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Topic: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once (Read 8840 times) previous topic - next topic

Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Hi

My file has 4 staves and currently I have to select each staff and change the instrument. What I need is to select all the staves and change it to a common instrument at once.

Thanks
Roshan

Re: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Reply #1 –
Assign the same MIDI channel to all of the staves. They will then all use the same instrument.

If this is really just a single instrument part and you are trying to notate each staff system independently, then please review this link:

FAQ - Is there a line break command?

Re: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Reply #2 –
If you use the same instrument all the time you might want to set up a template so you won't have to assign the instrument/channel everytime you start something new.  If all instruments always change at the same time, then a common channel as NoteWorthy suggested is the way to go.  If the staves are different but only sometimes are on the same instrument, insert an instrument change in one stave and copy it to the other ones.
Since 1998

Re: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Reply #3 –
   Hi, Roshan.

   If you use the same Midi Channel for two or more different staves/tracks, then beware: any short note on a visibly-lower staff/track will, by virtue of the Midi Note-off command sent out to end the note, simultaneously turn off any note of the same pitch then playing on all the visibly-higher staves/tracks, no matter what the nominal length of each higher staff/track note.  So for example, if visibly-higher staff 1 plays a semi-brieve (whole note) middle C while at the same time visibly-lower staff 2 plays a crotchet (quarter note) middle C, then when the crotchet stops so will the semi-brieve!!

   For this reason I would advocate always using different channels for different staves, even though all the staves relate to the same instrument.

   Regards,

   MusicJohn, 6/Mar/10

Modified 7/Mar/10 - Is that what you had in mind, Rick?


Re: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Reply #4 –
Quote from: rodavid20 –
What I need is to select all the staves and change it to a common instrument at once.
Your need cannot be fulfilled. You can press "r" for Score Review. From there, go to the Staff Properties.
Change each staff to either the same Instrument or MIDI Channel. Fortunately, for 4 staves this is not hard.

Sorry MusicJohn, but you need to reread your reponse.

Edit: added strikeout after more thought on matter.
Registered user since 1996

Re: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Rick G. –
Your need cannot be fulfilled.
Er, actually it can be, it just probably is not worth it for this simple application.  I have written PHP scripts which operate concurrently on all staves of a given song.  Currently however, NWC does not allow such a script to run from within the NWC environment.  I have to manually run the script from a Windows command line, specifying the NWC file(s) to operate on.  But such a script not only has all staves available to it, it has the staff properties for each one, and it has the song information as well.  There is virtually no limit to what such a script can do - it is just not convenient for casual users to use.  I believe NWC is looking into a way to possibly integrate such a script into the NWC environment, so it might one day be as convenient as a user tool.

Re: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Reply #6 –
Quote from: MusicJohn –
Is that what you had in mind, Rick?
No. I find that the order of the staves has no effect on the sounding length of notes. If it did, the two measures in my attachment would sound different. They do not, nor does the playback vary if I reorder the staves. YMMV, but I doubt it very much.

I was also hoping for a correction of "semi-brieve".
Ordinarily, I don't comment on spelling, but it was followed by 2 exclamation points.
Registered user since 1996

Re: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Reply #7 –
It's possible MusicJohn meant "visibly-lower staff/track" to not necessarily be one physically lower in the staff stack, but one that is logically lower in the eye of the composer.  For example, the "shortening" note might be in a totally hidden staff, or it might be among individually hidden notes.  Or it might be in a sparse or otherwise uninteresting staff that is often scrolled vertically on by to get to more meaty staves, where the longer note may be.  But I agree that the "priority" of the staff stack should be totally irrelevant to playback.

The original comment by MusicJohn actually was helpful to me in the reverse sense!  I use NWC to enter a lot of handbell music, which often has so much complexity that I've been forced to layer upwards of 4 treble clefs and 3 bass clefs.  Heretofore, I've always used a separate MIDI channel for each staff (the default).  But a not uncommon occurance in handbell music is to have a shorter note overlay a longer note of the same pitch - it's up to the ringer of that particular bell to "break off" from the longer note and switch to the shorter note.  So I realize now that I should assign all treble staves to one MIDI channel and all bass staves to another (or all staves to a single channel, but more likely to run into polyphony limitations?) to get more "realistic" playback.  And note that handbell music conventions dictate that all notes above middle C be put in the treble clef and all notes middle C or lower be put in the bass clef, so a note in one clef can never overlay a note in the other clef.  [An interesting quirk for the C#5/Db5 bell ringer is that this bell can occur either as C# in the bass clef or as Db in the treble clef!] [And I do mean C#5/Db5 here, even though middle C is C4 - handbells ring an octave higher than they are written, and are labeled for what they ring.]

Re: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Reply #8 –
   Hi, Rick.

   You're right on both counts.  The order is irrelevant, and I can't spell.  My apologies - to both you and Roshan.

   MusicJohn, 10/Mar/10

Re: Is there a way to change the instrument of all the staves at once

Reply #9 –
Quote from: rodavid20 –
What I need is to select all the staves and change it to a common instrument at once.
If by "common instrument" you mean common MIDI channel, there is a User Tool <here>
Registered user since 1996