Can multiple measures of differing time signatures be copied?
Or do the different time signature sections need to be copied and pasted separately, as in 2 bars of 4/4, then 2 bars of 3/2, then 3 bars of 4/4 etc.?
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Behold, a rose is growing - Verse 1.mscz | 28.73 KB |
| Behold, a rose is growing - Verse 2.mscz | 29.96 KB |
Comments
I didn't open your files, but the answer is yes. Just click the first measure, go to the last measure you want to copy and Shift-Click. Then Ctrl-C to copy. Everything, including notes, clefs, time signatures gets copied. Then select the beginning measure where you want to paste and press Ctrl-V to paste. You do not necessarily need to select a range for pasting. I would practice on a blank score so you will see what happens, including when it will overwrite what is in existing measures.
Edit: actually I was wrong. I only copied the notes, and time signatures, etc. must be entered manually.
If you are using MU4, then the answer is No.
In reply to If you are using MU4, then… by bobjp
Yes, thanks for the correction. I screwed up my first reply. If one first enters the correct time signature changes on the appropriate measures in the destination location, then you should be able to copy the notes that span those time changes and paste them. The measures where the time changes need to match up, otherwise the notes will not fit the timing in the measures.
In reply to Yes, thanks for the… by garytemp
Thanks Gary,
I had come to the same conclusion and bit the bullet - tedious but it worked. I had to steal a lot of white space to make it a bit more legible. Our choristers will have to bring their glasses along, just as well it is quite a simple hymn.
In reply to Yes, thanks for the… by garytemp
In this example, it is further complicated by the fact that all measures that do not have the nominal length are also copied incorrectly. The notes are correct, but the shortened measures are not copied and so everything shifts.
Unfortunately, copying is only useful if you have nominal measure lengths and no change in time signature. This is at least the case in MuS 3.
In reply to In this example, it is… by HildeK
So true, by the time I got to add verse 4 I found a somewhat convenient way to go about this:
First add the number of measures needed
add in the various time signatures
vary the bar lengths
and finally copy and paste the music for each of time signature passages.
There was a minor complication, every now and again the Ctrl + C did not overwrite the pre-existing clipboard stuff. I was very grateful for the Ctrl + Z function in those instances :o)
In reply to So true, by the time I got… by elmar@vonmural…
Yes, that needs to be done. You can modify the time signatures after the copy action as well. That works too.
However, any change in bar lengths must be done before the copy operation, as this will delete the rightmost beat(s) if you do this afterwards. Even if notes are already written there - these are then deleted and all subsequent ones are shifted to the left. You have to be careful there!
In reply to Yes, that needs to be done… by HildeK
I am not sure I understand the need to change bar lengths. AFAIK Musescore automatically resizes measures to fit the notes as they are entered. I just did a short test, and as long as I pre-entered the time signature changes at the appropriate measure number to match the source, when I pasted in the notes all the measures resized on their own.
Edit: I copied and pasted the entire 12 bars as a group, over a blank score with only the time signatures present.
In reply to I am not sure I understand… by garytemp
You wrote:
AFAIK Musescore automatically resizes measures to fit the notes as they are entered.
Yes, this relates to the physical dimension of the measure on the printed page.
HildeK wrote:
However, any change in bar lengths must be done before the copy operation, as this will delete the rightmost beat(s) if you do this afterwards.
"Bar lengths" here likely refers to "Measure Duration" (as found in Measure properties):
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/measure-properties#dialog
In reply to You wrote: AFAIK Musescore… by Jm6stringer
> "Bar lengths" here likely refers to "Measure Duration"
Sorry, maybe I expressed myself wrong - I am not a native speaker. I meant the number of beats when they do not coincide with the time signature, yes, measure duration.
In reply to > "Bar lengths" here likely… by HildeK
@HildeK... you wrote:
Sorry, maybe I expressed myself wrong...
Not really, it's just that the word "length" needs to be taken in context.
As garytemp stated: "Musescore automatically resizes measures to fit the notes as they are entered."
So, what is meant here is that the "length" gets resized - as measured on the page with a ruler.
You were referring to bar "length" as the total number of beats in the bar, so (technically) measure duration. Measure duration can still be considered "length", although this type of length is measured - not with a ruler - but with a clock -- i.e., the "length" of time, or total number of beats, that the bar requires.
As you have mentioned, this "length" is important when copy/pasting, in addition to the previously discussed time signature changes.
In reply to I am not sure I understand… by garytemp
Yes, you are completly right!
But sometimes there are measures that are shorter than the time signature specifies, most often this is the anacrusis bar.
And then it is necessary to shorten this bar at the destination before copying.
In reply to Yes, you are completly right… by HildeK
it seems it would be faster to simply not copy the anacrusis measure. Instead of messing around with the lengths, just manually enter that first pickup or anacrusis measure on the new score, then copy the source material beginning with the full measure after.
In reply to it seems it would be faster… by garytemp
Yes, indeed.
The anacrusis was an example.
When you do a PDF import, for example, sometimes you can get misrecognized measures with a wrong duration. So in this case you have to be careful.
In reply to Yes, indeed. The anacrusis… by HildeK
That is why I think unless a score is VERY simple, I will not use the PDF import in Musescore (which uses Audiveris) until it is way more accurate. I now mostly use Photoscore, which finds bad timing and gives me the ability to edit and fix those wrong durations, plus any notes, markings and other things not properly recognized by the OCR engine before creating the XML. That gives me a much more accurate and complete starting point.
In reply to That is why I think unless a… by garytemp
I only mentioned the problem of the shorter duration of the measures because both of your scores from the opening posting have measures that differ from the nominal duration in several places. For example, in verse 1 score, both bars 5 and 6 and also 10 and 11 (and still others) have only half the duration. Fortunately, half duration is the ideal case for copying, because after pasting, both are combined into one complete bar. You can also merge them before copying with "Tools/Bar/Join Selected Measures".
If the number of beats is not correct when merging two measures, the result will not be satisfactory.
In reply to it seems it would be faster… by garytemp
Hi Gary,
in most cases this would hold true and just add in the first and last bar after the bulk had been copied. However, in the hymn attached about a third of all bars were shorter that the prescribed time signatures would suggest. That's why it was a bit tedious to hang things together in the end.
By the time I copied the 4th verse I had it worked out to a reasonable routine by first adding a bunch of empty bars, assign the various time signatures, vary the actual number of beats per bar where needed and only then copy and paste for each section with its own time signature variation.
In reply to Hi Gary, in most cases this… by elmar@vonmural…
I think I found your problem. In the both scores there are measures that are split. For example measures 5 and 6 are supposed to actually be a single measure. Select them both and go to "Tools_Measures_Join Selected Measures". That will of course change the subsequent measure numbers. The same thing happens on the last measure of the following systems, except the ending.
In reply to I think I found your problem… by garytemp
@garytemp
Yes, you found it :-).
Indeed, in this score joining the measures is sufficient. But also a direct copy action solves it: the two measures with the actual duration of 2/4 will then fit in one 4/4 measure.
If there are two or more measures which cannot be joined to one full measure for the existing time signature, you must be careful and modify also the destination measure - before the action.