I've spent this evening, and (glancing at my watch) a good deal of the morning evaluating Musette. It appears to be what I need, but before registering for the full version I'd like to clarify some points:
1. How do I select a block? The help file says that I should hold down MB1 and drag, but that doesn't seem to do anything. I'd really like the option of being able to move a group of notes right or left, but there doesn't seem to be any way to do it.
2. When I play something that I've entered, the sequence (quaver, semiquaver rest, semiquaver) seems to produce something that sounds like a triplet. I'd have to play it over and over again to be sure, but it definitely sounds as if the rest is being ignored.
3. When I enter a new score, save it, and then reload it after having activated Demo mode, measure numbers have been added, and these interfere with the chords that I've added as text fields. How do I delete the measure numbers? I don't want them.
4. In both the screen display and the printout, the first staff is further left than the others. I can move the staves vertically, but not horizontally, so there is no way to correct this error.
5. Both the screen display and the printout of the Sor study have the following flaws:
(a) the final staff on page 1 (measures 63-69) was obviously intended to be printed on the following page, because there is an extra space between this and the line above.
(b) measure 63 is almost unreadable, because it is overlaid by some text that says something like "SorOp29 page 1 of 2". This supports the hypothesis that this line was really intended to be printed on page 2.
From sad past experience, this is a consequence of the fact that the USA uses a different page size from the rest of the world. (My printer uses A4, like nearly everyone else's.) This is supported by the fact that the "print" option does not ask me which printer I want to use. Is there any way to fix this? If not, the program is effectively useless for any music that covers more than one page.
Oh, yes. Operating system is Windows (hawk, spit) Vista Home edition. I'm aware that Vista is full of bugs, but I haven't yet managed to upgrade my laptop to XP, or to something like OS/2 or Linux. If you can assure me that the program works in a better operating system, I'll do my best to install that operating system.
I really hope that there are workarounds for the above problems, because in all other respects it is exactly what I want.
Some clueless newbies' problems - Getting started with musette
Peter M,
The online help had to be redone for Windows Vista and isn't yet as thorough as it should be. I'm assuming you're using Musette V2.9.6. If not, you should upgrade.
1. The help file Contents/Features/Block Markers should specify that that you need to first select menu item Draw/Staff/Block (the dashed box), then left-click and place your block marker. The marked block can be moved right or left, or resized as explained in the help file.
2. Listen to the demo files. If you have a file that doesn't seem to play correctly, post it here as an attachment.
3. You can print without measure numbers with menu selection Setup/Validate, enter "clear" as the authorization code, then click "register". This disables all Consort Edition features (including measure numbers), so editing will be limited.
4. Help file Contents/Features/Staves and Braces explains setting staff size and position.
5. The light green lines show the page size for your printer. Scores formatted using the page size of a different printer may need some reformatting. Menu selection Format/Spacing reformats the score using your printer's page size and this is usually enough. In some cases, you might have to reposition a few staves or braces in scores originally formatted for a different printer.
Musette was tested with Windows 98 and XP, and the latest version fixed all known incompatibilities with Vista.
The online help had to be redone for Windows Vista and isn't yet as thorough as it should be. I'm assuming you're using Musette V2.9.6. If not, you should upgrade.
1. The help file Contents/Features/Block Markers should specify that that you need to first select menu item Draw/Staff/Block (the dashed box), then left-click and place your block marker. The marked block can be moved right or left, or resized as explained in the help file.
2. Listen to the demo files. If you have a file that doesn't seem to play correctly, post it here as an attachment.
3. You can print without measure numbers with menu selection Setup/Validate, enter "clear" as the authorization code, then click "register". This disables all Consort Edition features (including measure numbers), so editing will be limited.
4. Help file Contents/Features/Staves and Braces explains setting staff size and position.
5. The light green lines show the page size for your printer. Scores formatted using the page size of a different printer may need some reformatting. Menu selection Format/Spacing reformats the score using your printer's page size and this is usually enough. In some cases, you might have to reposition a few staves or braces in scores originally formatted for a different printer.
Musette was tested with Windows 98 and XP, and the latest version fixed all known incompatibilities with Vista.
Thanks for the help. I can now select a block and operate on it, and I can also see now how to set the page breaks. Moving a staff is still a mystery to me. I can select it and move it vertically, but not horizontally. However, I can learn to live with the fact that the first line insists on being noticeably to the left of all remaining lines. It's a minor glitch.
It's a pity that the only way to print without measure numbers - which can interfere with readability if everything else is getting a bit crowded - can only be done by editing, deregistering, printing, then re-registering. (Especially since the convention seems to be to put a number on the second measure of each line, which seems to be a bit arbitrary.) It would be nice if some future version had a formatting option to remove the numbering, or perhaps even to control which measures get a number.
I do like the feature where blocks can be moved or resized by using the arrow keys rather than the mouse. I don't recall seeing that in the help file, but maybe it's there.
One other feature that I'd like to have is a "draw nothing"option as part of each "draw" section. For example, if you're currently in the draw/notes menu, one of the possible notes should be "no note at all". The reason I suggest this is that it's frustrating having to "undo" each time that a mouse click that was intended to add anything - because, for example, you've forgotten which section you're in - makes a mess of your work.
I have an example where a rest gets ignored when you play the piece, but I haven't yet worked out how to add an attachment ... aha, I've just realised that I shouldn't have typed this in the "quick post" box. I'll copy it into the "add reply" option. OK, done. The bug is in the last measure on the first line. I tried to create a shorter example by deleting the irrelevant measures, but if I do that the bug goes away. In fact if you select the measure as a block then it plays OK; the rest gets ignored only if you play from the beginning.
Although, now that I think of it, sending the whole thing also illustrates what I said about the first line being displaced to the left relative to the other lines.
Overall, though, a very good piece of software.
It's a pity that the only way to print without measure numbers - which can interfere with readability if everything else is getting a bit crowded - can only be done by editing, deregistering, printing, then re-registering. (Especially since the convention seems to be to put a number on the second measure of each line, which seems to be a bit arbitrary.) It would be nice if some future version had a formatting option to remove the numbering, or perhaps even to control which measures get a number.
I do like the feature where blocks can be moved or resized by using the arrow keys rather than the mouse. I don't recall seeing that in the help file, but maybe it's there.
One other feature that I'd like to have is a "draw nothing"option as part of each "draw" section. For example, if you're currently in the draw/notes menu, one of the possible notes should be "no note at all". The reason I suggest this is that it's frustrating having to "undo" each time that a mouse click that was intended to add anything - because, for example, you've forgotten which section you're in - makes a mess of your work.
I have an example where a rest gets ignored when you play the piece, but I haven't yet worked out how to add an attachment ... aha, I've just realised that I shouldn't have typed this in the "quick post" box. I'll copy it into the "add reply" option. OK, done. The bug is in the last measure on the first line. I tried to create a shorter example by deleting the irrelevant measures, but if I do that the bug goes away. In fact if you select the measure as a block then it plays OK; the rest gets ignored only if you play from the beginning.
Although, now that I think of it, sending the whole thing also illustrates what I said about the first line being displaced to the left relative to the other lines.
Overall, though, a very good piece of software.
PeterM,
Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Musette is constantly evolving. There is a "Draw/None" option which selects existing objects, but won't add anything. I attached a modified copy of your file. A note and rest were very close together in the last measure of the first staff. I added some extra space and it plays correctly. I also used "Setup/Draw" with "staff" selected from the green toolbar which adjusted the left margins.
Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Musette is constantly evolving. There is a "Draw/None" option which selects existing objects, but won't add anything. I attached a modified copy of your file. A note and rest were very close together in the last measure of the first staff. I added some extra space and it plays correctly. I also used "Setup/Draw" with "staff" selected from the green toolbar which adjusted the left margins.