<< One verse starts a system with the lyric "through". This word is centred under the note it is associated with. No problem.
Another verse, same note, has the word "go". This word is LEFT- ALIGNED with "through" above it, so that it is way too far to the left. This happens every new system, though it looks worse with "through" and "go" than it does with "his" and "we". Is it normal to want all first lyrics in new systems to left-align? >> Yes, this is fairly normal. It is not universal, however. There are different opinions on this. You'll have to decide which style you like. It has been my observation that those who prefer left-aligning syllables that start a melisma also like to left-align the first syllable of a verse. Personally, I lean strongly toward centering (due in part to my background in opera and thus familiarity with 100-year-old scores). My preferred style is to center the first syllable of a verse, but if there are more than a couple of verses I will add "1.", "2." "3." etc to the beginning of the verses. These numerals are themselves aligned (and thus different distances from their first syllable), which restores the sense of left-justification to the verses as a whole. I typically enter the numerals as a text block, because that's how I did it once upon a time and I've got one set up to align perfectly, but you'll probably have an easier time doing them as lyrics, coded as separate syllables. You can attach them to a rest if you have one, or else attach them to the first note and drag the whole stack left. (To keep them from getting mixed up with the real syllables, put them in separate verse boxes or maybe on another layer.) << It is only at the first lyric of each system that this happens; other places are centred (or shifted right in the case of melismas, as they should be.) This looks bad to me. Is there a way to change them without dragging each syllable manually (six verses, twelve or so systems... oy!) >> Should be easy to fix. I'm at work right now, so I can't try it out, but somewhere in the lyric menu there's a code for justification or alignment. One does the syllables relative to each other, and one does the whole stack relative to the note, but I forget which is which. Pick the right one and set it to center then you should be good. mdl P.S. I know this isn't what you're asking, but keep in mind: If you've got more than three verses stacked it starts getting hard for singers to read. I understand there are often other considerations, like page/space constrictions, but if it's feasible you should consider repeating the music on another page so as to have no more than three verses stacked. _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
