Re: Switching to drummode and back

[Aaron Hill]

On 2018-06-19 12:55, foxfanfare wrote:
> This is a saxophone part, and I wanted him to play the rhythm of the 
> first 3
> measures (probably with sticks). I thought it was best to have this 
> part
> only on one line since it isn't written for multiple pitched drums.

As an aside, I really hope you subtitle this part "sax'n'stix".  :)

Multi-line staves are not just for pitched percussion.  The standard 
trap set is written to five lines, for instance.  Of course, if you have 
only one instrument, a single line is certainly sufficient.

I have never encountered a mixture of staff types as in your example; 
but that said, I probably wouldn't be that confused by it.  It certainly 
does help make the part stand out, but I would argue the "cross" note 
head alone would be enough.  So, I would probably stick with the 
five-line normal staff and just annotate the percussion notes suitably 
anytime they appear.

Another thing to consider: Is this stick part a recurring thing in the 
song or just part of the introduction?  If the latter, you might 
consider typesetting the parts independently of each other.  Have the 
first system on the page be a simple RhythmicStaff (or DrumStaff), and 
then break for a normal melodic Staff for the rest of the song.  You'll 
need to correct the measure numbering, but otherwise it might be a 
cleaner way to do it from the perspective of the .ly file.

> This solution works but it is the first time I write for percussions 
> and I
> don't know if it is the "good" way to achieve this. As the RythmicStaff 
> was
> allready meant to use only one line, I wondered if it wasn't more
> appropriate?

As in English grammar, I ascribe to a descriptivist approach where there 
is rarely a definitive, singular "right" way to communicate.  That is, 
as long as your notation is able to relay your ideas clearly enough for 
musicians to follow and produce a desirable outcome, it is by all means 
sufficiently correct.  On the other hand, if your notation ever confuses 
people or becomes an obstacle, then it needs improvement.

At the end of the day, you could always take what you have (or an early 
preview) and see if your instrumentalist likes it or not.  Unless you 
are preparing something for a wide and unknown audience, you probably 
have more latitude than you realize.

-- Aaron Hill