# Four notes tuplets in Sibelius 4



## Patrick de Caumette (Sep 22, 2007)

Hi guys,

I must be doing something wrong but I can't get a 4 quarter notes tuplet in Sibelius 4 (ie: in a 3/4 piece).
The only way I'm gonna get it to play what I want is to select 8th notes and then Control-4 (PC) It will display a 4 eight-notes tuplet and play the right rhythm but I'd like it to display the correct 4 quarter-notes tuplet instead... 

Any idea why?

Thanks!


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## Scott Rogers (Sep 22, 2007)

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## Patrick de Caumette (Sep 22, 2007)

Hey Scott, thanks for the tip my friend!
I've been looking for the answer to that issue for a while.

I still feel it's a Sibelius bug, since choosing a quarter note duration in 3/4 and hitting Control-4 should produce the tuplet....

Be well o-[][]-o


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## Patrick de Caumette (Sep 22, 2007)

Hey Scott, I just tried it and it works, thanks (I had no doubts about that)

Only problem: the number above the bracket reads 4:3 instead of 4, which will be very confusing to my musicians... :?


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## Scott Rogers (Sep 22, 2007)

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## Patrick de Caumette (Sep 22, 2007)

You're right as usual :wink: 

Thanks a million...


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## Daryl (Sep 23, 2007)

If memory serves, the reason it doesn't work the way you want it to is because quadruplets (is that a word?) are normally used in Compound time. This is where the problem lies, because in Simple tine when you use a triplet 1/8 (for example) you are playing 3 1/8 notes in the space of 2, but in Compound time when you write 1/8 notes quadruplets, you are (usually, although there are exceptions) writing 4 1/8 notes in the space of 6. In fact Compound time is a whole can of worms. so I won't go into all that, but hopefully this will explain why it is not as simple to do this automatically as you would like.

D


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## Thonex (Sep 23, 2007)

Patrick de Caumette @ Sun Sep 23 said:


> I too enjoy doing it but I can only do 4 on the left hand and 3 on the right.
> So much for hand independence... :|



:lol: :lol: I'm the exactly the opposite... 4 in the right and 3 in the left. No matter how hard I try... I revert to that... it makes me feel like an idiot. :lol: 

T


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## Scott Rogers (Sep 23, 2007)

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## Scott Rogers (Sep 23, 2007)

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## Thonex (Sep 23, 2007)

Scott Rogers @ Sun Sep 23 said:


> Thonex @ Sun Sep 23 said:
> 
> 
> > Patrick de Caumette @ Sun Sep 23 said:
> ...



I can do it... but subdividing everything to up/down strokes :lol: ... so it's basically playing air drums. If I hold a baton in one hand and point my finger with the other... and hold my arms high enough... and put on a serious face... it may pass as serious conducting. :lol: :lol: :lol: 

T


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## Patrick de Caumette (Sep 23, 2007)

Thanks for the clarification Daryl!

T. : :mrgreen: 

Scott: no issue there, I'm glad to hear about ways to look at things differently.
Your comment was totally relevant...


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## Daryl (Sep 23, 2007)

Scott Rogers @ Sun Sep 23 said:


> Thonex @ Sun Sep 23 said:
> 
> 
> > Patrick de Caumette @ Sun Sep 23 said:
> ...


Takes me back to conducting classes. I've never used most of that stuff, even though I earned my living as a conductor for 10 years!

Actually the nearest I got was conducting 3/4 and 4/4 at the same time in Prokoffief's Cinderella; one hand for the orchestra and one for the off-stage band. The percussionists found it so amusing that they used to juggle their sticks to try to put me off. :shock: 

D


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## Synesthesia (Sep 24, 2007)

Daryl,

Would you say that even though the two notational examples above are technically the same, that players might typically play them slightly differently?

I would see the compound version and probably try to play a smoother way (probably end up giving the last quadruplet slightly less time than the first three) whereas if I saw the 'precise' notation I would be aiming to make the notes sound precisely in time and it would possibly sound less 'smooth'?

Just a thought!

Cheers

Paul o-[][]-o


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## Daryl (Sep 24, 2007)

Paul, that's a very good point, and I tend to agree with you.

D


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## Scott Rogers (Sep 24, 2007)

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## Daryl (Sep 24, 2007)

Scott Rogers @ Mon Sep 24 said:


> Regarding this Sibelius problem Patrick brought up; it seems that since their algorithm (or whatever it is) is giving the wrong value in cases like this, they maybe should go through and just "hard wire" the correct solutions for those specific problematic instances - though I have no idea if that's possible from a software point of view.



In Sib 5 one of the best things to do is save it as an Idea. and then you can copy and paste it at will.

D


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