Feature requests

[musicdevelopments]

Feel free to post feature requests about RapidComposer in this thread, or start a new thread.
We will implement every sensible request, as it happened in the past.

Thank you,
Attila

[como baila]

Working out the LE demo and in the RapidComposer link on the webpage with the Gifs that open from the '+' sign I thought about this:

"Piano roll with scale notes, visually editable chord notes, and smart arranging of overlapped notes in two styles"

1. Where you see the red and blue notes, have the note colors the same for the track name, i.e., Piano or Jazz Guitar in the example, so that you can always easily tell which instrument the notes belong to.

2. Have the note velocity reflected in the brightness of the color of the note.

3. Permit selection of individual or groups of notes and then have the mouse scroll wheel increase or decrease velocity both absolutely (all velocities go up or down by constant amount when the wheel is scrolled) and relatively (velocities increase or decrease as a ratio of their current absolute values) using some type of key switch, e.g., control/ option.

Como

[como baila]

And this would be the 'BIG' feature that would propel your program to the top of the charts: create a midi VSTi plugin version that could run directly within a DAW like Cubase.

Harmony Improvisator or 7Aliens Catanya are examples of this approach ... but implemented at an infinitely inferior level compared to your program.

Como

[re8]

And this would be the 'BIG' feature that would propel your program to the top of the charts: create a midi VSTi plugin version that could run directly within a DAW like Cubase.

Yes! Even better if you can drag & drop MIDI clips between hosts. I have several DAWs, & I happen to like Ableton Live's clip launching best, though a boost to MIDI editing would be best for me.

[musicdevelopments]

Thanks for all the requests. The VSTi plug-in version would not be too much work...

>1. Where you see the red and blue notes, have the note colors the same for >the track name, i.e., Piano or Jazz Guitar in the example, so that you can >always easily tell which instrument the notes belong to.

This is how it works right now.

>2. Have the note velocity reflected in the brightness of the color of the >note.

This is also implemented right now.

>3. Permit selection of individual or groups of notes and then have the mouse >scroll wheel increase or decrease velocity

This is a good request, though there is something similar in RC. Have you seen this (I assume you had):
http://www.musicdevelopments.com/images ... diting.gif
Note that this works in Note Editing mode (editing velocities and controllers).

Thank you!
Attila

[como baila]

Thanks for all the requests. The VSTi plug-in version would not be too much work...

This would be truly fantastic, especially if the suggestion Suntower (?) made could be implemented with 'drag and drop' of the track into a midi track in the DAW. I realize that this would require some conversion to write the acutal note values into the file ... so it might be difficult?

But anyway, just being able to route each track's midi output to a midi track in a DAW so you could record the midi output in key would be miles ahead of anything available so far.

>1. Where you see the red and blue notes, have the note colors the same for >the track name, i.e., Piano or Jazz Guitar in the example, so that you can >always easily tell which instrument the notes belong to.

This is how it works right now.

Hmmm? In the gif example on the webpage, the colors around the track names in the panel on the left of the project window are not the same colors as the notes in the display. That was what I was suggesting ... to make it easy and immediate to identify what track the notes belonged to.

>2. Have the note velocity reflected in the brightness of the color of the >note.

This is also implemented right now.

Great ... I just went from the gif on the webpage. There all the notes are shown in either blue or red with equal intensity ... perhaps there was no velocity modulation in the example you chose?

>3. Permit selection of individual or groups of notes and then have the mouse >scroll wheel increase or decrease velocity

This is a good request, though there is something similar in RC. Have you seen this (I assume you had):
http://www.musicdevelopments.com/images ... diting.gif
Note that this works in Note Editing mode (editing velocities and controllers).

Thank you!
Attila

Attila, I'm glad you appreciate my suggestions. I'm surprised there aren't more of them.

Maybe we all can start using this thread better.

I can't believe there is not more 'buzz' about your program. But I guess that maybe because other people are thinking like me ... tempted to keep it as a 'secret weapon.'

BTW ... I heard about the program reading a recent column by one of the assistant editors from Computer Magazine. He made the point that it is amazing that there is so much 'soft' technology for audio and so little for making music.

Como

[como baila]

Got my module working nicely ... didn't realize that selecting General Midi in the track output was all it took.

I don't know if this is implemented or not?

It seems that if you use "Repeat" to add another Line, you can choose to "unlink" the phrase on the second line from the original phrase. But I cannot seem to "unlink" the chord progression in the added line or change the chord divisions. If there is not, there should be an option to permit unlinking the chord progression as well in the new line added by "Repeat."

Como

[como baila]

Ok ... I've bought the LE version and I imagine that after a couple of months of getting it 'under my belt,' I'll be upgrading!

As a general rule, I'd like to see RapidComposer follow normal windows program conventions. I think this will make it easier to learn and thereby attract a larger customer basis. I want as large a customer base as possible to support Attila's development.

A few examples of what I mean:

1. Space bar to toggle play ... something in almost any windows music app.
2. Cut/ Copy/ Paste in the right click context menu for moving phrases.
3. Key strokes to open the various inspector and browser tabs, rewind, turn cycle on and off, etc.
4. Tab through the 'sliders' in the inspector tabs and use the mouse wheel to increment/ decrement the slide bars.

I'm sure there are many more similar ideas that would both greatly enhance work flow and increase the 'shelf appeal' of RapidComposer.

Como

[como baila]

[update - found the gui selector and improved the readability ... but fonts still too small and columns to far apart]

I find the pop up help screen on the main window very difficult to read: the fonts are too small (I'm on a 1920X1280 monitor) and the black font color in the columns on the left is difficult to read. Finally, it is not easy to look across from one column to the other to make sure you are reading the right instruction since the columns are so far apart in the window.

Como

[como baila]

Chord Palette and Help Screen: Could these be moveable? I'd especially like to see the Chord Palette and the Chord Progression screen at the same time. Right now the Chord Palette blocks the views of the main window tabs.

Como

[como baila]

I think the way midi channel 10 drum tracks are imported should change. I don't like each note imported to a separate track. It makes it impossible to build a library of drum 'phrases.' Having the notes on different tracks is useful for sophisticated sequencing in a DAW, but it is inconvenient for sketching things out. Perhaps an option?



Como

[musicdevelopments]

Excellent suggestions, thank you. I added them to the ToDo list which is growing fast

Building drum phrases is giving me headache because I know they should belong together in one track, but in the end the percussion instruments are all separate instruments. E.g. you can use one soundfont for a snare drum, another for a hihat, and a VSTi for a bass drum. I'll think about a better solution.

Thanks,
Attila

[como baila]

Excellent suggestions, thank you. I added them to the ToDo list which is growing fast

Building drum phrases is giving me headache because I know they should belong together in one track, but in the end the percussion instruments are all separate instruments. E.g. you can use one soundfont for a snare drum, another for a hihat, and a VSTi for a bass drum. I'll think about a better solution.

Thanks,
Attila

Attila ...

Sorry about your headache!

I'm not a programmer or a long time soundfont user, but it doesn't seem that the soundfont GM midi banks work the same as on my Roland GM module. When I import a midi file, Rapid Composer correctly selects Bank 128 and the General Midi Percussion and maps all the sounds correctly on Channel 10 in the different tracks. But if I try to change to a GM soundfont that also uses Bank 128 for the drum patches, RapidComposer keeps changing the Channel number from the one I am trying to connect on. If I change it back to Channel 10, I just get the regular GM patches, not the GM Percussion.

Importing midi drum tracks also goes against the logic of your program, since now you would want the notes to be absolute, not relative.

At any rate, I think you either need an option between importing the drum track notes for soundfont or for regular GM.

I hope this helps.

Como

[musicdevelopments]

Thanks, this will be the first thing I will test tomorrow morning...

Attila

[como baila]

Thanks, this will be the first thing I will test tomorrow morning...

Attila

I checked in a soundfont VSTi player I have, and with two different GM soundfont banks, the ntonyx one and fluid3. They both have the drums on bank 128.

I think your solution is to reserve channel 10 for drums and add a bank select message when some one clicks to change the channel from anything else to channel 10.

I think what happens is that when you change to GM soundbank, it automatically assigns the midi channel, changing it, and just sends the regular bank 0 instruments. That is why when you change back to channel 10 you still get an instrument sound.


I think the drum soundfont you include does not use bank 128.

Como