How to create ties leading into a 2nd ending

Some workarounds to ensure correct notation and improved playback of ties leading to a Volta 2nd ending.

The example below show part of a score where the last chord before the volta section is tied to the first chord of both the 1st and 2nd time endings:

tie_example.png

It is easy to create ties leading to the 1st ending, but the ties leading into the 2nd ending require a special workaround.

A series of solution are given below in order of complexity. Chose the one that is most appropriate to your needs. You can use the following example score, if desired, to test run the solutions:

0tiesecondending.mscz

You can inspect the original layout of the example scores ("reverse-engineer" them, so to speak) by selecting all (Ctrl+A) and resetting: Ctrl+R (or the menu command, Layout→Reset)

Solution 1: Use special characters

Comment: This method is simple and flexible but fixes the layout only. You can easily copy and paste the tie characters to other parts of the score; or add them to a custom palette for future use.

  1. Click the note then add a fingering element (LH Guitar fingering seems to be the best fit, positioning wise)
  2. Double-click the fingering element to edit the text
  3. Delete the current text
  4. Use the toolbar (MuseScore 3: Inspector) to change size to 18pt
  5. Press F2 to display the Special Characters palette
  6. Double-click the appropriate symbol (last two in palette)
  7. Position manually as desired (MuseScore 3: disable autoplace if need be)

Solution 2: Avoid leading ties

Comment: This workaround is quick and easy, involves no "tricks," and give perfect layout and playback.

  • Increase the lengths of the voltas to span a futher one or more measures, so that there are no leading ties going into the repeats.

An example is given in the following score:

6tiesecondending.mscz

Solution 3: Use invisible grace notes

Comment: The following fixes layout and gives good playback in many cases (see the notes below for caveats).

  1. Add an acciaccatura/appoggiatura before each of the notes to be tied in the 2nd ending;
  2. Add ties from the acciaccatura/appoggiatura to the notes in the chord;
  3. Hide the notes, stem, slash and flag for the acciaccatura/appoggiatura;
  4. Uncheck playback of the acciaccatura/appoggiatura in the Inspector;

  5. Adjust the chord horizontal offset of the acciaccatura/appoggiatura, until the ties are the desired length.

    1tiesecondending.mscz

Notes: (1) Playback is only correct if the tied to notes in either volta have the same duration (in this particular case, playback in 2nd volta is too short, and the dotted half note is shortened to a half note, just like the 1st volta). (2) If your score uses lyric text with a melisma that extends into the voltas, you cannot create the melisma continuation in the second volta using an acciaccatura or appoggiatura, as these grace notes do not support lyric text. For tied notes that include lyrics, see Solution 4.

Solution 4: Use invisible ties

Comment: This fixes layout and gives good playback in many cases (but see notes below for caveats).

  1. Add a tie from the last note in the 1st ending with same pitch as the notes to be tied;
  2. Move the notes in the 2nd ending to the right, if desired. (Horizontal offset in Inspector);

  3. Adjust the shape and direction of the ties. (At minimum, you need to select the tie via double click, select the left handle and move it into the second ending.)

    2tiesecondending.mscz

Notes: Playback of the 1st volta is too long, a whole note rather than a half note. Depending on the Instrument, this may pass unnoticed. Because of the manipulation of the ties, this method is sensitive to subsequent changes in layout: anything that changes the distance between the tied notes will result in usually undesirable shifts in the manipulated ties. If you create parts, you will need to manipulate the ties on any parts that contain them.

Solution 5: Use invisible voice and ties

  1. Insert notes in the 1st ending, using a different voice, with the same pitch as the notes to be tied;
  2. Add ties from the extra notes to the notes in the 2nd ending;
  3. Hide the inserted notes;
  4. Uncheck playback for the inserted notes;

  5. Adjust the shape and direction of the ties. (At minimum, you need to select the tie via double click, select the left handle and move it into the second ending.)

    3tiesecondending.mscz

Downside: Playback of the 2nd volta is too short, the half note from 1st volta rather the dotted half from 2nd volta. Depending on the Instrument, this may pass unnoticed. Playback is only correct if the tied to notes in either volta have the same duration. Because of the manipulation of the ties, this method is sensitive to subsequent changes in layout: anything that changes the distance between the tied notes will result in usually undesirable shifts in the manipulated ties. If you create parts, you will need to manipulate the ties on any parts that contain them.

Solution 6: Add extra measure

Comment: This is the only method that gets the playback 100% correct, but depending on the note durations and the instruments used, the other methods may be good enough.

  1. Insert an additional measure just before the 1st ending.
  2. Move the tied note into the new measure by deleting it from its original location and recreating it in the new measure.
  3. Change the actual duration of the new measure to match that of the note you moved into it. For example, if the new measure contains a single eighth note, change the actual duration of the measure to 1/8. Then reduce the actual duration value of the measure that originally contained the tied note by the amount used for the new measure. For example, if the measure that originally contained the tied note had an actual duration of 4/4, and you moved a tied eighth note to the newly-created measure, change the actual duration from 4/4 to 7/8.
  4. Hide the barline separating the new measure from the preceding measure using the Visible property in the inspector panel.
  5. Adjust the scope of the 1st ending to cover the new measure. To do this, remove the existing 1st ending volta, select the new measure along with the measures of the original 1st ending, and add a 1st-ending volta to this group of measures. Then double-click the volta and drag the left-side bracket handle to to the right so that the volta does not appear over the new measure. The result should match the visual appearance of the original 1st-ending volta.
  6. Insert a new measure before the start of the 2nd ending, and insert notes that match the pitch and duration of the tied notes that lead into the 1st ending. Tie the notes to the notes that begin the following measure. Hide the notes in the new first measure of the 2nd ending while leaving the ties visible.
  7. Adjust the scope of 2nd ending to cover the new measure, using the method previously described.
  8. Hide the barline separating the new measure in the 2nd ending from the rest of the 2nd-ending measures. Adjust the shape and direction of the ties.

  9. If the tied notes include lyric text with a melisma, you can continue the melisma in the 2nd ending. To do so, add a placeholder character to the lyric text under the hidden notes at the beginning of the 2nd ending. Then enter a Basic Latin unicode space (0x00020) followed by the underscores used for the melisma. Remove the placeholder character so that only the unicode space character remains at the beginning of the melisma. The resulting melisma should appear as an underscore with no preceding text. (The relevant text appears under the tied note preceding the 1st ending.) See special characters for information on entering unicode characters in text fields.

    4tiesecondending.mscz

Solution 7: Use a slur instead

Add a slur to the "tied-to" note; then select the whole slur and move and resize it as needed

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