reference.book Page 160 Monday, August 31, 2009 2:47 PM
2. Notations
2.24 Multirests 2.5 Bars and bar rests, 3.5 Bar numbers, 7.1 Working with parts, 8.4 Auto Breaks.
A multirest is an abbreviation for several consecutive bar rests, with the number of bars written above. Multirests are normally only found in instrumental parts, though they do very occasionally appear in full scores (e.g. Sibelius’s Tapiola, bars 28–29).
Using multirests Multirests are really just a display option in Sibelius – you can view empty bars either as individual bar rests or consolidated into multirests. To display bar rests as multirests, choose Layout Auto Breaks and switch on Use multirests. Sibelius does this automatically for you in parts. There is also a special shortcut for switching Use multirests on and off – Ctrl+Shift+M or M. Sibelius automatically splits multirests at time signatures, rehearsal marks, key changes, clef changes, tempo marks and so on. If you need to split a multirest manually, see Forcing a multirest to split below.
Creating a multirest Creating a multirest is the same as creating lots of single bar rests: choose Create Bar Other; type in the Number of bars you want, click OK, then click where you want to put the multirest. Alternatively, you can just copy an existing multirest selecting it as a system passage using Ctrl+click or -click, then using Alt+click or -click.
Inputting into a multirest Multirests work just like normal bar rests – you can input notes into them, or copy music into them. As you input notes into a multirest, Sibelius will strip bars off it to put the notes into, and reduce the length of the multirest accordingly.
Changing the length of a multirest To adjust the number of bars in a multirest, switch off Use Multirests in Layout Auto Breaks to turn it back into separate bar rests, then add or delete bars. Finally, switch on Use Multirests in Layout Auto Breaks again.
Forcing a multirest to split Sibelius can automatically split multirests for you – see Auto layout of multirests below. If you need to force a multirest to split: Switch off Use Multirests in Layout Auto Breaks Select a barline and choose Layout Break Split Multirest; a small multirest symbol cut in half will appear on the screen above the barline if View Layout Marks is on Switch on Use Multirests again, and the multirest will now split at the chosen barline.
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