- Look at the sheet music, and find the note I want to enter.
- If the duration has changed, select the appropriate duration modifier ("q", "e", etc.).
- Lift my hand from the keyboard to the mouse.
- Shift focus from the sheet music to the screen.
- Move the mouse horizontally to the correct time position.
- Move the mouse vertically to the correct note position.
- Click the mouse to place the note.
- Put my hand back on the keyboard.
This requires input between the mouse and keyboard, and changing focus between paper and the screen. I don't find it a good way to enter music. I searched the documentation to see if there was an alternate way of entering music in Protege. This included checking:
- The "Quick Reference Guide" that came with Protege.
- The "Quick Reference Guide" on the Notion Music website.
- The Help file.
- The "Getting Started" pdf.
- The "Protege Tutorial" pdf.
- The (now missing) Notion tutorial videos on the website.
- This thread on a similar topic.
While I'm often reading challenged, it appears that there is no hint in any of those documents of any alternate way of entering pitch information other than via the mouse. (Following the "Getting Started" tutorial and repeatedly pressing Enter causes the notes to be added in reverse order).
Only after giving up on being able to use the (alphanumeric) keyboard did I accidentally discover the Tab key would advance the music cursor to the next position. After the fact, I was able to discover what appears to be the single instance of this information buried in Help | Keyboard Shortcuts and then Navigation. But why would someone look for something that doesn't exists?
Although technical support has been great (thanks, Brian!), actually using Protege has been a series of challenges. While I understand that there's a learning curve for new software, I can't help but feel that some degree of this pain is inflicted by a lack of proper documentation.