Do You Use Shortcut Keys?

[Fourniture]

First brought up in issue #25476.
Right now, it is a (rather) slow process for score creation in Musescore, because one needs to constantly switch in and out of modes in order to write a complete passage. I suggest that the current functions of all letter keys be removed, and instead they be used to write text while still in note entering mode. If one wanted to write a forte mark, they would simply enter the note they wanted it to be apply to, and then type "f". The program would recognize it as a forte, and would apply the marking as soon as the user is done (i.e. they continue entering more notes or click away). Staff text is also automatically recognized. Expression text is recognized when the user types an asterisk before it, then enters the word. As soon as they click away from the word, the proper formatting is applied; i.e. bold italic for dynamics, none for staff text; and italics for expression.
Should the existing functionality of typing (letter) keys be changed?

[DaddyLudwig]

I do use the letter keys as shortcuts, and I would rather not have the shortcuts for slur, tie, staccato etc. change thank you very much. It's in the muscle memory of my fingers and my brain memory. I transcribe a bunch of classical music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert etc. and I can do most shortcuts I need to do in note entry mode on first pass (notes, tuplets, staccato, slurs, ties, accents, augmentation dots (including a couple custom shortcuts for double and triple augmentation dots), and accidentals (including custom shortcuts for double flat and double sharp) of which 5 of those involve letter keys. Not to mention that I often need to make certain elements that are for playback only and not visual invisible, which is another letter shortcut, so 6 things I do with the letter keys. I also add a lot of dynamics, ornaments, fermatas, and tremolos on first pass in note entry mode, but those are done via clicking on palatte items.

There's generally very little that needs to be added outside of note entry mode in my case (pedal marks, section breaks (I prefer to do it out of note entry mode even though it can be added in note entry mode), hairpins (I know there's a shortcut for those, but I prefer using the palatte for hairpins), tempo markings, barlines (same as for section breaks), frames, key and time signatures at movement openings, and jumps (D.C al Coda, D.S al Fine, Voltas etc.) all of which is a minute percentage of all my transcription work).

I would hate it if I tried to type in the note F and I got forte instead, that would be extremely counterproductive to my work! I don't use a MIDI keyboard for note input, cause I honestly don't like having to use an adapter to connect a MIDI keyboard to a USB port on my computer, and my USB ports are generally all or mostly used for something else anyway (phone charger, the plug-in keyboard I'm using right now to type this cause of a water spill incident in June of last year that made the built in keyboard not work anymore, sometimes I'm asked to charge something else for my parents using my third USB port on my computer). Plus, I would then have 3 different input methods to contend with, mouse for palattes, computer keyboard for almost everything else, and MIDI keyboard for notes. Not efficient at all! I can type Shift + S, 5, C, C, Ctrl + Up to input a staccato broken octave faster than I could go between computer keyboard and MIDI keyboard.

For years, I have done input of classical music into MuseScore almost completely via computer keyboard shortcuts and it's worked just fine for me, I would rather the shortcuts not change at all. No change to the number shortcuts, no change to the letter shortcuts, nothing needed for me at all in that department, just keep it as is.

[MarcSabatella]

I use shortcuts all the time. I disagree that score creation is slow - it’s easily the most efficient of the half dozen of so music notation programs I’ve used professionally.

That said, sure, there are opportunities to make it even more efficient than it already is, and I’m in favor of any efforts that can be proven to have a measureable improvement.

But removing the incredibly efficient existing shortcuts for note input is an absolute nonstarter, not even worth discussion. I can’t even imagine how anyone could possibly suggest such a thing - it’s ludicrous. There is no possible alternate reality in which it makes more sense for typing “F” to enter a dynamic than for it to enter the actual note “F”.

[DaddyLudwig]

I feel the same way you do about the removal of existing shortcuts for note input as well as slurs, invisible toggle etc. Like, purposefully making MuseScore less efficient, no thanks!

[MarcSabatella]

On the other hand, nothing wrong with wanting to be able to type dynamics, or to be able to switch between entering notes and typing expression text more easily. Work is already progressing on text entry of dynamics, and as far as I can, only a very slight change - allowing completion of text entry to return to whatever mode you were in instead of already dumping you back into Normal mode - would make a small but noticeable improvement in efficiency for entering text. Any number of possible ways to improve efficiency of palette interaction. All without sacrificing the efficiency of note input - and after all, notes account for probably 10-100 times as many of the markings in a particular score than all other markings combined.