Is there a better way to notate "accumulated" chords?
I often "accumulate" left-hand chords like this:
But the bunches of tied notes looks kind of cluttered. Is there a standard/better/clearer way to notate this? I have sometimes put some of the chord tones in a second voice, but this doesn't help much when the chords have four or more notes - you get a clutter of little rests replacing the clutter of little ties.
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Comments
Increase stretch?
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/layout-and-formatting#layout-stretch
In reply to Increase stretch? https:/… by Shoichi
This might be effective in some cases. But I don't see a way to control the AMOUNT of stretch. And selecting one measure and then "increase stretch" still affects multiple measures (at least in 2.3.2)
You could try the "romantic" way to tie chords:
![286968_arpegiated_chord_buildup.png]( "286968_arpegiated_chord_buildup.png")
In reply to You could try the "romantic"… by jeetee
I like it - much less cluttered. But I don't think that I have ever seen this before - perhaps because I don't play much music from the Romantic period. Or maybe my fingers have been playing these without telling my brain.
Is this a widely-used convention?
In reply to I like it - much less… by OldBaldGeek
I've seen it, no idea how widespread the usage is.
To me, it's quite clear what the intended effect should be so I wouldn't hesitate to use it; but let's see what those that know music have to say about it :)
In reply to I like it - much less… by OldBaldGeek
Same - I've seen it, can't say I've seen it that often, though. I think in most practical case, you just notate the arpeggio and let the pedal handle the accumulation.
In reply to Same - I've seen it, can't… by Marc Sabatella
But pedal would also sustain the melody. I want something more akin to a solo flute accompanied by a harp or guitar, where the accompaniment sustains but the melody does not. In some places the melody has ornaments, which pedal would turn to mush (or "clouds" if you WANTED that effect)
So I think I'll go with the "romantic" notation, perhaps with a performance note to explain it (under the vain presumption that someone other than me will ever play these pieces.)
Thanks to all for these suggestions!
In reply to But pedal would also sustain… by OldBaldGeek
FWIW...
![Measured arpeggio.png]( "Measured arpeggio.png")
Gerou and Lusk call it a "measured arpeggio" - the notes have assigned durations (as opposed to a "rolled chord" - i.e. wavy line arpeggio):
(from Essential Dictionary of Music Notation)
In reply to FWIW... Gerou and Lusk call… by Jm6stringer
Awesome! As is often the case, knowing the correct term opens the spigot in Google.
A post on StackExchange (https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/24244/is-there-piano-notation…) says that this is "recommended by Kurt Stone and Gardner Read." That is presumably a reference to "Music Notation in the Twentieth Century: A Practical Guidebook"