User manual

Differentiating between inputting and editing your music
Depending on whether you input or you edit notes, the tools in the toolboxes and the panels
behave differently.
To input notes, the caret must be activated.
If the caret is activated, selecting tools or items in the Notes toolbox and the Notes panel affects
the note or chord that you are about to input as you can specify the duration, rhythm dot,
accidentals, and articulations. Then you specify the pitch by clicking the note into the score, by
pressing the letter name of the note on your computer keyboard, or by playing the note or chord
on your MIDI keyboard.
If no notes or chords are selected in the music area and you select a duration from the Notes
panel, either by pressing its key command or by clicking it with the mouse, mouse input is
activated. If you move the mouse pointer over the music, a shadow note is displayed to indicate
where the note will be input if you click.
To edit notes, one or more items must be selected in the music area. If one or more notes or
chords are selected in the music area, the Notes toolbox and Notes panel affect the selected
notes and chords. If you select a new duration from the Notes panel, either by pressing its key
command or by clicking it with the mouse, the durations of the selected notes and chords are all
edited to match the chosen duration.
RELATED LINKS
Caret on page 131
Caret activation/deactivation on page 134
Inputting notes on page 135
Rhythmic grid on page 120
Moving notes rhythmically on page 511
Changing the pitch of individual notes on page 160
Rhythmic grid
The rhythmic grid is a unit of rhythmic duration whose value affects certain aspects of inputting
and editing, such as the amount by which items move. However, it does not control the duration
of notes and items that you input.
Rhythmic grid set to eighth notes (quavers) shown above the staff
The current rhythmic grid value is shown by the note value in the status bar, and by ruler
markings above the staff on which the caret is active. Longer lines in the rhythmic grid indicate
beat divisions, while shorter lines indicate beat subdivisions. In Play mode, the rhythmic grid is
shown by the frequency of vertical lines in tracks and in the ruler at the top of the event display.
The rhythmic grid helps you to identify the following:
●
The exact input position when using the caret or the mouse
●
The amount by which the caret moves when using Right Arrow/Left Arrow
●
The amount by which notes and items are lengthened/shortened
●
The amount by which notes and items move
It also allows you to control how precisely notes and items are positioned when inputting them
with the mouse or when copying and pasting. For example, setting the rhythmic grid value to
Write mode
Introduction to inputting and editing
120