd note based on what is above or below it.
ps. I couldn't open your file as I am in version 3. I will now download V.4 and try to open it.
In reply to Doable but you have to enter… by underquark
Just installed V.4.2.0 and saw your attachment. Could you insert the bass clef just before that last note in the left-hand staff? And could you move/nudge that last note to the right so it lines up with the C quarter note that the right hand is playing?
Also, did you have to use cheats to achieve this? Any tips would be appreciated.
Thank you
In reply to Just installed V.4.2.0 and… by piano-keys
"One man's cheat is another man's mod", to use a gamer phrase.
Personally, I would try to avoid treating the two staves as rigid indicators for left and right hand but, instead, use LH and RH to indicate this and avoid a lot of clef changes, cross-staff notation and trying to link beams on different staves. I also would consider not using a Key Signature and suspending the accidental-carries-over-to-next-same-note-in-this-measure, but placing accidentals on every note that needs them. I just dabble in music creation, though; I'm not saying there is a right and wrong way to do it.
In reply to Just installed V.4.2.0 and… by piano-keys
Should software who's sole purpose is to adhere to the rules of notation, be able to flip a switch and ignore them. Maybe, maybe not. Not being a programmer, I can't imagine how easy that might be. I would suspect that it isn't easy.
The answer is "no" to both of your questions as worded. Possible? Yes. But there can be so many "cheats" involved as to make me wonder if it is worth it.