Copyright: MusicTime Help ©1994 Passport Designs, Inc.
Citation: MusicTime Help ©1994 Passport Designs, Inc.  All rights reserved.


Contents

The following Help Topics are available:

Quickstart

Keyboard Shortcuts

The Score Window

The Palettes

The Menus

Selecting in MusicTime

Moving Objects in MusicTime

Voices

Printing in MusicTime

For Help on Help, Press F1


MusicTime Help
MusicTime Help by Andrew McGowan

Rev. 2  September 1994

Copyright 1994 Passport Designs, Inc.


Quickstart

This section has been provided for those of you who just can't wait to play something into MusicTime and see notes appear on the screen.  And we can't blame you, because it's fun!  You can, of course, enter music with your mouse just like you would with a pen and manuscript paper (except you'll never have to worry about smudges).  But the real fun is in entering notes from your QWERTY or MIDI keyboard.

We're just going to deal with the basics of keyboard note entry here.  Details about editing and layout can be found elsewhere in this help file.  We're going to assume that your system (computer, sound card, MIDI instrument, whatever...) is already properly configured and ready to go.  If you have problems or questions, please refer to the files MIDIINFO.TXT and FONTINFO.TXT that are installed along with MusicTime.  You can also refer to the MIDI Setup topic in this help file.

Recording in Real Time

First, try recording some music from your MIDI or QWERTY keyboard.

Using the Arrow Tool, click in the Treble staff of the first measure to set the blinking insertion cursor there.  Recording will always start at the beginning of the measure that contains the insertion cursor.

Press the [Enter] key on your computer's keyboard.  You should hear a four beat count off before recording actually begins.  If you don't, see Click Setup and Click On/Off.

Play your keyboard in time to the metronome.  Note heads will appear on-screen as you play.  Notes are automatically "split" onto the two staves with Middle C as the split point (see Record Setup for information about changing the split point or turning it off).

Press the [Space bar].  Recording ceases and there is a brief pause while MusicTime "guesses" the durations of the notes.

Step-Entering Music from a Keyboard

You can also step-enter music from a keyboard.  That means you can play the pitches on your keyboard without having to worry about your timing.  Note durations are chosen in the Notes palette or by using the "shortcut" keyboard equivalents.

Click with the Arrow Tool in a blank measure to set the blinking insertion cursor there.  Note entry will always start at the beginning of the measure that contains the cursor.

Click on a note of the desired duration in the Notes palette.  As you do this, the Pencil Tool will become active in the Toolbar.  The Pencil Tool must be active to step-enter notes.

Play a note or chord on your MIDI or QWERTY keyboard.  A note or chord of the specified duration appears in the score.  As you continue to play, notes will appear in the score and the cursor will move forward.  You can choose different durations or rests and enter those in the same way.

Tip:  Using the keyboard equivalents for note durations and rests can speed up keyboard step-entry significantly.

Once you've entered some music, there are many of things you can do to enhance it.  Almost everything you see on-screen is movable (see Moving Objects in MusicTime).  You can also "select" notation and edit it in various ways (see Selecting in MusicTime).


The QWERTY Keyboard

To use the QWERTY keyboard, choose Keyboard from the Windows menu and click the checkbox labeled QWERTY Keyboard Note Entry mode.  "Play" the middle row of letter keys on your computer's keyboard (see Keyboard for more information).


Keyboard Shortcuts

This is a list of the various keystroke combinations or keyboard equivalents that can be used to execute commands within MusicTime.  Keys are indicated by the presence of brackets.  A plus sign indicates that you should press and hold the first key and then press the second key before releasing them both.  (Flip Tie Direction requires that you hold three keys down simultaneously.)  Some commands, such as Cut, Copy, and Paste, have two keyboard equivalents (the common Windows equivalent and the Mac-based equivalent which has also been adopted by several Windows programs).  Use the keys with which you are most comfortable.

File Menu

New	[Ctrl]+[N]

Open 	[Ctrl]+[O]

Close	[Ctrl]+[W]

Save	[Ctrl]+[S]

Import File	[Ctrl]+[I]

Print	[Ctrl]+[P]

Exit	[Ctrl]+[E]

Edit Menu

Undo	[Alt]+[Backspace] or [Ctrl]+[Z]

Cut	[Shift]+[Delete] or [Ctrl]+[X]

Copy	[Ctrl]+[Insert] or [Ctrl]+[C]

Paste	[Shift]+[Insert] or [Ctrl]+[V]

Clear	[Delete] or [Backspace]

Select All	[Ctrl]+[A]

Nudge Left	[Ctrl]+[ [ ]

Nudge Right	[Ctrl]+[ ] ]

Nudge Up	[Ctrl]+[=] or [Ctrl]+[Gray +]

Nudge Down	[Ctrl]+[ - ] or [Ctrl]+[Gray -]

Notes Menu

Note Attributes	[Ctrl]+[I]

Set to voice 1	[Ctrl]+[1]

Set to voice 2	[Ctrl]+[2]

Set to voice 3	[Ctrl]+[3]

Set to voice 4	[Ctrl]+[4]

Enharmonic	[Ctrl]+[H]

Stem Up	[Ctrl]+[U]

Stem Down	[Ctrl]+[D]

Tie Notes	[Ctrl]+[T]

Flip Tie Direction	[Ctrl]+[Shift]+[T]

Beam On Beat	[Ctrl]+[B]

Guess Durations	[Ctrl]+[G]

Measures Menu

Align Spacing	[Ctrl]+[J]

View Menu

Show/Hide Control Points	[Ctrl]+[ ' ]

Windows Menu

Staff Sheet	[Ctrl]+[L]

Setup Menu

Record Setup	[Ctrl]+[R]

Click On/Off	[Ctrl]+[F]

Toolbar

Arrow tool	[A]

Eraser tool	[E]

Pencil tool	[P]

Record	[enter]

Play	[space bar]

Stop	[space bar]

Jump To Measure	[M]

Notes Palette

Whole note	[1]

Half note	[2]

Quarter note	[3]

Eighth note	[4]

Sixteenth note	[5]

32nd note	[6]

64th note	[7]

128th note	[8]

Rest	[R]

Sharp	[S]

Double sharp	[Shift]+[S]

Flat	[F]

Double flat	[Shift]+[F]

Natural	[N]

Parentheses	[Shift]+[N]

Dot	[D]

Double dot	[Shift]+[D]

Tuplet	[T]

QWERTY Keyboard Mode

QWERTY Note

   Entry on/off	[Q]

Dot	[ . ]

Double Dot	[Shift]+[ . ]

Rest	[ , ]

Tuplet	[ / ]

Octave up	[ = ] or [Gray + ]

Octave down	[ - ] or [Gray - ]

Layout

Flow measures out of system	[

Flow measures into system	]

Adjust position of all subsequent

     staves/systems	[Ctrl]+drag with arrow pointer

Miscellaneous

To audition notes, click on staff with right mouse button.

To copy notes/rests/graphic objects, hold [Ctrl] and drag with arrow pointer.

To tie notes while step-entering from a keyboard, enter the first note, hold [Shift]+[T] and enter another note of the same pitch.  Use [Shift]+[ / ] in QWERTY Note Entry mode.


The Score Window

The Score window is where you'll do most of your work in MusicTime.  You can drag it, resize it, scroll it to see more of your music--all pretty standard stuff.  Your music is normally shown, relative to the displayed page size, just as it will be printed.  If you choose to reduce or enlarge your score, the music will appear to be the same size in the Score window, but the size of the displayed page will increase or decrease.  (For more information, see Page Setup or Score Settings under the File menu topic.)  If the window or monitor is not large enough to display the entire width of the page, you can use Size To Fit.

The Toolbar

The Score window's most unusual aspect, and the part that requires some explanation, is the Toolbar.  You can learn more about the Toolbar's features by browsing the topics listed below.

The Voice Selector

The Arrow Tool

The Eraser Tool

The Pencil Tool

The Record Button

The Play Button

The Stop Button

The Thru Button

The Measure Indicator

The Page Icons

Related topics:

Keyboard Shortcuts (see the section on the Toolbar)


The Voice Selector


The Arrow Tool


The Eraser Tool


The Pencil Tool


The Record Button


The Play Button


The Stop Button


The Thru Button


The Measure Indicator


The Page Scroll Buttons


The Page Icons


The Voice Selector

MusicTime allows you to notate up to four polyphonic voices per staff.  The Voice Selector displays the currently selected voice.  It also allows you to choose a voice to be displayed or edited.  When 1-4' is highlighted, all four voices are displayed.  Any notes or rests you enter in this mode will be assigned to voice 1.  Any edits you make will affect all voices.

You can click on one of the individual voice numbers to display that voice.  Any notes or rests you enter will be assigned to that voice.  Any edits you make will only affect that voice.  Objects assigned to other voices will be grayed out on your screen.  (Actually, if you've changed MusicTime's color defaults, the notes may not be gray--they'll be the color you've chosen for Inactive Voices.  See Score Colors  for more about the color defaults.)

Related topic:  For a complete discussion of voicing, see Voices.


The Arrow Tool

The Arrow Tool appears as the standard arrow pointer.  The Arrow Tool is used in the Score window for most of the editing and layout functions that involve selecting or moving objects.  It is also used to change the size and shape of text boxes, slurs, hairpins and other graphic objects.

Keyboard equivalent:  [A]

Related topics:

Selecting in MusicTime

Moving Objects in Musictime


The Eraser Tool

You probably don't need to be told that the Eraser Tool is used to erase objects that you enter in the Score window.  You should be aware, however, that there are certain things that it will not erase.  Any of the marks that can be attached to notes will not be erased by the Eraser Tool.  To remove a mark attached to a note, simply click on the note head a second time with the same mark selected.

Keyboard equivalent:  [E]

Related topic:

Removing Marks


The Pencil Tool

The Pencil Tool must be selected to enter any palette object into the score.  This is even true if you intend to use MIDI or QWERTY step-entry to enter notes.  The sole exception to this rule is when you are recording music in real time.

Keyboard equivalent:  [P]


The Record Button

Click this button to begin recording music in real time.  If the metronome click is turned on in the Setup menu (and it should be for real time note entry), you will hear a one bar count in before recording begins.  Click the Stop button or click the Record button again to stop recording.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Enter]

Related topics:

Quickstart

Click On/Off

Click Setup

MIDI Setup

Record Setup

Transcription Setup


The Play Button

Click the Play button to hear your score played back via MIDI.  Playback always starts from the beginning of the measure that contains the blinking insertion cursor.  To set the start point, click with the Arrow Tool in the measure you'd like to start with.  If you don't click on a note, rest, or other object, the insertion cursor will appear there.  Playback starts at the beginning of that measure, not from the insertion point.

Click the Stop button or click the Play button again to stop playback.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Space bar]

Related topics:

Click On/Off

MIDI Setup


The Stop Button

Click the Stop button to terminate recording or playback.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Space bar]


The Thru Button

The Thru button has two functions.  It allows you to turn MusicTime's MIDI Thru on and off and it shows you what the current MIDI Thru channel is.  When Thru is on, any MIDI data received by MusicTime is simultaneously transmitted via your computer's MIDI output on the channel and port displayed on the button.  In the MIDI Setup dialog, you can assign a specific channel and port (Always Send Out) or set the Thru feature to automatically switch to the channel and port of the staff you're working on (Follow Current Staff).

Related topic:  MIDI Setup


The Measure Indicator

The Measure Indicator shows the number of the current, active measure.  The current measure is either the measure that contains a selection or the blinking insertion cursor, or it is the measure that is currently being played.

The Measure Indicator also allows you to jump to another point in the score.  Click on the Measure Indicator and the Jump to Measure dialog box appears.  Enter the measure number you'd like to move to.  Click OK.

Note:  If your score includes a pickup bar, measure numbering begins with the first full measure.  The pickup bar is represented by a dash ( - ) rather than a number.

Keyboard equivalent:  [M]  (Jump to Measure)


The Page Icons

The page icons represent the pages of your score. Click on the page you'd like to view.  If you are working on a long piece and there are more pages than can easily be displayed in the Toolbar, use the arrows to the left and right of the page icons to scroll to the desired page number.

You can also use the Measure Indicator to jump from page to page if you know the measure numbers you want to view.


The Palettes

Notes Palette

Graphics Palette

Clefs Palette

Dynamics Palette

Marks Palette #1

Marks Palette #2

Symbols Palette

Colors Palette

MusicTime contains these eight palettes from which you can enter notation, graphics, text, symbols and marks.  The default preferences for MusicTime will open the Notes palette to the left of an untitled Score window.  You can open additional palettes from the sub-menu called "palette" under the Windows menu.

Palettes float in front of the Score window at all times.  To move a palette, click in the area next to its Control menu box and drag it to a new location.

When preferences are saved, all open palettes and their positions are remembered.


The Control Menu Box


Notes Palette
The Notes Palette

Notes Palette
Graphics Palette
Clefs Palette
Dynamics Palette
Marks Palette #1
Marks Palette #2
Symbols Palette
Colors Palette

The Notes palette appears along with the Score window the very first time you run MusicTime.  As its name would suggest, this palette allows you to choose various notes as well as rests and accidentals.

Click an item in the palette to learn more about it.

Related topics:
Changing Durations For Notes Already Entered
Real-Time MIDI Note Durations.


Notes and Rests

Using the Pencil Tool you can select notes or rests from the Notes palette and add them to any portion of your score.  As a shortcut for selecting more common durations, the number keys 0-8 select from a whole note/rest to the 128th note/rest.  The [R] key toggles between the note or rest for any selected duration.  Using any of the keyboard shortcuts for the Notes palette will select the Pencil Tool and open the Notes palette.  The Notes palette defaults to the quarter note.

In addition to inserting notes and rests with the Pencil Tool, the Notes palette is used to select a starting duration for keyboard step entry.

Keyboard equivalents:

Whole note	[1]

Half note	[2]

Quarter note	[3]

Eighth note	[4]

Sixteenth note	[5]

32nd note	[6]

64th note	[7]

128th note	[8]

Rest	[R] or [ , ] when in QWERTY Note Entry mode.

Related topics:

Changing Durations For Notes Already Entered

Real-Time MIDI Note Durations


Dots

To add a dot or double-dot to a note or rest, choose a duration, and then choose the dot or double-dot.  Enter the note or rest in the score.  The single augmentation dot indicates the duration is increased by one half.  A double-dot indicates the duration is increased by three quarters.

Dots can also be added to notes and rests that have already been entered in the score.  Select a note or rest (see Selecting in MusicTime) and then use the keyboard equivalent to add a dot or double-dot.  This will also remove a dot if the selected note is already displaying one.

The dotted combinations are automatically cleared when a new note duration is selected.

Keyboard equivalent:  [D] for dot, [Shift]+[D] for double-dot

Note:  When MusicTime is in QWERTY Note Entry mode, the dot and double-dot can be chosen by pressing the [ . ] (period) key or [Shift]+[ . ] respectively.


Tuplets

The last item in the Notes palette is the tuplet indication.  The word tuplet is used to refer to the various combinations of unequal rhythmic patterns which can only be notated by subdividing a standard duration note.  The tuplet selection defaults to the standard triplet (3:2).

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of tuplets, you may find it easier to understand how the numbers will apply to a selected note duration by converting the colon sign into the phrase "in the time that" and then forming a sentence using the selected duration.  For example, if you select an eighth note and the tuplet indicator is set for 3:2, you could think of the new duration for the eighth note as 3 eighth notes "in the time that" 2 eighth notes would normally occupy.

To enter a tuplet, select the desired note duration.  Then click on the tuplet item at the bottom of the Notes palette.  Enter the tuplet in the score.

To change the tuplet value, double-click on the tuplet item in the Notes palette.  This will open the Choose Tuplet dialog where you can enter the new tuplet configuration.  In addition to the common triplet indication (3:2) some other combinations are the quintuplet (5:4), the sextuplet (6:4) and the septuplet (7:4).  Any combination can be created using numbers from 1 to 15 however, and interesting rhythms can be obtained by their use.

Related topic:  Beam Group (adding brackets to half and quarter note tuplets)

Keyboard equivalent:  [T]

Note:  When MusicTime is in QWERTY Note Entry mode, the tuplet item can be chosen by pressing the [ / ] key.


Accidentals

Accidentals are selected separately from notes and applied to notes in the score by clicking directly on the note head or by selecting the note or notes to be altered (see Selecting in MusicTime) and typing the keyboard equivalent for the accidental.

To remove an accidental from a note, click on the note again with the same accidental selected or type the keyboard equivalent again while the note is selected.

Keyboard equivalents:

Sharp	[S]

Double-sharp	[Shift]+[S]

Flat	[F]

Double-flat	[Shift]+[F]

Natural	[N]


Reminder Accidentals

MusicTime will normally ignore attempts to add an accidental to a note if the key signature or a previous note has the same accidental indication.  Sometimes, however, you may wish to override this behavior and add the accidental anyway.  These are commonly referred to as reminder accidentals.

To add a reminder accidental, hold down the [Ctrl] key while applying an accidental.  With the [Ctrl] key held down, MusicTime will always allow an accidental to be added with the Pencil Tool.

Reminder accidentals are also sometimes indicated by enclosing the accidental in parentheses.  The parentheses in the Notes palette are included for this purpose.  The parentheses indication is combined with any selected accidental when applied to a note.  MusicTime will always add a reminder indication when the parentheses indication is selected.

Note:  Using the [Ctrl] key to force an accidental onto a note requires using the pencil.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Shift]+[N] to choose the parentheses.


Changing Durations For Notes Already Entered

You can quickly change the duration for any note or group of notes in your score by first selecting the note with the Arrow Tool (see Selecting in MusicTime), and then typing the keyboard equivalent for the desired duration.  Using the keyboard equivalents for dot, double-dot and tuplet will further modify the selected notes.

Typing the [R] key will turn all selected notes to rests.  Although you can undo this operation once, you cannot turn rests into notes.

After changing durations, you will probably want to select the affected measures and use Align Spacing and Align Playback.

Keyboard equivalents:

Whole note	[1]

Half note	[2]

Quarter note	[3]

Eighth note	[4]

Sixteenth note	[5]

32nd note	[6]

64th note	[7]

128th note	[8]

Rest	[R]

Dot	[D]

Double-dot	[Shift]+[D]

Tuplet	[T]


Real-time MIDI Note Durations

Recorded durations are displayed according to the quantize value set in the Transcription Setup dialog.  Unless the MIDI durations are changed using Change Duration or the selection shortcut, MusicTime tries to keep the original, recorded durations. Guess Durations will alter the MIDI data, however, and the transcription value selected will determine both the shortest duration to display and when to start rounding off playback durations.


Graphics Palette
The Graphics Palette

Notes Palette
Graphics Palette
Clefs Palette
Dynamics Palette
Marks Palette #1
Marks Palette #2
Symbols Palette
Colors Palette

The Graphics palette provides you with the tools to enter text, lyrics, and chord names.  You can also enter ellipses, squares, rectangles, lines, and set the line style and width.

Click an item in the palette to learn more about it.


The Lyric Tool

The tool item labeled L is for entering Lyrics.  Lyric words and syllables are connected to a note or chord in MusicTime.  Lyrics are centered under their parent note at first but can be freely dragged left or right after entering the lyric.  Dragging the parent note will move the attached lyric.  Lyric lines can also be adjusted vertically for each system.

Additional lyric lines in MusicTime use the Voice Selector for each new line.  The four voices in MusicTime correspond to the four possible lyric lines.

The lyric font and style is chosen using the Font Selection item in the Setup menu.

Lyrics are best added after spacing and alignment for each system has been performed.  This is not essential but can eliminate extra editing if you later change the number of measures in a system or the width of systems.  Using the Nudge commands is an excellent method for adjusting the spacing for individual lyrics horizontally while still retaining the vertical relationship between all the staves in the system.

Using the Lyric Tool

To add a lyric to a staff line, you should either select the appropriate staff (see Selecting in MusicTime) or set the blinking insertion cursor in the desired staff by clicking in it with the Arrow Tool.  Set the Voice Selector to either all voices or voice 1.

After selecting the Lyric Tool, an arrow will appear to the left of the selected system between the page margin and the Score window's left edge.  This is the vertical adjustment indication and is used to change the vertical location for the lyric lines in each system.  Every system can have a different vertical lyric placement, but all lyric lines in a system are adjusted together.

Select a font, size and style (if desired) using the Font Selection item in the Setup menu.  The chosen lyric font is global for all systems and lyric lines and can be changed at any time.

Adding a lyric line

To begin entering lyrics, center the lyric pointer directly on the note head to receive the first lyric and click the mouse.  A flashing insert point will be placed under the note you clicked.  If the insert point needs to be adjusted vertically (to avoid colliding with that note or others in the same system), drag the vertical adjustment arrow until the correct placement is found.  While adjusting the vertical placement arrow, a broken horizontal line will appear for reference.  After adjusting the vertical placement for the line you will need to reselect the starting note for your lyric.

Advancing to the next note

Once the starting note has been selected and a flashing insert point appears below the selected note, you can add your first lyric.  To advance to the next note in the measure, press the [Tab] key.  The insertion cursor will advance to the next note event.

Note:  Chords are treated as single events but if two voices are used in a measure, the cursor will advance to the next note in the other voice and may not appear to move forward.  This is normal and will only happen when adding lyrics for measures containing multiple voices.  To skip a note, press [Tab] again.

Adding Additional Lyric Lines

Additional lyric lines can be added to MusicTime for a maximum of four lyric lines.  The Voice Selector in the Score window is used to select the lyric line to be entered.  To add a second lyric line below the first, select voice 2 in the Voice Selector, select the Lyric Tool and begin the lyric entry process as described above.

Note:  Although changing the voice mode in MusicTime will still gray out notes not in the currently selected voice, lyrics can be attached to notes in any voice and lyric mode ignores the normal rules applied to the Voice Selector.

Editing Lyrics

The [Backspace] key will erase lyric characters starting at the current lyric position and continue backwards to the beginning of the lyric.  An alternate method is to select the lyric text and use the standard Cut or Clear commands.

Moving Through the Lyric Line

To advance to the next lyric and select that lyric for editing use the [Tab] key.


The Text Tool

Text boxes, like many graphic items in MusicTime, are attached to a measure.  This attachment is used to ensure that tempo and other musical instructions are copied and moved along with the music.

Creating a Text Box

Select the Text Tool from the Graphics palette.  Locate the pointer in your score where the top left corner of the text should be located.  Click and drag the text pointer to define a text box.  A dotted reference line will be drawn showing where the text will be placed.  Release the mouse when the text box is large enough to accommodate your text.  A control point will appear in the lower right corner.  This control point can be used to change the size of the text box without exiting text entry.

The Notes menu will change to a Text menu so you can choose a font, font size, and style for the text.

Text will word wrap when the entered text reaches the right side of the text box.  Adjusting the size of the text box will reformat the text accordingly.

Changing the Font in a Text Box

Font selections can be changed at any time.  Choosing a new font, font size, or style will affect the text box, whether it contains text or not.

The Text Menu

The Text menu will place a check mark next to the selected font, size and style for the current style.

Moving a Text Box

Text boxes can be dragged to new locations by clicking and dragging with the Arrow Tool on any area within a text box.  To avoid moving text boxes inadvertently it is recommended that the text box be no larger than the size that is needed.

Resizing Text Boxes

To resize a text box after it has been created, make sure that control points are showing.  Turn control points on from within the Show/Hide dialog (View menu).  Control points for text boxes exist at each of the four corners of the text box.  Drag any of the four control points with the Arrow Tool to adjust the height and/or width of the text box.  Text within the box will automatically adjust to fit the new box size.  Text which is not showing within a text box will not be printed.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ ' ] will show/hide the control points.

Text Boxes and Measures

When measure widths are changed in MusicTime, text boxes will also change in width and may need to be adjusted.  Text boxes may also need to be adjusted if a page reduction or enlargement is applied to the score.


The Chord Tools

The letters "C" and "G" in the Graphics palette are used to enter chord spellings using either text or both text and fretting indications for the guitar.  The letter "C" enters only a text spelling for a chord.  The letter "G" is used for entering the guitar fretboard indications.

Chords are more than just text added to a score in MusicTime.  When transposing a section of music, chord indications will be transposed along with the note information.  Chords can also be transposed using a selection and the Nudge Up/Down commands.  Just as notes will nudge up and down in half-step increments, chord symbols will also transpose in half-step increments.  When guitar chords have been added, the graphic will change to represent the new fingering for the transposed chord.

Note:  The guitar chord fingering indications are standard for sheet music but cannot represent every possible fingering combination on the guitar.  A blank fretboard diagram can be added as text with the fingerings drawn in after you print the score.  To do this, add a new text box to the score.  Then, from the Text menu, choose the Anastasia font and set the point size (about 28 points for staff size 3).  The blank first position fretboard character is entered by first holding [Ctrl] and pressing [E], releasing both keys, and then pressing [E] again.  For the other blank fretboard character, press [Ctrl]+[E], then [ ' ].

Adding a Chord Symbol

Use the pencil and select either the "C" or the "G" from the Graphics palette.  Place the crosshair in your score at the location where you wish to add a chord and click.  This will open the Choose Chord dialog box.

Note:  If you click directly on a note head with the Chord Tool, the pitch for that note will be used for the root selection in the Choose Chord dialog.

The Choose Chord dialog is arranged with the root and alternate bass note selections at the top and a list of the available chord types at the bottom.  When the desired chord symbol has been selected, click OK to enter the indication into the score.

Moving Chord Symbols

Chords are similar to lyrics and use a vertical adjustment arrow in the left page margin to change the vertical position for all the chords entered in a system.  The horizontal position of each chord can be adjusted by clicking and dragging the text or graphic left or right.  If [Ctrl] is held down while dragging a chord, the item is copied to the new location.

Chord indications do not play back over MIDI.

Chord Parsing

A special method exists for entering chord symbols using a MIDI keyboard or your computer's QWERTY keyboard.  Chord Parsing uses specific keyboard voicings to automatically select the chord types in the Choose Chord dialog without the need to open the dialog and use the mouse.  Chord Parsing should not be confused with trying to analyze what you have played and create a chord guess for you.  MusicTime does not have such a function yet.

Chord Parsing requires using the Arrow Tool to select notes or chords before playing the desired chord symbol spelling (see Selecting in MusicTime).  The actual notes to play for each of the possible chords are included in a MusicTime file called "Chord Parsing" that's included with MusicTime.  The examples are all in the same key but can be transposed for other keys.

Using Chord Parsing

To "parse" your keystrokes into chord symbols you must first choose either the "C" or "G" in the Graphics palette.  This will determine whether text or both text and guitar frets are entered.  Choose the Arrow Tool and click once in the measure where you would like to begin adding chords.  Hold down [Ctrl] and press the right arrow key.  The first note or rest in the measure will be selected.  At this point, playing one of the Chord Parsing examples on a keyboard (MIDI or QWERTY) will enter the chord spelling indicated in the parsing examples.  For example, playing a middle C along with the B flat above it would yield a C7 chord symbol, as would playing the full C7 chord.

If you are using the QWERTY keyboard for note entry and you want to parse a chord that requires more than two notes to define it, hold [Shift], press all the necessary keys one at a time, and then release the [Shift] key.

If the selected note is not at the horizontal position desired for the chord, continue to use the right arrow key with [Ctrl] depressed until the correct note or rest is highlighted.  After each chord is entered, the same technique can be used to continue selecting notes or rests for Chord Parsing entry.  Once this technique is learned, it is by far the fastest way to enter chord symbols into a score.

Note:  Chord Parsing should not be confused with MIDI Paste.  When a selection is drawn around a note or rest or chord (and the C or G from the Graphics pallette is not selected), playing on the MIDI or QWERTY keyboard will replace the selected item with the information coming from the keyboard.


The Drawing Tools

There are tools in the Graphics palette for drawing lines, rectangles, ellipses, and other graphic objects in the score.  Select the desired tool with the Pencil Tool, and then click and drag to draw the object in the score.  Use the Arrow Tool to drag the object to another location.

You can also stretch or resize any of these objects by dragging on one of its control points with the Arrow Tool.  Use the Show/Hide command in the View menu to show the control points.

The box at the bottom of the Graphics palette allows you to select the line style and thickness for the drawn object.  Your choices include a thin dotted line and solid lines of varying thickness.  The current choice is indicated by a small arrow head at each end of the selection.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ ' ] will show/hide the control points.


Hairpins or Wedges

Hairpins or Wedges are used to indicate a temporary (and sometimes brief) increase or decrease in volume for a section.

Adding a hairpin

After selecting the Hairpin Tool, place the crosshair anywhere on the score.  Click, hold and drag the crosshair to the left to indicate diminishing volume.  Click, hold and drag the crosshair to the right to indicate increasing volume.

Hairpins can stand alone or be used in conjunction with other dynamic indications and marks.  The Hairpin Tool will always enter the hairpins along the horizontal.  If you need to add a vertical  hairpin or wedge you should construct the graphic using the Line Tool in the Graphics palette.

Drag on any of a hairpin's four control points with the Arrow Tool to resize it.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ ' ] will show/hide the control points.


Pedal Mark

This tool is used to indicate a full pedal.  The initial and ending jogs are for the pedal down and release moments.  To draw a pedal indication in your score, click and hold at the pedal down point, drag to the left and down slightly, and release the mouse button at the pedal up point.  This indication is a graphic item only and does not affect MIDI playback.

There are also pedal down and pedal up markings in the Symbols palette.


Slurs

A slur is a curved line over (or under) two or more notes of different pitches indicating the notes are to be played as a group.

If you are familiar with drawing programs and their terminology, the slur generated in MusicTime can also be considered a bezier curve that is slightly thicker in the middle.

Entering Slurs by defining the Beginning, Middle and End

The basic method to insert a slur uses the Pencil Tool to define the beginning, middle and end points for the slur.  Choose the Slur Tool from the Graphics palette.  The pointer will appear as a crosshair when inserting slurs.  Move the crosshair to the position where the slur should begin and click once with the mouse.  Repeat this action for the middle and end points of the slur.  When the end point has been defined, the slur will appear.

Drawing a Slur

A second method for adding a slur is to draw the slur.  Choose the Slur Tool.  Position the crosshair where the beginning of the slur should be drawn.  Hold the [Shift] key down, then click and drag the mouse to draw the slur on the screen.  The slur you draw should only consist of a single arc or curve.  Release the mouse and then the [Shift] key when you have completed the drawing of your slur.  MusicTime will automatically convert the drawing into a curve.

Changing a Slur's Shape

Once a slur has been entered into a score, it can be further moved or adjusted by dragging on any of the three control points for the slur.

Click on a control point with the arrow selected to drag the control point and change the shape of a slur.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ ' ] will show/hide the control points.

Erasing a slur

To erase a slur, click on a control point of the slur with the Eraser Tool.  If you select the left control point of the slur, you can also use the [Delete] key, or the Cut and Clear commands.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ ' ] will show/hide the control points.

Combining Slurs for Special Uses

Although slurs will normally be either an arc or S shape, it is possible to combine two slurs and achieve a slur with a more pronounced flatness to the middle of the slur.  This will sometimes be required if the slur is intended to encompass several measures of notes.  When two slurs are combined, it is recommended that you overlap the middle control points with each of the ending and beginning control points for either half of the slur.


Arpeggio Sign

The wavy line tool is used to draw in arpeggio indications.  Click once to define the starting point and click a second time to define the end point.  Arpeggio indications can only be drawn vertically.  You can drag on the center of the line to move it.

There are two tricks you should know when using this tool.  When you move an arpeggio indication with the Arrow Tool, the line will be redrawn in the new location starting from the arrow's tip.  Even if you grabbed the line in the center, it will be redrawn from the arrow down.

Also, the Arpeggio Tool was designed to be used on one staff only.  To draw a line across more than one staff, drag two staves apart so there's a lot of space between them.  Then draw an arpeggio line that's as long as you need.  Drag the staves back to their former positions and move the line into place.  Since you'll have to guess at the length, it may be best to draw several lines of varying length.  Then you can pick the right one and erase the rest.

The arpeggio indication does not affect MIDI Playback.


Clefs Palette
The Clefs Palette

Notes Palette
Graphics Palette
Clefs Palette
Dynamics Palette
Marks Palette #1
Marks Palette #2
Symbols Palette
Colors Palette

There are eight clefs to choose from in the Clefs palette.  There are also Ottava Alta and Ottava Bassa markings and the Ottava End markers.

Click an item in the palette to learn more about it.


Clefs

Clefs reference one staff line to a pitch and this relationship is used to determine the pitches for all the staff lines and spaces.

Clefs are always used by MusicTime but the choice can be changed at any time and clefs can be inserted within the score at any location.  When importing Standard MIDI or Master Tracks Pro files, MusicTime considers the pitch range for each track and chooses the initial clef for you.

To change the beginning clef for a staff, select the Pencil Tool and then click on the desired clef in the Clefs palette.  The pointer will change to your clef selection.  Position the new clef choice on top of the current clef in measure one and click to change the clef.

Note:  If you do not place the clef exactly on top of the first clef, the inserted clef will be interpreted as a change in clef for that measure and the previous clef will remain.  If this occurs, you can undo the operation and try again.

To remove a clef, use the Eraser Tool and click directly on the clef.

Note:  Clefs can be cut but are not pasted when either copied or cut along with note data.

Clefs are special symbols in MusicTime and require some pre-planning and consideration when a change in clef is required in the middle or end of a measure.

The current clef selection will always appear at the start of each new system.  This clef reference cannot be removed.


Ottava Alta and Ottava Bassa

The ottava signs are used to indicate notes that are to be played an octave higher or lower than notated.

A broken line is automatically drawn from the ottava sign to the end of the page.  Use the ottava end marker (or notch) to properly terminate both the broken line and the effect on MIDI Playback that results from adding the ottava sign.

Ottava indications always affect MIDI playback.


Ottava End Marker

Move the crosshair to the measure where you want the ottava line to stop and click directly on the broken line.  When the end marker is placed on top of the broken line, the line will terminate and MIDI playback will resume the standard pitch reference.

Note:  It may sometimes be necessary to adjust the ending indication slightly for MIDI playback to resume the desired pitch at the correct location.


Dynamics Palette
The Dynamics Palette

Notes Palette
Graphics Palette
Clefs Palette
Dynamics Palette
Marks Palette #1
Marks Palette #2
Symbols Palette
Colors Palette

The Dynamics palette contains 13 markings to indicate the gradations of loudness and softness with which music is performed.  Dynamic markings are frequently used in conjunction with hairpins.

To add a dynamic mark, select the desired mark from the palette with the Pencil Tool and click at the location in the score where you wish the dynamic to occur.

You can move dynamic symbols by clicking and holding on the dynamic symbol and then dragging it to a new location with the Arrow Tool.

To delete a dynamic symbol use the Eraser Tool.  You can also select the marking with the Arrow Tool and use either Cut from the Edit menu or press the [Delete] key.

Dynamics can be copied easily by holding down the [Ctrl] key while dragging the graphic to a new location with the Arrow Tool.


pianississimo


pianissimo


piano


mezzo-piano


mezzo-forte


forte


fortissimo


fortississimo


sforzato


extra sforzato


forte-piano


forzando


sforzando


Marks Palette #1

Notes Palette
Graphics Palette
Clefs Palette
Dynamics Palette
Marks Palette #1
Marks Palette #2
Symbols Palette
Colors Palette

The Marks palettes contain a variety of ornaments, symbols and marks that can either be attached to a note or freely placed anywhere within the score.  When marks are attached to notes, they will remain connected to the note for all operations.

To attach a mark to a note, use the Pencil Tool, choose a mark from the palette, and click directly on the note head.  MusicTime will automatically place the mark above the note regardless of stem direction or the type of mark selected.  To place a mark below a note, hold the [Ctrl] key down while applying the mark.

A maximum of two marks can be attached to a note:  one above and one below.

Related Topics:

Adjusting Marks

Removing Marks


Marks Palette #2

Notes Palette
Graphics Palette
Clefs Palette
Dynamics Palette
Marks Palette #1
Marks Palette #2
Symbols Palette
Colors Palette

The Marks palettes contain a variety of ornaments, symbols and marks that can either be attached to a note or freely placed anywhere within the score.  When marks are attached to notes, they will remain connected to the note for all operations.

To attach a mark to a note, use the Pencil Tool, choose a mark from the palette, and click directly on the note head.  MusicTime will automatically place the mark above the note regardless of stem direction or the type of mark selected.  To place a mark below a note, hold the [Ctrl] key down while applying the mark.

A maximum of two marks can be attached to a note:  one above and one below.

Related Topics:

Adjusting Marks

Removing Marks


medium accent (above or below note)


strong accent/staccato combination (below note)


medium accent/staccato combination (below note)


up bow (above note)


strong accent (below note)


tenuto (above or below)


medium accent/tenuto combination (below note)


tenuto/staccato combination (below note)


strong accent/tenuto combination (below note)


staccatissimo, martele, or martellato (above note)


medium accent/staccatissimo combination (above note)


tenuto/staccatissimo combination (above note)


strong accent (above note)


strong accent/staccato combination (above note)


medium accent/staccato combination (above note)


down bow (above note)


hand-stop sign (above note)


staccato (above or below)


medium accent/tenuto combination (above note)


tenuto/staccato combination (above note)


strong accent/tenuto combination (above note)


staccatissimo (below note)


medium accent/staccatissimo combination (below note)


tenuto/staccatissimo combination (below note)


Adjusting Marks

To adjust the vertical position of the mark, hold the [Shift] key down after applying the mark and click the note again with the same mark.

Each click will raise the mark a little further.  Eventually, a maximum vertical adjustment will be reached.  If you continue to click, the mark will then drop to the lowest possible position.  Continued clicks will return you to the starting location.

If a mark is added below a note, hold down both the [Shift] and [Ctrl] keys to adjust the vertical position.

Note:  If a mark is adjusted into the area of a staff either above or below, the mark may seem to disappear.  It is only covered by the other staff and adjustments can continue to be made.  The staff can be moved, if needed, to reveal the mark.


Removing Marks

To remove a mark, apply the same mark to the note.  Adding the same mark a second time will remove the mark.

Adding a different mark to a note will replace the previous mark.


Symbols Palette
The Symbols Palette

Notes Palette
Graphics Palette
Clefs Palette
Dynamics Palette
Marks Palette #1
Marks Palette #2
Symbols Palette
Colors Palette

The Symbols palette contains both additional marks and some common score indications.  All of the symbols in the palette can be added as graphics and located wherever needed.

The Symbols palette items do not affect MIDI playback.


Color Palette
The Colors Palette

Notes Palette
Graphics Palette
Clefs Palette
Dynamics Palette
Marks Palette #1
Marks Palette #2
Symbols Palette
Colors Palette

The Colors palette is used to add color to objects in MusicTime.  Color changes made with the Colors palette only affect objects that are entered into the score (for example notes, rests, marks, chords, and text).

To use the Colors palette, choose a color from the palette and then choose an object to enter from one of the other palettes (for example, a note).  When you enter the object in your score it will be the color you chose.

You can also change the color of objects that have already been entered in your score.  Select objects using any of MusicTime's selection methods.  Then click one of the 16 colors available in the palette.  The color of the selected objects will change.

Customizing the Palette

You can customize the palette's colors.  Double-click on any of the 16 colors but black or white and a Color Picker will appear.  Choose a new color and click OK.  Black and white cannot be changed.

Note:  Custom color palettes are saved when you save the score and do not affect the default color palette for new scores unless you save preferences.  If you save preferences while a score with a custom palette is open, the default color palette will be changed to the custom palette.

To set the color of the staff and bar lines or the score's background color, use the Score Colors command in the View menu.  You can also set the color defaults for new scores by using the Score Colors dialog and then saving preferences.


black


blue


cyan


green


magenta


red


yellow


white


dark blue


dark cyan


dark green


dark magenta


dark red


dark yellow


dark gray


light gray


The Menus

MusicTime has eight menus:

The first two are the common File and Edit menus and contain all the usual commands plus a few unique to MusicTime.

The Notes and Measures menus contain operations for defining the contents and behavior of the music.

The Score and View menus are used for general aspects of score layout.

The Windows menu allows you to open the Keyboard and Tempo windows, the Staff Sheet, and various palettes.

The Setup menu is used to configure both the MIDI and notation defaults available within MusicTime.


File Menu

Click a menu item for more information.


New

The New command opens a new, blank file.  When you choose New from the File menu or press [Ctrl]+[N], MusicTime presents you with the Choose Page Layout dialog box, which asks you how many staves per system, systems per page, and measures per system you want in the new score.

Choose New when you want to enter music onto a new, blank score with step or real-time entry.  If you are already working on a score, MusicTime will give you a chance to save your work before it closes that file and opens a new one.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[N]


Open

The Open command opens files saved in the native MusicTime file format.  When you choose Open from the File menu or press [Ctrl]+[O], you will be presented with a File Open dialog with which you can navigate to previously saved MusicTime files on disk.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[O]


Close

Choosing Close closes the current Score window.  If you made changes to the score you will be asked if you'd like to save those changes before closing the file.  With MIDI and Master Tracks Pro files not yet saved in MusicTime, you will be asked if you wish to save the file as a MusicTime file before closing.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[W]


Save

Choosing Save from the File menu or pressing [Ctrl]+[S] saves the current score.  Use this command regularly as you work on a score to make sure you have a current version of it on disk.  As a rule of thumb, save your work whenever the amount of work you've done since your last save is more than you'd want to do over again.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[S]


Save As

Choosing Save As presents you with a File Save dialog.  Navigate to the disk and folder where you want to store the score and enter a name for the score.


Revert to Saved

The Revert to Saved function allows you to discard all the edits made to a score since the last Save operation.  Revert to Saved is frequently used as the ultimate undo.  Most edits in MusicTime can be undone using Undo in the Edit menu, but only the last edit operation can be undone.  If you decide a series of edits are not wanted, you can use Revert to Saved to discard all of your edits and start again without closing and reopening the file.


Import File

Import File brings a file created by a sequencer into MusicTime and puts it in the Score window so that you can edit it and turn it into a complete score.  If Auto Guess/Beam in the Setup menu is on, imported files will automatically be guessed and beamed.  MusicTime can import standard MIDI files (type 0 and type 1), and Master Tracks Pro and Trax sequence files.

When you import a file, MusicTime retains all the MIDI information necessary to play the original sequence.  MIDI data such as pitch bend, controllers, and program changes are imported and will play back, but they're not displayed and can't be edited.

When MusicTime imports a file, it assigns each track of the file to its own staff.  Any track with any data will be mapped to a staff.  For this reason, it's important to clean up a sequence before you import it.  You'll have less trouble getting a good looking score if you eliminate unnecessary tracks, merge drums to one track, and so on.  It is also a good idea to split the left and right hands of piano parts onto two tracks so that they're notated properly, although you can use MusicTime's Split This Staff command on imported files.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[I]


Export File

The Export File command exports a MusicTime score as either a Master Tracks Pro file, a type 1 Standard MIDI file, or an Encore file.  Choosing this command brings up a dialog box that enables you to choose a file type for the exported file and the location in which you'd like to save it.


Score Settings

The Score Settings dialog box provides you with three particularly useful features.

The title bar of MusicTime's Score window normally displays the current score's file name and path.  This might be fine for most uses.  But if the eight characters allowed for a file name are too restrictive, you can use the Score Settings dialog to make the score's actual title appear in the title bar.  Simply enter the title in the text box labeled Score Window Title.

You can also use the Score Settings dialog to enlarge or reduce your score.  Enter a value in the text box and click OK.  The staves will remain the same size on your screen, but the size of the displayed page will change.

Note:  The Score Settings dialog and the Page Setup dialog are linked so that any scaling value entered in one will appear in the other.

Margin Setting allows you to set the size of MusicTime's page margins.  Printer Default uses the margin settings of the current printer.


Page Setup

The Page Setup item brings up the Print Setup dialog box for the current printer.  Printer options will depend on the current printer specified with the Printers control panel in Windows' Main program group.

Note:  If you change your printer choice with the control panel or open a file created with a different printer selected, you should always choose Page Setup before printing to make sure the correct options are used for the current printer.

MusicTime saves the current Page Setup information at the time the file is saved.  This includes reduction and margins settings.


Print

Use the Print command to print all or part of your score.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[P]

Related topic:  Printing in MusicTime


Exit

Exit is the standard method used to close all MusicTime files and exit the program.  If open files have not been saved, you will be asked if you want to save changes before each unsaved file is closed.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Alt]+[F4] or [Ctrl]+[E]


Edit Menu

Click a menu item for more information.


Undo

Undo is available for recording and most editing operations within MusicTime.  For operations which are not undoable you will either see a warning within the dialog or you will be given an alert before the operation continues with an option to cancel.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Alt]+[Backspace] or [Ctrl]+[Z]


Cut

Cut deletes any selected area and places it in the clipboard.  Using the Paste command, you can paste cut material elsewhere in the score after it has been cut.  The clipboard retains the information until another Cut or Copy operation is performed and replaces it.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Shift]+[Delete] or [Ctrl]+[X]


Copy

Copy places a duplicate of whatever you select onto the clipboard.  You can then paste the copied notation to another area in either the same score or another score using the Paste command.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[Insert] or [Ctrl]+[C]


Paste

To paste copied or cut notation, click on the starting location for the paste operation with the Arrow Tool.  Paste places the contents of the clipboard into the score.  Paste will not work when an area is selected.  You should have a flashing insertion cursor in a measure before using Paste.

Note:  Paste operations will paste notes, text, lyrics and all graphic indications with the exception of clefs.

Paste does not paste tempo, time signature and key signature changes.

MusicTime copies data within each measure but not the measure itself.  Time signatures, tempos and key signatures are all attributes saved for each measure.  Clefs are anchors giving MusicTime a reference point for relating all the entered note data.

If you are copying a section that includes clef changes, time signature changes or key signature changes, it is recommended that you first create the measures needed and define at least the time signature for each section before pasting.  Key signatures can be added before or after pasting and clefs should always be added after the paste.

If the time signature of copied data is different than the measure into which it is being pasted, MusicTime will paste copied data into the new measures as best as it can.  If notes were copied from radically different time signatures, some measures may contain an incorrect number of notes.  Generally speaking, every note and rest in every voice is first counted as an item.  MusicTime will keep adding notes and rests to each measure until there is no space left.  If the last item exceeds the number of beats for that measure, MusicTime leaves it up to you to decide what to do.  Changing the time signature for a measure after pasting will not move notes to other measures.  See the section on Time Signatures for more information.

Measure widths and number of measures per system will need to be defined for each new area either before or after pasting.  New measures and pages created in MusicTime when pasting will use the last existing system before the paste and create new systems with the same number of measures.  If a paste creates new pages, the page layout of the last page before the paste will be copied for all the new pages created.

Auto Space On While Pasting

If Auto Space (Setup menu) is on, pasted notation is automatically aligned following each paste.  If the paste operation does not replace all of the notes in a measure, other notes in the same measure will also be aligned.

Auto Space Off While Pasting

If Auto Space is off, MusicTime will not use Align Spacing  for the pasted area and the original spacing will be maintained.  If the measure width of copied data is different than the measure(s) into which the data is pasted, the data is scaled to fit the new area.  This works best when complete measures are copied but will also affect pasted notation that does not fill the measure.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Shift]+[Insert] or [Ctrl]+[V]


Clear

Clear deletes all of the selected notation.  A Clear command can be undone but the cleared area is not stored for further use in the clipboard and the current clipboard contents remain.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Delete] or [Backspace]


Select All

Select All selects all staves in all systems throughout the score.  Select All will recognize the current voice selection for the score and will only affect notes and rests in that voice.  Graphics and text boxes are not assigned to voices but are placed into voice one by default.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[A]


Nudge

The Nudge commands move notes and rests left, right, up, or down.  Many of the other graphics you can enter in a score can also be nudged left or right.  A single nudge unit left or right is one pixel.  Notes and chord symbols nudge up and down in half-step increments.  Rests nudge up and down in increments of one space.

Nudge requires a selection.  Use the Arrow Tool to select one or more areas using the standard selection technique.  Additional areas can be defined if you hold the [Shift] key down before selecting again.  Isolated notes and rests selected using the shift-select method will also respond to the Nudge commands (see Selecting in MusicTime).

Nudge Left and Right

The Nudge Left and Right commands provide a powerful method for moving selected items as a group.  Nudge can be particularly useful for adjusting the horizontal alignment in several staves without sacrificing their vertical alignment.  Use Align Spacing to justify your music and then nudge to make subtle adjustments to horizontal spacing while still retaining the essential vertical alignment between staves.  This allows you to create room for articulations, composer notes, graphics and lyrics.

Since nudge operations are frequently needed to move data in greater increments than a single nudge, the nudge command will respond to key repeat messages.  Holding down the [Ctrl] key and either the [+] or [-] key for extended periods will continue to repeat the operation until you release either key.

Nudge Up and Down

Selecting notes on a staff and using the Nudge Up and Down commands will raise or lower the selected notes in half-step intervals.  If chords or guitar chord indications (inserted with the Chord Tool or Guitar Chord Tool) are selected, the Nudge Up and Down commands will also affect their pitch reference in half-step intervals.

Objects drawn with the drawing tools (including arpeggios and hairpins) are unaffected by nudge up and down operations.

Note:  Stem direction is unaffected by the Nudge commands.

Keyboard equivalents:

Nudge Left	[Ctrl]+[ [ ]

Nudge Right	[Ctrl]+[ ] ]

Nudge Up	[Ctrl]+[ = ] or [Ctrl]+[Gray +]

Nudge Down	[Ctrl]+[ - ] or [Ctrl]+[Gray -]


One Space

The distance between two adjacent staff lines.


Notes Menu

Click a menu item for more information.


Attributes

Choosing the Attributes item opens the Change Note Attributes dialog box.  This dialog lets you alter various attributes associated with the appearance of notes and rests.  The Attributes item requires that you first select the notes or rests to be altered.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ I ]

Set Stem Height

The stem height can be any number from 1 through 63.  Each number represents half the distance between two staff lines.  The default length is 7 (stems are adjusted in MusicTime to touch the middle staff line when the notes are in the ledger lines, however, as this is common notation practice).  Enter the desired length in the highlighted box.

Note:  If you flip stem direction, transpose or change pitch, the stem length will revert to MusicTime's defaults.

Shift Accidental Left

Accidentals are automatically offset for chords, but they can also be adjusted manually.  The dialog will accept entries from 0 to 7.  The higher the number, the more the accidental shifts to the left.

You can also shift an accidental by choosing the appropriate accidental (sharp, flat, double-sharp, double-flat, or natural), holding down [Shift] and clicking on the head of a note that is already displaying the chosen accidental.  You can click up to 7 times.  On the eighth click, the accidental will return to the original position.

Note:  If you flip stem direction or use Change Pitch or Transpose, accidental offsets will revert to MusicTime's default placement.

Set Head Type

Different note head types can be freely mixed within the score for any staff or measure without limitation.  Note head types remain set until altered again with the Change Note Attributes dialog.

The five available head types are:  standard head, hollow diamond head, solid diamond head, percussion head 1, and percussion head 2.

Set Rest Type

MusicTime allows you to change the look of your rests from standard rest notation (default) to slashes or vice versa.

Select the rests you want to change and then choose Attributes to open the Change Note Attributes dialog.  Click the slash icon and check the checkbox.

Note:  You can move standard rests to any spot on the score.  You can only move slashes horizontally (see Moving Objects in MusicTime).


Voice

The voice sub-menu allows you to set selected notation to one of MusicTime's four voices.  You may find it easier to use the keyboard equivalents.

A complete discussion of voices and voicing in MusicTime is provided under the topic Voices.

Note:  Changing the voice of a beamed group of notes will unbeam the notes.

Keyboard equivalents:

Set to voice 1	[Ctrl]+[1]

Set to voice 2	[Ctrl]+[2]

Set to voice 3	[Ctrl]+[3]

Set to voice 4	[Ctrl]+[4]


Accidentals to

This feature allows you to change the accidentals that occur in a selection.  Although MusicTime attempts to use the correct accidentals for the current key signature, there are instances where your music may require changing the accidentals.  In the key of C, for instance, the correct accidental depends on several factors which MusicTime cannot know about.

Notes which do not have an accidental attached will not be affected when changing to flats or sharps.

Enharmonics

Enharmonic is a term used to describe two pitches that are notated differently but are still played and sounded the same.  In practice, this is not always true since some instruments can generate slightly different tunings for a pitch depending upon how the pitch is created.  But, in general (and always for MIDI), the enharmonic spelling for a pitch is just another way to describe the same pitch.  An example would be A sharp and B flat.

Every note has an enharmonic equivalent.  The actual spelling for the enharmonic will depend upon the key signature.

The enharmonic function is most commonly used to avoid crowded chord clusters with excessive or confusing accidental indications.

To change a single note in a chord it is recommended that you select the note using the shift-select method (see Selecting  in MusicTime).

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[H] to change selected notes to their enharmonics.


Stem Direction

The Stem Direction command allows you to flip the stems of selected notes up or down (see Selecting in MusicTime).

Changing stem direction for chords will also change the tie direction.  (See Tie Notes for more information about tie directions and flipping ties.)

Default Stem Directions

Stem directions for notes in voice one follow standard notation practice and are placed up or down depending on their pitch location in reference to the clef.

Notes in voices other than voice one default to stems down.

Stem Direction and Multiple Voices

When two or more voices are used in the same measure, you  may need to flip the stems for one voice.  Most commonly, some or all of the notes in voice one will have stem down directions and will need to be changed to stems up.  Set the voice selector to the voice you wish to affect and it will be easier to select only those notes and change their stem direction without affecting the other voices.

Keyboard equivalents:

Stems Up	[Ctrl]+[U]

Stems Down	[Ctrl]+[D]


Tie Notes

Tie Notes allows you to tie two or more notes of the same pitch together to indicate that the note is to be played only once and held for the full value of all the combined notes.

Tie Notes requires that you first select the notes to be tied (see Selecting in MusicTime).

All notes to be tied must be within the same selection.

If notes to be tied exist across system breaks or page breaks you can either change the number of measures in the system or select the notes you wish to tie using the shift-select method of clicking on the note head.

Notes to be tied must be the same pitch.  If a tie occurs over a barline, accidentals will be removed from the note in the following measure after the tie has been performed, but both notes must be notated the same before the tie will be allowed.  If you wish to apply a reminder accidental to a tied note you must do so before the tie is performed.  It is not recommended that you change the accidental for a tied group if you placed a reminder accidental within the group.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[T]

Tie Directions

Tie directions for notes are created according to stem direction and the number of notes being tied.  When chords are tied together the tie directions will be created for the chords according to MusicTime's best judgment.  If you flip stem directions for a tied group the tie direction will also change.  To alter the tie directions without changing the stem direction, shift-select the tied notes that need the tie flipped and press [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[T].

Adjusting Ties with the Mouse

Ties can be adjusted manually by dragging the tie's control point.  Control points for ties occur in the middle of the tie and can be adjusted either up or down provided the tie is not indicating a tie from or to a note in another system or page.  If a tie occurs over a system or page you will need to change (flow) the number of measures to bring both notes being tied onto the same system.

Keyboard equivalents:

[Ctrl]+[ ' ] to show/hide control points.

[ [ ] to decrease the number of measures in the current system.

[ ] ] to increase the number of measures in the current system.


Current System

The system that currently contains the blinking insertion cursor.


Beam Group

Beam Group is a manual operation used when you require different beaming combinations than are provided with Auto Guess/Beam or Beam On Beat.  This can occur when using time signatures other than a simple 4/4 or when using complex groups of shorter durations.  Beam Group is also used when brackets are needed above tuplet groups (such as half note or quarter note triplets).

Beam Group only affects notes in the same voice.

Beam Group will create additional brackets along with beams if the selected group includes quarter, half or whole notes.

Beam Group can include rests either within or at the end of a beamed group.

Using Beam Group

Select the group of notes you wish to beam together (see Selecting in MusicTime).  If notes are already beamed you will need to use the Beam Group command twice.  The first time will unbeam anything already beamed and the second operation will beam all of the selected items together.


Beam on Beat

Beam On Beat uses the time signature to apply some basic rules to the way notes are beamed together.  If Auto Guess/Beam has been enabled, the Beam On Beat operation is applied every time a note is entered or erased from a measure.

Beam On Beat rules are fairly straightforward for time signatures based on quarter notes (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, etc.).  Each quarter note in the measure is a beat and beams will not cross the beat boundaries.

When the time signature is based on eighth notes, it isn't possible to arrive at a universal beaming solution appropriate for every situation.  MusicTime uses a beat value of three eighth notes for 6/8, 12/8 and 9/8.  For odd time signatures such as 5/8 and 7/8 the beat value is one eighth note.

For complex rhythms, the beaming will have to be performed manually using Beam Group.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[B]


Change Duration

The Change Duration command can alter the displayed duration of selected notes in your score (see Selecting in MusicTime).  It can also set the MIDI playback duration without changing the graphic appearance of your score.

Set Face Value

Select the notation to be changed in your score and choose Change Duration from the Notes menu.  Click the Set Face Values To checkbox and select a duration, including augmentation dots and the tuplet indication if needed.

Changing the duration will change both the duration and the start time for the notes.  If the new duration is greater than the number of beats in the measure, notes in each measure that exceed the time signature will not be heard.

Note:  All of the choices in the Set Face Values section can also be applied quickly to selections using keyboard equivalents.  See Changing Durations For Notes Already Entered.

Set Play Duration

The second option in the Change Durations dialog concerns the MIDI duration to be played for each note.  The actual MIDI playback is typically a percentage of the displayed value.  You can use the Change Duration dialog to set that percentage.

For passages intended to be played legato you can increase the percentage to 100%.

Decreasing the percentage will result in a more staccato interpretation.

The default playback duration for notes entered with the mouse or step-entered from a keyboard is 90% of the displayed value.  The new duration will depend on the note type selected (if you're setting the face value and the play duration) or the displayed note value for the selected note in the score.

Scores recorded in real time or imported as Standard MIDI files initially have unique durations for each note depending upon the recording.  Even after Guess Durations and Transcription Options have assigned a display duration value, the original recording or MIDI file is maintained as much as possible.  When setting the play duration for real-time and imported scores, the new play duration is a percentage of the transcribed value and not the recorded value.

The Set Play Duration settings will be lost if a note's duration is changed again.

Note:  Even at full duration, what is actually heard will depend on the synthesizer and the sound selection.  Reducing the playback percentage for sounds with slow attack times, can result in some notes not being heard at all.


Change Velocity

Velocity is a value attached to every MIDI note.  The value for velocity is between 0 and 127 but the value of 0 is special and not used in MusicTime (a zero velocity essentially means don't play this note).

What actually happens when different velocity values are used depends entirely upon the synthesizer responding to the MIDI messages.  Common practice, however, uses velocity to control volume.  The harder (actually faster) you strike a key, the louder the note will sound.

The Change Velocity command provides different ways of altering the velocity values of selected notes (see Selecting in MusicTime).

The dialog for changing velocity contains options for both Note On Velocity and Note Off Velocity.  These settings can be enabled independently.  Consult the documentation for your synthesizer to determine if it responds to On or Off Velocity, or both.  Most synthesizers will respond to On Velocity, but very few respond to Off Velocity.

There are four choices in the Change Velocity dialog.

Set All Values to

You can set the velocities for all of the selected notes to the same value.  Setting all velocities to the same value will ensure that all volumes are the same.

Change by a Percentage

Changing by percentage will maintain any velocity changes within the selection area and scale the velocity levels.  The values can be anything from 1% to 999%.  Percentage changes close to maximum or minimum will compress the dynamic range to one extreme or the other.

Change Smoothly Over Time

Change Smoothly will replace the velocity values for the selected notes with new values obtained from the value range entered.  The first value will be applied to the first note and the second value applied to the last note in your selection.  Notes between the beginning and end selections will be altered according to their placement in time.  This means the changes in velocity level for short durations will be more gradual than changes between notes with longer durations.

Add a Fixed Value

You can also add a fixed value to all of the velocities within the selection area.  The dialog will accept values between -127 and 127.  Negative numbers will result in a diminishing of velocity values.

Note:  If any operation would result in a value less than 0 or greater than 127, the value assigned is either 0 or 127 depending on which limit was encountered.


Change Pitch

The Change Pitch command can raise or lower pitches of selected notes two octaves in either direction (see Selecting in MusicTime).  If you need a transposition greater than this, use Change Pitch a second time.

In the Change Pitch dialog, the transpose amount is indicated by both the interval name and number of half-steps.  Scroll to the desired interval and select the choice by highlighting the name.  To the left of the interval names are the two choices used to determine in which direction (up or down) the change is to be applied.

Change Pitch alters both the position of notes and their playback, but it does not change the key signature.

Note:  Change Pitch removes reminder accidentals and enharmonics and applies standard defaults for the new pitches.

To change the playback of notes without changing their display, use the Key function in the Staff Sheet.

Related topic:  Key Signature/Transpose (Measures menu)


Make Chord

Make Chord combines two or more selected notes of the same duration into a chord (see Selecting in MusicTime).  Both MIDI Playback and the screen display are changed.

Make Chord can be used to change arpeggiated chords in imported or real-time recordings into an actual chord to which an arpeggio symbol can be added.

Make Chord will only work when notes are of the same duration.  If notes have been guessed to be different durations, first change all of the notes to the same duration.

When notes are combined into a chord, unless the notes were hand-entered with Auto Space off, the number of beats in the measure will change as well.  You may need to add rests or additional notes to complete the measure.  It is also a good idea to Align Playback.

Related topics:

Change Duration

Changing Durations For Notes Already Entered


Make Grace

The Make Grace command will turn any selected note into a grace note.  The note will appear on-screen as the commonly used small eighth note.  Its actual playback duration, however, will be the same as the original note (before it was turned into a grace note).

The Make Grace command was included more for printing purposes than for correct playback.  When you enter a grace note with Auto Space on (Setup menu), its duration is included in the total duration of the measure.  For example, if you turn an eighth note in a bar of 4/4 into a grace note, the rest of the notation in the measure cannot have a greater total duration than the equivalent of three quarter notes and an eighth note.

There are two ways to get around this.  First, you could turn Auto Space off and enter as many notes as needed into the measure.  It won't play back correctly, but it will print correctly.  The second, and probably best, workaround is to put the grace note in another voice.  It still won't play back exactly as notated, but it will play back and it will print correctly.  Remember to add the appropriate number of rests in the grace note's voice so that it does'nt play at the wrong time.  You can hide the rests in that voice using the Show/Hide dialog (View menu).

Adding grace notes and adjusting them for printout should be one of the last things you do when entering notes in a score.  Pasting measures that contain grace notes may yield unpredictable results and is not recommended.

Related topic:  Voices


Revert to Raw

Revert to Raw removes all stems, flags, beams and marks from notes and leaves the MIDI data associated with each note.  Raw data in MusicTime appears as note heads with accidental and tie information only.  Graphic information such as slurs and dynamics are unaffected by Revert to Raw and will remain in the score.

Use Revert to Raw when you wish to undo all the changes to a section of music and start over.  Select a transcription value after reverting to raw data and use Guess Durations to convert the raw data into notation.


Guess Durations

Guess Durations applies the duration value selected in Transcription Setup to selected "raw" data or previously "guessed" notation and converts the underlying MIDI data into notation (see Selecting in MusicTime).  The accuracy of Guess Durations will depend on both the recorded data and the transcription value selected.

MusicTime biases the Guess Durations function to avoid creating unnecessary rests and notes of awkward duration values.  Ordinary playing will usually consist of varying durations and pauses between notes.  A literal transcription of such playing would consist of an unreadable profusion of rests, double-dots and needlessly complex tied note combinations.  To avoid such a transcription, the Guess Durations function will round off the interpreted note and rest values to the duration specified in Transcription Setup .  The default transcription value is sixteenth notes.  The transcription value set in the Transcription Setup dialog can be saved in preferences.

If Auto Guess/Beam (Setup menu) is enabled, Guess Durations and the current transcription value will be applied to all recorded data and imported MIDI or Master Tracks Pro files.

If an imported or real-time recording is guessed incorrectly, you can change the transcription value and use Guess Durations again on all or part of the score.

Transcribing Triplets

When Guess Durations is used on triplets the result will depend on how accurately the triplets were entered.  Step-entered triplets can be accurately guessed by MusicTime down to a sixteenth note triplet, but only if the duration is used repeatedly.  When triplet values are combined with other durations or alternate with rests, the guess function will be less able to account for them and the result will vary according to the note's position.

When recording data into MusicTime in real time, it is important to play with more emphasis on maintaining the timing than might otherwise be used.  If you want the transcription to be as accurate as possible, play the music the way you'd like to read it, which is not necessarily the way you'd want to hear it .  If a sequencing program such as Passport Design's Master Tracks Pro is available, you can often improve the transcription even further by opening the file in the sequencer program first and using its quantize functions before importing the file into MusicTime.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[G]


Measures Menu

Click a menu item for more information.


Add Measure

Add Measure creates new measures anywhere within the score for either one or all staves in the system.

The default setting for Add Measure is to add one measure before a selected measure (see Selecting Measures).  The number of inserted measures can be changed.

The lower portion of the Add Measure dialog allows the new measures to be added to all staves or only on a single staff.  If you select single staff, the initial staff number will be obtained from the staff from which the measure was selected.  Enter a new staff number if you wish.

Add Measure does not have an undo option but the added measures can easily be removed with the Delete Measure function if you later decide they are not needed.


Delete Measure

Delete Measure removes measures from either one or all staves in a score and all data and information related to those measures.

Select the measures you wish to delete before opening the Delete Measure dialog.  The first measure selected and the number of measures selected will automatically appear in the dialog (see Selecting Measures).

Indicate whether you want to delete measures from all staves or just the currently displayed staff by clicking the applicable radio button.

Delete Measure is NOT UNDOABLE!  If you delete measures you meant to keep you can only regain those measures by reverting to a previously saved version of the file (assuming, of course, that you had saved the part you're trying to recover).  Revert to Saved will retrieve the last-saved version of your file.

Note:  MusicTime does not allow you to delete discontinuous measures.  That is, if you select only measures 1 and 5, the measure range will be 1 through 5 and Delete Measure will also delete measures 2, 3, and 4.


Tempo

The Tempo command is used to set the tempo of your score.  The tempo can be adjusted for the entire score or just a range of measures within the score.

If you select the area you wish to change before opening the Tempo dialog, your selection will be entered into the dialog's measure range (see Selecting Measures).

Note:  All measures between the first and last measure selected will be included in the operation.

Tempo changes are saved with the measure and not the measure number.  If a tempo change is made for measure 5 and then 5 measures are inserted before measure 5 on all staves, the tempo change will occur at measure 10.  When measures are inserted for only one staff, tempo changes are unaffected.

MusicTime allows a maximum tempo value of 400 beats per minute for a quarter note.  The minimum is 1 but values below 12 are less accurate due to the inaccuracy of the computer clock on which the calculations are based.

Related topic:  The Tempo Window

Finding the Current Tempo for a Measure

When the Tempo dialog is first opened, the tempo indicated in the Set all Tempos to... field is for the From measure in the selection range.  Tempo changes after this may exist but are not indicated.  If the measure range is altered within the dialog the tempo for the new range is not indicated.

Set all Tempos to...

This option will change all tempos in the selected area to the one tempo entered here.  If the selected measures contain different time signatures (for example, 4/4 and 6/8) each time signature will apply the new value to the beat value used.

Note:  The note duration that constitutes one beat is indicated by the lower portion of the time signature.  When the tempo amount is applied to the beat you should think of the tempo as applying to one note of the indicated value.  In 4/4 the tempo describes how long quarter notes are to be played.  In 6/8 the tempo describes how long eighth notes are to be played.  If a measure of 4/4 and 6/8 are both set to play at 100 an eighth note in the 4/4 measure will play twice as fast as the eighth note in the 6/8 measure.

Changing by a Percentage

Entering a percentage value for the defined measure range will scale the tempo and any changes already defined for the range.

Change Smoothly From...

This option lets you enter an initial tempo and an ending tempo and gradually changes from one to the other over the selected range of measures.  The tempo change is scaled to fit the number of measures within the selection.  Changes within each measure will occur on each beat for the time signature of the measure.  If there are different time signatures the tempo is applied to the beat value of each measure.

Add _ to all values

This option will increase or decrease (negative values can be entered) the tempos for the selected region by a fixed amount.  This operation will maintain the relative differences between tempos unless tempo limits are encountered.


Time Signature

Time signatures are used to indicate how many beats are in each measure and what note value is used for each beat.

MusicTime can define one time signature per system and measure as often as needed.  Measures and pages added to the score use the last time signature defined.  The time signature determines how many notes MusicTime will play for each measure but it is possible to both hide the time signature and enter more notes than can be played (if Auto Space is off).

Select the area you wish to change before opening the Time Signature dialog (see Selecting Measures).  Your selection will be entered into the dialog's measure range.

Note:  All measures between the first and last measure indicated will be included in the operation.

When the Time Signature dialog is first opened the time signature indicated is for the measure number that appears in the From box of the measure range.  If the measure range is altered within the dialog the time signature for the new range is not indicated.

Several common time signatures are included in the Time Signature dialog.

Note:  The number of clicks must always divide evenly into the number of beats (the upper portion of time signature).

Other

When the offered time signatures do not include the one you need, you can define one yourself using Other.  MusicTime allows up to sixteen beats per measure (the upper portion of time signature) and units of 1 (whole note), 2 (half note), 4 (quarter note), 8 (eighth note), 16 (sixteenth note) and 32 (thirty-second note).

When you use Other, the number of clicks will be updated to a common selection.  If you wish to base the click on another value you can enter the number after you have finished defining the time signature.  The click, however, must divide evenly into the number of beats.

Hide Meter

Hide Meter will simply hide the time signature.  The time signature is still used, however, when calculating the correct tempo and number of beats to be applied.  Hide Meter can be used to create a pickup within the score.  If a measure of 4/4 is instead defined as two measures, one 7/8 and the other only 1/8, the time signatures in both measures can be hidden and the result can be an eighth note pickup into the next section.

If the first measure is configured as a pickup bar, the measure range in dialogs will be affected as well.  Be sure to take the pickup measure into account when calculating measure numbers.  A pickup measure is represented by a dash ( - ) in the From field of a measure range and can be entered into the range by typing the hyphen key.

Note:  Measure numbers are unaffected by Hide Meter operations.


Key Signature

Key signatures can be defined for either a portion of the score or for the whole score.  When key signatures are changed, accidentals for notes within the section are changed but the pitches can either be transposed or left alone.  If you wish to change the pitches without changing the key signature, use the Change Pitch function in the Notes Menu.

Use the up and down arrows to select a new key signature.  MusicTime supports the 12 standard major and minor keys derived from the scales common to western music.  The major and minor indications appear to right of the vertical scroll bar.

Transpose Notes

If you wish to transpose the pitch for notes as well as change the key signature, place a check mark in the Transpose Notes checkbox and choose the direction the transpose operation should move the notes.

Transpose Notes will also transpose Chord symbols and Guitar Fret symbols.

Just This Staff

By default the Key Signature/Transpose dialog will change the key signature for all staves.  If you wish to change the key signature for only one staff, select that staff before opening the Key Signature/Transpose dialog.  If more than one staff is selected, a check mark placed in the Just This Staff box will only change the key signature for the lowest staff in the selection.

Just Delete the Current Key Signature

When a change of key signature needs to be removed, the option to Just Delete the Current Key Signature should be chosen.  This will remove all changes of key signature for the selected measure range.  The new key signature will be a continuation of any key signature used before the first measure of the affected measure range or the key signature will default to the key of C.

Note:  When Just Delete the Current Key Signature is used, the key signature in the dialog is ignored.

Changing the Key Signature for Playback

If you wish to change the key used for an instrument when playing the score use the Key function in the Staff Sheet.  This will transpose the notes for that staff to a new key for playback only and will not affect the display.

Reminder Key Signatures

When the next system in a score changes to a new key signature the change is indicated at the end of the previous measure.

Key signature cancellations and changes within a system are always indicated.


Measure Setting

The Measure Setting command lets you change barline types and add ending numbers and ending text to selected measures (see Selecting Measures).

Barline Types

Each measure in your score has both a left and a right barline type.  The default barline type is a single line drawn between each measure.  The default ending barline is a standard double-bar.

Left and right barline selections affect the first and last measures of the selection range only.  Adding repeats to the beginning and ending measures of a section can be performed in one operation.

The left barline type will be applied to the left side of the first measure in the range of measures selected.  The right barline type will be applied to the right side of the last measure in the measure range.

Ending Text

Ending text is used to enter measure endings within the score.  Additional endings can be defined using the Custom option.

To define an ending, select the measures before choosing Measure Settings.

Text boxes created within the Measure Settings dialog are standard text boxes.  When you exit the dialog, simply enter the desired text.  Font selections are made from the Text menu.

Changing the Vertical Position of Endings

The Text box labelled Place Text x Space(s) Above Staff enables you to set the vertical position for endings and Coda phrases.  One space is equal to the distance between two adjacent staff lines.

Phrase Text

The Phrase Text section contains various musical phrases used to direct the player in playing the score.

You can only select one phrase at a time.

Ending phrases are placed within the selected measure at a default location and can be adjusted vertically using Place Text x Space(s) Above Staff .  One space is equal to the distance between two adjacent staff lines.

Note:  Coda and segno signs can be found in the Symbols palette.


Measure Numbers

Measure numbers can be shown for every measure or at the beginning of each system.  If you select Each System, the numbers will automatically update when the layout is changed to show the new measure number beginning each system.

The first measure number is optional and hidden by default.  Enable Start with First Bar if you want a number over the first measure.

Measure numbers can be added or removed at any time.  If measure numbers are showing in the score they will also appear on printouts.

Font attributes for measure numbers are selected using the Font Selection item in the Setup menu.

If the first measure of your score is a pickup measure, click the First Bar is Pickup Bar checkbox.  The first measure will not have a number and the second measure in the score will be called measure one.

If the first measure is configured as a pickup bar, the measure range in dialogs will be affected.  A pickup measure will be represented with a dash ( - ) in the From field of a measure range.

If you would like the measure numbers to appear in a box, click Enclose Numbers in a Box.

MusicTime allows you to indicate whether you want your measure numbers to appear above or below the measures.  The default is zero spaces above the measure.  Any number from 0-7 can be used.


Align Playback

Align Playback changes the MIDI start times for notes within the selected area to exactly match the screen representation.  Align Playback can be used to change a real-time or imported MIDI file to perform closer to the transcription obtained.  Align Playback can also be used if extensive editing for a section requires re-establishing the correct note order and timing.

Align Playback does not affect durations.

Only notes within the selection are affected by the Align Playback operation.  Multiple areas on a page can be changed together using [Shift] to select additional areas after making the first selection (see Selecting in MusicTime).


Align Spacing

Align Spacing is used to establish the horizontal and vertical spacing relationships between notes, both within each measure and for all measures in the system.

Align Spacing affects all measures on all staves for the selected range of measures.

Notes are placed in the measure according to their indicated duration.

Note:  After all lyrics and symbols are added to each measure, you may need to make some final tweaks to the spacing.  These are best made using Nudge and not with Align Spacing.  Save often, save well, and save copies of your work as you progress.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[J]


Score Menu

Click a menu item for more information.


Add Page

The Add Page item allows you to enter any number of blank pages either before or after the currently displayed page.

All new pages created will use the page layout of the current page.  If you add pages after the current page, the last measure of the current page will be used to set the time signature and key signature for all measures in the new pages.  When adding pages before the current page, the first measure of the current page will be used to determine the time signature and key signature for all measures in the new pages.

Note:  Be careful when adding pages before the first page in your score.  If you have created a pickup measure, the time signature of that pickup measure will be used for all measures in the inserted section.

Add Page is not undoable.  If you wish to remove the added pages, use Delete Page.


Delete Page

Delete Page removes pages from your score.  If there is data in those pages the data is removed with the pages.

Delete Page is only available when two or more pages exist.

Warning:  Delete Page is NOT UNDOABLE!  If you delete pages with notation, the notation is lost.  You can use Revert to Saved to return to a previously saved version, but any edits made after the file was last saved will be discarded.


Add Staff

The Add Staff command is used for creating additional blank staves in MusicTime.

Select a staff (see Selecting Staves).  The new staff will always be added above the selected staff.  To change the staff order, drag a staff's number in the Staff Sheet window to another location.  The other staff numbers will be moved up or down to accommodate the new placement.

Add Staff is not undoable.  If a staff is added and you later wish to remove the staff, use Delete Staff.


Delete Staff

When a staff is no longer needed for the entire score you can use Delete Staff to completely remove the staff.

Delete Staff requires a selection (see Selecting Staves).  All selected staves will be removed.

Caution:  Delete Staff is NOT UNDOABLE.  All notation on the staves is deleted along with the staff or staves.


Split This Staff

Split This Staff takes an existing staff and splits both the staff and notes, giving you two staves.  MIDI files With piano parts on a single track can be changed to a piano staff within MusicTime for further editing with this feature.  Another use would be to separate two instruments notated on one staff onto two separate staves for each instrument.

Split This Staff requires you to select the staff to be split (see Selecting Staves).

Moving notes to a new staff

Two methods exist for determining what notes are moved to the new staff.  If the pitch selection is specified, then anything below the entered pitch will be placed onto the new staff.  The second method uses the voicing capabilities within MusicTime to separate notes.  For this to work correctly, the voice selected should fill each measure with the correct number of beats.

Note:  If you revoice a section just so you can split a few notes to a new staff, remember that changing the voice may require adding rests for all affected voices.  It is best to fully align playback after revoicing and adding any needed rests.

Setting the Clef

Four radio buttons are available for selecting the clef to be used on the new staff.  Additional clefs can be added after the staff has been created.


Connect Staves

Connect Staves is used to create and remove both Brackets and Braces and to break barlines between staves in a system.

Connect Staves requires selecting the staves to be changed before opening the Connect Staves dialog.  Selection of the staves should be made using the single-click method for selecting a system with additional staves selected by holding the [Shift] key down.  You can also use Select All if the operation is for connecting an entire system (see Selecting Staves).

Break Barlines

Barlines, sometimes called measure lines, are drawn between each staff in the system by default.  When lyrics are added to a system it is not uncommon to break the barlines below the staff with the lyrics.

Break Barlines will remove the barlines between the selected staff and the staff below.  If more than one staff is selected the barlines will continue to be broken in the same manner for all selected staves.

Brace

The Brace or curved bracket, looks like an archer's bow and is placed to the left of a system.  The brace is used for indicating two or more staves that are to be read and played together.  The standard use for the brace is for instruments such as the piano, celeste, harp and organ.

Bracket

The Bracket or Accolade is commonly used to connect chamber or choral music or to connect instruments in the same family for orchestral arrangements.

To add either brace or bracket or to break barlines for selected staves, check the appropriate box.

To remove one of these indications, select the appropriate staves and click in the box again to clear the check mark.


Center Staves

Center Staves will move all the staves, regardless of the vertical spacing within each system, to equidistant positions on the page.  If the number of staves does not fit, all extra staves are moved to additional tiles (for more information about tiles, see Printing in MusicTime).

Center Staves is a quick and easy method to redefine the page layout.  After adding or deleting staves in your score, or when changing the page reduction amount, you can use Center Staves to establish a basic layout that can be further edited as needed.

Center Staves is not undoable!

Related topic:  Moving Objects in MusicTime


Measures Per System

Measures Per System can change the number of measures for a single system or for all the remaining systems including the current system.

If you reduce the number of measures for a system, the extra measures will be placed in the next system or the next several systems.  When changing the number of measures to be greater than the current amount, measures in the following systems will be moved onto the current system.

Changing the number of measures per system can also change the number of pages depending on your selections and the number of measures and systems on each page.  MusicTime will attempt to keep the number of systems on each page the same.  As measures are needed to fulfill the measures per system request, however, unneeded systems will be removed from the end of the score.

When moving measures in this fashion, only the last system in the score is affected.  Rather than continuing to add them to last system, however, MusicTime will create new systems and pages when needed.

New systems are created when the number of measures in the last system equals the number of measures in the previous system.  That is, if the last system in your score has only one measure and the system before that has three measures, you can flow two measures forward before MusicTime will generate a new system.

New pages are created when creating a new system would create more systems than the previous page.

Note:  You can also change the number of measures in any system without using a dialog by placing the insertion cursor in that system and then using the bracket keys ( [ and ] ) to move measures to and from the following system.  The left bracket key will move measures onto the next system.  The right bracket key will move measures onto the current system.


Systems per Page

Systems Per Page is used to change how many systems appear on either the current page or for the current page and all remaining pages.

Changing the number of systems per page will frequently change the number of pages but will not affect the number of measures in each system.

If the number of systems for a page will not fit on a printed page, the extra systems are moved onto tiles below the bottom margin of the normal size page.  See Printing in MusicTime for more information.


View Menu

Click an item in the menu for more information.


Show/Hide

Show/Hide contains checkboxes to either show or hide notational elements and page layout options such as a rulers and page margins.

Control Points

Control points are the small black squares at the end or corners of many graphic objects that are used to define the shape and/or length of the graphic.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ ' ] will show/hide the control points.

Page Margin

The Page Margin delineates the area of the page that will be printed.  Staves and systems cannot be placed outside this area and graphics and text should remain inside the page margin.

When Page Margins have been enabled a broken line will indicate the page margin in the Score window.

Related topic:  Score Settings

Rulers

Rulers are useful in page view when aligning several objects at different locations.  There are choices for either inches or centimeters.  Ruler status (on or off) is saved with a score only, but the selection of inches or centimeters is saved in preferences.

Staff Name

Staff names can be displayed on the first page or on every page in the score.  When displaying the staff name on each page the names are displayed for the top system only.

Rests

Rests for each voice in MusicTime can be hidden.  The default has the rests showing for voice 1.

Hiding rests in MusicTime is provided because different uses for each voice may arise.  If a second voice is needed for only part of a measure, it may not be appropriate to use a rest in the first portion of that measure.  At other times, perhaps for the same instrument, rests may well be needed for more than one voice indication.  In many cases, the voice being indicated may technically be considered the same (in regards to the actual music indicated) but the need to sometimes hide or show the rests will require using two different voices to achieve that result.  With four voices provided, MusicTime gives you plenty of choices to cover even the most complex voicing situations (see Voices).

Color

MusicTime gives you the ability to display and print your music in color.  This can be useful for showing different parts or for differentiating between voices on a single staff.  Situations may arise, however, where it is necessary to hide the color.

Select On Screen and your score will be displayed in normal black and white.  To restore the colors, open the Show/Hide dialog again and disable the On Screen checkbox.

If your printer is capable of printing color or grayscale images, you may want a color score to print in black and white.  Enable the In Printout checkbox and the score will print in black and white.

Related topics:

The Color Palette

Score Colors


Score Colors

MusicTime's Color palette provides the fastest and easiest method of adding color to objects in your score.  The Score Colors item in the View menu is used for making global color changes based on voice or type of object and for setting the prefs or default colors for all new scores.

You can change the color of notes and rests according to the assigned voice.  You can also change the color of inactive voices, other symbols (dynamic markings, hairpins, symbols, text, etc.), and the score's background.

To change the color of any of these items, click the appropriate radio button.  Then choose a color from the color pop-up menu.  Each of the items listed in the Change Colors dialog has a graphic counterpart in the small example contained in the dialog.  When you change an item's color, the corresponding object in the example will change to that color and a check mark will appear next to it so you'll know which items you've changed.

You can also change the colors of the staves.  Click on one of the staff numbers in the list box to select it and then choose a color.  To set multiple staves to one color, hold [Shift] and click on two or more staff numbers.  Then choose a color.

You can revert to the default colors without exiting the dialog.  Simply click the Use Prefs Colors button.  If you click Cancel, no changes will be made.

If you choose Save Preferences from the Setup menu after using the Change Colors dialog, the current color settings will be used as the default, Prefs colors.

Related topics:

The Color Palette

The Voice Selector

Voices


Inactive Voices

When you use the Voice Selector to view and edit notes in one of MusicTime's four voices, the other three voices are inactive.


Size to Fit

Size to Fit changes the score's view to fit within the current window size.  The actual page layout is unaffected and notes and graphics are only scaled on the screen.

Size to Fit is an on or off option.  For users with smaller screens Size to Fit is very useful for seeing the entire width of the page at glance.  Even for users with larger monitors the score may not always fit entirely within the window and Follow Playback may require shifting the horizontal view to keep each measure within view.  Using Size to Fit will remove horizontal scrolling entirely and reduce the number of screen updates needed.

It is not recommended that you do extensive work on a score with Size to Fit enabled.  Editing, particularly horizontal placement, is only approximate with Size to Fit enabled.  For precise placement of notes and graphics, Size to Fit should be turned off.


Hide Floating Windows

MusicTime has several floating windows.  Floating windows are windows that always appear in front of other windows in a program;  they can only be hidden behind other floating windows.  In MusicTime, the palettes and the Tempo and Keyboard windows are all floating windows.  They will always appear in front of the Score window and the Staff Sheet.

The Hide Floating Windows command gives you an easy way to remove these windows from the screen without actually closing them.  This is especially helpful with smaller monitors.

Choose Hide Floating Windows from the View menu and any of the floating windows on screen disappear.  Choose Show Floating Windows and they reappear.

Note:  Floating windows must be opened from the Windows menu before you can use the hide/show command.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[K]


Windows Menu

Click an item in the menu for more information.


Palette

To open any or all of the eight palettes, select Palettes in the Windows menu and select from the palettes sub-menu that appears to the right.  Palettes that are already open will have a check mark next to them.

Palettes are closed by double-clicking in the palette's Control menu box.

Open palettes and their locations are saved with preferences and recalled the next time you run MusicTime.

In addition to opening each palette, you can also switch any open palette to one of the unopened palettes.  Click to the left or right side of the palette's name to change the palette to the next unopened palette in the list.  The right side selects the next palette below the current palette name in the list and the left side selects from above.  You can continue using this method to access unopened palettes until you reach the desired palette.


Keyboard

The Keyboard window is a graphic, on-screen keyboard that can be played with your mouse or from your computer's QWERTY keyboard.  This enables you to input music from a keyboard in step time or real time without the need for a MIDI keyboard.

Playing the Keyboard

To play the keyboard with your mouse, simply click on the keys.  If you have a sound card or MIDI module, you will hear the notes sound as you click on the keys.  The instrument sound you hear is determined by the channel and program settings for the active staff (the staff that contains the blinking insertion cursor).  The MIDI program and channel settings are made in the Staff Sheet.

To play the graphic keyboard from your computer's keyboard you must first enable QWERTY note entry mode.  Click the checkbox labeled QWERTY Keyboard Note Entry.  The illustration below shows the QWERTY keys you can play and their corresponding notes.

Input notes in step time or real time just as you would with a MIDI keyboard.  You can even use the QWERTY keyboard to parse chords.

Note:  When recording from the QWERTY keyboard in real time, turn Follow Playback off in the Setup menu for the best results.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Q] turns QWERTY Keyboard Note Entry mode on or off.

Chords

As you may already have noticed, you can't enter chords with your mouse.  You can play chords on your QWERTY keyboard, but the number of notes may be limited with certain key combinations.  There is, however, a simple method for step-entering chords.  Hold the [Shift] key and click on the notes that make up the chord.  When you release the [Shift] key, the notes will be scored as a chord.

You can also use the [Shift] key to enter chords from your QWERTY keyboard.

Changing the Octave

You can click any of the keys in the Keyboard window with your mouse, but if you're using your QWERTY keyboard your range is limited to an octave and a fourth (from C to the F in the next highest octave).

To shift the range up or down by octaves, drag on the little QWERTY keyboard icon in the Keyboard window (you must be in QWERTY Keyboard Note Entry mode to do this).  You can drag the keyboard icon left or right in one octave increments.

Keyboard equivalents:

Octave Up	[ + ]

Octave Down	[ - ]

Watch Staves

When you play a score back in MusicTime, the Keyboard window will indicate which notes are being played.  The Watch Staves button opens a dialog that allows you to choose which of the score's staves will be displayed in the Keyboard window during playback.

If the notes in the score have been set to a particular color, the appropriate keys in the Keyboard window will light up with that color when the notes play.  This can be handy while viewing different staves or voices simultaneously on the keyboard.

Displaying Notes on the Keyboard

The Watch Staves function is great for a player piano-like display of the relationship between the notes and keys, but if you're playing the piece back at tempo, it may be difficult to see the individual notes and chords.  If you use the arrow key selection technique while the Keyboard window is open, the selected notes will be highlighted on the graphic keyboard (see Selecting with the Arrow Keys).

Using the Arrow Tool, place the insertion cursor next to the note or chord you'd like to view.  Hold [Ctrl] and press the left or right arrow keys to select the event.  The note or chord is displayed in the Keyboard window.  The notes appear in the Keyboard window with the color assigned to them in the Score window.  Only single events (one note or chord) in a single staff can be displayed at one time.  You can hold [Ctrl] and press the left or right arrow repeatedly to step through the score.


The Tempo Window

The Tempo window provides a quick and easy way to globally alter the tempo of a song.  Changes made with the Tempo window affect the whole song, even if there are tempo changes within the song.

The Tempo window displays the current tempo in beats per minute (bpm).  The displayed tempo is for the measure that contains the insertion cursor.  There are three ways to change the tempo.

If you click the number at the top of the window a dialog appears.  Enter a new tempo in beats per minute and click OK.

You can drag the tempo control up or down to choose a new tempo.  You can even do this during playback to continuously vary the tempo.

You can use the + and - buttons to slowly and accurately increment and decrement the tempo.

The Reset button will cause the score to revert to the saved tempo.  This can be very helpful if you simply want to make temporary changes (for example, to record a particularly difficult passage in real time).  If, however, you save the score after changing the tempo with the Tempo window, the tempo will be permanently altered.

If you use the Tempo window to change a piece that contains tempo changes, all of the tempos will be scaled accordingly.  For example, a piece starts out at 100 bpm.  Then, after four bars, the tempo changes to 200 bpm.  If the insertion cursor is in the first four bars, the Tempo window displays 100 bpm.  If you change the tempo to 50 bpm, the tempo will now change to 100 bpm at measure 5.  Both tempos are reduced by 50%.


Staff Sheet

The Staff Sheet is used to configure each staff for playback and for the name displayed for the staff.

Click an item in the Staff Sheet for more information.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[L]

Related topic:  Changing the Staff Order


Play

To the right of the staff number is a field in the Staff Sheet that represents the play status for each track.  By default, each track will be play enabled.  This state is represented with a solid triangle.  To mute a track, click directly on the triangle.  This will turn the center of the triangle white and all MIDI playback for that track will cease.

Staves can be muted at any time and as many staves as desired can be muted.  The mute status is saved with the file.


Solo

The Solo field offers an easy way to temporarily mute other staves so that a single instrument or instruments might be heard.  Click in the Solo field for the staff you wish to solo.  A solid diamond indicates that a staff is soloed.

Staves which are not soloed will reflect their temporary mute status by changing the play indication (the solid triangle) to gray.

As many staves as desired can be soloed and the solo function can be enabled and disabled while playing.

Tip:  To remove the solo status from several staves at once, hold the [Ctrl] key down while clicking on any soloed staff.  Holding the [Ctrl] key down while soloing a staff will remove all other solo settings and only the selected staff will be soloed.


Name

The Name field is used within the score when Show Staff Names is enabled in the Show/Hide dialog.  The name is always placed to the left of the staff.

Click in the Name field to open the Staff Name dialog and enter a name for the staff.  The font used for staff names is chosen using the Font Selection item in the Setup menu.

Staff names are always right justified against the staff.  If you wish to change this, enter spaces after the name to offset the staff name.


Size

MusicTime provides four sizes for staves.  Click the Size field to open the Set Staff Size dialog.  Staff sizes can be set independently for each staff or a checkbox is provided for changing all staves at the same time.  Select the staff size using the radio buttons.


Key

The Key field in the Staff Sheet will transpose only the playback of the staff.  Clicking in the Key field will open a dialog identical to the Change Pitch dialog used to change the displayed pitch value of notes on the staff.

The Key function can be used to transpose individual instruments (staves) within a score to their proper key when playing back.  For instance, you could write a band arrangement in concert pitch and then transpose the brass instruments to their proper keys.  Another example would be when writing guitar transcriptions.  The notation for the guitar can be written an octave higher than played but using the Key function you can transpose down an octave for playback.

Related topics:

Change Pitch

Key Signature/Transpose


MIDI Channel (Chnl)

The MIDI Channel to be used for each voice on the staff is selected using the MIDI Channel dialog.  When you click the Chnl column, the Choose Channel and Port dialog will appear.  You can set a different channel for each voice in a staff.

To assign a unique sound to each voice in the Program Name column you will also need to assign a unique MIDI channel to each voice.

Note:  Port selections apply to all voices.  You cannot send voices to different ports for the same staff.


Prg/Program Name

The Program Name field is used to select a patch setting for your synthesizer.  The selected program (or patch) is one of the 128 numbers used in the MIDI protocol and the selection is sent to the synthesizer whenever playback begins from the start of the score.

The Program Name field has two display settings.  These settings are changed by clicking on the word Program Name (or Prg) at the top of the Staff Sheet.  The width of the column used for the program name will expand and collapse when toggling between the two display settings.

When the Program Name field is in collapsed view (Prg) it will display the MIDI program number for voice one in each staff.  Clicking on the Prg field will open the Choose Program dialog.

The Choose Program dialog uses only numbers to reference the program changes to be used for each of the four voices.  Program changes can be typed into the number field or you can use the scroll bar.  A 0 or - is used to indicate no program change.  When no program change is sent, the synthesizer will use whatever patch has been manually set for that channel.

When expanded, the Program Name column will use a text description for the currently selected program number and MIDI device.  The displayed program name is for voice one only.

Text descriptions for several popular synthesizers are included with MusicTime as well as the General MIDI description.  To display the list of the patch names, click on the current name in the expanded Program Name column.  This column will default to displaying none if the score is new.  The Choose Instrument dialog will open.


The Choose Instrument Dialog

The Choose Instrument dialog appears when you click in the expanded Program Name column to choose an instrument sound (MIDI program change number) for that staff.

Click an item in the dialog to learn more about it.


Bank Select

The MIDI spec allows for up to 128 programs.  Some instruments have multiple banks of 128 programs each.  Enter the appropriate bank number in this text box.

Note:  When sending bank select messages to Roland GS instruments, be sure to check the Roland GS checkbox.  Conversely, if you are sending a bank select message to a non-Roland instrument, make sure the Roland GS checkbox is un-checked.


Roland GS Checkbox

Check this checkbox when you are sending bank select messages to a Roland GS instrument.


Number

This box displays the MIDI program change number that corresponds to the current program selection.  A dash ( - )indicates that no program change will be sent.


The Device Menu

This is the Device menu.  The word device in this context refers to the actual hardware that is producing the sound.  That could be a sound card that complies with the General MIDI spec or an external MIDI sound module or instrument.  Several device files are included with MusicTime that list the factory preset sounds for various popular synthesizers.  You can also create your own custom device lists.

Click an item in the Device menu to learn more about it.


Device Names

These are the names of the currently loaded Device files.  Choosing a Device Name will display the preset instrument sounds for that device in the Choose Instrument dialog.


Program Names

To select from any of the available program names, click on the program name in the list.  When the focus is set to the program name list, you can use the arrow keys to select different programs.  A number can also be entered into the dialog if the Number field in the upper left corner is active.  The second field is used for changing the name of the program.

The default device selected in the Choose Instrument dialog is Generic.  This listing uses only the numbers to indicate the patch selected.  To choose from one of the other included devices, use the Device menu.

128 Program names are available for each device but not every synthesizer will use all 128.  In addition, some synthesizers may have more than 128 programs stored, but the MIDI Program definition only uses 128.  To use other programs on your synthesizer you will need to change the location of the program to one of the locations that can be recalled using the standard program numbers.

Related topic:  Assigning Different Programs to Each Voice

Changing the Program Name

Each name indicated for a device can be changed.  Changes made to names are added to the synthesizer descriptions within MusicTime.  You can use [Tab] and [Shift]+[Tab] to toggle between the number field and the name field while making changes.  Press the [Tab] key until the number is highlighted, enter a number and then use [Tab] again to highlight the Name field.  Enter a new program name.  If you want to enter another program name, press [Shift]+[Tab] to highlight the number field again and enter another program number.

As an alternate method of changing program names, you can click on the program name you'd like to change and then press [Alt]+[M] to highlight the name in the Name text box.  Type in a new name.  Click on another name in the list to continue.

Note:  Program selections are sent out in real time.  This means that if you wish to hear how the selection will affect your score you can begin playback, open the Choose Instrument dialog and then start selecting instrument patches.  As the program names are changed the notes being played will change to the new sound.


Setting the Focus

When the focus is set to a button or text field in Windows, a thin dotted line appears around it.  Clicking in the list of program names sets the focus to the name you clicked on.


Assigning Different Programs to Each Voice

The Voice text box in the upper right corner of the Choose Instrument dialog lets you choose which voice the current program selection will affect.

To make individual selections for any of the four voices, first enter the voice and then make your selection.

MusicTime allows you to use a different MIDI Channel and program for each of the four voices.  Normal use of the voices will not require unique sounds for each voice.  Occasionally, however, you may wish to write for two instruments on a single staff.  When this occurs you can assign a different program name for each voice used.

Note:  For different program names to be used you must also use different MIDI channels for each voice assigned a different sound.  For example, if you used voice 1 for a trumpet and voice 2 for a trombone you would need to assign voice 1 to one MIDI channel and voice 2 to a different MIDI channel.  If the other voices were unused they should be assigned to none to avoid interfering with other selections on different staves.

Related topics:

MIDI Channels

Voices


Copy Device to All Staves

When this checkbox is enabled, changing the device type for one staff will change the device referenced for all other staves as well.  This option does not change the actual program change sent to the synthesizer but only the reference label (name) used to describe the program being sent.

Related topic:  The Device Menu


Add New Device

Several devices are included within MusicTime and many more are available as separate files which can be loaded into MusicTime.  If none of the included devices matches your synthesizer, however, you can use Add to create a blank template within the Choose Instrument dialog.  You will be prompted to enter a name for your new device and the new device will be added to the end of the current device list.

To complete a new device, enter the names for each program on your synthesizer.  If your synthesizer has a display window for the current name, you may find it easier to watch that display as you select each program change before entering the name.

Note:  Some synthesizers number programs starting with 0.  MusicTime uses a 0 to indicate no change and always calls the first selectable program 1.


Delete Device

Delete Device will remove the currently selected device from the Device menu.  You will be prompted to make sure you wish to remove the device.  All devices except the first three can be deleted.


Rename Device

When you wish to change the name used in the Device menu, you can use Rename.  This will change the name displayed for the device in the menu.


Clone Device

Although the factory presets for many standard synthesizers are incuded with MusicTime, your own synthesizer may have several changes.  While you can simply alter the existing device as needed, you can also use Clone Device to copy the device first and then make any needed changes.  This has the advantage of keeping the original device in case you later revert to its factory settings.


Load Device File

Device files saved as separate files can be added to the current device list using the load command.  A standard File Open dialog will be presented when you use Load Device File and only device files will be presented within the dialog.  Select the file you want to add and OK the dialog.  The new device will be added to bottom of the Device menu.


Save Device File As

When Devices are customized or created from scratch you should consider saving the Device as a separate file in case you later remove the device or wish to use the device in another version or copy of MusicTime.  First select the device you wish to save from the Device menu.  Choose Save Device Files As and enter a name for the device file to be saved.


Volume

The volume field is used to set the volume for the staff.

The Volume field is similar to the Program Name field and will display either a fader in expanded view or a number value when in collapsed view.

Using the Volume Faders

When the Volume field is in expanded view, a fader is displayed for making changes for each staff's volume. Volume messages use MIDI Controller #7 for setting the volume level.

When using the volume fader the level is applied to all voices.  Changes made to the fader while a score is playing will affect the synthesizer in real time.

In collapsed view the volume field displays a number value.  Clicking on this number will open the Choose Volume dialog.

Note:  Your synthesizer must respond to Controller #7 messages for the volume settings to have an effect.


Changing the Staff Order

The order in which the staves appear within the system can be changed from within the Staff Sheet.  Changes made to the staff order affect all systems.

To change the location of a staff, click on the number for the staff in the Staff Sheet and drag the staff up or down to the new position.  Release the mouse button and the staff will be moved to the new location.

Note:  It is strongly recommended that you remove any braces or brackets before rearranging the staff order.


Setup Menu

Click an item in the menu for more information.


MIDI Setup

The MIDI Setup dialog box is used to manage MusicTime's MIDI communications.  In order to use MusicTime, you need to configure the software so that it works properly with your hardware.  Refer to the manual that came with your MIDI interface or sound card if you are unsure about your interface connections.

The MIDI Setup dialog box contains 4 drop-down list boxes.  These list boxes allow you to route the flow of MIDI data to and from MusicTime.  The devices that appear in the list boxes will vary depending upon the MIDI drivers installed in your system.  MusicTime will recognize any Windows 3.1-compatible MIDI drivers installed with the Drivers applet (which is generally found in Windows' Main program group).

You may already have noticed that when MusicTime displays a MIDI channel, such as in the Staff Sheet window or on the Thru button, the channel number is preceded by a letter.  This letter refers to the output port.  MusicTime has two output ports, Port A and Port B.  This effectively gives MusicTime 32 channels of MIDI output (16 on each output port).  The two top list boxes (labeled Port A and Port B) allow you to assign the output ports to specific hardware devices.  For example, if you have a single port MIDI interface or a sound card, you could use the Port A list box to select the driver for that device (assuming the driver has already been properly installed).  There are numerous possibilities depending on the hardware you've got.  Some sound cards allow you to address their on-board synthesizers and MIDI outputs separately, so you could assign one port to the synth and the other port to MIDI out.  Or you might have two MIDI interfaces.  Or two sound cards.  Or a dual port MIDI interface.  The choice is up to you (and your wallet).

Below each of the output port list boxes is a checkbox labeled Transmit Sync.  Click this box to transmit MIDI sync messages on that port.  MusicTime transmits MIDI song position pointer and MIDI clocks.  Unless you are actively using this function, it is recommended that you turn transmit sync off.

The next list box is labelled Record port.  This is MusicTime's MIDI in' port, the port that MusicTime will use to receive MIDI data from your master keyboard or other MIDI master controller.

When you record or play music in MusicTime, the tempo is governed by a master clock.  This clock is either derived from your computer's internal clock or from an external source such as a drum machine or another sequencer.  The last list box allows you to choose the MIDI in port for sync data when you are using an external sync source to drive MusicTime.  This could be the same port as the Record port.  Or you may wish to keep the note data and sync data separate.  This will ensure that the timing is as accurate as possible.

The Sync Source radio buttons allow you to choose between internal and external clock sources.

MIDI Thru allows you to send the MIDI data coming in on the record port back out over either port and on any channel.

About Thru

Most MIDI controllers are also sound-generating instruments like synthesizers or samplers.  If you are using only one synthesizer, you may not need to use Thru.  If you have more than one synthesizer, however, Thru can let you play one synthesizer with another.  Unless you wish to hear both synthesizers playing together, you should either turn the master controller's Local Control off or mute the synthesizer being used to send the note messages.  Turning Local Control off essentially splits an instrument into a master controller and a sound module.  For example, if you have a keyboard synthesizer and you turn Local Control off, performance data (note-ons, note-offs, modulation, whatever) will be transmitted via the instrument's MIDI out port as usual.  But the instrument's internal, sound-generating hardware will not respond to your playing unless that data is somehow routed to the instrument's MIDI in port.

MIDI Thru is turned on or off by clicking on the Thru button in any Score window.  The Thru button is located in the Toolbar between the Stop button and Measure Indicator.

MIDI Thru can be configured to always use the same port and channel or you can have the Thru channel and port choices follow the port and channel of the current selected staff in your score.

When MusicTime is set to always use the same port for Thru, the "-" choice will use the same channel as the MIDI Synthesizer sending the data.

When Follow Current Staff is selected, the Thru channel and port will change whenever you click on a staff in your score that is assigned to a different channel and/or port than the last one.


Record Setup

Record Setup is used for determining both a split point when recording in real time and for selecting what types of MIDI data are to be either recorded or imported into MusicTime.

The Split function allows you to split incoming notes at a specific pitch location when recording in real time.  For split to work properly, you should have two staves showing in your score.  Set the starting point for the record process by clicking in the top staff of the two staves to be used when recording the split.  The split point can be anything from C-2 to G8 but is usually somewhere near middle C (C3).  MusicTime defaults to C3.  The split point responds to MIDI input, so you can experiment with your keyboard or controller if you are unsure what might be appropriate.  Notes below the selected pitch will be placed in the lower staff.

The Record only choice is used for both real-time input and also when opening (importing) a MIDI or Master Tracks Pro file.  Each checkbox acts as a filter, allowing the selected MIDI Data type to be recorded or imported with a file.

Note:  The record settings do not affect the Thru function.  This means that turning off pitch bend will not prevent pitch bend messages from being sent over the Thru channel and port.

Warning!:  If you uncheck the item Notes you will only see rests when recording or importing files.

Record Setup choices are saved with preferences.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[R]


Transcription Setup

The Transcription Setup item is used to select the shortest duration value to be used when guessing recorded or imported MIDI note data.  Note durations shorter than the selected duration will be rounded up to the selected duration.  Essentially, this means that if you select sixteenth notes in the Transcription Setup, a guess operation will never convert a note into any duration shorter than a sixteenth.

Related topic:  Guess Durations


Click Setup

Click Setup is used to configure your system to generate a metronome click.  The Bar Click is used at the beginning of every measure.  The Beat Click will sound for  the number of clicks assigned to the measure in the Time Signature dialog.  This number will frequently be the same as the top portion of the time signature.

MusicTime can generate a click sound using either the computer or a MIDI note message.  Using MIDI for the metronome click is highly recommended.

Internal Click

The internal click setting uses your computer's built-in sound capabilities to generate a metronome click.

The settings for pitch and duration affect the internal click.

MIDI Click

Use MIDI Click to generate the metronome with your synthesizer or drum machine.  Drum machines are a common choice for a MIDI click, but you can choose any sound or patch you like.

The Pitch field in the Click Setup dialog responds to MIDI Input.  If your synthesizer can send note data to MusicTime, you can set the choice for the Bar and Beat clicks by playing the note.  First, be sure Thru is turned on and set to the same channel and port as your choice for click before you open the Click Setup dialog.  In the Click Setup dialog, highlight the Pitch field ([Tab] will advance through each field) and then play notes into MusicTime.  The Pitch field will display the pitch of notes as they are entered and the note will be sent through on the channel and port selected for Thru.

When using MIDI, the velocity and duration settings may have different effects for each sound.

Count In

When recording in real time, the Bar Click is played for the number of beats of the time signature of the measure in which recording is to start.  If measures are pickup measures, the count in may be affected.


Font Selection

The Font Selection sub-menu enables you to select a separate font, point size, and type style for each of the following items:  lyrics, chords, staff names, and measure numbers.  When you choose an item in the Font Selection sub-menu, the Font dialog appears.


Click On/Off

This command will turn the metronome click on or off (see Click Setup for more information).

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[F]


Follow Playback

When Follow Playback is on, a cursor appears on the beat that is currently playing back and the score scrolls as it plays.

The playback cursor will center the page while scrolling to keep the current staff and measure in view.  Place the arrow pointer in the measure and staff where you wish playback to begin before starting playback.

You may wish to use the Size To Fit item in the View menu to avoid horizontal scrolling during playback.

The Follow Playback status is saved in preferences.


Auto Guess/Beam

If on, this function will automatically execute the Guess Durations and Beam on Beat commands on all recorded data, imported MIDI or Master Tracks Pro files and step-entered notes.

Auto Guess/Beam will also automatically beam notes together when adding or erasing notes with the Pencil and Eraser Tools.

The Auto Guess/Beam status is saved in preferences.


Auto Space

This function will automatically justify notation for you after several different operations in MusicTime.

When adding or erasing notes or rests with the Pencil and Eraser Tools, Auto Space will justify the notes in the measure being edited.

When pasting notation, the Auto Space function will apply an Align Spacing operation to the measures affected by the paste.

The Auto Space function will beep if you attempt to add a note or rest to a measure which is full.

The default is Auto Space on.  If you don't want MusicTime to automatically space the notation, choose Auto Space to remove the check mark.


Save Preferences

The following settings are saved whenever you choose Save Preferences from the Setup menu.

Windows

Keyboard status (open or closed) and position

Tempo status (open or closed) and position

Staff Sheet status (open or closed) and position

Score window position

Thru Status (on or off)

Open palettes and their positions  (The current palette selection and tuplet choice are not saved.)

Custom colors in the Color palette

Measures Menu

Measure Numbers (showing and layout)

View Menu

Show/Hide

Control Points (on or off)

Page Margin (on or off)

Rest Status for all voices (showing or hidden)

Show/Hide Color

Score Colors (color defaults)

Setup Menu

MIDI Setup

All port selections

Sync Selection

Thru Selection

Record Setup

Split point (Status and MIDI Note split point)

Data to be recorded (or imported from MIDI and Pro files)

Transcription Setup quantize value

Click Setup

Internal or MIDI

All settings for Bar and Beat click

Click On/Off  (on/off status)

Follow Playback (on/off status)

Auto Guess/Beam (on/off status)

Auto Space (on/off status)


Selecting in MusicTime

Drag Selection 	Using the Arrow pointer to select regions.

When is an Item Selected? 	What portion of an item needs to be selected?

Shift-Selecting Notes 	Using the [Shift] key to select specific notes.

Selecting Measures 	Selecting all the music in a measure or measures.

Selecting Staves 	Selecting all the music in a staff or staves.

Selecting an Entire Page 	Selecting all the music on a page.

Selecting with the Arrow Keys 	Using the arrow keys to select individual events or entire measures.

Combining Techniques 	Combining the techniques listed above for special uses.

A Note About MIDI Paste 	A cautionary note about playing while notes are selected.


Drag Selection

Highlighting by dragging with the arrow pointer is a very common technique in Windows.  (You probably know how to do this, but we'll describe the basic operation anyway.)

Using the arrow, click at the upper left corner above the notes or graphics you want to select.  Click and hold the mouse button down and drag diagonally from upper left to the lower right.  While dragging, you should see an inverted version of your score appearing in a growing rectangle.  As long as you hold the mouse button down you are drawing the selection.

Adding to a Selection

MusicTime also allows to you add to a selection.  This can speed things up quite a bit when several different areas on a page all need the same change.

After selecting one area in MusicTime, hold down [Shift] while making additional selections.  These can either be made by clicking and dragging with the mouse or by using one of the other selection techniques discussed in this section.

Note:  Caution should be used when drag-selecting additional areas.  Avoid creating overlapping areas of selection.  If one selection overlaps another selection, the overlapping area will appear as a normal score again (non-inverted).  This technically means the area is not selected, but overlapping areas are difficult for MusicTime to account for and should be avoided.  If you don't want the area selected, don't select it in the first place!  Keep selections from overlapping and everything you select will be properly recognized.


What Constitutes a Selection?
When is an Item Selected?

When drawing selections with the Arrow Tool, what portion  of an object must be highlighted in order for MusicTime to consider it selected?  Ideally, you should carefully select the entire object.  That way you'll know exactly what will be affected by your edits.  But in reality, only certain parts of objects need to be selected in order for the whole object to be selected.  If you're aware of this, you can avoid making mistakes if the selection you've drawn is a little sloppy.

Selecting Control Points

Some objects have control points--small handles that you can drag to move, resize, or reshape the object.  Normally these control points are invisible, but you can display them by choosing Show/Hide from the View menu and then clicking the Control Points checkbox.

The number of control points associated with a graphic object depends on the type of object.  For example: text boxes have four control points (one at each corner); slurs have three (one at each end and one in the middle); lines have two (one at each end); ties have one (in the middle).  The left control points are the main control points recognized for selections.  When an item has four control points, selecting the left control point needs to either include both control points or more than a quarter of the left edge.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ ' ] will show/hide control points.

Selecting Items Without Control Points

Some objects, such as notes and rests, don't have control points.  When selecting these, you should select the entire object.  But, again, an object may be selected even if the selection you've drawn covers only part of that object.  Read on for more specific information.

Notes

It may be helpful to know that a note is recognized as being selected even when its left side is the only part of it that's highlighted.  When notes have upward stems (if there is a stem at all), selecting just the first pixel at the tip of the note's head counts as selecting the note--and selecting everything but the tip doesn't count!  If a note appears stems down, the far left side is the stem and the same rule applies;  select just the stem and the note is still selected.  Select anything but the stem and the selection will not be recognized.

Rests

The rules for note selection also apply to rests.  If the left side of a rest is highlighted, the rest is selected.

Other Graphics

Dynamics,marks and chord symbols (both text chords and guitar indications) all have a control point in the approximate center.  As soon as a selection includes the center for one of these items, the graphic is selected.

Clefs

The initial clef in a system cannot be selected.  Clefs that have been added after the beginning of a system can be selected and cleared or erased with the Eraser Tool.


Shift-Selecting Notes

A special selection method is provided for selecting individual notes and rests, even when they are part of dense chords or passages.  This technique is called shift-selecting.

When a note is shift-selected, the note head appears in outline to indicate the note has been selected.  For example, if your score has black notes on a white background, the shift-selected note's head will be white with a black outline.  Shift-selecting notes is very fast and efficient once you understand what to do.

To shift-select a note, hold down [Shift] and click directly on a note's head.  The note's head is displayed in outline and the note is selected.  If you hold [Shift] down you can click on additional note heads to add to the selection.  Far easier, however, is to hold the [Shift] key and the mouse button down while you move the arrow pointer over additional note heads and rests.  Notes and rests are selected as the arrow passes over them.

If you mistakenly select a note or rest, hold the [Shift] key and click on the object to de-select it.

If you release the [Shift] key and click, all selections are cleared.

Shift-selecting notes becomes more natural the more you use the technique.  Before long you'll be gliding your mouse through your score and selecting entire regions easily for editing.  There are a few situations where shift-selecting is not recommended, however, and other selection techniques are more appropriate.

Shift-selecting notes is particularly useful for flipping the tie direction within a chord without changing the stem direction of either chord the notes are part of.  When MusicTime ties notes together in chords, it tries to arrive at logical solutions for the tie directions, but you may need to change some for your score.  Shift-select the two tied notes and press [Ctrl]+[shift]+[T] to change the tie direction.

Note:  Copying and pasting partial note information from beamed groups or chords is not recommended for any copy operation, including standard drag selection.  If you need to copy something from a group, you should either copy and paste the entire group and then erase what you don't want, or separate the item from the group before copying.


Selecting Measures

What if you want to select everything in one measure in one staff?  You could draw a selection rectangle to include everything in the measure, but the easiest and most reliable way to select a measure is to double-click within it.  For this to work, you must double-click with the Arrow Tool in some 'empty' portion of the measure--that is, don't double-click on a note, rest or other graphic item.  This double-click will invert the colors of the objects in that measure and everything within the measure is selected.

One advantage of double-clicking to select a measure is that you make sure you don't accidentally select a measure in another system.  The areas between systems can be difficult to see and may even overlap in some cases.  Use the double-click method whenever possible and use the drag selection technique when selecting only a few of the notes in a measure.

Selecting Additional Measures

When using the double-click method to select measures, add measures to the selection by holding down [Shift] and double-clicking each additional measure.


Selecting Staves

There are two special methods for selecting staves.  The selection techniques are similar, but the results are different.

Single-Click Selection

When all the measures of a staff need to be selected for one complete system, you don't have to select each individual measure in the system.  The area to the left of each staff has a hot spot where a single click will highlight the entire staff.

Double-Click Selection

When a double-click is used to select a staff, the staff is selected in all remaining systems from that point to the end of the score.

Selecting Additional Staves

To select additional staves, hold down [Shift] and click (or double-click) to the left of each additional staff you wish to add to the selection.


Selecting an Entire Page

Use the Arrow Tool to double-click on a page icon to select an entire page.  Page selections performed in this fashion are for single pages only.  (That is, additional pages cannot be added to the selection using [Shift].)


Selecting with the Arrow Keys

The left and right arrow keys are normally used to move from measure to measure.  When used in conjunction with the [Ctrl] key, however, the arrow keys can also be used to select notes.

Open a score or enter some notes for several measures in a new score.  With the Arrow Tool, click in a measure to define a starting location.  Hold down [Ctrl] and press the left or right arrow key.  Each time an arrow key is used to move forward or backward, the next note or rest event will be selected.

If [Shift] is held down while selecting in this fashion, each new note will be added to the selection.  Releasing [Shift] and selecting again will clear the selections made.

If [Ctrl] is held down while using the up and down arrow keys, entire measures will be selected.  Again, if [Shift] is also held down, continuing to use the up and down arrow keys will add additional measures to the selection.

When selecting single events (one note or one chord) with the arrow keys, the Keyboard window will display the selected notes.  This is a handy way to step through a piece of music and see how the notes relate to the keys on the keyboard.


Combining Techniques

Once you've mastered the basics of selecting, you can combine the various techniques.  For example, let's say you want to select several measures starting from the second half of a measure that occurs in the middle of a system, to the last measure in your score.  First, use the Arrow Tool to select the half-measure at the beginning of the selection.  Next, hold down the [Shift] key and double-click in the following measures in that system to select them.  Finally, while continuing to hold [Shift] down, double-click to the left of the next system and you will have selected all the measures to the end of the score.

That is only one way to combine these selection techniques.  Other possibilities will occur to you as different situations present themselves.


A Note About MIDI Paste

Playing your MIDI master controller (keyboard, guitar, or whatever) while events (notes or rests) or regions are selected in MusicTime may inadvertently result in a MIDI Paste.  If you select a note or rest and then play your instrument, the selected event will be replaced with the note or chord you play.  The duration will be the same as the original event.  If a region is selected, the first event in the region will be replaced.


Moving Objects in MusicTime

Moving Notes 	Dragging notes with the Arrow Tool.

Moving Rests 	Dragging rests with the Arrow Tool.

Drag-Copying notes and rests 	Copying a note while dragging it to a new position.

Moving Beams and Brackets 	Adjusting the height and angle of beamed notes and tuplet brackets.

Moving Marks 	Adjusting marks attached to notes.

Moving Text 	Dragging text boxes with the Arrow Tool.

Moving Lyrics 	Adjusting the position of lyrics.

Moving Chord Symbols 	Adjusting the position of chord symbols.

Moving Other Graphics 	Moving unattached marks, hairpins, and other graphic objects.

Moving Barlines 	Adjusting measure widths.

Moving Staves And Systems 	Dragging staves and systems for better spacing and layout.


Moving Notes

The hot spot for notes is always the note head.  Use the Arrow Tool to click on the note head and drag to adjust either the note's pitch or its horizontal placement.  Dragging up or down changes the note's pitch.  Moving left or right changes the horizontal placement.

Notes can only be moved along one axis at a time.  That is, if your first movement is up or down (to change the pitch), you cannot change the horizontal placement with the same movement.  If your first movement is left or right (to change horizontal placement), you cannot change the pitch.  If you need to change pitch and horizontal placement, drag the note one way, release the mouse button, and then drag it the other way.

When pitch adjustments are made, each pitch adjustment up or down will send a MIDI Note message on the channel and port used by the staff.

MusicTime does its best to align notes that are added to the middle of a measure or moved out of order in a measure.  Such operations are better avoided, however, as more consistent and reliable playback will occur when everything is entered from left to right in the proper order.  If a later portion of a measure requires extensive editing, it is better to erase the portion than to continually edit the existing material.

Note:  If, when moving notes and rests, you choose to work with Auto Space off, you will need to use both Align Playback and Align Spacing after adding notes to the middle or beginning of a measure.  If an Align Spacing operation moves notes to the "wrong" locations, undo the operation and then check to see if rests are missing.  Use Align Playback before using Align Spacing .


Moving Rests

The hot spot for rests is either the center of the rest, when moving whole, half and quarter note rests, or towards the base in the case of eighth note rests and shorter durations.

Rests behave in the same fashion as notes and will move either horizontally or vertically depending on which movement is applied first.  When moving vertically, the rests are adjusted to the nearest staff line.


Drag-Copying Notes and Rests

If the [Ctrl] key is held down while a note or rest is moved, the note or rest will be copied to the new location.  When notes and rests are copied in this fashion the normal rules regarding the Auto Space and Auto Beam functions are ignored.

Note:  It is strongly recommended that you use Align Playback after copying notes or rests using the [Ctrl] key.  If you wish MusicTime to automatically correct the measure spacing for the newly copied data use Align Spacing as well.


Moving Beams and Brackets

Beams have three hot spots.  Each end of the beam or bracket can be moved to change the angle.  The center of the beam or bracket is used to adjust the height without changing the angle.

Adjusting the angle of a beam.

Adjusting the height of a beam.

Adjusting the angle of a bracket.

Note:  When a beam is dragged up or down across the attached notes, the stems will automatically flip to connect to the beam.  Since brackets are not related to stem direction, moving a bracket above or below a group of notes will not affect the stem directions involved.


Moving Marks

Marks, when attached to notes, are adjusted by clicking on the note head with the same mark selected and the [Shift] key held down.

Related topic:  Adjusting Marks.


Moving Text

Text boxes in MusicTime can be moved by clicking anywhere within the text box and dragging.  To better see the text box it is recommended that you show the control points.  The four black control points (or handles) define the four corners of the text box.  Click anywhere within this area to move text boxes.  It is not necessary to click on actual text characters.

Because the entire area used for the text box is recognized with each mouse click, it is generally a good idea to size each text box to the same size (or a little larger) than the text entered.  This will minimize problems with text boxes that overlap other graphics.

When text boxes or graphics do overlap (and sometimes they will on purpose), MusicTime will alternate between layered items for each move operation.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ ' ] to show/hide the control points.


Moving Lyrics

Individual lyrics can be adjusted horizontally by clicking and dragging on the lyric.  The vertical height for lyrics in each system uses an adjustment arrow that appears while working in lyric mode.  See The Lyric Tool.


Moving Chord Symbols

Chords, both text and guitar indications, are adjusted horizontally in the same fashion as lyrics by clicking and dragging on the chord indication.  The vertical height for the chords is adjusted using the vertical alignment arrow that appears to the left of the system in chord mode.  This adjustment is identical to the way lyrics are adjusted vertically.  See The Chord Tools.

Note:  Text boxes, lyrics and chords can all be copied while dragging by holding the [Ctrl] key down before the item is moved.  Lyrics which are copied in this way remain in the same lyric line but are not associated with any note.


Moving Other Graphics

All other graphics in MusicTime can be moved by clicking on the graphic image and dragging.  To move dynamic markings, click anywhere on the image and drag.  Some of the items in the Graphics palette, such as the hairpins or the ellipse, are similar to text boxes and have four control points.  These graphics are moved by dragging anywhere within the area defined by the four control points.

Keyboard equivalent:  [Ctrl]+[ ' ] to show/hide the control points.


Moving Barlines

A hot spot for barlines exists where the barline and top staff line intersect.  When a barline is adjusted, the spacing of notation within the measures on either side is also adjusted.  Here is an illustration showing a barline being moved.


Moving Staves And Systems

Staves and systems have a hot spot that is used to move the vertical or horizontal position.  To change a staff's position you click on the hot spot with the Arrow Tool and drag it to a new location.

Finding the Staff Hot Spot

The hot spot for a staff is the upper corner.  When moving a staff, use the Arrow Tool and click precisely on the corner of the staff where the top staff line and the beginning (or ending) barline meet.  When the correct spot has been selected, a ghost outline of the staff will appear.  Continue to hold the mouse button down and drag to move the staff.  The outline of the staff will move with the mouse to show where the new staff position will be.

Note:  If you are selecting a staff on the left side and the entire staff becomes inverted, you have clicked a little too far to the left.  To the left of each staff is a hot spot for selecting the staff.  The junction of the lines at the top corner of the staff is the hot spot for moving the staff.  If the staff becomes selected by mistake, click once in the staff to clear the selection and try again.

Both upper-left and upper-right corners can be used to change the vertical placement for a staff and system.  Margin indents for the right or left side of a system are set by selecting the corner for the side you wish to change.

When a staff is moved, the distance between all staves and systems below the staff remains unchanged.

If the top staff of the first system on a page is moved, all systems on the page will move as one and the relative spacing between them will remain the same.  If the top staff of any other system is moved, only the distance between systems is affected.  When any staff other than the top staff is moved, only the spacing within the system is affected.

Changing All Remaining Systems

If you hold the [Ctrl] key while moving a staff, all remaining staves and systems in the score are changed by the same amount.  For example, if the [Ctrl] key is held down while the bottom staff of a piano system is moved down , all the remaining systems in the score are given that same spacing between staves.

If the [Ctrl] key is held down while dragging the top staff of a system, all remaining systems will be spaced the same distance apart.  As an example, hold the [Ctrl] key down and drag the second system for a piano score further away from the top system.  When you release, the distance you created between the first and second system will be used for all the remaining systems.  If the [Ctrl] key was not used only the distance between the first and second system would have changed.

Changes made with the [Ctrl] key only affect the staves and systems after the one that is moved.  Previous systems are unchanged.


Voices

Voices are used by MusicTime to notate two or more melodic or rhythmic concepts on the same staff or for several staves when using a piano staff.  This could be two instruments playing different parts, such as two flute parts on one staff, or one instrument, such as a piano, for which hands and even fingers can generate different rhythms simultaneously.  Whenever either the instrumentation or performance requires two or more musical ideas to coexist on the same staff or staves, MusicTime uses voices to keep the concepts distinct for both playback and beaming operations, as in the example below.

Four voices are available in MusicTime.  When different voices are used to notate a measure, each voice becomes equivalent to an individual instrument with its own part.  It is important, therefore, to make sure that each voice's musical line is complete within the measure (that is, all the metric time is accounted for with notes and rests, even if the rests are hidden).

To both specify and check the voicing used in your score, you will need to use the Voice Selector.  The Voice Selector is found in the upper left corner of the Score window.

The Voice Selector

When the Voice Selector is set to one of the four voice selections, only notes and rests in the selected voice will be displayed in solid black.  All other voices will appear in light gray.  (For the sake of clarity, we'll assume you haven't changed the default colors and that active voices are black and inactive voices gray.)  In addition, only the current voice will respond to selections, mouse actions or edit operations.

The Voice Selector will also affect playback.  When any of the four voices are selected in the Voice Selector, only notes belonging to the selected voice will be sent over MIDI.

Rests In Different Voices and Hidden Rests

Rest are also affected by the Voice Selector and selecting a specific voice in the Voice Selector will display rests for the selected voice as solid black.  Rests in other voices will appear in light gray.  Rests can also be hidden, however, and the Voice Selector will not show hidden rests!  Use the Show/Hide dialog to show the rests for a voice when editing.

Voices and Editing

When 1-4 is selected in the Voice Selector, all voices are affected by both selections and edit operations.  Notes entered while the Voice Selector is set to 1-4 are assigned to voice one.

When the Voice Selector is set to a voice from one to four, notes recorded in real time, step entered or added with the mouse are entered using that voice number.  Paste operations respect the Voice Selector settings and all pasted material changes to the specified voice number.

Stem Direction and Voices

When notes are entered in either the default mode or voice one, the following rules for stem direction are applied.  Notes below the middle staff line are stems up and notes from the middle staff line up are stems down.  This default is applied when the note is entered or moved to a new pitch with the mouse.

Note:  Nudge Up and Nudge Down do not change stem direction.  Change Pitch and Transpose do not change stem direction either.

If Auto Space is off, enter each voice by clicking in the notes from left to right.  If Auto Space is on, notes are best added from the far right side of the measure, letting the auto spacing routine perform the spacing for you.

Voices and Beaming

An important rule concerning beams and voices should be remembered when working with MusicTime:  Beams can only be created between notes that are in the same voice.

If notes are selected and changed to a new voice, all beams drawn for the selected notes will be removed.  For this reason, voicing operations should be performed prior to beaming operations whenever possible.

When To Use Another Voice

To better understand how to use the voicing capabilities of MusicTime, it is important to know when a musical idea will require two or more voices.  The example below uses two voices.  The total number of beats used in the first measure is greater than the time signature.

To enter this example, the quarter notes were entered in voice one (the default voice).  For this example, the quarter notes were also changed so that all were stems up.  The Voice Selector was then set to voice two and the whole notes were entered and the two whole notes tied.

In general, when entering two voices it is easiest to first enter all the notes needed for voice one.   Next, select the measure and use [Ctrl]+[U] (or select Stems Up from the Notes Menu) to flip all of the voice one notes to stems up.  Then, set the Voice Selector to voice 2 and proceed with entering the next voice.

Changing the Voice Selector to View Separate Voices

Using the Voice Selector to select first voice one and then voice two will allow the notes assigned to each voice to be clearly seen.

This is how our example appears when the Voice Selector is set for voice one only.

When the Voice Selector is set to voice 2, the display changes to indicate the whole notes in voice two.

What Happens If I Don't Use Different Voices?

The previous example cannot be properly created in MusicTime without using two voices.  An attempt to add a whole note in voice one after adding the quarter notes and rest would not achieve the same result.  If you try to add a whole note with Auto Space on, it would either be ignored or added to the closest note, forming a chord.  When a note joins another note, the duration will change to the duration used for the note previously entered.  Even if Auto Space is disabled, you might succeed in adding a whole note in voice one after adding the quarter notes and rest in voice one, but the playback would be incorrect.

For MusicTime to perform and align a measure with more than one voice, each voice must be properly entered.  Each voice should completely fill the number of beats for the measure based on the current time signature.  When voices are required to begin on beats after the initial downbeat, the proper amount of rest indications should be entered before the first notes.

If a measure is edited or entered out of order (that is, from back to front or inside out), Align Playback and Align Spacing may be needed to correct MIDI playback.

Using Additional Voices

What if additional sixteenth notes were needed?  That would require using a third voice.  In the following example, a sixteenth note phrase was added for the last beat.

Here are the new notes and rests as viewed when the Voice Selector is set to voice 3.

The choice of voice 3 for the added notes was made only to provide a clear example of the additional voice as if it was added as an afterthought to our previous example (or being played by a third instrument).  In general practice, it is recommended that voices be entered using voice one for the highest pitched notes in the score.  This is only a recommendation, however, and, as long as care is taken to complete the voices used in each measure, any voice number can be used.

More Examples Using Two Voices

Sometimes two or more voices will be needed even when the same durations are used.

In the previous example, two voices have been used to create the beamed groups.  The stems-up notes are all in voice one.  The stems-down notes are all in voice 2.  This example could be for two instruments notated on the same staff or to indicate that both left and right hands are used to play the phrase.

Showing/Hiding Rests

When more than one voice is used within a measure, there may arise a need to hide rests that would otherwise confuse or complicate the way the measure is read.  The following example shows  a measure with a hidden rest.

Here is the same example showing just the notes in voice 3.

And here is the example with the rest showing.

Unless the stem directions were changed, these two examples would not mean the same thing to a musician seeing the notation.  When the use of a rest detracts from the notation, consider using a different voice and hiding the rest.

Entering Additional Voices

When creating a measure requiring a hidden rest, show the rests while creating the measure and create the measure by adding notes and rests from left to right.  If Auto Space is on, it is best  to enter the pitches from the right side of the measure.  This way the notes will be positioned evenly as they are added and the proper number of beats will be correctly incremented.  If Auto Space is off, the notes should be added with regard to proper spacing.

Voicing MIDI Files and Live Recording

When sequenced material or real time recording requires voicing, Align Playbackshould be used to update the MIDI information after changing notes and rests to their new voice assignments.

When changing voice assignments, use the Voice Selector to isolate each voice.  Then count the number of beats used.

Another method to quickly check for timing changes is to use Align Spacing and check the alignment for each voice.  Sometimes a missing rest or miscalculated duration will become apparent after Align Spacing attempts to correct the spacing based on the existing information.

If this is the case, undo the operation and turn Auto Space off.  Correct the problem by either inserting new notes or rests with the Pencil Tool or changing the duration of existing material.  After correcting the problem, select the measure and use Align Playback.  Align Spacing should also be used to correct timing problems.  When a measure is edited extensively, however, it may become necessary to erase portions and re-enter the information in the correct order.

Note:  Whenever multiple voices are being edited, check the rest status in the Show/Hide dialog.  Spacing and voicing is extremely difficult and confusing if rests are hidden for voices being edited.

Voicing a Real Time Recording

The following example shows what our earlier example looks like when recorded in real time.  To change this into two voices, a second voice will need to be created for the appropriate notes, the missing rest added to fill the timing gap that results from the new voicing, and then the playback will need to be aligned.

First the tied notes are selected and changed to voice 2.

Next, the quarter note is selected and changed to a whole note.

At this point, both measures are selected and Align Playback is used.  Actually, only the first measure would require alignment  in this example, but it is a good idea to align all of the measures involved in the edit.  When there are notes tied between measures both measures can be affected by the voicing operation.

Next the rest is added in front of the quarter notes in voice one.

Finally, the last two quarter notes are selected and stems are changed to point up.

As you can see, voicing even simple recordings involves clearly identifying the voices within each measure and then isolating   the voices.  After identifying the voices and selecting and changing notes that should use a different voice, care must be taken to replace notes that were removed with rests and durations changed for notes in each voice to correct timing.  This can require several steps.  Whenever possible, consider recording or importing only  a single voice and then adding the second voice afterward.  This will usually require fewer steps than separating voices.


Printing in MusicTime

Computers are wonderful tools for creating music, but the printed page is still easier to share with the rest of the world.  Maybe some day this will change, but for now the final step for a score will usually be printing the score and parts out to paper.

Printing and page layout should be considered from the moment you begin to create a new score.  The choice of paper size and reduction or enlargement factor will all affect the page layout and appearance of your score.

Although each score will generate its own requirements, there are some general guidelines that seem to apply to many scores.  A reduction factor of 80% with staff size 3 is ideal for most piano-vocal arrangements.  The reduction percentage can be designated in either the Score Settings or Print Setup dialog.  (The two dialogs are linked, so entering a reduction value in one will alter the other as well.)  Larger scores can sometimes require additional reduction amounts or a smaller staff size.  See the section on output quality for important information about reductions.

MusicTime should work with any Windows 3.1-compatible printer.  Make sure the most recent printer driver is installed and that your printer is selected as the default.  (Use the Printers Control Panel in the Main program group to set the default printer and install printer drivers.)  Your printer must have at least 1 megabyte of RAM.

Note:  Do not use the Generic printer driver choice.  This is for printing text only.

Fonts used when creating a score should also be available when printing.  If a font cannot be found when a file is being opened, an alert will appear asking you to choose a substitute.

Before printing, carefully check the pages to be printed for spacing and other page layout considerations.  Ideally, this should be done as each page is created.  If your score is a large orchestral arrangement, you may need to consider the spacing for each tiled section as well.  The following sections explain how MusicTime uses tiles and the printer selection to determine the page margins and layout options.

Page Margins and Page Layout

Before you begin working with page margins, you should make sure the correct printer is selected with the Printers applet in Windows Main program group.  The correct paper size and options are selected in the Page Setup dialog and are saved with your score.

The Score Settings dialog allows you to choose a margin setting for the score or use the default setting for the selected printer.  The easiest way to make sure a score's layout is consistent on multiple printers is to select a set width for the page margin.  If you do use the default setting and then switch printers, you should print a sample page to make certain that the layout has not changed significantly (it may not change at all).

Note:  The Printer Default setting for margins may not work properly with some printers.  If, for example, music is being printed off the edge of the page, you should select a set margin width.

After selecting a printer, paper size and entering a reduction or enlargement factor for your score, you will need to check the page margins to see how the page layout appears.  Open the Show/Hide dialog and put a check mark in the box for Page Margins.  The page margin is displayed as a broken line surrounding the score.  The actual size within the margin is determined by the paper size selected.

Systems are set to the current page width by default.  You can indent systems on either side, but MusicTime will not allow you to move a system outside the left or right margins.  Top and bottom margins do not limit system placement.  The bottom page margin in particular, is important when considering page layout.

The bottom margin can extend into extra tiles used to print additional sections of a score.  When MusicTime cannot fit the number of staves or systems within the current page margin, additional tiles are created automatically.

Tiles

When several staves are used in a system, even legal size paper or page reduction may not fit the entire score on a single page.  MusicTime addresses this problem using tiles.  Each tile is the same size as the paper size specified in the Print Setup dialog.  Tiles are displayed vertically below the page margins and are accessed using the vertical scroll bar.  Tiles are added only for those pages that require them.

Assembling Tiles after Printing

Tiled scores are assembled using transparent tape, rubber cement, paper clips or chewing gum .  Such assembly is not exactly high tech, but certainly much less expensive than using a printing service!

Note:  If you get serious about printing a score, there are printing services that can print to paper sizes larger than standard printers provide.  Such printing services can sometimes connect directly to your PC or you can give them an EPS or PostScript file.  When attempting such a project, consider the extra time and expense needed to work on the page layout for your score.  If possible, arrange to do some test printing.  In addition, if a driver for the printer exists, you should be able to use that driver without the printer connected to perform page layout in advance.

Creating Tiles

Most likely you will not need to create tiles, as the number of staves on each page will automatically create additional tiles when needed.  If your layout requires additional tiles that are not available, you can force MusicTime to generate them for you.  Any time a staff or system is moved below the bottom page margin, MusicTime will create new tiles.  To force the tile to be created, take any system and drag it down as far as possible.  Systems moved below the bottom of the page will appear to move off the page.  The next time the vertical scroll bar is used, the scroll bar will update to allow access to the tile.

Several operations can automatically generate tiles.  Tiles will appear whenever there isn't room for everything on the page.  This can happen after adding new staves to a system, changing the number of systems per page, centering the systems or any other method to change the page layout.  In addition, if the page reduction size changes, tiles may either appear or disappear as needed.

Removing Tiles

Sometimes unwanted tiles will need to be deleted.  This may occur if you have been moving systems around and a system has been moved below the bottom page margin in the process.  Unwanted tiles can be easily removed by repositioning the staves and systems to fit within the page or number of tiles desired.  If you are in the early stages of page layout, either change the number of systems per page or use Center Staves.  These options are discussed more in the section describing the Score menu.

Note:  Staves that appear between tiles or on top of margin lines will not print.

Another method to make quick but controlled changes to page layout is to use the [Ctrl] key while adjusting the distance between two systems.  The use of the [Ctrl] key will change the distance between all systems after the system is adjusted.  See Moving Staves And Systems for more information.

Output Quality

MusicTime achieves high-quality output using TrueType and/or PostScript Type 1 fonts.  The quality of your printouts will depend entirely on the printer used.

The fonts that come with Windows 3.1 are TrueType fonts.  The Anastasia and Frets fonts are included with MusicTime in TrueType format.  This font format has many advantages.  TrueType fonts can be scaled to different sizes and they will retain a clean, smooth appearance both on-screen and when you print them out.  The print quality is quite good on both PostScript and non-PostScript printers.  TrueType fonts generally print faster than PostScript fonts and they require less printer memory.

The only disadvantage to using the TrueType fonts is that some distortion could occur at certain reductions.  This distortion usually manifests itself in the form of a missing staff line.  Unfortunately, this occurs at different reductions on different printers so we can't just tell you to avoid certain reductions.  You may not even encounter this problem, but you should be aware of it in case you do.  Changing the reduction percentage should fix the problem.

If you are using a PostScript printer, you may get slightly better print quality with the PostScript Type 1 fonts (also included with MusicTime).  The PostScript fonts can be used at any reduction without problem.

The disadvantage of using the PostScript fonts is that your computer will need Adobe Type Manager or a similar program to install the fonts so that they'll download properly.  The PostScript fonts also occupy more printer memory than the TrueType fonts.

Note:  If you're using Adobe Type Manager or similar type software, you may want to turn it off while you're using MusicTime.  When ATM is on, it uses the Type 1 fonts to draw the music to your screen.  The TrueType font's on-screen appearance is superior.  If the Type 1 fonts have been properly installed, they'll get downloaded whether your type management software is turned on or off.  If the type management software is turned off, you get the best of both worlds:  TrueType on screen, Type 1 for printing.

Resolution

The output resolution should be set to the maximum resolution of your printer for best results.  Select Page Setup from the File menu and use the Print Setup dialog to set the resolution (in dots per inch or DPI).  It should match the maximum resolution of your printer.  If it doesn't, change it so that it does match.

Note:  The Print Setup dialog looks different for different printers.  You may have to click an Options or Advanced Options button to find the text box for setting resolution.