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Topic: How do you condense rest measures into a single measure? (Read 3949 times) previous topic - next topic

How do you condense rest measures into a single measure?

Ok. Recently i haven't been able to explain my questions clearly enough so please bear with me.  I am wondering how you would have those number rest measures. Like 4 measures of rest condensed into a measure which looks like a 4 on top of a black bar identifying you count 4 measures of rest. Hope you understood me:)

Re: How do you condense rest measures into a single measure?

Reply #1 –
I think I do understand your question. You need to download Boxmarks 2 from the Scriptorium site, in the Helpful Files section. This font can be used to insert the correct characters that you need. Download the file and unzip it. Open Noteworthy and open the file you want to enter the condensed rests into.  Then go to File; Page Setup; and then the Fonts tab. Double-click on "User 1" or "User 2" or whichever you want to put the font on, and change the size as needed. Then insert the text by pressing 'x' on the keyboard while a staff is highlighted. Next click on the drop-box where it says "Staff Italic" and change it to "User 1" or wherever you put the Boxmarks2 font. The boxmarks 2 zip file should come with files to help you know which letters/numbers to use to make the bars for the condensed rests. I think you can use the brackets ([]). I'm pretty sure that's what you would use. When you go to insert the text using boxmarks2, try using brackets and I think that will work. Hope this was an accurate explanation. If not, you might want to ask a more experienced user...

Daniel Carrasco

Re: How do you condense rest measures into a single measure?

Reply #2 –
I always use boxmarks2 font to insert multi-measure rests.  They look like this |---4---| with boxmarks (actually they look a lot better, with solid lines, etc...).  Also, in my score, I leave all the measures in with normal rests, then select them and mark them as 'hidden.'  Then I insert the boxmarks multi-measure mark in the middle of the hidden measures.  By doing it this way, the measure numbers remain accurate when using the automatic numbering function.

Re: How do you condense rest measures into a single measure?

Reply #3 –
Chris
I'm really impressed with the way you do measure numbers so they remain correct I never thought of doing it that way, I've always done it by hand using insert text expression! When I did  it though I couldn't see the measures in print preview could you tell me what I'm doing wrong please?

Thanks

Re: How do you condense rest measures into a single measure?

Reply #4 –
Kath-

The measure numbers will show for each measure when measure numbering is selected only in the standard editor/entry view.  For printing/print preview, measure numbers will show up automatically only for the first measure of each system/line.  I usually use this feature for the professional quartet I play in, since we're all experienced players.  With my music students (I'm a school band/orchestra director), I don't include the automatic numbering.  Instead, I use boxmarks2 and mark rehearsal letters or numbers for the major sections of the song.

Re: How do you condense rest measures into a single measure?

Reply #5 –
If you're going to be printing parts for each instrument, This will save a lot of time:

Use a new staff and create a lyric (Control L) consisting only of integers:  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  ...

Use the Lyrics Configuration tab (Control L) to align the lyrics at the top of the staff and at the beginning of each note.

Add a whole note at the beginning of this staff, make its properties "visibility never" and "muted."    Add a bar line, then highlight the note and the bar line, and copy them to the end of this staff as many times as you need to.

The measure numbers will show up right at the beginning of each bar.

Layer this staff with each part you're going to print.

You can change the lyric font, if you wish, in Page Setup, Fonts.

If the lyrics method is not to your liking, then I agree with entering the numbers as text, alignment "next bar", but use this new staff.  Fill it with hidden rests and bar lines, and layer it with each printed part when printing.

Re: How do you condense rest measures into a single measure?

Reply #6 –
But if you layer two staves to look like one, there is a "bar line" on the left end of every staff.
There should NEVER be a line at the beginning of the staff.
Period.

Re: How do you condense rest measures into a single measure?

Reply #7 –
Randy's remark is true if the music is on a single staff (one instrument). In fact, I've seen that kind of music for years (being a vocalist), but never noticed that the left side had no bar line, until someone pointed it out to me last year!

I suppose you could argue that with several instruments, the line at left is not really a "bar line" but something else.