Barlines

Command Location: Measures Menu

Each measure (or bar) can have a left barline style and a right barline style. Whilst all barline types have a decorative affect on the score, some also affect the way in which the score is played back.

In addition, right barlines of type ‘Repeat Close’ can have the following attribute:

• Repeat Count (the number of times a section should be repeated)

MidiIllustrator generally manages barlines for you automatically. For instance, a Section Close barline is placed at the end of the score when a MIDI file is first imported, or when measures are deleted from the score. Similarly, MidiIllustrator adds double barlines before clef changes to indicate the completion of a musical phrase. All of these settings can be overridden manually, and the style of all barlines in the score can be changed using the Measure Menu/Toolbar commands.

Special Barlines - Repeats

In addition to the decorative function of barlines (which usually instruct the reader in some way), ‘Repeat Barlines’ can be added to a score, and MidiIllustrator will observe these repeated section markers during playback.

Nested Repeats

MidiIllustrator supports nested repeats, which means repeat sections within repeat sections. You can think of repeat barlines in much the same way as brackets in a mathematical formula. Consider the following:

( ( x * 2) * 3)

The outer loop is repeated 3 times, the inner loop is repeated twice for every outer loop.

Similarly in the example below, the range bar 1 to bar 5 is repeated 3 times, the inner loop of bar 3 is repeated twice for every outer loop. As a result, bar 3 will be heard a total of 6 times (3 * 2).

Playback and Repeats

When playing back, MidiIllustrator only considers repeats which begin at or before the playback starting position. So in the example above, if playback begins at bar 2 or even half way through bar 1, only the inner repeat section (bar 3) will actually be repeated.

In general, you should make sure that there is a Repeat Close for every Repeat Open barline. If a score contains an uneven balance of left and right repeat barlines (open and close) then MidiIllustrator will try to make the best of calculating which sections to repeat.

Setting the Number of Repeats

Set the number of times a section should repeat by placing the cursor in the measure with the Repeat Close barline (right side), and choosing “Set Repeat Count” from the Measures/Barline Right Menu. The repeat count is displayed in brackets just above the Repeat Close barline, using the same font as “Measure Numbers” (see Fonts).

This count can be hidden or shown using the Show Barline Repeat Count command on the Measures Menu.

Ignoring Repeats

You may want MidiIllustrator to ignore repeats during playback. You can toggle this behaviour using the “Ignore Barline Repeats” command in the Perform Menu.