User manual

Table Of Contents

General conventions for time signatures

Over time, the placement and appearance of time signatures has developed conventions to

ensure that their notation is always understood. Dorico Elements follows these conventions

automatically.

Appearance conventions

Time signatures should ll the height of the staff. There is a risk they may not be noticed if they

are smaller. The size of time signatures on staves with fewer than ve lines should be the same

as that of a time signature on an equivalent ve-line staff.

Time signature on a ve-line staff Time signature on a single-line staff

Time signatures use a unique, heavy font that ensures they stand out against staff lines, and are

instantly recognizable.

For some types of music, particularly lm music, it is typical to use large time signatures that

span several staves.

Placement conventions

Time signatures should be shown at the start of a piece and at the start of subsequent

movements, if applicable, even if the music carries straight on. They should be placed after clefs

and key signatures.

If time signature changes occur during a piece or movement, it should be placed immediately

after a barline. Dorico Elements automatically inserts a barline before a time signature change if

it occurs in the middle of an existing bar. However, Dorico Elements does not override your

existing music by inserting extra beats, unless Insert mode is activated.

A 4/4 time signature interrupting a 5/8 time signature, input without Insert mode activated, leaving only

three eighth note beats in the second 5/8 bar.

A time signature applies until the next time signature change, the end of the movement, or the

end of a piece, whichever comes rst.