In the same row, two instruments have a different number of bars.

• Aug 23, 2024 - 10:53

In the same row, two instruments have a different number of bars, barlines are not in the same position. Is there an option to do this?

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Comments

Yes, but only with a work around.

I would go the opposite route of @underquark, and divide the line into shorter measures: for instance, In the first line, make measures of 3q, 1q, 2q, 2q, 1q. No need to change the time signatures, just change the "actual duration" of each measure. Then hide or adjust the bar lines accordingly.

Notation like this appears quite frequently in avant-garde music of the early 20th c.--especially in Charles Ives, but also in Paul Hindemith, etc.

I know you transcription folks want to preserve the original notation. But the way this piece is presented here makes no sense. It might be different if it helped with phrasing, but the placement of bar lines seems quite random. More like it is intended to look cool and modern (for the time). Is a player going to be looking at the bar lines that much? Or are they going to be playing this the way they fell they must. Regardless of how it is written. Seems to me that music is not what is on the page, but rather what we hear. Sorry to not have an answer.

In reply to by bobjp

I respectfully disagree.

In the clip @adishatunic98 posted, the cello line (or whatever the instrument is) appears to be in 3/4--not just by measure length, but also by musical phrasing. The piano, OTOH, is clearly in 4/4. Whose meter is right? Well, it's one against one, so I suppose they could duke it out . . .

In other words, the bar lines, as they stand, very clearly suggest how the music ought to be felt.

Obviously, this type of notation works best in chamber music, when a coordinating conductor isn't required, but you'll still find in in orchestral music--Webern's second Cantata, for instance, has a section with four different meters running simultaneously.

And things get really tricky when the beats do not line up (found all the time in Ives.)

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