34
votes
Accepted
How to notate time signature switching consistently every measure
Yes, one possible way is to clarify a "5+3" meter throughout. Depending on the music, this could be preferable to just writing 8/4 if the meter is clearly a 5+3 layout.
As one example of how this ...
- 83.7k
27
votes
Why use 5 or more ledger lines below the bass clef instead of ottava bassa lines for piano sheet music?
Let's look at your first example, the Saint-Saëns.
Yes, if there was ONLY the lowest C, it would be difficult to read and an 8vab line would help. But the higher C, on just two ledger lines, is easy ...
- 89.7k
25
votes
How do I notate a staccato on a unison note?
On single-stem pitches, the rule is always the same: the staccato goes on the side of the notehead that is opposite the stem.
But when multiple voices are in play, the convention is typically to put ...
- 83.7k
24
votes
Accepted
Anacruses, Bar Lines, and Line Breaks
It's great that you're thinking about where your line breaks should go, and putting them at natural "punctuation" points is generally a good idea. Breaking mid-measure though is pushing this too far. ...
- 22.2k
21
votes
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Which note goes on which side of the stem?
I've always understood that the lower pitch of the harmonic second occurs on the left side:
This is also true when additional pitches are added in. On beat four, the E is now on the right because the ...
- 83.7k
21
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to change the key signature in the middle of a bar?
It's not common to change key signature in the middle of a bar - my edition of Behind Bars says "change a key signature after a barline", with no qualifications, suggesting that's the usual ...
19
votes
What is the meaning of a notation that looks like a rest superimposed on a note
It's a misprint. Both are 16th-note As, and the rests are misplaced.
The rests should be placed lower on the page, level with the stems-down eighth note chords. They represent a separate "voice&...
- 80.1k
19
votes
Is there a notation for borrowing a beat from the next measure?
If possible please avoid uncommon notation! It will often not be easier to read.
Maybe do something like this
This is more or less how Schumann does this in Mondnacht:
- 18k
17
votes
How to write a score that begins with a pickup note and repeats
You can do this two ways. Do the first. It really is clearer.
(How many verses are you going to make the singer(s) perform without a few bars rest though?)
- 89.7k
15
votes
How to notate time signature switching consistently every measure
One way which is possible is to show two time signatures, as here from Tchaikovsky's second String Quartet via Popflock:
This warns the user that bars of each length are to be expected.
You haven't ...
- 1,020
15
votes
Accepted
Time signature inconsistent
The notes in the upper staff are tuplets. As an aid towards your eventual goal, here is some sample code to create what you're looking for:
\version "2.19.82"
musicA = \relative c' {
\key cis \...
- 83.7k
15
votes
Accepted
LilyPond - how to write a basic makefile
Invocation
make will search the current directory for a file named Makefile or makefile, so it's often simplest to name it one of these two choices and then invoke with the simple command:
$ make
...
- 15k
15
votes
Why use 5 or more ledger lines below the bass clef instead of ottava bassa lines for piano sheet music?
First, musicians should learn to read lots of ledger lines. If you are frustrated by them, that’s an important thing to focus on for your studies until you can read them easily.
Second, it is harder ...
- 55.8k
14
votes
Why use 5 or more ledger lines below the bass clef instead of ottava bassa lines for piano sheet music?
Read the top pitch of the bass part and then read the ledger lines below as intervals.
Ex. If I know that two ledger lines under the bass is C and then the interval under that C is a sixth, then I ...
- 54.8k
13
votes
How to notate time signature switching consistently every measure
As a possible alterative to Richard's answer, you can write the total in the time signature and the division above the staff like this:
This may be easier, depending on the capabilities of your ...
- 760
13
votes
When should tenor clef be used?
Don't over-think this. Go into tenor clef when there's a substantial section of music that would otherwise need an annoying number of ledger lines.
Note that while orchestral trombone players are ...
- 89.7k
13
votes
Accepted
Lilypond: natural+flat accidental in front of the note
This might be what you are looking for:
\tweak Accidental.restore-first ##t
https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.23/Documentation/snippets/pitches#pitches-force-a-cancellation-natural-before-accidentals
- 12.1k
12
votes
How can I overcome '8va' for a few notes?
Just write them where they will be in 8va, as in an octave lower than they are right now. A reader will have more of a clue as to what's happening like that. So the G# will sit on the second line up, ...
- 188k
12
votes
Rests in pickup measure (anacrusis)
The lower version is right, definitely. You write the pickup measure with the actual note durations, not like "read all staves and try to figure out if this is a pickup bar or not".
Think about if ...
- 26.4k
12
votes
Accepted
How to notate this two-voice syncopation in 12/8 time?
Yes, this is tricky. It may depend on what you have in the remaining voices/hands/parts, but one possible solution is to use stem direction to your advantage:
By using stem-down notes for the held Cs ...
- 83.7k
12
votes
Accepted
Partially-optimized orchestra scores?
Would such a score cause confusion or turn away conductors?
Absolutely not. Especially if it's the whole movement, nobody is going to be confused. But really, it's such a common practice, as is ...
- 19.3k
12
votes
Accepted
Eliminate ties via additive meter?
Firstly, it would really help if you sort out what the various voices in the bass clef are doing, (this is where the "noise" is coming from). For piano it's not really possible to re-...
- 12.1k
12
votes
Is it okay to change the key signature in the middle of a bar?
For some reason I am not seeing some of the symbols you wrote correctly but regardless of that it is completely acceptable to modulate in the middle of a bar. It is best to just use the correct ...
- 24.6k
11
votes
Accepted
Are there any "good practices for sheet music writing" guidelines that are more or less universally accepted?
The go-to reference for notation is Elaine Gould's Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation. It's a massive book that, in addition to the standard tonal notation rules, includes examples of ...
- 83.7k
11
votes
Anacruses, Bar Lines, and Line Breaks
What you're doing is doubling up on the phrase marking, which is there just for the purpose you propose. Is there any extra point in breaking up bars? Not for me. It seems an amateur thing to do, as ...
- 188k
11
votes
Accepted
When does bar-line go down?
Bar lines don’t connect in vocal music. This avoids bar line-lyric collisions.
I notice that both appear to be vocal pieces, but I see no lyrics on the one with connecting bar lines.
As a general ...
- 1,340
11
votes
Accepted
Printing all accidentals with Lilypond
Lilypond has several options to automatically display accidentals. I'm not sure which one suits you best, but perhaps one of these:
teaching
This rule is intended for students, and makes it easy to ...
- 3,650
11
votes
Accepted
Multiple staccato dots on minim with tremolo repeat in Lilypond
One possible solution could be based on this snippet for multiple tonguing.
\version "2.20.0"
tongue =
#(define-music-function (parser location dots) (integer?)
#{
\tweak stencil
...
- 83.7k
11
votes
Accepted
Why aren't octave clefs used in piano notation?
it's easy to read and doesn't have any extra visual clutter.
That's exactly why it's hard to read. With ledger lines and ottava brackets you have something there reminding you continually that you'...
- 19.3k
10
votes
Accepted
slur options in sheet music
Composers may use a dashed/dotted/broken slur or phrase mark when it's optional (for example, when lyrics are irregular, as user25358 attests). It may also be used to indicate a hemiola, for example ...
- 1,020
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