Spoken word/rap notation

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tenortwo
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Post by tenortwo » Sat Jan 19, 2019 2:38 am

I am having trouble figuring out how to notate spoken words/rap with the "x" notation, rather than a regular note head. And I want it on an already existing solo line, not a new staff.
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Nick Mazuk
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Post by Nick Mazuk » Sat Jan 19, 2019 3:50 am

There's multiple ways you can do this. One of my favorites for X notes (or even simply rhythm notation) is using staff styles. There's even one for X noteheads and if you change the rhythm the noteheads will stay as Xs.

You can also try the JW Change plug-in if you have a huge chunk of music that you're not going to edit.
Nick

tenortwo
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Post by tenortwo » Sat Jan 19, 2019 3:12 pm

Thank you, Nick. Regarding your first suggestion, I don't want to change the entire staff, just one section. Is it possible to have a staff style for select measures?

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miker
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Post by miker » Sat Jan 19, 2019 3:24 pm

Yes. Just select the area where you want to apply it.
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tenortwo
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Post by tenortwo » Sat Jan 19, 2019 3:57 pm

So I selected the region (did it two different ways - simply clicking on the region and expanding with additional measures using the shift key, and also by using Edit/Select Region) and then went into Tools/Staff and then Staff/Define Staff Styles. I selected X-noteheads in available styles and clicked OK. When I then enter "notes" in those measures, it still put them in as regular noteheads with pitches, rather than as x-noteheads. What am I missing here?

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miker
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Post by miker » Sat Jan 19, 2019 5:00 pm

Put in the notes first. Then apply the staff style.
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zuill
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Post by zuill » Sat Jan 19, 2019 5:05 pm

With the x noteheads Staff Style, it is not necessary to enter the notes first. Just apply the style, then enter the notes. It can be done either way.

Zuill
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tenortwo
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Post by tenortwo » Tue Jan 22, 2019 1:13 pm

Unfortunately, neither of these are working. I'm at a loss to understand why they aren't.

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N Grossingink
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Post by N Grossingink » Tue Jan 22, 2019 1:42 pm

You might want to attach a Finale file for examination. Just 1 measure will do.

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motet
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Post by motet » Tue Jan 22, 2019 5:02 pm

tenortwo wrote:So I selected the region (did it two different ways - simply clicking on the region and expanding with additional measures using the shift key, and also by using Edit/Select Region) and then went into Tools/Staff and then Staff/Define Staff Styles. I selected X-noteheads in available styles and clicked OK. When I then enter "notes" in those measures, it still put them in as regular noteheads with pitches, rather than as x-noteheads. What am I missing here?
Rather than "Define Staff Styles" (which one uses to create a new one and which must then be applied afterwards) right click on the selected region and pick X-Noteheads from the list of already-defined styles.

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michelp
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Post by michelp » Tue Jan 22, 2019 5:10 pm

Finale, as usual, offers several solutions. Another one can be found in the Utilities menu -> Change -> Noteheads. Select the region first and apply your selected notehead.
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motet
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Post by motet » Tue Jan 22, 2019 5:28 pm

The staff style seems best, since things can be further edited once applied.

tenortwo
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Post by tenortwo » Tue Jan 22, 2019 6:52 pm

Thanks for your help, everyone. Right click and apply staff style worked great.

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