Render a dotted quarter note when appropriate
Derek Lee
FYI, updating the category of this to Comprehensive Music Notation. (Music input is for how notation is actually input into the device, for example, by tapping into the grid, recording what is played on electronic drums or acoustic drums, etc.)
Derek Lee
Hello Willim86 and thanks for this request!
FYI there is already a request for whole notes here: https://roadmap.beat-note.app/feature-requests/p/render-a-whole-note-when-appropriate
And a request for half-notes here: https://roadmap.beat-note.app/feature-requests/p/render-a-half-note-when-appropriate
I have questions about how whole and half notes should be rendered and I will pose those questions to those requests at the appropriate time.
I will rename this request to be specifically for dotted-quarter notes. 👍🏻 There are a number of other rendering options (like quarter note triplets) that I haven't created requests for but they are on my radar.
Regarding: "sheet music won't appear as crowded when reading as well eliminating all the extra rest notes and quarter notes" - I understand your perception may lead you to this assumption; however, how the music is displayed is not necessarily related to what notation is used. Music notation is extremely complicated and my goal with Beat Note is to prioritize simplicity and standardization above configuration and supporting edge cases. Simply adding support for whole notes or half notes may not render the music in the way you expect, and if that's the case, I'd like to encourage you to share more detailed feedback about how you would expect the music to be rendered in those cases. Thanks!
Willim86
Derek Lee understood. Maybe just the whole note and half note rests will be helpful to 1) make music sheets more readable with less notations visible which was touched on previously & 2) help with processing power when the app doesn't need to load as many 1/4 rests when building large files. (For example I created one beat file with over 100 measures and it started slowing down since I have so many measures input) This may not be the case, but I wanted to suggest it if it can possibly be helpful. This is only a theory in my mind, however I'm no expert in what all goes on when creating notations within the program. I only ask because I'm trying to convert hand written papers into more legible sheet music to read. I'll attach a photo as an example of what I'm trying to recreate with the app.
I appreciate you reaching back out to me & I'm thoroughly impressed with everything already implemented within the program.
Much thanks,
Willim86
Derek Lee
Willim86 Thanks for your detailed, kind, and quick response! 🙏 Many topics such as this benefit from having a detailed discussion, and your engagement makes that possible. Thank you!
#1. Making sheet music more readable - From a "signal to noise ratio," I agree that less is more in this case. However, I do have some concerns about supporting whole notes as I want to ensure I'm doing so both a) correctly and b) in a way that is either in line with standard drumming notation or would help to move us towards more of a standard.
#2. Re: helping with processing power - Sadly, I don't believe this change would help with app performance. Even if this did positively impact performance, I wouldn't consider it a valid solution because the performance of the app cannot be based on expectations of what the user might compose. I need to ensure Beat Note can support 100+ measures of whole notes or 100+ measures of 32nd notes, as I do not want to limit what the user can do with the app. 👍🏻
Since you mentioned it, please note that other users have shared feedback about lag on older devices. I've done some research into this and made some tweaks, but I've yet to discover the "long tail." Please vote for and follow this request for updates: https://roadmap.beat-note.app/feature-requests/p/im-using-an-ipad-pro-from-2018-and-when-im-editing-a-song-with-100-measures-it-l
Re: "I appreciate you reaching back out to me & I'm thoroughly impressed with everything already implemented within the program."
I really appreciate you sharing this feedback with me! This kind of positive feedback is highly motivating to me, particularly as I'm mostly working independently. One of my goals is to provide the kind of customer service to people I wish I could receive, and I also want to build a community where everyone feels comfortable and welcome to share their feedback. Naturally, my experience with drumming provides a foundation for Beat Note, but I also understand many people have different needs and approaches and I consider a large part of my role to be a facilitator. This means digging deep into what you and other users are asking for to extrapolate the common challenges and needs and then experimenting to find appropriate solutions and iterate on them until I can get it dialed in. This process does take a lot of time, but as I think you may have already communicated here, is hopefully apparent to you and others given the state of the app. I view this as a long journey and I'm excited to welcome you to the community and welcome your feedback! 🙇🏻♂️ Please keep it coming!!