second voice playback crash

• Feb 27, 2010 - 22:42

Just had first "serious" crash while editing a student's assignment.

Ver. 0.9.5 (which is what my students are using), Windows XP, SP3

Originally on track, Harp sound with single voices in Treble and Bass clef.

I added a second Harp part, wrote out new version of student's original Treble Clef part. No problems. Then added a second voice part in that Treble clef. On playback, when timing hit 2nd beat in the first measure the program crashed. I restarted, entered notes again. Playback was fine if nothing added in second voice beyond the first beat.

I've just tried the debug version with r2756 (the last nightly build that works on my computer) and was able to add more material in the second voice beyond the second beat and not have crash, but audio is scratchy beginning on that second beat. I couldn't get the debug mscore.exe to work in the Bin folder of ver. 0.9.5.

This just seems bizarre to me. I couldn't find anything in the forum discussing something like this, though maybe I'm just not searching with the right tags.


Comments

Could you share a copy of the file for others to experiment with? If necessary you can share just an excerpt of the original file that still demonstrates the crash.

In reply to by David Bolton

I'll send the file, but I've discovered in tinkering around with it that it's stranger even then a second voice crash. I tried separating out the part I was adding into a 3rd harp part, keeping all the notes in the first voice on two of the treble staves and had the same crash. Without trying to explain all the tinkering, what I seem to have come across is that the crash happens because of an 8th note rest after two 16ths on the first beat.

I'll upload the original (don't laugh - this is a very beginning student work), a version of my addition without the eighth note rest (which plays without crashing), then the version with the rest that does crash. You'll see that in the second case, I repeated the 16th note activity in later measures and was able to include the rests. I eliminated the 3rd and 4th 16th in in reverse order. Everything played fine until I introduced the rests on the second half of the very first beat in measure 1. If you play this starting on beat 2, it plays out ok. I also tried starting from that first 8th note rest and it played. And finally, from the second 16th - still ok. Only when starting from very beginning does it crash when it hits the 2nd beat.

The original top Harp part in examples 2 and 3 should be muted. I'm only concerned with what happens in the treble clef part of the 2nd Harp.

Attachment Size
1-original.mscz 1.77 KB
2-working.mscz 2.3 KB
3-crash.mscz 2.34 KB

In reply to by xavierjazz

The student is probably 18. This is an introductory theory/composition class that fulfills a liberal arts general education requirement so most of the students have never had any training in music before.

Here's the specific assignment:

Compose a single melodic phrase ("shortest passage of music which, having reached a point of relative repose, has expressed a more or less complete musical idea") which expresses, for you, either levity or sadness. Use no accidentals - if levity, make it "settled" on C; if sorrow, make it "settled" on A. A phrase is usually not more than 2-4 measures. Follow this with a second contrasting but related phrase. Repeat the first phrase to comprise an ABA song form. Use mostly conjunct intervals (2nds) with no interval greater than a 5th .

Did you try that third file, the one that crashes on my computer?

In reply to by David Bolton

In toying with this problem, it seems that it occurs on adding a second instrument which happens to have a rest in the 2nd 8th note position.

Here are three very short examples containing only one measure of music each.
1. one insturment - plays back ok
2. two instruments - 2nd instrument has same figure as first, but with 4 16ths on first beat - plays back ok
3. two instruments - 2nd instrument has exactly same figuration of 16ths as first with 8th rest in 3rd and 4th 16ths position of first beat - crashes on my computer

And then after some more refinement, 5 more files showing small changes in the 1st and 2nd beats of the second instrument. Here the last one crashes when having two 16th notes and one 8th rest on the second beat.

This just doesn't make any sense to me at all.

You're right that it is bizarre. The only work-around I could find was to add a blank measure at the beginning (see attached). If you delete the blank measure then it goes back to crashing a lot.

It doesn't crash for me when I use the latest nightly build so I guess the problem got fixed along the way.

(Update: Your "8-two instruments crash.mscz" file also stops crashing if you insert a measure before the first.)

Attachment Size
2-working modified.mscz 2.26 KB

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.