Reducing distance between staves on the last page
Hi, I'm currently cleaning up some part scores and my last page only has 4 lines of music on it- there are massive gaps between them to make them take up more space on the page, but I would rather have them occupy the top bit of the page without the massive gaps. Is there any way to reduce the space between them and just have lots of empty space at the bottom of the page instead? Thanks :)
Comments
Format > Page > Disable vertical spread of staves whould be one method.
Adding a spacer would be another
In reply to Format > Page > Disable… by Jojo-Schmitz
How can you use the spacers when there's nothing at the bottom of the page for it to anchor onto? I've tried using a text box but I can't get anything to go UNDER the final line of music that I can then put a spacer on.
In reply to How can you use the spacers… by Musical Brit
A "Staff spacer down" or its "fixed" alternative can be used to adjust the distance between the final staff and the bottom margin. Think of it as having the top of the spacer anchored to the bottom of the final staff. See https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/breaks-and-spacers#spacers
In reply to A "Staff spacer down" or its… by SteveBlower
If it's supposed to work like that then something isn't right with my score- if I place a staff spacer down underneath the first one and extend it, it just goes off the page and doesn't move the staves at all.
In reply to If it's supposed to work… by Musical Brit
Works for me though.
In reply to Works for me though. by Jojo-Schmitz
"if I place a staff spacer down underneath the first one".
Don't put it under the first staff, put it under the last one. That is where you want the extra space, so that is where the spacer should go.
In reply to "if I place a staff spacer… by SteveBlower
I mistyped, I AM placing it under the last staff on the page- but the spacer can just extend off the page without actually moving anything up. It feels like I need a text box or something down there to make it work- is there any way to do that?
In reply to I mistyped, I AM placing it… by Musical Brit
Figured it out! The "append vertical frame" option works to push the staves up for me :)
In reply to Figured it out! The "append… by Musical Brit
That's also an option.
In reply to Figured it out! The "append… by Musical Brit
how do you "append the vertical frames"? May I ask for specific instructions?
I apologize, I'm new to musescore.
In reply to how did you that? May I ask… by Amateur PianiZT
Use menu item: Add > Frames > Append Vertical Frame.
See:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/frames#vertical
The "real" solution (the one most professional music engravers would employ) is to simply add breaks as appropriate to make the pages be better balanced, so you don't have a bunch of extra space on the last page at all.
In reply to The "real" solution (the one… by Marc Sabatella
I beg to differ, it is perfectly normal to have the last page of a score not being filled to the brim, but having empty space below it. The shorter the score (i.e. the fewer pages), the more
In reply to I beg to differ, it is… by Jojo-Schmitz
It happens sometimes, but not most of the time. Most engravers do make this effort. There can be exceptions where it isn't feasible - like a score of exactly two pages, with, say, 10 systems and going 5 + 5 is just too sparse. Even so, most engravers would simply add more system breaks as well to get more systems, unless the music is too sparse for that to make sense.
Anyhow, the point is, this is definitely the exception, and it's good for people to be aware of the more general rule. And then decide when to break it.