Trying to figure out how to input these kinds of notes.

• Jul 16, 2011 - 07:07

I am trying to input some hardcopy sheet music so I can transpose it to a key I can sing a bit easier and I am having a time in making the following types of notes.

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Can anyone explain how to input these?

Thanks

Comments

• Jul 16, 2011 - 07:23

Thanks, that worked great.

I am assuming that in my 2nd example, one of the notes was set as stemeless. That was the only way I could get the measure I just tried to look like my 2nd example.

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• Jul 16, 2011 - 09:33

Ok, I can see how to do that and am able to add notes to copy your sample fine. I can add a note directly above and below and get it to look like your sample, or have one on "G" and one on "A" or "E".

This does bring another question for me. Is it possible to add two notes on "G" in one voice and have one with a stem pointing up and the other with the stem pointing down, like in my 1st example, or do I have to use two voices to do that?

Thanks for helping me out with this.

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• Jul 16, 2011 - 15:14

Just to be clear, the reason you need two voices in order to have opposite stems on the same note is that the only reason one would ever normally want opposing stems on the same note wojld be if there were two independent voices that happened to come together on the same note at some point. In other words, if you ever have a situation where you need two opposing stems on the same note, it's pretty much a given that you have two independent voices for the whole measure.

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• Jul 16, 2011 - 16:24

Yes, although the editor in me says that this example *should* have been notated with use of rests in that measure to make the multiple voice nature of the passage more clear.

Conceptually, the LH is a compound line from a voice leading perspective (one voice implying two) throughout the whole piece. In most measures, it's the bottom voice playing on 1 & 3, top voice on 2 & 4, and the separation is clean enough that you can get away without notating it as separate voices. Although it's not at all uncommon to see even those simple cases notated as bass voice stems down, tenor voice stems up, and rests as appropriate.

For this measure, I personally would have made the multiple voice nature more clear in these few measures where there is overlap. At the very least, a quarter rest on beat two in the bottom voice to go with the quarter note G on beat one. The publisher I've worked allows the editor some discretion in terms of letting a voice appear or disappear at the midpoint of a 4/4 measure if he feels it wouldn't cause confusion. But generally, you still wouldn't do so for just a single beat. I'm not saying there aren't exceptions even to that, though. Certainly, the intent here is clear enough. And I'm sure different publishers, and different editors, have different rules they would follow.

Anyhow, I'd still say the reason this situation exists here is that there *are* two independent voices. it's just that this editor happens to have only notated that fact for the one beat.

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