Different time signatures in different measures.
I'm trying to transcribe the song "The Journey" from the 1977 Disney movie "The Rescuers" into an orchestral score. At one point the oboe plays a theme fragment in 11/8 time (see image), while the piano is playing a background melody in 4/4 time. How do I rectify this? I'd like to be able to have the oboe alone go to 11/8 for the necessary two bars while the rest of the orchestra remains in 4/4, but I haven't figured out how to do this yet. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance!
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Comments
See https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/time-signatures#Adding_a_local_time…
In reply to See https://musescore.org/en… by Jojo-Schmitz
Tried that. The problem is that it wanted to change the Time Signature on the whole staff (thus giving me an error message because there's previous staff usage) rather than just the two designated measures on that staff while leaving the global Time Signature at 4/4. (And, of course, now that I've closed the program for the night and re-opened it I can't even get it to reproduce the error message so that you can see what I'm talking about! #facepalm#) I think that I'll suggest this as a feature addition.
In reply to Tried that. The problem is… by reynard61
It would help if you attached the image you are talking about
In reply to It would help if you… by graffesmusic
I wish I had something to attach. Unfortunately, as stated previously, after I closed the program for the night and re-opened it I no longer get the error message. (And I still can't change the Time Signature on those two measures (bars) without it changing the rest of the score.)
In reply to Tried that. The problem is… by reynard61
You wrote:
The problem is that it wanted to change the Time Signature on the whole staff... rather than just the two designated measures on that staff
Before you place the 11/8, first put a 4/4 time signature downstream of the bars you want to change. This way the 11/8 can return to 4/4.
In reply to You wrote: The problem is… by Jm6stringer
Did that. The piece starts in 3/4 time, then transitions to 4/4. If you'd like I can post what I've done so far.
In reply to Did that. The piece starts… by reynard61
Yes, posting the score will save time, misunderstanding, and confusion.
A precise explanation of what you wish to accomplish will also help.
In reply to Yes, posting the score will… by Jm6stringer
Here you go.
The part that I'm having trouble with is at measure (bar) 36. For some reason, the arranger (probably Artie Butler) put the oboe's portion of this theme fragment in an 11/8 Time Signature, while the Piano retains it's 4/4 Time Signature. If you want to see how they match up go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syLh3U2xfN4 at approximately 1:08 .
In reply to Here you go. The part that I… by reynard61
Is this the sort of thing you want? Or do you want the oboe barlines not to line up with the rest of the score?, because that is more difficult.
I couldn't get much from the YouTube playback. Do you have an image of the original score at that point?
In reply to Is this the sort of thing… by underquark
"Is this the sort of thing you want?"
YES!!! Thank you!!! How did you do that??? (Master! Teach me your ways!!!)
"Or do you want the oboe barlines not to line up with the rest of the score?, because that is more difficult."
No, you have it exactly correct! I just had to make a tempo adjustment and put the piano part in.
"I couldn't get much from the YouTube playback. Do you have an image of the original score at that point?"
Nope, I'm doing this all by ear. (I'm pretty sure that if it still exists, the original score is locked up and rotting away in some vault somewhere.)
Again, thanks very much for your help!
In reply to "Is this the sort of thing… by reynard61
Welcome, you are. With practice, proficiency you gain.
In reply to Welcome, you are. With… by underquark
Well, Master, in order to gain proficiency, don't I need to be taught the technique that I'm supposed to practice? 🤔
In reply to Well, Master, in order to… by reynard61
First, create the 11/8 Time Signature:
Go to the Time signatures palette, select More, Create time signature, enter the values
[Ctrl][Shift]-drag your 11/8 to where you want it
Enter notes
[Ctrl][Shift]-drag the original time signature to re-synchronize with the rest of the score
In reply to First, create the 11/8 Time… by underquark
Everyone, feel free to disagree. But.
In the video the tempo I feel around the time in question is more like 75. And at the time in question I don't hear the oboe playing anything but 4/4. I have put what I hear in the score.
I'm just not sure that in a simple film score like this that there would be any need to introduce two different meters.
In reply to Everyone, feel free to… by bobjp
Well, I'm doing this strictly by ear and a LOT of guesswork. (Add to that the fact that I have virtually NO musical training outside of what I learned in Elementary school, from a few books, and from reading through Classical music scores as I listened to them.) And I've never found any sheet music for this song, so I can only go by what I actually hear. I'll be the first to admit that it's probably not going to be a performable score, but that's not what I want; I want a readable score that I can follow while listening to the music. (If you want a real laugh at my pathetic efforts, go check out my WIP version of "Once Upon a Time With Me" from "Once Upon A Forest".)
In reply to Well, I'm doing this… by reynard61
I would never say that I'm right and you are wrong. Maybe neither of us is correct. All I can say is that part of my Music ed degree final testing was this. The instructor played 8 or 10 measures of four part harmony. He played it a number of times. The only thing he told us about it was what key it was in. In order to pass the class, our job was to write down what he played. Note for note. I would never claim to have ever gotten it perfect. But that and other classes in ear training have left me with the inability to just listen to music. I am constantly analyzing what I hear. What are the strong points and weaknesses. What exactly don't I like about it. What instruments are playing and what notes. Why did the composer change keys. etc. etc.