Here is the very start of a piece with Horns 1 & 3 and Horns 2 & 4 condensed. They’re playing in unison rhythm, but, unlike Trumpets 1 & 2 below them, these dyads are notated with up and down stems, thus taking up a lot of space. I’m assuming that this is happening because of the stopped horn plus signs. Is there any way to get these dyads on a single stem? The trick of doing a condensing change doesn’t seem to work here.
I really don’t like the look of all these isolated a2 markings. My normal practice before trying out Dorico has been to use double note-heads, but Dorico doesn’t allow this as on option even though it is a more standard approach, I think, than having this sprinkling of a2. I know that I have the option of having up- and down-stems, but that just takes up too much vertical space.
One final question: does anyone have advice concerning strategies for condensed staves that involve instruments such as horn and bassoon that can be notated in more than one clef? I have some horn passages where Horn 3 starts in the bass clef and is joined by Horn 1 which is in treble clef, but Dorico puts all of that in treble clef, giving me some pretty unsavory leger lines below the staff.
Yeah, you can’t have double noteheads; that’s true.
For your horns, if you’ve already tried a condensing change at the start of the 7/4 bar and that hasn’t worked, double-check in Galley View that the dynamics and playing techniques really are identical in each of the two pairs of horns.
The horns look like they have different slurs at the end of the 7/4 bar - Horns 1 and 4 have consecutive pitches the same without slurs, whereas 2 and 3 change pitch and have slurs. (Edit: ha, and of course entirely different rhythms at the start of that bar.)
If you give all horns the same slurs, they should be condensed into a single voice. Alternatively, start a new phrase somewhere suitable around the 7/4 bar using a condensing change with their checkboxes activated.
Okay, I’ve gone in and swapped around some of the lines – I am condensing Horns 1 & 3, Horns 2 & 4 – so that the slurs match in the parts to be condensed. But having done that, it doesn’t condense at all.
I am still confused about where the condensing change should go, and can I do both pairs of horns at the same time. And in checking off the boxes, so the names next to the boxes need to be checked so that they are highlighted in blue?
This last reply was still in your public thread, but you’re welcome to send your project to me in a private message. If you apply the Silence playback template before sending, the file size will be smaller.
