:oGo, I had to reread the last comments of this thread to notice the situation and remember the problems I had last year with the vertical piano roll.
I just want to announce that I have already built my first vertical piano roll, and wow, I think it is a magnificent tool, very much in keeping with my hobbies and way of thinking. As we suspect, the code of the tool is surprisingly short. The XRNX (that is, the ZIP) occupies less than 60 KB. Another thing is the performance itself of the tool, which is somewhat heavy if the user increases considerably the number of lines and the number of octaves to be displayed. However, as a compact editor, I think it’s pretty good.
Almost since I registered in these forums, I have been researching and learning the API and LUA to get to build a vertical piano roll in the form of a tool, among other tools. I can say that I have reached the end of a trip.
We all know that another member of the forum built his own pianoroll (horizontal). But for some reason, it did not end. But, anyway, it is already proven that a piano roll is possible and fully functional. It is best to add a horizontal piano that is compatible with MIDI input. In this way, it is possible to play a MIDI keyboard and observe how the roll shows the notes arranged horizontally (since the piano roll is vertical).
I want to warn you of the problems that may arise if someone wants to build their own pianoroll. Renoise can show 12 notes per track. That is, you can show even the same note 12 times on the same line within the same track, thanks to the 12 note columns. This translated into a piano roll implies that the same “square” could contain those 12 notes, one on top of the other, say in layers. Therefore, it requires a configuration to establish which layer will be on top and which will be below. In my experience, the best way is to always set the most left note columns as upper layers.Something similar if you want to represent several tracks in the pianoroll.
Another issue is the use of blocks. If a note is represented by a rectangle to set its length, it is a direct problem of representing notes (always talking about Renoise as a background). I mean, by extending the length of the note in a long rectangle, you can hide other notes below, so the user will see less information (fewer notes represented). Therefore, I think that the best way to approach a piano roll for Renoise is to use frames for notes, and to cut the notes with another box that represents the note-off. This also solves the jump between patterns.
In short, if someone wants to build their own piano roll, I will be happy to discuss these things with him.I think the simpler the editor is, the better…
I am aware that a tool is an extension, not something native. A native pianoroll could be useful as a secondary editor. It’s not any joke. Conceptually, it helps the musician to order his notes in the head. Even if the pianoroll has problems of overlapping notes, it would be worth it. You do not see this, until you have a pianoroll running together with renoise at the same time. You realize how messy or arbitrary a tracker is when it comes to placing notes according to his tone, and it’s easy to contrast it visually (the tracker with the pianoroll and vice versa).
I believe that Taktik affirmed that a pianoroll would not be a solution, or something feasible. At least we know that it is possible to have an editor in the form of piano roll as a tool. And I am convinced that there are a few members of the forum experts in programming able to build their own pianoroll. I just wanted to say that it’s really worth having one together with Renoise.
I do not know, maybe in the next version of renoise we will see a vertical piano roll as a tool, at least.