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FR: Notes pane possibility to add custom text and colors


Ronny.G

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Hi everyone,

in the past, a similar request has already been made, however I would like to propose it again with some variations as I think, a new feature like this on the PRV, if it will be implemented, could be very useful.

Personally I found myself many times in the condition in which it would have been enormously useful for me to have a customization of this type of the notes pane in the PRV view. First of all to have a quick visual indication of the extension available to me for each VST instrument used in the various tracks, but not only, even an additional personalized text would have allowed me to insert useful additional "reminders" on the individual keys.

This customization should be done per single track and not a global. In practice, a custom instrument definition can already be assigned to a single track through the appropriate menu. It would therefore also be a matter of adding an additional "custom text and colors" option to the menu already present. This option should open an edit window similar to that already in use for the articulations in which to be able to enter and save as a preset also, the personalized data. The keyboard notes names would obviously be fixed instead text1, text2 and color would be customizable. Text1 and Text 2 fields should be displayed in different areas of the piano keys and it should be possible to use them both or not to allow better management of the limited space available and to have maximum flexibility according to use (in some cases it would be visually more linear to use only the text1 field, in other cases only the text2, or a combinaltion of both,etc).

I think an image can explain very simply what I mean so I insert one as an example. 

 

1825707257_PianoNotesCustom.png.64fb0f2c4982af45e1e75443246e7ee0.png

 

The possibility of entering the personalized data manually would also be relatively simple and fast so as not to require automatic retrieve from the VST instrument (for example I think kontakt note colors) which would probably create some more complications with VST data exchange . Also if we insert manually the data through CbB in this way, we can also insert the custom texts which are very important too.

I hope my suggestion will be taken into consideration for a future release. Let me know what you think. For now I thank the developers once again for their work!

Edited by Ronny.G
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I think it's a good idea although although you could argue that for many Kontakt instruments we can now use the articulations pane so maybe there is is some crossover if you intend to mainly use it to identify keys-switches etc ? 

You would need a way to store it, so would you make an instrument definition for each Kontakt Library you own that could be recalled and included the custom note names and colours ? 

I like the suggestion in principle if it can be implemented. 

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It’s actually easy, but cumbersome...

 

On a track you wish to use a drum map, select it from the midi output widget on the track.

To create a new one or edit, there's an option to create in this same list.

 

 I’m sure there are  plenty of detailed instructions available. You can search this forum or YouTube etc.

...just thinking. I believe you can create a keyboard map. Right click on the PRV keyboard and you will find a list of available keyboard maps. These can be created at your whim as well. They may be more appropriate?

Edited by Keni
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Thank you all for your interest

15 hours ago, Mark Morgon-Shaw said:

I think it's a good idea although although you could argue that for many Kontakt instruments we can now use the articulations pane so maybe there is is some crossover if you intend to mainly use it to identify keys-switches etc ? 

I usually use the articulation pane function massively and I love it. This additional feature that I have indicated, as far as I am concerned, does not serve as much to indicate the key switches on the piano keys, as you rightly write for that there is already the articulation function, but rather to write down other things on the piano note keys. I'll give you an example, the first one that comes to mind. If you don't have in operation for various reasons (for example because you are outside with the laptop) a lighted NKS keyboard and you are doing notes corrections and insertions through the PRV, it would be useful to have the colored indications of the range extension that you have available for the instrument. In addition, you could also create various piano keys templates for orchestration in which you can indicate instruments range according to the ones used using different colors and also add on the piano key a text indicating which instrument the color zone is (copy this "customized piano roll definition" on multiple tracks and you can use it in PRV multitracks editing too, etc. These are only a few ideas there would be many other examples. You can adapt it to very different needs in a flexible way as you have colors and the two custom text zones (the maximum available in the tiny space) on the keys.

 

15 hours ago, Mark Morgon-Shaw said:

You would need a way to store it, so would you make an instrument definition for each Kontakt Library you own that could be recalled and included the custom note names and colours ? 

We already have this, maybe add a third option that open a configuration panel (as in my screenshot demo example) where you can create save and reload your piano keys settings (similar to the articulation pane)

1486312801_notenamesoptions.png.2d7fc3282fa33e97bbc2e64133032e2a.png

 

11 hours ago, Keni said:

Couldn’t you use a drum map to accomplish this?

The drum map is a totally different thing, also notes don't have duration

1785894207_drummap.png.e8c59c3499ee29cda0bf596527d3b952.png

but maybe you mean drum map in "note names"

591918774_Notenamesdrums.png.86c56d35d6ade8b20442bb85b40bc392.png

this could partially solve the name problem but even this is different from what I proposed, there aren't  anymore the piano keys layout and the assignable color zones.

Edited by Ronny.G
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1 hour ago, Ronny.G said:

Thank you all for your interest

I usually use the articulation pane function massively and I love it. This additional feature that I have indicated, as far as I am concerned, does not serve as much to indicate the key switches on the piano keys, as you rightly write for that there is already the articulation function, but rather to write down other things on the piano note keys. I'll give you an example, the first one that comes to mind. If you don't have in operation for various reasons (for example because you are outside with the laptop) a lighted NKS keyboard and you are doing notes corrections and insertions through the PRV, it would be useful to have the colored indications of the range extension that you have available for the instrument. In addition, you could also create various piano keys templates for orchestration in which you can indicate instruments range according to the ones used using different colors and also add on the piano key a text indicating which instrument the color zone is (copy this "customized piano roll definition" on multiple tracks and you can use it in PRV multitracks editing too, etc. These are only a few ideas there would be many other examples. You can adapt it to very different needs in a flexible way as you have colors and the two custom text zones (the maximum available in the tiny space) on the keys.

 

We already have this, maybe add a third option that open a configuration panel (as in my screenshot demo example) where you can create save and reload your piano keys settings (similar to the articulation pane)

1486312801_notenamesoptions.png.2d7fc3282fa33e97bbc2e64133032e2a.png

 

The drum map is a totally different thing, also notes don't have duration

1785894207_drummap.png.e8c59c3499ee29cda0bf596527d3b952.png

but maybe you mean drum map in "note names"

591918774_Notenamesdrums.png.86c56d35d6ade8b20442bb85b40bc392.png

this could partially solve the name problem but even this is different from what I proposed, there aren't  anymore the piano keys layout and the assignable color zones.

Yeah, i realized drum maps was wrong and added the keyboard note names afterwards as that was what I was really thinking. I wasn’t expecting to exactly replicate what you were asking for, only to think of work arounds..

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7 hours ago, Ronny.G said:

it would be useful to have the colored indications of the range extension that you have available for the instrument. In addition, you could also create various piano keys templates for orchestration in which you can indicate instruments range according to the ones used using different colors and also add on the piano key a text indicating which instrument the color zone is (copy this "customized piano roll definition" on multiple tracks and you can use it in PRV multitracks editing too, etc.

Thanks for the explanation, yes I can understand how it would be helpful over and above the standard articulation keyswitches now. I don't have a fancy light up NKS keyboard but I do have 3 screens so I tend to have any Kontakt instruments open on screen 3 so I can glance up and check I'm using the the right note range or keyswitches.

I  can't always recall what some  notes ranges do on certain instruments as they are so varied and It would be very handy to have them on the PRV if I chose to and having slept on it I think I would use quite regularly .

This suggestion would  really enhance workflow for Kontakt users such as myself and I am sure there are other use cases for it I haven't thought of  ,  but I also like that it would have zero impact on anyone else and hopefully wouldn't require too much Dev time as it's really just enhancing something that already exists.

 We should ask @msmcleod what he thinks about this suggestion but it gets my vote.

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  • 2 weeks later...

@Mark Morgon-Shaw and the others

Exactly so, many times I too find myself in a situation of trying to remember (most of the time try...) the actual range of notes available to me for individual instruments in use on the various midi channels.

Most of the time it varies not only with respect to the "correct" range of individual instruments (violin,viola,etc), but also with respect to the fact that different libraries can also have a narrower or wider range than the one of the "real" instrument, making it even more complicated to remember the available ranges.

Also, just last week I was using a sections type library and not only there was this problem but since it had also multi-intruments patches , in the single patches there were in practice 4 or 5 ranges for the different instruments loaded, and the ranges were always different depending on the patch. Using more than one patch translated in a situation that was even more complicated. A further example of how it would be really useful to have a visual feedback through colors and writings customizable on the keys as  an additional guide when working directly in the PRV panel on single notes or chords to orchestrate what has already been composed.

There are also all the cases in which an NKS keyboard or multiple monitors are not available, for example if you are traveling with a laptop but want to try some corrections or changes on the fly.

As you write, this addition would have zero impact for those who are not interested, but I'm sure that if present it would be a function that would be used by many in different ways. A bit like the arranger or expression maps that are born with a purpose but being flexible they can also adapt to other needs than those for which they were designed.

Even to me it does not seem a complex addition (on paper...maybe it's on the code...I don't know).  Especially if implemented with only the possibility of "manual" configuration " for now, as I explained above,  and therefore without having to recover data directly from kontakt through VST, which would complicate the things, it would increase the risk of incompatibility or errors in the event of future updates of kontakt or vst protocol and would also not allow the insertion of "custom" text (very important too as I explained) or assign the same saved configuration to different midi channels with different patch loaded (I think of when changes made in multitrack mode in the PRV panel with focus on active track).

I also hope that my little suggestion will be taken into consideration and examined regarding its feasibility for a future update of CbB. Let's hope too maybe in  @msmcleod  consideration, if he has some time to examine this suggestion and thanks to all!

Edited by Ronny.G
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  • 11 months later...

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