Is it possible to merge instrument groups?
I wonder if it's possible to merge two scores to combine instrument groups.
For example, I might want to write a string octet, so I might write the parts for two string quartets. On the page these would need to be combined/merged together.
Other examples would be - for example Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis, which I believe features a string quartet embedded within an orchestra.
I might want to have a piece which could be played by a wind quartet or a string quartet, but I might also want to have a version which combines the two.
This may be possible already - but if not is it something which might be worth doing?
Obviously this can be done by adding instruments one at a time, or by making a template, but it could be useful to have this kind of feature - maybe a template feature for adding in more than one instrument at a time.
There's also a difference between creating an empty template with two or more instrumental groups, and actually merging partly filled out scores.
Comments
Do you know explode/implode?
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/tools#explode
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/tools#implode
In reply to Do you know explode/implode… by Mr Fox
No - I didn't know about those commands. They might help, though they weren't quite what I was looking for. Thanks for mentioning them - I'll try them out.
It sounds like you are asking for staves with different instruments to be linked so you can enter the notes on the violin and they appear on the clarinet. This has occasionally been requested through the years but is not implemented.
In reply to It sounds like you are… by mike320
No - that is not quite what I'm asking for. I can do something rather like that already, either by Changing instrument with an instruction, or by modifying the staff properties, or simply a brute force copy to another stave with different instrumentation.
I am thinking about groups of instruments perhaps more than single ones. For example, I might want to write a piece for antiphonal brass groups. Each group might have the same instrumental composition, but might have different music.
Think also about the initial instrumentation when opening Musescore. It is possible to select (say) a string quartet, or a wind quartet - but not more than one. Why not? I might want to have a string quartet, a wind quartet, a brass group, and a percussion ensemble all in different parts of a hall. Why should selections only be for individual instruments? Obviously it's possible to do this, but it is relatively tedious, whereas it could be a lot easier if groups could be added in.
In reply to No - that is not quite what… by dave2020X
Perhaps you can solve your problem by creating a template score with all the combinations of instrument groups that you might want? Then you can use the template as your starting point for a new composition.
After all it's a lot quicker and easier to delete unwanted instruments than to have to select and add them individually.
In reply to Perhaps you can solve your… by DanielR
I agree that would get to the end result, but if one could swap in instrument groups quickly it would be much easier. The suggestion that some groups could have more instruments which could be deleted is an interesting one and I agree that it can be quicker.
For me I don't see any real difficulty (well, there would probably be many ... but I'm not going to implement this ..) in having ensembles having the same status as objects as individual instruments. I would also be in favour of having the possibility of an ensemble also containing ensembles. It would be possible to define this using a recursive form of syntax.
In reply to No - that is not quite what… by dave2020X
Version 3.6 is supposed to have a new New Score wizard that makes grouping instruments like you are suggesting easier though probably not by the same process you are requesting. I expect to be able to see it in the next few days and I'll keep this conversation in mind. Do the same and when the first 3.6 prerelease happens, either an alpha or beta you can then check them out and comment about them. If I find it useful for you to check out the test releases I'll get word to you. The firsts tests are to make sure it won't do anything really bad but much of the functionality will already be there.
In reply to Version 3.6 is supposed to… by mike320
Thanks for mentioning this. I'll watch out for the new version. Please nudge me when you think it's ready for testing.