Rules to delete rests
Delete function is a basic feature of any editor software. In MuseScore many objects can be modified by pressing a ‘Del’ key – from wiping notes and bars to slurs and key signatures. However rest deleting remains unavailable. As was said on a forum there deleting rests have no musical sense, but to correct a score it may be useful, at least when somebody is trying to delete a rest, he expects some result. I propose few simple rules to delete them correctly.
Let follow the logic of other features of MuseScore. If in a group of two notes one enters a point of value, the second (following) note becomes a half value. If the point is deleted, a rest of half value appears. So, if a (or multiples) rest(s) is(are) selected it(they) should be deleted in the following way:
1. If there is a note following the selected rest(s) in the bar, it stretches (back) replacing the rest(s) and changing the value.
2. If there is no notes following the selected rest(s) in the same bar, previous notes stretches (forward) replacing the rest(s) and changing the value.
Why I insist to stretch imperatively only the following note? Due to the logic of MuseScore: to stretch a previous note his value can be modified in one click (numbers 1-9), that is not so easy for following one.
The attached fragment illustrates how easy first 4 bars could be corrected to obtain last 4. This function should not affect any others.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| test_.mscz | 4.15 KB |
Comments
I do appreciate the desire for something like ths, but I would suggest we think carefully about the situations where we would want to change the current behavior. For example, if you select a range of two quarter rests, the current behavior - replacing them with a single half rest - is extremely useful and probably more likely what the user wants than anything involving moving other notes. Also, a range contains mixed notes and rests probably shouldn't do anything different than it currently does. Maybe the proposed new behavior should only be for a single select rest as opposed to a range, but then, it might also be useful for a note. So maybe this new propsoed behavior should be activated only via Ctrl+Delete - analogous to the different betwene Delete and Ctrl+Delete with a range selection.
I agree with your proposal. It should be fine to replace a single rest by 'Del' key pressing. For selected group a 'Ctrl+Del' combination can be used (rarely demanding). Also, as you know, rests value currently can be modified in one step by changing value of the first rest in the row (numbers 1-9), that is another way to group all in one.
I have some ideas how to enhance rests input feature (in another situations) that I'll post in few moments in new issue.