Should a percussion track follow swing settings?

• Jul 10, 2021 - 01:44

In this test score the percussion track won't follow swing settings.

Drums don't Swing?.mscz

Anybody know why?

Thanks!

scorster

Comments

• Jul 10, 2021 - 04:47

Because you added a staff text rather than a system text. The palette element is system text for exactly this reason, but you can add it manually either way. That can be useful if you want different swing state for different instruments. Actually it's pretty common to want the ratio to be more exaggerated for drums.

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• Jul 10, 2021 - 16:13

Yes it is.

If what we are playing is not in real swing style, in some styles of music (for example folk) it may be preferable to play only one or two instruments with swing. In this case, it is necessary to make only those instruments play in swing by using staff-text.

I'm adding an example score to make it more clear:
Here, swing is used only for accompaniment, not for the main melody.

Attachment Size
Two_Fiddles-variation.mscz 27.21 KB

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• Jul 11, 2021 - 01:12

It looks as if my earlier report, showing three situations with different results regarding whether swing operates properly, may have been in error.

It now begins to look as if the difference has to do with the sequence in which the "global" swing is applied by way of the Style>Score panel. It may be that in order for the setting in the Style>Score panel to be effective, we must actually change it when the panel is open for the score.

I will be doing some further testing of that possibility, but I just wanted to alert the readers that my earlier conclusion may well not have been been accurate.

Doug

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• Jul 11, 2021 - 22:56

It turns out that in scorster's demo score, the notes in the percussion track (resistant to swinging) all contain, subordinate to the <Note> element, this code:

    <Events>
      <Event>
      </Event>
    </Events>

which does not appear elsewhere.

Notes freshly entered onto that staff do not carry that code.

With that code stripped, the percussion track is susceptible to having swing applied.

Doug

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• Jul 11, 2021 - 22:57

Here's a new version of my problematic test score. The issue is the percussion track that won't follow swing settings.

      Drums don't Swing 02.mscz

Can anyone get this score to behave normally and explain what changes were needed for the restoration?

scorster

UPDATE:
Hi Doug,

I see you manifested my request right as I was posting it.

Amazing! The score works like normal with those stray lines of code removed .

The percussion notes were pasted from another score, so now I'll see if I can retrace my steps.

Love John

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• Jul 12, 2021 - 00:59

It seems that:

If a note has its "normal" play duration, there is no special indication of this in the MSCx file; the defualt is "normal".

If the play duration has been changed, then in the MSCx file, the <Note> element carries a structure like this:

    <Events>
      <Event>
        <len 520 </len> 
      </Event>
    </Event>

where <len> gives the changed duration (I forget in what system).

If we then set the play duration back to "normal", the code structure does not disappear, but becomes this:

    <Events>
      <Event>
      </Event>
    </Event>

This is apparently taken by MuseScore as meaning "normal duration", but in an absolute (not default) sense, so that if it appears on a percussion note, it seemingly prevents MuseScore from changing the play duration of the note in response to a "swing" setting.

Now exactly how the notes in the percussion staff of scorster's demonstration score picked up that "empty" structure I have no idea.

I think.

Doug

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