Add section
When setting up a new score there are options to set up staff lines an instrument at a time. There are also some options for specific combinations, such as a wind quintet, or a string quartet.
It could be very useful if this could also be done in the context of an "i" command, to add a new line to a score.
A simple example might be if I wanted to write a nonet for winds and strings - which I hadn't thought of until just now.... I could start with a string quartet, and then add in five wind instruments - one at a time, or I could start with a wind quintet and then add in four string instruments. Why would it not be possible to start with either a wind quintet, and then add in the string ensemble, or vice versa?
What I am proposing is an option to add in a whole section - which could obviously be done in the context of the New command when starting a new score, or also in the context of adding in new instruments with the "i" command.
Yes - I know there are ways of doing it, and they only take five or so extra minutes to do if one knows how to, but why not just make this easier by providing it as a feature?
One might want to have a full orchestra and a string quartet. It makes a difference which way round those are set up!
Oh - are there any pieces like that? Maybe Elgar and Vaughan Williams wrote music which did exactly that.
Comments
Related idea - being able to import a MIDI file into the current score, either as new instruments, or new content. Or for that matter import another score in that manner. Doing so as new content is more or less what the "album" functionality was once about and hopefully will be again.
In reply to Related idea - being able to… by Marc Sabatella
That related idea is not quite what I was thinking of - and is currently quite easy to do anyway. It is possible to open up Midi in Musescore, though I don't think it's possible to import into a current score. However, if the Midi is opened into a new file in Musescore, the relevant staves can then be copied over to new bars/staves in the original score. Just tested this, and it works. The instrument lines can be matched up, or new instruments put into the main score.
An import feature would be even better, and could be instrument aware. The technique I mentioned I think requires the layout in the Midi and in the Musescore scores to be the same.
I was however thinking specifically of aiding the writing/composition process by being able to add or remove whole sections of instruments in one command, rather than having to do it line by line, or instrument by instrument. What would be wrong with having a nonet (plus backing ...) composed of two separate ensembles - one a wind quartet and the other a string quintet - with (optionally ) a drum/percussion backing. That way you could get a nonet, a nonet plus backing, a string quintet, a string quintet plus backing, a wind quartet, a wind quartet plus backing, and finally a backing "track" all for the price of three section "scores"? Typically a piece with n instrumental sections would provide 2^(n-1) versions, plus a John Cage indebted version similar to 4'33".
In reply to That related idea is not… by dave2020X
Not the same idea indee,d but realted enough that if any of these were to be implemented, I'd like to see them combined.
Anyhow, all of this - including what you suggest - is already possible if you by taking 30 seconds to do the job manually, The question is how to automate these tasks, and how to provide an interface for what are some pretty similar tasks that make them actually feel similar. Like, you happen to be describing wanting to add an empty wind quartet section to a score, I am describing adding an already written wind quartet section. Would seem crazy to need to go to two completely different dialog boxes for this.
In reply to Not the same idea indee,d… by Marc Sabatella
I have had occasion to want to take an already written section and also on other occasions I wanted to have an empty section. I'm thinking about whether these are really different - and surely they are. For the empty one - just select - New section - wind quartet. 1 operation. For the non empty one - Import section - then file name or section copy. Otherwise you'd need two operations for both of those.
Insert - wind quartet then New or Existing, then if Existing - then File or section name.