How to add temporarily a staff (just for one page ?)

• Aug 14, 2012 - 20:45

Hello, I'm writing a big-band score.
it includes also a xylophone (!) and for the last few bars, I need a second xylophone, on a separate staff.
I could Add the instrument with the instrument window, and select "hide empty staves". But I don't want to do that, because I wish all the other empty staves to appear, with their rests, in the score.

So, any other option for me ?

I just need this extra staff for one page. I hope there is another solution rather than creating a new score just for that page and appending both pdfs together...

Many thanks !
S


Comments

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

thanks for your answer,
unfortunately, unless this option can be configured on a staff by staff (or page by page) basis, this method will hide ALL the empty staves, which I want to keep in my score. I need one extra staff only on one page, and I wish to keep all other staves - even empty - in the score. is there a way to do that ?
if not, It could be implemented in the staff properties window maybe ?

In reply to by laconcombremasque

A fairly quick way of doing this workaround is to enter the notes using a second Voice, select them all and then hide them all at once. That way you still see the rests because they are in the first Voice. As follows:

Left-click on the first rest in the stave
Press the following keys in order:
n
7
[Ctrl] i
[Ctrl] 2

Now press and hold c until most of the score is filled (it took about 7 seconds on my machine to fill 100 bars).

Go back to the beginning of that stave, left-click on the first "fake" note.
Press [Ctrl] [Shift] [End]
Right-click on one of the notes, select "Set invisible"

A limitation:
7 here denotes a 4-beat note or semibrieve which is appropriate for a 4/4 bar. If you try this trick with bars that are not 4/4 then you will create ties and those, unfortunately, are visible. You can get around this by typing 6. (six dot) for 3/4 bars, 7. for 6/8 etc. in order that the "fake" notes thus created fill a bar exactly and don't cause ties. If your tim signature changes frequently then you are stuck doing it the hard way by entering a "fake" note somewhere one each system.

Another sneaky way to do this would be to create a one-stave piece just for the extra xylophone part and then save it as a PNG image and then drag it over (as an image) onto the score and re-size it to match.

Gosh I have kind of same problem (MuseScore 2.0.1) ... Did you find a way to work it out?
I'm doing a leadsheet, just treble clef for melody and chord symbols ... but at the beginning I need to add a 4 bar staff with bass sample and just for the 4 bar intro ... I can't find a way .. as you know I try to add one staff but MuseScore add it to the entire lead sheet ...
If you found a way please let me know
Thanks

In reply to by mormus

Create your score with all staves. Style> General>Page "Hide Empty Staves" will do just what it says. 2.x has some new features not present when this thread was started. There is a check-box here that allows you to leave visible or to hide the first stave. Additional control over stave visibility is accessed by right-clicking on a stave and choosing Stave Properties> Never hide or Stave Properties> Do not hide if system is empty. If none of the above works then you sometimes have to resort to placing an invisible note when you want a stave in a particular place to be unhidden.

It sounds as though you should create all the staves, enter your notes and then maybe make sure the main ones are "Never hide" and then "Hide Empty Staves".

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

Thank you I got it !!
Your initial reply had no explanation on how to work it out, but that is what works, now I know ... still a weird way to do it, it would be easier just if with "Split Staff" option would have the additional options "Selected Staves or measures" or "Entire Score" ...
Thanks for your reply

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Exactly I agree that "it wouldn't seem weird to any one who has used other notation software" ... that is exactly my discomfort with these notation softwares I happen to have used in the past ... they are so weird that when users finally and I mean finally after tons of research find a way to solve a SIMPLE matter (that should be kept simple) ... get so used to its intricacies and so absorbed that end up thinking that is "normal" when it shouldn't be ...
I don't see how just adding an extra staff should take the user to think and worry about "disappearing" staff somewhere else and find out at rehearsal that bars and staves are missing ... just to mention one possible consequence ...
..at this time of software evolution things should be more intuitive and friendly user ...
Thank you for your remarks, I appreciate it.

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