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This thread is for suggestions regarding the Piano Roll view. This is for specific suggestions only, not general comments. There are a few ideas extracted from the main user interface enhancements thread


Jim Fogle
Please set up the Piano Roll window so the keyboard displays the drum kit sound name associated with each key of the Pitch Selector keyboard. Presently the Pitch Selector keyboard displays note names such as C3, C4 or C5.


Rustyspoon:

1) Default tool should be a pen tool, not a "selection" tool.

2)There are no UI buttons for selecting one or the other. Holding a current two button shortcut (Ctrl+Shift) to draw is just wrong. You should not hold anything to draw.

3)Full length overlay guides, horizontal and vertical running all the way from piano roll to the note when drawing. Current little green arrows do not cut it.

4)Full cursor on playback

5) A choice of free hand drawing note length. Not just preselecting duration.

6) Adopt a "freehand" move tool, not a separate up down and right. Holding mouse button should grab a note or selection and user should be able to move/drag it anywhere until you let go of the mouse button.

7)Better graphics for Pen / Delete tools. Currently they are too large and blurry.

8)User defined note color. (maybe this is possible already)

9)On the upper right, Help and Video buttons are covering other stuff. Should be fixed.


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Andrew.

as in one daw i like ...
i would like to see double click on track midi in track view and piano roll thus appears automatically.

om


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Originally Posted by Andrew - PG Music
This thread is for suggestions regarding the Piano Roll view. This is for specific suggestions only, not general comments. There are a few ideas extracted from the main user interface enhancements thread


Jim Fogle
1) Please set up the Piano Roll window so the keyboard displays the drum kit sound name associated with each key of the Pitch Selector keyboard. Presently the Pitch Selector keyboard displays note names such as C3, C4 or C5.

Rustyspoon:

1) Default tool should be a pen tool, not a "selection" tool.

2)There are no UI buttons for selecting one or the other. Holding a current two button shortcut (Ctrl+Shift) to draw is just wrong. You should not hold anything to draw.

3)Full length overlay guides, horizontal and vertical running all the way from piano roll to the note when drawing. Current little green arrows do not cut it.

4)Full cursor on playback

5) A choice of free hand drawing note length. Not just preselecting duration.

6) Adopt a "freehand" move tool, not a separate up down and right. Holding mouse button should grab a note or selection and user should be able to move/drag it anywhere until you let go of the mouse button.

7)Better graphics for Pen / Delete tools. Currently they are too large and blurry.

8)User defined note color. (maybe this is possible already)

9)On the upper right, Help and Video buttons are covering other stuff. Should be fixed.

1) JF +1

1) RS + 1 Don't get me started. The piano midi editing window needs a ton of love.
Yes, to all as they entire things needs to be revamped. New consistent timeline, new loop area, new tools, major change to editing actions.

Originally Posted by justanoldmuso
Andrew.
as in one daw i like ...
i would like to see double click on track midi in track view and piano roll thus appears automatically.
om
Yes, this is true for ALL TRACK TYPES.

Last edited by jpettit; 01/22/25 08:13 AM.

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#1 can be an adventure, naming the part of a drum kit associated with each note. I've seen several incompatible implementations of this. I have no knowledge of drums but the drummers I use tell me that the notation isn't standardized fully. I don't know; this is just to sound an alert that more study is needed.


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Matt, your drummer friends are right and wrong. GM compatible electronic keyboards, sound modules and plugins follow the GM1 standard which includes drum sounds. Many of the drum plugins add additional drum sounds which are not covered by the GM1 standard.

PG Music has the capability to implement this suggestion using a tool already at their disposal, the INS &PAT files. MIDI channel 10 is the MIDI standard drum channel while MIDI Bank Numbers select drum kits. Drum labels load with the files.

PG Music has much more information available in +++ THIS +++ GM1 tutorial. I've copied and edited the information below.

Quote
General MIDI (GM) 1 Percussion Map: (Channel 10)
MIDI channel 10 is the drum channel on most MIDI synthesizers. On the drum channel, different notes are interpreted as different drum sounds, instead of being different pitches of a particular instrument.

In addition to note numbers listed below (for example, 60,61,62), PG Music software often refers to note names (for example, C5, Db5, E5). For reference, note 60 = C5 = middle C.

MIDI Standard Drum Kit Sound
Key

35 Acoustic Bass Drum
36 Bass Drum 1
37 Side Stick
38 Acoustic Snare
39 Hand Clap

MIDI Standard Drum Kit Sound
Key

40 Electric Snare
41 Low Floor Tom
42 Closed Hi Hat
43 High Floor Tom
44 Pedal Hi-Hat
45 Low Tom
46 Open Hi-Hat
47 Low-Mid Tom
48 Hi Mid Tom
49 Crash Cymbal 1

MIDI Standard Drum Kit Sound
Key

50 High Tom
51 Ride Cymbal 1
52 Chinese Cymbal
53 Ride Bell
54 Tambourine
55 Splash Cymbal
56 Cowbell
57 Crash Cymbal 2
58 Vibraslap
59 Ride Cymbal 2

MIDI Standard Drum Kit Sound
Key

60 Hi Bongo
61 Low Bongo
62 Mute Hi Conga
63 Open Hi Conga
64 Low Conga
65 High Timbale
66 Low Timbale
67 High Agogo
68 Low Agogo
69 Cabasa

MIDI Standard Drum Kit Sound
Key

70 Maracas
71 Short Whistle
72 Long Whistle
73 Short Guiro
74 Long Guiro
75 Claves
76 Hi Wood Block
77 Low Wood Block
78 Mute Cuica
79 Open Cuica

MIDI Standard Drum Kit Sound
Key

80 Mute Triangle
81 Open Triangle

The following Percussive Sounds are sometimes available for use to Percussion MIDI Channel 10

MIDI Percussive Sound
Key

113 Tinkle Bell
114 Agogo
115 Steel Drums
116 Woodblock
117 Taiko Drum
118 Melodic Tom
119 Synth Drum
120 Reverse Cymbal

The GM1 standard does not specify program change numbers for different drum sets. However many synths use Program Change messages on the drum channel to choose a drum kit. Program Change 1 is the Standard Drum Kit on most synthesizers.

Other Drum Kits

Many General MIDI compatible synths have additional drum kits, often the eight listed below. Other drum kits are often similar to the Standard Drum Kit but have variations of the same drum sounds. For example, note 38 is an Acoustic Snare in the Standard Drum Kit. When you are using the Room Drum Kit, you still hear a snare with note 38 but it will be a "Room Snare".

Program Number Drum Kit Name

1 Standard Drum Kit
9 Room Drum Kit
17 Power Drum Kit
25 Electric Drum Kit
26 Rap TR808 Drum Kit
33 Jazz Drum Kit
41* Brush Drum Kit

* A special note about the Brush Kit * The Brush Kit is usually the same as the Standard Drum Kit with the following three exceptions:

Note #38 is a Brush Tap instead of a Snare Drum.
Note #39 is a Brush Slap instead of a Hand Clap.
Note #40 is a Brush Swirl instead of an Electric Snare Drum.

Some Yamaha synths use a somewhat different map for the brush sounds. On these synths:

Note #25 is a Brush tap.
Note #27 is a Brush Slap.
Note #26 is a Brush swirl.

Last edited by Jim Fogle; 02/04/25 01:07 AM. Reason: added file info.

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First, let's make the way to enter and use PIANO ROLL consistent with all DAWs. Just like STUDIO ONE, CUBASE

Then, the most comfortable PIANO ROLL design is FL STUDIO's PIANO ROLL


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Agree but PGM is looking for details.
What do you like about your favorite piano roll?


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Color background to chosen scale
Color background to chord root/chord notes (option to set color for color blind)
Snap notes to scale
Snap notes to chord
Set Keyswitches notes to lock by entering keyswitch note range

I did make vsti's to snap to scale or chord notes but you are not allowed to chain another vsti after it to get sound.

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I am partially color blind and can't tell many colors. In some threads I have to highlight some areas as I can't read them. Thus any color theme in BiaB must have the option to adjust or change any color.


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Originally Posted by MarioD
I am partially color blind and can't tell many colors. In some threads I have to highlight some areas as I can't read them. Thus any color theme in BiaB must have the option to adjust or change any color.

Yes/+1

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Band-in-a-Box had color themes in the past but I haven't seen any new one in years. I don't believe the older themes have been maintained to properly work with the 2025 versions of the Minimal and Normal screen modes.

Does anyone remember if the themes of old were user or PG Music created?

Does anyone know if the older themes are shipped with 2025 Band-in-a-Box?

Mario, do you know if the Institute for the Blind or any similar organization offers any best practice guidelines to follow when creating a theme for someone that is color challenged?

I think a color blind theme is a good idea but have no idea what it would take to create one or maintain it from year to year.


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Originally Posted by Jim Fogle
............................................

Mario, do you know if the Institute for the Blind or any similar organization offers any best practice guidelines to follow when creating a theme for someone that is color challenged?

No I don't. There are different levels of color blindness, from total to slight.

Originally Posted by Jim Fogle
I think a color blind theme is a good idea but have no idea what it would take to create one or maintain it from year to year.

I'm not asking for a color blind theme, just the availability to change colors, maybe via a color wheel. I color my tracks in Studio One Pro 7, i.e drums one color, cymbals another, guitars another etc. They are extremely different colors. I can see them but others look at them and say "Oh my God" grin


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This is an example https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/2733/Another%20colorblind%20default.ReaperThemezip
But yes if you were able to change colors yourself to suit.

[Linked Image from stash.reaper.fm]

[Linked Image from stash.reaper.fm]

[Linked Image from stash.reaper.fm]

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Thanks for the suggestions! No, there aren't currently options for customizing the color of the Piano Roll. Display Prefs has the ability to set the color of many of the Chord Sheet and Mixer elements, and it is possible to create themes but as it stands there aren't many pre-made themes. That said, we should try to keep this thread focused on the Piano Roll window specifically.


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If you want to learn from the best (concerning Piano Roll), download the demo of FL Studio.I don't think there is a better one.
Maybe some of their approaches will spark ideas...

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Top points according to AI:

1) Default Tool as Pen Tool: Users want the default tool to be a pen tool instead of a selection tool. This change would make it easier to start drawing notes immediately, streamlining the workflow and reducing the need to switch tools.

2) Full-Length Overlay Guides: Adding full-length horizontal and vertical guides would help users align notes more accurately when drawing. This feature would enhance precision and make it easier to create well-aligned compositions.

3) Full Cursor on Playback: Having a full cursor during playback would make it easier to see the exact position of notes and make precise adjustments. This would improve the editing process and help users create more accurate musical arrangements.

4) Freehand Drawing Note Length: Allowing users to draw notes of any length freely, rather than just preselecting durations, would give more flexibility in creating music. This feature would enable users to be more creative and express their musical ideas more freely.

5)User-Defined Note Color: Enabling users to customize the color of notes would help in visually organizing and distinguishing different parts of the composition. This would improve the overall user experience and make it easier to manage complex compositions.

6) Display Drum Kit Sound Names: Show the drum kit sound names associated with each key on the Pitch Selector keyboard instead of just note names like C3, C4, etc. This would make it easier for users to identify and use specific drum sounds.


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Not sure I understand all the above points so this may have been covered but ...

In the Piano Roll window, the scroll wheel on the mouse, moves the bars to the left or to the right.
If I also have a Moveable Audio Edit window open, the scroll wheel changes the LENGTH of each bar.

1. It would be nice if the scroll wheel did the same thing in each window, not at the same time, but wherever the cursor was
2. If would be helpful if the horizontal scale (i.e. width) of the bars in those 2 windows could be "sync'd" so that you could line up the bars in both windows to the exact bar lines, one window above the other

Thanks!
LLOYD S

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