On Monday 10 October 2005 05:19 am, Chris Cannam wrote:

> what you've already played (i.e. you can't know which ending to take
> without knowing whether you're on the first or second time through) and

Bleah.  :(  I hadn't considered that at all.

> Doing both of these things "properly" is probably no simpler than doing
> a more general time-flow ruler type of concept in the sequencer in the
> first place.  The sequencer itself still wouldn't have to support
> arbitrary programmed jumps, the GUI could still expand out the folding
> of time when it "programs up" the sequencer at the start of playback.
> That may actually have some mileage.

This is a half-formed thought after putting in a 16 hour day at work, but...

Sequencers are linear.  The whole problem with this entire concept is that 
sequencers are linear, but notation isn't (always).  It's the fundamental 
difference between a sequencer-with-notation program and a 
notation-with-MIDI-interpreter program.

We've been thinking of ways of rendering non-linear notation as linear 
sequences, but what if it could go the other way around?  What if the 
notation view could "fold up" linear notation that has certain "fold here" 
marks embedded into it?

I can see a couple different use cases (just brainstorming) where this is a 
workable approach, at least intellectually, in terms of being usable.

Case 1:  I import some MIDI file that has first and second endings and a DS al 
coda in it.  It comes in as a linear stream.  I manually figure out where the 
repeats are, the first and second endings, where to put the signo, and where 
the coda starts.  Maybe do this in the linear layout mode of the notation 
editor.  Then I switch to page view, and presto, all the redundant notes 
disappear, and I get a neat page instead of three.

Case 2:  I'm entering notation, I put a repeat in, and the data automagically 
gets copied and extended out, right in front of me, non-virtually, but 
wrapped in some visual indicator of what is what.  I go to the last bar of 
the second iteration and make some changes, then mark the last bars of both 
as 1 and 2.  Then I fold it up into page mode and see what it looks like.

Now I realize this sound extremely tricky to implement, and it's a lot easier 
to picture screens in my head than code, but what if?

Rosegarden is never going to be anything but a sequencer under the hood, and I 
think it's acceptable if notation editing has to be done in a somewhat less 
than immediately intuitive fashion because of that fact.  Notate in a 
straight line, which is basically what you'd have to do if there were no 
repeats at all anyway, then compress the results into something printable.  
Instead of linear vs. page preview it might also function as simply a WYSIWYG 
vs. "display codes" mode.


Another thing just came to me on this.  In case 1, what if I have two parts  
that are a little different, but want to mark them as part of a series of 
repeats anyway?  That case comes up a *lot* in lyrical music, where the 
rhythm is  slightly different in different verses, and alternative notes or 
articulations are printed at cue size.  I've also seen bits like staccato the 
first time through and then slur this and that and this the second time 
through, also with appropriate cue-size indications.  More problems to solve 
there too, but where it could ultimately go could be incredibly cool and 
flexible.  Multi-verse lyrics, no problem, different rhythms on the B side, 
no problem either, and so on.  Bitchy to get your head around thinking how it 
could be done in code (or mine anyway) but this "do it in a line with all the 
events real and then fold it up" interface could be taught and used and it 
seems like a really neat cake-and-eat-it-to approach.

I'll leave that thought dangling in the air.

-- 
Michael McIntyre  ----   Silvan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek;  registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/


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