I really like the French parts also, except for those darn quarter
rests. They really throw me!
I agree that two parts on the same staff need to not cross and should be
rhythmically similar. I should have been more clear.
I am also a horn player and have the same reaction to the 1&3, 2&4
setup. I hate it and it always causes confusion.
Richard Smith
Robert Patterson wrote:
Richard Smith wrote:
I actually prefer 2 parts on a page;
This is good practice if and only if the 2 parts appear on separate
staves, as with, e.g., orchestral parts for French works. (I believe
it was Durand who did this fairly consistently, but I am not certain.)
However, some of the French publishers had an aggravating (and,
fortunately, uncommon) practice of putting slashes in the 2nd part
when it doubled the first part. This is *entirely* unacceptable, and
furthermore there is no reason for it in the age of computers.
Combining 2 parts on a single staff is always a shortcut. These parts
certainly can be quite servicable, but it is not best practice, at
least for orchestra parts. Where it becomes particularly sticky is if
the parts cross, or if they dovetail. The players are much more likely
to take it into their heads to rearrange it to their liking if they
see it all on one staff. I speak as one who has done so on numerous
occasions because my colleagues were uninterested in playing the
notation as given. (I am not the principal.) I am thinking
particularly of passages where a melody tosses quickly back and forth
between two players. If it is all in one part, it is much simpler to
read if both play it all, but that of course kills the effect. The
part the player sees should always encourage the player to play what
the composer wrote, but in this case it does not.
What is truly aggravating, speaking as an orchestra horn player, is
when the 1st and 3rd parts appear together on the pages of one part,
and the 2nd and 4th appear together on another (irrespective of the
number of staves). Do not do this if you want your parts played
correctly. 1st and 3rd player are used to reading the top line, while
2nd and 4th are used to reading the bottom. If the middle two players
are not paying attention to the upper left corner (imminently
possible) then you may only get only your 1st and your 4th part, both
doubled.
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