Is there a way to force a multi-bar rest break at a certain point for all affected layouts (say, making a 24-bar section break every 8 bars)? Finale could do this as a property of the barline, and it’s super-useful for large works - nobody likes 79-measure multi-bar rests. Seems like Dorico’s properties bar should also include that flag.
Hi @D.Galbraith, see in Engrave mode, the menu Engrave > Split Multi-bar Rest.
Here the Manual:
Explicit single barlines: Shift-B, | Enter, right from Write mode.
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Hi @hrnbouma,
although your suggested method gives the desired result, it obtains this through applying a hidden time signature (with a red signpost for it). This can lead to confusion if you see a TS signpost, without any other need for it.
The Split Multi-bar rest command (which creates a violet Split signpost) is cleaner/clearer in my opinion.
And I think it feels weird that you can only access it from Engrave mode even though every other multirest-splitting thing like a rehearsal mark, tempo change or custom barline is so clearly a Write mode thing. For me there’s never been confusion about this.
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I agree.
Edit:
@hrnbouma There are methods to use the split command from write mode. Recording a macro (that records the action of choosing the menu item Split- Multi-bar rest), and then assigning a shortcut to it (easily done in MacOS from the System settings > Keyboard > Keyboard shortcuts > App shortcuts…), or you can edit the keycommands json file and insert the command for the execution of the script, with a custom shortcut. You can then have the split functionality from Write mode:
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(IMO rehearsal marks, tempo changes, and custom barlines are all semantic objects, which is why they are input in Write mode; they also happen to have the property of breaking multi bar rests. The Split Multi-bar Rest command has no semantic meaning and exists only to break rests, which is why it lives in Engrave mode.)
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I agree also with this. And your explanation is the correct one I think. Thank you for pointing it out, @asherber.
Nevertheless it is sometimes practical to insert the split from write mode (with the well known methods I remembered in my previous post).
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All this work just for a different colour signpost…
I’m also not buying this. Why does this system-wide marker have less semantic meaning than all the others you mention? It functions the exact same way.
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I’d argue that the split of a multibar rest, when applied properly (i.e. according to the phrasing of the music) does have a semantic meaning: it shows the structure of the music. In that case a split can even help with rehearsals (“let’s start from the 9th bar in G”) in the same way an actual rehearsal mark does. In any case I don’t think it’s strictly a graphical thing or some way to prevent people from having to count past 8.
I rather like @hrnbouma 's method of the explicit barline. It’s clean and fast, and any confusion about the type of signpost would only occur to people who are new to Dorico. But those are not the people who would deliberately apply an explicit bareline for this purpose anyway.
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Thanks for all the input, guys. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t see the solution in the documentation. But I agree that this ought to be a Write Mode function, though. As I work from Galley View, it makes sense to add this sort of thing as a structure to the whole work, not just as an engraving convention. When I jump over to Engrave Mode to input a Split, it forces me into Page View which is rather jarring as I edit my master score.
I believe my choice will be the explicit barline moving forward. Fewer keystrokes! Although I would agree that the signpost is rather ambiguous.
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Update for you JSON file editors…
I was able to add “Engrave.SplitMultirest” : [ “Alt+M” ] to the MusicEditable context. It works perfectly in Write Mode. Now I just click the barline where I want the split while in Galley View and hit Alt-M. Voila!
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For the kind of writing I do (mostly jazz charts, if I want to show the song form this way, I use double bars. That is very clear to the the people playing my charts, but I suppose double cars aren’t used as liberally in some other musical genres. However, this has the benefit of the doublr-bar taking literally 3 keystrokes to apply to all players, and it does break the multi-measure rests.
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