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Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 6:27 am
by dacronboy8
I have this weird issue trying to add tremolos to eighth-notes that are cross-staff, Finale seems to add that weird little twig poking out above the beam. Any ideas on how to fix this or work around it?
Thanks! :)

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 7:33 am
by Peter Thomsen
You have found one of Finale’s rare shortcomings.

You can mask the stem with a page attached text block that has a background shape filled with White.
The text block must contain at least one font character - use e. g. a space character.
In the attached graphic below you can see the result (it was done in Finale).

Alternate solution:
Export the score to PDF, and then shorten the stem in Inkscape or a similar program.

For what it is worth:
I think that your example is a little wrong.
The tremolo beams should go below the beam that connects to both stems.

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 4:54 pm
by motet
Peter Thomsen wrote:The text block must contain at least one font character - use e. g. a space character.
Perhaps that explains why, when I experimented with this last night (though with an expression, not a text block) I got bizarre results trying to make the enclosure the right size and shape with no character.

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 4:57 pm
by Peter Thomsen
motet wrote:… I experimented with this last night (though with an expression, not a text block) …
I could be wrong here, but I seem to recall that you can only mask the stem with a page attached text block.
Not with a measure/staff attached text block, and not with an expression.

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 5:38 pm
by motet
You're probably right. Perhaps related to the order in which Finale draws things?

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 5:52 pm
by zuill
I was able to mask the stem with a measure attached text block and a shape expression. Maybe I did something wrong. I'm using v25 on a Windows machine. Possibly v26 on a Mac behaves differently.

Zuill

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 6:04 pm
by Peter Thomsen
No, Zuill, you are right.

I, too, can mask the stem with a measure attached text block, and also with a shape expression.

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 6:09 pm
by motet
The tremolo plug-in works by making a tuplet, in this case two 32nd notes in the space of an eighth, then shortening some or all of the beams, so I don't see any solution to this except the masking solution. Time for Finale to grow up implement tremolo notation rather than using this clever by kludgy trick?

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 7:49 pm
by Peter Thomsen
Actually the issue here is connected to cross-staff notation rather than to tremolo notation.
You also encounter this “pesky stem” shortcoming in other types of cross-staff notation, such as e. g. feathered cross-staff beaming.

It Would Be Nice If this cross-staff “pesky stem” shortcoming were fixed in the next Finale version.

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:21 pm
by motet
It is due to cross-staff, but the way tremolos are implemented is funky and related to the problem. I don't use feathered beams, but I can imagine, since beam and stem are joined at the hip.

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 12:12 pm
by Jay Emmes
Peter Thomsen wrote:It Would Be Nice If this cross-staff “pesky stem” shortcoming were fixed in the next Finale version.
Shouldn't known shortcomings and bugs be fixed in an update to the same version, rather than in (a paid for) next upgrade?

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:10 pm
by miker
But then, they wouldn't make any money.

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:58 pm
by Jay Emmes
Why would they not make any money?
Fixing bugs in existing versions doesn't exclude new versions with extra features. I do believe though that satisfied customers will generate more money, short term and certainly in the long run, than customers who will at one point turn to the product from another company because they are fed up with the one that doesn't deliver proper maintenance.

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 5:30 pm
by miker
Most people, myself included, don’t like the idea of paying more to fix long-standing bugs. If they offer truly new features, that’s worth paying for. But bug fixes? Not so much.

Re: Eighth-Note Tremolo Problem

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2019 3:58 pm
by Jay Emmes
Exactly. Yet, to get at least some bugs fixed, MakeMusic forces us to buy the next upgrade. And the next one and the one after that and so forth and so on, and still leave us stuck with a vast number of old bugs.