Note and Rest Entry

Triplet/Quintuplet

When selecting tuplet durations, remember that tuplet notes are always treated by MidiIllustrator as a unit, and so a whole tuplet will be added at the insertion point.  For example, in the case of a triplet addition, a single triplet note will be added followed by two triplet rests.  There must be enough space in the current measure for a complete tuplet to be added.

Adding subsequent notes when the cursor is within the tuplet range will populate the various 'branches' of the tuplet.

The current version of MidiIllustrator supports the following tuplet types: triplets and quintuplets.

See the Keyboard Shortcuts for this function.

Note that when adding notes and rests to measure which contains more than one voice at the insertion point, you must first select the appropriate voice so that MidiIllustrator knows which music 'idea' you are modifying.

See Voices for more information.

See the Keyboard Shortcuts for this function.

These commands leave the pitch of the entry note unchanged, and only alters the way the entry note is displayed.  The various spellings which are available (depending on the particular key/pitch):

• Double Sharp
• Sharp
• Natural
• Flat
• Double Flat

When you subsequently alter the entry pitch, the enharmonic spelling will be removed and the Default Enharmonic Entry Spelling will be applied to future additions (see below).

Note that any accidental in the spelling will only be shown if it has not already been displayed on the staff line earlier in the measure (normal notating rules), or if the Entry Note Shows Courtesy Accidental option is enabled (see below).

Default Enharmonic Entry Spelling

This can be either:

• Sharp, or
• Flat

When moving the cursor in Edit mode, vertical position commands alter the pitch of the entry note.  A single 'up' or 'down' pitch (from the keyboard arrow keys) will raise or lower the entry pitch chromatically (by a semitone) and any appropriate accidental necessary to represent the new pitch on the staff will be displayed automatically. 

For example in a staff with a key signature of C, a pitch up command when the cursor pitch is at middle C will result in a new pitch of C# or Db.  Whether the new pitch is displayed as C# or Db is determined by the current "Default Enharmonic Entry Spelling".  This value is set when a score is first created, and is based on the opening key signature of the piece.  Generally speaking, for key signatures containing flats (eg the key F in which all B notes are flattened to Bb), the default enharmonic entry spelling will also be flat.  Similarly for the key of C and all keys containing sharps, the default enharmonic entry spelling will be set to sharp.

You can change the spelling for just the current entry by setting the pitch of the entry note, then changing the Enharmonic Spelling (see above).  But if you need to make many note additions with a different default spelling (Sharp or Flat), you can first change the Default Enharmonic Entry Spelling.

See the Keyboard Shortcuts for this function.

Note accidental commands will alter the pitch of the entry note.  The accidentals which are available (depending on the particular key/pitch) are:

• Double Sharp
• Sharp
• Natural
• Flat
• Double Flat

When you subsequently alter the entry pitch, the accidental spelling will be removed and the Default Enharmonic Entry Spelling will be reapplied to the entry note (see above).

Entry Note Shows Courtesy Accidental

With this option enabled, any accidental in the spelling of the entry pitch will be shown even if it has already been displayed on the staff line earlier in the measure (normal notating rules would not repeat the accidental, thus keeping the score uncluttered).

If for example, the entry note is Bb on a staff with a key signature of F major, where all B notes are flat as standard, then no flat accidental will be shown to the left of the Bb note unless Entry Note Shows Courtesy Accidental is enabled.

Once notes have been added with courtesy accidentals activated, the courtesy accidentals can be deactivated by selecting the notes and using commands from the Notes menu.

Note that the Show Courtesy Accidentals option in Score Options will override any 'per note' courtesy accidental setting, and will display accidentals (as appropriate) next to every note.

See the Keyboard Shortcuts for this function.

See the Keyboard Shortcuts for this function.

When notes are selected, their volume can be changed using command in the Notes menu.

See the Keyboard Shortcuts for this function.