Version 6 and beyond: issues and upcoming updates

Support

Feel free to post feedback about issues in Version 6.0+ below, or you may write feedback as a new forum post.

Known issues in version 6 will be listed here and as replies to this thread. Please comment below regarding any new or ongoing bugs in v6. Examples can be issues with editing, navigating the app, stability (e.g. crashes, freezing, slowdown, latency), and any other regressions from v5. Also provide (a) your iOS version, (b) SP version, and (c) any steps leading up to the bug/crash, if possible. We will then do our best to provide a workaround and fix the bug (as top priority) in the following update.

To be fixed in 6.3.0 (major update, planned release date 6/11)

- Inability to reposition or customize the position of slurs and other score symbols; symbol placement reverted to a previous position
- Similarly, customizing the playback or display properties of any score symbol (expression, tempo change, dynamic, articulation, etc.) failed to work. This was also a new bug introduced in 6.2.
- Recording on two staves (and sometimes one staff) was not working, displaying multiple error messages
- D.S./D.C. placement issues (example)

- Swing playback indications were not followed (example)
- Many other bugs

To be fixed in 6.2.0-6.2.1

- In 6.1.9, there is substantial difficulty dragging to transpose one or more notes.
- There is a major bug where slow performance, instability, and crashing can occur when working with any selected note via the Note Selection Area
- In 6.0-6.1 earlier, there is substantial slowdown in performance when copying and pasting a long passage (via the Region Selection Area), such as a sequence of ~100 or more notes.
- Custom Tuplets aren't intuitively specifiable in 6.1.9 and earlier, but will be at some point in version 6.2.

Less Serious Bugs:

- Note Adjust Mode > Cut/Copy Selected Notes will be rewritten to work as intended to selectively cut or copy the notes, then paste them exactly as those notes were written, even when those notes were from multiple parts/voices.

Bug fixes arriving after 6.2.0

- AudioBus compatibility with iOS 14 for multi-track MIDI-out (for the time being, CoreMIDI out is recommended instead)

Fixed in 6.0.11

-  There is a major crash in 6.0.10 that occurs when going into Select mode and selecting a note via Input Cursor..

Fixed in 6.0.10

- Playback: fixes stuck/held notes issue, which occurred during and after playback (reference).

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In the initial release of v6 (6.0.7, January 1), a large number of crashes will be fixed in the next update that is on the way:

Common crashes in 6.0.7

- Editing tempo changes in Quick Start (new project) menu and Playback Options menu (see below for workaround)**
- Adding instruments in the Quick Start (new project) menu (see below for workaround)**
- During record, playback, and editing text

Other major bugs in 6.0.7

- Tablature ledger lines written across frets numbers make them unreadable
- Occasional freezing
- Difficulty showing cut/copy/paste (Region Selection Area). Longer press may be necessary than before
- Slur endpoint locations/layouts are lost when changing visible parts, changing Score View Mode, and sometimes when printing

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**To work around these two crashes, please follow the instructions here until 6.0.9 is released.

For editing metronome marks, we recommend tapping the marking directly within the score (in Select mode), then choosing the Edit menu item.

To edit tempo changes/metronome marks properly, the following illustrates the instructions quoted above of (a) first selecting the metronome marking (red) and (b) choosing the appropriate menu item (green):

VinnyColletti

SP 6.1.5 on 2nd Gen Ipad Pro 12" with latest OS. I exported a score as a black & white pdf via email. After I hit send the screen went black. A check in the mail app showed the file was sent but when I returned to SP the screen remained black. I quit and restarted and all was fine so not a big deal. Otherwise you get 6 stars rating!

Support

@VinnyColletti
Thanks for letting us know. We're still looking into this issue and recommend updating to the current latest release (6.2.2) here first.

We would also appreciate the following info if possible:
- An email of the project that was affected by this issue, along with your iOS version. Within SP, this info is most conveniently submitted by opening Help Menu > Feedback from an opened project.
- More specifically, it might have to do with SP's Dark Mode setting (App > App Settings > Dark Mode) being enabled, which is separate from iOS Dark Appearance. We're still unsure about this though. Do you recall this ever occurring without the first setting being enabled or either setting for that mater?

BachString

Update 6.2.2 again nuked my custom folder tags and all of my work is back in one default folder only.  

VinnyColletti

Support said:

@VinnyColletti
Thanks for letting us know. We're still looking into this issue and recommend updating to the current latest release (6.2.2) here first.

We would also appreciate the following info if possible:
- An email of the project that was affected by this issue, along with your iOS version. Within SP, this info is most conveniently submitted by opening Help Menu > Feedback from an opened project.
- More specifically, it might have to do with SP's Dark Mode setting (App > App Settings > Dark Mode) being enabled, which is separate from iOS Dark Appearance. We're still unsure about this though. Do you recall this ever occurring without the first setting being enabled or either setting for that mater?

 I tried the PDF export to email as above in version 6.2.2 and it worked perfectly. I have never used Dark Mode or IOS Dark Appearance BTW. Thanks for looking into it.

JAZZTHIS

Regarding the following:

**To work around these two crashes, please follow the instructions here until 6.0.9 is released.
To edit tempo changes/metronome marks properly, the following illustrates the instructions quoted above of (a) first selecting the metronome marking (red) and (b) choosing the appropriate menu item (green):

For editing metronome marks, we recommend tapping the marking directly within the score (in Select mode), then choosing the Edit menu item.

I have repeatedly tried to insert a tempo change into a simple piano document for one of my piano students and, after editing manually using the method above, the tempo reverts back to the "Playback Options" setting. I keep changing the tempo mark and it reverts back to the original. Is this a bug or am I doing something incorrectly?

Support

@JAZZTHIS
Very sorry about this bug. It was related to the "customizability of score symbols issue" that was mentioned, since it not only affected position but also the playback or display properties of most score symbols (including expressions, articulations, etc) that were attempted to be customized. We believe this to be fixed in update 6.2.5 (available for download now) and later. However, please let us know if it persists after updating.

Piarno

Bug: cannot close project - Hi, being in a project, I go on project menu but before I can close the project, the menu disapears all the time, even after restarting app and iPad. I can still access other features within the project but cannot access any other projects anymore… Any ideas how to fix this?

OsakaJoe

I’m having the exact same problem Piarno is having. I can’t close a project because whenever I try, the menu disappears.

Avantjer

Cannot close project 😒

maingot

The same happens to me. Until some weeks ago, I had no problem at all but suddenly it started to happen. The menu dissapears and it is impossible to close/save the project. Help?

LADHuskal

Hello there! 

Been using this app for almost 3 years now and absolutely love it. One bug has happened recently however. 

When you tie pitches together (of course the same pitch), its supposed to hold the pitch for the tied time and not rearticulate it or rest. As an example, if the piece is in 4/4, if you tie 2 Whole Notes together then the pitch should be held for 8 beats.

I am unsure when this exactly became a problem. When I write the music on the app it works fine. However, when I export it and open the Midi in a different program (SynthFont), all of the pitches that were tied lose the next pitch thats tied. So like the example, if the piece is in 4/4, if you tie 2 Whole Notes together then the pitch should be held for 8 beats but its only held for four beats in SynthFont.

I have tested this very thoroughly to spot where the issue is happening by using new Midis, old Midis (Both from Symphony Pro) I have used in the past and by testing other notation programs with SynthFont. All of my old Midis work just fine and other notations Midis also work fine, but anything that Symphony Pro Exports now has this issue. This includes creating new Midis from old pieces that I have not changed anything with. So the problem is somewhere in Symphony Pro. Not sure if its when it exports it or if its in the score but it is happening.

I know it wasn't an issue in March of 2021, that was the last time I used it and it worked fine. I hope it gets fixed!! I love using Symphony Pro and have gotten to where its all I use!

Evesada

Please help!!! This is serious it is not a small thing in the app. This is major, I can’t use the app anymore!!!!

This is version 6/ I am using iPad Pro the latest IOS version 15.3.1
I know disconnecting the Smart Keyboard helps close the document, but this not a solution!!  
The app was my daily notation choice. However, I stopped using it !!

MandyLobanJordan

iPad Pro version 15.3.1 SP6. Input guitar fingers using the circled symbols. Moved them to appropriate spot underneath note. Use AirPrint or email. Circles disappear in pdf. Bug prevents use of system.

HMS

OsakaJoe said:

I’m having the exact same problem Piarno is having. I can’t close a project because whenever I try, the menu disappears.

Same problem.  When I try to access the projects menu it doesn’t stay open long enough to save it or select any of the other options.  Very annoying and disappointing. 

pseudonym

Unless I'm mistaken, there does not seem to be any participation here from the developer since 2021. With the number of outstanding issues that paid users have discussed which remain unanswered, I suppose it's reasonable to ask if this product has been abandoned? If so, I won't waste any more time and money than I already have.

art31david

Very disappointing indeed. I was really hoping to further learn this application - even do online tutorials on it.  But… if the app has been dropped, I wouldn’t want to waste my time either.

DEVELOPERS:  Will you PLEASE give us an update and let us know if there is a future for SP.  If not, can it be sold to another software company to resume it’s demanded continuance?

Fergusonleo

I am experiencing constant crashes.— one every 3-5 mins. Help!

mrgerrybaker

Same problem as many here - can’t close a project - just downloaded the app so this is very disappointing unless there is a solution?

VinnyColletti

Anyone else crashing when unhiding individual instruments on large scores? 2nd Gen 12" Ipad Pro

GlennRoberts

The projects menu is still very buggy. The save and close dialogue does not remain open long enough to save and close the currently open project. 

There is a quick fix involving turning off Bluetooth and turning it back on- but even that stops fixing it.  

Please fix this. 

ioannishatzi

Will there be another update to symphony pro 6 or will you release symphony pro 7? 

Support

@ioannishatzi

We're continuing to work on SP, with an emphasis on maintaining the app's reliability, and want to reassure you and everyone else of that. 

We haven't had enough staff or available developer hours to work on a new edition of Symphony Pro. However, we're determined to prioritize our time better, which will allow us to keep SP reliable and the leading notation software. 

First, we will be fixing issues and responding to questions according to the level of severity and urgency.

The most important thing we want all of our existing and future customers to know is that we will continue doing the best we can to release updates quickly should major issues occur with iOS/iPadOS updates, or previous updates and features in SP. We will also be trying harder to return to all emails and forum posts, especially about reliability issues, in a timely manner. 

Also remember that all of our past updates are available for free. For example, see SP4, SP3, SP5, and SP6. And we haven't been working on other apps or any new edition or update to SP that will be paid. We've committed countless hours of hard work to the same SP on the App Store you've purchased - the very first serious notation product for iPad - since we began development in 2009. It will continue to be our responsibility to maintain the app without charging our valued customers.

As a result, and due to our userbase, we continue to feel tremendous responsibility for maintaining SP.

We also reassure users that emails and forum posts about maintaining SP's reliability and usability will continue to be our priority, and that we will be listening intently for your feedback about these topics in particular. However, for the foreseeable future: we can't promise that things like significant new features or major improvements (e.g. version 7) will be available soon in the upcoming updates. Helpful improvements to the app will still be kept in consideration as long as a lot of changes don't have to be made. They will be prioritized by their importance to other users and required time. As a result, if a suggestion will require significant revisions, testing, and/or further updates to implement, it will be lower priority for us than making sure that current features are reliable.

VinnyColletti

Glad to hear that you're working on the reliability issues, very welcome news.
Thanks 

Support

@VinnyColletti
You're more than welcome. We greatly appreciate the help you've provided as well, by responding to others in our forums.

kmicb

"Similarly, customizing the playback or display properties of any score symbol (expression, tempo change, dynamic, articulation, etc.) failed to work. This was also a new bug introduced in 6.2."

Im not sure if this is related to the above previous fix, but note durations being held over to the next measure(s) incorrectly is def still a thing. Example: I have a couple measures in more than one score where the duration of one or more notes are held over a bit into the next measure making a very unpleasant audio export. But, it doesn’t always happen and I haven’t figured out the steps that will reproduce this issue every time but as of right now, it’s the same measure every time. I’ve deleted the measure entirely to see if maybe xml data got corrupted for that measure or something similar but same result comes back. Doesn’t matter the instrument or dynamic markings. Pedal, no pedal, still happens. Looking forward to this dirty little bug getting squashed! And I still love this app so much and still incredibly thankful it’s being updated again!

Support

@kmicb
Thanks for letting us know, though we apologize about the issue. 

Do you notice the audio/playback of note durations bug occur during export only, live playback only, or both? In any case we would greatly appreciate an exported .sym project, which can be sent via Help Menu > Feedback > Bug Report. This will give you the option of including the opened project automatically!

kmicb

No problem! It happens in both audio export and during normal playback within the app.

Terribly sorry for the late response - I will do as requested above and send the scores that present the issue now.

kmicb

Hi again! I tried the steps and it seems email needs to be setup on my iPad to be able to submit this file using the instructions you provided - I do not and will not set up email on my iPad - it's only for composing - I do not want anything else on it, especially email. Is this the only way to provide this file/info? Can I airdrop the .sym to my iPhone or laptop and email it to a specific email address that way? Or is there specific data on the iPad that also gets sent with the file and absolutely needs to be done from the iPad itself?

Support

Hi @kmicb!
There's no other data we need other than the affected project/.sym file. And so it's not a problem to send it to our email - support@symphonypro.net - via any other method. Thanks again!

kmicb

Awesome! I’ll send it now! Thank you!