staff styles in different layers

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saxnoviolins
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:37 pm
Finale Version: 2014
Operating System: Mac

Post by saxnoviolins » Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:42 pm

Is it possible to create separate staff styles in different layers? My specific need is to have a melody in layer 1 (normal notation) but stemless notes and hidden rests in layer 2. I can find no way to create that staff style without it applying to all layers.


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Peter Thomsen
Posts: 6601
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:47 pm
Finale Version: Finale v27.4
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Post by Peter Thomsen » Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:41 pm

Welcome to the forum!


1) Since you are talking about a staff style, I suppose that you will apply the staff style to some specific measures only, while other measures in that staff will display Normal Notation in Layer 1 and 2 (with rests and stems), right?


2) As Far As I Know, it is not possible to create a staff style with the properties you describe.
However, the desired layout is indeed possible, via a workaround.

Take a look at the attached Finale 2014 document.
StaffLayers.musx.zip
(12.86 KiB) Downloaded 272 times
Advice is only as good as knowledge of the project.
The better we understand, the better we can help.

Why do you need Layer 2 to, in some measures have stemless notes and hidden rests?
What is the problem you are trying to solve?


3) Another idea:
You could also ask your question in the Mac forum on MakeMusic’s own web site.
Some of the users there are very experienced.
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

saxnoviolins
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:37 pm
Finale Version: 2014
Operating System: Mac

Post by saxnoviolins » Fri Jan 29, 2016 8:17 pm

Thank you for the reply Peter. Let me give a longer explanation of what I'm doing.

I've inherited a large collection of folk melodies from Bulgaria and Makedonia on poor and fading photocopies, which I'm digitizing. As they are modal melodies with no harmony, the concept of a tonic is never explicit in a key signature (usually there isn't one), nor in the character of the melody itself. The tonic is indicated at the start, or wherever it may change, with a stemless note below the melody. You could think of it as something like notating a bagpipe drone.

My workaround so far is thus: Layer 1 is the melody, created in normal fashion. Layer 2 is a quarter note entered at the start of the piece with the stem "erased" by dragging the stem length to nothing. Then I remove the unwanted rests via "edit staff attributes" by unchecking the box. This works in the example I've attached, but if there are rests in the Layer 1 melody they will disappear too.
06.musx.zip
(78.15 KiB) Downloaded 155 times
Your example would suit the purpose, but I don't see how you achieved it.

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Peter Thomsen
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Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:47 pm
Finale Version: Finale v27.4
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Post by Peter Thomsen » Fri Jan 29, 2016 10:01 pm

Basically I did the same as you did - with two little exceptions:

1) To hide the stem I used the Custom Stem Tool, and replaced the stem with an empty shape.

2) To hide the rests I used the “standard” way of hiding a rest.
Both the Speedy Entry Tool and the Simple Entry Tool can hide a rest.
Look in the menus (there is even a keyboard shortcut displayed next to the menu item, namely
the letter H key):

Speedy menu > Speedy Edit Commands > Show/Hide Entry

Simple menu > Simple Edit Commands > Modify Entry > Show/Hide


Come to think of it:

Since there probably are many tunes with the same tonic, it might be faster to use a custom
shape expression.
See the attached example.
The expression will not play back - is playback important?

To get another tonic, duplicate the expression, and edit the duplicate.
Attachments
06Expression.musx.zip
(77.77 KiB) Downloaded 149 times
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

saxnoviolins
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:37 pm
Finale Version: 2014
Operating System: Mac

Post by saxnoviolins » Sat Jan 30, 2016 5:10 pm

A much more elegant solution and it works perfectly. Thank you.

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