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542 Chapter 16 Score Editor
Input and Recording of Polyphonic Voices
Via MIDI
If you record polyphonic voices as separate passes in real time, you should set your
keyboard or MIDI controller to the appropriate MIDI channel for each Voice. This way,
you don’t need to edit the channels afterwards. The same applies to step input.
Note: The original MIDI channel will not be recorded properly, if in the Environment
window, the Sequencer Input Object’s (see “Physical Input/Sequencer Input Objects” on
page 236) Channelize function is activated.
Reminder: if you want to record an additional Voice into an existing MIDI Region, that
MIDI Region has to be selected before the recording is started, and in the Song
Settings > Recording Options, the option Merge New Recording With Selected Sequence
has to be activated. You could also record two separate Regions, using different MIDI
channels, and merge them afterwards.
Mouse Input
Mouse input into polyphonic Score Styles is very easy, if you activate View > Explode
Polyphony (also available as a key command). This causes all Voices to be displayed in
separate staves, no matter what the Score Style Staff settings are (the other Voice
parameters remain valid). If you insert a note into one of these staves, it is automatically
assigned the corresponding MIDI channel. After you finish input, turn off the Explode
Polyphony option. Now the voices will be displayed correctly in one staff, according to
the Score Style settings. This mode is generally useful for all editing in polyphonic
staves.
Of course you can also insert notes directly into polyphonic staves without activating
the Explode Polyphony option. In this case, an inserted note gets the MIDI channel
which was set in Insert Defaults of the Event Parameter box (see “MIDI Channel and
Velocity of Inserted Objects” on page 491).
Single-Staff Score Style with Optional Polyphony
Sometimes you need to add a second Voice to a staff that usually only requires one
Voice, in order to properly notate a short rhythmically independent passage. This is not
uncommon with orchestral scores, where the unison part for a group of instruments
will temporarily separate.
One solution is to use a Score Style with a “Main Voice” and a “Secondary Voice”. The
parameters for the Main Voice should be set like in a non-polyphonic Style, the
Secondary Voice is set to Channel 16 and is displayed without automatic rests:
• The stem, tie, and tuplet directions for the Main Voice are set to Auto, which is
necessary for the proper notation of the unison parts. No MIDI channel is defined for
the Main Voice, so all notes with a channel other than 16 will be assigned to the Main
Voice. As long as no notes or rests with MIDI channel 16 are used, the score display
looks the same as with a simple non-polyphonic Score Style.