Re: [Denemo-devel] Denemo-feedback

[David Kastrup]

Richard Shann <address@hidden> writes:

Some more feedback:

I just tried working with MIDI entry, and the workflow does not cut it
for me.

For one thing, entering the rhythm first is a really bad idea.  I mean,
like REALLY bad.

Why?  Because it means that the _second_ phase, namely entering the
pitches, is where you have to get everything _right_ or things will get
ugly.  And correcting the ugly things requires the _computer_ keyboard
rather than the MIDI device.

You'll probably say I should get used to having one hand on the computer
keyboard and another on the MIDI device.

The MIDI device in this case is an accordion.  It is filling my lap.  It
wants holding with the left hand (which is threaded through a strap) and
keying with the right hand.  They computer keyboard is not easily
reachable, and when I _do_ reach it with my right hand, for example to
type backspace, I lose the place on the accordion which is a chromatic
button accordion, meaning that the "keys" pack one homogeneous area with
circular buttons in a staggered-row pattern and the only orientation is
relative.

So when I do the pitches, I don't want to do corrections.  That means
pitches need to go first, not durations.  Because otherwise my bad notes
cause things to go out of sync.  If there is nothing there yet, nothing
can get out of sync.

How would that look?  Basically, I'd expect to enter pitches by having a
bar-less system where I just get to see noteheads.  Like some old form
of hymnal notation.

Deleting spurious bad notes can be done in the second, computer keyboard
phase as I have a backspace for that.  Alternatively, backspace over
them in the input phase by hitting a cluster.  Though clusters make it
more difficult to keep position again.

Now of course, the accordion also has a left hand: bass buttons and
chord buttons.  It would be nice to press a chord button and _get_ a
chord rather than a sequence of three notes.

Or be able to assign editing functionality to bass notes and/or chords.
The left hand actually _has_ a few tactily distinguishable buttons so
one can find one's way around, so one could move back- and forward using
a few bass keys.

-- 
David Kastrup