Notation

Command Location: Score Menu / Score Options / Notation Tab

Show/Hide Score Objects Bookmarks If you have inserted Bookmarks this check box allows you to show/hide them as desired.

This option is turned on by default.
Chord Names If you have inserted Chord Names this check box allows you to show/hide them as desired.
Guitar Frets If you have inserted Guitar Frets this check box allows you to show/hide them as desired.
Note Names Show Individual Note Names As an aid to the quick recognition of notes, the Show Note Names option allows you to show/hide the name of each note on the score.  When this option has been selected the name will be displayed on the left of the note (see below for positioning options).

You may find that it helps to zoom in on the piece in order to see the note names clearly on the screen, or change the Print Size if you are printing your score. You may change the colour of the ‘note names’ font in the Fonts tab.  Fonts can also be Bold or Regular in size.

The size of the Note Name font cannot be changed as the note names start to overlap the notation if they are bigger than the note 'heads' (especially on chords where many notes may overlap).  For this reason, a Note Name is always roughly the same size as a note head.
When Shown, Names Appear Inside Notes You can also choose to have the note name placed inside the note instead of to the left.  Under different circumstances (such as printing vs. window view), one layout may be easier to read than the other.  Placing Note Names inside the notes also generate smaller scores for printing, as less horizontal space is needed to name each note.  When Note Names are drawn inside the note, the text colour is controlled by MidiIllustrator in order to maximize clarity.
Notation Compress Empty Measures In order to make the best use of space on the screen or printed page, you can choose to Compress Empty Measures.

MidiIllustrator will compress contiguous empty measures as long as the measures are:

  • completely empty i.e. none of the visible staves in the measure contain any notes; and

  • identical i.e. they share the same time signature, key signature, clef and bar ending

This option is turned on by default.
Show Bar Repeat Count Display (where appropriate) above the measure the number of repeats which will be applied to a section repeat barline during playback.
Show Courtesy Accidental for Every Note With this option enabled, the key signature is effectively repeated for each note on the score, making it much easier to remember to sharpen or flatten a particular note when performing a piece.

Note that this 'global' command overrides the individual per note setting for displaying courtesy accidentals against notes (see Notes Menu and Entry Note Shows Courtesy Accidental);

Unlike in standard notation, MidiIllustrator will not just assume that a sharp or flat ‘holds’ for the measure when this option is enabled.  Instead, in a piece written in the key of G which contains a single sharp (for example), every single F in the score will be marked with its own accidental (sharp), even multiple F# notes in the same measure.
Assign More Space To Longer Notes You can choose to have MidiIllustrator allocate more space on a score to the longer notes than to the shorter notes as an aid to sight reading.
Colour Voices in Performance Mode Applies distinctive colours to the different voices on the score when in Performance Mode.  These colours are always applied in Edit Mode to make editing easier.

Colours can be selected using the Colour section of Score Options.
Playback Play Notes as Imported/Recorded Play imported MIDI songs as they were originally performed, rather than adhering to the notated times displayed on the score.  This allows playback of a recorded song as it was originally captured, even though the notation may have been 'tidied' by MidiIllustrator for easier reading (perhaps using Transcription Options).

Note that this option only applies to scores which contain some original MIDI content or recording session data.

Measure Numbers You may customise if, and how, Measure Numbers (#) are displayed on the score.  The display of measure numbers may be affected by the current 'view' (see below).

The default setting is a Curved Box (which encloses the Measure Number) on Every Measure starting at Bar 1, but this can be changed using the three drop down boxes.

The measure numbers can be set as follows:

  • None - no measures numbers will be displayed
  • Normal - measure numbers will not be enclosed
  • Boxed - measure numbers will be surrounded by a box
  • Curved Box - measure numbers will be surrounded by a curved box

If None has been selected above, the 2 remaining drop down boxes will be greyed out, but they can be edited if Normal, Boxed or Curved Box has been selected.

The options available are as follows:

  • Every Measure
  • Every System
  • Every Page
  • Every 5th Bar
  • Every 10th Bar

The third drop down box allows you to set a start point as follows:

  • From Bar 1
  • From Bar 2 etc (depending on the number of bars in the piece)

Note that measure numbers are shown on ALL measures when in Scroll View as this information is useful for editing.
Beat Marks As an aid to understanding the beat pattern of a score, MidiIllustrator can place small marks ‘on the beat’ above the top staff. If, for example, the time signature is 4:4, then four beat marks will span the top of each measure. Displaying beat marks works well when the cursor is set to follow ‘the nearest beat during playback’.

You may customise the beat mark colour to best highlight the location of the beats in the music.

The Beat Marks can be customised using the three drop down boxes.

The first drop down box provides the following options:

  • Hidden - The Beat Marks will not appear on the score.
  • Normal - The Beat Marks will be permanently displayed on the score (except during Playback if the ‘Countdown’ option has been selected. See the ‘Note’ below).
  • Playback Only - The Beat Marks will only appear on the score during Playback.

If Hidden has been selected above, the two remaining drop down boxes will be greyed out, but they can be selected if Normal or Playback Only has been selected.

The second drop down box allows you to display the Beat Marks on the:

  • Top Stave
  • All Staves

The third drop down box offers two options:

  • Static – whereby the Beat Marks stay in place as the music is played.
  • Countdown – whereby the Beat Marks disappear as they are passed in the score.

The default setting is ‘Playback Only’ on the ‘Top Stave’ with

‘Countdown’.

Note: You may wish to view the Beat Marks all the time, in which case you would select ‘Normal’ from the first drop down box, and they will be displayed on the score. However, if you then selected ‘Countdown’ from the third drop down box, the Beat Marks would disappear when they were passed in the score during Playback. Therefore, if you truly want the Beat Marks to be on display at all times, even during Playback, make sure you have selected ‘Static’ in the third drop down box as well as ‘Normal’ in the first.

Bookmarks Allows you to customise any Bookmarks which have been placed on the score.

The default setting is a Curved Box (which encloses the Bookmark), but this can be changed using the Bookmark drop down box.

The options available are:

  • Normal – no surround
  • Boxed
  • Curve Boxed
Apply The Apply button applies all the changes made to the score without the need to close the dialog box.

 

View the Help Contents Page.  Visit the MidiIllustrator Website at http://www.MidiIllustrator.com.