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MCarlson
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  		   Posted 11/5/2016 4:05 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
I just reformatted some songs of mine for voice and piano, reducing the staff height from .33" to .25", in order to get more systems per page. It had 3 per page, and now I am able to fit 4, but it just looks too crowded vertically. Horizontally, the spacing looks better to me.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what is kind of normal for songs for voice and piano?

I'm attaching one song I reduced the staff height of, but I haven't done any other editing--so I know there are bunch of things that need fixing.

I appreciate any feedback about the layout.

Thanks!

Mark

Mark Carlson
Finale 2014.5
OS 10.11.5
Mac Mini Late 2014



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John Ruggero
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  		   Posted 11/5/2016 4:42 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
The distance between the vocal staff and the piano top staff is OK, but the lyrics are too far from the vocal staff, and the type size is too small. The triplet markings should be above the vocal staff to allow room for the lyrics, and I think that it would be better to use a standard larger italic font for the triplet numerals. There is also some funny business going on with the triplet brackets and numerals.

Mac mini (OS 10.8.5) with dual monitors, Finale 2014d (Finale 2011 as a backup) with GPO 4
Kurzweil Mark 5 with M-Audio Midisport 2 x 2, Adobe InDesign CS4 SmartScore X Pro, JW Plug-ins
www.cantilenapress.com

The better the composer, the better the notation.

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MCarlson
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  		   Posted 11/5/2016 5:52 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Thanks, John!

So you are suggesting that if I fix those things, I'll have more vertical space and can keep it with 4 systems per page?

Mark

Mark Carlson
Finale 2014.5
OS 10.11.5
Mac Mini Late 2014

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John Ruggero
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  		   Posted 11/5/2016 6:12 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
It will help the legibility of your score but will also help you keep your present layout if that is desired. In my opinion, if you work hard at it, you might keep 4 systems to a page.

But you also need to reduce some of the space between the piano staves wherever possible as well as between the vocal line and the piano to gain more blank space between the systems. Right now pages 2-4 look too crowded because there is not enough space between the systems.

It looks a bit like you are trying to maintain a constant distances between the staves of each system. This is not really desirable in piano music. The distance between the two staves should adjust depending on the situation. The length of stems, the arc of slurs, the position of all markings should all be adjusted to reduce the space to a legible minimum in tight conditions such as you have here, and even otherwise. The same is true for piano-vocal scores.

Mac mini (OS 10.8.5) with dual monitors, Finale 2014d (Finale 2011 as a backup) with GPO 4
Kurzweil Mark 5 with M-Audio Midisport 2 x 2, Adobe InDesign CS4 SmartScore X Pro, JW Plug-ins
www.cantilenapress.com

The better the composer, the better the notation.

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MCarlson
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  		   Posted 11/5/2016 8:10 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Thanks, John.

Like I wrote in my original post, I have not YET done any editing after I reduced the staff height to .25". I am hoping to find out if there is some standard for how many systems are normal for voice-and-piano music. If it is normal for there to be only 3 systems, then fine--and much easier! But if it is normal to have 4, then I will make sure to make all of the adjustments you are suggesting.

Mark

Mark Carlson
Finale 2014.5
OS 10.11.5
Mac Mini Late 2014

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John Ruggero
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  		   Posted 11/5/2016 9:34 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
It is more common to see 4 systems per page in piano-vocal music to avoid excessive page turns. But given the elaborate nature of the piano accompaniment, 3 staves per page would be quite understandable. Of course that would work against a pianist placing four consecutive pages (accordion-style) on the music rack to avoid turns, which are difficult to find in your piece because of the active accompaniment.

Mac mini (OS 10.8.5) with dual monitors, Finale 2014d (Finale 2011 as a backup) with GPO 4
Kurzweil Mark 5 with M-Audio Midisport 2 x 2, Adobe InDesign CS4 SmartScore X Pro, JW Plug-ins
www.cantilenapress.com

The better the composer, the better the notation.

Post Edited (John Ruggero) : 11/6/2016 6:51:36 AM (GMT-6)

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MCarlson
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  		   Posted 11/6/2016 12:23 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Thank you, John! I'll have to figure that out, but in the meantime, I will make the changes you suggest.

Mark

Mark Carlson
Finale 2014.5
OS 10.11.5
Mac Mini Late 2014

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John Ruggero
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Email Address Not AvailablePersonal Homepage Not AvailableSend a Private Message to John RuggeroAIM Not AvailableICQ Not AvailableY! Not AvailableMSN Not Available
Date Joined Mar 2000
Total Posts : 820
  		   Posted 11/6/2016 12:50 PM (GMT -6)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
You are most welcome, MCarlson. Glad to help.

Mac mini (OS 10.8.5) with dual monitors, Finale 2014d (Finale 2011 as a backup) with GPO 4
Kurzweil Mark 5 with M-Audio Midisport 2 x 2, Adobe InDesign CS4 SmartScore X Pro, JW Plug-ins
www.cantilenapress.com

The better the composer, the better the notation.

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