Notating straight eight notes in swing composition

I have a piece that uses swing eights feel where I would need to notate straight eights in one passage. I can’t figure out how to force two eights with a beam to have a ‘2’ tuplet notation to indicate straight notes?

As a professional jazz musician and composer, 99% of the time, this is just written as:

Str. 8ths: or Str. 8ths --------------

I use the colon when it lasts awhile and then indicate when it goes back to swing. I just do it with the shft-x text popover. When it’s just a few notes, I use the dashed line. I do that with the line tool and use the properties panel to add the “Str. 8ths” text.

And of course, this won’t help playback, but I don’t really worry a ton about that most of time.

Hope this is helpful.

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For playback, you can type “straight” into the tempo popover.

Writing text to indicate straight eights is certainly a pragmatic solution. I just prefer a tuplet notation as an aesthetic preference. Is there any way to freely position text so I could add a “2” by hand to the straight eights?

By the way, adding a ‘straight’ thru the tempo popover for the straight eight notes, plays the first two eights of the following swing eights as straight notes.

Yes, use MusGlyphs.

Is there any info on those?

Google it and you’ll find it on Notation Central. It’s a free font.

You can make a 2:2 tuplet. (But I agree with Candlebane’s advice.)

I don’t know why this didn’t work before, but when I now tried making a tuplet marking with entering ‘2:2’ with the notes selected I got:


which was exactly what I wanted.

I’m pretty sure I tried that before when I had Dorico SE and it did not work (I now have Dorico Pro).

As I already said before: the first pair of eight notes after the straight eights is still playing as straight notes. It goes back to swing feel in the next bar although I can see that the signposts for tempo changes are in the correct locations.
:grinning:

You obviously figured it out, but if this is for performers to read, I agree with @Candlebane and would always use “Str. 8ths” or “Even 8ths” followed by “Swing” or “Swing 8ths.” I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen duplets used to indicate straight 8ths. You’ll likely have to explain that notation at rehearsal while the text instructions would be clear and need no explanation.

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Yup. Indeed.:slightly_smiling_face:

Glad you figured out what you wanted…but remember, us jazz musicians are going to double-take on this on sight read. We’re used to seeing “Str 8ths.” As long as you know it’s coming, all good!

This is music for solo (and I mean alone) electric guitar that I’ve written for myself, so I may as well please my self :grinning:
Everything is dependent on context. Thanx for the input.