CompuServe Thread

Free rhythmed?

2 messages in this thread
#23048From: Carl ColeNov 2, 1992 12:33 PM
Is there any EASY way to use Deluxe Music Constructor to set up free rhythmed Gregorian Chant melodies? Being musically illiterate I find that I wind up with unwanted pauses due to unused time left over in measures. If I try to use wild time signatures, e.g. 35/1 and 16th notes, the notes wind up jumbled all over each other in the beginning of the measure. I have long "parroted" the characteristics of Gregorian; unisonous, diatonic, and free-rhythmed" but didn't fully appreciate the last until DMC started rubbing my nose in it. HELP! – via Whap!
#23060From: David ArtNov 3, 1992 12:22 AM
Carl, DMCS can be frustrating at times. You've got the right idea about how to eliminate the dead time – change the time signature. The thing to remember is that when you change a DMCS time signature, the time signature is changed from the measure that you change until another time signature of a different value, or the end of the piece, is encountered. DMCS will also combine a time signature changes of the same value when a change is made. For example, if the following sequence of time signatures occurs: 3/4 4/4 5/4 4/4 meas a … meas b … meas c … meas d changing the time signature in meas c to 4/4 would result in the following time signature changes remaining in the score: 3/4 4/4 meas a … meas b … meas c … meas d Your problem with using 35/1 and the 16th notes is a display problem. The notes should play OK, but trying to display 560 notes in the space of one measure is going to result in just what you're seeing. You might want to experiment along those lines to come up with combination that displays well for you, and still does the job in playing the chant. Remember that you can always speed up the tempo and use quarter notes, rather than using 16th notes. Typically in DMCS, one ends up using tie's a lot to make timing work properly. Hope this helps, 8) David