Finale Forum

Hi:

How do I display a whole not in a 7/8 bar? It is awkward to write a double-dotted half note. Finale displays a whole rest after all...

-Matt

Finale allows you to overfill a bar if needed. However, you're using SongWriter, so I can't say for that.

Zuill

Yep, using top level version of Finale, but it won't allow a whole note (8/8) in a 7/8 bar.

Well, your profile shows SongWriter. You might want to update that, as we try to give advice based on the Finale software being used.

Whether you are using Speedy or Simple, both means of input have a setting to check for extra notes (too many for the bar). Unchecking that allows you to put more value into the measure than would normally be allowed.

Zuill

Or, set the whole note as a septuplet, and hide the bracket and number.

You can also use the "Change to Real Whole Rests" plug-in without having to turn off "Check for extra notes."

Are we talking about a whole note or a whole rest?

Zuill

Oops. Nevah mind! I guess I've never seen a whole note that isn't 4 quarters.

Thanks! It's standard procedure in copywork for odd-timed bars to have whole notes to fill the bar, even if it's not a 4/4 bar. This just makes it easier for the writer and for the poor schlub trying to read through the score.

It would confuse me. Sorry if that seems contradictory. What kind of copywork uses that paradigm?

Zuill

zuill wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 04, 2019 4:09 pm

It would confuse me. Sorry if that seems contradictory. What kind of copywork uses that paradigm? …

I dunno.
But I suppose that it might work in a (busy) keyboard score.

I still think it is a shortcut that I'm uncomfortable with.

Zuill

I would be looking at that and asking myself where that extra 1/8th note beat goes. I know the intention, but it doesn't add up correctly. It's one thing to use a whole rest. I guess it's permissible to use whole notes in 3/4 as well? Get rid of those tiresome pesky dots! It's too much work! [Sarcasm]

A better keyboard shortcut might be a dotted half note without a following eighth rest, especially since many keyboard players might shorten the note a little anyway. And it will fit in the measure.

I'd personally stay away from writing a whole note in 7/8 measures.

As someone who sight-reads a lot, I rarely look at the time signature. I usually defer to the note values because the time signature is redundant at that point. Especially if the time signature changes often, the extra information becomes a distraction.

I guarantee you I would play it as a 4/4 bar. May just be me, but I've never seen a whole note in a 7/8 measure.