Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests (Read 5631 times) previous topic - next topic

Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests

Apologies if this has been covered before - I've had a good look and can't find any mention of it.

If I enter notes into a stave - say a breve, then a semi-breve then three crotchets; often when I return to these notes at a later stage I find that NWC has broken them up into smaller notes and added a tie?!?! i.e. a crotchet becomes two quavers with a tie between them - effectively the same thing but it looks messy.

Also, when I am messing about cutting and pasting my music, my nice neat whole bar rests during an instrument's silent sections somehow turn into thousands of much smaller rests - which looks messy.

Anyway ideas would be gratefully received.

Re: Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests

Reply #1 –
It happens when you audit bar lines. (Tools, Audit Bar lines)
I would advise against using it... it might serve a purpose, but I have not found it. It does signal an error, but the side effects are devastating. Having said that, Audit Bar lines, inspecting the results, and an Undo maybe give you the information you need.

Re: Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests

Reply #2 –
audit bar lines automaticly divides parts into regular measures acoording to the time signature, you just have to have a larger time signature and the rests should go back to normal

Re: Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests

Reply #3 –
I did not think... Audit Bar lines can clean up its own mess. The idea is: the length of the notes should correspond to the length of the bar. So, correct the (total) length of the notes, Audit Bar lines again, and you're done. You might experience some trouble with pickup notes, though.

Re: Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests

Reply #4 –
To prevent trouble with [abbr=anacruces... anacrusises... one anacrusis and some more... er]pickups[/abbr], try this:

(And no points, Forum, for the obvious response to the preceding!)

At your starting bar, insert enough rests before the pickup notes to make a whole bar in your time signature.  These rests should also be before your tempo marking.  Make these rests invisible.

Before these new rests, insert a new tempo marking of dotted minim = 750, and make it invisible too.  This is currently the fastest tempo available in NWC, and is fast enough than humans won't be able to here the very short delay, unless you're using an outrageous time signature like 99/1!

Then, if you are using Measure Numbers, in Page Setup | Options, set Measure Start to 0.

Re: Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests

Reply #6 –
Many thanks for all your replies - I've learnt a lot.

My score is in 2/4 and I don't have any pickup notes. I'll do something like a 1 beat rest between notes in the middle of a bar, click 'audit bar lines' and it'll change it to two half beat rests! My 2 beat (i.e. whole bar) rests during silent sections are being changed to a half beat rest, two quarters, another half and then two quarters!!

I could always not use Audit Bar lines I suppose! Shame - I find it useful.

Re: Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests

Reply #7 –
Does anyone drive an anacrucis-truck? <g>

That you learnt a lot (or learned; both are right, I believe) is one of the main objects of the forum. We're all glad to help, and be helped when it is our turn.
About splitting into smaller notes: I have seen scores like that, where a whole note starts half way a 4/4 bar, so it continues in the next. Audit bar lines says: hey, you are not lined up, I'll split you, and tie you across the bar line. The behaviour is correct. But, as you found out, not always useful, because of the stringent application of the rule.
Well, we tried.

Re: Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests

Reply #8 –
Thanks, yes - these forums are very good so thanks to you all. I am not only completly new to NWC, I am also fairly new to music notation (I have always played by ear in the past).

I can understand a note that goes between bars being split - but what annoys me is when they unnecessarily get split further down in the middle of bars.

However.....

Your reply has actually made me realise why this is happening...

Image that I add a phrase to a stave that causes my once neatly lined up bar rests (or indeed any note or rest contained within a bar) to shift by a beat to the right. with me so far? ok - If I then perform an 'Audit Bar Lines', it will split these bar rests (or notes) down as they aren't sitting in a bar anymore - they're tied across two bars. If I fiddle about adding and removing phrases enough, and click Audit Bar lines every time - I am effectively munching my music up into smaller and smaller pieces!!

Re: Notes/rests splitting into smaller notes/rests

Reply #9 –
Problem solved then! (see above) thanks very much.