On 2 Oct 2006 at 14:30, dhbailey wrote: > David W. Fenton wrote: > > On 2 Oct 2006 at 15:23, dc wrote: > > > >> Dennis Bathory-Kitsz écrit: > >>> I'm not saying Speedy is preferable for anybody but me, but I know > >>> the Finale keyboard layout so well that I don't even have to look > >>> at the screen as I work (particularly with the added confirmation > >>> of pitches sounding when I enter notes). > >> I agree with Dennis. I'm a keyboard player and a fast typist, and I > >> own a MIDI keyboard purchased spefically for use in Finale. But > >> Speedy entry with the numeric keypad is for me the fastest way of > >> entering music (unless I can use Hyperscribe, which allows me to > >> practice my C-clefs at the same time, and which is even faster). I > >> look only at my source, and count on the sound feedback to spot > >> wrong notes, and Finale's error beep for wrong rhythms. That being > >> said, the entry of the music itself represents only a small portion > >> of the work, timewise. > > > > I'm a fast touch typist, a keyboardist with an undergraduate degree > > in piano performance from a famous conservatory and a computer > > professional. > > > > I find it far, far easier to enter large amounts of music with a > > MIDI keyboard than from the computer keyboard. The shortcuts laid > > out on the keyboard for notes don't make any sense to me, so I have > > never learned them. Why bother when I can use the keyboard layout > > that is ingrained in my muscles from decades of playing the piano? > > > > The equation may be different for different people, but I don't see > > the utility in learning the insanely arbitrary keyboard shortcuts, > > unless one has no possibility of ever using a MIDI keyboard for > > input. > > > > And I long ago concluded that Hyperscribe was utterly useless. I > > have top-notch keyboard skills, but it takes way to much time to > > clean up the transcription errors that come from the limits of human > > perception that are much less precise than those of a computer. > > I agree that hyperscribe is utterly useless. > > One doesn't have to use the keyboard shortcuts for the pitches to use > only the computer keyboard for speedy entry. Use the cursor keys to > position the cursor and the number keys to place the proper value > note.
That means 3 up arrows to go up a fourth, 7 an octave, and so forth. Yes, that's the method I use, and it's an order of magnitude slower than input with a keyboard. > Extremely simple and I find it far easier than moving my left hand > around on a midi keyboard, You need a better setup. I have the MIDI keyboard on the desk with the computer keyboard on top of it. I use right or left hand for MIDI keyboard or for computer keyboard, depending on range. The music I'm copying is on the music rack of the MIDI keyboard, to the left, with the computer monitor visible through the left part of the music rack (which is transparent). This means I can see everything just by moving my head. Obviously, I've got the keyboard sense to follow the original source and the monitor and not need to look at my hands too often, but if you used the numeric pad on the computer keyboard, you might find it easier to input the rhythms. I sometimes switch back and forth between the numbers at the top of the keyboard and the numeric pad, depending on which hand I'm using for rhythm and which for the MIDI keyboard. But I can do all of that by sense without needing to look, because of my background, I guess. But it also wouldn't be possible without the layout I've set up for music entry. > for which I am constantly having to take my > eyes off the original manuscript or the monitor when the music has > larger leaps. I'm sure if I practiced that I could get better at it, > but this way I work the same way on my desktop computer which has a > midi keyboard connected to it as when I'm working on my notebook > without a midi keyboard. > > And I don't use those silly shortcuts for the pitches. Well, then I don't see how you can do things as quickly as with MIDI entry, even if you don't have the inherent keyboard skills to place your hands without looking. Obviously, it works for you, which is what matters, but -- David W. Fenton http://dfenton.com David Fenton Associates http://dfenton.com/DFA/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
