MOTUnation.com

Man-- we've got notation apps out the bazoo.

It's really wild to think of all of this technology being put out there to make your life easier-- and then to still find pencil and paper the user friendliest tools a composer can find---

--that is, of course, after the almight eraser!

Frodo wrote:It's really wild to think of all of this technology being put out there to make your life easier-- and then to still find pencil and paper the user friendliest tools a composer can find---

--that is, of course, after the almight eraser!

Isn't it true. Could our the composer's solution be as simple as a USB entry tablet with staff lines? I had a late-night-stupor-induced vision once of dragging a little inkwell around on the screen that had seperate chambers for 16th, 8th, quarter notes... Everytime I diped my stylus in the ink wells, the pen would draw the correct value note on the staff wherever I touched.

Hmmmm...

Frodo wrote:-- and then to still find pencil and paper the user friendliest tools a composer can find---

--that is, of course, after the almight eraser!

I do some work for a semi-retired composer who does a lot of work for TV and some films. He's 75 and just can't get past the notation software learning curve. So I transform his hen scratchings into readable scores. He's fast, reaaaaaaallly fast, and a good guy - but don't you DARE misplace his Pink Pearl!!

Phil

Phil O wrote:

hgmoses wrote:As for MIDI entry, I built myself a 'footpedal' with an old apple keyboard, some wood and some springs. Now I am able to enter 2-handed piano chords in Finale with step editing. It's a real time save for MIDI entry because I can play with the voicing before I commit.

Oh yeah, and I'd love to see that footpedal rig. Sounds great!

Phil

Phil - happy to e-mail you a couple of photos - where to?

Interesting off topic

For Sibelius and DP users :

Today I browsed the site http://www.musicprep.com/sibelius and quite by chance I came across the tip of the page that was being loaded (tip changes every time you reload the page) :

" Saving standard MIDI Files From Digital Performer :
When saving a sequence as a standard MIDI file (in order to import it into Sibelius), do not select "save track names as plain text" when the MIDI File Options window opens (just before you hit Save). If you do, most of the track names will not attach to the staff s a staff name but above the first bar as Technique text ; The rest will labeled "Piano". If you leave the "save track names as plain text" box unchecked, track names will become staff names, which, if need, can easily be edited. Richard Bronskill "

I am often amazed by the conversion of SMF in Quickscribe : very precise, the voices are regularly well retranscribed. I tested the translation of SMF in Logic, Cubase LE and the Finale 2007 demo : Quickscribe is the clear winner by far. The understanding of voices makes me believe that QS could do more.

"More than this" Brian Ferry

hgmoses wrote: Isn't it true. Could our the composer's solution be as simple as a USB entry tablet with staff lines? I had a late-night-stupor-induced vision once of dragging a little inkwell around on the screen that had seperate chambers for 16th, 8th, quarter notes... Everytime I diped my stylus in the ink wells, the pen would draw the correct value note on the staff wherever I touched.

Hmmmm...

There's a music notation "power toy" available for the Tablet PC. It's based on an open source program developed at Brown University. If it had MusicXML export added to it, it might make a good sketching tool for programs like Finale, Sibelius, and Notion that can read MusicXML files.

Similarly, it would be great if DP could read and write - especially write - MusicXML files for better interchange with notation programs.

Best regards,

Michael Good
Recordare LLC
www.recordare.com

Hmmmm...[/quote]
There's a music notation "power toy" available for the Tablet PC. It's based on an open source program developed at Brown University. If it had MusicXML export added to it, it might make a good sketching tool for programs like Finale, Sibelius, and Notion that can read MusicXML files.

Similarly, it would be great if DP could read and write - especially write - MusicXML files for better interchange with notation programs.

Best regards,

Michael Good
Recordare LLC
www.recordare.com[/quote]

Thanks for that information Michael. I found your company's site quite interesting as well... HG