[LAD] Packaging advice

[Pete Black]

Pelle,

Yeah, i think i will build a separate 'keyboard widget' into the app, 
with a key to switch between keyboard and part mute key mappings. Will 
probably support channel splitting so you can play 2 parts 
simultaneously + drums from the keys - Obviously range, and most likely 
any ability to
chord effectively - will be limited with a QWERTY instead of a proper 
external keyboard .

I looked at the source for jack-keyboard and it implements the same 
keymap as Impulse Tracker does, so i'll probably follow that layout.

Using the step keys as an 'emulated' keyboard isn't very usable, even on 
the actual electribe.

Using a separate app for a virtual keyboard is not ideal, but will 
probably be implemented first - mostly because i want to use my external 
MIDI keyboard with it.


-Pete

> Hi,
>
> Pete Black <pete at marchingcubes.com> writes:
>
>   
>> The actual electribe hardware has a 'virtual keyboard' mode where the  
>> 16 step keys can be used as a 1-and-a-bit octave keyboard, but i  
>> think i may just implement midi recording + midi thru to allow a real  
>> keyboard to be used, or the virtual keyboard of your choice - i  
>> really want to make this sequencer simple and modular, rather than an  
>> all-things-to-all-people sequencer.
>>     
>
> I agree about making things simple and modular, but I still think it
> would be preferable to have keys mapped to all the buttons on the
> screen (single keys for often used buttons like the 16 steps or to
> change to other parts, no combos), and that the step keys could also
> be switched to act as a virtual keyboard. It would really increase
> usability to not have to switch window to a virtual keyboard to do on
> of the most important functions of the application, editing notes.
>
> More sequencers could really be improved by adding the ability to play
> on the computer keyboard, and in general making sure it is possible to
> control everything from the keyboard, IMHO. Trackers have been doing
> it forever. I know that has historic reasons, but I don't see any of
> the newer trackers, on linux or elsewhere, requiring an external
> (virtual) keyboard to play/edit.
>
> The only good alternative I can see would be to have some kind of
> application that could be triggered in the desktop environment to
> temporarily take over keyboard events from all other applications and
> map them to ALSA/JACK MIDI events instead, without having to switch to
> another window. I'm not sure how easy that would be to do in a
> portable way (working with Gnome/KDE etc). But even with a tool like
> that I would not mind if a virtual electribe to behave more like an
> electribe with the same specific keys tied to the 16 step/note keys
> just like on a real electribe.
>
>