Chapter 2
Entering notes
Maestro has two ways of entering notes, the same as Finale: Simple Entry, with the mouse, and Speedy Entry, with the computer keyboard. You can switch between them at any time, and both work with a MIDI keyboard too (see MIDI keyboard). Everything you enter can be undone with ⌘Z.
Durations
As in Finale, you pick durations with the number keys, in both Simple Entry and Speedy Entry:
| Key | Duration |
|---|---|
| 1 | 64th note |
| 2 | 32nd note |
| 3 | 16th note |
| 4 | eighth note |
| 5 | quarter note |
| 6 | half note |
| 7 | whole note |
| 8 | breve |
Whole notes through 32nd notes are also in the palette above the score; each button’s tooltip reminds you of its key. Add or remove an augmentation dot with . or the dot button in the palette.
Simple Entry
Simple Entry (⌘2) is the easiest way to start.
- Choose a duration in the palette (or with keys 1–8).
- Click on the staff at the pitch you want: the note is added after the last one in the measure.
- Keep clicking: when the last measure is full, a new one appears.
The note you just entered stays selected, so you can fix it right away:
| Key | Effect on the selected note |
|---|---|
| ↑ ↓ | Move the note by a step |
| ⇧↑ ⇧↓ | Move the note by an octave |
| + - | Raise or lower by a semitone |
| . | Add or remove the dot |
| ⌫ | Delete the note |
| R | Turn rest entry on or off |
Accidentals: the flat, natural and sharp buttons in the palette apply to the next note you enter. Notes always follow the key signature: in D major, a click on the F line writes F♯.
Chords: click on an existing note at a different pitch, and the new pitch is added to the chord.
Rests: turn on the rest button in the palette (or press R) and click in the measure. With rest entry on, clicking an existing note turns it into a rest; with rest entry off, clicking a rest turns it into a note.
Speedy Entry
Speedy Entry (⌘3) is the fastest way, and it is Finale’s. Click a measure (or double-click a measure with the Selection tool): the Speedy Entry cursor appears, showing where and at what pitch you will enter. The cursor sits either on an existing note or at the end of the measure, where the next note will go.
Entering
There are two ways, and you can mix them:
- with numbers: move the cursor’s pitch with ↑ and ↓, then press the duration number. The note is entered at the cursor’s pitch.
- with letters: press the note name, A to G. Maestro picks the octave closest to the cursor and uses the last duration you chose.
After each note the cursor moves on; when the measure is full it goes to the next one, and at the end of the score it adds a new measure. Notes follow the key signature.
If the cursor is on an existing note, a number changes its duration and a letter changes its pitch; then the cursor moves to the next note. This lets you correct a passage by stepping through it.
Speedy Entry keys
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1–8 | Enter a note with that duration (or change the duration of the note under the cursor) |
| A–G | Enter that note (or change the pitch of the note under the cursor) |
| ↑ ↓ | Move the cursor up or down a step (with ⇧, an octave) |
| ⌥↑ ⌥↓ | Move the note under the cursor by a step (with ⇧, an octave); on Windows Alt+↑ Alt+↓ |
| ← → | Previous or next note, across measures |
| ⇥ / ⇧⇥ | Next or previous staff |
| ⏎ | Add the cursor’s pitch to the chord (or remove it if it’s already there) |
| . | Augmentation dot |
| + - | Raise or lower by a semitone |
| = | Tie to the next note |
| ⌫ or R | Turn the note into a rest, or the rest into a note |
| ⌦ | Delete the note under the cursor (or the one just before it) |
| ; | Normal note → acciaccatura → appoggiatura → normal again |
| Esc | Back to the Selection tool |
On Windows ⏎ is Enter, ⌫ is Backspace and ⌦ is Delete. On a Mac keyboard without a ⌦ key, use fn⌫.
Dot, accidentals, tie and grace note act on the note under the cursor or, when the cursor is at the end of the measure, on the note you just entered. As you type, the status bar warns you if a note is outside the instrument’s range.
Accidentals
Notes are always entered according to the key signature. To change them, use + and -: each press raises or lowers by a semitone, up to a double sharp or double flat. In Simple Entry you can also choose the accidental in the palette before clicking. On a percussion staff, + and - instead switch to the other sound in the same position (an open hi-hat, for example).
Chords
- In Speedy Entry, enter the first note, go back to it with ←, move the cursor to the pitch you want to add and press ⏎. If that pitch is already there, ⏎ removes it. With the cursor at the end of the measure, ⏎ enters a new note with the current duration.
- In Simple Entry, click on an existing note at a different pitch.
Within a chord, +, - and ⌥↑ ⌥↓ act on the note at the cursor’s pitch (otherwise on the highest one).
Rests
In Speedy Entry, enter a note with the right duration and press ⌫ (or R): it becomes a rest. The same key turns it back into a note at the cursor’s pitch. In Simple Entry, use the rest button in the palette as described above.
Dots and ties
. adds or removes an augmentation dot; if the dot doesn’t fit in the measure, Maestro tells you. In Speedy Entry, = ties the note to the next one, across the barline too; press it again to remove the tie. With the Selection tool you can add or remove a tie from the Note section of the Inspector.
Tuplets
In Speedy Entry, as in Finale, press ⌥3 before entering the first note of a triplet: the first note sets the note value (⌥3 then 4 gives an eighth-note triplet), and the following notes complete the group by themselves, even with mixed values (an eighth and a quarter).
| Mac | Windows | Tuplet |
|---|---|---|
| ⌥3 | Alt+3 | triplet |
| ⌥5 | Alt+5 | quintuplet |
| ⌥6 | Alt+6 | sextuplet |
| ⌥7 | Alt+7 | septuplet |
| ⌥2 | Alt+2 | duplet |
| ⌥4 | Alt+4 | quadruplet |
| ⌥1 | Alt+1 | any ratio, for example 7:6 |
With the cursor on notes already entered, or with notes selected, the same key turns them into a tuplet starting from the first one; if they are already in a tuplet of the same kind, it removes it. Inside an open tuplet you can nest another one (a triplet inside a quintuplet), one level deep.
The same commands are in Edit → Tuplet, with Other Tuplet… and Remove Tuplet, and in the palette of the Tuplets tool. On Windows use Alt instead of ⌥.
Grace notes
In Speedy Entry, or with a note selected, the ; key turns the note into an acciaccatura (with the slash), then an appoggiatura, then back into a normal note. A quarter note or longer goes straight to appoggiatura. Grace notes take no time in the measure, are drawn small before the main note, and in playback delay the main note only slightly.
Layers
Layers work like Finale’s: four independent voices on the same staff, each with its own rhythm. Choose the active layer before entering:
- on the Mac with ⌥⌘1–⌥⌘4, the Layer control in the status bar, or the Tools menu;
- on Windows with Ctrl+Alt+1–Ctrl+Alt+4, the Layer control in the status bar, or the Tools menu.
When several layers contain notes, stems in layers 1 and 3 go up and stems in layers 2 and 4 go down, rests move out of the way and colliding noteheads are placed side by side. On screen layers 2, 3 and 4 are red, green and blue (you can change the colors in Settings → Appearance); in print and PDF everything is black.
To select, copy and fix music you have already written, see Editing; for articulations, dynamics and slurs, see Markings and text.