On 09 2 2003 at 8:30 am -0500, François Rayer wrote:
So as musician, I downloaded it and play a little with it. These are the feedback and ideas I got about it, I hope this might help to make this thing to become ZeGreatThing ;-)
Hey François, Thanks a lot for the feedback, I appreciate it, and I'm glad you are having fun with Doggie :) All of your ideas are right on point; here are my thoughts:
You might propose to the user to set one instrument per line (on the left side of the bars) and so adding/removing a beat is just a click on the right place in the instruments/beats matrix. To keep the thing readable it's better if it adds the symbol of the instrument (like you do now).
Yep, I tend to agree. Originally, my goal was to simplify the whole grid by causing various drums to share spots -- for example, cymbals and hi hats which wouldn't typically be hit at the same time. However, I realise this does create extra hassle for quickly adding/removing things. As it happens, doing what you've illustrated in the JPEG is very much what I've had in mind for the near future. I am thinking of having a switchable mode, so that you can either use the current behaviour (compact five-line grid) or switch so that every instrument shows up in its own space... and then have the drum kit list/palette follow the mouse around so that it always appears to the left of the current row, in line with the grid currently being edited. Also, functions related to this: providing option-click to erase the current drum, regardless of what it is; and control-click for more options (as you suggest).
2. The ability to name a set of bars is fine, I would like to be able to sequence them as the song need it, without copying it.
Yeah, I hear you on this; that's also on the idea list. Seems it would be cool if you could copy a section in the section list, and paste it in somewhere else, so that it functions like an alias to the first one. I am thinking that the bars would show up in the editor like usual, but with an indication that they are actually an alias for a pre-existing section elsewhere in the song -- any changes made to one would be made also to the original. Or, it could be locked so that changes could only be made to the original.
3. The granularity feature is fine but should be manageable by bar to keep a more compact interface.
In principle, I understand where you are coming from on this, and I think there is room for improvement. However, I'm wondering how to implement it in a way that would not cause widespread confusion. :) I think the first step is that I need to indicate, on a per-bar basis somehow, what the current granularity is -- i.e. what duration of note that a given beat division represents.
4. As a general remark, most of Mac users like the CTRL click (or right click) because it's fast. Many functions might be implemented that way and so being context sensitive (when you right click on a bar you get bar menu, on an instrument a menu about the instrument...)
Exact; I foresee the power here, and I just haven't had time to flesh it out yet. For example, I envision control-click to provide a velocity slider, so that you can alter the volume of a given drum/cymbal hit, etc.
That's it for today :-) I will play a little more with this demo and perhaps come back to you with more feedback.
Awesome; I love the suggestions, and look forward to your other ideas. By the way, I am copying this to the mailing list so people can get an idea what is is lying ahead; hope you don't mind! -ben -- Ben Kennedy, chief magician zygoat creative technical services 613-228-3392 | 1-866-466-4628 http://www.zygoat.ca