Dear Paul and Stefan, I have run into a few more issues (anomalies?).
I’ve attached screenshots and a project file for reference. The issues already occur in the first three bars of a piano sketch I’m currently working on.
NOTE VALUES and GRACE NOTES vs. STACCATO
In the top voice of bar 1, the F appears four times. Let’s examine the first, third, and fourth F notes. In the Key Editor (KE), all three have an identical length of 0.0.1.84, yet in the Score Editor (SE), they are displayed as three different note values: a dotted eighth, a sixteenth, and an eighth note, respectively. My intention was to have all three notated identically, as they should sound the same: an eighth note played non-legato with the following note. (The third F should indeed be notated as two tied sixteenth notes due to the syncopation.)
When I try to extend the third F in the SE to an eighth note, its length changes to 0.0.2.0, which sounds noticeably different. Meanwhile, reducing the first F to an eighth note by unchecking the single rhythm dot in the Note Input Toolbar doesn’t work—the dot stubbornly remains.
Also in bar 1, the second note in the top voice appears as a grace note (F), where I intended a staccato sixteenth note following the dotted eighth F. This grace note notation seems illogical to me.
- I would play a grace note much shorter and closer to the following note.
- A grace note would naturally be played within a slur with the next note, whereas in the project file, you can see a gap between the two notes, consistent with how a staccato is performed.
If I increase the note’s length in the KE, it becomes a sixteenth note as intended. Subsequenty adding a staccato dot in the SE results in the correct notation but doesn’t match the intended sound, as the length in the KE remains unchanged at 0.0.1.0. This issue occurred with five grace notes across the three bars—all of which were meant to be staccato sixteenth notes (0.0.0.60) or non-legato (0.0.0.84). Only the natural D in bar 1 was correctly notated as a staccato sixteenth (length 0.0.0.60).
I also tried resolving the unwanted grace notes another way: in bar 3, the D# should be a staccato sixteenth but played within a slur with the preceding F. Selecting both notes and clicking the slur button in the Note Input Toolbar created a slur spanning from the F to the Db (one note too far), which negates the intended staccato for the D#.
Suggestion: When a staccato is added in the SE, it might be helpful if the KE automatically adjusts the note length to ensure it sounds like a staccato.
Returning to bar 1: the F chord has a KE length of 0.0.3.0, corresponding to a sixteenth note (on the first beat) tied to an eighth note (on the second beat). The notation was performed as a sixteenth note, coupled with a dotted eighth note (which would correspond to a KE length of 0.1.0.0). I wanted a sixteenth rest between the F chord and the following Eb chord. However, I had to reduce the length to 0.0.2.95 to achieve the desired notation. Strangely, at 0.0.2.97, four of the five notes suddenly appear as eighth notes in the SE, while the F2 has its own unique notation as an eighth note tied to a sixteenth (with the eighth also tied to a sixteenth in the first beat). Even if there’s a way to fix all of this, the process seems labor-intensive and impractical for larger projects.
In bar 3, the top E note and the five chord notes were set to 0.0.1.98 in the KE, intended to be eighth notes played detached from the following C (i.e., non-legato). However, the SE displays note values corresponding to an E of length 0.0.1.0 — much shorter. I cannot seem to align the notation with the intended sound. At this point, it seems I would need to create two separate project files—one for accurate notation and another for accurate playback. I hope this can be avoided.
ENHARMONY
In bar 2, beat 3, a B chord is displayed (in the chord track and as a chord symbol in the SE), but the notated notes form a Cb chord. While Cb makes sense given the preceding harmony, one might also opt for B considering what follows. If we choose B, the notation should adapt accordingly. Moreover, going with a Cb chord, the grace note is shown as G#, even though the key signature includes an Ab, and all other notes at this position are flats. This inconsistency is confusing and contrary to music theory.
A similar issue occurs in bar 3. Here, the D# grace note should be an Eb. I attempted to fix this but couldn’t. On page 12 of the manual, I read: “Note Input Toolbar – Contains note value buttons and enharmonic shift buttons”. Clicking the flat symbol in the toolbar changed the D# to Db rather than the enharmonic Eb. I couldn’t find a solution in the KE either. I recall the KE’s note names adapting to chord track settings in previous projects, if I’m not mistaken, but this no longer seems to work.
PEDALING
I’m unsure about the logic used for notating sustain pedal markings with “Ped.” versus brackets. I often use the sustain pedal for tonal color in addition to sustaining notes, often making precise pedaling essential. However, I don’t see a way to achieve the correct notation for this. In the KE you can also see that I often release the pedal to give non-legatos and staccatos the necessary space. For example, in bar 3, first beat, the pedal should give space to the second F3 to sound staccato. The notation in the SE does not indicate this correctly.
DYNAMIC MARKS
How can I place the FF in bar 1 between the staves? In bar 2 this happened automatically, by pointing the cursor correctly…
Paul + Stefan PF 20241127.cpr (344.1 KB)