Fermata at the end of the last bar of a multimeasure rest.

[motet]

I wonder how people handle this. The notation shown below is a common-enough one. The fermata is at the end of bar 4. But to get it to show in this part, for example, the fermata must actually be applied to bar 1; otherwise it won't be shown. So each part is potentially different, the fermata would need to be moved if notes were added, etc. Definitely not ideal. One could instead apply it to the left barline of the following measure, which would perhaps solve the problem, except that if a system break happens to occur there, then the fermata would be in the wrong place.

[Peter Thomsen]

An idea:

Insert an extra measure between the two multimeasure rests.
Give the extra measure a small time signature, e. g. 1/4.
Fill the measure with a real rest, and hide the real rest. (This step will prevent the extra measure from being included in a multimeasure rest)
Attach the fermata to this extra measure.
De-select “Include in Measure Numbering” (in the Measure Attributes).
Give the measure zero width (in the Measure Attributes).

[motet]

Too involved, I'm afraid, but fun to play with. In addition, one needs to hide time signatures in and after the new bar and use blank notation, of course. The barlines don't quite line up, for some reason (as can be seen twice below), so you'd need to hide the barline in the previous bar. And the added measure blows up whenever you respace (Finale could use a "don't respace this measure" attribute, I guess). If the system broke right before the fermata bar, that wouldn't be good, but maybe that wouldn't happen.

[N Grossingink]

I'm curious as to what's happening in the bar preceding the fermata, the 4th bar of the MM Rest. Do the instruments that are playing have a fermata within that bar? If so, then the 4th bar of the MM Rest should show as its own bar and be split up into rests so the fermata can be shown at its rightful position. Make sense?

N.

[motet]

The fermata is on the barline, not on a note or rest. It's like a caesura, a common-enough notation (see Gould, p. 188).

[motet]

I guess I've come to the conclusion that the best way in Finale is to put it on the left barline of the following bar (which has the advantage of being able to break a multimeasure rest) and then deal with the part situations specially where it happens to break the system before the fermata.

[Skjalg]

Peter's suggestion would be easily executed with a simple FinaleScript.

[ebiggs1]

I know I may break all the 'rules' in the book but I find it so much better and easier in rehearsal if I spell out exactly what I want fermatas do. This is a piece I am working on where some parts are playing and some are not.

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[motet]

That seems good and not rule-breaking, but is not germane, since a fermata on the barline is like a caesura (//) as I say. The same problem would apply to a caesura instead.