TWO RESTS FOR TWO VOICES?
When I am using MuseScore 4 and I have two voices I find that there are
two rests instead of one rest for both parts. I used Finale (before) and it
always had one rest when using two voices. Is the double rests acceptable?
If not how can I delete one and still have two rests in the parts?
Comments
In staff properties you can enable sharing of matching rests
Musescore always has a separate rest for each voice. You only need different voices if the notes are to have different durations and therefore the rests are also of different lengths.
The rests of voices 2-4 can be deleted. Select a rest, select all similar ones and press DEL. All rests are selected but those of voice 1 remain.
However, it is better to make them invisible.
In reply to Musescore always has a… by HildeK
Or to use the setting I mentioned.
If you look In staff properties there is a "Merge matching rests" option. Default is off.
Are double rests acceptable? Yes, sometimes, sometimes no. If you are writing counterpoint, you probably want the separate rests, if not, probably not. But having them separate while editing is useful as it is difficult to select one particular rest from a merged pair. Merge them when you have finished editing but before you start tweaking the formatting
See also this Github issue for more discussion on this topic. https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/24983
In reply to If you look In staff… by SteveBlower
Dear Steve, Thank you for your reply! Very helpful.