8va on single voice
I have a piano score with two voices in the treble stave. Is it possible to raise just the upper voice by one octave, not both voices? I read the handbook but couldn't find the clarity on this.
Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.
Comments
Not currently possible other than by hacks like fiddling with the offset of the notes or the "fix to line" setting in the Inspector.
If I select just the upper voice and then press Ctrl + the "up" arrow , that voice is raised by an octave, seemingly without any problems. I've only tried it on a short sample, though, on MS 3.6.2
Ctrl+↑
In reply to Ctrl+↑ by Brer Fox
Ah - but I want the upper voice (only) to be notated with the 8va also
In reply to Ah - but I want the upper… by Ali Wood
Fair enough - that wasn’t clear to me.
Well, yes, some trickery is required but depending upon how complex your piece is it might not require too much artifice. You can have one Voice in the top stave and the other Voice comes from the bottom stave but use Cross-Staff Notation. This second Voice appears in the top stave but still "lives" in the bottom stave so isn't affected by the 8va.
In reply to Well, yes, some trickery is… by underquark
I see what you've done - I wasn't aware of cross-staff notation.
Actually the problem is now a musical one - would someone reading your score know that the upper voice is raised but not the lower one? This reveals my lack of musical knowledge I'm afraid.
In reply to I see what you've done - I… by Ali Wood
Generally speaking, octave lines apply to all notes on a staff. You do sometimes see people trying to get around this and using notations that they think might clearly indicate it only applied to some notes but not others. It's risky, though, as it invites misunderstanding. If you can find a better way, it's almost always to do so.