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Chapter 20 View and edit music notation 681
Syncopation
Syncopation involves rhythmic patterns that go “against” the normal rhythm as dened by the
time signature. The Syncopation setting helps you produce a cleaner-looking score by displaying
syncopated notes with fewer ties or subdivisions.
If Syncopation is turned on, each note is displayed graphically as a single note when possible
(rather than as several tied notes), regardless of its rhythmic position. If it can’t be displayed as a
single note, the note is divided into the minimum possible number of notes, connected by ties.
In some cases, the display of syncopated notes also depends on the Max Dots setting—see Max
Dots on page 683.
The following example shows the same two bars displayed dierently, the rst with Syncopation
turned o, then with it turned on:
Syncopation can also be turned on and o for individual notes, independent of the Region
inspector setting, using note attributes. For more information, see Change the syncopation or
interpretation of notes on page 642.
If the Syncopation setting produces unwanted results, you can change the graphic display of
notes connected with ties by adding a short user rest from the Part box at the bar position
where you want the tie subdivided. Once the rest is inserted, it disappears, but the note display
changes. The inserted rest can only be seen and edited in the Event List. This trick works for all
notes, not just syncopated ones. (See Use tuplets to override display quantization on page 647.)
In polyphonic sta styles, the MIDI channel of the rest and the corresponding note must
be identical.
Turn syncopation on or o
m Select or deselect the Syncopation checkbox in the Region inspector.