Notes and rhythm

A note begins with its duration and pitch. The following notes can reuse a duration, while each voice keeps its own musical line. Start with that simple reading, then add the detail the phrase needs.

Choose a subchapter

• Notes and pitch — choose pitches, read octave movement, spell accidentals, and write chords or solfège.
• Rhythm and silence — enter durations, repeated notes, rests, dots, tuplets, pickups, and grace notes.
• Beaming — let the meter group notes, describe subdivisions with a pattern, or connect chosen notes. Addressed maps are advanced controls.

Read one musical phrase

meter 4/4
4C5 D 8E F G A | 2G 4r C

Original canonical spelling

meter 4/4

4C5 D 8E F G A | 2G 4r C

4C5 opens with a quarter-note C in octave 5. D keeps that duration. 8E changes the duration to an eighth for E, F, G, and A. The barline separates measures. 2G is a half note, 4r a quarter rest, and C keeps the quarter duration. Nothing extra is needed to request ordinary beams.

Put the phrase in a score

For a complete file, start with File syntax. To place independent hands or players on their own staves, continue with Parts, voices, and measures. Articulations and expression have their own chapter, Articulations, dynamics, and text.