Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post Reply
Stefano
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2024 11:10 am

Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post by Stefano »

I’ve done a search, but apologize if I’m duplicating a thread.

I want to start notating trombone solos, and have never done notation before.

After some research here and elsewhere, it seems that a good way forward would be to buy a used midi keyboard and use it in conjunction with MuseScore. I can reproduce the trombone part on the keyboard, which is then notated in MuseScore. I can then go in and clean it up.

Am I on the right track?

My first notation would be Steve Davis’s Peace, BTW.
musicofnote
Posts: 261
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2022 11:31 am

Re: Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post by musicofnote »

content deleted by author
Last edited by musicofnote on Sun Jun 30, 2024 1:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
Stefano
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2024 11:10 am

Re: Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post by Stefano »

I’m always hoping that techie things will be simpler than they ever are.

If I’m transcribing trombone parts for my own use, maybe I should just get proficient with notation using pencil and staff paper.
User avatar
muschem
Posts: 238
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:16 am
Location: Austin, Texas
Contact:

Re: Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post by muschem »

I've never tried a midi keyboard for transcriptions, but a regular computer keyboard works fine for me in MuseScore. Things go pretty fast for single part transcriptions, especially once you pick up a few of the key shortcuts (switching note duration, adding articulation, etc.). Fine-tuning the appearance can take a bit more effort, but the default engraving choices MuseScore makes are pretty usable as-is. This reminds me that I need to get back to several of the partially-finished transcription projects I have started.
JLivi
Posts: 726
Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 4:24 pm
Location: Chicago, IL
Contact:

Re: Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post by JLivi »

muschem wrote: Sun Apr 28, 2024 1:30 pm I've never tried a midi keyboard for transcriptions, but a regular computer keyboard works fine for me in MuseScore. Things go pretty fast for single part transcriptions
Agreed!

Now I think having a midi controller is always a good thing to have lying around, but not to use with MuseScore for trombone transcriptions. These programs are pretty intuitive and using a computer keyboard should be just fine.
King 2b+
King 3b
King 3b(f)
Conn 79h
Kanstul 1585
Olds O-21 Marching Trombone (Flugabone)
Stefano
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2024 11:10 am

Re: Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post by Stefano »

That’s all good news. So I can do all my transcription on the computer keyboard.
User avatar
BGuttman
Posts: 6295
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2018 7:19 am
Location: Cow Hampshire

Re: Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post by BGuttman »

Stefano wrote: Sun Apr 28, 2024 3:13 pm That’s all good news. So I can do all my transcription on the computer keyboard.
Cautionary note: There is a pretty steep learning curve using any notation program. They are not so intuitive that you can go like the wind right away. When I'm out of practice on MuseScore I can take hours to do what I can do in minutes with pencil and paper. But the end result is much easier to read.
Bruce Guttman
Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra
"Almost Professional"
AndrewMeronek
Posts: 1127
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 6:09 pm
Location: Detroit area
Contact:

Re: Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post by AndrewMeronek »

Music notation programs really shine when you want to create a score and extract parts. For doing a transcription of a solo - if you're not planning on publishing it professionally engraved - it's generally better to go buy or print some manuscript paper and write it out by hand.
“All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians.”

- Thelonious Monk
JDenton61
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat May 25, 2024 6:28 pm

Re: Midi keyboard + MuseScore for notating solos?

Post by JDenton61 »

I just use the keyboard with MuseScore. I can move along pretty quickly, especially with the sound on so I can hear any mistypes as I go along.

Mainly, I use it to add custom lyrics to familiar hymn tunes for church. The lyrics function on MuseScore is a bit slower and more finicky for me.
Post Reply

Return to “Composition, Arrangement, & Theory”