Chapter 5
Markings and text
Articulations, dynamics, slurs, text and repeats are all added the same way: pick the notes or measures, then the command. Almost all of them are also heard in playback, and they import and export with Finale and MusicXML.
How markings are added
The commands live in three places, and each does exactly the same thing:
- the Edit menu on the Mac (with the keyboard shortcuts listed at the end); on Windows they have a menu of their own, Notation, next to Edit;
- the Articulations (⌘9, Ctrl+9 on Windows), Expressions and Lines tool palettes, at the bottom of the palette on the left, as in Finale;
- for repeats, the Document → Repeats and Jumps menu and the Repeats and Jumps palette.
A marking goes on the notes selected with the Selection tool (or with one of the palette tools), or, in Speedy Entry, on the note at the cursor: that way you can add an accent or a dynamic while you type, without switching tools.
To move a marking by hand or delete it, see Moving items by hand.
Articulations
The Articulation submenu (in Edit on the Mac, Notation on Windows) has accent, staccato, tenuto, staccatissimo, marcato and fermata. The command adds the articulation to the selected notes, or removes it if they all have it already. Articulations sit on the notehead side; marcato and fermata always go above.
In playback, accent and marcato make the note stronger, staccato and staccatissimo shorten it, and a note under a fermata lasts twice as long.
Trills, breath marks and caesuras
The same Articulation submenu also has the trill, the breath mark and the caesura. In playback the trill alternates the note with the next note up in the key; breath marks and caesuras shorten the note they belong to.
Tremolos
Tremolo: 1, 2 or 3 slashes on the stem (eighths, 16ths, 32nds), or None to remove it. In playback the note is repeated at that value.
Arpeggios
Arpeggio puts a wavy line to the left of the chord (choose it again to remove it). In playback the chord is rolled from the bottom up.
Dynamics
Dynamic: from pppp to ffff, plus fp, sf, sfz, sffz, sfp, fz and rfz. The dynamic goes below the staff, at the first selected note. On the Mac, ⌃1…⌃8 enter ppp to fff and ⌃0 removes the dynamic that is there (on Windows, Notation → Dynamic → Remove Dynamic).
In playback, dynamics set the volume, drums included.
Hairpins
Select at least two notes on the same staff and choose Crescendo or Diminuendo. The hairpin runs from the start of the first note to the end of the last, at the height of the dynamics. In Speedy Entry it runs from the note at the cursor to the next one.
In playback a hairpin moves the volume gradually toward the dynamic that ends it.
Slurs
Select the first and the last note (or everything in between) on the same staff and choose Slur. Choose it again on the same notes to remove the slur. Slurs jump over the notes in between and break across systems by themselves.
Glissandos
Glissando between two notes on the same staff draws a line labeled “gliss.”. Choose it again to remove it.
Octave lines
Octave Line: 8va, 8vb, 15ma and 15mb over the selected notes. The notes are written one (or two) octaves away but sound where they are: Maestro draws the dashed line with its end hook and, if the line carries over to a new system, repeats it in parentheses.
Text lines
Text Line (cresc. - - -)… asks for the text (“cresc.” by default) and writes it at the first selected note, followed by a dashed line to the last one. Use it for “cresc.”, “dim.”, “rit.” and the like. In playback “cresc.” and “dim.” behave like hairpins, while “rit.” and “accel.” change the tempo along the line.
Removing slurs, hairpins and lines
Remove Slurs, Hairpins and Lines removes the slurs and glissandos touching the selected notes, and the hairpins, octave lines and text lines that start among them.
Text and rehearsal marks
Text… opens a dialog where you pick the type and type the text:
- Technique, above the staff (“con sord.”, “pizz.”);
- Expression, below the staff, in italics (“dolce”, “cantabile”);
- Tempo marking, in bold above the system (“Allegro”, “Swing”, “Rock ♩ = 108”);
- Rehearsal mark, in a box (A, B, C…).
The text goes at the selected note; with a measure selected it goes at the start of the measure, on the first selected staff. Rehearsal Mark… opens the same dialog with the rehearsal mark type already chosen and the next letter filled in.
Tempo markings and rehearsal marks belong to the whole score: they appear in every part, break multimeasure rests and stay in place when you insert or delete measures. Tempo markings also affect playback: “♩ = 132” changes the tempo, “Swing” or “Straight 8ths” turn swing on and off (see Playback and audio).
Remove Texts removes the text at the position of the selected note or measure.
Lyrics
- Select the note where the lyrics begin (or put the Speedy Entry cursor on it).
- Choose Lyrics….
- Pick the verse (1 to 6) and type the text, with words separated by spaces and syllables by hyphens: “Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb”.
- Click Assign.
Maestro puts one syllable on each note, from the selected note onwards, skipping rests, grace notes and tied notes. If some syllables don’t find a note, it tells you.
Each verse has its own line below the staff, at the same height across the system. Hyphens appear between the syllables of a word, and a word-final syllable sung over several notes (a melisma) gets an extender line, even across a line break. Dynamics move down below the lyrics.
Remove Lyrics removes the lyrics from the selected notes.
Repeats and jumps
Select one or more measures and choose from Document → Repeats and Jumps (or the Repeats and Jumps palette):
| Mark | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Repeat Start | at the start of the first selected measure |
| Repeat End | at the end of the last selected measure |
| Ending (Volta)… | over all the selected measures; asks which passes it is played on (“1” or “1, 2”) and suggests the next number |
| Double Barline | at the end of the last measure |
| Segno, Coda | at the start of the first measure |
| To Coda, Fine | at the end of the last measure |
| D.S. al Coda, D.S. al Fine, D.C. al Coda, D.C. al Fine | at the end of the last measure |
Choosing the same mark again on the same measures removes it; Clear Items from Measures, at the bottom of the menu, removes all of them from the selected measures.
Repeat barlines get their dots on every staff, endings get their bracket (closed when the music goes back). The marks follow measure insertions and deletions and time signature changes, and they break multimeasure rests.
Playback and the cursor follow the order of performance: after a D.C. or D.S. repeats are not taken again and the last ending is played. To play everything once, in written order, turn off Playback → Play Repeats.
Keyboard shortcuts
The ⌃ shortcuts exist only on the Mac; on Windows the same commands are in the Notation menu.
| Command | Mac |
|---|---|
| Accent | ⌃A |
| Staccato | ⌃S |
| Tenuto | ⌃T |
| Staccatissimo | ⌃E |
| Marcato | ⌃M |
| Fermata | ⌃F |
| Dynamics ppp to fff | ⌃1…⌃8 |
| Remove Dynamic | ⌃0 |
| Slur | ⌃L |
| Crescendo | ⌃C |
| Diminuendo | ⌃D |
| Glissando | ⌃G |
| Text… | ⌃X |
| Rehearsal Mark… | ⌃R |
| Lyrics… | ⌃Y |
| Automatic Position | ⌥⇧⌘R |