How to notate unison parts in big band score?

• Dec 18, 2015 - 02:46

I like working with Big Band scores that indicate unison passages by inserting text indicating the passage is unison with another part instead of notating the same line in multiple instruments.

For instance, if 1st Alto and 2nd Alto have the same line, the 2nd Alto part would just say "unison with 1st Alto" instead of having all the same notes/rhythms.

Does anyone have suggestions about how to do this the right way in MuseScore?

Thanks in advance.


Comments

If I understand:
Ctrl + T> write Alto I and II;
Deleting notes in stave Alto II> Style / General ... / Score>Hide empty staves

You probably don't actually want to use "Hide empty staves" unless you actually don't want to show the second alto part, but I'm guessing you do want to show it, with a line similar to that used to multimeasure rests.

FWIW, that convention existed only because in the days before notation software, it saved time to not have to write out all the parts multiple times. These days, doing it correctly is a simple matter of copy and paste, so there is really no reason to use that old time saving device.

But if you wish to copy that look, use a lin from the Lines palette and set the thickness however you like using the Inspector, then add the text using Staff Text as mentioned above.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Yep. This is exactly what I want to do. In this case, this is scoring for middle school jazz band. I'm just trying to make it readily apparent that parts are unison without having to actually look closely at the score.

The best part is that I can use this convention and place it over the actual notation, and it appears that the line doesn't get included when I generate the individual parts. So, I can use this for the score and the individual parts will not be affected, nor will the playback. Perfect! :)

Thank you for this suggestion.

-Andy in OKC

In reply to by andyfugate

Hmm, the line actually *should* be included in the parts and does when I try it. If it doesn't for you, then you've found a bug, and we'd like to see your score and steps to reproduce so we can fix it :-). But you can mark the line insivible in the parts - and mark the notes invisible in the score.

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