# Guitar arpeggios in Sibelius



## Patrick de Caumette (Dec 19, 2007)

Hello my Sibelius friends,

I would like to notate the sustained notes of a guitar arpeggio, where the bass note may change while the higher voices are trigerred but sustain over time.
Can this be done without going into multiple voices mode?

Thanks!


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## Daryl (Dec 19, 2007)

Patrick de Caumette @ Wed Dec 19 said:


> Hello my Sibelius friends,
> 
> I would like to notate the sustained notes of a guitar arpeggio, where the bass note may change while the higher voices are trigerred but sustain over time.
> Can this be done without going into multiple voices mode?
> ...


Are you talking about notation or playback? Also what version of Sibelius?

D


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## Patrick de Caumette (Dec 19, 2007)

Notation. I have both Sibelius 4 or 5...

Thanks!


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## DVincent (Dec 19, 2007)

You could place some text at the beginning of the passage like, "Hold all notes as long as possible." That would be the quick and easy way to avoid using multiple voices. Use "normal" to cancel the instruction.

The problem with not notating the passage exactly how you want it played is that it may not get played exactly how you intended. Some guitarists have contortionist-like fingers and may be able to hold notes longer while others may be lazy and cheat the music.

Derek


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## sbkp (Dec 19, 2007)

I'm no notation expert, but I think I've seen that written as ties with no destination (a note tied to the void, one might say).


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## Patrick de Caumette (Dec 19, 2007)

DVincent @ Wed Dec 19 said:


> You could place some text at the beginning of the passage like, "Hold all notes as long as possible." That would be the quick and easy way to avoid using multiple voices. Use "normal" to cancel the instruction.
> The problem with not notating the passage exactly how you want it played is that it may not get played exactly how you intended. Some guitarists have contortionist-like fingers and may be able to hold notes longer while others may be lazy and cheat the music.
> Derek



"hold notes as long as possible" is a solution but will not be played by the notation program as intended, while a tie with no destination may sustain for longer than intended in the notation program but should be òX   jdëX   jdìX   jdíX   jdîX   jdïX   jdðX   jdñX   jdòX   jdóX


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## Daryl (Dec 20, 2007)

Patrick de Caumette @ Thu Dec 20 said:


> DVincent @ Wed Dec 19 said:
> 
> 
> > You could place some text at the beginning of the passage like, "Hold all notes as long as possible." That would be the quick and easy way to avoid using multiple voices. Use "normal" to cancel the instruction.
> ...


Ah, I see you got some answers whilst I was sleeping....! I would suggest a l.v. sign rather than a tie, as this looks neater. Unfortunately it will have to be placed very carefully, as being a symbol it can wander a tad with formatting.

Personally I always use another voice and make the first note a unison, unless it looks too much of a mess.

If you want playback to work as well, then voices is the way to go. You could also use pedal markings instead and then hide them.

D


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## Patrick de Caumette (Dec 20, 2007)

Thanks for the answer Daryl.
Hiding the pedal is a good idea...

What does l.v. stand for?


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## DVincent (Dec 20, 2007)

l.v. indicates _laissez vibrer_, or "let vibrate" as we say in English. This is a common marking in percussion and harp music, but can be used for any instrument producing a non-sustaining sound. If you use l.v. then maybe "l.v. throughout" or "l.v. ---------|" would be more precise as l.v. is usually understood as self canceling and doesn't carry over to the next note/chord.


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## Patrick de Caumette (Dec 20, 2007)

Laisser vibrer?
I should have figured that one out :roll: 

Thanks fellows!


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