Part range indication?

• Oct 24, 2013 - 16:38

At least in the music I usually deal with, it is rather common to put at the begining of the piece an indication of the range of a part as in the following example:

range_sample.png

To achieve them in MuseScore (either 1.3 or 2.0) is ultimately possible but very cumbersome (by reserving some room before the time signature and then adding and finely positioning symbols from the palette), particularly for the ledger lines. It is also rather inconvenient when more than one clef set is needed, as they need to be manually repositioned for each clef change (in the example above, another clef set would for instance use treble8b clefs instead of alto clefs).

Does anyoby else feel the need for a more automated way? In case, I could volunteer to (attemp to) implement a specific range element.

Thanks,

M.


Comments

Wouldn't a better workaround be to have the range be a single 1/4 bar with an invisible bar line, and the time signature suppressed? If that isn't as easy as it sounds, maybe *making* it easy would make more sense than actually adding a new element type for this?

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Is adding a new element a problem? More of a problem than adding an ad-hoc work-around?

The work-around itself is not as straighforward as it should be: that additional measure should not sound, should not even take time during playback, should not be exported as notes to MIDI or MusicXML and so on.

If I remember correctly, Lilypond has the concept of range, and possibly other notation programmes too. So, it is not unheard of.

I know the general position about adding new features, and in general I agree with it. But I'm not asking for it to be implemented, I'm proposing to implement it myself, if there is some interest beyond myself: if it turns out that it does not work or raises too many issues, it can always be discarded or postponed.

M.

I completed and submitted to github an initial implementation of a range element. These are two screen shots showing the general appearance and the degree of customizability:

NOT FOUND: 1

*) There can be a connecting line (with custom thickness) or not
*) Note heads can have any shape defined in MuseScore
*) The element can be upright, leaning left or leaning right (all these orientations are actually used in published scores)

In the Inspector for the element, there is also a button which automatically calculates the range used in a staff (from the measure where the range element is to the next section break or score end, whichever comes first).

In practice, one has to drag the range symbol from the palette (currently placed in the "Note heads" master palette) and drop it over a clef: the range is calculated and added in its proper place. Modifying the score DOES NOT automatically update the range, as this would probably add a noticeable lag to any note editing operation; to update the range element to the actual used range, it is enough to select the element and press the "Update Ragne" button in the Inspector.

If have tried it in some of my scores and it does what I would need from such an element type.

Comments, suggestions and criticisms are welcome.

Thanks,

M.

Attachment Size
range_sample_2.png 9.4 KB

In reply to by Sophie Halling…

Well, it's *almost* automated - takes just two clicks to update the range after a change. Perhaps this wasn't clear? Add the ambitus element to your score, and it calcualtes the range automatically. Then if you alter the score later and wish to update the range elements you alread added, just click the element and press Update Range.

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