Tech: Music writing program?

Subject: Tech: Music writing program?
From: GUEST,DonMeixner
Date: 17 Jan 04 - 05:43 PM

Since I can't read music (or spell english all that well either)I was wondering if anyone knows of a program that equates PC keyboards to piano keyboards and saves keystrokes as musical tones? The tones would be shone on the screen either as just dots or as notes on a staff and coulkd be played in their sequence when commanded.

This is such simple notion I would be stunned if it isn't available on line womewhere.

Don

Subject: RE: Tech: Music writing program?
From: Mark Clark
Date: 17 Jan 04 - 06:29 PM

Don, I don't know anything about this but Aldo's Pianito seems to be such a program.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Tech: Music writing program?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Jan 04 - 06:40 PM

Hi, Don - you might want to check the software that came with your sound card, which is probably installed on your computer under "accessories." I believe Voyetra includes a program like this, also possibly Creative/SoundBlaster.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Tech: Music writing program?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 17 Jan 04 - 08:35 PM

Almost any of the music score programs discussed in recent threads include an onscreen "keyboard" as an input method. You use your mouse to click a key on what looks like a little piano keyboard, and the note appears on the staff. You do have to select a "time value" for the note, quarter, half, etc.

Most of these programs are MIDI capable, and with almost any soundcard with a MIDI input, you can plug a keyboard in and "play" a piece into the program. Results are varied, depending on your playing skill (and sometimes on arcane settings in the program) since it will "write" exactly what you play - which sometimes doesn't look very pretty.

Most of these same programs allow you to "equate" PC keyboard keys to the piano keyboard. Several I've looked at use a small section of the keyboard and you run a scale by playing adjacent keys; others use a, b, c, d, etc. For most, number keys select "durations" 1=whole, 2=half, 3=quarter note etc, or sometimes the reverse.

Again - almost any score writing (or MIDI mangling) program of decent quality will probably do what you asked for.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Music writing program?
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Jan 04 - 08:51 PM

Aldo's Pianito is a neat little program...very little else like it around...

Subject: RE: Tech: Music writing program?
From: DonMeixner
Date: 19 Jan 04 - 12:26 PM

Thanks everyone. I'm looking at the Pianito program.

Joe, I can't figure out how to look into my Sound Blaster for other programs, any clues?

Don

Subject: RE: Tech: Music writing program?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 19 Jan 04 - 04:35 PM

Don -

Depending on what version you have, and how you came across it, there may be quite a few "accessory" programs or nothing at all.

Best I can suggest is look for folders named "Creative," "CreativeSB," "SB," and/or "SoundBlaster" or something similar. If you have one program you use, look and see where it is, and then look in that vicinity. Right click on an icon you're using, click properties, and look at the "Shortcut" tab to find out where a "live" one is on your drive.

Some, but not all, Soundblaster installs give you a toolbar that lets you pick some "associated programs" that installed with it. The toolbar does sometimes "go away" from your desktop if you don't use it ... very mysterious, but you might find it to turn it on if you poke around a bit.

Retail packages also may have "extra" disks that you didn't install, with interesting(?) stuff that came with your SB but aren't on the machine. (And they never tell you what all the extras are for, you're just supposed to be grateful.)

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Music writing program?
From: GUEST,pavane
Date: 20 Jan 04 - 07:49 AM

I got a (FREE) copy of a program called Virtual Piano along with a demo of Cakewalk on a magazine cover a while ago.

The virtual piano provides for input either from the computer keyboard or from clicking on a picture of the keyboard with a mouse.

It writes to a MIDI device, which can be captured by any program providing a MIDI_IN facility, (e.g. Cakewalk itself)