The original version of this page can be found at : http://forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=5&m=467002
| Posted By : author - 12/20/2015 11:30 AM | I am the author of the plug-in for Finale named PlayMusic (www.playmusic-finale.com). This plug-in was also known as PlayMaster, but now returned to its original name. It provides the so-called playmusic mode of playing scores. Unlike the playback, it allows the user to really play music on the MIDI keyboard. In a sense, the playback and playmusic modes complement each other.
Now available PlayMusic 18.5.0.1 18.5.0.2 only for Windows. If you have installed any version of PlayMaster, you can upgrade it to PlayMusic. If it was already authorized, then re-authorization is not required; if not, you will have a new 30-day trial period. If you have PlayMusic 18.5.0.1, it is strongly recommended to update to version 18.5.0.2 (re-authorization is also not needed).
Iurii Storchakov.Post Edited (author) : 2/10/2016 1:54:19 AM (GMT-6) |
| Posted By : author - 12/24/2015 5:08 AM | It should be clarified what is the main feature of the playmusic mode.
In every moment a vertical cursor (similar to the playback cursor) indicates a current position on the score, i.e. the note or notes of the score you should play now. To play the said notes, you can press any key or keys on the MIDI keyboard. Each of those notes will be assigned to one of pressed keys, which will cause sounding of the note. The number of the notes and the pressed keys may not be equal. You can even play by pressing all time the same one or alternately the same two keys. |
| Posted By : David Young : chambermusic - 12/24/2015 2:24 PM | I'm not sure that I get it. It sounds like you have a program that puts a score up on the screen that you have composed and then you play the music on a midi keyboard and the notes sound as you play it. But how is this any better than printing out the music, putting the printed music on a piano top and then playing the music on the piano?
I guess I don't quite understand what your plug in does.
David Young
Historicist Composer of classical-romantic style chamber and orchestral music.
Finale 2.4 to Finale 2014. Logic Pro 8, Digital Performer, Loaded MAC Tower, two screens, a whole bag of sample libraries including Full GPO, some VSL, True Strike 1 and 2, Xsample Chamber Instruments and I have a long ways to go to understand how us all of this.... but quite familiar with Finale!
Join us at www.composeforums.com for arranging and orchestration! |
| Posted By : author - 12/27/2015 12:02 PM | | This plug-in works with the scores that you opened in Finale’s File menu or have created in Finale after choosing New item in the said menu. Unfortunately, now the playmusic mode is applicable only for MIDI keyboards. But nevertheless, there is the technical solution which would make possible to apply the playmusic mode to the acoustic piano. |
| Posted By : author - 12/27/2015 2:18 PM | | In addition, PlayMusic relieves the performer from having to find the right keys to play the notes indicated by the cursor, it also if necessary controls the correct duration of the sounds relative to other sounds. This can be explained by the following example. Let us suppose that you need to concurrently play a quarter note and two consecutive eighth notes. If you press any two keys on the keyboard, then the left one will be assigned the lower of the first two notes (i.e., will cause the sound), and the right will be assigned to a higher note. If you release both keys, the first of the eighth notes stops sounding, but the quarter note will continue to sound until you press any key to play the second of the eighth notes and then release it to stop sounding. The quarter note will stop sounding at the same time. |
| Posted By : author - 12/29/2015 11:39 AM | From a mechanical point of view, the performance of any musical piece on the keyboard instrument is nothing more than a series of presses and releases of the specified keys in the specified order (now we omit the use of the pedals, as well as nuances of touché). All this is uniquely determined by the score. You may only vary the speed of pressing keys and time intervals between operations with the keys. That is what distinguishes one performance of the piece from another.
PlayMusic frees you from the need to select the specified keys (because you may press any keys), i.e. it eliminates the main difficulties of playing keyboard instrument. But, at the same time, it leaves all possibilities to perform the piece the way you want. |
| Posted By : author - 12/31/2015 10:42 AM | | As for the pedals, if your MIDI keyboard is equipped with of the sustain pedal, the playmusic mode allows its use in the usual way. Although it should be noted that there is little need in using it. Post Edited (author) : 1/3/2016 3:11:18 AM (GMT-6) |
| Posted By : author - 1/3/2016 10:47 AM | Now about touché.
There are many factors that influence how you accelerate the piano key, and these are the domain of touché. The way you do it causes different character of the elastic deformation of the hammer shank. The speed of the hammer determines the sound volume, and the elastic deformation of the hammer shank before striking the strings determines the sound quality.
Of course, all this is irrelevant to the MIDI keyboards and therefore to the playmusic mode.Post Edited (author) : 1/3/2016 11:54:49 AM (GMT-6) |
| Posted By : Motet - 1/3/2016 12:22 PM | If you look at it from a physics point of view, you've got a mass (the hammer) hitting the strings at a certain velocity, disengaged from the key at that point. I guess if the shank has been deformed and is in the process of snapping back when the hammer hits the string that could in theory impart some acceleration to the hammer at the time of impact, but if that exists it's got to be tiny and I'm skeptical. My guess is that a "singing tone," etc., on the piano is really a matter of the relative volumes of various notes creating a musical effect.
I once went to a master class by Karl Ulrich Schnabel, who was the son of the famous Artur Schnabel, and he thought you could achieve a crescendo by vibrating your hands on the held-down keys! It was quite daft and betrayed an ignorance of how the piano mechanism works, but he was a wonderful teacher nonetheless.
Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition ChartPost Edited (Motet) : 1/3/2016 11:26:06 AM (GMT-6) |
| Posted By : author - 1/3/2016 4:21 PM | | I think when the hammer disengaged from the key and flies out of inertia, only two factors can influence the creation of sound. First of all, this is the speed that the pianist had given the hammer. And secondly, the character of elastic deformation of the hammer shank that depends on how the pianist was accelerating the key during the pressing. Nothing else can influence physically. Post Edited (author) : 1/4/2016 3:45:53 AM (GMT-6) |
| Posted By : author - 1/5/2016 4:36 PM | Motet said...
I guess if the shank has been deformed and is in the process of snapping back when the hammer hits the string that could in theory impart some acceleration to the hammer at the time of impact, but if that exists it's got to be tiny and I'm skeptical. My guess is that a "singing tone," etc., on the piano is really a matter of the relative volumes of various notes creating a musical effect.
I'm perfectly willing to accept that elastic deformation of the hammer shank perhaps can't exert any noticeable influence on the sound. I am not a musician and don't judge about it. But if all musical effects depend only on the relative volumes of various notes, all this is possible for the MIDI keyboards and hence for the playmusic mode.
To play the current notes of the score, the user may press any keys (which are just more comfortable). PlayMusic assigns the pressed keys to the current notes in accordance with the obvious rule: the most left from the keys will be assigned to the lowest of those notes (i.e. its pressing will cause the sounding of this note), the next from the keys – to the next higher note, and so on. Thus PlayMusic allows the user to change the relative volumes of various notes to achieve the desired musical effect, and therefore it is possible to speak about "touché" in relation to the playmusuc mode?Post Edited (author) : 1/8/2016 8:46:24 AM (GMT-6) |
| Posted By : author - 1/10/2016 1:34 PM | David Young said...
I'm not sure that I get it. It sounds like you have a program that puts a score up on the screen that you have composed and then you play the music on a midi keyboard and the notes sound as you play it.
I would like to clarify the following:
1. This Finale plug-in does not put a score up on the screen because all this is done by Finale. The plug-in controls the score position on the screen during performing and draws the vertical cursor that indicates the current notes of the score (i.e. the note or notes you should play now). PlayMusic is able to determine the coordinates of the cursor so that it will be drawn exactly one pixel to the left of the current note or notes. Information about the notes of the score is accessible to the plug-in thanks to the Finale application program interface.
2. In any keyboard instrument each key corresponds to one certain note. This plug-in makes it possible to dynamically re-establish correspondence between the keys of your MIDI keyboard and different notes. You can press any keys to play the current notes, because the plug-in establishes a correspondence between the current notes and pressed keys in such a way that the sound each of those notes will be caused by depressing the corresponding key.
All this applies to any score in any file format that can be opened in Finale. |
| Posted By : author - 1/13/2016 3:05 PM |
It contains a detailed overview of the so-called conductor programs which make possible computer-mediated musical performance when the pre-performed score is stored in the computer memory and the performer controls its playback with single keystrokes on a MIDI keyboard or some other way. Tapper by Stephen Malinowski is the most close to PlayMusic among those programs. But, nevertheless, it has a number of the serious differences:
1. Tapper deals with files in MIDI format.
PlayMusic works with the scores in Finale format (i.e. having .mus or .musx file extension) or in any other file format supported by Finale (including .midi files).
2. Tapper uses the bar-graph notation, i.e. it displays the score as a set of rectangles having certain position, width, and color.
PlayMusic is in the conventional musical notation, which is provided by Finale.
3. In Tapper, single keystrokes control playback of MIDI files. The MIDI files store the information about parameters of the performance. For each group of notes started by a given keypress, the loudest note in that group will be played at the level dictated by the velocity of the keypress; the other notes in that group will have dynamic levels that maintain their dynamic proportion to the loudest note (i.e. the proportion will be the same as in the MIDI file).
For PlayMusic no matter what keys are pressed to play the current notes of the score, because it processes MIDI input messages and replaces MIDI key number on MIDI key number corresponding to one of those notes. Information about those notes is accessible to PlayMusic thanks to the Finale application program interface (API). Because the volume of those notes depends on how you press each key, you can control the relative volumes of various notes. PlayMusic may also ignore the messages about unnecessary keystrokes or on the contrary create multiple copies of messages with new MIDI key numbers corresponding to those notes. Therefore, if you wish, you can even play all current notes by pressing a single key.
4. In Tapper, notes are grouped into alternating sets of play groups and release groups. Play groups are groups of note starts that happen at the roughly same time. Release groups are all the notes ends that happen between one play group and the following play group. When you press a key on the MIDI keyboard, Tapper plays any note ends in the upcoming release group and all the note starts in the next play group.
PlayMusic starts and stops sounding of the notes in accordance with the pressing and releasing of keys. If necessary, it controls the correct duration of the sounds relative to other sounds (especially if you play by pressing a single key).Post Edited (author) : 1/15/2016 2:40:44 PM (GMT-6) |
| Posted By : author - 1/18/2016 11:22 AM | | It should again be emphasized that unlike the conductor programs, PlayMaster does not use any MIDI data relating to any performance. All notes of the score begin to sound, have a dynamic level, and stop sounding in accordance with the movement keys. But there is one exception: the grace notes and ornaments are played automatically. This was done for two reasons: first, for somebody it may be too hard to press a key or keys so quickly; and secondly, on some types of MIDI keyboards practically impossible to play them more or less satisfactorily. |
| Posted By : author - 1/25/2016 10:56 AM | So what is the best way to play the score with PlayMusic?
The answer depends on the level of your ambitions and your technical capabilities. The easiest way is to play all current notes with a single keystroke. The volume of those notes will be determined by the velocity of the keypress, but PlayMusic may reduce the volume of the notes of the accompaniment.
If it is not hard for you, then you can press any several keys (just which are more convenient) for sounding the current notes of the score. Thus you can control the relative volumes of various notes for creating a desired musical effect.
If your technical ability allows it, you can play in the usual way (except, as mentioned above, grace notes and ornaments that are played automatically). In this case, only the cursor will indicate current notes and the score will be scrolled during performing. |
| Posted By : Derrek - 1/25/2016 6:44 PM | Isn't it about time to stop using this forum for an extended commercial?
Finale 2014d - Windows 7
GPO 4, JABB 3, World Instruments
TG Tools Full, (Sonar Platinum)
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx
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| Posted By : Michel R. E. - 1/25/2016 7:25 PM | Derrek said...
Isn't it about time to stop using this forum for an extended commercial?
simply do as others and report him.
eventually his spamming will be nipped in the bud.
Finale (started with ver. 3.0) now using 2012 under Windows 8.1
basically ALL Garritan libraries, plus XSample Chamber Ensemble.
"Art critics suffer from Pigeon Syndrome. Pigeons like to leave their mark on monuments. But at the end of the day, the pigeon remains a pigeon, and the monument remains a monument." |
| Posted By : Ralph L. Bowers Jr. - 1/25/2016 7:42 PM | Just report it to Perter F. "Forum Moderator," if it is starting to trouble you with the OP's attempts to sell his software plugin.
Finale 2010b, 2011b, 2012c, 2014d, 2014.5 TGTools Pro, Patterson plugins, JW plugins (current for each Finale Instalation)
Sibelius 6.2, 7.1.3, 7.5.1, 8.0.1, Write Score Sound Sets, TMT Publisher Bundle Plugins, Bob Zawalich plugins, Dolet 6.5
Print Music 2004, 2010a, 2011a, 2014a
Progression, Progression 2, Progression 3, Notion 4, [Notion 5, (bought but not installed)]
Pro Tools 9.5, Reaper
Kontakt 5
GPO4, World Instruments
SmartScore X Pro, SmartScore X2 Pro, PhotoScore Ultimate 6 & 7 & 8.04 ( 7 has some utility----best of those available, 8 has some issues that need fixing)
M-Audio "Oxygen 25" Midi input keyboard (recent addition 2014)
Systems (4) // Windows XP Pro, 2@ Windows 7 Pro, 8.1 Pro, 64 bit, 4GB - 16GB RAM
Paper & Pencil
BMus, MM (Musicology) |
| Posted By : author - 1/26/2016 6:09 AM | Derrek said...
Isn't it about time to stop using this forum for an extended commercial?
Dear Derrek,
I fully admit that this Finale plug-in may be absolutely uninteresting to you. But as far as I can judge, it is of interest to some visitors of this forum.
So what to do? |
| Posted By : Michel R. E. - 1/26/2016 9:46 AM | author said...Derrek said...
Isn't it about time to stop using this forum for an extended commercial? Dear Derrek, I fully admit that this Finale plug-in may be absolutely uninteresting to you. But as far as I can judge, it is of interest to some visitors of this forum. So what to do?
So far, it would appear that you have an odd idea of what "interest" is.
David asked you what your plug-in did, since your initial explanation was so frustratingly vague and poorly written.
Then Motet has responded twice, neither of his responses indicating any interest in your "product".
Otherwise, any other responses in this thread have been criticism of your spamming technique.
Most of the posts in this thread are from you, reviving the thread with pointless "bumps", and that, dear sir, is the very essence of spamming.
Finale (started with ver. 3.0) now using 2012 under Windows 8.1
basically ALL Garritan libraries, plus XSample Chamber Ensemble.
"Art critics suffer from Pigeon Syndrome. Pigeons like to leave their mark on monuments. But at the end of the day, the pigeon remains a pigeon, and the monument remains a monument." |
| Posted By : author - 1/26/2016 11:58 AM | Michel R.E. said...
David asked you what your plug-in did, since your initial explanation was so frustratingly vague and poorly written.
Dear Michel R.E.,
Of course, you are right. That's why I tried to correct this deficiency. Also, if you think the explanation is unsatisfactory, you can simply install this Finale plug-in and test it.Post Edited (author) : 2/10/2016 1:57:48 AM (GMT-6) |
| Posted By : Motet - 1/26/2016 12:14 PM | You might have a look at the sticky thread "MakeMusic Forum Policy," which forbids "solicitation of outside products", but I guess it's a judgement call whether this is an outside product. I personally don't have a problem with it, and it would be easy enough to avoid the thread if I did.
Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart |
| Posted By : Derrek - 1/26/2016 1:18 PM | Is that what the thumbs-down icon does?
Finale 2014d - Windows 7
GPO 4, JABB 3, World Instruments
TG Tools Full, (Sonar Platinum)
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx
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| Posted By : Motet - 1/26/2016 2:21 PM | I think so.
Just out of curiosity, Mike, what compels you to read this thread? Aside from a similar thread in the "plug-ins" forum, he is not making a nuisance of himself. I don't understand why it's causing people a problem.
Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart |
| Posted By : author - 1/26/2016 3:00 PM | Michel R.E. said...
So far, it would appear that you have an odd idea of what "interest" is.
I mean those more than a thousand visitors who showed interest in this topic. Spam is not interesting to anyone. |
| Posted By : Motet - 1/26/2016 3:15 PM | Have you sold any?
Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart |
| Posted By : Ralph L. Bowers Jr. - 1/26/2016 4:50 PM | author said...Michel R.E. said...
So far, it would appear that you have an odd idea of what "interest" is. I mean those more than a thousand visitors who showed interest in this topic. Spam is not interesting to anyone.
I'm sure it is far less than a thousand as the same individuals visit this thread with each posting.
Now, if you could write a plugin that does what cathya has requested forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=6&m=469082.
That would sell very well.
Finale 2010b, 2011b, 2012c, 2014d, 2014.5 TGTools Pro, Patterson plugins, JW plugins (current for each Finale Instalation)
Sibelius 6.2, 7.1.3, 7.5.1, 8.0.1, Write Score Sound Sets, TMT Publisher Bundle Plugins, Bob Zawalich plugins, Dolet 6.5
Print Music 2004, 2010a, 2011a, 2014a
Progression, Progression 2, Progression 3, Notion 4, [Notion 5, (bought but not installed)]
Pro Tools 9.5, Reaper
Kontakt 5
GPO4, World Instruments
SmartScore X Pro, SmartScore X2 Pro, PhotoScore Ultimate 6 & 7 & 8.04 ( 7 has some utility----best of those available, 8 has some issues that need fixing)
M-Audio "Oxygen 25" Midi input keyboard (recent addition 2014)
Systems (4) // Windows XP Pro, 2@ Windows 7 Pro, 8.1 Pro, 64 bit, 4GB - 16GB RAM
Paper & Pencil
BMus, MM (Musicology) |
| Posted By : Ron. - 1/26/2016 6:50 PM | Derrek said...
Is that what the thumbs-down icon does?
Yep. It comes in very handy. Good for getting rid of migraines and reducing stress. I highly recommend it.
Finale 2014.5
GPO4, JaBB3, GIO, COMB2, GWI, GIFF, Steinway Basic.
www.composeforums.com |
| Posted By : author - 1/27/2016 4:47 AM | Motet said...author said...
I mean those more than a thousand visitors who showed interest in this topic...
Have you sold any?
I never considered this forum as a means of sales promotion of my Finale plug-in. At least it would be deprived of any practical meaning, because this forum is visited by mostly professional musicians, while this Finale plug-in, as you might guess, is primarily intended for persons who are far enough from the music.
Ralph L. Bowers Jr. said...I'm sure it is far less than a thousand as the same individuals visit this thread with each posting. Now, if you could write a plugin that does what cathya has requested forum.makemusic.com/default.aspx?f=6&m=469082...
You could be right. Only if it's not interesting, why someone would want to visit it several times.
As for your mention of the desirable theme of the plug-in, then unfortunately, this subject is very far from me.Post Edited (author) : 1/30/2016 11:58:55 AM (GMT-6) |
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