PRV Feature Request...

This would make a useful complement to the conventional horizontal mode. I've sometimes imagined a track view that runs vertically, in-line with a console view. Don't think I ever thought about that in PRV... probably cos PRV is roughly analogous to a staff... but looking at it, I can see this being very useful.

I would think it would flow from the top down....?

Would be nice if instead of the Now Time moving through static MIDI events, the event field scrolled past a static now time, and if you could adjust where "now" was, eg, towards the bottom, top, middle, etc. That would let you adjust how much look-ahead and look-behind you have.

A static, centered now time in TV and PRV is requested from time to time. You can somewhat simulate this in TV by pressing and holding the G key during pb.

That does not look like it would be "edit" friendly.

Although if thats what you would like to see just to get the feel of it turn your monitor 90 degrees (most video monitor control panels will rotate the display). Try it, and see how it works out.

For me that would drive me nuts not seeing things left to right, but thats me.

Tom

ORIGINAL: ...wicked

I've submitted this before, and posted about it, but since I actually had to bust out a pic for a piano person tonight I figured I'd share it to show how useful it is.

In short, the ability to simply rotate the PRV 90 degrees so that the keyboard is oriented properly for someone trying to pick notes out (and, unsurprisingly, a lot more like a player piano would show it). That would look in practice like this:



I don't know about you, but I would benefit from that A LOT.

As an alternate option yes! But not as a permanent solution.

Also, the idea of flipping ones monitor on it's side is a little goofy since menus would be popping out sideways and reading menu-items sideways would be a pain in the neck LOL!! Then going from PRV to TV having to flip the monitor back upright again and then back again to PVR!! No thanks!

I look a PRV as an alternate Staff view which should be viewed on a horizontal plane.

Ditto. Far be it from me to dismiss a FR that others might want, but this isn't one I would +1. I can't imagine seeing the Now Time dropping off the bottom of the screen and still indicating any "Time" at all.

-Susan

*Ahem* the PRV is not 'sheet music' (Notation/Staff View),

Granted, but since top to bottom in the PRV translates to higher to lower pitch as it is, and left to right = forward movement in time, it's closer to "traditional" notation than what the OP suggested.

Do people actually read from piano rolls? Honest question -- I 'm curious.

Thanks-

-Susan

Silly question Susan! Because the point is, you cannot compare the two, the PRV and Staff are different!

I like your unedited reply better!

-Susan

ORIGINAL: Saintom

For me that would drive me nuts not seeing things left to right, but thats me.

Of course I understand what you're saying, but think about it... what wicked is suggesting would actually make it MORE left-to-right than it currently is.

It's an interesting thing.

On the one hand, PRV is like a staff view variation (as I said in my post above), with vertical notes that are read horizontally left to right. Two main differences (and they're huge) is that it doesn't include a convention for duration or accidentals, and everything that follows from that (which is many.) So yeah, turning that CW 90 degrees is a "goofy" thing to do.

On the other hand, what PRV actually IS, and what it's in fact named for, is an abstraction of a piano roll. Is turning that CCW 90 degrees really much less "goofy"? It could be said that wicked's suggestion is a "correction" of sorts that would bring it closer to what it is actually representing: the conventional horizontal left-to-right keyboard.

I'm not sure which pre-dates the other: the horizontal adjacent-key left-to-right-as-lower-to-higher keyboard, or notation that represents low-to-high vertically in a horizontal plane. But both are abstractions that adapt what we hear -- pitch and time -- for the eye and the hand. Basically, conventionalized and standardized -- but also compromised -- interfaces for reproduction.

What a strange thing we do.

I think this pic (via SongCraft's link) is way cool, and partially addresses an issue I raised in my first reply, about where the Now Time time would be located: The Now TIme IS the keyboard itself. Do it stay vertically positioned and the notes notes move behind it? I can definitely see this being useful as an option during certain stages of composition and production.

In this scheme, instead of getting a compromised notation that lacks duration and keyed/accidental pitches, you get a more accurate representation of what your hands are actually doing. It's at least as readable as a representation of the keyboard, as is reading the conventional PRV as a variation of notation.

ORIGINAL: Susan G

Personally, I'd much rather see CW spend time & resources on other things.

Me too, actually. I'm not really arguing for this. Just thinking about it. Though if it showed up one day as an option I can see using it.

I'd much rather see CW spend time and resources on... all the things I'd rather see!

Well, I wasn't thinking it would replace the way the PRV currently works, that would be horrible! And I don't see doing that much editing in it unless one got very used to the format (which, who knows, isn't Rock Band and all that stuff basically setup like an old-fashioned piano roll?). The main and most important reason to use it is for figuring out parts for players. Even my piano player, who reads music but is otherwise a technophobe, was turning their head sideways looking at the PRV trying to figure something out.

And me, with my meager keyboard skills, could figure stuff out much more easily if I could just spin the view 90 degrees to parse it out, then flip it back.

As for the Now Time, given the aforementioned Rock Band I would think the Now Time would be fixed and the date would move. And yeah, I"m also one of those people arguing for an option for a static Now Time. I've used it in DP and it's just marvelous

Looking at the OP I will support this a whole lot. If CW can, make it be done as a toggle within the PRV, if not a new VIEW altogether. I use the PRV for entering and editing drum tracks and thought about this many times.

Perhaps they could design it so that a copy of the keyboard could be dragged away from it's static position, and once floating, it would rotate to be horizontal and be scalable. The PRV would remain horizontal, and the original keyboard would remain vertical for reference. I don't know that I would ever use it, but it might satisfy those who would.