How to add courtesy repetition count?
I am a percussionist and often in orchestra will end up playing the same thing over and over for 20-30 bars. To help with this, our music comes notated with a little number above each bar telling us how many bars in we are
so we don't have to actually follow along with the music.
I am currently condensing the timpani part from Holst's Mars into one part as we only have the capacity for four timpani and one timpanist, and need to work out how to do this so that I don't get lost during the iconic timpani part.
Kind regards.
Comments
By odd coincidence, I am about to engrave a score which includes a (fl./vn.) descant part in which that instrument plays the same measure 14 times in a row (although not 39, like in your Holst).--it seems the most obvious way to be to use "staff text": to get the number centered, you'll have to do individually for each meaure, pinning the text to the second or third beat (in 5/4 time).
If anyone has a better suggestion, please let us know.