On 11-Mar-2005 10:58, Sion Morris wrote:
The best use of shape would be to differentiate between the sampled velocity variation as opposed to the db volume controlled velocity ... so for example a snare drum sampled at top velocity might be a solid red square filling the whole of the icon's area.. a lower velocity sample might be a smaller red square, not filling the whole area ... and a lower velocity still could be even smaller etc. The software volume on each sample can be represented (as it is already) by the tinting of the icon. This would communicate as clearly as possible the sound and pattern.
Potentially, though, one could need to communicate distinctions within an quite wide range of velocities; MIDI, after all, supports up to 127 levels of velocity (I think). Admittedly, hand choosing between 127 velocities of drum hit in the current UI would be a bit daunting :), but half-a-dozen isn't unreasonable and I wonder if the size of the icon would allow the relative sizes of half-a-dozen differently sized squares to be communicated with sufficient clarity? Working with just 2 or 3 levels of velocity distinction, though, yes, I think that approach would work. Cheers, Carl -- Carl Edlund Anderson http://www.carlaz.com/