Step Recording feature #4544

Mister-Lemon · 2018-08-19T22:10:01Z

Step Recording feature adds a new type of recording in which the user record in steps resolution.
(Addresses #1421)
e.g.:

PR is fully functional!

Behaviour description:

Toggle step-recording mode using the dedicated icon
(This mode is mutually exclusive with other recoding modes (record/record accompany))
Step-Recording while song is playing is allowed (and fun! :) )
When start recording, the start recoding-position will be set where the timeline curser points (quantized backwards using PianoRoll's current quantization)
Step length is determined by PianoRoll's current note-length (can be changed dynamically during step-recording)
The record-position can be moved forward/backward using right/left keys
When notes are pressed on keyboard/midi-device, they will be added temporarily ("recorded") with a length of a step. while still pressed, user can adjust the length by steps resolution using the arrow keys (e.g. moving right once will make the note's length 2-steps, another right press will make the length 3-steps etc.)
When all pressed-keys are released, the actual recording happen and the notes are added.
If the user press multiple notes, and release some of them for some time which indicates it is intentional i.e. he didn't want to do a full release to record the step but rather just change what will be recorded (I set the "intentional release threshold" to 70 milliseconds) - these note will be removed from current step-recording. e.g.
Added notes are not quantized, making the addition simpler and WYSIWYG
Similiarly to adding notes using mouse clicks, an undo-checkpoint is added per added step and not for the whole recording as in other record modes.

Still missing:

Icons (I made temporary ones, waiting for suggestions...)

Done:

Focus on start position when start recording
Auto-scroll when record position becomes off-screen
On start step-recording : show message to user about using right and left arrows to move recording position

Let me know what you think,
Thanks!

update1:
I modified the code so that editing is allowed during step-recording.
now, the currently recorded step is not subjected to modifications. e.g. deleting using mouse right-click:

update2:

Now there is no limition with adding new notes using mouse while step-recording.
In such case, the addition will work but the note will not play during the addition.
This behaviour is aligned with what happens when user add note during other recording modes
I added usage hint that will show on the bottom of the main window when toggling step recording on:

update3:
Feature is fully functional. I added the last part - auto scroll to current step-recording cursor position.
(known limitation: only works if position is within pattern's current length. this is the most common use case so I think it is fine as-is. working around this limitation would require (ugly) changes in auto-scroll implementation and does not seems justified for such corner case)

LmmsBot · 2018-08-20T07:30:39Z

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Mac: download.

Generated by the LMMS pull requests bot.

Mister-Lemon · 2018-08-23T22:42:13Z

Hi,
please wait with code reviews for now(in case someone planned to do it) as I am refactoring large portion of StepRecorder.cpp and plan to upload the changes soon.

My aim for the upcoming update is to remove the editing restriction while step-recording.

Feedback regarding how the feature behaves and also gui suggestions(icon, piano-roll appearance etc.) is still welcome :)

PhysSong · 2018-08-24T00:08:33Z

src/core/StepRecorder.cpp

+	if (AttachConsole(ATTACH_PARENT_PROCESS) || AllocConsole())
+	{
+		freopen("CONOUT$", "w", stdout);
+		freopen("CONOUT$", "w", stderr);


Though it should not be a part of this PR, AttachConsole + freopen workaround may be useful. 👍

Hi @PhysSong ,

This code is under ifdef and does not enter production executable. I added it in order to be able to debug easier as I could not find how to get prints out.
To enable it, I uncomment //#define DEBUG_STEP_RECORDER and build.

Since it does not affect production executable, is there an issue with keeping it?
what is the right way of adding it to make future debugging easier?

You can wrap debug prints with LMMS_DEBUG preprocessor definition which is defined only in debug builds. I also suggest using Qt's functions instead of plain printf.
For the Windows-specific console code, I'd say it should be in a separate pull request. It's totally unrelated to this feature.

how do you use LMMS_DEBUG ? (where it is defined? is it triggered by some build flag?)

I tried to use QT's print functions before using printf and it did not work for some reason (did not output to console. I couldn't figure why)

I am not sure I understand, are you suggesting I should have two onging PRs on the same file?
how can see debug prints in the meanwhile? I need something I can work with and debug the component I work on... can you please provide some alternative?

how do you use LMMS_DEBUG? (where it is defined? is it triggered by some build flag?)

It's defined in the root CMakeLists.txt. The macro is defined in debug builds.

I tried to use QT's print functions before using printf and it did not work

Could you let me know your OS, terminal and Qt version?

I am not sure I understand, are you suggesting I should have two onging PRs on the same file?

I think you should move the console code to somewhere else and open a new PR.

It's defined in the root CMakeLists.txt. The macro is defined in debug builds.

👍

Could you let me know your OS, terminal and Qt version?

Win10 and QT5. (is terminal question revelant to win?)

I think you should move the console code to somewhere else and open a new PR.

I will move it, but probably won't open PR for it; I'll keep it locally.

PhysSong · 2018-08-25T03:37:19Z

Please make sure you've used only tabs for indentation when you've implemented everything! 😃

Mister-Lemon · 2018-08-25T19:34:48Z

Hi, I would like to get feedback on the following:

usage hint:
Icons: On: Off:

Mister-Lemon · 2018-08-29T16:52:28Z

Feature is now fully functional! :)

PhysSong · 2018-08-29T22:53:23Z

@Mister-Lemon Thanks for this work! I'll test and review this in a few days.

PhysSong

I found some formatting issues that you should/may address.
I haven't tested the feature much, but I'll do some more tests soon.

PhysSong · 2018-08-31T07:44:14Z

src/gui/editors/PianoRoll.cpp

 	// set new data
 	m_pattern = newPattern;
 	m_currentPosition = 0;
 	m_currentNote = NULL;
 	m_startKey = INITIAL_START_KEY;

-	if( ! hasValidPattern() )
+	if(hasValidPattern())


We used to use if-return pattern to reduce indentation. I think it'll be better if you revert changes from here and add m_stepRecorder.setCurrentPattern(newPattern); before this if statement if the change does not break anything.

PhysSong · 2018-08-31T07:47:08Z

src/gui/widgets/StepRecorderWidget.cpp

+StepRecorderWidget::StepRecorderWidget( 
+		QWidget * parent, 
+		const int ppt,    
+		const int margin_top,


It's not an explicit convention, but we prefer camelCase to snake_case.

PhysSong · 2018-08-31T07:49:23Z

src/gui/widgets/StepRecorderWidget.cpp

+
+void StepRecorderWidget::showHint()
+{
+	TextFloat::displayMessage( tr( "Hint" ),


According to our coding convention, you shouldn't put whitespaces in parentheses in new files. You can put them in old files for consistency though.

PhysSong · 2018-08-31T07:50:06Z

include/PianoRoll.h

@@ -261,7 +271,7 @@ protected slots:
 	void autoScroll(const MidiTime & t );

 	MidiTime newNoteLen() const;
-
+	


Please remove trailing whitespaces which you've added.

PhysSong · 2018-08-31T07:50:41Z

include/StepRecorderWidget.h

+ * Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ */
+#ifndef _STEP_RECOREDER_WIDGET


You need to remove _ at the beginning.

PhysSong · 2018-08-31T07:51:52Z

src/core/StepRecorder.cpp

+	int nextTimout = INT_MAX;
+	bool notesRemoved = false;
+
+	 QMutableVectorIterator<StepNote*> itr(m_curStepNotes);


Remove a space after a tab.

PhysSong · 2018-08-31T07:55:31Z

include/StepRecorderWidget.h

+public:
+	StepRecorderWidget(
+		QWidget * parent, 
+		const int _ppt,    


In function parameters as well.

PhysSong · 2018-09-03T09:12:49Z

include/StepRecorder.h

+
+	QColor curStepNoteColor() const
+	{ 
+		return QColor(245,3,139); // radiant pink


I think we can move this to stylesheets later.

PhysSong · 2018-09-03T09:13:07Z

src/gui/widgets/StepRecorderWidget.cpp

+	m_marginLeft(marginLeft),
+	m_marginRight(marginRight)
+{
+	const QColor baseColor =  QColor(255, 0, 0);// QColor(204, 163, 0); // Orange


Here as well.

include/StepRecorder.h

PhysSong · 2018-09-03T09:31:56Z

QObject::connect: No such slot PianoRollWindow::patternRenamed() in /home/travis/build/LMMS/lmms/src/gui/editors/PianoRoll.cpp:4382
QObject::connect: No such slot PianoRollWindow::patternRenamed() in /home/travis/build/LMMS/lmms/src/gui/editors/PianoRoll.cpp:4383

You'll also need to change remaining patternRenamed to updateAfterPatternChange.

PhysSong · 2018-09-17T11:09:18Z

I found that I can step-record patterns while playing it. Is it intended?

Mister-Lemon · 2018-09-17T11:11:43Z

Yes, see bullet 3 in the description above

PhysSong · 2018-09-17T11:17:07Z

I missed that, thanks!
I also found some bugs.

Bug 1

Start step recording and hold a key
Press the right arrow key and then press another key
Release two keys simultaneously

Then two notes will have different lengths. I'm not sure it's a bug, but it looks like a bug to me.

Bug 2

Hold a key and go back a few steps
Press new keys and go forward

It will behave somewhat weird.

Mister-Lemon · 2018-09-17T11:19:49Z

Thanks for testing! I will look into it

Mister-Lemon · 2018-09-17T15:18:50Z

@PhysSong , thanks for reviewing and testing the feature!
I fixed the bugs you found, can you please verify the fix?

PhysSong · 2018-09-17T15:29:02Z

Will do that in a few days. :)

Mister-Lemon · 2018-10-11T07:27:22Z

I am dropping support for this PR.
If anyone wants to take ownership, he is welcome.

Reflexe · 2018-10-11T09:27:16Z

@Mister-Lemon To help us improve, can I ask why have you dropped this PR?

PhysSong · 2018-10-11T09:52:26Z

I am dropping support for this PR.

That's okay. If no one takes this PR, I will.
BTW, why did you decide like this?

Mister-Lemon · 2018-10-12T10:32:57Z

Hi,
It just became a burden having it in 'open' state for so long.
Thank you @PhysSong and good luck!

PhysSong · 2018-10-12T10:57:01Z

Okay. Hope you'll come with new works later. :)

qnebra · 2018-12-01T12:54:03Z

Hi,
It just became a burden having it in 'open' state for so long.

Normal in this repository. Good PRs waiting endlessly, their devs lose all hope and enthusiasm and move on to other things.

includes all basic functionallty. Added two new classes: StepRecorder(logic) StepRecorderWidget(gui). still missing: Ignoring mouse edit events during step recording

…ows editing while is step-recording mode) This change allows editing while is step-recording mode. The issue with editing was with manipulating just the current step being recorded (while pressing the notes), which might caused intervation to StepRecorder logic. The resolution in this commit is to keep the current step notes in a seperate list inside StepRecorder (instead inside Pattern). This way, these sepcific notes cannot be modified using the regular actions (e.g. right click to delete). Due to this change, PianoRoll needs to paint these notes expliclty besides the other notes in Pattern. (which also turned nicely since it made it easy to paint them in different color. This change also include various refactoring inside StepRecorder.cpp

…. add usage-hint when toggling step-recoprding on 1. prevent playing note when added using mouse while step-recording This change is aligned to current behaviour during regular recording 2. add usage-hint when toggling step-recoprding on. will show "Move recording curser using <Left/Right> arrows" on bottom of main window (3. change space indentation into tabs)

Auto-scroll to step-recording cursor position. (know limitation: only works if position is within pattern's current length (i.e. works fine for the usual use case))

…o updateAfterPatternChange In a former commit, the slot function "patternRenamed " was renamed to "updateAfterPatternChange" but two places in code were not changed accordingly by mistake. This issue now fixed. Also, removed trailing-spaces from files.

…fic cases) 1. length of new notes was wrong when current step was already in a size of multiply of steps. 2. recorded notes start-position was not updated correctly after moving cursor backwards

zonkmachine · 2019-02-02T21:12:31Z

I fixed the bugs you found, can you please verify the fix?

@PhysSong
Bug 1. I can verify both the issue and the fix. 👍
Bug 2. I don't see the issue in the first place. By 'going back a few steps' I assume you mean by pressing the left arrow? Nothing strikes me as odd here. I keep on testing though.

This PR has conflicts since #4575 was merged. I've rebased it against master (b68c5ee), fixed the conflict, and intend to push this together with some whitespace fixes.

zonkmachine · 2019-02-03T15:43:49Z

When start recording, the start recoding-position will be set where the timeline curser points (quantized backwards using PianoRoll's current quantization)

Which can be a bit confusing because turning step recording on while playing is allowed and the start recording position is then a bit random unless you're dead on the beat. Maybe in the case where the pattern/song is playing, the recording position should be relative to the start of the pattern. Position 0.

zonkmachine

Tested. Function wise this is good to merge. I haven't looked deeply into the code though. There are issues mentioned in this PR but none of them are big enough to hold back the PR.

zonkmachine · 2019-02-03T17:41:55Z

Maybe in the case where the pattern/song is playing, the recording position should be relative to the start of the pattern. Position 0.

lmms/src/gui/editors/PianoRoll.cpp

Lines 3674 to 3677 in d035e43

    
           if(hasValidPattern()) 
        
           { 
        
           	m_stepRecorder.start(Engine::getSong()->getPlayPos(Song::Mode_PlayPattern), newNoteLen()); 
        
           }

Tested. Seem to work.

	if(hasValidPattern())
	{
		if(Engine::getSong()->isPlaying())
		{
			m_stepRecorder.start(0, newNoteLen());
		}
		else
		{
			m_stepRecorder.start(
				Engine::getSong()->getPlayPos(
					Song::Mode_PlayPattern), newNoteLen());
		}
	}

zonkmachine · 2019-02-04T19:05:32Z

^OK. Pushed that. The original PR is backed up by the way.

CaBachhav · 2019-02-06T19:06:07Z

A very very important function is to be added to this Step sequencer , if it is added the LMMS will become better than FLstudio.that is in old school mod trackers and latest OPENMPT tracker , number of "steps seek" to be assigned before note is put. Ex. If we put 4 step or N step , the step sequencer cursur jumps forward to 4 steps or N steps. this N can be anything from 1 to 32 .

zonkmachine · 2019-02-06T21:05:27Z

I suggest we merge (my fix included) unless someone else wants to test/review this some more.

src/core/StepRecorder.cpp

CaBachhav · 2019-02-11T16:51:28Z

Anybody working on step Curser jump Function ? Which is very useful in old school Amiga type Mod Trackers, fast tracker etc. Denoted as ADD function.

zonkmachine · 2019-02-11T20:10:43Z

Anybody working on step Curser jump Function ?

I don't think so. Please open an issue for this if you like:
https://github.com/LMMS/lmms/issues/new

(Addresses LMMS#1421) **Behaviour description:** * Toggle step-recording mode using the dedicated icon. * This mode is mutually exclusive with other recoding modes (record/record accompany). * Step-Recording while song is playing is allowed (and fun! :) ). * When start recording, the start recording-position will be set where the timeline curser points (quantized backwards using PianoRoll's current quantization). If step-recording is started while the pattern is playing the start recording-position is set to the beginning of the pattern. * Step length is determined by the Piano Roll's current note-length (can be changed dynamically during step-recording). * The record-position can be moved forward/backward using the right/left keys. * When notes are pressed on keyboard/midi-device, they will be added temporarily ("recorded") with a length of a step. while still pressed, user can adjust the length by steps resolution using the arrow keys (e.g. moving right once will make the note's length 2-steps, another right press will make the length 3-steps etc.). * When all pressed-keys are released, the actual recording happen and the notes are added. * If the user press multiple notes, and release some of them for some time which indicates it is intentional i.e. he didn't want to do a full release to record the step but rather just change what will be recorded (I set the "intentional release threshold" to 70 milliseconds) - these note will be removed from current step-recording. e.g. * Added notes are not quantized, making the addition simpler and WYSIWYG * Similiarly to adding notes using mouse clicks, an undo-checkpoint is added per added step and not for the whole recording as in other record modes.

PhysSong added the in progress label Aug 19, 2018

PhysSong reviewed Aug 24, 2018

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PhysSong reviewed Aug 31, 2018

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PhysSong reviewed Sep 3, 2018

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include/StepRecorder.h Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

PhysSong mentioned this pull request Nov 30, 2018

Allow console output on Windows if available #4719

Merged

Mister-Lemon added 5 commits February 2, 2019 18:43

Step Recording inital commit

594dcf0

includes all basic functionallty. Added two new classes: StepRecorder(logic) StepRecorderWidget(gui). still missing: Ignoring mouse edit events during step recording

cleanup - removal of debug prints

a6c4de4

Auto-scroll to step-recording cursor position

056d9d7

Auto-scroll to step-recording cursor position. (know limitation: only works if position is within pattern's current length (i.e. works fine for the usual use case))

Mister-Lemon and others added 4 commits February 2, 2019 18:43

cleanup and formatting fixes according to code review

6840bd5

Two bug fixes (recorded notes position and length were wrong on speci…

6c31067

…fic cases) 1. length of new notes was wrong when current step was already in a size of multiply of steps. 2. recorded notes start-position was not updated correctly after moving cursor backwards

Remove trailing whitespace

d035e43

zonkmachine force-pushed the feature/step-recording branch from d4fee61 to d035e43 Compare February 2, 2019 22:06

zonkmachine removed the in progress label Feb 3, 2019

zonkmachine approved these changes Feb 3, 2019

View reviewed changes

PlayPos 0 when toggling step record on while playing

aebf056

ghost reviewed Feb 9, 2019

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src/core/StepRecorder.cpp Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

src/core/StepRecorder.cpp Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

Use std::numeric_limits<int>::max()

c6426f7

zonkmachine merged commit 29c2101 into LMMS:master Feb 9, 2019

zonkmachine mentioned this pull request Feb 10, 2019

Navigating and inserting notes in piano roll using keyboard only #1421

Closed

Spekular mentioned this pull request Apr 26, 2022

Proposal: Keyboard driven piano roll mode #6387

Open

		@@ -261,7 +271,7 @@ protected slots:
		void autoScroll(const MidiTime & t );

		MidiTime newNoteLen() const;

Step Recording feature #4544

Step Recording feature #4544

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Mister-Lemon commented Aug 19, 2018 • edited Loading

**PR is fully functional! **

LmmsBot commented Aug 20, 2018 • edited Loading

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PhysSong commented Aug 25, 2018

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Mister-Lemon commented Aug 29, 2018

Feature is now fully functional! :)

PhysSong commented Aug 29, 2018

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PhysSong commented Sep 3, 2018

PhysSong commented Sep 17, 2018

Mister-Lemon commented Sep 17, 2018

PhysSong commented Sep 17, 2018

Bug 1

Bug 2

Mister-Lemon commented Sep 17, 2018

Mister-Lemon commented Sep 17, 2018

PhysSong commented Sep 17, 2018

Mister-Lemon commented Oct 11, 2018

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Mister-Lemon commented Aug 19, 2018 •

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PR is fully functional!

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