| Author | Message | ||
     John Perry (jperry01) Registered Forum User Username: jperry01 Post Number: 6 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hi Mark, We have been using this excellent program since the first version and have updated when they come out. We use it as a 'Duo Act' with professional purchased midi files as backing from a laptop, of which we edit with Musician to suit our needs. The problem is, many midi files come without any count in beats, so making it very hard to come in on time when the play button is hit. Could you add a feature to allow a 1-2 1-2-3-4 to be added to the start of the midi file. I'm sure there are many others who use Midinotate Musician as a professional midi file program for their backing tracks. Many thanks. John Perry | ||
| David Jacklin (dj) Senior Forum User Username: dj Post Number: 560 Registered: 4-2003 |
Hi, John: You may already have that inherent in the Practice feature. Check the Perform menu/Practice setup dialogue box and see if the count-in feature there will do what you want. Good luck, David | ||
| Herbert WENDE (herbert) Senior Forum User Username: herbert Post Number: 112 Registered: 3-2006 |
Hi John, I don’t know the limitations of Musician, but with Composer it is easy to solve your problem. I could not live without Composer. If my suggestions do not work with Musician, perhaps you should consider getting Composer or any other fully functioning music editor. All you need to do is to add two bars of percussion, say Wood Block, to produce your 1-2 1-2-3-4. I do backing tracks for some vocalists. They would kill me if I would not provide tempo and cue where it is needed. I completely avoid the 1-2 1-2-3-4 cue. Depending on your style of music, a low key drum intro of two bars can be effective, such as working the snare drum with brushes. Just repeating the first two bars of the accompaniment often works well. The sky is the limit when you are composing an intro. A good deal of what I work on is classical music, where you really can not have a 1-2 1-2-3-4 cue. The additional problem is that classically trained vocalists often have a total dislike for a regular beat. They often treat the timing; the band must keep, like a rubber band, going all over the place in time. Here one frequently needs to re-cue, after some note is held very dramatically over an extended time. Best wishes, Herbert | ||
| Sherry Crann (sherry) Product Designer Username: sherry Post Number: 1638 Registered: 1-2004 |
Howdy guys, Our apologies here - there should indeed be a "Perform/Pickup beats" option in Musician to allow you to include pickup beats at the beginning of playback of a file, but it is missing at the moment. Mark now has it on his "to do" list to reinstate the feature in the next maintenance release. While you can't add measures with Musician, you can set how the pickup beats sound, by using "Perform > Metronome > setup". ttfn, Sherry | ||
| Herbert WENDE (herbert) Senior Forum User Username: herbert Post Number: 113 Registered: 3-2006 |
Hi Sherry, Mark, John, David, ... More about cueing. I use a DJ style twin CD player to play my backing tracks, and cues must be audible. In contrast to this, John and some other users are looking at a computer monitor while the song is performed. In these situations, visual cues can be provided without sound. Composer could be used for visual cueing only, as is. A better system would be if Mark would implement a visual cueing system, mimicking a conductor’s functionality. I am not suggesting that we should get Mickey Mouse dressed up as a conductor, waving his hands. The essence of a conductor’s signaling is, that musicians can observe the actual accurate time of the start of an event, but can also gauge the time of leading up to the precise moment of where sync needs to take place. This differs from the current cursor action of Composer, indicating the current position in the score. No doubt, Mark could come up with a highly visual symbolic method to replace the conductor and perhaps have a visual conductors track as a choice. Best wishes, Herbert | ||
| Mark Walsen (markwa) Notation Software Developer Username: markwa Post Number: 3544 Registered: 7-2003 |
Hello Herbert, This idea is very interesting. Oh, maybe so. But I love it when Notation customers give me the ideas. What ideas do you have for this visual conductor's cue? Cheers -- Mark | ||
| John Perry (jperry01) Registered Forum User Username: jperry01 Post Number: 7 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hi everyone Mark, Sherry, David and Herbert. Thanks for your info, but I should have given more information how we use a midi backing track live. Although we can, and occasionally do use Midi Notate Musician on a laptop live, to visually follow the chords when playing an unpractised song. Mainly though it's used during rehearsals, and for editing professionally made midi backing tracks (of which we have to buy often) But it's not much use to the other guy/guys on the other side of the stage. Plus, try holding a plectrum and a mouse with one hand and keeping the headstock of a Strat from smashing into your laptop screen whilst trying to hit play during a show. So we edit the midi file with Midi Notate Musician..Change key, Delete tracks etc, then the midi files are loaded into a professional midi file player, which goes into the P.A. mixing consol. A couple of foot switches are used, one the start/stop the track and the other to select the next one. This is why it's so important to have a decent sounding audio count in, so everyone knows when to come in. Unfortunately many of these midi files lack a count in, so the ability to add one would be a most welcome and needed addition. The extra cost for Composer is too much for just that feature, where Musician suits our needs pretty well. Thanks, John Perry | ||
| Mark Walsen (markwa) Notation Software Developer Username: markwa Post Number: 3548 Registered: 7-2003 |
Hello John, I'll definitely consider adding a feature in Musician to permanently edit a count-in at the beginning of a MIDI file that can be resaved. Perhaps the feature would be divided into these two separate options: (1) Similar to the Metronome Setup dialog box (Ctrl+Click the metronome button to see it), you would be able to specify the drum sounds and velocity for one or more count-down measures. This option would be extended to support the 1-2-1234 sort of count-down. (2) The File Save As / Type = MIDI command, will inclue an extra checkmark option to save the count-in measures. Would the above satisfy you needs for preparing MIDI files for live performances? Cheers -- Mark | ||
| John Perry (jperry01) Registered Forum User Username: jperry01 Post Number: 8 Registered: 12-2004 |
Yes, that would work very well Mark, and solve a major problem working with midi backing tracks live. Having the option of selecting drum sticks, snare side or high hat would suit most performers who are used to hearing those intro sounds. Also very handy is the option to vary the volume of the intro, the professional files are sometimes so quite you can't always catch them. As not all songs are in the 4-4 time of course, could it take it's timing from the midi file, or a choice of preset's? Thanks Mark Regards John. PS If it's any help Mark, I can send you a few examples of the midi files we use, with and without an intro, just email me. | ||
| Herbert WENDE (herbert) Senior Forum User Username: herbert Post Number: 119 Registered: 3-2006 |
Hi Mark, I do not have a complete picture of the software implementation of a “Notation Maestro”, but just a few ideas. For sum of the functionality, Composer needs to work in real time. Tempo should be set by a slide control. A mixer for adjusting velocities and volume would be useful. Uses: Where ever backing tracks and live performances are mixed, including rehearsals over a network, where the busy soloist is out of town, and generally where musicians are in several places. This will become accepted practice: Musicians will eventually read music more and more of video displays, rather than of print. Large size displays are used for displaying the music to a whole section of an orchestra. Conductors will operate networks. Conductors may have their hand movements translated by suitable motion sensors or use controls to control midi tracks and may also record to midi. Notation Maestro will require space on the computer screen. Space is always limited. Perhaps a multi display system should be considered. The second video display could even be one of those small displays, used for automotive purposes, if the equipment needs to be kept low in space and cost. I would like to be able to have and push of to a second video display, a mixer that could be used in real time. Programmable foot switch facilities would come into good use. Here is one description of Maestro for use with a single video display and for playback of a .not file: Maestro would need to display bars, beats, groupings of beats, dynamics and further instruction to the character of the music. Perhaps at the bottom of the screen we have a window, quite low in height, and about the width of a third of the screen. A vertical line in the middle of this window indicates “now”, zero time. The window displays symbolically several bars, limited by vertical lines. Further vertical lines, of lesser prominence, indicate beats. Groups of beats are indicated by different colors, filling the spaces between beat lines to the right. The choice of colors may be in its natural sequence, from red to orange, yellow, green blue, etc., as for instance used in the color coding sequence of electronic components. The colored squares should fade to grey or white, at the left and at the right end of the window. While the music is played, the content of the window moves in sync with beat lines, from right to left, past the stationary time zero line. With changes in tempo, the width between the vertical lines changes proportionally. A slower tempo is reflected by a wider spacing of bar and beat lines, resulting in a constant velocity of the moving window content. Dynamics of the music is indicated by the content of the window shrinking or expanding vertically, giving a hair pin effect. Tempo and dynamics are also indicated by numbers and text. When the music is not played back, the content of the window reflects the current values in the score. Best wishes, Herbert |
