Re: Re: multi measure rests

[Evan Driscoll]

On 05/03/2013 03:11 PM, Wim van Dommelen wrote:
> I remember and use it this way:
> 
> R <length> <times> <so many>
> 
> so: R1*3 is three times the length of one whole note. Always calculate
> the total length you need and that it gets there.

FWIW, the general form of what I do is

  R1*<time signature>*<number of measures>

So instead of typing "R2.*3" for a three-measure rest in 3/4 time, I
would spell that as "R1*3/4*3". Instead of a full measure of rest in
12/8 being written as "R1.", I would write it as "R1*12/8".

I'll leave out the *<time signature> part for 4/4 time, but everything
else gets written out even if there is a more succinct way of expressing
it. I'll usually leave out the *<number of measures> bit if there's only
one. But the point is I always start with "R1" and then scale as necessary.

BTW, I make no claim that this is particularly good practice or that
you'll like it; I'm not an experienced Lilypond user by any means. (I
got into this habit as I'm very very slowly working on typesetting the
parts to Mars, which of course is in 5/4 time. I'm not sure if there
even is another way to mark a full-measure of rest in 5/4 time without
using a scaling.) I just bring it up to show my own view and also to
point out that you can use * to scale the length of a measure in
addition to specifying multiple measures. (Really they're both doing the
same thing, but I think of them as being for different reasons.)

Evan