IWBNI there were an option to specify that the width of multimeasure rests should depend on the number of measures of rest that are represented by a multimeasure rest. As it is now, all multimeasure rests have the same width by default. The width of any measure may be changed manually.

This feature would allow one to specify that long multimeasure rests (e.g. 8 bars) should be wider than short multimeasure rests (e.g. 2 bars).

This could be implemented by adding a button called Multimeasure Rests to the Music Spacing Options dialog box. This button would display a new dialog box called Music Spacing Options for Multimeasure Rests that could contain the following controls:

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Music Spacing Options for Multimeasure Rests Dialog Box

( ) Fixed Width: _____
 

( ) Use Multimeasure Rest Allotment Table

    [Multimeasure Rest Allotments]
    [ ] Use Default Allotment if Number of Measures is Not In Table
 

( ) Use These Values:

    Width of Multimeasure Rest With 2 Measures:
    _____ Times Minimum Width of One Whole Measure Rest with the Same Time Signature
    (Default Value: 2)

    Scaling Factor: _____ (Default Value: 1.2720)

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The controls in this dialog box would be similar to those in the Allotments section of the existing Music Spacing Options dialog box. The Fixed Width option could be used to specify that all multimeasure-rest measures should be of the same width. A Scaling Factor of 1 could be used to obtain spacing as in the current version of Finale.

The Multimeasure Rest Allotments button on the Music Spacing Options for Multimeasure Rests dialog box would display a new dialog box called Multimeasure Rest Allotment that could contain the following controls:

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Multimeasure Rest Allotment Dialog Box

Number of Measures: _____
Allotment: _____

[Insert] [Prev]
[Delete] [Next]
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The controls in this dialog box would be similar to those in the existing Duration Allotment dialog box.

The allotments would be used to control the width of multimeasure-rest measures for which a shape rather than a symbol is used. Generally, the shape used for this purpose would be a horizontal bar with a vertical line at each end.

The allotment specified for a given number of measures M, would be the minimum width of a measure that contains a multimeasure rest that represents M rest measures in the case when there are no clefs, time signatures or other items within the measure other than the multimeasure rest shape.

The allotment table for multimeasure rests could contain up to 64 items. Each item would specify the allotment for a given number of measures. The default width would be assigned using the item for 0 measures.

Alternatively, one could select Use These Values to have allocations automatically calculated for every possible number of measures. To do this, the edit control Width of Multimeasure Rest With 2 Measures would be used to specify the allocation for multimeasure rests that represent 2 measures of rest. This would be specified as a multiple of the minimum width of a whole measure rest of the same time signature as the multimeasure rest (in the case when there are no clefs, time signatures or other items within the whole measure rest).

For a given number of measures M, the Scaling Factor would be used to compute the allocation A_M for an M-measuremultimeasure rest by using the following formula:

A_M =  ( S ^{( ( ln ( M / 2 ) ) / ( ln ( 2 ) ) )} ) A₂

where:

ln(x) is the natural logarithm or x,

S is the scaling factor (i.e. the Scaling Factor on the Music Spacing Options for Multimeasure Rests dialog box), and

A₂ is the allocation for a 2-measure multimeasure rest (i.e. the Width of Multimeasure Rest With 2 Measures on the Music Spacing Options for Multimeasure Rests dialog box).

This formula is similar to that which is now used to compute allocations for notes and rests from the Reference Duration, Reference Width, and Scaling Factor on the Music Spacing Options dialog box.

For example, to make the ratio between the allocation for a 2-measure multimeasure rest and 8-measure multimeasure rest be equal to the Golden Ratio (.6179), the Scaling Factor could be set to 1.2720 which is the square root of 1.6179. This would produce the following allocations for multimeasure rests:
 
 

Number of Measures	Allocation for Multimeasure Rest
2	A2
3	1.1511A2
4	1.2720A2
5	1.3744A2
6	1.4643A2
7	1.5447A2
8	1.6179A2

The width of measures that contain an M-measure multimeasure rest would vary from system to system and, like all other measures, would depend on the width of other items on the system in which they are located. However, the ratio between the widths of 2 multimeasure rests of a different number of measures that occur in the same system would be the same on all systems where 2 such multimeasure rests occur. With the Scaling Factor of 1.2720, the relative widths of multimeasure rests that occur on the same system would be as shown in the following figure:

Created: March 3, 2000 (based on a submission from Chris Royal)
Last Updated: March 3, 2000
Version: Finale 2000b