I'm not very technical, but have quite a few friends who use different types of music production software. I'm using Dragon professional so ideally would be looking for software that has lots of shortcuts, or everything in the same place on the page generally so that I can record macros. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated – I keep making music in my head when I'm half asleep and it needs to come out!

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Using Dragon professional version 12.

Check the documentation and find a list of keyboard shortcuts. It is (relatively) easy to provide (basic) voice control for applications that can be controlled by keyboard. For example, if the command to insert  a quarter note is Ctrl + 4, a voice command might look something like this:

MyCommand name: Insert Quarter Note
Command type: Advanced Scripting

Sub Main

   SendKeys "^4"

End Sub

Thank you for your reply. So, I'm not sure which software is most easily operated by keyboard shortcuts – it's something that I've not done before and I'm looking to get into but not quite sure where to start. Obviously I don't want to buy a piece of software that then is very very difficult for me to use. Do You think it's worth me contacting the main producers of each piece of software to find out whether they are easily operated by keyboard shortcuts? Or maybe it's worth me just googling keyboard shortcuts for each piece of software?

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Using Dragon professional version 12.

                        Welcome to the World’s Most Popular Speech Recognition Forum

Since you are already using NaturallySpeaking Professional, it's possible to voice automate nearly any Windows application. If your music application includes shortcuts, as noted by Alan, it is relatively quick to add shortcut commands but if you're unfamiliar with this process, you might consider obtaining a copy of Larry Allen’s Scripting for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 which is the best Dragon macro guide we have come across.

It isn't necessary to contact the manufacturers of your music app unless you have suggestions for future enhancements. Chances are, your application already has lots of shortcuts. To view the various shortcuts press the {Alt} Key.

Also note that for end-users who cannot afford DNS Pro but still want to automate their music application, they can combine NaturallySpeaking Premium 11.5 with KnowBrainer 2011. We're currently running a special on the 2 applications when bundled together.

Quick history: Before going full-time into speech recognition business, we were using speech recognition to control a recording studio environment with various music applications like Cakewalk in the early 90s. You'd be amazed at how far you can take the technology. Aside from simple menu items and notations, you can even control panning and volume by writing Advanced-Scripting listing commands such as Track 3 Pan Right 4 and Master Volume Up 2 etc. The original reason we got into speech recognition is because we couldn't afford enough pairs of hands to work in our studio.

Alan brought up another interesting point if you're using music notation software. You could create 1 Advanced-Scripting listing command that would allow you to say something like B flat Plus Dotted Quarter. Once you have exhausted the 12 mid-octave notes, you could create upper and lower octave commands such as C sharp 2 Plus Dotted Quarter. We used to notate music but we did it by hand in the early copyright days circa 1979.

Last Note: DO NOT use the built-in DNS Pro macro recorder. Although it's simple and accurate, it literally records everything which makes your commands unnecessarily huge and lethargic because they deploy in real-time. Even the deceased ViaVoice macro recorder included an option to speed up the command by as much as 10 times. Avoid macro recorder commands if at all possible. Stick to step-by-step and Advanced-Scripting for controlling your application. If necessary, it may even be worth contacting a speech recognition consultant.

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Thanks a lot – that's really really helpful. Macros was going to be my first port of call because as I mentioned I'm not very technical and it seems easier to do than the Advanced Scripting. I think all have a look through a few different types of production software, have a route around on how to do the Advanced Scripting and if I'm still getting stuck I think I'll check out the book. Thanks again for your help.

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Using Dragon professional version 12.