When writing for a Marimbla player in the Pit... naturally they'll have a cymbal next to them, so, is there a way to get the playback to go from Marimba to Cymbal on the same Staff? 

Yes.  The process is obviously different and is dependent on which notation program you are using.  Bottom line, you have to change the staff to a a ";non-pitched"; staff.  In Sibelius it is called staff type change.

Gabe

Actually Gabe, there is a Marimba and Vibe suspended cymbal staff that was created for both Sibelius and Finale.

[quote author=Bill link=topic=1651.msg7898#msg7898 date=1175028893]
Actually Gabe, there is a Marimba and Vibe suspended cymbal staff that was created for both Sibelius and Finale.
[/quote]

By non-pitched I meant the Mar/vibe sus. staff.

As Gabe and Bill already pointed out, the ";staff type"; change (Sibelius) or ";Staff Style"; change (Finale) would be needed for the notes to appear correctly on the staff. For best results, enter this staff change before you enter the vib/mar suspended cymbal part, so that when you enter the non-pitched notes, they'll display on the staff without multiple leger lines. Once  you're ready to switch back to your ";pitched"; marimba or vibe part, just do another staff change to a regular, pitched 5-line style.

Just in case the initial question was lingering, all vibraphones and marimbas in VDL have a variety of suspended cymbal rolls and hits in the upper register of the instrument. So you don't have to switch to a dedicated suspended cymbal instrument to access these sounds.

The easiest way to accomplish this task in Finale is to write the parts in as normal notes then using the staff attributes tool, highlight the suspended cymbal part and apply the ";rhythmic notation"; staff style. As Jim said, there are cymbal hits assigned to keys in the upper registers of both the marimba and vibe instruments. This process will place all suspended cymbal parts on the middle line of the staff and use a different notehead font to distinguish it from the mallet parts.


Ted Boliske

I forgot about this one Ted. Great tip!!!

Thanks for the help!

[quote author=ted_boliske link=topic=1651.msg7903#msg7903 date=1175088935]
The easiest way to accomplish this task in Finale is to write the parts in as normal notes then using the staff attributes tool, highlight the suspended cymbal part and apply the ";rhythmic notation"; staff style. As Jim said, there are cymbal hits assigned to keys in the upper registers of both the marimba and vibe instruments. This process will place all suspended cymbal parts on the middle line of the staff and use a different notehead font to distinguish it from the mallet parts.

Ted Boliske
[/quote]

Ted/Jim,
Is there a ";highlight"; equivalent in Sibelius 4 (as Ted describes in Finale), for staff type changes between Marimba/Vibes and Suspended Cymbals?

Thanks,
TS

What most of us have done with Sibelius is set up a keyboard shortcut to switch to the Marimba or Vibe suspended cymbal staff type.  Takes about 4 seconds to set up and saves a ton of time when you're on the fly.

Highlighting isn't really what you're needing to do. Entering a staff type change is what you're looking to do. So simply click on the bar you want this to occur (which highlights or ";frames"; it), then go to:

Create>Other>Staff Type Change>Percussion>VDL:2 Marimba Sus Cym


Once you've done this, you'll see the staff type changed from a regular 5-line staff to a different sus cym staff type. Then when you enter parts into this staff type, they'll appear more appropriately than with a lot of leger lines, etc. It's generally a good practice to enter the staff type change at least a few counts prior to where notes will be placed. You can drag the staff type change left or right once it's there, but be sure to enter the staff type change [i]before[/i] entering your sus cym part.

[quote author=Bill link=topic=1651.msg7926#msg7926 date=1175281424]
What most of us have done with Sibelius is set up a keyboard shortcut to switch to the Marimba or Vibe suspended cymbal staff type.�� Takes about 4 seconds to set up and saves a ton of time when you're on the fly.
[/quote]

Hi Bill,
Could you describe how to setup that keyboard shortcut in Sibelius 4?

Thanks!
TS

Check the Sibelius manual under ";menus and shortcuts.";

[quote]Could you describe how to setup that keyboard shortcut in Sibelius 4?[/quote]

Check under the Preferences for the main menu on Sibelius.

Jim et al,

How do I return to a normal staff after using the staff type change (that I put in with a nifty shortcut!!).  Is it just a regular 5 line staff or is a VDL-type staff?  Is that question as dumb as it sounds like it has the potential to be?

Thanks a million in my time of need.

Mike

Mike, it's just a simple 5-line staff that you'll change it back to.  I can't remember if I created it, or if it was already there, but I have a shortcut in Sibelius that is CTRL+Shift+Q to change back to 5 line on the fly.