Help with Voltas
I want to structure my score so that twelve measures in the middle section are repeated. And, I want the very first measure of those twelve to be different the second time the section is repeated.
I believe the correct way to notate this is by having Volta brackets, a '1.' volta bracket on the first 'version' of the first measure, and a '2.' volta bracket on the second 'version'. However, I can't seem to find the right way to get what I want: currently, the software plays it back so that the '2.' volta bracket is correctly skipped the first time, but on the second repeat, the '1.' volta is played again, followed by the '2.' volta (instead of skipping the '1.' volta, playing '2.', and repeating the rest of the section.
Can anyone help with this? I would really appreciate help in understanding what I'm doing wrong and how to fix it.
I'm uploading a simplified version of the score I'm writing. The full score is a variation of this one (https://musescore.com/user/37109046/scores/6647257), but I took out some measures, to focus on the problematic volta/repeat measures.
Thanks in advance for your help!
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Oblique_Obelisk_Blues_in_Bb_issue_demo.mscz | 25.3 KB |
Comments
Voltas are alternative endings, not alternative starts or alternative middle parts of a repeated section.
The attached might be what you want it to play like
You should update to 3.6.2 (from 3.6.0)
In reply to Voltas are alternative… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thank you! Yes, your attachment works as intended. So, it seems there's no way to notate an alternative start in a score? This is a jazz piece so I wanted to keep the chord progression as clear as possible, and while your solution achieves the correct playback, a performer reading it might be lead into thinking that the F7 Bb7 measure is the final measure of the chord progression, rather than the starting one.
In reply to Thank you! Yes, your… by imandysup
As said, that's not what voltas (usually) mean.
In reply to As said, that's not what… by Jojo-Schmitz
Yes, I understand that they are only used for endings. I'm wondering if there's a way to achieve the intended effect while keeping the correct order of the measures. It seems there isn't, but if you or anyone else can think of other ways I'd appreciate it.
I'm surprised that alternate endings have an established notation but there's no easy way to do this for alternate beginnings
In reply to Yes, I understand that they… by imandysup
Not surprising if you consider that through the history of music, alternate endings are super common, millions of pieces do that for many musical reasons, whereas alternate beginning are much more rare, seldom is there a specific musical reason for needing them.
It is;t clear from the excerpt, but most likely it would be possible to simply put this measure at the end of the passage instead of the beginning. If it really is literally just those two measures, then better by far to just write the passage out.