can't get guitar bends to work
Hi again, folks!
I've tried using guitar bends a bit in the past, without much luck. But otherwise, I'm new to the topic.
I see that MS4 has a cool looking graphical feature to customize the bend:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/guitar-bends#pre-bends
But I can't get it to work.
One kind I want is a pre-bend. Here's what happens when I try:
You can see that I only have one data point, and can't find a way to add more data points. Worse, I can't slide the data point left or right; only up or down, which is not a bend at all; it just changes the pitch of the entire note, like dragging the note head on the staff would have done.
I did try "full bend". That does have 2 data points; the right hand one doesn't move, but the left hand one can move left and right. But since neither moves up or down, there is still no bending going on.
Am I doing something wrong? Is this a known bug?
Version: OS: macOS 15.5, Arch.: arm64, MuseScore Studio version (64-bit): 4.5.2-251141402, revision: ac9d3bc
Comments
The pre-bend is not customizable. But the full bend is. Enter the higher (bent) note, then the lower note and add a Full bend. The Properties panel will allow you to adjust the bend properties.
I did some stuff with this last year and I recall finding that only two of the four bends can be customized like this. I remember that the Full bend was one, but I don't recall the other. Experiment.
OBTW, this is for playback! The notation will show a bend symbol, rather than a "pre-bend" symbol. If notation matters, create a staff that is only for display/print with the "proper" symbol on it. Set it to not Play.
In reply to The pre-bend is not… by TheHutch
Thanks for the reply!
"The pre-bend is not customizable. "
Well, as you can see in my animation, the pre-bend is customizable, but seems to just modify the pitch. You can't hear any bending during playback; it's a fixed pitch.
I was able to manipulate the Full Bend to give me a passable result, not unlike what you suggested. The problem is, I have to carve up the timeline to place the starting and ending notes. Meanwhile, visually, the Pre-Bend has the advantage that Grace Notes have: they squeeze into the timeline without stealing time from other notes. It's much more readable and easy to notate.
And the fact that the Pre-Bend feature draws things correctly suggests the designers know this and were hoping to give me what I'm seeking; but playback support appears broken.
Does anyone know if it's a bug that Pre-Bend doesn't playback as a bending note?