Adding organ manual notations (i.e. Gt, Sw, Ch, Pd)
What's the best way to add a notation to indicate which organ keyboard should be used, and when to switch? Would you use system text, staff text, or something else? Ideally I'd like to draw a bracket and attach the label (Gt, Sw, Ch) to the bracket, since you can be playing on different keyboards within the same system.
Comments
Not sure what sort of marking you are talking about, but it sounds like drawing a line and adding text and a hook (if desired) to it (https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/other-lines) might be useful? If not, please include a screenshot of some work showing what you are talking about.
In reply to Not sure what sort of… by TheHutch
See the hereby attached screenshot with a little example from Widor's Organ Symphony nr. 6. Since this example is from a French edition it uses the French abbreviations G, R and P for the English Gt, Sw and Ch.
In reply to See the hereby attached… by Magnus Johansson
As far as the text goes, I would (and have) used Staff Text (especially if different staves are on different manuals), and adjusted the position accordingly. Of course, it's not going to affect playback in any way.
But I had a feeling you were talking about those funny little braces--look at Master Palette (Shift+F9)-->Symbols-->Staff brackets and dividers. Select a notehead, click on the bracket symbol, then adjust position to where you want it. It's a little small, and might not fill the whole space between the staves, but it gets the message across.
In reply to As far as the text goes, I… by wfazekas1
Thanks - this would work but isn't as clear as I'd like it to be. In my arrangement, I start with both hands on Swell, then (in the middle of a measure) the right hand goes to Great while the left stays on swell. So I'm changing manuals on the same line of notes. Ideally I'd bracket both the treble and bass clefs at the beginning and label it "Sw", then bracket off just the top note and label it "Gt" at the right place.
In reply to Thanks - this would work but… by JonLHarris
What do you mean with "bracket off"? Can you illustrate?
In reply to Thanks - this would work but… by JonLHarris
Hmm-I think I know the notation you'd like: a thin, vertical bracket which extends over one or both staves, depending on case, and is hooked at one or both ends. I'm sure that's possible on Musescore, but, having learned it on Ms3, I'm not sure where everything is on Ms4 yet--I tried the appropriate style under the "brackets" palette, but it only creates brackets at the beginnings of systems. Perhaps "lines"?
In reply to See the hereby attached… by Magnus Johansson
Thanks - very helpful!
In reply to Thanks - very helpful! by JonLHarris
You're welcome!
Would you specify the stops you wanted for each keyboard? If you specified three manuals plus pedals would that prohibit performance on a two manual organ?
Most organists I know would prefer to decide it all for themselves
In reply to Would you specify the stops… by Scarpia
On this particular arrangement, I'm not making any registration suggestions. I just want to indicate when you should move from Manual I to Manual II on the same staff, without indicating Great or Swell. I agree most organists like to decide for themselves; I certainly do. If I had 3 main registrations, I'd specify I, II, and III and let the organist figure out how to play it on a 2-manual instrument.