Hello!
First things first: I'm not planning any commercial ventures. This is a personal project, and I'm happy to share any details with others interested in something similar.
In brief, I wanted to see if I could simplify and speed up the process of transcribing music into LilyPond, and it seems (relatively) straightforward to build a "macro" keypad which has a key for each of the most common "elements" of LilyPond code. While a MIDI keyboard allows fast pitch entry when using an editor that supports the function, I'm not aware of an option for including durations simultaneously, let alone dynamics, expressive marks,
etc.as well. In addition to these functions, a purpose-built keypad won't require any specific editor, interface, or specialized software on the computer it's used with.
My planned key layout includes the following elements:
- pitches (incl. accidentals and octave marks), durations (from whole to 16th, ties and dots), and rests
- brackets and parentheses for chords, specific beams, and slurs
- common dynamics, articulations (in my case, for wind instruments), and bar lines
- space, line return, and modifier keys (which allow one key to have multiple functions)
These functions are all arranged into a 6x5 grid (see attached image) and should allow me to input/transcribe any straightforward musical content almost exclusively using the keypad. The two arrow keys act like "shift" keys to enable each key to have multiple functions (smaller markings at corners of keys).
I have the following questions:
1. Is this something that anyone else would find useful or interesting?
2. Are there other commands/objects I haven't thought of which deserve a dedicated key (or perhaps a set which can be grouped onto a key or pair)?
3. Has something like this been done before for LilyPond?
lilypond-keypad.png