RapidComposer v5 beta feedback and discussion

[musicdevelopments]

RapidComposer v5.3b6 is available!

Improvements:

• Guitar tab view of tracks implemented. The finger positions are calculated by a smart algorithm. It shows the final, rendered notes, so it is not editable.
• Bass guitar and 7-8-string guitar tunings added
• Capo setting in the guitar setup
• Mute/unmute all MIDI CC's button added under the track MIDI CC's tab
• Improved guitar chord error handling when user constraints are not met, or when the polyphony is too big for a guitar chord
• Tonnetz uses the flats/sharp usage set in the settings

[sj1]

Hi.

I'm noticing that if I assign Ctrl-M to 'Set Master Track as the keyboard focus area', like so:

CM.jpg

the actual action that happens when I press Ctrl-M is as if I pressed M ( which is 'Fill track with Melody Generator' here ).

OTOH, if I assign, say, F9 to 'Set Master Track as the keyboard focus area', like so:

F9.jpg

then the operation works correctly.

One might suspect my keyboard failing to properly signal Ctrl-M, but the fact that I made the assignment in the first place suggests that signal is OK.

So, it seems as if RC is doing an 'M' action when it should be doing a Ctrl-M action.

[sj1]

Actually, even after using F9 and getting a visual indication of the MT being selected, pressing 'M' is doing 'Fill track with Melody Generator' on the non-MT track which is currently highlighted.

I suggest the context be strictly either the MT or a non-MT track, with highlighting to match/indicate and operations always and only as appropriate for the selection.

[musicdevelopments]

I am sorry for the confusion! This is not documented anywhere. The "Fill track with..." items are specially handled because the Ctrl and Shift keys are checked too in connection with the shortcut. Shift means: use ghost copies, Ctrl will enable the phrase magnets. So in your example, not just 'M', but Shift-M, Ctrl-M and Ctrl-Shift-M are included in the shortcut.

EDIT: so it is a small bug if the program lets you use Ctrl-M for another action...

[sj1]

Guitar tab view of tracks implemented.

Hi. How/where is this seen?

[sj1]

I am sorry for the confusion! This is not documented anywhere. The "Fill track with..." items are specially handled because the Ctrl and Shift keys are checked too in connection with the shortcut. Shift means: use ghost copies, Ctrl will enable the phrase magnets. So in your example, not just 'M', but Shift-M, Ctrl-M and Ctrl-Shift-M are included in the shortcut.

EDIT: so it is a small bug if the program lets you use Ctrl-M for another action...

OK, thanks much for this insight. That's obviously very useful functionality, so I suppose the challenge will be to make the situation clear to the user somehow in all the cases where it applies, which is quite a few, right?

TH.jpg

Perhaps an asterisk on each applicable case (above) and a note could let the user know when making 'Fill Track' assignments the modifier keys will also be "auto-assigned".

Then, if the user elsewhere attempts to use one of the auto-assigned combinations a pop-up could say something along the lines of: "Ctrl-M already auto-assigned to 'Fill track with Melody Generator'.

[sj1]

I do think also that this situation helps make the case for a "reverse lookup" functionality in RC.

IOW, somewhere we can type Ctrl-M and get back the answer as to what, if anything, it is assigned to - whether explicitly assigned or implicitly/automatically assigned.

[sj1]

Hi.

It seems the MT chord generation info (e.g. rule set, # of chords) is not remembered in a saved composition.

RC - MT chord setup 01.jpg

What happens upon re-opening the project and attempting chord generation is this:

RC - MT info not remembered 01.jpg

and the Number of Chords is 1 rather than the previously made setting.

[musicdevelopments]

Guitar tab view of tracks implemented.

Hi. How/where is this seen?

In the track inspector you need to select the 'guitar' track:

[musicdevelopments]

Hi.

It seems the MT chord generation info (e.g. rule set, # of chords) is not remembered in a saved composition.

What happens upon re-opening the project and attempting chord generation is this:

and the Number of Chords is 1 rather than the previously made setting.

Hi Steve,

right, but logically this does not belong to the composition. IIRC the number of chords and the maximum number of chords are set automatically based on the selection length, so it would not be good to save them.

Thanks,
Attila

[musicdevelopments]

Perhaps an asterisk on each applicable case (above) and a note could let the user know when making 'Fill Track' assignments the modifier keys will also be "auto-assigned".

Good point!
From the next update this is indicated:



Thanks!
Attila

[sj1]

From the next update this is indicated:



Thanks!
Attila

Hi. Certainly that works, but it is visually very busy.

Personally, I'd just put an asterisk at the end of each line and then at the top of the category show the explanation just once:

* = (+Shift: Ghosts, +Ctrl: Magnet)

But whatever conveys the info, that's what matters!

[sj1]

logically this does not belong to the composition.

My use-case suggests otherwise.

Whenever I configure parameters for generation, be it for the MT, the Idea Tool, or anything else, I want those parameters saved and ready to go when I return to the composition.

If you want to accommodate returning to some sort of "smart" generation as an alternative to returning to the user's settings, one way that could be done with a checkbox: 'Auto-select # of Chords', working just like the way the checkbox: 'Keep harmonic rhythm' does.

[sj1]

I can see that we have two situations here -

1. Where we are immediately upon opening the composition
2. Where we are sometime after opening the composition when/if the MT selection area is changed.

We also have -

A. # of chords setting as determined by algo based on selection
B. # of chords setting as determined explicitly by user's manual action.

I will think some more on this. In theory I think there's should be design that will satisfy all cases.

[sj1]

Setting up for the first time to drive my Yamaha Motif XF, I find that no matter where I stop the transport I get hung notes.

Circling back to the above, I'm still having the problem and (so far anyway) I haven't been able to make headway on it even with the new CC muting capabilities.

FWIW, I'm attaching a file which exhibits the hung-notes situation whenever playback is stopped.

I can also add a specific question about it - what is 'Expression' as shown here:

RC - Expression 01.jpg

If this is CC 11, then shouldn't I see the CC graphic? (which would let me try to mute it)