I had this as 4/4. I switched to 2/2, hoping it would show two slashes to the bar. Is it intended that slashes here represent quarter notes, not beats?
It is intended, yes. There are some options to control this, but they are not currently exposed in the Notation Options dialog, I have just realised! I will make sure these get added to the UI in the near future.
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It’s correct as you have it - 4 slashes in cut time. The slashes don’t really have anything to do with the rhythms that are played. In jazz or pop the player will likely “comp”, that is, play rhythmic “hits” to match the horns or drums in which the rhythms are fully written out. If you really want strict half or quarter notes played, it’s better to use the so-called “Rhythmic Notation” - slashes (quarters) or diamonds (halves) with stems.
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I don’t think the two slashes per measure of 2/2 was supposed to suggest two half notes but two beats per measure. IIRC, when I put slashes into a 5/8 measure, Dorico produced a dotted slash and an undotted slash to indicate the [3 + 2]/8 measures.
I agree with @notesetter, 4 slashes is the expected norm here. (I always hated that Finale would default to 2) If you really want a “2 feel” in this section, just use text. “In 2” or “in 4” are pretty standard and any decent rhythm section would instantly know what you wanted.
I agree with @FredGUnn. In common practice, unstemmed slashes are taken to be quarter-note values. If one wants another rhythmic value, that calls for the other sort of slash notation, with stems and varying rhythmic durations.
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Ok, ok… I yield!
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