Hi,
Is there a way to have the tempo mark show both the dotted quarter note and the quarter note, as in this example?
Thank you.
Yes, but not in the normal way. You could either add a second tempo marking, or get the MusGlyphs font and type it in that way.
IMHO, the double tempo marking is too much. Pick one, and it’s enough.
Serious question, not derogatory: What does a q=156 even mean in 7/8 (besides doing the unnecessary math)?
At that tempo, it makes sense to me to have the metronome marking on a quarter note (or maybe the dotted quarter) rather than the eighth. I’d have to do maths or use a metronome to know 312 while I know 156 approximately right away. We know that one beat is longer, but two of the three beats are quarters.
Though I can’t find an example of anything else than metronome markings on 8ths in published music when doing a quick search on my shelves.
If the 7/8 is 2+2+3 or 2+3+2, a tempo marking for the quarter note at least tells me how fast the first beat is, which I think is helpful, especially in sight reading. If it’s 3+2+2, then I’d probably want to see the tempo for the dotted quarter.
The time signature changes during the piece, keeping the same tempo, so having both marks may be useful (example, changing 7/8 - 8/8 - 1/4 - 7/8).
Before any possible question regarding 8/8: it is not the same as writing 4/4 depending on the context. But anyway, the issue is about engraving. Thank you all for the suggestions.