Re: giant time signatures for orchestral scores

[Tiresia GIUNO]

On Sat, 1 Sep 2012 02:23:55 -0700
Curt <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> I'm working with a film score that needs giant time signatures.  I
> saw this snippet (http://lsr.dsi.unimi.it/LSR/Item?id=272) but the
> convention I see more often is giant (tall, skinny) time signatures
> that span multiple staves (vertically).  Film scores are often
> sight-read even as their meters change all the time, so the
> conductors prefer the meters to be obvious, and not on their own
> line.  I'm pasting one visual example but I've seen them much
> taller/skinnier, even spanning most staves in an orchestral score.
> 
> I made some progress by removing Time_signature_engraver from all the
> staves in my orchestral score, and adding something to the woodwind
> group and the string group, like so:
> 
>       \new StaffGroup = "StaffGroup_woodwinds" \with {
>               \consists Time_signature_engraver
>               \time 3/4
>               \override TimeSignature #'font-size = #16
>               \override TimeSignature #'extra-offset = #'(0 .
> -20) }
>       <<
>               \new Staff = "Staff_flute1" \with { \remove
> Time_signature_engraver } { ...
> 
> The resultant score looks like the pasted image... but I'm wondering
> if anyone has already figured out a better way, or ways to make them
> taller/skinnier and aligned more automatically?
> 

I had a similar problem in score of mine for orchestra some time ago.
While the solution you are looking for comes from beginning of the last
century (Schönberg, Berg, Webern by Universal Edition), I find much
better the solution of the snippet (making number bigger). This way you
can spare horizontal space and numbers result to me more readable
(because they are not printed on staff). And conductors are used to
overwrite them anyway... 

On the other side, I'm not sure you can get taller/skinnier numbers in
LP, I mean you should change fonts. Or you could leave some free space
and add them with another (graphical) software. Other people can help
you better than me...