How to enter multi-bar rests

• Aug 15, 2016 - 17:07

How would i enter a 9 bar rest (tact) into a score, i.e. rest for 9 bars


Comments

by just leaving 9 measure empty and then use M to switch them on (or rather toggle). So this is something for after all notes have been entered.

Note this is normally not needed, though. Simply enter your notes into the score normally, leaving rests alone. When you generate the individual parts using File / Parts, the multimeasure rests are created automatically. The only time you should ever need to mess with this yourself is if for some reaosn you are entering a part alone, without entering the full score.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Johncello
Aug 15, 22:30 CEST

Which is what i am doing, writing out individual vocal parts for a stage production, where not every one is singing all the time, one does 20 bars, another enters with a reply at bar 22, then they all sing together at bar 31-32,etc. Each part should be easy to sightread, and the rests should be clear. In ensemble singing or playing, the individual parts don't need to have 8 empty bars, just one bar with a long rest symbol, and a number like 8, which means rest for 8 bars, waste of paper space etc otherwise, and confusing to read. I have seen both, but prefer to see a bar with 257 over a rest. This is the orchestral percussionists world, 300 bars rest followed by 2 bars of crucially important difficulties, at fff, followed by another 40 bars rest, until they wake every one up with the typmanies, in the last two bars, sometimes you don't do anything, while the 1st violins are playing pages of 16th notes,and you have a tacet between section a and b. It depends on the edition you get; Individual parts have to be clear for performance, i have been in many train wrecks,onstage, because parts don't line up, or someone gets three bars just out of ease of printing. If you look at really well edited scores,i.e. Urtext, they reflect the phrasing hopefully the composer intends, usually two by two=four per line,it becomes unconscious, reflects the overall harmonic rhythm, is easier to memorize. I am 51, have read music since i was 5-6,played in every kind of ensemble, with parts ranging from none, to hand written, to byzantine compser trying to mess with player, with bad results in performance. Clarity is super important. Especially for complex music.

I agree it is mostly not needed when composing for your self, but if you want to perform it, reduce accidentals,put in clear rests, make it look even,symmetrical on the page. I am preparing parts for singers, and definitely i would correct the conductors score that i have been sent, but that's not me reading it, ha ha,so the singers will get remarkably clear parts from me, with the correct key signatures, accidentals which apply to the chromatic passing tones,and as i do it, it looks great, the software is wonderful,easy as pie, just doing lots under time constraint for actual money, want to do my best. Thanks this is the best attention from your forums i have ever had, i look forward to using musescore for my own pieces, and appreciate this opportunity to interact with the software, thank you again for your time,sincerely, john

In reply to by johncello

In today's world of digital scorewriters, there is no good reason for writing out parts individually. In the days of hand copying using pen and ink, it is true that often only the parts for works for smaller ensemble would be copied or engraved (to save labour and hence $$), but today, since all digital scorewriters can extract parts automatically from a score in less than ten seconds, it makes no sense whatsoever for anyone composing, arranging, or transcribing a piece to do the input in any format other than a full score. You do the input once...and the program generates everything you could need from that.

There are literally thousands of those 'train-wrecks' you mentioned in old music, caused by copyists and hand engravers working under the gun at per-page pay-rates; editors transcribing original music from the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries routinely run into sets of parts which don't all have the same number of measures. Having the musical skills to correct and assemble those into a coherent score is what earns us 'the big bucks'. ;o)

In reply to by johncello

Yes, I think you are misundeedastanding me. The normal way to use MuseScore is *not* to write out the individual parts. Instead, write out the full score. and let MuseScore do the hard work of generating the parts for you. As I said, it will *automatically* create multimeasure rests where appropriate.

So, instead of entering the parts individually into separate "scores" of one instrument each, simply create the score for all instruments, then enter the notes directly onto that. When you are done, go to File / Parts, press New All & OK, and bam, all your parts are right there correctly set up for each instruments. It's *much* easier than what you are trying to do, and it really does do the right things.

In reply to by johncello

Somewhat against my better judgement, I have decided to reply to your nasty post in the wrong thread, but I have moved the discussion back here so it won't interfere with the other one.

You wrote:

hi mr 485, you sent me a silly email, entitled "in todays digital era" with no real advice, nor knowing the job i was doing (generating written parts,by ear from an mp3, with NO score, from an extremely altered broadway musical, for which no score exists) and lectured me on "todays digital score writer", Does such a thing exist? I got paid am i a digital scorewriter? No it is term you made up. Please troll someone else, i am finished, paid, and don't need garbage from a guy who haunts online forums dispensing your style of advice. You and marc on this forum jumped to the wrong conclusion, and gave irrelevant replies, in fact quite insulting,because YOU could not conceive of the job i was doing. I had to explain it to both of you, so "shut up an play your guitar" as the man says...

To take your points one at a time:

1. I did not send you an e-mail; I answered your enquiry by posting a reply on the forum. If you don't know how internet forums work, maybe you should find out before participating in one and making erroneous assumptions.
2. My reply was not 'silly'; it explained the reasons for current music notation practise, and gave a brief summary of how and why that practise has changed over the years. If you are not familiar with music history, maybe you should study it before deciding that it is 'silly'.
3. A digital scorewriter is a computer program which enables users to produce music notation. MuseScore is one of the best digital scorewriters in the world right now, and there is a team of dedicated programmers and users on this forum which offers free advice on how to use it to its best advantage. If you don't want advice, don't ask for it. If you do want advice, don't insult those who offer it because it doesn't agree with your own preconceived and incorrect notions of how the world should work.
4. Neither Marc Sabatella nor I jumped to any wrong conclusions about what you were doing; we are both professional musicians with a great deal of experience and we were simply trying to help you solve your problem. Marc is a computer programmer, university music professor and jazz performer; I am a music publisher, graphic designer, and a specialist in the Baroque literature. Our joint knowledge of music and notation spans over 300 years of repertoire, and if you want to tap that knowledge, it might be a good idea for you to be a bit more polite. Neither of us is paid to tolerate rudeness.

When you grow up and stop acting like a spoiled 2-year-old, come back and ask politely for advice and it will be willingly offered. In the meantime, I would recommend you follow your own advice: Shut up and play your guitar.

Quite apart from any disagreement people may have with one another, I'm finding that I DO have to edit parts generated from a score. Notes may have to be altered, i.e., two quarter notes tied shortened to a half note, or crescendo markings may need moving or alteration. There are other fine points that viewing and editing a part will help make it easier to read.

Would this create problems with the score? I've had bad corruption problems with my latest score and am unsure of the source.

In reply to by monkframe

Adjusting the position of elements should not be a problem. But changing two tied quarter notes to a half note in a part will also change it in the score, except if you save the part in a completely new file before doing your changes.

In reply to by monkframe

I can't think of a situation where it would be correct to have two tied quarter notes in the score but a half note in the parts. Changing it in the one will change it in both places, and that is correct. You shouldn't ever need to prevent that from happening. But if for some extremely unusual special case you do, then indeed, you can save the part as a separate score as lasconic suggests. Don't do this without really specific reason, however, as it is not normally correct notation practice.

It's certainly true that you might need to edit the part after generating it, though, for things like positions of crescendo markings or whatever. This is perfectly fine, MuseScore supports that completely. Manual adjustments are stored separately for the score and parts to allow for exactly this sort of fine tuning.

With respect to everyone who has posted on this thread, it seems to me the OP wasn't answered and that is exactly what I would like to do. I am creating a part for flute and I wish to enter 7 bars rest which is normally displayed as a number 7 above a bar with a long rest symbol in it.
The question is , Is it possible to do this using Musescore? I don't really want to leave seven individual rest bars if possible. Can anyone help me please?

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