Can't delete rests
After importing a MIDI file into Musescore, I found a few problems. I was able to correct those problems in Musescore, except for one. The entire score is festooned with extraneous rests. Some rests are even superimposed on notes, making the notes difficult to read. I found that I can't delete most of the rests. In the attached example, I cannot delete the dotted quarter rest and the eighth rest in the second measure. Presumably, those rests are there to show that there are four beats preceding the quarter note G4 at the end of the measure. I think the rests are unnecessary because there is nothing after the quarter note, and a quarter note is two beats in 6/8 meter, so obviously it occurs on beat 5. If I select the dotted quarter rest, it turns blue, but when I press the delete key, nothing happens. How can I delete rests that appear to be unnecessary?
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| test08.mscz | 5.93 KB |
Comments
You can only delete rests of voices 2-4. To delete the rests in your score exchange the voices before: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/voices#exchange-voices
View > Selection Filter , press ALL so that all check marks disappear, then check Voice 1. Select both the dotted quarter rest and the eighth rest, and press CTRL - X. Both are deleted. leaving a half note rest. But this fails when trying to delete the quarter rest by itself. I don't know why this is. Anywho, you can then make the half note rest invisible to get rid of the clutter. Don't forget to select ALL in the Selection Filter so everything is checked before closing the Filter.
The rests are necessary here, that is the only way a person reading the score would be able to tell what beat that last note comes in on. Music is read left to right in each voice, not by analyzing the full state of the measure and trying to deduce start times by subtracting note durations. There are certainly cases where MIDI import can result in rests that aren't truly necessary, but these certainly are.
In reply to The rests are necessary here… by Marc Sabatella
It was a simplified example to find out how rests can be deleted. In the actual score, in that measure, I combined the dotted quarter rest and eighth rest into a half rest sitting on the top line of the staff. In other measures, I deleted many rests for other voices, but deleted no rests for the top or lead voice.