Staff/parts properties pane UPGRADE for MuseScore 4

[ChriiMoral]

In opening a part's properties, in MuseScore 4 - Alpha 2, we get this window:

Staff/part properties Musescore 4, as of September 5th, 2022

Now, an idea I've had for the longest time (I believe since SoundFont assignment to voices was implemented), is to allow the assignment of a Soundfont to each articulation. This way, applying an articulation symbol to the staff would act like pressing a keyswitch.

I thought this could be done from the staff/part properties window, instead of the mixer (as it is with MuseScore 3). I would upgrade the window to the Part and Instrument Properties.

Part and Instrument Properties (with tabs)

The Part and Instruments Properties window now has tabs: a Properties tab, with the features and configuration present in MuseScore 4, and a second "Instrument" tab.

"Instrument" tab

Upon clicking on the "instrument" tab, we get this (and this is where the concept comes in):

This tab focuses on the instrument in question, in this case, I chose the Contrabasses as an example.
The features that can be configured in this tab are:

1. Articulation Method: Sample/SoundFont or MIDI.

   • Selecting "Sample/SoundFont" will allow you to assign a SoundFont to that articulation. Selecting "MIDI" will have MuseScore perform those articulations manually (a feature present in MuseScore 3 with trills, tremolo marks, and other symbols).
   • I imagine the default should be "MIDI" as most people installing MuseScore for the first time won't have many SoundFonts. This is an assumption.

2. Articulations and Keyswitches: A visual board on which the user can view, enable/disable (in the case of using VST), and edit articulations and their properties.

   • Clicking the small blue pencil at the top right of the articulation card will display the properties of that articulation. In that first concept image, we have chosen to edit the properties for the "arco" articulation.
   • We can choose a keyswitch note that will only be functional if VSTs are being used for that instrument (loaded in the Mixer), we can select the sound from a dropdown (like in MuseScore 3's mixer), and since this articulation has a special property, con sordino, we have a checkbox indicating whether or not we are applying this effect immediately the sordino toggle is activated, or once the next note is played.
   • The con sordino effect is applied directly on the articulation card. A keyswitch (that may correspond to a symbol, "con sord.", at the score) can toggle this effect on and off.
   • This keyswitch could also be assigned to a VST patch's Con Sord samples (some libraries have con sordino separate from senza sordino (regular) longs). In this concept's case, the "arco" articulations settings let us assign a keyswitch to the sordino toggle.

3. MIDI CC Programming and Settings: A visual board of MIDI CC controllers that can be used in the score or with VST.

   • Like with the articulations and Keyswitches section, you can edit each controller with the pencil at the top right corner of the controller's card. Additional CC controllers can be enabled in case a VST needs it (or MuseScore if features for CC functionalities of which I am not aware). Disabling a controller card will result in not being able to control the CC programming for the instrument. (E.g., if you disable the Contrabasses' Modulation CC, the Violins I can still have their modulation programmed via MIDI CC).
   • Editing a CC Controller consists of changing which controller you want to use for the card selected (in case you want to control both Modulation and Expression with CC#1, for example).
   • Right under these CC controller cards, we can select whether or not we want to use single-note dynamics or velocity-only (velocity-per-note) dynamics. This used to live under the Synthesizer, but this has been discontinued on MuseScore 4 (I don't know if single-note dynamics will now be the default and only option).

Complex articulations

1. Multiple Keyswitches per Articulation: Some VSTs do this.
   • I can't imagine what developers could do with keyswitches, but allowing multiple keyswitches per articulation can help better connect MuseScore to VST. However, and most importantly (in my opinion) each keyswitch should correspond to a symbol in the Palette pane in MuseScore.
   • An idea I didn't include in the visual concept is that the user can choose to add more keyswitches to the articulation being edited, with a ➕ (plus button) somewhere in the Articulation description and settings section. An auxiliary scroll bar should appear if many are added. 👀
   • Exporting a part's MIDI should convert each articulation symbol into a MIDI note that will correspond to the keyswitch o the VST or SoundFont assigned to it if the user would like so. This feature could be in the exporting options.
   • Note: The reason I didn't add three sound drop-downs in the second concept image is that I believe MuseScore should handle articulation durations for short notes as it already does. Simply play the sample for the duration of the MIDI note. Of course, this is up to the developers, and many users might actually dislike this. 🤷‍♂️.

@musescore Developers: Feel free to use this idea and even the visual designs, or some variation of them, if you'd like. I don't mind. Also, feel free to ask any questions about my concept or to clarify something if it didn't make sense. Best wishes with the development of MuseScore 4!