Free Text

With Composer, you can add "free" text anywhere in the score. The term "free" refers to the fact that you can freely determine the exact position of the text, in contrast to some other types of text. Lyrics are always lined up across a staff; and so are chord names. Free text does not have to line up with any other text or symbols in the score.

You can use free text for several types of annotations in a score, including:

Tempo markings, such as Adagio or rallentando.

Expression directives, such as "with feeling" or "con espressione".

Playing directives, such as "R.H." for right hand.

The following example, from the main theme of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, illustrates the use of free text:

Composer formats a score so that free text objects belonging to one staff do not overlap any objects in an adjacent staff. However, within a given staff, Composer does not attempt to avoid the overlapping of a text object with other objects. Thus, when you place a free text object in the score, you may need to find a free space for it. However, if you place the object above or below other objects in the staff, Composer will always move the adjacent staves to make room.