alternating between staves

[David_]

I have a series of notes in the upper staff of a piano piece, but they are to be played by alternating right and left hands. That is, the notes should alternate between the upper and lower staves, but the entire passage should have one beam. How would this be done? Thank you.

Macintosh, Finale 2000c

[Peter Thomsen]

In the Finale manual this is called cross staff notes. You create cross staff notes with the Note Mover Tool:

1. Enter all the notes in one staff. This staff is called the original staff.
2. Switch to Note Mover Tool.
3. Note Mover menu - Cross Staff
4. Click the original staff. Handles appear on the notes.
5. Select the handles on the notes you want to display in the other staff (hold down Shift to select more than one handle).
6. Drag the handles to the other staff.

Now the notes you dragged will DISPLAY in the other staff, although they actually "live" in the original staff. When you want to edit the notes, edit them in the original staff. You may want to show accidentals on some of the notes you dragged to the other staff.

If you want the beam to appear between the staves, continue with these steps:

7. Special Tools Tool. Click the Reverse Stem Tool, and click the original staff. Two handles appear at each note.
8. Click the appropriate handle on each note that displays in the original staff (not the notes that display in the other staff). The stem is moved to the other side of the notehead.
9. Click the Beam Angle Tool, and click the original staff. Handles appear at both ends of each beam.
10. Select the left handles (Shift-click).
11. Drag them in between the staves.

Peter

[David_]

Oops, sorry - I just read your solution and it is great. The notification didn't come to my email, however, so I thought it had not been responded to.

Now, the thing is, the lower staff had been empty except for a whole-rest. Now it contains the correct cross-staffing notes as per your solution. But, the whole-rest remains visible. How would I go about removing it, without destroying the nice cross-staffing? Thanks, Peter.

[Guest]

...Now, the thing is, the lower staff had been empty except for a whole-rest. Now it contains the correct cross-staffing notes as per your solution. But, the whole-rest remains visible. How would I go about removing it, without destroying the nice cross-staffing?...

If the whole rest is a real whole rest (but I suppose that it isn't in this case), you can simply hide it. In Speedy Entry you can hide a note or rest with the letter H key or the letter O key.

If the whole rest is a default whole rest (which I think it is in this case), you can hide it with a staff style. In the dialog box Staff Styles, uncheck the option "Display Rests In Empty Measures".

Peter

[musicus]

A question on getting a variation of this: your above suggestion successfully showed me how to get the alternating notes on both staves, however the beaming for the 16th notes is on the top. How do I get the beam to appear in between the staves? - and an example would be Debussy's "The snow is dancing", pages 1 & 2 (from "Children's Corner"). Thanks very much. Mac, Finale 2000c.

[chipzoller]

I have seen the piece you are talking about (The Snow is Dancing) and the technique for replicating that is as described in a previous post. The only thing you need to do to achieve the beam between staves is use the beam angle adjustment tool and drag the left (I believe) handle down to the position you wish. This is all in the manual by the way.

Regards,



Chip

[musicus]

Thank you for taking the time to check the Debussy piece. The reverse stem tool seems to be better; with the tool you recommended (beam angle tool), the stems disappear strangely when the notes are dragged in the opposite direction of the stems; when elongating, it works.

[chipzoller]

Make sure that you drag the correct SIDE of the beam angle tool. I can't remember off-hand which is which but I can tell you that each side does something different. One side adjusts the horizontal position with the locked beam and the other side adjusts the angle on a pivot point.

Regards,


Chip

[musicus]

Yes, I am aware of that. I believe it's the right side. Nevertheless, the tool (strangely) creates a space under the notehead when you try dragging the beam to the area between staves. It is successful, however, when you drag the beam upward above the notehead, above the top staff. Perhaps this was corrected after Finale 2000c, but that's the way mine works. Thanks again.

[chipzoller]

Ok, then you were probably describing something that was fixed in a later version. Sorry to insult your intelligence then


Regards,



Chip

[musicus]

No problem.