Entering and changing notes and rests
Note and Rest tools
Most of the note and rest symbols in the tools palette have "popup" extensions that offer choices beyond the one on top. In most cases these are the dotted versions of the same symbols, though the whole rest popup also includes a "multiple rest" symbol (see below). To choose a ,dotted quarternote, for example, click on the Quarternote button and slide down the popup to the dotted quarternote. Then release the mouse to select that note symbol.
Entering notes and other staff symbols
There are a number of ways to enter notes.
The simplest is to via the tools palette:
click on the kind of note you want and then click in the staff where you want it to go.
Another way to enter notes is to choose the
desired note value and then play the note you want, using either
the screen piano, the letter keys "piano," or a MIDI keyboard. For more information see Input Methods.
When you pick a note or rest, the cursor changes
to the shape of the chosen symbol. If you want to add a
sharp or flat that is not already in the key signature, choose
that from the palette of sharps and flats and it will be added
to the cursor. Or, if you're entering notes by playing them on
the screen piano you can just choose the specific note name on the
'enharmonic keyboard.'
Shortcuts for changing the pitch or time value of notes
Notes can be dragged up or down with the arrow
tool to change their pitch. You can also move a selected group of notes using
the up or down arrow keys (see below). To add an accidental (#, b, etc.) to
an existing note just select it and choose the desired flat
or sharp. To make that accidental display even if it's in the
key signature, hold down the option key as you choose the
accidental (this is called a "precautionary accidental" - one
that doesn't theoretically need to be notated).
There are two good ways to quickly change the pitch of a group of notes. One is
to select the notes and then press the up or down arrow keys.
This moves all the selected notes at once, including multiple notes on a single stem.
Another way is to select the notes, hold down the shift key, and then play on a keyboard
the desired pitches. This changes the selected pitches one-by-one, and is good for altering a melody.
To change the time value of notes or rests
already entered, select the items and choose the desired value
from the note tools.
Double dotted notes or rests are rarely used and do not appear in the popup, but they are available. To
double-dot a note or rest, select the note and hold down the Shift key as you choose the dotted symbol popup.
Deleting notes or other symbols
Backspace will delete the last note entered, and any symbol or group of symbols can be deleted by selecting it or them with the arrow tool and pressing the Delete or Backspace key, or by choosing Clear or Cut from the Edit window. Cut is often the best choice, as it also copies the deleted item in case you want to Paste it somewhere else. But if all you need is to change the pitch of a note you just entered it's quicker to just change it as described above.
A shortcut for choosing note/rest values
At Ars Nova a popular way of entering notes is to use the left hand to pick note values via the number keys while the right hand plays the desired pitches on the screen piano or a MIDI keyboard. First pick any note or rest value, then the number keys change the cursor this way:
1 = whole note rest
2 = half note rest
3 = quarter note rest
4 = eighth note rest
5 = sixteenth note rest
6 = thirty-second note or rest
7 = sixty-fourth note or rest
shift + a number adds a dot to the number
option + a number changes from notes to rests or back
command + a number selects a note value again if you've switched to other types of symbol.
The minus or plus keys (-, +) change the accidentals assigned to the note tool - '-' lowers, '+' raises. If the cursor is the selection arrow, those keys alter any selected notes instead.
For more on keyboard shortcuts see Key Commands.
Entering multiple voices on the same staff
You can write up to eight voices on each staff if you want to. For more information please click here..
The whole rest popup also includes the multiple rest symbol, which is useful when preparing an orchestra part. A single part could have, for example, a series of 22 sequential whole measure rests. To save space in the printed part those can be replaced with a single multiple rest, which would look like this:
That would tell the reader to pause for the time of 22 whole rests. When you enter a multiple rest it will initially have the value of 2 whole rests, but you can change it to any value by selecting the item with the arrow tool and pressing command-i to see the information window for the item. If you want to change the starting number of the subsequent measure line you can select that measure line and bring up its information window to set the starting number.