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Topic: Chords,Separate Ties,Beams, Timing!!! (Read 10039 times) previous topic - next topic

Chords,Separate Ties,Beams, Timing!!!

I've just keyed in a song &, for the most part, it went well, but there are some snags that I could not figure out, find in the help, or find in the forum. And I want to print this out in piano-ready format so I'd like it to be as exact as possible. Please Help!!

1. How do I beam notes on both the top & the bottom? It seems you can only do it on the stems down OR the stems up.

2. The $64,000 Question: HOW do I enter chords of different durations and different stem directions?! The rules in the Chord Member help say they have to have the same duration or opposing stems AND a note w/ its stem going down can't go with a lower note w/ its stem up.

E.g., on the score, I'm seeing in the right hand a dotted half note low E (first line of the stave) and below that a dotted half note low G - both with stems up. Then there's a D quarter note, stem down. (I see this situation often!)

3. How do I get 2 separate ties (not slurs for the whole measure) for notes that are different?

E.g., a chord of quarter notes: an E & G; going to a chord of quarter notes: an F & A. Both notes in the 1st chord show a tie to the respective note in the 2nd chord.

4. How do I make the notes look more like a score? Some of them (particularly beamed groups of 4 eighths) look very distorted, the 1st 2 close together, the last 2 stretched far away.

5.

Re: Chords,Separate Ties,Beams, Timing!!!

Reply #1 –
Most if not all of your difficulties could be solved with the "Staff Layer" feature. Given that it's still "experimental" and won't necessarily be supported in the same way in future versions, it's a splendid workaround for a lot of the kinds of problems that you've mentioned.

Regarding timing, it's always the shorter note of a chord that defines the overall timing of that element. Again, layering can be very helpful in sorting this out. Another experimental feature that I've found _very_ useful is the vertical rest placement option (with experimental features enabled, select a rest and CNTL E to "edit" it).

I'm not sure what you mean by your fourth point, the only time I've seen this kind of thing happen is when the timing was off. The "Audit Bar Lines" feature can be very helpful to figure out what's going on. If this makes a mess by trying to correct your errors, use CNTL Z to undo it, and fix it up before re-invoking "Audit Bar Lines".

Hope this helps.
Fred

Re: Chords,Separate Ties,Beams, Timing!!!

Reply #2 –
Fred is right, points 1, 2 & 3 may be solved using the staff layering feature.
About 3, ties and slurs are not the same. Ties concern only notes of the same pitch. Hence it is not possible to tie a F with a E (even #E).
About point 4: usually notes are equally spaced. It is not the case when:
- lyrics take more room than note would normally allow
- others rhythmic schemes on other staves use smaller durations
- accidental is added to a note
Note that you can add extra space to the notes you'd find too close.

A last thing about "experimental": this feature will NOT disappear, it will be supported but may change of behavior. Or did I misunderstand Eric ?

HTH, MAD

Re: Chords,Separate Ties,Beams, Timing!!!

Reply #3 –
You are quite correct. Although the product still has our standard experimental disclaimer, we are committed to support of the staff layering capabilities currently present.