IWBNI there were an option to specify that notehead-attached glissandos and tab slides should affect playback.

This could be implemented by adding a menu item called Default Glissando Playback to the SmartShape menu. This menu item would display a new dialog box called Default Glissando Playback that could contain the following controls:

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Default Glissando Playback Dialog Box

( ) No Playback Effect

( ) Use Pitch Bend
    ( ) Linear
        Time Between Bend Messages: 64EDUs
    ( ) Piecewise Linear
        Time:Bend List: 0:0, 256:512, 512:512, 768:1024, 1024:1024

( ) Play Intermediate Notes
    ( ) Chromatically
    ( ) Diatonically
    ( ) Pitch:Velocity:Duration List: 61:85:512, 62:95:256, 63:105:128

Initial Note:
( ) Left Note
( ) MIDI Note Number: 61  MIDI Velocity: 84

Begin Playback Effect:
( ) At Left Note
( ) At First Note of Tied Group Before Left Note
( ) Relative to Right Note
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In these options, left note (right note) means the notehead to which the left end (right end) of a glissando is attached.

If the radio button No Playback Effect is selected, glissandos would not affect playback as in the current version of Finale.

If the radio button Use Pitch Bend is selected, the note-on message for the left note would be generated and followed by a glissando that would be simulated by using pitch bend continuous data events to bend the pitch from that of the left note to that of the right note. The right note would not generate a note-on message. The note-off message for the left note would be generated after the duration of the right note is completed. If the radio button Linear is selected, the graph of pitch bend values over time would be a straight line. In this case, one could use the control Time Between Bend Messages to specify the amount of time between successive pitch bend messages. If the radio button Piecewise Linear is selected, the graph of pitch bend values over time would be a sequence of straight lines with endpoints specified in the text box Time:Bend List. This list would be of the form: EDU_1:bend_1, EDU_2:bend_2, ..., EDU_n:bend_n.

If the radio button Play Intermediate Notes is selected, the note-on and off messages for the left note would be generated and followed by a sequence of note-on and off messages for intermediate notes that would be followed by the note-on and off message for the right note. The pitches of the intermediate notes could be derived from the chromatic or diatonic scale, or a sequence of notes could be specified by using the text box Pitch:Velocity:Duration List. For the chromatic and diatonic cases, each intermediate note would have the same duration.

The radio button options Initial Note would be used to specify the data for the note-on message that is to begin the glissando. Data could be automatically derived from the left note or specified by a MIDI note number and velocity. The latter option would allow one to override the pitch and velocity of the left note of a portamento (i.e. a glissando of a short duration that embraces a small range of pitches where one is to quickly slide into the pitch of the right note).

The radio button options Begin Playback Effect would be used to specify the time at which the glissando is to begin. This could be at the time of the left note, or at the time of the first note of a tied group of notes in the case when the left note is one of a tied group of notes, or at a time that is relative to the right note. The last option would be useful for portamentos.

The settings on the Default Glissando Playback dialog box would be global and would, by default, apply to all smart shape glissandos. A menu item called Glissando Playback could be added to the context menu for smart shape glissandos that is displayed when the bounding rectangle of a glissando is right clicked. This menu item would display a new dialog box called Glissando Playback that would contain the same controls as the Default Glissando Playback dialog box. The Glissando Playback dialog box could be used to override the default settings for a given glissando.

Note: A similar set of menu items and dialog boxes could be added for tab slides.

Created: June 22, 2000 (based on comments by Alan Moffett)
Last Updated: June 22, 2000
Version: Finale 2000b