| Author | Message | ||
     Hypno Snoopy (hypnosnoopy) |
This is such a great product I couldn't stop using it and bought it immediatly because I believe in your vision of how useful this particular product is, including the web integration and this bulletin board. I have a BUNCH of suggestions for you. Here's a few short ones. I'll post a longer one in a separate post. Practice session should be able to slow down the practice speed more. Why have a minimum practice speed? I'm still a rank beginner and need it slower!! Repeat immediately so you don't miss a beat. The repeat on my system takes a moment - I don't know if this is just my system or if its MidiNotate doing this. Allow repeat delay to be configured in terms of note durations or midi clocks. Its important to be able to quickly repeat a small segment while keeping a beat. List all keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls in one section of the help. Configurable key strokes. I'm trying to practice on my synth, and my computer keyboard is to my right or left. I don't want to have to turn to use two hands to make a parameter change (ie decrease tempo) in MidiNotate. Here's an idea for you - along with configurable key strokes, why not allow some synthesizer notes to trigger these parameter changes as well? I could just hit one of my two top notes to increase/decrease tempo. List all keyboard shortcuts in one section of help. HypnoSnoopy | ||
| Hypno Snoopy (hypnosnoopy) |
I love MidiNotate for practicing. There isn't a better method (ie software) for learning how to play than just being able to quickly take any song you want, see it in notation, be able to play it, slow it down, etc. MidiNotate only needs a few enhancements to practice sessions to make it the top product for learning to play. Summary: More dynamic control of practice speed and practice loop scope. This is a niche enhancement that I think is an ideal direction for MidiNotate. Think about the ideal way to learn a piece. You practice a phrase slowly until you learn it, bring it up to speed, then move on to the next phrase. You may encounter difficulty with part of phrase, in which case you want to slow down, focus on the microphrase, get it faster, and then expand back to the big phrase. Then move on to the next phrase, etc. So imagine that you can select two measures of a score so its "highlighted for practice". You press SPACE and it starts playing (see my other thread, I suggest configurable keystrokes). At this point, that phrase will just keep repeating, and you can alter the tempo with a simple UP or DOWN arrow. (Or even better, with one of the top two keys of your midi keyboard!) Ok now you're done with that phrase, so you press SPACE to stop playing and you move the "practice highlight" to the right using the RIGHT key. This moves the entire two measures of "highlighted for practice" to the right, perhaps one quarter note at a time. You now practice the new phrase. However, there is one spot that gives you trouble. Perhaps there are two beats with a complex rhythm. You press RIGHT to move the phrase to the start of the troublesome spot and you use CTRL-RIGHT and CTRL-LEFT to expand/contract the size of the selected area (from the right side of the phrase) so that only the troublesome spot is highlighted. Then press SPACE to have it play. You can also hit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 to instantly expand/contract the practice size to that many number of beats. Or hit caps-lock and hit 1 to 8 for that many number of measures. Of course, you can use the mouse to highlight any section to practice. You would probably have a "practice tool pointer" to make these selections. Again, I think this enhancement will capture the hearts and minds of many people like myself who want to learn to play. Thanks, HypnoSnoopy | ||
| Mark Walsen (markwa) |
Hello, HypnoSnoopy Thanks for all of the thought you put into proposing new features in the area of practicing. Below I am responding to each of your feature requests in your last two postings. ---- Request: Practice session should be able to slow down the practice speed more. Why have a minimum practice speed? I'm still a rank beginner and need it slower!! Response: I'll change this so that the practice tempo can be slowed down more, but not infinitely slow; otherwise the program would hang. ---- Request: Repeat immediately so you don't miss a beat. The repeat on my system takes a moment - I don't know if this is just my system or if its MidiNotate doing this. Response: There will have to be some pause, although it is typically just a fraction of a second. Theoretically I could reduce the pause to zero, but to do this I would have to spend more labor than is probably justified. ---- Request: Allow repeat delay to be configured in terms of note durations or midi clocks. Its important to be able to quickly repeat a small segment while keeping a beat. Response: Because I cannot avoid some pause between each practice session, it would be very difficult to achieve an accurate delay based on note durations. So, I cannot do this. ---- Request: List all keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls in one section of the help. Response: That's a good idea-- one I have already thought of and, in fact, have already completed for the documentation of the next version of MidiNotate. ---- Request: Configurable key strokes. I'm trying to practice on my synth, and my computer keyboard is to my right or left. I don't want to have to turn to use two hands to make a parameter change (ie decrease tempo) in MidiNotate. Here's an idea for you - along with configurable key strokes, why not allow some synthesizer notes to trigger these parameter changes as well? I could just hit one of my two top notes to increase/decrease tempo. Response: I do not plan to provide configurable QWERTY keystrokes in the near future. Overall, very few people take advantage of configurable keystrokes in the many products that offer them. Configurable keystrokes introduces complexity to the product and documentation, that for most people only makes the product less useful rather than more useful. Also, the upcoming Composer is introducing many new keystrokes, which should be compatible with MidiNotate's. Configurable keystrokes introduces the potential for compatibilty conflicts between these two products. However, the idea of keystrokes on the MIDI keyboard has some potential. I have jotted that one down on the "maybe" list. ---- Request: [Ability to] move the "practice highlight" to the right using the RIGHT key. This moves the entire two measures of "highlighted for practice" to the right, perhaps one quarter note at a time. You now practice the new phrase. However, there is one spot that gives you trouble. Perhaps there are two beats with a complex rhythm. You press RIGHT to move the phrase to the start of the troublesome spot and you use CTRL-RIGHT and CTRL-LEFT to expand/contract the size of the selected area (from the right side of the phrase) so that only the troublesome spot is highlighted. Then press SPACE to have it play. Response: I particularly like your idea above, and I have never contemplated it before. I've added this to MidiNotate's official wish list. ---- Request: use the mouse to highlight any section to practice. Response: I also like this idea, and have added this to the wish list. ---- HypnoSnoopy, You can now consider yourself a member of the MidiNotate product specification team! Thanks! -- Mark | ||
| Hypno Snoopy (hypnosnoopy) |
Thanks for the quick response Mark. I too am a software developer. When I was first starting out (in the days of Atari ST) I started writing a notation program myself. Never got very far with it, and am not really doing much development anymore. I’m into SCM for a large company in Florida. See comments below. >Response: Because I cannot avoid some pause between each >practice session, it would be very difficult to achieve an accurate >delay based on note durations. So, I cannot do this. You know, I haven’t used your product much yet, but I’m starting to be able to anticipate the lead-in time so this may not be such a big deal to me after all. Time and experience with your product will give me a better idea of what my true needs are. Perhaps it would be good to have a metronome for the practice sessions. >Response: I particularly like your idea above [regarding the “practice highlight”], >and I have never contemplated it before. I've added this to MidiNotate's official >wish list. Ok here’s some major scope creep. Probably not within your scope, but I’ll give it a shot. Instead of making the person highlight the practice area themselves and move it themselves, have it done automatically. Here’s an example: The person sets up parameters in the “practice session” as a target accuracy and speed. This is the target that they wish to achieve throughout the entire piece. The program automatically picks the right hand of the first phrase and the person plays along at a certain slow speed. If the person achieves the speed with enough accuracy, it increases the tempo. If not it decreases the tempo. After doing that for a while, it highlights the left hand. Gets that up to speed. Then on to the next phrase. Then both phrases together to insure the linkage is correct. Etc. The program has the ability to notice that a particular spot within a phrase is difficult. It shifts to that microphrase and gets that ok with left hand, then right hand, then both. Then back to the larger phrase. That is, of course, a major feature, requiring a lot of phrase recognition and accuracy analysis algorithms. But I don’t think this has been done yet? I haven’t looked at the other piano instruction software so I’m not sure. But its rare to find “new” software these days – definitely a way to carve out a niche! (Hey maybe if you don’t program this I will! Ha ha just joking I’m not in the programming mind-frame these days.) HypnoSnoopy | ||
| Mark Walsen (markwa) |
Hi, Hypno Snoopy A few years ago Cakewalk acquired a program named "InConcert". Its main feature is that it can observe what you are playing on the MIDI keyboard, and determine where you are in the score and what tempo you are playing. It plays the MIDI accompaniment according to the tempo you are playing. You can even stop playing and jump to another part of the song, and InConcert will figure out where you have resumed playing and will accompany you again. This InConcert program has the key technology that would be required to implement your idea of expanding MidiNotate as a practice tool. I don't think Cakewalk markets InConcert any more, and I don't know if any other company has picked up that product. If you, or someone else in this forum, knows about the status of the InConcert product, I would be interested in learning about it. I don't know whether InConcert has died or not, and if it has, whether it was because InConcert did not deliver on its promise of score-following, or whether there simply were not enough customers interested in this type of product. My own opinion is that I think the score-following feature of InConcert could be a lot of fun, as well as useful for practicing purposes. I just don't know how many potential customers also would think this is a great concept. Cheers -- Mark | ||
| Hypno Snoopy (hypnosnoopy) |
I found it. Its being marketed under the name Home Concert 2000 by http://www.timewarptech.com/ And by Yamaha: http://www.yamahamusicsoft.com/homeconcert2000/index.php It also comes with their $333,000 Disklavier. http://www.giles.com/yamaha1/pressreleases/Piano/pro2000.htm Interesting note... it seems to have been created by this guy: http://home.earthlink.net/~fweinstock/ A similar program is sold by http://www.circular-logic.com/ | ||
| Hypno Snoopy (hypnosnoopy) |
Woah dude! I hope you don't mind me posting this, but you have got to check out Home Concert. It has some great features for practicing. 1. Learn mode. It waits for you to play, and then moves to the next note/chord. That should be easy for you to program. 2. Controllable parameters via midi, like I mentioned before. 3. Sends blinking lights to Clavinova users (I have a clavinova). These are little LED's above each key. This is a no-brainer midi parameter. 4. Turns the page for you on the part of the screen you're not using, so you instantly have the next line of music ready for you so you can look ahead. These are my favorite features and well worth the $100 I just paid for it. It makes reading music like 10 times easier. Of course, I paid for your software too, which is why I'd like to support you with these ideas for improvements. HypnoSnoopy | ||
| Anonymous |
I realize the focus of this program, but if it were possible to include a feature to transcribe Guitar Tab, I think you would drastically increase sales. rj | ||
| Mark Walsen (markwa) |
Yes, transcription of MIDI to guitar tablature would be an appealing feature in MidiNotate for many guitarists. It is definitely a feature that is in the plans, but I have not yet scheduled its implementation. If anyone out there happens to be good software developer that understands guitar fingering very well (which implies competency at playing the guitar), I would be interested in talking with you about a contract for implementing this feature in MidiNotate. Send me at email at markwa@notation.com. Cheers -- Mark (the developer of MidiNotate) | ||
| Harry Barrow Unregistered Guest |
Thanks for a wonderful piece of software! I have close to zero musical ability, but I find that being able to follow the score increases my enjoyment of a piece. I downloaded the trial version of MidiNotate and found it so good, and the price so reasonable, that I bought the full version. I have a small request for a feature that I hope would be simple to implement. I would like to be able to select and play a sequence of midi files, so that I can play all the movements of a piece, or prelude and fugue, etc, which are often found as separate files. Best wishes Harry | ||
| Mark Walsen (markwa) Registered Forum User Username: markwa Post Number: 1544 Registered: 4-2002 |
Hello Harry, I'm pleased that you are finding MidiNotate enjoyable as you follow scores during playback. This is a joy that I hope that will be discovered by individuals with a wide range of music knowledge. At the end of a work day, I sometimes take 5 minutes to see and hear some music, and still find magic in the experience after having seen MidiNotate do this for years. Others have also requested the "play list" feature. That feature is definitely on the wishl ist. Have fun using MidiNotate! And thanks for purchasing it. Cheers -- Mark |
