Bass bourdons in theorbo tablature
I'm setting out to enter French theorbo music (de Visée) in MuseScore 3.6.2 on a Mac running MacOS 11.4. I've set up a 14 - course theorbo staff with French tablature and a guitar staff. However I can't enter bass bourdons. If I enter an a under the staff and try to indicate the ledger lines with back slashes what I get instead is small a's (grace note size) - as indicated in the screenshot. What am I doing wrong?
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Comments
"What am I doing wrong?"
Well, a simple image does not allow to tell it. Please attach your score to understand more. A thing is for sure: the extra basses are entered as usual (like the lutes)
Works as expected here with theorbo in French TAB - see attached test: theorbo.mscz
(Out of curiosity, a subsidiary question - and I don't know if this is related: what is the purpose of combining guitar and theorbo?)
EDIT: I'm thinking about it now: knowing that you often use MusicXML files import, maybe the theorbo definition is wrong for MuseScore? In this case, try: right-click the theorbo's TAB -> Staff/Part properties -> "Change instrument": choose theorbo, then change the staff type, so from Standard to French TAB, in the Instruments dialog (shortcut "I")
In reply to "What am I doing wrong?" A… by cadiz1
Hello cadiz1; thanks for your reply. There's obviously something wrong in the way I'm entering the bass notes because when I try and enter more bass notes on your test score I get the result shown. My own original file is shown below as well. I'm also not sure how to enter 4,5,6,7 as bass notes.
I'm adding a guitar staff so I can paste the tab into it and check that I've made no obvious mistakes. As a subsidiary question, is there a way I can link the guitar staff?
In reply to Hello cadiz1; thanks for… by pogmoor
I don't know what to tell you. The little "a" are grace notes (you get the same result by copying and pasting the first bar of the guitar into a bar of the theorbo).
Maybe a keyboard shortcut definition problem (or a keyboard configuration/problem?)
Otherwise, as a reminder, to enter the theorbo's TAB and additional basses: navigate with the right-down arrows, then type a letter "a" (for example) or a number "1"(for example always)
You can't link a guitar and a theorbo, but as you did copying and pasting from one staff to the other can allow you to check if the result can fit (obviously, with octaves to review) :)
See:
In reply to I don't know what to tell… by cadiz1
Here are two linked theorbo staves, one in tablature the other in notation. If I enter a bass note, say E, in the notation stave it correctly renders on the tablature stave as '//a'. However if I enter '//a' below the stave on the tablature it appears as 'a'. If I enter 'a//' it appears as 'a' preceded by two grace notes. Also, if I enter '5' that also appears as 'a'. I can't find a direct way of entering '//a', '5', etc below the stave to represent the bass bourdons. The only way I can find to do so is to enter the note on the notation stave when it then appears correctly on the tablature stave.
This is happening on both the Macs I use - an iMac running Big Sur and an M1 MacBook Air also running Big Sur. I don't think this can be a keyboard setup problem because it happens on my bluetooth keyboard with the iMac and with the built in keyboard of the MacBook. Is it a Big Sur problem perhaps?
In reply to Here are two linked theorbo… by pogmoor
I still don't understand how you get grace notes (I can't reproduce). There is probably some confusion in the input ? And forget about thinking that you have to, for example, type a 5 to get a 5, or a 4 for the 4. It doesn't work that way.
In fact, one and the same key on the keyboard is enough to receive the different 'a", and /a, //a, ///a, 4, 5 etc., as long as it doesn't correspond to a pre-established shortcut (for example the "I", for the Instruments dialog, or the P, for the virtual keyboard)
For my part, I type only the letter "a" (my choice!)
So, on the following GIF, I do:
1. When the cursor is below the TAB staff (for 7th string), I type "a": I get "a". THEN:
2. right arrow -> down arrow: I type the same "a" again: I get "/a"
3. right arrow -> down arrow: I still type the same "a": I get "//a"
4. right arrow -> down arrow: I type "a" always: I get "///a".
5. right arrow -> down arrow: "a" always: I get "4".
6. right arrow -> down arrow: "a" again: I get "5"
etc.
I hope you have understood (?), and that this is what it is all about. If not, being under Windows, I have no way to check with a Mac (it would be surprising if it was related, but I don't really know)
In reply to "Here are two linked theorbo… by cadiz1
Thank you for your patience, following your latest explanation I now understand it and I can get the results I was looking for.