Can you insert space in bars?

[Randwolfe]

I am using some chords like D7b9(b13) and they stretch over into other chord symbols and following measures, getting obscured. Anybody know how to insert blank space into a measure to keep the chord symbols clean?

[pdxdjazz]

By using S and N in the editor (small/normal) chords can be made more readable in crowded measures.*
Remember, each N or S applies to all subsequent chords in the chart. When you use S to make a couple of adjacent chords fit better, please use N on the next chord to reset the rest of the chart.

Using the editor you can insert additopnal spaces anywhere in the chart. It's possible to have 4 bars in one line(system) and just two in the next. A mix of different sized measures can be difficult to read. Sometimes additional spaces in a measure can confuse the player-feature which may then notify you. Experiment.
)BOB

[Randwolfe]

Thanks, Bob. I already knew about the Small and Normal settings. Even on the small setting, the extended chord names hitting on each beat just cover one another. And as for putting extra space in a measure, I've experimented with every possibility I could think of, to no avail. I know you can, for instance, put blank space on a line that will not playback so as to align 1st and 2nd endings. But nowhere can I find a way to elongate a measure to spread out those chord names. So I guess the answer is no to my original question. Maybe the coders will come up with a way to do this in the future. Other than that, I'm loving this program. For 20 bucks, it is a winner. Just would like to have more editing capability. Keep swingin'.

[Randwolfe]

And to be clear, inserting additional space doesn't change the actual length of a measure, as far as I can figure. So what I'm talking about is occasionally having a measure that is as long as the space taken up by one standard size measure. Just to make those measures with one chord per beat clearer to the readers, my fellow musicians.

[pdxdjazz]

Perhaps I still don't understand your request.
See the 2nd A section ending as well as the final turnaround measures in this example:
'S Wond-ext-bar Example - George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin (1927)


Four chords in one measure, the first two have the extended qualities that you found overlapped in "standard" sized measures. The use of S(small) wasn't needed, and the adjacent Ab(b9b13) and Db(b9b13) and other two chords in the single bar 2nd ending are still readable and works with the player. (as are the chords in the other turnaround bars.

I hope this is helpful.
)BOB

[nimbleswitch]

Here's another rather extreme example. Lines 7 and 8 of this arrangement on the first chart accommodate Wither's "I know" part of this tune. You can put the bar lines wherever you need them, anywhere from 1 to 16 on a line. I could have written it as in the second chart, below, but I wanted that rhythmically dufficult "I know" part to stand out.

Ain't No Sunshine JHC - Bill Withers A- (1971) album: Just As I Am

Ain't No Sunshine JHC 2 - Bill Withers A- (1971) album: Just As I Am