Reference Guide

1195
Basic musical editing
Notation and lyrics
Working with triplets
The Staff view places certain limitations on the use of triplets. The limitations are:
• Triplets must occur in full sets of three.
• All three steps in a triplet must be notes (no rests) of the same basic duration.
• There can be no ties in or out of, or within the triplet.
In most cases, the Staff view can recognize triplets in MIDI data. However, the slight timing
inaccuracies inherent in live performances can complicate the detection of triplets. If working from
performance data, you may find it useful to quantize the notes closer to exact triplet positions using
the Process > Quantize command. See “Quantizing” on page 797 for details.
To enter a triplet
1. Enable Snap to Grid in the Control Bar’s Snap module.
2. Select the Draw tool in the Control Bar.
3. Select a triplet note duration in the Tools module.
4. Enter the first note at the desired location in the staff.
SONAR inserts all three triplet notes at the same pitch. You can then drag the second and third
notes to their correct pitch locations.
Beaming of rests
The Staff view supports beaming of rests, a practice that is popular with rhythmically complex music.
Beam lengths are extended to include rests that are integral parts of the beamed group of notes.
Short stems, called stemlets, extend from the beam toward the rest. This makes the rhythms easier
to read, because the beat boundaries are made clear.
To enable beaming of rests
1. Click the Staff view Edit menu and choose Layout to open the Staff View Layout dialog box.
2. Select the Beam Rests option.
3. Click OK.
Thereafter, the Staff view beams rests as though they were notes.