05-19-2018, 07:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-19-2018, 08:18 PM by WalterWeinzinger.)
On the topic of Metronome Requests...
I'd like to add a vote for a song-independent metronome.
I play piano in a contra dance band, which is what I purchased my whole Chuwi Hi13/Windows 10/ MobileSheets system for. I really don't use this tablet for much of anything else.
As the piano player, I have to set the tempo for the whole band and, depending on the complexity of the dance, the age of the dancers, etc., the caller will request that we change tempo on the fly in the middle of a set. I convey these changes to everyone else with exaggerated head nods while dialing the tempo setting up/down on my physical metronome. We will stay with that new tempo until the caller tells us to change it again, which might happen later in that set, a few sets later, or the caller might keep it there for the rest of the evening. So preset song tempos absolutely don't work for this kind of performing.
Working with the current MS metronome, I haven't found a way to change the default metronome settings so that if a song doesn't have any tempo assigned, it would default to 110bpm, 2/4 time. Usually our sets are made up of two 16-measure songs (mainly jigs and reels). Both songs generally can be displayed simultaneously on the screen for the entire set, but if we have a 3-song set and I have to scroll to fully display the third song, sometimes the metronome just turns off (because the second or third song has no tempo assigned, I assume). That's a bit annoying.
I would love for the MS metronome to have an "Independent" mode where it just keeps ticking away, regardless of any song settings and it would never alter any song tempo settings. It would start up with the tempo it was at when it was last shut down. I'd love for it to be ticking away regardless of what MS screen I'm on, but I don't know if that's possible. I currently use the flashing blue circle (no audio). It would not display the beat number or denote beat 1 in any way, which is actually detrimental rather than helpful because we never stay exactly with the metronome throughout the entire set, but I constantly use it for reference. However, I would recommend DISPLAYING THE TEMPO INSIDE THE CIRCLE, with a nifty method to adjust the tempo on the fly by 1 bpm (or 2 bpm would work, too) - perhaps by tapping on the top/bottom half (or left/right side) of the circle? Our tempos might range from 90 to 120 on any given evening so making relative tempo changes up and down is ideal. Having to change the tempo by entering a tempo number is not helpful at all. In "Independent mode", no song tempo values should ever be saved because at one dance we may play a certain set at 114 while, on another evening, we might play the same set at 100 - whatever the caller wants.
So my ideal MS metronome would be one that:
1 - just sits there and flashes all evening long
2 - constantly displays the tempo somehow
3 - I can easily bump the tempo up or down on the fly
4 - doesn't change when I pull up new set lists or songs
5 - only turns off when I turn it off OR can automatically turn on with the last tempo when a song or set list is displayed and automatically turn off when the music is not displayed
Thanks for listening! Sorry for the long post but I had to explain how tempos work in a contra dance band (plus, I'm just naturally verbose, unfortunately). Please let me know if you'd like any further clarification on anything.
Walter Weinzinger - Just Desserts - Flagstaff, AZ
P.S. I'm excited about using MS at a gig this weekend for the first time, although I'm still bringing my music binder - for now - just in case!
P.P.S. Now if I can just figure out how to go straight to the music when I select a set rather than always having to also press "Load All"...
I'd like to add a vote for a song-independent metronome.
I play piano in a contra dance band, which is what I purchased my whole Chuwi Hi13/Windows 10/ MobileSheets system for. I really don't use this tablet for much of anything else.
As the piano player, I have to set the tempo for the whole band and, depending on the complexity of the dance, the age of the dancers, etc., the caller will request that we change tempo on the fly in the middle of a set. I convey these changes to everyone else with exaggerated head nods while dialing the tempo setting up/down on my physical metronome. We will stay with that new tempo until the caller tells us to change it again, which might happen later in that set, a few sets later, or the caller might keep it there for the rest of the evening. So preset song tempos absolutely don't work for this kind of performing.
Working with the current MS metronome, I haven't found a way to change the default metronome settings so that if a song doesn't have any tempo assigned, it would default to 110bpm, 2/4 time. Usually our sets are made up of two 16-measure songs (mainly jigs and reels). Both songs generally can be displayed simultaneously on the screen for the entire set, but if we have a 3-song set and I have to scroll to fully display the third song, sometimes the metronome just turns off (because the second or third song has no tempo assigned, I assume). That's a bit annoying.
I would love for the MS metronome to have an "Independent" mode where it just keeps ticking away, regardless of any song settings and it would never alter any song tempo settings. It would start up with the tempo it was at when it was last shut down. I'd love for it to be ticking away regardless of what MS screen I'm on, but I don't know if that's possible. I currently use the flashing blue circle (no audio). It would not display the beat number or denote beat 1 in any way, which is actually detrimental rather than helpful because we never stay exactly with the metronome throughout the entire set, but I constantly use it for reference. However, I would recommend DISPLAYING THE TEMPO INSIDE THE CIRCLE, with a nifty method to adjust the tempo on the fly by 1 bpm (or 2 bpm would work, too) - perhaps by tapping on the top/bottom half (or left/right side) of the circle? Our tempos might range from 90 to 120 on any given evening so making relative tempo changes up and down is ideal. Having to change the tempo by entering a tempo number is not helpful at all. In "Independent mode", no song tempo values should ever be saved because at one dance we may play a certain set at 114 while, on another evening, we might play the same set at 100 - whatever the caller wants.
So my ideal MS metronome would be one that:
1 - just sits there and flashes all evening long
2 - constantly displays the tempo somehow
3 - I can easily bump the tempo up or down on the fly
4 - doesn't change when I pull up new set lists or songs
5 - only turns off when I turn it off OR can automatically turn on with the last tempo when a song or set list is displayed and automatically turn off when the music is not displayed
Thanks for listening! Sorry for the long post but I had to explain how tempos work in a contra dance band (plus, I'm just naturally verbose, unfortunately). Please let me know if you'd like any further clarification on anything.
Walter Weinzinger - Just Desserts - Flagstaff, AZ
P.S. I'm excited about using MS at a gig this weekend for the first time, although I'm still bringing my music binder - for now - just in case!
P.P.S. Now if I can just figure out how to go straight to the music when I select a set rather than always having to also press "Load All"...