At 12:02 AM -0400 6/14/12, Linda Worsley wrote: >Don't know if this has ever been discussed. I have a client who uses a lot >of layers in his piano notation. Very useful, of course (He is using >Encore, and gives me pdfs of the Encore scores to enter into Finale.) Not >hard, but When he puts the notation in layers, he tends to leave layers >incomplete. For example, he might put a half note (in 4/4) in layer 2 of >the left hand part, and leaver the rest of that layer blank. The top layer >(usually Layer 1) Layer one typically uses all four beats, as it should. > Meanwhile, layer 2 contains 2 beats.. s. > >I have always put rests in places where a layer stops short. Is this just >compulsive/neurotic of me or is it actually required that we fill out the >rest of the measure with rests? > >Is there an actual rule for this? A general practice that ignores the >rule?
Linda: The replies I've seen so far obviously don't agree. But my suggestion is to stop thinking about these in "layers" (the mechanics) and instead think about them as "voices" (the music) that may join the musical context for a time and then drop out. I'm not a keyboardist (and you should favor replies from those who are, of course), but that is very common in piano music, and my general impression (with no authority whatsoever) is that filling in rests, unless the context is ambiguous for some reason, simply adds to the clutter. If there is a set number of voices (i.e. a 4-voice fugal texture, for example), I would go back to editions of Bach's works to see what the common practice was. For music less formally contrapuntal perhaps Chopin or Liszt would be better models. John -- John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music Virginia Tech Department of Music School of Performing Arts & Cinema College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences 290 College Ave., Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[email protected]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html "Machen Sie es, wie Sie wollen, machen Sie es nur schön." (Do it as you like, just make it beautiful!) --Johannes Brahms _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
