Auto-courtesy accidentals on tied notes across systems
If a note written with an accidental is tied across systems, the accidental should be rewritten on the tied note in the new system. The reason for this should be clear (especially on page turns): if the accidentals are missing, it is impossible to begin reading the music correctly from the new system. Not all editions do this, but it the world would be a better place if they did.
I have been adding these accidentals manually to my scores for years. The problem with doing it manually is that if the layout changes, then these accidentals need to be manually removed and possibly new accidentals inserted.
This tedious work could easily be done by MS. If it is unwanted in some cases, simply add a switch for it.
Or will someone tell me now that this feature already exists? I never found it.
Thank you.
Comments
Check out https://musescore.org/en/project/add-and-remove-courtesy-accidentals to see if it does what you need.
In reply to Check out https://musescore… by dragonwithafez
Thank you. I saw that. It actually does not do what I've outlined.
Just to be clear, the request is for a style preference to do this automatically, dynamically with the layout so nobody has to go add these accidentals, ever.
In reply to Thank you. I saw that. It… by neo-barock
Meanwhile, though, it would be worth seeing if there is a way to get the plugin to do the job, so at least it would be easy to add them manually all at once.
In reply to Meanwhile, though, it would… by Marc Sabatella
The plugin appears to have no provision regarding system breaks, so cannot be used for this.
FWIW, I also could not even get the plugin to function in a way that would make sense for me when adding "normal" courtesy accidentals (that is, within a system). It always either added totally unnecessary accidentals or did not add courtesy accidentals where I would have added them, so ... for me, the plugin is unfortunately useless.
In reply to The plugin appears to have… by neo-barock
I mean, it would be worth seeing if the plugin could be enhanced to do the job.
Currently, the plugin follows the pretty standard rule - courtesy accidentals always added to the same pitch in the next measure, not added anywhere else. If you use the "configure" command, you'll see additional options. For me, the "next measure" rule cover 95% of all cases I care about - there are never cases where I don't want to follow it, and not that many cases where I want to see something else, like a courtesy accidental in the same measure, or one two or more measures later. In those uncommon cases, I simply add them manually.
Not sure how you could be seeing unnecessary accidentals, as tby default it only adds in the next measure and those are absolutely mandatory. But if you have a score where you think it's not following that rule, or where you think that rule isn't appropriate, feel free to start a new thread and attach the score and steps to reproduce the problem. For me the plugin is an absolute lifesaver, and I've never encountered any issues with it.
In reply to I mean, it would be worth… by Marc Sabatella
I did not spend much time with the plugin. I basically saw it does not handle system breaks, so I removed it. If it works consistently according to normal rules, obviously the result would still need proofreading, but as you say it might save some time. What I would prefer is a way to enter them during step entry, as the only way to do it now is to break out of step entry, deselect the note, select it again, then click the accidental, which is way too many steps and interrupts the workflow.
In reply to I did not spend much time… by neo-barock
Did you setup shortcuts for the accidentals? Then you should be able to just "enter them" during step entry.
In reply to Did you setup shortcuts for… by jeetee
Oh. The forehead has been slapped once again. Thank you :)
In reply to I did not spend much time… by neo-barock
Also, if you're OK with clicking as it seems you are, no need to leave note input mode - the accidental buttons work just fine while entering notes. They work the same as duration and voice buttons - you select the accidental before entering the note. Only if you forget (as I often do!) is it necessary to use the custom keyboard shortcut to retroactively apply the accidental.
In reply to Also, if you're OK with… by Marc Sabatella
*** Re: keyboard shortcuts ***
I knew there must have been some reason I wasn't using such an obvious solution: it doesn't work. I remember now I tried it before and it didn't work. To use a key shortcut to add an accidental to a note that has just been entered, you still are forced to first get out of step entry mode (hit escape). Then the shortcut works. I'm missing something?
In reply to *** Re: keyboard shortcuts *… by neo-barock
Yes, you arte. As mentioned, the main accidental commands are designed the same way as the duration buttons - in normal mode they apply to a selection, but in note input mode, they affect the next note to be entered instead. But, there are separate versions of the note input accidental commands for the times when you forget to specify the accidental first. Those are the ones labeled "non-toggle". I have shortcuts defined for both sets.
In reply to Yes, you arte. As mentioned… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks. "Retroactive" would be a better name than "non-toggle". Who would ever figure out what "non-toggle" even is supposed to mean in this context? It's misleading. I saw "non-toggle" and thought, "well, I certainly don't want that!" Sounds like then it would be stuck on entering whatever I choose, like after you use it you'd be stuck entering all flats or all sharps. That is after all what "non-toggle" suggests ... or in fact it's excatly the opposite of what "non-toggle" suggests, but given that this identifier "non-toggle" is supposed to distinguish these shortcuts from the normal ones (which are not toggle switches, since a "toggle" switch stays on until you turn it off) the only logical way to interpret the name is "the opposite of the normal one". That's a bad name all around.
In reply to Thanks. "Retroactive" would… by neo-barock
Agreed, it's not great. "Toggle" is what the normal accidentals are - the buttons on the toolbar act as toggle buttons - but it's not the first thing you think of when you consider the different. Feel free to file an official suggestion with an alternate proposal, after checking with a 4.0 nightly build to see if the name is still the same.
Agreed, this would be most welcome, I'd say not even as a style option but just by default (although I suppose there could be an option to disable it).
In reply to Agreed, this would be most… by Marc Sabatella
+1