I’ve been successfully using the “Create Voice” feature (SH-V) to create multiple voices in a keyboard score. However, I’m a bit unclear on the “Starts Voice” and “Ends Voice” in the Properties panel.
For example, if I have set up a 3 voice score, and subsequently “Create Voice” in the middle (e.g. bar 20), and then set “Ends Voice” a few bars later (e.g. bar 26), this allocates a short 4th voice, and nicely deletes all later rests in the score for that voice (bars 27 ff.). However, I notice that this 4th voice seems to be implicit from the start to end of the piece! (i.e. when I toggle the “V” key at any bar, I see an option for the 4th voice).
So, effectively, if I create a short strand of voice, in mid-score, and truncate it, the voice implicitly exists from the beginning to end of the score! Is this correct?
I’ll add that when I select “Voice Colors” from the View menu, that just the allocated strand of 4th voice (e.g. mm. 20-26) is colorized, nicely.
Also, I can’t find in the manual any info on the role of “Starts Voice” in the Properties panel vs. “Create Voice” (SH-V). What is the difference?
Yes, that’s right – Once a voice is created in a staff, it is either hidden or shown across the entire flow. I try to limit the number of voices as much as possible.
The “Starts voice” property is for the first note or rest after rests were previously hidden.
To use Starts/Ends Voice, you need an existing voice (even just one!)
If you select the first note or rest of a passage and click Starts Voice, all of the preceding rests will be hidden. If you click the last note or rest of a passage and select Ends Voice, the subsequent rests will be hidden. Try it with a one-voice passage.
If you click a rest and choose Remove rests then preceding and subsequent notes/rest will have these properties activated.
If you do select one of these and decide you want to use the same voice again - for example if you want a down-stem voice at the beginning, no rests, and then another passage of down-stem voice - then you can just untick the box, or move the caret into the correct position, press V to activate that voice, and then you can use the same voice again. (You’ll also notice that the rests between the first passage and this passage will reappear)
Creating a new voice will actually create a new up-stem or down-stem voice in addition to what you already have.
The terminology is a bit confusing (‘start’ and ‘end’ voice), because there is one single voice that is created and continues, undeleted, but effectively start/end voice and ‘delete rest’ allows one to create small strands of the voice, and hide in other locations. This is a useful feature.
I’m still unclear on two details.
First, I’ve experimented around, as DanielMuzMurray suggested. If I create a small portion of a voice (say mm. 20-26), and then ‘end’ it (e.g. m.27), and later re-enter with note input in a later measure (e.g. m. 32), the in-between measures do not get explicit rests, they stay hidden, and the voice only re-appears in m. 32. (Unlike from your comment.)
Second, I still don’t see how to use “Start Voice” except solely to delete rests at the start of a piece, before the first explicit notes. I have not been able to delete rests in the middle of the piece by activating “Start Voice” after them, only by activating End Voice" before them. Any input?
In general you should not need to set either starts voice or ends voice. They only become useful if, at some point, you have used remove rests and you now want to recover them.
(Edit: On a point of forum etiquette. If you want to reference users in a post, use the @Janus format and they will be notified. Just type @ and their user name)
I’ve experimented, but I don’t see how Start Voice helps to recover a run of deleted rests. However, it looks like clicking on End Voice, in Properties, right before the run of deleted rests restores them, and toggles off ‘end voice’.