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Topic: having only one stave (vocal) for the first 20 or so measures (Read 3061 times) previous topic - next topic

having only one stave (vocal) for the first 20 or so measures

I was wondering if there is a way to have a single vocal solo line for the first verse of a song and when printed out the song will show only the vocal line but won't have a big gap or anything where the accompaniment should be (the vocal staves would be adjacent or touching one another), until of course the accompaniment joins in.  It would be for conserving space (but if there isn't anyway possible, it's alright)

Re: having only one stave (vocal) for the first 20 or so measures

Reply #1 –
It seems to be no different than printing parts for instrumentalists in an ensemble.  When you print the choral and the accompaniment together as a score, you want to display all the whole rest meastures.  However, you want them hidden for printing the choral parts themselves.  Typically you would like to have a multibar rest sign too.

Paste this into a blank staff to see what I mean:
Code: [Select · Download]
!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.0,Single)
|Bar|Style:Double
|Text|Text:"C"|Font:User2|Pos:11|Justify:Right|Visibility:Always
|Rest|Dur:4th
|Dynamic|Style:mp|Pos:-10
|Note|Dur:8th,Triplet=First|Pos:b5|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Triplet|Pos:4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam
|Note|Dur:8th,Triplet=End|Pos:3|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:b3|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:n-4|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-3
|Note|Dur:4th,Dotted|Pos:1
|Note|Dur:Half|Pos:0
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:Whole|Visibility:Never
|Text|Text:"  [ 2 ]   "|Font:User3|Pos:-1|Wide:Y
|Bar|Visibility:Never
|Rest|Dur:Whole|Visibility:Never
|Bar
|Rest|Dur:4th
|Note|Dur:8th,Triplet=First|Pos:b5|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th,Triplet|Pos:4|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam
|Note|Dur:8th,Triplet=End|Pos:3|Opts:Stem=Down,Beam=End
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:b3|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=First
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:-1|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam
|Note|Dur:8th|Pos:n-4|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Bar
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End
Then check print preview.  You can change the number in the multibar bars rest text to any length you like. Just add more hidden measures of rests too.  You need to use the preserve width setting for the rest sign text.  Here, I've used Boxmark2 for userfont 2 and userfont 3 is Boxmarks.  You can download them from the Scriptorium http://nwc-scriptorium.org/

You might tweak this a little by forcing a line break on the bar line at the beginning of your second verse.

It occurs to me also that if the melody in the first verse is the same as in the second, you should use first and second lyrics in the lyric editor.  I don't know if you're doing it or not, nor do I know if it quite fits the problem you're trying to resolve.

Re: having only one stave (vocal) for the first 20 or so measures

Reply #2 –
No, what JN wanted was a common request that NWC cannot do. It is to show ONLY the active part of the music, without any staves for silent parts until they are active.

It can be done (in NWC1 or NWC2) by saving metafiles from Print Preview, then pasting them into a word processing document. In the word processor, you can crop or reposition as you see fit. This works very well. The only problem is that if you change the music, you have to go through the metafile thing again.

Re: having only one stave (vocal) for the first 20 or so measures

Reply #3 –
that is true.  I might do that.  What I am trying to do is take a piano/voice score of Loch Lomond and arrange it so that the first verse is accapella and the second verse begins the accompanyment.  To save space I suppose all I would have to do, actually, would be to simply put the first verse on the same printed staff as the second verse and mute those print staves then hide a stave that has the repeats and such so that the playback would sound correct.  Then simply indicate via 'insert/text' that the first verse is supposed to be unaccompanied.  Any better ways? Thanks

Re: having only one stave (vocal) for the first 20 or so measures

Reply #4 –
Robert's approach is the only viable one for general use: the combination of NWC2 and layout program for afterwork and printing. I frequently think it would be wrong to torture NWC to do both jobs. Word is a good text processor, but a poor layout program, but combine it with Pagemaker or Quark Xpress and that gives a production system that gives the best of both worlds.

I have just finished re-setting Stainer's Crucifixion which is 60 pages of mixed choral work with tenor and baritone soloists. Changing page sizes or varying margins was not an option for good presentation. NWC handled the data entry well and the original has been reset in closed score. NWC allowed suitable markup fonts to be used and even tremolos can be done.

The layout could not be done in NWC. I am fortunate in having Pagemaker, the legacy from being a one-time computer shop owner, and that does the job brilliantly. It imports the EMF files without modification, unlike Open Office, and they can be cropped there and the next part of the movement added from page to page. This is similar to how magazines are laid out. Stories, or parts of a movement are set separately then placed into the final work.
It is easy to NWC to set the whole movement with all the staves for all parts, including all the rests. That done it can be chopped up for printing. Usually bar numbers need to be kept and rehearsal letters so multiple copies need to be kept of the whole movement - one for each cut. I usually name the files with the movement and bar numbers. That has not proved difficult to do. This means forcing page breaks so that that a run on always starts at the top a page. Forcing page breaks is not a pretty sight; where they are needed I ususally put a line of text X's, highly visible and keep their width. so as to push the required system onto a new page. So if I am dealing dealing with Stainer 125-170.NWC prior to bar 125 will be text forcing bar 125 to appear as the first one in the system at the top of the page. As the graphic output pages are linked in Pagemaker any change in the copy out is automatically made.
Corrections to say bar 140 do require picking out the appropriate file in NWC but that's trivial.

What seems to be needed at this stage is try and find a suitable, affordable layout program that can read EMF files. Open Office want's to resize the work and it's cropping is absolute - you have to specify measurements rather than moving the cursor.
Keeping the size generated by the EMF file is critical as this allows other graphical work to be done from the same page. Sometimes it is desirable to turn the NWC into a 600dpi bitmap and modify that. Things like brackets can be done that way then fitted seamlessly to choral parts in the final layout.
 

Re: having only one stave (vocal) for the first 20 or so measures

Reply #5 –
Open Office want's to resize...
should read
Open Office wants to resize...