Yes, I read it yesterday. I guess I need to use voices 1 & 2 in each staff. Hmm...doesn't seem a great solution when voices cross staves. Or for, say, a fugue...! A grand staff should logically be able to be considered as one entity. And I guess 5 & 6-voice fugues are really out. Or am I missing something?
Always start with voice 1 in every staff. If you need another voice use voice 2 so all voice 1 stems point up and voice 2 point down by default. If you still need more voices add voice 3 if you want stems up and voice 4 if you want stem down.
When it comes to cross-staff notation see https://musescore.org/en/handbook/cross-staff-notation for more info on how to do that. If you need 5 voices in the bass clef you'll need to put one in the treble and use cross-staff. Outside of some rare fugues there is never a need to use more than 5 voices on a staff and never a need for more than 8 voices total between the two staves. I've seen 4 staff piano music and there are still not more than 8 voices total in this music. The only case I've seen more is when there is a pedal staff for an organ and that staff is notated for the feet.
As mentioned, you do indeed want to start with voice 1 on every staff, and you can use cross-staff notation where desired if a single logical voice needs to move from staff to staff.
I've never dealt with a six voice fugue - at least, not on only two staves (I've written large fugues for ensembles). But it wouldn't come close to taxing MuseScore's abilities. Three voices for the top staff, three for the bottom, with cross staff notation as required, and you still have a voice to spare on each staff. You could do an eighth-voice fugue on two saves if you really wanted.
FWIW, this same basic model is how almost all notation software is organized.
Comments
See: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/voices#delete-hide-rests
Always use the minimum number of Voices necessary...
In reply to See: https://musescore.org… by Shoichi
You sure about that? If I've filled up all 4 voices, the rests should automatically go away, no?? Doesn't make much sense otherwise.
In reply to You sure about that? If I've… by mowp
Did you read the page recalled above?
Prioritize Voice 1. It seems to me you don't need more than two.
In reply to Did you read the page… by Shoichi
Yes, I read it yesterday. I guess I need to use voices 1 & 2 in each staff. Hmm...doesn't seem a great solution when voices cross staves. Or for, say, a fugue...! A grand staff should logically be able to be considered as one entity. And I guess 5 & 6-voice fugues are really out. Or am I missing something?
In reply to Yes, I read it yesterday. I… by mowp
Yes, start with voice 1 in every staff.
In reply to Yes, I read it yesterday. I… by mowp
Always start with voice 1 in every staff. If you need another voice use voice 2 so all voice 1 stems point up and voice 2 point down by default. If you still need more voices add voice 3 if you want stems up and voice 4 if you want stem down.
When it comes to cross-staff notation see https://musescore.org/en/handbook/cross-staff-notation for more info on how to do that. If you need 5 voices in the bass clef you'll need to put one in the treble and use cross-staff. Outside of some rare fugues there is never a need to use more than 5 voices on a staff and never a need for more than 8 voices total between the two staves. I've seen 4 staff piano music and there are still not more than 8 voices total in this music. The only case I've seen more is when there is a pedal staff for an organ and that staff is notated for the feet.
In reply to Yes, I read it yesterday. I… by mowp
As mentioned, you do indeed want to start with voice 1 on every staff, and you can use cross-staff notation where desired if a single logical voice needs to move from staff to staff.
I've never dealt with a six voice fugue - at least, not on only two staves (I've written large fugues for ensembles). But it wouldn't come close to taxing MuseScore's abilities. Three voices for the top staff, three for the bottom, with cross staff notation as required, and you still have a voice to spare on each staff. You could do an eighth-voice fugue on two saves if you really wanted.
FWIW, this same basic model is how almost all notation software is organized.
In reply to You sure about that? If I've… by mowp
No, you did not. You did not use voice 1 and 2 in the bottom staff. And apparently manually added voice 3 and 4 rests in top staff.