Re: User-interface (was Re: mac lion)

[David Kastrup]

Wim van Dommelen <address@hidden> writes:

> Commends on the user-interface:
>
> Some time ago I tried to get Frescobaldi running, but didn't
> succeed. Too much dependencies and version conflicts and requests for
> some versions which are explicitly requested but don't exist
> anymore. However, it works on my Ubuntu-machine from the box and I
> would love to run it on the Mac also.

The Download page states

    For Mac OS X: Work is being done to create a more complete installer. 

You probably already saw that; I just include it to get other commentors
up to date.

> My recommendation: On my Mac I do use TeXShop. It is only one small
> file to integrate these two. Each Lilypond-file can be set separatedly
> or with a standard Unix first-line (actually two lines:
> %!TEX TS-program = Lilypond
> %!TEX encoding = UTF-8 Unicode
> ) which TeXShop recognizes and acts upon. These are in my standard
> files from which I start. Syntax is highlighted, lines are numbered
> for error-reporting, etc.

Emacs would also be reasonably easy to install (you install Emacs and
then the lilypond-mode), but for one thing, people tend to shy away from
Emacs, for another LilyPond-mode, while supporting point&click, is not
as elaborate an Emacs mode as AUCTeX is for LaTeX.

> P.S.: When I show the results to fellow musicians really everybody
> likes it. But nobody wants to type text, most of them shun away from
> typing a command like "\appoggiatura" (two p's, two g's!). They don't
> know what they are missing.

ap = #appoggiatura

> That "command-line fear" as I call it will still be the biggest hurdle
> in wider acceptance. I have referred some people for example to Scorio
> recently, to try. But people are so afraid it will not be supported by
> MShit

MS does not support music in any form.  And Scorio has MusicXML export
if I remember correctly.

> that they condemm themselves to MShit completly in the first
> place. (Sorry, this remark just barfed up :-)

> P.P.S.: Small anecdote (and then I'll stop, promised): I was on a
> Barok music week last year and halfway the week something turned out
> to be wrong in the scores: wrong piece selected, not the right level
> for the attendees. We found out after three days and the instructor
> was lossed and wanted to cancel our ensemble (9 persons, no pro's
> except the instructor). In and after a discussion he showed me some
> IMSLP score (in a standard C transposition) he would like to
> do. Downloaded and printed locally, some of the instruments were
> transposing (the clarinet family) so he was really stuck. Reading and
> transposing live was not an option for the participants. I borrow his
> printed score (8 pages, 4 instruments, 2 to transpose), borrowed a
> laptop for two hours from somebody else, used Notepad to type my music
> notes, saved it on my USB stick. After dinner and some other things I
> drove home (30 minutes), started my Mac, took a standard file for all
> the headings, changed title and composer. Imported the notes from my
> USB stick, corrected two typos and 10 minutes later just before
> midnight my printer woke up. Next day we rehearsed and played
> it. That's flexibility I like.

Now we just need OCR software to shave off 2 hours of typing and add
half an hour of proofreading.

I am also not convinced that using my Midi-augmented accordion in the
process could not speed up the typing significantly _if_ I had
appropriate programs tailored for speed note entry.

-- 
David Kastrup