Re: [Finale] Smart transposition
Hi Dennis, This can be done with the Key Sig Tool. Simply double click on a staff as usual, choose the new starting key that you want to transpose to, check the from measure 1 to end of piece radio button and make sure that you check the Transpose All Keys Proportionally check box. I usually leave the Wrap Keys if Necessary check box checked. Additionally, you may want to specify whether you want notes to be transposed up or down (range considerations :-) ) Happy Holidays back atcha'! -K I have a piece in several sections each with it's own key signature. Is it possible to transpose the whole thing and change the key signatures accordingly in one go? I thought there might be a plug-in to do this, but I can't find it. I must be overlooking something obvious... Thanks, Dennis ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale -- ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Stems in tab
Richard, I tried something like this once without the staff overly and it worked OK using a metatool, but I had to create the circles myself because whatever I found available in Finale was the wrong size and couldn't be resized to work for my purposes. I was hoping there was an easier workaround, like a library of metatools. I did save what I did before, and possible could create a library from that, but I was hoping not to have to. How do you overlay a non-visible staff? Are you just working in layers? On Friday, December 17, 2004, at 04:21 AM, Richard Yates wrote: While we're at it with tab, does anyone know of a tab library (or font? could you do this with a font?) which includes small circles around the fret numbers for half notes and whole notes? I don't think you could do it with a font because each number sometimes needs a circle and sometimes does not. I use a second staff that overlays the visible tab staff and that shows only a small circle articulation that sits on the half note stems (of the tab staff) to distinguish halves from quarters. This staff also shows the augmentation dots by the stems. Everything else is not visible. You could do the same with circle articulations that are automatically placed around the note number of the tab staff. It sounds awkward to set up but once you have a staff to use as a template you just copy the visible tab onto the second staff and use a metatool to click the circles wherever you need them. Richard Yates ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Stems in tab
George, Do they work on a Mac? I don't do a lot with fonts, just use whatever is handy at the moment, so not familiar with whether they cross platforms, import into Finale, or what. Thanks, Bonnie On Friday, December 17, 2004, at 05:34 AM, George Ports wrote: The font Wingdings (comes with Windows) has 1 to 10 in circles, both blackon white and white on black. CombiNumerals (numbers only, making (01) up to (99) using included half-circled numbers). Can't remember where the free download ismaybe a keyword search in Google would find them for you. They work great and can be sized real easy of course. George Ports - Original Message - From: Bonnie Harris [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 1:44 AM Subject: Re: [Finale] Stems in tab While we're at it with tab, does anyone know of a tab library (or font? could you do this with a font?) which includes small circles around the fret numbers for half notes and whole notes? It is a laborious process to create this in Finale, but makes tab rhythm-readable and therefore much more useful for students. I have seen this in some printed guitar music but it's fairly rare, near as I can tell. Thanks to anybody who knows a good way to do this. Bonnie Harris On Wednesday, December 15, 2004, at 07:08 AM, George Ports wrote: THAT'S IT!! Thank you so much Jari. This has been a problem with me for a long time. Sure appreciate you helping me again. George - Original Message - From: Jari Williamsson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 7:45 AM Subject: Re: [Finale] Stems in tab George Ports wrote: Does that mean each note has to be done individually? No. There isn't a setting for all stems to come close to the number on the staff line like it does for regular noteheads? Make sure Offset from Notehead(s) is selected. Best regards, Jari Williamsson ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Re: FONT not working in 2005a
Kim Richmond wrote: At the risk of seeming too persistent, I'm going to re-post this question, since I didn't receive any answers or response. Can you guys help me out here? = Here's another update phenomenon. Maybe one of you font guys can solve this one. In my last few months of Finale files, I have exclusively used the font Chalkboard for all my text expressions and most of my headers. It worked fine in everything up to and including Finale 2005. Since updating to 2005a, Chalkboard no longer comes out looking like the font. It's still listed in the fonts, but appears on the screen and in printout like some generic default font. This was confirmed tonight by Karen also. Not only do I like the look of Chalkboard (I use it in all e-mails now also), but more importantly I do not want to go back into my hundreds of Finale files and change all the supposed occurrences of the font to something. Incidentally, Chalkboard works fine in all other applications. Any solution? I don't know if there is a solution but I would suggest that this merits contacting [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] and attach the file that you first discovered the problem with. If the font works in all other applications, I have no clue, since it apparently is listed as the font you chose in Finale. My first impression was that you have a corrupted font file. What happens if you create a new text box using that font? When you go to select the font, does Chalkboard show up in your list? Does the sample appear alright in the font selection dialog? This sort of problem is very perplexing, and may well depend on something on your machine other than simply Finale. Good luck! -- David H. Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Dynamics HELP!
Linda Worsley wrote: 3) Dynamics in other parts often affect the whole score. Or part of it, with a soft string part suddenly going ballistic because of a forte or mezzo forte in the woodwinds. This one, and the other symptoms sound like you're using HP at the same time as there are MIDI channel conflicts in your document. Your options are: * As already suggested, turn OFF HP which will result in that the default playback only uses velocity, which isn't channel dependent. * Resolve the channel conflicts in the Instrument List. Best regards, Jari Williamsson ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
[Finale] Re: Stems in tab
Bonnie wrote: George,Do they work on a Mac? I don't do a lot with fonts, just use whatever is handyat the moment, so not familiar with whether they cross platforms, import into Finale, or what.Thanks,Bonnie Bonnie, Don't know if CombiNumerals are available in Mac. Mine are for Windows. ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Stems in tab
How do you overlay a non-visible staff? Are you just working in layers? Not sure I understand the question. The HOW is easy: make a new staff, uncheck everything in Staff Attributes that you want invisible. Drag it into place. The staff overlay was primarily to solve the problem of augmentation dots. Finale tab puts them next to the finger number, not with the stem above the staff. I copied the visible staff to a new one. At each dotted note I changed the note or chord to a single note on the top tab line. This made all of the dots line up on the same horizontal. When they were the only thing visible I could position the staff so that they were in place next to the stems. Richard Yates ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Re: Stems in tab
PC fonts are readable as is on Mac OS 10 and up. If you are on OS 9 then you need a font converter. Here is one that I have used: http://www.momscorner4kids.com/fonts/macfonthelp.htm click on TTConverter Christopher On Dec 20, 2004, at 9:15 AM, George Ports wrote: Bonnie wrote: >George, >Do they work on a Mac? I don't do a lot with fonts, >just use whatever >is handy >at the moment, so not familiar with whether they cross >platforms, >import into Finale, or what. >Thanks, >Bonnie Bonnie, Don't know if CombiNumerals are available in Mac. Mine are for Windows. ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
[Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches
Finally just finished a grueling holiday season of performances with 4 different ensembles, including a church gig yesterday. This is a Presbyterian church with a Music Minister who leans toward the Contemporary Christian side, although his judgement of what is good and what is dreck is quite good. Our music was, let's say, typical of the average state of the art, as opposed to the best work by the best engravers. Some observations: 1. An unusual number of manuscript charts rather than engraved. Kinda nice to see that side of the art still exists, but it is harder to read. 2. A chart with dynamics uniformly above the staff, and the discovery that my eye doesn't register them unless I make a mental effort to do so. 3. Another chart with bar numbers, dynamics, and hairpins engraved under the staff, by someone who obviously didn't know how to move the hairpins away from the staff to keep them from running into other elements. Very confusing to read, and whether the program was Finale or not, very amateurish. 4. A couple of Finale-engraved charts (identifiable by the use of bar lines on the left of each staff and by the really ugly slurs or ties from one staff to the next) which paid absolutely no attention to the placement of rests for page turns. 5. A 4-page chart with a 7-bar rest at the bottom of page 2 (the ONLY long rest in the piece!), which was almost certainly originally printed with pages 1 and 2 on the front and pages 3 and 4 on the back, necessitating the commotion of a full flip of the paper for the page turn. (Which might make sense for a publisher wanting to save paper, but which is a really bad idea. We played that piece from individual photocopied pages, which may be perfectly legal under some kind of licensing agreement, but which is why I'm not naming the church.) 6. A uniform disinclination to fill all the staves on a page and not end a part in the middle of the last page, as is recommended by a number of listers. 7. (This isn't an engraving observation, but an arranging one.) Two charts from a New York City source that were virtually unplayable. I found out from the Music Minister, who has attended workshops there, that the arrangements are all worked out by ear and all played on synth keyboards, and they're strong and really effective. But some publisher decided to have a transcriber score those charts for conventional acoustic church orchestra, and the translation was terrible and unidiomatic, at least for the strings. 8. At least one chart with no name of the composer (just the arranger), no mention of a publisher, and no copyright notice of any kind. Yeah, I know, the notice isn't actually required since 1978, but it's pretty foolish not to protect yourself unless you're actually trying to hide an illegal arrangement. But then why put your name on it as the arranger!!? My conclusions? The state of the art of music copying, engraving and page layout may be extremely high among the power users (many of them on this list) who have taken the time and trouble to learn their programs thoroughly and who know what is acceptable, but it is in pretty sad shape among those who (a) do not understand the basic rules (such as they are) for producing musical scores by any method, and (b) use Finale or other programs straight out of the box, having neither the time nor the inclination to become tweakmeisters. And at least some publishers seem to want product fast and cheap, but not necessarily good, and probably don't hire editors who might actually know the difference! Oh, and if composers or arrangers can't produce professional quality engraving on their own, they should be smart enough to hire engravers who can!! John -- John Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Re: FONT not working in 2005a
Hi David, It's not just Kim's machine. The problem affects all Mac users. It's definitely a problem with Finale 2005a. - Darcy - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brooklyn, NY On 20 Dec 2004, at 06:12 AM, dhbailey wrote: Kim Richmond wrote: At the risk of seeming too persistent, I'm going to re-post this question, since I didn't receive any answers or response. Can you guys help me out here? = Here's another update phenomenon. Maybe one of you font guys can solve this one. In my last few months of Finale files, I have exclusively used the font Chalkboard for all my text expressions and most of my headers. It worked fine in everything up to and including Finale 2005. Since updating to 2005a, Chalkboard no longer comes out looking like the font. It's still listed in the fonts, but appears on the screen and in printout like some generic default font. This was confirmed tonight by Karen also. Not only do I like the look of Chalkboard (I use it in all e-mails now also), but more importantly I do not want to go back into my hundreds of Finale files and change all the supposed occurrences of the font to something. Incidentally, Chalkboard works fine in all other applications. Any solution? I don't know if there is a solution but I would suggest that this merits contacting [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] and attach the file that you first discovered the problem with. If the font works in all other applications, I have no clue, since it apparently is listed as the font you chose in Finale. My first impression was that you have a corrupted font file. What happens if you create a new text box using that font? When you go to select the font, does Chalkboard show up in your list? Does the sample appear alright in the font selection dialog? This sort of problem is very perplexing, and may well depend on something on your machine other than simply Finale. Good luck! -- David H. Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches
I would have to agree with John that list is very educational, and has forced me to pay more attention to a lot of details that I normally would have overlooked. Although I do not use Finale for external publishing work, I find that taking the time to make the score look good and be easy to sight-read has reaped many rewards. I'd like to take a little time to thank all of you for your valuable thoughts, insights, discussions, and arguments. I appreciate them all. I am surprised when I look at work coming out of supposedly professional publishing houses (choral music is what I work with mostly) where the page turns are atrocious, and what is apparently a desire to save paper or printing costs - some of the most confusing repeats (and repeats within repeats) I have ever seen. There is also a fair amount of scoring SATB as SA and TB where it really ought to be split into 4 staves. *sigh* Hope you holiday music hasn't been as hard to read ... - Original Message - From: John Howell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Monday, December 20, 2004 9:23 am Subject: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches Finally just finished a grueling holiday season of performances with 4 different ensembles, including a church gig yesterday. This is a Presbyterian church with a Music Minister who leans toward the Contemporary Christian side, although his judgement of what is good and what is dreck is quite good. Our music was, let's say, typical of the average state of the art, as opposed to the best work by the best engravers. Some observations: snip [lots of keen and really interesting observations] ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches
John Howell wrote: [snip] My conclusions? The state of the art of music copying, engraving and page layout may be extremely high among the power users (many of them on this list) who have taken the time and trouble to learn their programs thoroughly and who know what is acceptable, but it is in pretty sad shape among those who (a) do not understand the basic rules (such as they are) for producing musical scores by any method, and (b) use Finale or other programs straight out of the box, having neither the time nor the inclination to become tweakmeisters. And at least some publishers seem to want product fast and cheap, but not necessarily good, and probably don't hire editors who might actually know the difference! Oh, and if composers or arrangers can't produce professional quality engraving on their own, they should be smart enough to hire engravers who can!! Your anecdotes provide a reminder that it doesn't matter what the technology used, whether pen and paper or computers, if a person doesn't understand the traditions of music notation and engraving/manuscript, no amount of technology can save them from producing trash. The unfortunate thing is that it does enable more inept individuals to spew forth difficult-to-read junk! Glad you survived, though! Isn't it amazing, the quality of work that people actually get paid to produce? It is sometimes very sad! Enjoy the rest of the holiday season, you've earned a rest! -- David H. Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Vertical text
When I advised Owan wrote: create the line in the shape designer, or with an outside graphics package, rotate the line, save the image, and import it as a graphic. I thought I remembered that there was a rotate function in shape designer. I thought wrong. ns ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Re: Stems in tab
Thanks, Christopher. I'm on Mac 10.2.8; will look into importing fonts into Finale. Bonnie On Monday, December 20, 2004, at 05:48 AM, Christopher Smith wrote: PC fonts are readable as is on Mac OS 10 and up. If you are on OS 9 then you need a font converter. Here is one that I have used: http://www.momscorner4kids.com/fonts/macfonthelp.htm click on TTConverter Christopher On Dec 20, 2004, at 9:15 AM, George Ports wrote: Bonnie wrote: >George, >Do they work on a Mac? I don't do a lot with fonts, >just use whatever >is handy >at the moment, so not familiar with whether they cross >platforms, >import into Finale, or what. >Thanks, >Bonnie Bonnie, Don't know if CombiNumerals are available in Mac. Mine are for Windows. ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches
At 10:27 AM -1000 12/20/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There is also a fair amount of scoring SATB as SA and TB where it really ought to be split into 4 staves. *sigh* Well, that's hymnbook style as opposed to choral score style. I use both, as appropriate. Specifically, when I'm writing for someone and I will not be there to clarify things, or writing for publication (which I'd love to do more of!), I will use 4 staves because that's expected. But there's a problem with that when it comes to divisi. If I want to go from SA to SSA or SAA, I have to put the third note on either the soprano staff or the alto staff. But what I might actually intend is SMA, with equal numbers of sopranos, mezzos and altos, and I always wonder whether the average choir director will take that into consideration. (One of my faculty colleagues at Indiana University assigned the women in his ensemble to S1, S2, and A, but then had all S1s and S2s sing the soprano line when the voicing was SATB, giving a soprano-heavy sound I didn't especially care for.) Writing for my own college groups, though, in pop styles that were mostly homorhythmic, I used 2 staves, SA and TB. This allowed me to go from unison on each staff to 2-part to 3-part to 4-part very easily, and I did quite a lot of that. If I got into contrapuntal passages, of course I switched to as many staves as there were parts. It never seemed to bother my students (the men) to switch from tenor G-clef to bass clef in the middle of a chart when it was necessary. And when I sent out acceptance letters before the start of fall semester, I included a chart specifying which part each singer was to sing in 2-, 3-, or 4-part divisi. Editing for my early music ensemble, I make the barlines invisible when the music seems to need it, and my singers have gotten used to it and are less locked into barline rhythms and more likely to shape their phrases according to the text accentuation. But again, I'm in charge of those rehearsals and can clarify any questions. John -- John Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches
Absolutely agree. I think hymnbook style is appropriate for (mostly) homophonic music. But I see music where the Sops and Altos have quite different rhythms and lines, (sometimes even with a lot of the Sops crossing below the Altos), and it's notated in one staff. It's hard to sightread, and takes up rehearsal time. - Original Message - From: John Howell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Monday, December 20, 2004 1:18 pm Subject: Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches At 10:27 AM -1000 12/20/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There is also a fair amount of scoring SATB as SA and TB where it really ought to be split into 4 staves. *sigh* Well, that's hymnbook style as opposed to choral score style. I use both, as appropriate. Specifically, when I'm writing for someone and I will not be there to clarify things, or writing for publication (which I'd love to do more of!), I will use 4 staves because that's expected. But there's a problem with that when it comes to divisi. If I want to go from SA to SSA or SAA, I have to put the third note on either the soprano staff or the alto staff. But what I might actually intend is SMA, with equal numbers of sopranos, mezzos and altos, and I always wonder whether the average choir director will take that into consideration. (One of my faculty colleagues at Indiana University assigned the women in his ensemble to S1, S2, and A, but then had all S1s and S2s sing the soprano line when the voicing was SATB, giving a soprano-heavy sound I didn't especially care for.) Writing for my own college groups, though, in pop styles that were mostly homorhythmic, I used 2 staves, SA and TB. This allowed me to go from unison on each staff to 2-part to 3-part to 4-part very easily, and I did quite a lot of that. If I got into contrapuntal passages, of course I switched to as many staves as there were parts. It never seemed to bother my students (the men) to switch from tenor G-clef to bass clef in the middle of a chart when it was necessary. And when I sent out acceptance letters before the start of fall semester, I included a chart specifying which part each singer was to sing in 2-, 3-, or 4-part divisi. Editing for my early music ensemble, I make the barlines invisible when the music seems to need it, and my singers have gotten used to it and are less locked into barline rhythms and more likely to shape their phrases according to the text accentuation. But again, I'm in charge of those rehearsals and can clarify any questions. John -- John Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches
On Dec 20, 2004, at 3:32 PM, dhbailey wrote: Your anecdotes provide a reminder that it doesn't matter what the technology used, whether pen and paper or computers, if a person doesn't understand the traditions of music notation and engraving/manuscript, no amount of technology can save them from producing trash. The unfortunate thing is that it does enable more inept individuals to spew forth difficult-to-read junk! As one wag here in town said, The state of technology today means that any idiot can press the button, and he does! Christopher ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches
On Dec 20, 2004, at 6:18 PM, John Howell wrote: At 10:27 AM -1000 12/20/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There is also a fair amount of scoring SATB as SA and TB where it really ought to be split into 4 staves. *sigh* Well, that's hymnbook style as opposed to choral score style. I use both, as appropriate. Specifically, when I'm writing for someone and I will not be there to clarify things, or writing for publication (which I'd love to do more of!), I will use 4 staves because that's expected. But there's a problem with that when it comes to divisi. If I want to go from SA to SSA or SAA, I have to put the third note on either the soprano staff or the alto staff. But what I might actually intend is SMA, with equal numbers of sopranos, mezzos and altos, and I always wonder whether the average choir director will take that into consideration. (One of my faculty colleagues at Indiana University assigned the women in his ensemble to S1, S2, and A, but then had all S1s and S2s sing the soprano line when the voicing was SATB, giving a soprano-heavy sound I didn't especially care for.) Writing for my own college groups, though, in pop styles that were mostly homorhythmic, I used 2 staves, SA and TB. This allowed me to go from unison on each staff to 2-part to 3-part to 4-part very easily, and I did quite a lot of that. Apparently what you describe is the norm for show/swing/jingle singing. I went to a workshop with Paris Rutherford, who has directed the jazz choir at North Texas State since about forever, and he writes consistently in short score format as you said, with each staff ranging from 1 to 4 notes. Amazingly, he has such confidence in his singers that he leave the splits up to the section heads, rarely, if ever, specifying splits either in the music or verbally in rehearsal. I actually took the cue from him, and write most of my jazz and pop stuff this way now, rather than in four, five or six staves. When I directed show choirs, I grouped my women into three balanced groups: soprano, mezzo, and alto, with the mezzos divided into upper and lower. Obviously the upper mezzos sang soprano and the lowers sang alto when there were only two parts, and most of my writing was such that things worked out well to split the mezzos in half when there were four notes (my mezzos were exceptionally strong.) I did the same thing to my men, with tenor, baritone and bass, with upper and lower baritones. Christopher ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches
I have about 1/3 of my sopranos and 1/3 of my altos sing Soprano 2 on SSA. It usually works out to fit the range of my singers (For example, 2/3 of my altos prefer to sing low than high and vice-versa). Similar with the men, according to the number in the sections already (If I have more basses than tenors, I take more baritones/tenor 2 from the bass section than from the tenor section). Keeps life simple. Raymond Horton Minister of Music Edwardsville United Methodist Church Christopher Smith wrote: On Dec 20, 2004, at 6:18 PM, John Howell wrote: At 10:27 AM -1000 12/20/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There is also a fair amount of scoring SATB as SA and TB where it really ought to be split into 4 staves. *sigh* Well, that's hymnbook style as opposed to choral score style. I use both, as appropriate. Specifically, when I'm writing for someone and I will not be there to clarify things, or writing for publication (which I'd love to do more of!), I will use 4 staves because that's expected. But there's a problem with that when it comes to divisi. If I want to go from SA to SSA or SAA, I have to put the third note on either the soprano staff or the alto staff. But what I might actually intend is SMA, with equal numbers of sopranos, mezzos and altos, and I always wonder whether the average choir director will take that into consideration. (One of my faculty colleagues at Indiana University assigned the women in his ensemble to S1, S2, and A, but then had all S1s and S2s sing the soprano line when the voicing was SATB, giving a soprano-heavy sound I didn't especially care for.) Writing for my own college groups, though, in pop styles that were mostly homorhythmic, I used 2 staves, SA and TB. This allowed me to go from unison on each staff to 2-part to 3-part to 4-part very easily, and I did quite a lot of that. Apparently what you describe is the norm for show/swing/jingle singing. I went to a workshop with Paris Rutherford, who has directed the jazz choir at North Texas State since about forever, and he writes consistently in short score format as you said, with each staff ranging from 1 to 4 notes. Amazingly, he has such confidence in his singers that he leave the splits up to the section heads, rarely, if ever, specifying splits either in the music or verbally in rehearsal. I actually took the cue from him, and write most of my jazz and pop stuff this way now, rather than in four, five or six staves. When I directed show choirs, I grouped my women into three balanced groups: soprano, mezzo, and alto, with the mezzos divided into upper and lower. Obviously the upper mezzos sang soprano and the lowers sang alto when there were only two parts, and most of my writing was such that things worked out well to split the mezzos in half when there were four notes (my mezzos were exceptionally strong.) I did the same thing to my men, with tenor, baritone and bass, with upper and lower baritones. Christopher ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches
Man, do I ever agree with the latest post here. I am unalterably opposed to any notational problems which inhibit the learning process. If one wishes to stall out a church choir rehearsal, throw in a liberal dose of crossed voices on one staff; switch the position of the text placement; use two or three verses worth of text for the same music, except change the durations slightly to fit the new textual demands; go back and forth between open and closed score; and oh yes, render the text in some arcane language ...say, Latin. Just plan to have a seat and start answering questions. You may have noticed that I retired from my particular trench only yesterday! Dean On Dec 20, 2004, at 3:52 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Absolutely agree. I think hymnbook style is appropriate for (mostly) homophonic music. But I see music where the Sops and Altos have quite different rhythms and lines, (sometimes even with a lot of the Sops crossing below the Altos), and it's notated in one staff. It's hard to sightread, and takes up rehearsal time. - Original Message - From: John Howell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Monday, December 20, 2004 1:18 pm Subject: Re: [Finale] The state of the art: a report from the trenches At 10:27 AM -1000 12/20/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There is also a fair amount of scoring SATB as SA and TB where it really ought to be split into 4 staves. *sigh* Well, that's hymnbook style as opposed to choral score style. I use both, as appropriate. Specifically, when I'm writing for someone and I will not be there to clarify things, or writing for publication (which I'd love to do more of!), I will use 4 staves because that's expected. But there's a problem with that when it comes to divisi. If I want to go from SA to SSA or SAA, I have to put the third note on either the soprano staff or the alto staff. But what I might actually intend is SMA, with equal numbers of sopranos, mezzos and altos, and I always wonder whether the average choir director will take that into consideration. (One of my faculty colleagues at Indiana University assigned the women in his ensemble to S1, S2, and A, but then had all S1s and S2s sing the soprano line when the voicing was SATB, giving a soprano-heavy sound I didn't especially care for.) Writing for my own college groups, though, in pop styles that were mostly homorhythmic, I used 2 staves, SA and TB. This allowed me to go from unison on each staff to 2-part to 3-part to 4-part very easily, and I did quite a lot of that. If I got into contrapuntal passages, of course I switched to as many staves as there were parts. It never seemed to bother my students (the men) to switch from tenor G-clef to bass clef in the middle of a chart when it was necessary. And when I sent out acceptance letters before the start of fall semester, I included a chart specifying which part each singer was to sing in 2-, 3-, or 4-part divisi. Editing for my early music ensemble, I make the barlines invisible when the music seems to need it, and my singers have gotten used to it and are less locked into barline rhythms and more likely to shape their phrases according to the text accentuation. But again, I'm in charge of those rehearsals and can clarify any questions. John -- John Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale Para mí, la música es la respiración de la vida y de Dios. Per me, la musica è l'alito della vita e di Dio Pour moi, la musique est le souffle de la vie et de Dieu. Für mich ist Musik der Atem des Lebens und des Gottes. Dean M. Estabrook Retired Church Musician Composer, Arranger Adjudicator Amateur Golfer ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Stems in tab
I am looking to put my circles and stems (and augmentation dots) with the fret numbers on the tab lines, which is also a pain for positioning; Then your best bet is to make a circle as an articulation in the shape designer and define its positioning so that it automatically centers on the fret number. As I wrote earlier, a special font for fret numbers will not work as some need the circle and some do not. Are you trying to do stems like this: http://www.yatesguitar.com/misc/tabsample.gif Richard Yates ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] Stems in tab
Richard, Shape designer is what I did before. Stems sort of like that but positioned to the side of numbers, like note stems, with numbers representing notes. Thanks, there doesn't seem to be any easy way to do this. Bonnie On Monday, December 20, 2004, at 06:37 PM, Richard Yates wrote: I am looking to put my circles and stems (and augmentation dots) with the fret numbers on the tab lines, which is also a pain for positioning; Then your best bet is to make a circle as an articulation in the shape designer and define its positioning so that it automatically centers on the fret number. As I wrote earlier, a special font for fret numbers will not work as some need the circle and some do not. Are you trying to do stems like this: http://www.yatesguitar.com/misc/tabsample.gif Richard Yates ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
