Choice of pitch input mode

[Matt Hood]

Hi all,

I’ve got a non-technical question regarding mode of pitch input. What does 
everyone prefer? Relative, absolute, or a mix of both? 

I’ve always stuck to relative, but I feel like I’ve hit a brick wall as far as 
fluency goes. I’m still quite slow at it, and I spend half of my time trying to 
work out whether I need to change octave or not - usually getting it wrong, and 
watching half of a page disappear into ledger lines. Add in temporary 
polyphonic passages, chords, etc, and it all just becomes an exercise in trial 
and error. Any tips for keeping control?

Any anecdotes or mildly related musings are welcome, I feel like it would be 
good to facilitate a general discussion.

Cheers,
Matt.