User manual

TIP
You can assign your own key commands to lengthen/shorten notes by specic durations and to
extend them. You can nd these by searching for Shorten duration by, Lengthen duration by,
and Extend to on the Key Commands page in Preferences.
RELATED LINKS
Notes panel on page 146
Key Commands page in the Preferences dialog on page 47
Insert mode on page 179
Chord mode on page 194
Forcing the duration of notes/rests
Dorico Elements automatically notates and beams notes/rests appropriately according to the
current time signature and their position in the bar. You can force the duration of notes/rests to
specify their notation.
For example, if you input a half note at the start of a 6/8 bar, it is notated as a dotted quarter
note (crotchet) tied to an eighth note (quaver). This is because, according to convention, 6/8 bars
are subdivided into two groups of three eighth notes. To reect this for a half note (four eighth
notes), Dorico Elements automatically divides the note to show the correct grouping but you can
force the note duration to show a half note instead.
TIP
If you want to force the duration of all notes on a staff to imply a different meter, for example,
to show three quarter note groups in 6/8 to indicate a hemiola, you can also input a time
signature only on those staves to group notes according to that meter. You can then hide the
time signatures if required.
PROCEDURE
1. In Write mode, do one of the following:
● Start note input.
● Selecting existing notes whose duration you want to force.
2. Optional: If you want input rests with forced durations, start rest input in any of the following
ways:
● Press , .
● In the Notes toolbox, click Rests .
3.
Activate Force Duration in any of the following ways:
● Press O .
● In the Notes toolbox, click Force Duration .
4.
Select the note/rest duration you want.
TIP
When forcing the duration of existing notes notated as tie chains, you must reduce their
duration
rst, then increase it to the duration you want.
5.
Optional: During note or rest input, input the notes or rests you want.
Write mode
Note input
171
Dorico Elements 3.5.12