Composer Capacity

[rrayner]

I've finally cracked the cover on my "Broadway 1960s Medley" from back in the old days. Before I get too far into entering it into Composer, I'd like to make certain that I'm not going to run into any size limitation.

Not every measure has something in it, but the score is 330 measures long and there are 19 staves. So that is almost 6300 measures in the entire score. Will I be able to enter it all into Composer as one score?

Ralph

[Sherry C]

Howdy Ralph,

You shouldn't have any problem with the score at this size, provided that your machine has enough memory. Working memory (the RAM) of your machine is the biggest issue.

A bit of expansion for those who are interested: There is a current "cutoff" of 500 measures when you're first setting up a score, so that a machine with low memory won't choke up front. However, for huge scores you can then add measures in increments of up to 1000 using Measure/Add(Insert) measures. It will ask you if you really want to add that many, and you can just click the "Yes" button.

Another memory issue can be in the "Undo" editing list. Composer will hold as many edit tasks in memory as it can. If you notice that things are starting to slow down (eg. you do something and it seems like it's taking longer than usual), try using the "Edit/Clear Undo History" command. This will free up memory, and make things faster again.

Have fun, and I'm looking forward to this!

ttfn,
Sherry

[mgj32]

Hi Ralph,
The Vl and Sax Concerto I'm (hopefully) just finishing is 338 measures long and there are 23 staves, and I think both my Violin Concerto (mvt I) and 1st Symphony (mvts 1 and 4) beat that considerably. So the capacity is there, and I'm looking forward to the "Broadway 1960s Medley."
I have never got the question of whether I want to add that many measures, but I usually add only enough to handle the next phrase or set of phrases--makes it easier to find my place if I am copy/pasting.

all best,
mgj

[rrayner]

Thanks, Sherry & Marv. My old scores are generally 6 measures per page, and as I've entered these other scores in Composer, I usually add 6 measures at a time. So, I didn't want to find out somewhere up in the 2 hundreds or so, that I had run out of capacity. So, Marv, knowing that you have scores that are larger than my current task is very comforting, and of course, Sherry, thank you for the confidence that this size is indeed practical in Composer.

The piece features Male Chorus with intermixed soloists. I haven't decided yet whether to use Ahhs or Ohhs, or some horn for the voices, like I used trombone for the Baritone solo in "White Christmas". I guess I'll make that decision when I'm playing it back through my Clavinova.

Ralph

[Sherry C]

Hi Ralph,

Having an instrument play each different voice is actually quite typical of choral directors who use MIDI for their practice files. Just pick something that goes well with the other instrumentation, and it should come off quite well

ttfn,
Sherry

[mgj32]

Hi you guys,
The purist in me says use the ahhhhs for the chorus, even if it is a bit more difficult to get the relative volume you want for each part. For the soloists, the Real Voice SF might be worth a try. Generally speaking, the timbre is more Broadway than operatic or pop. Its only real problem is that the G above Middle C needs to have the note velocity way below surrounding notes. This SF, too, takes some work to get the relative volume adjusted. I use it a lot in 'The Search for Nelly Gray,' and it certainly differentiates voice from the orchestra, which may be the best reason for using something sampled from human voices?

best,
mgj