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Topic: different Time signature between Voice and piano: How to correct Bar positions? (Read 1832 times) previous topic - next topic

different Time signature between Voice and piano: How to correct Bar positions?

I have to write a page from Massenet with two different Time measure for Voice and Piano ( C and 12/8). How to fix it so that the bar lines coincide ?

Re: different Time signature between Voice and piano: How to correct Bar positions?

Reply #1
Here is how I would do it - if the patterns are as regular. I suspect that's actually what Massenet thought: Triplets! - but why write all those triplets markers? - just put 12/8 in front of it.

So: Write the 12/8 staff as triplets on a C (hidden time signature!) staff, but suppress all the triplet symbols with a "Marker" - created on the keyboad with @ - where "Triplet" is selected; and Visibility is "Never". See attached example.

There might be places where the notation does not really fit - then, you have to fill up with invisible eighth breaks or the like.

(And this will not work if there are triplets on the 12/8 staff - which would be weird, but possible: In that case, you need to change the time signature to 12/8 at those places [or use it throughout]; and write the C staff with "lengthened" notes; the easiest way is adding a dot to each note/chord; and suppress it with "Extra Dot Spacing" set to -1. But this will get you into new troubles if you have dotted notes on the C staff ... which would then require those invisible breaks ... which will, then, make playback "wrong" [which would need separate tempo changes at the C-to-12/8-and-back changes anyway] ... etc.etc.)

H.M.