No playback during rhythm and recital exercises

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otykarol
Posts: 11

Post by otykarol »

Hello,

I recently bought Synthesia and I find it wonderful. Thank you for creating it!

Although there is something that doesn't allow me to use its full potential: I can't hear any playback during rhythm and recital exercises (apart from the music assigned to the hand which is not exercising currently, if I'm on the one-hand practice mode). This makes it alot harder to practice. Although I can hear myself playing. Is this supposed to be like that or is it a bug? Is there any way to turn the playback on?

I'm using Synthesia 10.6.5425 on Android on Sony Xperia Z1 tablet. My piano is Roland FP-10.

I'd be grateful for any support.

Thank you.
otykarol
Posts: 11

Post by otykarol »

I've done some tests - and it seems that I can only hear playback during rhythm and recital exercises, when I connect my piano to the computer with Windows 10 Installed + Synthesia 10.6.5425 and I turn OFF input from piano in Synthesia's settings. In any other setting, I can't hear it.

Please help - practicing without any playback or rhythm in the background is pointless for me...
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

By "I can't hear any playback during rhythm and recital exercises" followed by "Although I can hear myself playing", did you mean that if you miss the notes and didn't play them in time, that you can't hear the notes you should have played?

In that case, yes, that is the expected behavior. For years I've been kicking around the idea of playing incorrectly/unplayed notes (maybe quietly?) as background notes to help keep your place, but I haven't had a chance to tinker with the idea. One of the challenges would be deciding when a note hadn't been played. The timing window is actually pretty large (you can hit it relatively late), so by the time Synthesia was sure you'd missed it, playing it as a background note would sound much too late and out of time with the rest of the song.
otykarol
Posts: 11

Post by otykarol »

Thank you for your answer.

Yes, that is what I meant.
Why complicate it so much? Wouldn't it be easier to just allow the user to hear midi from playback MIXED with the output from piano? That's what I experienced in other apps, such as Piano Marvel - and it really helped me to keep my pace.

I also look at my piano keyboard when playing - and looking for pace cues on the monitor all the time is distracting (my ultimate goal with every piece I learn is to be able to play it without looking at the monitor).

Would it be a difficult thing to implement - turning on the midi playback regardless of what the user plays?
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

otykarol wrote: 02-25-20 3:58 pmWould it be a difficult thing to implement...
It would be very easy. Like, changing one line of code.

The hardest part is choosing a name for the off-by-default "Settings --> Gameplay" screen entry that is short but also describes what it'll do. :lol:
  • "Also play my parts in the background"
  • "Repeat my parts automatically"
  • "Play my notes, too"
  • Something else?
Because it's a one-liner, I can add it to the upcoming 10.7 preview... as long as I can come up with a good name. :D
otykarol
Posts: 11

Post by otykarol »

Wow! Awesome, good to hear that :) Thank you!

How about adding a slider / switch to the settings?

Something like:
"Background MIDI volume in the exercises" (default: 0)
otykarol
Posts: 11

Post by otykarol »

In Piano Marvel it's called "accompaniament" switch. That could be a good idea too. Here is the screenshot:
Attachments
Marvel.png
Marvel.png (60.88 KiB) Viewed 8826 times
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

Hmm, but "accompaniment" (what Synthesia calls "background notes") is already something different: those are the other parts/instruments and percussion that play along with you. That can also be toggled separately.

To me, this is like another copy of your own notes, which I wouldn't describe as "accompaniment".

EDIT: I think I've settled on "Play My Parts in the Background, Too". It's a little long, but that's as short as I could get before it started to lose its meaning. We'll see how it survives the localization process. :lol:

For now it'll just be an on/off switch that plays them at full volume. Getting a volume slider there is a little more work, so I'll hold off on that until I get some more time.
otykarol
Posts: 11

Post by otykarol »

Okay, thanks :) IMO it sounds clear enough.

If you're looking for a translation In Polish, it would be something like: "Odtwarzaj również moje nuty w tle".

BTW do you have any estimation on the 10.7 release date?
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

The (Win/Mac/Android) development preview with this new feature should be ready next week. I'm just wrapping up the new multi-track recorder's saving features. :)

(The full/official version of 10.7 still has one more small development cycle after that to add down-stems to the sheet music before it'll be ready to go out the door.)
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