What page setup for a full orchestra?

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Djard
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Post by Djard » Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:18 am

I can squeeze 9 staff systems on page one and 10 on the following pages, by resizing the staves to a tolerable 75%. What do you do when writing for an entire orchestra, where you need more instruments per page?


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N Grossingink
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Post by N Grossingink » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:11 am

Djard wrote:I can squeeze 9 staff systems on page one and 10 on the following pages, by resizing the staves to a tolerable 75%.
I wouldn't resize the staves themselves. Rather, leave the staves at 100% and resize the page. I'd say a page size of 85-90% would do it for what you describe.

So far as an orchestra score, what size of an orchestra? A "Schubert Orchestra" is double woodwinds, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani and a few percussion, and strings. A "Mahler Orchestra" is possibly double the amount of staves of Schubert.

I'd suggest you use the Setup Wizard and create a score for the instrumentation you will require. Finale will size the score to fit the page, so you'll be able to judge the result. Don't forget that if you have 2 flutes, they can both appear on the same stave ("Flute 1, 2"). If you have 3 flutes, it's best to use 2 staves - Flute 1 and Flute 2, 3. Same with all of the other instrument families.

Be aware that since Finale's default page size is letter size, most orchestra scores will be teeny, tiny. You might have to go to a larger format, say at least 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 or 11 x 14.

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Djard
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Post by Djard » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:43 am

Ah yes, page size! I forgot all about that option. Thanks. Legal size will work for my current score.

Thank you

Anders Hedelin
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Post by Anders Hedelin » Sat Aug 18, 2018 3:24 pm

On the other hand a page resizing would resize the page numbers and occasional footers (product number fx) as well. Resizing the systems avoids that.
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Gareth Green
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Post by Gareth Green » Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:01 pm

Anders Hedelin wrote:On the other hand a page resizing would resize the page numbers and occasional footers (product number fx) as well.
Not if the page numbers etc. are set to fixed-size fonts, I don't think ...
Gareth J. Green
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Anders Hedelin
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Post by Anders Hedelin » Sat Aug 18, 2018 5:55 pm

You are right, of course...
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