User manual

557
Working with symbols
About this chapter
In this chapter you will learn:
• What the different types of symbols are.
• How to insert and edit symbols.
• Details about special symbols.
Background: The different layers
A score page is always made up of three layers – the note
layer, the layout layer and the project layer. When you add
symbols, these will be inserted into one of these layers, de-
pending on the type of symbol. The symbols that have a re-
lation to notes – accents, dynamic markings, slurs, lyrics
etc. – will be put in the note layer. Other symbols – such as
repeats, rehearsal marks, some types of text, etc. – can be
put either in the layout layer (which is individual for each
layout) or in the project layer (common for all layouts).
Note layer symbols
Let’s look at the note layer symbols first. These come in
three flavors:
• Note symbols. These are each tied to a single note. Examples
of note symbols are accents and lyrics. When you move the
note, the symbol moves with it. The same is true if you cut the
note and then paste; the symbol is cut and pasted together
with the note.
• Note-dependent symbols. Only a few symbols belong to this
category, for example the arpeggio lines. In one way, these be-
have just like grace notes (see “Grace notes” on page 553).
They always precede a note or chord. If there is no note “after
them” on a staff, they will disappear.
• All other note layer symbols (tempo, dynamics, chords etc.).
Their position is related to the bar. (Whichever way you edit
the notes, these symbols remain unaffected.) However, their
positions are fixed within a measure. If you for example change
the spacing of the bars across the page (see “Setting the
number of bars across the page” on page 608), this will affect
the symbols positions.
Layout layer symbols
Now let’s examine the layout layer symbols. The layout
layer is not stored individually for each track, as the other
symbols are. Instead it is common to a “set of tracks”. Let’s
illustrate this with an example:
You have four tracks that make up a string quartet. You
edit them all at the same time and add symbols to the
score, both note layer symbols and layout layer symbols.
Now let’s say you close the Score Editor and open only
one of the tracks for editing. All your note layer symbols
are there just as you left them, but the layout layer symbols
have disappeared!
Don’t worry, close the editor again, and open all four
tracks for editing and the symbols are back.
You have probably got a clue as to what is going on by
now. The layout layer symbols are part of a “bigger entity”
called “layout”. And a layout is something that is stored
not per track, but for a group of tracks. Each time you
open the same combination of tracks for editing, you get
the same layout.
There are also other things that are part of the layout –
apart from the symbols in the layout layer, see the chapter
“Working with layouts” on page 594.
Project layer symbols
Project layer symbols are layout symbols that are present
in all layouts. The project layer holds the symbols found in
the Project tab, plus bar line types and bar number offsets.
Using project layer symbols in conjunction with the Ar-
ranger mode, you can have playback in the program follow
the score – repeats, da Capos and endings will be played
back properly allowing you to hear your compositions as
they would be played back by live players.
Layout layer symbols
Note layer symbols