Half Diminished Symbol in Figured Bass
I was wondering how it is possible to add a half diminished symbol into figured bass. I know that if you type 0 for chord symbols it becomes a half dim, but that does not work in figured bass. Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you!
Comments
Chord-type (major, minor, diminished, half-diminished, augmented, etc.) is exactly what figured bass doesn't describe. Figured bass is about intervals over the bass. Chord names and types aren't part of the figured-bass language. It is a different, older, way of describing harmony (and contrapuntal gesture).
In reply to Chord-quality (major, minor,… by [DELETED] 1831606
@BSG, so correct me if I'm wrong,
You would need to determine the notes and stack them in a single figured entry telling the musicians what notes are expected rather than the chord name.
In reply to @BSG, so correct me if I'm… by mike320
This is absolutely so (well, "intervals to reach notes", not "notes"), but if you need to say that, (as I suspect) the OP doesn't really know what figured bass is, what it means, what it's there for and how it's used. Books, articles, and web pages about figured bass abound (e.g., my "Learn Continuo Realization" in my spotlight in my profile). Figured bass is also usually directed at ONE musician.
I guess more clarification is needed. I understand what figured bass does, and that it is only inversion numbers and occasionally sharps or flats, not full chord qualities, because it’s assumed that the performer understands the chord quality based on what interval is shown.
For a specific theory assignment we have to write a short composition using a designated chord progression in a chorale style, and in our printed finished product, we need to show Roman numeral analysis, including inversions. I have been doing this using the “figured bass” Text option, because it seemed it would be the easiest. However, I have not been able to figure out how to get a half diminished symbol (for a ii half diminished 7 chord) in either the figured bass or if I were to use lyrics.
I have tried making a chord symbol and then dragging the half diminished symbol below the staff, but that doesn’t work either.
So I am just wondering if anyone knows how to get a half diminished symbol that I can put beneath the staff, regardless of whether or not I have to type it, or drag it next to the ii.
I hope that makes more sense.
In reply to I guess more clarification… by thompale
Also, if anyone knows another way to enter Roman numerals in a simpler way all together that’s fine too, but this seemed to be the easiest.
In reply to Also, if anyone knows… by thompale
Roman Numeral analysis is not at all figured-bass analysis. The figured-bass feature of MuseScore is for entering figured-bass figures, and nothing else: the Wikipedia article on figured bass is not bad at explaining an overview of the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figured_bass . You really cannot use the MuseScore figured bass feature for anything else. MuseScore has no good way to enter tradition Roman-Numeral Analysis numbers (been there before). Text boxes are the best you can do, and they support subscripting and superscripting (and the Danish ø o-slash (you can copy that one) will do for "half-diminished".
In reply to Roman Numeral analysis is… by [DELETED] 1831606
I understand what figured bass is and that it is not the same as Roman Numeral Analysis, that’s not what I am questioning. I simply couldn’t find an obvious better way to try to write Roman numeral analysis (because it automatically makes lower case B’s into flats, and lyrics don’t do that obviously)
I’ll try using a text box and see if I can make it look nice with that. Thank you for your help.
In reply to I guess more clarification… by thompale
For the half diminished (or even diminished symbol) I suggest that you make a staff text that consists only of the symbol you want (or even the whole chord, but I don't know if that'll work). To add the symbol to staff text, add an empty text, press F2 and select chord symbols from the left and you will see the symbols. While still in edit mode (after you add the symbol) press ctrl+a to select the entire text including unseen things, then use the font size at the bottom of the screen to make it the correct size. You can then move it to where you want it,
In reply to For the half diminished (or… by mike320
I’ll try that too. Since this is only a four measure piece it might be easiest to just do that for the single half diminished chord and call it a day.
Thank you for your help!
In reply to I’ll try that too. Since… by thompale
I sure as heck wouldn't mind a decent facility for notating conventional Roman Numeral analysis in the app. I (and others) have felt the need many times.
In reply to I sure as heck wouldn't mind… by [DELETED] 1831606
Maybe it’s coming in Musescore 3.0? I hope so because I know I’ll have more assignments like this and being able to easily just type the analysis would be so much better than having to create different kinds of texts and then essentially cutting and pasting them together.
In reply to Maybe it’s coming in… by thompale
I know it's not in version 3, but the same method should work as in version 2.
Edit: One thing I failed to point out previously is that if you copy the text from its existing spot to anther location it will end up in the same position relative to the staff, to you may have to move it a little after you paste it, but most of the work is retained. This even works when copying between scores, but it won't work copying between versions 2 & 3.
In reply to Maybe it’s coming in… by thompale
I do this a lot, and I think the best method is lyrics. The shortcuts Ctrl+Shift+b, Ctrl+Shift+3 enter flat and sharp, F2 palette gives the diminished & half-diminished symbols. Although I prefer the size/position of the F2 palette for the accidentals, too.
Some day someone will design the ultimate font for Roman numeral analysis, and it will become a part of the SMuFL standard and thus supported by all major notation programs including MuseScore. But unfortunately, that just hasn't happened yet.