Tutorial: Adding Annotations |
In this step of the tutorial, we will "dress up" a score with several types of annotations, which offer the musician reading the score instructions and suggestions for performing the music:
The procedures for adding each of these types of annotations are presented here in less detail than other procedures in this tutorial. By now, you probably have already developed a sense for how things work in Composer. So, you will likely be able to predict how to accomplish most tasks, such as adding annotations. We will start with an excerpt from the main theme of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The starting file RhapsodyInBlueWithoutAnnotations.not will include only the notes, and no annotatons. We will add one of each type of annotation listed above. To see what the completely annotated score looks like, you can open and view the file RhapsodyInBlue.not. To open the starting file for this step of the tutorial:
To add an accent mark:
-- OR -- Type SHIFT+A. Technically, some of the symbols in the Accent Palette are not accents. Rather, these marks are annotations that are displayed immediately above or below notes.
You can add two accents for the same note or chord by selecting two symbols in the Accent Palette.
To add a dynamic mark:
-- OR -- Type SHIFT+D.
-- OR -- Type the shortcut for the dynamic mark. For example, the shortcut for is "mf". The shortcut for is "f1", and for is "f2".
To add a hairpin crescendo mark:
-- OR -- Type"<" for a crescendo, or ">" for a decrescendo mark.
This step is not necessary if you typed "<" or ">" in the previous step.
Composer will add a new crescendo mark, which will initially extend to almost the barline of the same measure.
Other options are available in the Crescendo Mark Palette for vertically centering the crescendo, or extending the start or end of the mark to an adjacent measure which is perhaps on a different line (system) or page of the score. To add a tempo mark:
-- OR -- Type SHIFT+F.
Composer will display a blinking text cursor.
-- OR -- Type CTRL+ or CTRL+ to increase or decrease the font size, and CTRL +B or CTRL+I for bold or italic.
It is also possible to mix music symbols with normal text in free text objects. For example, you can create a tempo mark that looks like this: For instructions, see Mixing Music Symbols and Normal Text. To add a slur (phrase mark):
-- OR -- Type SHIFT+S. If the Sustain Pedal Palette is displayed first, type SHIFT+S a second time for the Slur Palette.
Composer will automatically fit the slur to the contour of the notes above or below, and will adjust the start and end of the slur to appropriate positions relative to the first and last notes under the slur. In many cases, you will likely find Composer's automatic placement of the slur quite acceptable. However, if desired, you can adjust the start and end position of the slur, and the shape of the slur.
Try dragging the four red handles to get a feel for how they work. For details, see Changing the Shape and Extent of a Slur. |