Fixing unexpected spacing of notes in bars
The first two crotchet (quarter) notes take up more than half of the 4/4 bar at figure B. (see attached file) At a glance, it looks more like a 5/4 or 10/8 bar to me.
- Any thoughts on why this is appearing this way?
- What settings can I change to reduce the width taken up by the double dotted rest?
The second bar, second crotchet beats in parts 1 and 2 don't line up
3. Any idea why? settings, etc.
- Is there a way to "snap to grid" for rhythm, so that notation is evenly spaced throughout the bar?
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Prelude and Dragonfly Dance spacing sample.mscz | 10.43 KB |
Comments
I'm confused, as I don't see quarter notes taking up more than half of the 4/4 bar at B. Do you mean the one in the middle triplet in the marimba 2 part, tied to the one one beat 3?
As for the double dotted rest, it needs to be that wide because of what is on the bottom staff. The next note on the top staff does not come in untl after the rest and first two notes, so it has to be to the right of all that. If you generate parts from this score, those alignment concerns won't occur any more, and the spacing will be more regular.
There are no crotchets at all in either part in the second bar, maybe you mean quaver (eighth note)? Even so, I'm not sure what you mean about them not lining up. None of the notes are actually played at the same time except the notes on beat 2, and those do align. It might be a little deceptive because the stem directions differ, and the flag on the bottom staff note also makes it seem off, but take a ruler to it or otherwise draw a vertical line on screen, and you'll see the noteheads are aligned perfectly. Maybe you mean some other note, or some other measure?
Anyhow, as far as I can tell, everything is correctly notated and spaced according to the standard rules of music notation . These are complex interlocking rhythms, and everywhere I can see, things that need to be aligned are, thing that need not to be aren't, and there is little wasted space anywhere. If you want more "regular" spacing, you cant have two staves with vastly different rhythms.
I found you can do a lot with "edit element" Highlight just the item you want to change then use the arrow keys to change it appearance, width, etc. A rest you can highlight and move it around by holding it with the left mouse button.
This is what the first bar/measure looks like when I open your score. Looks OK to me.
![Prelude_and_Dragonfly_Dance_spacing_sample.png]( "Prelude_and_Dragonfly_Dance_spacing_sample.png")