To those of you who are enthusiastic proponents of linked parts, I have a question: how do you keep your sanity? In a word: with all the parts in a single file, if something goes wrong, EVERYTHING goes wrong.
I'm working on the parts for a 150+ page orchestral score, with the score locked down in one file, and a copy of the score for editing parts -- there just seems to me to be too many hoops to jump through to make everything work in a single file, and compromises I'm not willing to make (like inability to have different music spacing factors in score and parts). Even with my finalized score safely out of harm's way, I'm finding it distressingly easy to inadvertently mess up a carefully laid-out part while working on another part of the score (mostly while adding and adjusting cues). No doubt this is due to my relative inexperience with linked parts, but having to treat your tools like you're always walking on eggshells is not conducive to productivity. It's got me seriously thinking about going back to extracting parts, which at least has the advantage that you can't inadvertently mess up the flute part while you're editing the oboe part. I'm having a hard time coming up with practical reasons for the superiority of linked parts -- in terms of productivity, not in terms of design or concept. Having something change in a part not being worked on is a nightmare to me, and I have no problem with having 25 different files in a project instead of one or two. I'd really like to hear from more experienced linked parts fans as to what advantages I'm overlooking. -Lee Lee Actor Composer-in-Residence and Assistant Conductor, Palo Alto Philharmonic http://www.leeactor.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
