Repeat Chord Sign
I have a score with repeated chords in certain bars and the "Repeat measure sign (repeat chord sign)" isn't working. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.
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For us to be able to answer that, you need to explain what you are doing.
There is no such thing as a "repeat chord sign", just a "Repeat measure sign", looking like % and that is working
In reply to There is no such thing as a … by Jojo-Schmitz
Repeat Chord - %.
In reply to Repeat Chord - %. by FloripaGuitar
Yes, repeat chords in certain measures - % .
In reply to Yes, repeat chords in… by FloripaGuitar
At least, it's a sign indicating that the previous chord is repeated.
In reply to At least, it's a sign… by FloripaGuitar
No, it is a sign to repeat the previous measure.
Maybe you want slash notation? See https://musescore.org/en/handbook/tools#fill-with-slashes
In reply to No, it is a sign to repeat… by Jojo-Schmitz
Well, I mean chord names (Eb6...for example) written above the written notes...
In reply to Well, I mean chord names … by FloripaGuitar
To use chord names with slashes denoting repeated chords
See:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/tools#fill-with-slashes
It would not be usual to use the "repeat measure" sign to mean "repeat chord" - the previous chord is always assumed to remain in effect until the next chord appears, so anything you put in there to say "just keep playing the chord exactly as you would have if this symbol weren't there" is redundant and likely confusing to many musicians. But if you have some special reason to want to use that symbol anyhow, just add it from the Symbols palette (press "Z" to display).
In reply to It would not be usual to use… by Marc Sabatella
I agree but, even being redundant, that sign % visually alerting the reader that the chord remains the same as the previous bar, is very helpfull; if no, no one would use it.
In reply to I agree but, even being… by FloripaGuitar
The subject here is writing that symbol sign % visually alerting the reader that the chord remains the same as the previous bar.
In reply to The subject here is writing… by FloripaGuitar
The subject here is writing that "repeat last chord symbol - %" visually alerting the reader that the chord remains the same as the previous bar.
In reply to The subject here is writing… by FloripaGuitar
Use the normal percentage symbol. (in chord line)
![LR-Cumbanchero,_El.png]( "LR-Cumbanchero,_El.png")
I do that. :) (Because of: When there is no chord symbol at the beginning of the measure, some musicians don't understand. And the reason for writing same chord in the seventh measure is that I write chords according to the melody.)
In reply to I agree but, even being… by FloripaGuitar
Which is indeed why no one uses it :-). Or at least, hardly anyone does, certainly no major publishers I am familiar with. So the vast majority of musicians are not accustomed to seeing it, which is why I said it is likely to confuse people. But if you know for certain the people who will be reading your score are accustomed to reading music that uses this unconventional notation, then indeed, it would probably best to continue using it for their sake.
So again, if you want to use that symbol. simply add it from the Symbols palette. Select the note or rest above which you want the symbol to appear, press "Z" to display the palette, search for "repeat", double click the symbol, close the window, now position the symbol however you like. You could also add it as text (eg, staff text, by pressing Ctrl+T) then pressing F2 to display the Special Characters palette.
In reply to Which is indeed why no one… by Marc Sabatella
" So the vast majority of musicians are not accustomed to seeing it "
I disagree with that.
I play with different musicians and they all want it so they always see chords by group of 4 (e.g. depends on the piece of course, can be by 6 or 8, ...).
In reply to " So the vast majority of… by frfancha
@FloripaGuitar
You wrote:
I have a score with repeated chords in certain bars and the "Repeat measure sign (repeat chord sign)" isn't working.
Since it's not working in MuseScore, can you post an image of that particular notation?
Regards.
In reply to Which is indeed why no one… by Marc Sabatella
I've been analyzing various fakebook charts recently, and noticed this use of the repeat symbol for a chord in a few Sher Music Co. charts (for example, their chart of "I've Got the World on a String"). I haven't noticed it in charts by larger publishing houses, or, indeed, in the majority of Sher charts.
As an aside, it's interesting how much variation in style there is in the Sher charts, which at a glance all seem to conform to the same house style. When you start looking closely, you can see there isn't a rigid stylebook for the nitty-gritty details.
In reply to I've been analyzing various… by N_Bardot
Indeed, although of course many details are remarkably consistent. Similar story on the Hal Leonard "Real Book" series. In both cases, there are style guides, but a) sometimes exceptions need to be made, and b) sometimes people make mistakes :-).
With regard to the repeat sign in chord symbols, in my experience it is used primarily not as a substitute for a single chord but to mean the same thing it means for the measure itself - repeat the whole thing. So, I see it not to so much indicate repetition of a single chord from the previous measure, but to indicate that the entire sequence of chords in the previous measure repeats. Typical if the passage contains a series of quick ii-V's, for instance.
Also it is worth nothing the iReal Pro insists on the repeat sign rather than an empty measure, - otherwise you get no playback :-).
In reply to Indeed, although of course… by Marc Sabatella
That's an interesting point about repeating the entire measure sequence rather than the last displayed chord. Thanks for sharing that. For my own charts, I'm thinking it's best to avoid the ambiguity. But I'm in learning mode, so maybe someone will convince me the repeat sign is a best practice.
I do like the Sher charts a lot, btw, and didn't mean my previous comment to come across as a criticism of what is currently my favorite source of fakebook charts. It was more to illustrate that once you start making charts yourself, you get an awareness of some of the little challenges one faces when doing even the most simple type of score.
In reply to That's an interesting point… by N_Bardot
Not to worry, I didn't see it as a criticism at all :-).
Moderately interesting story here:
I was a student at UC Berkeley when Chuck (who taught private lessons there) was working on the first volume of the "New Real Book" series. The charts were being copied by hand by a fellow student and friend, Ann Krinitsky, although . I got to proof a few of the charts, and recall catching a typo, I think it was "My Attorney Bernie". So I did have some small insight into their processes.
Then years later, when the first volume of the Hal Leonard "Real Book Sixth Edition" came out, I posted the first in-depth review of it, and literally the next day they called me up out of the blue and hired me as a transcriber and proofreader/editor for that series. So I got very familiar with their processes :-)
Then, years later again, one of the first things I did for MuseScore was work on the MuseJazz font, which is based on the style used in the New Real Book. Most of the work was already done before I came on board, but I did create a few of the glyphs. So I kind of came full circle, leveraging some of Ann's work again.
In reply to Not to worry, I didn't see… by Marc Sabatella
I was just looking at the first (I think) Sher book, 'The World's Greatest Fakebook' from 1983, and instantly recognized the calligraphy for the chord symbols as the source of the MuseJazz font. Then I remembered this post. That one gives Michael Smolens the credit for the calligraphy, and then the 1988 New Real Book 1 gives Smolens and Krinitsky joint credit, and Ann thanks Michael for training her. So do we have Michael Smolens to thank for the MuseJazz font? That 1983 fakebook looks to be completely hand-drafted, for the notes and chord symbols. Each of those pages must have taken an amazing amount of labor to get into final form, just in terms of the inking of the page.
In reply to I agree but, even being… by FloripaGuitar
I totally agree too. I'm so surprised so many people are having a hard time even understanding your question. We are looking for a "Repeat Chord Sign" which looks exactly like "repeat measure sign" (which btw we already know what it is) but used in the place where you write chords, not replacing the whole bar. Well for some people who are mad about wanting that sign and has to pull up their musical background to support their theory of "No one uses it" just ... c'mon. We all live in different communities. In my community, musicians will request if the chord space is empty above a note-filled bar. They would tell me to please put that "REPEAT CHORD SIGN" in the chart.
I get that there is no such function in musescore yet, but what's the use of condescending people who use it??
In reply to I totally agree too. I'm so… by Taehee1010
Maybe we could extend the chord symbols parser to take a % sign and replace it with the measure repeat glyph.
Meanwhile you could just use % maybe?
In reply to I totally agree too. I'm so… by Taehee1010
No one is mad about anything or criticizing anyone here. We have simply been trying to help people by informing them about how music is normally published, and also about how to achieve the desired results in case you wish to deviate from the published norms.
To be perfectly clear: as I have explained a couple of times above, you can add that symbol to your chart if you want, just as you would add any other symbol, by using the symbols palette, or ordinary staff text and the Special Characters palette (press F2 to display it).
In reply to No one is mad about anything… by Marc Sabatella
But not as a chord symbol, F2 palette doesn't work there.
taking % and change to the selected Musical Text Font's measure repeat glyph might be a nice option
In reply to But not as a chord symbol,… by Jojo-Schmitz
Correct. This isn't a true chord symbol - won't need to transpose, export to MusicXML, etc, but merely an indication you can add to your score, so best to add it like other indications. We could in the future certainly considering special case more non-chord symbols (current we have some allowance for "N.C."), but meanwhile, it's easy enough to add this symbol as any other.
In reply to Correct. This isn't a true… by Marc Sabatella
It is not easy, that is the point. As staff text it has different style, including position, and a plain symbols it needs manual positioning, which is likely to not survive and format changes. Taking a %, turning into that glyph and not exporting to MusicXML at all should do.
In reply to It is not easy, that is the… by Jojo-Schmitz
It should potentially have different position, in the few published scores I see that use this symbol, it is positioned differently. But you are welcome to assign it the Chord Symbol style. And you can add it to a custom palette that way, or with other custom formatting.
Meanwhile, indeed, for playback purposes, it would help if there were native support for this, so I do like the idea of special-casing it, and perhaps using "%" as the shorthand to enter it.
In reply to Correct. This isn't a true… by Marc Sabatella
Out of curiosity, how should this relate to the current project of realizing chord symbols? Perhaps it should be add sooner rather than later so it can be incorporated, especially if it's going to mean measure repeat rather than last chord.
In reply to Out of curiosity, how should… by mike320
There it indeed could just repeat
In reply to There it indeed could just… by Jojo-Schmitz
Measure repeat = in the staff/ Chord repeat = over the staff.
In reply to Measure repeat = in the… by xavierjazz
xavierjazz, that makes perfect sense to me. In which case the repeat symbol in the chords would have not effect since it would continue with the same chord.
In reply to xavierjazz, that makes… by mike320
Yep.
In reply to xavierjazz, that makes… by mike320
If the previous measure has two chords, then the chord repeat sign would indicate that the same two chords should b played. In this case it would not continue with the same chord.
| Dm G7 | % |
is the same as
| Dm G7 | Dm G7 |
In reply to If the previous measure has… by AndreasKågedal
Yes.
In reply to Yes. by xavierjazz
xavierjazz, you are too agreeable or you didn't understand the way I did. The last one you agreed with says the % in the chord means to repeat all of the chords in the last measure while you previously said it means to repeat only the last chord. I do realize there are different ideas about the same symbol, MuseScore needs to make a decision if the symbol is going to be included in the chord symbols and how they affect playback.
I don't usually use chord symbols and would never use % in a chord symbol because it isn't universally agreed what it means. Programmers need to make one decision if it's going to be included in chord symbols, so the user can know what to expect for playback and make a decision on what to do with the symbol based upon what MuseScore does.
In reply to xavierjazz, you are too… by mike320
I see regularly % used after chord in the same measure: | Am % Dm % | E % Am % |
Or when there is one chord by measure:
| Am | % | G | F | G | % | Am | % |
But in measure following a measure with several chords as here discussed, I agree there is ambiguity.
Not clear for me if
| D A | % | means | D A | A A | or | D A | D A |
I would have to look at the melody to decide...
In reply to I see regularly % used after… by frfancha
frfancha, I would check out the melody also in light of the lack of a standard and then I would get out my pencil and write out the proper chords so I wouldn't forget.
In reply to I see regularly % used after… by frfancha
This is a measure repeat symbol.
It therefore requires the exact repetition of the chords of the previous measure.
When writing a chordsheet for the guitar: Use the "/" icon to repeat the previous chord (stroke display).
| Am / Dm / | E / Am / |
and
| Am / Dm / | / / Am / |
and
| Am / Dm / | / / / Am |
In reply to This is a measure repeat… by Ziya Mete Demircan
If the world were logical, yes. But it's not. Use of the "measure repeat" symbol is indeed sometimes used to simply extend the previous chord symbol through an additional measure.
In reply to If the world were logical,… by Marc Sabatella
There is no need to write anything to extend the previous chord.
Only in terms of form: you can repeat the same chord symbol.
... | E7 Am || Am | Dm | ...
In reply to If the world were logical,… by Marc Sabatella
I have seen the "repeat measure" symbol used in the middle of a standard measure indicating to repeat the last beat(s). Such as
![Blanika p18.PNG]( "Blanika p18.PNG")
which is on page 18 of https://imslp.org/wiki/Balada_Blanick%C3%A1_(Jan%C3%A1%C4%8Dek,_Leo%C5%…
In reply to I have seen the "repeat… by mike320
Well, that makes sense.
I've never seen that but I haven't devoted much time to orchestral scores for some time.
In reply to I have seen the "repeat… by mike320
In the past, the symbol "%" was also used for one or two beat repeats, but isn't currently used.
(There is also another old symbol for that, but there is no font support: /// /// )
This repetition shortcut can be written as / /
In reply to xavierjazz, you are too… by mike320
I never specifically said that only the previous chord should be selected. My experience is that when that sign is used to refer to chords, it is used only to repeat the previous full bar.
As a matter of fact, I have seen it used, whether in or on the bar, to signify that the previous bar be repeated.
In reply to I never specifically said… by xavierjazz
Then I misunderstood. There still seems to be a lack of a standard in printed music.
In reply to I totally agree too. I'm so… by Taehee1010
[ duplicate, sorry ]
See #84066: Allow % as chord symbol
In reply to See #84066: Allow % as chord… by Jojo-Schmitz
Well, I learn something new on this forum all the time. In over 50 years of playing guitar in all kinds of groups, many kinds of music, I have never seen a %. I wouldn't have had the slightest idea what it meant. Personally, I don't see the need for it, but that's just me. If there must be something over a measure, why not just write the chord symbol again? That way anyone who ever reads the music will have no doubt as to what to play.
Anyway, thanks. If I see one now I'll know what it means.
In reply to Well, I learn something new… by bobjp
The repeat sign can be found in "Master Palettes" (View > Master Palettes). Select "Symbols" and the Repeat (search for "repeat") sign is available...double click it to insert it in the staff and then drag it to the position you want it to reside
In reply to The repeat sign can be found… by BrianMcNamara1947
Easier would be to add it directly as a chord symbol, by pressing F2 while editing to display the Special Characters palette.
Long conversation trying to justify the use of the ٪ symbol...
Anyway, when I need the ٪ sign, I simply copy it from Word and paste it where needed. It would be nice to get this exact same symbol (٪) in an easy way though.
I know that it's available in Musescore, but I always struggle to remember where... so this easy copy/paste from Word method does the trick ;-)
In reply to Long conversation trying to… by FrancoisMuse
See abobe:
The repeat sign can be found in "Master Palettes" (View > Master Palettes). Select "Symbols" and the Repeat (search for "repeat") sign is available_
Once added to a score you can add it to one of your palettes too, and then have it available much easier