To make the note list editor work more smoothly and flexibly in the creative situation, I suggest the following:
functionality to revert all current changes and return the note list to its state when you opened the editor. I suggest the “revert” key and also one of the black keys.
abort functionality, that is, revert all current changes and exit the editor. I suggest the “no” key because using “no” for delete is counterintuitive. The “yes” key accepts, so it would be more natural for “no” to abort.
In addition to the X encoder, keys to move forward and backward in the note list. Incorporating the encoder forces a two-hand operation that also requires the extra attention hand-eye coordination (i.e., no muscle memory). Keypresses for forward and backward can feel more precise and easily controllable as well as offering muscle memory.
To accommodate 1, 2, and 3 above, and to provide the option of editing a note list one-handed (which is desirable when you’re playing a keyboard along with operating the PolyPulse), I suggest this layout:
“no” = revert and exit editor (abort)
the black key to the right of “no” = select previous note (backward)
the black key two spaces to the right of “no” = select next note (forward)
the black key three spaces to the right of “no” = delete (this puts the most dangerous function the farthest from “yes” and “no” to avoid bad results)
I’ve made many mistakes editing notes that I think the above would eliminate. I realize that muscle memory gets us used to anything eventually, but better to make it logical from the start. Redundant keypress/knob turn functionality is also itself desirable because it accommodates different ways of interacting with the PolyPulse. I think the layout I suggest above would be natural for any user, and established users could ignore these changes except for one: the changed functionality of the “no” key in favor of a more natural yes/no paradigm.
I’m not a keyboard player so I usually have both hands available to control the PolyPulse. I hadn’t really considered that controlling the note list editor with a single hand indeed requires quite a bit of moving your hand between the X and Y encoder.
I understand now how the X encoder is indeed a bit far away and navigating a note list with buttons would be valuable. When you are editing a value, is the use of the Y encoder fine for you when working with a single hand?
No because it still requires either two hands or one hand going back and forth, which is still cognitively taxing because the hand must oscillate between pushing-buttons-mode and turning-knobs-mode. Twisting knobs taxes the attention much more than pressing buttons because it requires gauging just the right feel, particularly when it comes to the micro-movement of making incremental changes.
On the other hand, it’s a much lower cognitive load to make incremental changes by pushing those big, color-coded buttons. It’s easy to know exactly how many increments you’ve moved, and you can press the buttons in rhythm so that you’re taken out of your musical mind to a much lesser degree than with the more cognitively demanding knobs.
I don’t just use my PolyPulse to accompany my keyboard playing but also other instruments. Making one-handed operation as ergonomic and easy as possible was the intention of my post.
Since update 0.3.2 the numpad can also be used in the note list editor as alternative to the current X / press+X / Y control scheme.
You can now scroll through the note lists, select note/octave/dbfs/… and change the value with just the numpad. See Front panel - PolyPulse manual or Note lists - PolyPulse manual for the mapping. This mapping can also be used in other menu’s like sample list, cue, settings, adding fx etc…