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Topic: Duplets, Cues (Read 3101 times) previous topic - next topic

Duplets, Cues

Two More Questions
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1. Can NWC create duplets?

2. Can NWC make small notes that may be used for:
     - Optional instrument cues
     - Slighly different melodies for different verses

Re: Duplets, Cues

Reply #1 –
I think the answers to your questions are:

1. Not directly. However, two dotted notes will take the space of three undotted ones (e.g., instead of duplet eighths use two dotted eighths). This method of creating "duplets" is not just a hack; real, highly respected composers have been known to use it (e.g. Britten).

2. Not directly. It is possible to hack around with grace notes but the results are (in my experience) usually quite iffy.

Re: Duplets, Cues

Reply #2 –
Well, Grant, Benjamen Britten was a puritan, I even believe he would have used quarter note triplets in a 6/8 bar where he could have used straight quarter notes (with two 8ths tied in the middle, of course)!!! I've seen it from others!!

As to FranMan, for #2, it happened to me once, and here's a suggestion: use a layered staff where you put invisible rests in the rythm of the melody you want to cue, then with the NWC Ornament Font, find the grace note character, and place one at each rest you have, in the position: centered and at next note/bar, and see what it does!

Once the staves layered, if the melody overlaps a whole rest in the main line, select the rest and move it so it goes under - or over - the staff, as desired!

As to beaming the 8th notes and smaller... your best bet would be to copy it into a BMP file with the 16 bit version, and edit it with Microsoft Paint!

Good luck!

Re: Duplets, Cues

Reply #3 –
>> I even believe he would have used quarter note triplets in a 6/8 bar where he could have used straight quarter notes

You must mean *dotted* quarter note triplets. A regular quarter note triplet takes up the time of two "unmodified" quarter notes, and so would take up only 2/3 of a 6/8 measure.

I'm not sure I could conceive even a puritanical reason why you would want to use dotted quarter triplets instead of simple quarters, but I don't doubt it's been done.

Re: Duplets, Cues

Reply #4 –
For my final project in AP Music Theory (junior year of HS) I submitted a short piece that I had written that had the sort of "quasi-polyrhythm" of eighth notes in 6/8 over dotted-quarter triplets, which you are talking about. Later I rearranged the piece and found regular quarter notes in 6/8 (those measures acting like a 3/4 bar for some, 6/8 for the others) are much clearer to the performer. :)