Four Part voicing issue

• Dec 5, 2013 - 14:58

Hi! When writing in 4 part with 2 staves, I can not seem to get the whole rest on the bass clef stave (that is there before I do any writing) to go away ... it seems like it is a rest for voice 1 who is in the treble clef, and it does not go away when adding voice 3 & 4 in the bass clef. Do I need to assign voice 1 to only the upper stave?? Please help! Thanks.


Comments

Don't use voices 3 & 4 in the bottom staff - use voices 1 & 2. That is, 1 & 2 in the top staff for soprano & alto, 1 & 2 again in the bottom staff for tenor & bass. Voices 3 & 4 are needed only when you have more than two voices *on the same staff*. This will take of your problem, as well as others you'd soon run into if you tried skipping voice 1.

The simple rule: all staves have to have a voice 1. You can use whatever voices you want above and beyond that, but voice 1 will always be fully accounted for in each staff.

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