Text in SATB close score
I'm totally new to Musescore and have been enjoying my first 24 hours using it!
In trying to transcribe in SATB close score I've encountered some issues that I cannot find documentation for.
1) I want to centre text (to be sung by all four parts) in the exact middle of the staves. When I attach the lyrics to S or A it's slightly higher than the centre. Is there a way to adjust or do I attach the lyrics to something else?
2) In the case I have to stick with lyrics attached to one part, I've managed to attach some to S and some to A (becauase a lot of the time they're in unison. Is there a way to swap lyrics from one part to another easily?
3) Finally, sometimes this text is bunched up and crowded without room in the middle of the system (because the A is low or T is high, or both) and is illegible. I just cannot get the staves to give more vertical space no matter what I do. Can someone please explain the process?
Comments
1) Default position of lyrics is determined by Style / Text / Lyrics (odd and even lines can be set separately, but set odd and you should be good to go).
2) In general, you can use cut and paste to move things around. Select the original, cut; select the new position, paste.
3) Hard to say without seeing the score, as in general, things should space well. Sounds like maybe you are saying you have notes on ledger lines that are interfering? If so, just move the lyrics by dragging, or selecting then using the Inspector to override the default position of multiple lyrics at once. Or, to simply add space between staves for one system, use a Spacer. To affect spacing score-wide, see the settings in Style / General / Page.
If you need further assistance, best to attach your score and describe more specifically wehre you are having trouble.
@1: increase lyrics upper margin
@3: if it is low Alto colliding with lyrics, skip stanza 1 and start entering lyrics in stanza 2, for that section.
if high Tenor is colliding, use a spacer
In reply to @3: if it is low Alto… by Jojo-Schmitz
Many thanks. This has worked a treat. Yes, it was ledger lines for low alto and high tenor that were crushing the lyrics. I've used a spacer (which I now know about) and have also adjusted the position of the lyrics where necessary.
What would be the way to calculate the exact distance between the staves so that the lyrics might be dead on central? The way spacers are measured appears to be from a different point than lyrics offset.
In reply to Many thanks. This has worked… by [DELETED] 27476272
Give that lyric height is variable itself, I don't think there would be much value in calculating the exact center line numerically- you will still need to eyeball things to get the lyric to "look"centered. But for the record, staff distance is measured from bottom line is one staff to top of next. Text position - including lyrics - is always calculated relative to top line. For lyrics, also factor in the to lyric margin from style / general / page.