Frequently can't enter notes in chords using different voices
Hi. My first post here. I am using version 1.2 on a Mac and am having a problem which is seriously interrupting my workflow. I have read the handbook and searched the forum but so far have not found a solution, though some people seem to have had similar issues.
I am working with a simple piano score to do harmony exercises, 4-part chorales etc. making use of Voices, mostly 1 and 2 though I have tried the others as well with the same problem recurring. What's happening is I am frequently unable to enter notes in one voice which align with existing notes in the other one, especially if there are already several notes entered in a bar. The programme won't allow me to enter the note where I need it, which I do mostly by mouse but also via midi keyboard. It places the cursor either before or after the position where I need it, even though previous and following notes are of the correct duration and will not move to the desired position. I have tried deleting earlier notes in the bar and re-entering, closing and re-opening the programme, cutting and pasting etc all with limited results. This also happens when using only one voice and seems to occur randomly. It is also happening with different projects and scores so it is not just one corrupt file. Can anyone tell me why this is happening and how to fix it as it is making the programme pretty unusable for me? Which is a shame because otherwise it is excellent and a much appreciated resource.
Many thanks.
Comments
I am not sure I understand you correctly: an example (an image) of what you are trying to achieve would help. But I suspect you are having problems with 'aligning' different voices in the same staff.
This is usually due to some voice not completely filling a measure with notes, for instance voice 2 has a note on second beat but not on first (rest instead). When you try to switch to voice 2, the program will not allow you to enter a note directly on 2nd beat: a rest has to be put on first beat of voice 2, in order to reach beat 2.
Voices have to have measures full of something: be it notes or rests, something has to be there! (well, trailing rests can be skipped on voices other than 1, but leading rests cannot: each voice must have its own)
Does this help?
M.
Many thanks for getting back to me. Yes, I find this hard to explain. Here is a screen shot which might clarify. In the first bar bass clef, there should be a crotchet on the second beat immediately under the C, in the bass line after the highlighted E. This is voice 4. If I go into note entry mode, I cannot get the cursor to position itself on the second beat. It will only allow me to go to beat 1, 3 or 4. If I try to enter it by mouse, again I can only 'land' on those beats, not on 2. (I am sure I am selecting the right voice when in note entry mode.) This suggests there is something in the way, a rest perhaps, but I cannot find anything there even if I select 'Show Invisible' under Display. This happens if I am working with voices 1 and 2 as well.
Does this make it any clearer?
Edit: What I have to do is to enter that note in Voice 2 which is the same voice as all the upper notes in the bass clef, just with the staff direction set to up. This plays the piece ok but looks wrong because that note has the stem up just like all the other voice 2 notes.
In reply to Thanks for your reply by Marcusmax
Usually it is better to post an actual score rather than just a picture of it, but in this case, I have a pretty good guess as to what has happened. You probably had a rest on beat 2 in voice 2 previously and then deleted it, leaving the "hole" you see now. That is unfortunately a one way operation. Deleting rests is only possible in voices other than 1, and once gone, you can't get them back directly. It often works, though, to swap voices (Edit->Voices) and then swap them back.
In reply to Usually it is better to post by Marc Sabatella
Hmm.. I don't remember deleting anything and this seems to happen randomly, usually after I start 'filling up' a bar. However I'll monitor what I do again and see if there's a pattern. I'll also try swapping voices as you suggest, and will post an actual score if the problem persists. Thanks for your help.