Melody Editor User Feedback Requests

[kimprice]

This issue covers all the user feedback requests from the user testing that occurred during the arcade hackathon on 8/1/19 (that were not already filed as issues).

In regards to the melody editor, users would like ability to:

• have more than one note play at once and/or select chords
• more notes to choose from including sharps/flats and different octaves, octave toggle (currently supports only middle octave naturals)
• make longer/shorter notes (currently all notes play for the same number of beats)
• create a song with more than eight beats
• support for additional instrument voices and percussion

In regards to the melody gallery, users would like:

• more song options
• ability to import songs

[kevinjwalters]

I think there's a bug too. The simulator normally notices if code or data is changed in blocks but if I changed some notes then I don't see the simulator automatically reset like it normally would when a change is spotted.

I'll ticket that if someone else can confirm my understanding of this is correct.

[jwunderl]

@kevinjwalters Yup, that's a bug, good catch!

[kevinjwalters]

For this,

support for additional instrument voices and percussion

playing arbitrary wav files would be useful and could deal with percussion. This has been requested/discussed briefly on:

• Adafruit Forums: MakeCode play file,
• Adafruit Forums: Makecode wav files,
• https://github.com/Microsoft/pxt-adafruit/issues/416 (for Adafruit Circuit Playground Express (CPX)).

For block programmers it would be useful to have a simple system for embedding new wavs in the project, e.g. dragging them in.

[kevinjwalters]

The issue of support for wav samples was also raised by @alex-kulcsar in MakeCode Forum: SFX in MakeCode Arcade?.

[abchatra]

We have other plans for music editor. This is not relevant anymore.