
Originally Posted by
bionicbub
André --
I know absolutely nothing about Logic 8, but you should be able to just write the two parts on a single staff and mark them "divisi" and, as I understand it, GPO will intelligently split the strings accordingly.
I spent some time trying to find an answer for you, and I cannot locate anything in writing or in video tutorials. I have found the word "divisi" used in many places, but nothing instructive was included about how to do it realistically or how it even works.
We need an expert to help answer your question, because it is beyond my current state of knowledge, and I have never had to consider the question. But I can tell you what I do in my own setup.
I never build any sections that contain more than the fewest number of players that will be needed on each part, meaning that if I have a 2nd violin section that will include divisi writing, and the total number of 2nd violins in the work is 12, then I build two sections of six 2nd violins each. That way, I never have to worry about how to split them. But if I wanted to go for a 7/5 divisi, for example, then I would build a section with 7 and a section with 5. In my notation programs, I can assign both sections of the split to the same staff, and they will both play the same line until they reach a divisi, and then the notes for each part are assigned to each section appropriately in the notation program. In other words, I do all the work in the score, and never build a section larger than its smallest sub-group in an even split (like 6/6 for 12 total players), but a 7/5 split would require two different size groups, and so that's what I create.
Programs like Finale, which I use, have what is called a layering capability, and it is described in the Finale manual like this:
"Each staff in Finale has four transparent layers of music. Each layer can play back over a different MIDI channel and synthesizer patch, and each can have its own dynamics. You can view one layer at a time, or all simultaneously. When you're placing expression marks, you can tell which layer is receiving the mark by the indicator in the lower-left corner of the screen, which identifies the current layer by number. (You can switch from one layer to the other by clicking the layer buttons."
That is how I handle divisis, by using the layers in Finale, and it has nothing to do with GPO except insofar as how I have built the sub-sections, whether as 6/6 or 7/5, I just assign the sub-section to the correct LAYER in the notation program.
I would assume that Logic 8 conforms to the standard ability to assign the sections as I have indicated. If not, then I do not know how to answer your question and you would need a better answer from someone else because I can't find any tutorials or other instructions for this situation.
Perhaps some good savior will come along and read this thread who knows more about Logic 8 who can give you a better answer than mine. I'm sorry I couldn't find any tutorials. I simply have never had to think about that problem because it has never occurred in my experiences with the programs that I use.
I wish you all the best, André, and I hope you can understand my explanation.
Arvid
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