The best software for clearing up (notation) a freely performed MIDI

Recommendations concerning notation and publishing software in a non-partisan environment.
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OCTO
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The best software for clearing up (notation) a freely performed MIDI

Post by OCTO »

I hope that future advancements in AI will make easier the process of notating improvised music, particularly in genres like jazz that heavily rely on improvisation.

Personally, I do not have any difficulties when transcribing entirely freely improvised music recorded as MIDI, unfortunately it takes time. However, I am curious about the most optimal software that can be used for it. For instance, when opening a MIDI file (freely improvised) in notation software, I would like having various options to edit the "messy" output, such as indicators for beats or subbeats (for instance: "here is the beat" or "remove overlap" or "put the note into second voice" or "make this the half note").

Given that I recorded an improvisation with a significant degree of rubato, without a metronome click, I want to preserve the flow of my musical performance in terms of its aural speed and timing. It means that the tempo will always oscillate. Important: my intention is not to align the notes to the fixed beats (what the quantization usually does!), but rather to adjust the beats to synchronize with the music (and consequently, the beats will not maintain equal time durations due to variations in tempo).

In DigitalPerformer and LogicProX there are options for beat mappings. But both of them are very poor with notation.
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Finale 27.3 • Sibelius 2023.5• MuseScore 4+ • Logic Pro X+ • Ableton Live 11+ • Digital Performer 10+ /// MacOS Monterey (secondary in use systems: Fedora 35, Windows 10)
benwiggy
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Re: The best software for clearing up (notation) a freely performed MIDI

Post by benwiggy »

I think, if you play with considerably rubato, you'll have trouble with any software, without providing them some sort of map of the tempo change.

Dorico does have some very nice options for importing MIDI. Firstly, there are a whole load of options for how to import the file:
https://steinberg.help/dorico_pro/v5/en ... log_r.html

Then, if notes are still a a mess, you can re-quantise selections to specific note values. There's also "Extend to Next Note" and "Shorten to Next Note", so that short notes will be 'filled'; and overlapping notes can be reduced.

Also, Dorico quantises the notation, but leaves the 'imprecise' underlying MIDI data. (If you want.)

In this picture, you'll see that the notated length is represented by the underline, and the orange rectangle shows the played duration. All the notes here are played shorter than the notated length, and the very short notes are played early.
Screenshot 13.png
Screenshot 13.png (18.79 KiB) Viewed 5060 times
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OCTO
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Re: The best software for clearing up (notation) a freely performed MIDI

Post by OCTO »

In your example, the B3 note seems to have a small "ritard." (let us assume so!).
Can you click on the first C4 note (looks like a tuplet C-B-C) and put the barline there, and consequently click on A3 and choose "the second beat", so that the tempo changes in order to correspond with the intended notation?
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Finale 27.3 • Sibelius 2023.5• MuseScore 4+ • Logic Pro X+ • Ableton Live 11+ • Digital Performer 10+ /// MacOS Monterey (secondary in use systems: Fedora 35, Windows 10)
benwiggy
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Re: The best software for clearing up (notation) a freely performed MIDI

Post by benwiggy »

The main point of the image is to show that the MIDI notes can be different lengths (start/stop values) from the notated durations.

The notes are semiquaver rest, 3 semiquavers and a crotchet.

You can move the notes, either in this piano roll or in the notation. You can't move the barline to the notes, though.
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Re: The best software for clearing up (notation) a freely performed MIDI

Post by JJP »

I find this type of work easiest in a DAW like Logic. A DAW will have far more options for manipulating MIDI. Then you can re-save the file and import into your notation program of choice.

If it’s just defining beats, Pro Tools can work very well, and I use that regularly because I often receive Pro Tools files for transcription.I like to define all the beats before I start to work. That way I can easily jump forward and back to specific locations.
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OCTO
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Re: The best software for clearing up (notation) a freely performed MIDI

Post by OCTO »

This is a solution:
1. In Logic Pro X, where all music was composed as an improvisation @ tempo 120, time signature 4/4, I have created an additional midi track with "claves" sound, as a metronome. At this track I have recorded beats, in other words: I have followed the music as a conductor, and played the beats, including strong and weak beats and with all tempo changes, thus creating pulses (beats) for the entire movement.
2. To preserve the "speed" of music I have selected all tracks and locked SMPTE positions. This potion is rarely found in other DAW software. What it does it keeps the same audible speed of the recorded tracks regardless of tempo changes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euYPs0atjvM&t=184s
3. After that I have opened the Beat Mapping master track, selected my newly created "conductor" track with claves and mapped all recorded beats to the beats in the Beat Mapping track. This tool moves the track beats to the correct place of the beat track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luHADpobkBs The similar tool exists in Digital Performer, however in other DAWs such as ProTools, Cubase or Reaper it is much harder to do the same.
4. In the Score Viewer I have adjusted some parameters for each track so that it looks pretty decent to understand, such as minimum values, allowing overlapping or not, tuplets, voicing, clefs...
5. I have exported the score as music xml file. What is interesting, both Finale (latest) and Sibelius (latest) are inferior to MuseScore when I opened the file. MuseScore shows fewest errors, the output is clear and accepts the most of the XML instructions.

The following is not directly connected with the topic about MIDI, but this is how I go further.
6. I use the printed score from MuseScore file and try to create a meaningful notation, scoring it by hand usually on A3 pages.
7. When done, the handwritten score is copied into a notation software.
Freelance Composer. Self-Publisher.
Finale 27.3 • Sibelius 2023.5• MuseScore 4+ • Logic Pro X+ • Ableton Live 11+ • Digital Performer 10+ /// MacOS Monterey (secondary in use systems: Fedora 35, Windows 10)
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