Multimeasure rests

You can create a multimeasure rest (or sometimes referred to as a block rest) by using the Selection tool context menu or the Edit menu.

Note: You must be in Page View to use the Break or Create multimeasure rest commands.

To create a multimeasure rest

You can select the measures that you want to combine into a multimeasure rest in your score.

1. Click the Selection tool  .
2. Select the region that contains the measures you want to display as a multi-measure rest. You can also select your whole score. (You must be in Page View to do this.)
3. From the Edit Menu, choose Multimeasure Rests, then Create. SongWriter creates multimeasure rests in the selected region, using the same rules as when you use Extraction to create rests—breaking them at key and time signatures. In order for measures to be grouped, they must contain default whole rests. If a whole rest was entered in a measure, that measure will not be included in a multimeasure rest until you erase the whole rest (using Simple Entry or the Edit Menu’s Clear All Items command).
4. Choose Update Layout from the Edit Menu to ensure that SongWriter is displaying the current layout of the score.

To break a multimeasure rest

You can break one or more multimeasure rests into separate measures. For example, you might prefer that measures are written out if less than four consecutive measures are empty, or you might want to break a single multimeasure rest into two or more rests.

1. Click the Selection tool  .
2. Select the multimeasure rest to break. To break more than one multimeasure rest, select a region that contains the rests. (Remember that you must be in Page View to do this.)
3. From the Edit Menu, choose Multimeasure Rests, then Break. SongWriter breaks the multimeasure rests in the selected region into separate measures of rests.
4. Choose Update Layout from the Edit Menu to ensure that SongWriter is displaying the current layout of the score.

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