Create a multi-measure rest
I want to learn how to get MuseScore's software to put a multi-rest in the middle of one measure (to indicate that the musician is supposed to rest for multiple measures in a row; for example, rest during "4 measures, or whatever number of measures the music composer wants that instrument to rest (for organ, piano, or any other instrument). Does it have the ability to do this step?
Comments
If I have not misunderstood you're referring to this:
http://musescore.org/en/handbook/measure-rests
In reply to Welcome. by Shoichi
I appreciate your reply. You understood exactly what I was trying to find. I read that part about creating multi-rest bars, but even then as I tried what you suggested, nothing seemed to happen. I did click in the box to create multi-measure rests, then clicked ok. Still the measure just showed the rest sign to indicate that only one whole measure had the rest sign on all staves (treble, bass and the pedal note staff for organ music, which I am trying to transcribe from an arrangement that my father wrote many years ago). Here is what I tried next. I double-clicked on the treble clef staff of the measure that is supposed to have a rest all through it to highlight it. Next, I held down the shift key on my keyboard of the computer, then clicked once on the bottom bass clef staff to highlight all three staves for the right hand, the left hand and foot pedal parts. With all three staves highlighted, I right-clicked in the middle of them and left clicked on the option to add a measure. The number above each of the whole measure rest signs changed to the number 2. Now I repeated the above steps to highlight all three staves in the empty measure with the number 2 above the multi-rest bar. Then I right-clicked in the middle of the three staves again and clicked the shortcut option to add a measure. The number above the whole rest in the measure changed the count from 2 to 3. Finally, I repeated the previous steps again to increase the count from 3 to 4 in order to show that number in one measure to indicate that the composer wants the instrument part (or organ) to rest for 4 measures. I saved the modification to the file name I chose to call the music. Now I won't lose it. I can continue to transcribe the rest of my father's composition. This is the best music writing software I have ever seen. Thanks for your help.
In reply to Creating a multi-bar rest by tdvdbtylr
Hmm, what you're describing should not be necessary. It really should be as simple as clicking the option. There is no need to highlight anything. What you have to do first *create the measures normally*. If you want a six-measure mmrest just create six measures of rest first, then turn on that option. Normally, though, you wouldn't touch that option until you are done entering all the music.
In reply to Hmm, what you're describing by Marc Sabatella
Hi Marc,
how would one create a multi measure rest in one of the parts for only a select group of measures, while preserving the singularity of the rest of the rests in the part?
In reply to Hi Marc, how would one… by elicherry1
by marking also those measures to break multimeasure rests
In reply to by marking aloo those… by Jojo-Schmitz
Jojo, you forget to tell him that he responded to a 3 year old thread
In reply to Jojo, you forget to tell him… by Eathan Quintero
5 actually.
In reply to 5 actually. by Jojo-Schmitz
Dropping in one year later to say I found this thread on an internet search and found the five-year reply super helpful. ;)
In reply to Dropping in one year later… by rogerwilco2000
Dropping into a 3 year old thread lol to say I'm also looking for a solution and breaking the multimeasure rests didn't work
In reply to Dropping into a 3 year old… by Ingrid Winning…
See: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/measure-rests-and-multimeasure-rest…
In reply to Dropping into a 3 year old… by Ingrid Winning…
A meanwhile 10 years old thread...
In reply to A meanwhile 10 years old… by Jojo-Schmitz
I agree. Except for this: the last post was in 2021, and yourself was active on this thread in 2019!
In this particular case, the most important thing is that the user gets the right answer (he's stuck with something in the program, he doesn't care if it's 1 or 10 years old, ). Searching for a thread or topic sometimes leads down steep paths...
In short, it's better to answer the question exactly than to send the user off the ropes by reproaching him for posting in a 10-year-old post. In the best of all possible worlds, we can also do two things: 1) answer the question and 2) advise the OP to open, in same case, a new thread for another question.
In reply to I agree. Except for this:… by cadiz1
The answer had been given...
In reply to The answer had been given... by Jojo-Schmitz
For a previous version.
In reply to Four a previous version. by cadiz1
?? Your answer is for Mu4
Yet the original aswer is still valid, after all these years
In reply to ?? Your answer is for Mu4 by Jojo-Schmitz
??
The handbook link provided was for version 3, right? We're in 2024, so I'm giving the version 4 link. I guess that makes sense.
In reply to The manual link provided was… by cadiz1
Yes it does. But that part of MuseScore hasn't changed much between releases
In reply to Yes it does. But that part… by Jojo-Schmitz
You know it, I know it. But so much has changed between the different versions...
I guess the OP (new, probably, I see 2 other posts are 1 month old) doesn't have rocket science, and isn't supposed to know that this point of multimeasures rests has changed little or not at all.
And note this happens automatically when you generate parts from your score. That is, create you full score normally, and when you go to File / Parts to create the individual parts, the multimeasures will automatically be enabled in the parts.
In reply to And note this happens by Marc Sabatella
Hi,
So, I tried this too. I followed the page's instructions on how to create the multi-measure rests and I did the longs process highlighting step. Neither are working for me.
Could this possibly be because I'm trying to do this when one part is playing?
I've created a condutor's score for a piece I wrote, and at many points in the piece a part is resting for a long period of time.
I can already create the individual parts, like Violin II by itself, and get multi-measure rests there. What I'm asking is if I can make multi-measure rests while other parts on the same score are not resting. Does that make sense?
Anyway, if you could reply ASAP, that would be lovely.
Anyone know how to do this?? Thanks for all help!
In reply to Multi-Measure Rests for Several Parts by R A Roylance
I am not sure I understand. Are you saying you want to see multimeasure rests in the *score*? That would be highly unusual. Normally they appear only in the parts. And indeed, there is not way to get them to appear in the *score* unless *all* parts are resting.
In reply to I am not sure I understand. by Marc Sabatella
you probably would have to edit>style>edit general style>score tick ¨create multi measure rests¨
In reply to I am not sure I understand. by Marc Sabatella
Note: yes, this is an old thread. But I am struggling with this in 2023 :-)
I have the same issue with a simple score: it is a "part" but I only need that part, so I don't want to write a score and then extract a part. And I only want multi-measure rests in the score but not at the end of it, so I can edit the remaining measures while the previous measures are more "compact".
This would be easily solved if we can assign multi-measure rests to some measures instead of the full score.
In reply to Note: yes, this is an old… by jpbourdette
What would the advantage of this be over simply not bothering to turn on the rests until you're done entering the part?
In reply to What would the advantage of… by Marc Sabatella
I like to arrange the score while I am working - like line and page jumps, enlarge or shrink measures, etc., to improve readability. Sometimes I even print the score once I have a few pages, to check whether I can play it or I have to make some simplifications. And the visualization changes completely if I turn multi measure rests on or off.
I can turn them on and off all the time, but it is not what I'd expect to do with a computer.
In reply to I like to arrange the score… by jpbourdette
I would never recommend doing formatting until you're mostly done with the score for other reasons as well - too many things can change as you go leading to situations where you have inconsistently applied formatting and problems that occur as a result.
But if you want to print a WIP version, just toggle the rests before printing.
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/measure-rests#multi-measure-rest
In reply to https://musescore.org/en… by Supachai.ym
Yep, 4 years later and still correct ;-)
How can I make it so that the multi rest measures matches the instructions given by professor. For example, for my assignment each player parts he wants 5~6 measures per phrase. So if I have 2 measures of notes then I would need to have 4 measures of rest and if I have 10 measure of rests I would have to break them into 5 measures and I am having difficulties doing it on my mac.
In reply to How can I make it so that… by Julina Cho
In measure properties (right click a measure choose measure properties) there is a checkbox to break multi measure rest.
In reply to How can I make it so that… by Julina Cho
But, normally you should not need to resort to that option measure properties. People don't decide to break multimeasure rests for no reason, it's normally because there is something important happening at those points, like a key or tempo change, a rehearsal mark, a double bar, etc. And MuseScore automatically breaks multimeasure rests at all those place. I would check with your professor then to see the specific marking he is expecting to see at those locations, and add that. If he doens't want a rehearsal mark or anything else so obvious, then normally a double bar would be the thing to add.
In reply to But, normally you should not… by Marc Sabatella
It's late and I've been fumbling looking for how to specify the number of measures in each multi-measure rest. So far, everything I've seen is a yes or no option. Turning multi-measure rests on gives me very long rests I'd rather see displayed 8 measures at a time, etc.
In reply to It's late and I've been… by DavidConn8d
In each measure's properties you can set it to break multimeasure rests
In reply to In each measure's properties… by Jojo-Schmitz
When I go to click on those measures, the measure properties option is blanked out and not functioning.
In reply to When I go to click on those… by DavidConn8d
You need to toggle multimeasure rests off to be able to change individual measures' properties
In reply to It's late and I've been… by DavidConn8d
See my reply above. Normally one doesn’t break multimeasures at arbitrary places for no reason - you do it at places that are important in composition and this have rehearsal marks, double bars, tempo changes, or other markings. And in that case the rests real automatically. So just add the double bars etc. and MuseScore will take care of the rest.
In reply to See my reply above. Normally… by Marc Sabatella
I'm not asking to break multi-measure rests at arbitrary places for no reason. I want to create multi-measure rests the length I want them to be, where I want them, without interfering with the integrity of the rest of the score. That's not "for no reason." I will get some sleep and re-approach this in a bit to see if I can make Mr. JoJo's method work--but with so many menu options (I mean c'mon, you can specify your page margins and staff spacing down to the millimeter), it seems heretical that there isn't a simple one to click and create a multi-measure rest of whichever length you choose. No fuss/no muss. This would be a great option to have in the Tools menu, right under "Respell Pitches," and "Regroup Rhythms." I thought I had figured this out in 2.0 at some point. Maybe it's just sleep deprivation. Thanks to you both for your timely replies.
In reply to I'm not asking to break… by DavidConn8d
The setting in Measure Properties is the simple no fuss way to specify where you want multimeasure rest to break.
But to be clear: I am not suggesting you are doing this for no reason. I am saying that the usual reasons one would want to break rests automatically work already. In particular, if there is a place in the music that makes musical sense to break a rest, that is virtually always a place where it also makes sense to have a double bar, rehearsal mark, or other marking. So you may wish to consider adding the double bar at least. But if you have some special reason not to, then Measure Properties is indeed the way to break the rest. Simple and direct.
I tried to follow the handbook on how to make a 6 bar multi-measure rest. I don't know how to do the Format>Style>Score one, but I managed to press M to make a multi-measure rest. However, when I press M, it doesn't show as a 6 bar rest but 3 bar, one bar of normal rest, and a 2 bar rest. How can I fix that? Thanks.
In reply to I tried to follow the… by Heiley
Score needed, there got to be something in the way that interrupts multimeasure rests there, twice, in the 4th and 5th measure
I've scanned the 8 years of on and off commentary on this but it seems there is still something missing. Many scores are standalone parts - solo instrument, chord chart, lead sheet, tablature, etc. Suppose I want a 24 measure rest in such a score - why should I have to first insert 24 individual measures so that Musescore can concatenate them into one 24-measure rest? I simply want to insert one measure with a multimeasure rest and "24" above it. Why would I want a multimeasure rest in a solo part? Maybe I'm John Cage. Or maybe I'm creating a chord chart and I want an Em chord to continue for 24 measures. Or I'm creating a lead sheet and the bass drops out for 24 measures. Whatever the reason, this seems like a simple thing made unnecessarily complicated. Right click on a full measure rest and click "Convert to multimeasure rest" and insert the number of measures. In fact, I don't get what Musescore is doing when I enter the "Actual" values in Measure Properties - it seems like this is what it ought to do, create a multimeasure rest with the "Actual" number above the rest. I don't really understand what it's doing, but it's not that.
In reply to I've scanned the 8 years of… by tony ultimate
If you want a 24 measures multimeasure rest, you need 24 empty subsequent measures, period.
In reply to If you want a 24 measures… by Jojo-Schmitz
Yes, I knew that. That's why I posted the message.
In reply to I've scanned the 8 years of… by tony ultimate
"Actual" doesn't change the number of bars it changes the actual length of the selected bar. This function is used to create pick up bars for example.
In reply to "Actual" doesn't change the… by oMrSmith
"Many scores are standalone parts - solo instrument, chord chart, lead sheet, tablature, etc. Suppose I want a 24 measure rest in such a score - why should I have to first insert 24 individual measures so that Musescore can concatenate them into one 24-measure rest? "
But more commonly the parts are extracted from a full score where all instruments' measures have to line up with each other and the empty measures in an instrument's part are just left empty while other instruments do their thing. So, in the use case you mention, creating a standalone part, you don't have to insert blank measures, just leave them empty.
In reply to "Many scores are standalone… by SteveBlower
Yes, more commonly, if you are talking about through-composed classical compositions or band arrangements. More common in popular music though is creating an individual part that may not completely align with any other part, e.g., a guide for a musician who's going into a studio to dub in a solo somewhere. Say a keyboard player is going to add a break in a piece that's basically 12-bar blues, but in the section where he plays there are some variations - you don't need to write out a chord chart for a 12-bar blues that repeats 5 times, just show him where he plays and where he doesn't. I could multiply examples but the point is very simple - I want to write out a part with a multimeasure rest and I want to see it just like I would see it in an orchestral part: a solid line like a full measure rest, the length more or less proportional to the number of measures represented, with the number of measures above it. And I would like to input it in the simplest way possible, whereas now I have to use several other features to get it, and it's still not exactly what I want to see.
In reply to Yes, more commonly, if you… by tony ultimate
In such cases, normally still there is a score - the other instruments need to play from something too. But as mentioned, for the unusual cases where you are literally creating only one single part, it's exactly three keystrokes to create the 24-bar rest. It should look exactly right - not clear what about it isn't working for you. Best to attach your score and describe what precisely goes wrong when you follow the exact procedure mentioned.
In reply to In such case, normally still… by Marc Sabatella
Hi Marc - didn't see this before I sent my last message. I can attach the score if you want, but I'm not sure how I show that "nothing happens". I turned on multimeasure rests and inserted 24 bars. Nothing happened. So I blocked them and used "Join selected measures". It joined them but there is neither a symbol for a rest of any kind nor an indication of how many measures are represented. Perhaps there's some sort of trigger key I have to hit? Didn't see that in the documentation.
In reply to Hi Marc - didn't see this… by tony ultimate
Joining measures is not a representation of multiple measures, it is one of an irregular measure. That one measure might take up an equal amount of "time", but it is still a single measure.
In reply to I've scanned the 8 years of… by tony ultimate
Leads sheets shouldn;t normally use multimeasure rests 0 those will confuse musicians ccustoemd to their normal meaning, Instead, use slash notation to show the 24 bars of Em, Not sure what you mean about the bass - if it's a lead sheet, the bass is reading of the same sheet as everyone else. If you mean a bass part from an ensemble score, then the multimeasure rest is created automatically when you generate the bass part from your score.
Similarly for other parts. If it's the flute part fro a symphony, then the multimeasure rests happen automatically when you create the part.
If it's a score for a single instrument - like a solo guitar piece or whatever - it would be extraordinarily unusual for there to literally be multiple measures of silence in the music. Virtually all examples of multimeasure rests in real world music exist because other instruments are playing. So it's as I said above - this happens automatically when you generate the part from the score. John Cage wrote exactly one piece oike this - and even that is an ensemble score.
So anyhow, if you encountered an unusual situation where there is no score - just a single part or lead sheet - and you need multimeasure rests, then indeed, simply insert the empty measures. Takes no longer to hit Ctrl+Ins (the shortcut to insert measures) and type 24 then it would to hit a different hypothetical shortcut for "create multimeasure rest" and then type "24" for the number. Either way, it's exactly three keystrokes to create a 24-bar rest. So it's already exactly as efficient as it could possibly be.
In reply to Leads sheets shouldn;t… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks Marc. I get it about orchestral parts. Whether it's a sonata for two instruments or a Mahler symphony, multimeasure rests in scores will usually follow from the fact that other instruments are playing and you're not. But the terrific sw called "MuseScore" clearly doesn't just do multipart scores, and even since the last time I downloaded it there seem to be more features meant to support other forms of music notation, which I very much appreciate. What I'm talking about it is a feature that would have helped me in various types of parts: somewhere at the beginning/middle/end of the part I want to tell the player to rest for X number of measures, and I want to show this in a simple, familiar format: a lengthened full-measure rest symbol with the number of measures above it. I could add a chord symbol above the measure to show that there is an extended break on an Em chord, or some text to describe what's going on ("sax solo", "percussion jam", etc.).
Regarding your point about lead sheets, sure - but one doesn't always (or typically) write those out as a multipart score and then generate parts. You write a lead sheet for whoever needs it, when they need it. Musicians are not always coming into the studio together, with their parts. The bass player needs one today; I may decide to add a celesta part two months from now. The recording won't be mixed until next year.
It was said in a previous response that if I turn on multimeasure rests and add bars with full measure rests, "MuseScore will do the rest" (no pun apparently intended...). That may be true when you generate parts from an orchestral score, but if my score is for a single instrument MS doesn't seem to do anything. I take it from this discussion that this is the intended behavior. But I can't think of a kind of part where I would rather see 24 bars with full-measure rests, which I have to visually parse, rather than a single rest with the number of measures it represents. So even if I do have to add 24 empty measures I'd like to see them concatenated and represented as I described.
From some of the responses it seems like the resistance to having this capability is due to the thought, "this just doesn't happen in a proper solo part". But forgetting about both popular music and 4'33", I'm sure there are plenty of contemporary compositions where a solo instrumentalist is asked to pause for several measures. It doesn't sound unusual at all to me. A measure in 4/4 at 120bpm lasts 2 seconds; why not?
In reply to Thanks Marc. I get it about… by tony ultimate
Since playback doesn't seem to be an issue, why can't you just use the multi measure rest symbol from the master palette in a measure (make the OE rest invisible) and put a 24 over it?
In reply to Since playback doesn't seem… by bobjp
Why such crude workarounds when you easily can have the real thing?
In reply to Thanks Marc. I get it about… by tony ultimate
There is no "resistance" to allowing you create multimeasure rests - that feature exists and works perfectly in all cases we have ever tried. MuseScore most definitely does create multimeasure rests if you enable that option and add empty bars. If you have a specific score where this isn't happening for some reason, again, please attach it and give precise steps to reproduce the problem. Then we can understand and assist better.
As mentioned, MuseScore is optimized to make the common things automatic or as simple as possible, and the less common things also possible without too much additional work.
99.99% of all multimeasure rests are handled completely automatically when you generate parts from your score.
For the 0.01% of multmeasure rests you need to create manually, it takes exactly three keystrokes as mentioned (OK, four if you include hitting OK in the dialog box), and they work perfectly as well. So again, if you are having trouble, we would need you to attach your score and give precise steps to reproduce the problem.
It really does work, and it really is exactly as I described.
In reply to There is no "resistance" to… by Marc Sabatella
Tony, I think I get it. You don't have a score, so you can't generate parts with multi measure rests. You just want to be able to write out a part with multi rests much like you would on paper. You said you might add other parts later. What makes sense to me would be to create a master lead sheet (I.E. score). This would have melody (if needed) and all chords written out. Even the blues chords, since there are several ways to play it. Add repeats. This might seem to be more work than you are interested in. But when you go to add a sax part, you can add the notes just where you want. Same with any other parts. All able to be generated with multi measure rests.
I know the thought of having to go through the process of making a master lead sheet might not appeal to you. It seems to me that it would save time down the road. And you would have a record of all the parts in one place. Organization. What computers do best.
In reply to Thanks Marc. I get it about… by tony ultimate
You wrote:
I may decide to add a celesta part two months from now.
Okay, so if you don't have a "conductor's score" and are writing a single "part" all by itself (not generated from the conductor's score - when multimeasure rests would automatically be created), simply start from a blank score. Add your music for the part then when done, press M.
Here's a part for celesta entered into a score initially created and filled with blank measures. All notes are entered. The part is done: Celesta.mscz
Open it and press M: Then save it.
In reply to Leads sheets shouldn;t… by Marc Sabatella
I'm wondering if the issue being described is similar to what I've run into. I've written an orchestral score and implemented multimeasure rests for the individual parts. Some instruments have multimeasure rests that are quite large, for example 43 measures. It's usually suggested as best practice when scoring parts to break up large multimeasure rests into values that are easier for musicians to count. So for 43 measures, there could be separate concurrent multimeasure rests of 16/16/11. I guess one workaround would be to put rehearsal marks at those spots and then hide them. But that would mess up the actual rehearsal marks in the conductor's score. As far as accessing the measure properties for multimeasure rests, that option is greyed out for me.
In reply to I'm wondering if the issue… by Jay-Ducharme
As mentioned above, this happens completely automatically if you add double bars, rehearsal marks, or any of the other sorts of markings that should normally cause the multimeasure rest to be broken. If you don't want rehearsal marks for some reason, use double bars. This isn't a "workaround", it's how music is normally engraved. Rests don't break for absolutely no reason - they break for these specific things. But, if you want a rest to break for no apparent reason, you can do that via measure properties, as mentioned also. You do that after disabling multimeasure rests, so you can see the specific measure you want to break.
In reply to As mentioned above, this… by Marc Sabatella
Aha! I found what you are referring to! Thank you!
In reply to As mentioned above, this… by Marc Sabatella
Well, Marc, I'd like to break those rests for absolutely no reason... Just kidding. But maybe for a reason that might not seem very compelling, but doesn't break any fundamental rules of notational propriety (which MS developers seem to be very interested in). In other words, I'd prefer more flexibility. So for example, if I want a section where the multimeasure rests are turned off, It would be better if I could select several measures and change the property once for all of them, rather than clicking into each measure and individually tweaking its properties. In the case where I actually wanted to do this it was only seven measures in one part, but if someone has a long orchestral score and wants to do it multiple times for various instruments it would be very awkward.
In reply to Well, Marc, I'd like to… by tony ultimate
Take note that you don't break multimeasure rests for specific instruments. You break them on a given measure, which means for every instrument automatically (they all share the same measures).
In reply to Take note that you don't… by jeetee
Good to know. Thanks.
In reply to Take note that you don't… by jeetee
And normally that's as it should be. Having multimeasure rests in different places for different parts is probably the surest way to guarantee missed / early entrance errors. Players are quite accustomed to using non-verbal gestures to help each other out counting their rests. A head nod at the point of the break - normally a double bar, rehearsal bar, or similarly important marking - is the pretty much universal signal that allows everyone to synchronize while rests. Then, if someone has lapsed in their counting, they can get back on track. If the rests break in different places for different parts, confusion is likely to ensue.
Really, without an unusual special reasons o be devaiting from the norms, just keeping o the usual standard of breaking for rehearsal marks, double bars, etc - which again, happens completely automatically - is almost always better. Yes, there can be unusual special exceptions, and MuseScore does allow them. but unless you have a very specific reason to believe your scores is one of these unusual special exceptions, why risk problems?
In reply to Take note that you don't… by jeetee
Unless there is no score, and you are writing individual parts as needed, as in my case.
In reply to Well, Marc, I'd like to… by tony ultimate
Workaround: Within a part you could fill one bar with a hidden note in voice 2, then duplicate this bar for each bar you want multirests to be disabled...
In reply to Workaround: Within a part… by oMrSmith
Use a transparent text instead to not mess up so many exporting formats (such as MIDI).
In reply to Use a transparent text… by jeetee
That’s the route I chose.
In reply to Use a transparent text… by jeetee
Good point.
In reply to Well, Marc, I'd like to… by tony ultimate
Indeed, being able to set relevant properties for multiple measures at once would be a nice enhancement someday. Meanwhile, you can at least use the arrow buttons within measure properties to more quickly move from measure to measure (but do remember to hit Apply first).
But, it's still worth asking why you want the mmrest turned off for those particular seven bars, and what else might you be able to do to accomplish whatever that end goal is. If you explain the rationale here - what makes those seven bars special - we can understand and assist better.
In reply to Indeed, being able to set… by Marc Sabatella
I could think of various situation, but in my case I was preparing a part for a recording session. The player is coming in not knowing the song and with little time to study the part, and has to sync with pre-recorded parts, in a $75/hr studio. It's not clear whether I will be able to cue them from the sound room. So clarity is at a premium. I do not want the player to have to count rests by eye, so I turn on multimeasure rests. But there are entrances and other things happening during some of those rests that I want to indicate; lyrics that introduce a new part; etc. So I want to add whatever instructions might help the player keep track of where they are. In an orchestra setting I usually won't need to do that - in most cases the player already knows the piece, and in any case there's a conductor to indicate entrances, tempo changes, etc. Here there are no other clues besides the sheet of paper in front of them.
I'm not saying there aren't other ways to do it besides setting the "Break MM rest" property measure by measure; e.g. I can stretch out a line of lyrics or a verbal indication by adding text one measure at a time, or something like that. I tried several ways and they all worked, but in the end forced me to change the part in ways I didn't want to do. So the ability to change measure properties for a group of selected measures seems like the most elegant solution, and might have benefits for changing other properties too.
In reply to I could think of various… by tony ultimate
Yes, and that's exactly the sort of thing that MsueScore handles perfectly automatically now. Add your instructions as staff text, and the mmrest is broken automatically at that point.
In reply to Yes, and that's exactly the… by Marc Sabatella
I think this one is not quite perfect yet.... or there's some other step I haven't figured out yet.
First, I turned off MM rests to write in the guitar cue in measure 10, but I wrote it at pitch but without changing the clef. When I added the treble clef before it, MS automatically transposed the entire piece, so I added the bass clef before the next measure, which fixed the rest of the piece, but the notes in measure 10 remained transposed. I moved them back to pitch, with the clefs now correctly set. This is the situation in the attached file.
When I turn on MM rests in this score, MS shows the guitar cue in measure 10 again transposed, this time down by an interval of a 14th (??), without any clef changes or other obvious reason to do so. If I close the Style box without Applying it removes the MM rests and leaves the cue as it was. But if I Apply it the cue remains transposed, and I again have to move the notes back to position. After that, turning MM rests on and off seems to work without transposing anything. I think the transposition should not happen in this case.
*** I guess this is for a different thread, but MS regularly crashes on this Windows 10 laptop when I bring it back from hibernation with a MS file open. Crashes once after a few operations (dragging anything seems to trigger it among other things), then I reopen it and it doesn't crash again. Is this a known issue? ***
In reply to I think this one is not… by tony ultimate
I'm not quite following all that. I have loaded your score into Musescore 3.6.2. Can you give precise step by step instruments to reproduce the problem you are seeing? If I turn on multimeasure rests, I don't see any obvious issues with clefs or transpositions or anything else.
Also, I guess you exported this part from the full score? Seeing the actual score might be necessary in order to understand the problem.
As for crashes, if you have steps that reliably produce a crash, feel free to submit and issue to the tracker. But, you might want to first see if you can reproduce it in the beta of MuseScore 4.
In reply to I think this one is not… by tony ultimate
I don't think, that MM rests have any impact on clefs. And: Clefs don't transpose notes, they show them, where they sound in that clef. If you want to change a clef only for one bar, I guess you have to preselect the old clef for the next bar, since Muse Score does not consider 1 bar as a range selection. Meaning if you would select two bars and change the clef, it switches back to the old clef behind by default.
If you want to make bars of rest (right click on the staff, click add, add as many measures as you want). Select all the measures you want to combine. Once selected click M on your keyboard. If you already have bars of rest then just select them and press M on the keyboard.
In reply to If you want to make bars of… by samjahlstrom
No need to select anything. Pressing M just toggles display of all multimeasure rests. You can't selectively display some multimeasure rests and not others.
One Musescore modification that might help with MMRs is to have some sort of indication of where a break was added when MMR mode is turned off. I had a few instruments that had 54 measures of rests. I wanted to put breaks every 10 measures. There were times when I miscounted, which I discovered on when turning MMR back on. But upon turning it back off, I was faced with a sea of rests and no indication of where I had placed the breaks. So I had to count everything over again. If those measures had been given a little indicator above them or a different color, it would have greatly sped things along.
In reply to One Musescore modification… by Jay-Ducharme
That's a good idea, feel free to open an issue suggesting it on GitHub!
I would not, though, that normally there would be reasons for breaking the rests - it wouldn't arbotrary be every ten measures, but at important junctures of the piece that are meant to coincide with starts & ends of musical phrases in the other instruments, or key or meter changes, etc. If you've added double bars and/or rehearsal marks to indicate the phrase groupings (normally this would be done while looking at the full score of course), then you should find MuseScore automatically breaks the multimeasure rests in all the right places. If you're enter just one part without the rest so you can't see where the logical phrasing points and therefore you might be inclined to break them more arbitrarily - or you're doing it according a piece of sheet music you are copying - consider actually adding double bars rather than setting that invisible measure property. Then you get the visible notation whether you have the multimeasure rests enabled or not. Plus it's easier to add double bars than to set the measure property, and generally more notationally correct anyhow.
In reply to That's a good idea, feel… by Marc Sabatella
I just had a performance of one of my orchestral pieces. Several members of the orchestra (including the concert mistress) suggested to me that they needed smaller increments in the MMRs. I did some research and discovered that some publishers use 10 measures as the break point for MMRs. The reason given, interestingly, is that musicians have ten fingers for counting, and for long stretches a series of 10 measure MMRs is easier to keep track of than a single large number. It also allows them room in their part to write cues to help alert them to when they come back in.
In reply to I just had a performance of… by Jay-Ducharme
Which publishers literally do that every 10 bars? I've never heard of this, and always breaking by 10's as opposed to based on actual musical phrasing seems like a terrible idea to me. You end up with different people having the rests break in different places depending on where they start or stop rests, and you eliminate the possibility of visual communication to stay in sync. And you end up with rests breaking in places that have no musical significance whatsoever, confusing musicians who then wonder why there is some big climatic event happening one or two measures into a rest and then second-guessing themselves and thinking their count is off.
The practically universal standard among all publishers I have ever encountered is as I said - rests break for significant events like major music phrases, key or meter changes, tempo changes, etc. So if you use double bars and/or rehearsal marks to delineate the major musical phrases - as, again, virtually all publishers do - this all happens for free. Rehearal marks are especially recommended as they save tons of time in rehearsal - "let's take it from letter H" as opposed to "let's take it from bar 97" and then have people try to calculate where within their own multimeasure rest that happens (and everyone has a different answer, so they can't even help each other out).
Maybe what you heard was general advice to create your breaks "about" every 10 bars on average, but still, obey the musical structure? That could make sense, although it seems conservative. It's not uncommon at all for music to be organized in ways where 8 or 16 bars is the most common major phrase length, and breaking every 8 bars, while not uncommon, is perhaps a bit excessive in some cases.
Also, BTW - really you should also provide the musicians with cues; they shouldn't need to write them in themselves. Unfortunately MuseScore doesn't make this as simple as it could be, but it's basically a matter of copying & pasting then setting "cue size" in the Properties panel. The awkward part is that then they show in the score also and you have to go out of your way to hide them.
In reply to I just had a performance of… by Jay-Ducharme
What an odd reason. I would have said 8 or 16 measures is easier to count but I did learn most of my music early on in a brass band setting. I remember playing 3rd cornet and some pieces with over 30 bars' rest which was a nightmare to count, worse if it was in 3/4 (not a march timing). Other pieces were better and broke up up the long silent bits with a few bars containing cue notes, so I'd recommend that.
In reply to What an odd reason. I would… by underquark
My workaround has been to duplicate the score and rename it “[score_name]-Parts”. Then I can mark up the parts all I want and it doesn’t mess up the original conductor’s score, and I don’t have to hide anything. And for putting cues on single-line percussion parts, I grab a screenshot of an instrument line and attach it to the part.