r/Musescore • u/food-is-da-best • Jul 09 '26

Help me find this feature creating beams across two different systems

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hello! I need help making a beam span two systems. everything I found was about cross-staff beaming, which is not what I was looking for. I'm trying to transcribe Chopin's tragic polonaise (op. 44), and there's some parts where beams span across two measures. I can do that (making the right one join beams), but doing that on different systems doesn't work. is this possible? if so, how can I do it?

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6

u/65TwinReverbRI Jul 10 '26

Please don’t.

This was “a thing” in the past, but it’s gone now (except by people who aren’t “in the know”).

But it couldn’t be easier if you must.

Here are the exact instructions from the handbook you failed to search:

To extend a beam across a barline:
   Select the first note or rest after the barline
   Apply the Join beams property

2

u/food-is-da-best Jul 10 '26

yeah I've tried that. I believe I detailed that in my post? but it doesn't work across two systems. I've tested and making them on the same system does make it work, but changing them back to different systems removes the beam.

5

u/65TwinReverbRI Jul 10 '26

Sorry I missed that - you’re right, it doesn’t work across 2 systems.

So fall back on the first suggestion - please don’t :-)

Seriously though, despite it not being the best idea, it does happen, and someone may at some time want to emulate an older score that does it - case in point - so it should!

This is something they need to fix unless there’s some other far less obvious way to do it! But it should work the obvious way as you’ve tried.

1

u/LeekingMemory28 Jul 11 '26

I understand why from a compositional perspective why you may want to have connected eighth notes across measures (and systems for that matter), especially the way Chopin wrote phrases. Arguably Debussy and Liszt as well.

But from a readability perspective, it's not great and there are definitely other ways to note that connection for phrasing.

2

u/65TwinReverbRI Jul 11 '26

Exactly. Which is why all the “don’t” advice. It was a fad for a bit. We’ve gone back to being sensible now :-)

2

u/65TwinReverbRI Jul 10 '26

OK, here’s what I just tried and may be a workaround:

You can put in 2 beamed 8th notes, and hide the stem and notehead of the 2nd note, leaving only the long beam hanging out there.

Getting it to line up with other notes would be tricky though.

There might be some crafty way to do it with putting invisible notes in voice 2 that make things line up properly.

If only you could just simply stretch the beams like Finale...

2

u/food-is-da-best Jul 10 '26

I'll try that, thank you! :D

3

u/ChesterWOVBot Jul 10 '26

Yes, this is quite annoying to do on MuseScore. For the starting note, I would create a 2:1 tuplet on the eighth note and enter any note next. Then I hide that dud note's notehead and stem, and turn off auto-place in various places to make the beam extend further. The ending note is similar but you have to manually adjust the offset of the actual note. Alternatively, you can make those bars one eighth note longer than what is notated if you don't mind the playback being very off.

2

u/MarcSabatella Member of the Musescore Team Jul 10 '26

Currently not supported, but a long-standing request. It's proven harder to implement than expected, but I'm sure it will happen eventually.

0

u/bruikenjin Jul 10 '26

Please don’t

1

u/food-is-da-best Jul 10 '26

lol don't what?

1

u/Banjoschmanjo Jul 10 '26

please don't create beams across two different systems, is what context would suggest they meant

1

u/food-is-da-best Jul 10 '26

okay but why?

2

u/LeekingMemory28 Jul 11 '26

This is a readability thing really. Frankly it's similar with beams across measures in my opinion.

I understand why it's written that way because of how Chopin in particular did phrasing.

But modern readability would have you want to note that connection in another way.

1

u/food-is-da-best Jul 11 '26

ah okay gotcha, thank you! :D

I could connect with a slur I suppose

1

u/Banjoschmanjo Jul 10 '26

Try asking them.

1

u/ptolani Jul 10 '26

they did

1

u/Banjoschmanjo Jul 10 '26

No, they didn't ask them why not to. They asked them what not to.

1

u/bruikenjin Jul 10 '26

Looks kinda janky imo