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In this 4/4 piece, the 2 quavers (highlighted in red) don't seem to "occupy" any time since there is a crotchet rest at each end of the bar.

I'm assuming this is a composition/notation technique that I'm not aware of, otherwise it would seem that there are too many beats in this bar.

Bars 1 to 4 of Bah Ba Doo Bah

Rowan Richards
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  • Are you asking what this means in general, or how to get MuseScore to replicate it? If the former, see https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/53041/too-many-notes-in-this-measure. – Aaron Mar 06 '21 at 18:12
  • @Aaron I am asking the former but I don't think it is separate voices, though, as the piece is intended to be played solo on the piano – Rowan Richards Mar 06 '21 at 18:15
  • is this from a professional score or somebody's DIY? It looks to me like they used partially-split voices rather than ties. – Tetsujin Mar 06 '21 at 18:19
  • Read the linked answer. It is also about solo piano. In this case, the A and F# are played together on beat 2 using, say, fingers 1 and 4. Then, while the thumb continues holding the A, finger 4 releases the F# and finger 5 plays G on the half beat. Then the A and D are played together on beat 3. – Aaron Mar 06 '21 at 18:22
  • @Tetsujin it is a professional score. The original printed version has a slur from the F# on beat 1 to the A and D on beat 3. – Rowan Richards Mar 06 '21 at 18:26
  • @Aaron But if it is separate voices, where are the rests for the 2nd voice? The 2nd voice only occupies 1 beat out of 4 if what you're suggesting is correct. – Rowan Richards Mar 06 '21 at 18:28
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    There's no need for them in this case, since both voices share the same rests. Note that the second voice actually takes up two beats: the eighth notes plus the upper note of the chord on beat 3. Any chord on piano can be interpreted as containing multiple voices. The second bar also has multiple (two) voices in that sense, but with identical note values in each. – Aaron Mar 06 '21 at 18:32
  • Rowan Richards: it is quite common for keyboard scores not to maintain a strict number of voices. Rather, they strive for clarity and lack of ambiguity, which in my opinion has been achieved here. – phoog Mar 06 '21 at 18:35

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