Problem with entering Lyrics
I need to enter a underscore and then a hyphen but it won't let me. The first syllable of the word is carried over two notes so I need the underscore but it is only a syllable so I also need the hyphen. Is there a trick to this?
Comments
See: https://musescore.org/en/node/21522
and: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/lyrics-0 (synalepha)
Welcome!
I know this. I have been adding lyrics no problem including using the underscore and the hyphen. The problem is I can't use them TOGETHER. I have attached a screenshot.
In reply to I know this. I have been by Michele Lewis
If I understand (but do not think)
In reply to If I understand (but do not by Shoichi
Ah! So it can be done! Thanks so much for your patience and the screenshot. The only question is what is AltGr+spacebar? If I hold the Alt key and then type in Gr and then click the spacebar it simply type Gr so I am obviously missing something.
In reply to Ah! So it can be done! by Michele Lewis
Excuse me, I communicate through Google translator ;-)
AltGr, on my keyboard is the key to the right of the spacebar.
Hold down Alt Gr (or Ctrl) and uses the space bar to move to the right
In reply to Excuse me, I communicate by Shoichi
I am obviously very stupid because I still can't make it work.
I type Hal and then SHIFT __ That gives me the two underscores I need. If I then hit ALT - (ALT hypen) it erases my two underscores and changes it to a hypen.
In reply to I know this. I have been by Michele Lewis
It is incorrect to have both an extender and hyphen on the same syllable. Extenders are *only* used for the final syllable of a word, hyphens *only* for interior syllables. At least, that's how standard music notation works.
In reply to It is incorrect to have both by Marc Sabatella
The first syllable is extending over two notes in two different measures and then the next note is the second syllable (I attached a screenshot). I guess I can just use a hyphen but the other user was able to make but the extender and the hyphen but I can't figure out how he did it!
In reply to The first syllable is by Michele Lewis
@Michele "trust the Force": It is not the proper way.
I try again:
I type hal;
Maiusc+__ until the desired note;
Shift + Space to go back;
AltGr (or Ctrl) + space (three times) to exit from underlined;
AltGr (or Ctrl) + - (hyphen).
(and as always I do not know if I explained well)
In reply to The first syllable is by Michele Lewis
To be clear: the case you are describing - the first syllable extending over multiple notes - is supposed to be indicated with hyphens *only*, not with a combination of extender and hyphen. It is incorrect according to the standard rules of music notation to put an extended on anything but the last syllable of a word.
To quote from Elaine Gould's "Behind Bars" - one of the most authoritative sources on music notation today - "Never use an extender between syllables - an extender indicates that a word has ended and its incorrect use will cause confusion".
So while you can indeed get this non-standard behavior to some extent using the techniques described here, you should *not* be doing this unless you are deliberately trying to create non-standard / experimental notation. In which case, the techniques described above should work. Depending on your particular keybaord, you might need Ctrl, AltGr (a single key with that label that exists on some keybaords), or maybe some other modifier witht eh underscore to get the underscore character itself; just experiment until you find it. It's Ctrl plus underscore on a standard US keyboard except on Mac where it might possibly be Cmd plus underscore. I think AltGr might be found on some European keyboards? Unfortunately, there are lots of different keybaords in the world, so it's hard to be more precise.
Just press hyphen twice to get the correct appearance. Singers will know what it means and even those with little experience will work it out. If you enter non-standard lines then those with little experience might still work it out but you'll probably confuse the singers.
The non-standard appearance that you seek is difficult to achieve and depends on your operating system, physical keyboard and system keyboard preferences - keystrokes used on one machine for non-standard text items will not necessarily work on a different machine. [AltGr] hyphen on mine gives a backslash and [AltGr][Shift] hyphen gives an upside-down question mark.
In reply to Just press hyphen twice to by underquark
I have decided to leave it with just a hyphen since this is the better way to do it :)