Reference Guide

Notation and Lyrics

Basic Musical Editing

Beaming of Rests

Changing the Way Notes Are Displayed

Using Enharmonic Spellings

MIDI Channels and the Fretboard

Inserting Notes on the Staff

You can add notes to your composition with simple point-and-click techniques. To help with your

composing, SONAR gives you audio feedback as you place each note.

You can insert notes anywhere in the Staff pane, but inserting them at the Now time gives you

control over the exact time you want to insert to. The SHIFT+RIGHT/LEFT ARROW command

moves the Now Time forward or backward by the amount of the note duration you choose. Six

buttons let you select a note duration ranging from a whole note to a 32nd note. Buttons to the right

of the notehead buttons let you select dotted note or triplet modifiers. The CTRL+RIGHT ARROW/

CTRL+LEFT ARROW commands pages you through the track, sounding each note as the cursor

passes over it. You can also page through the track by clicking the Play-Next button or the Play-

Previous button that are in the Staff view toolbar.

You may want to pick a different snap-to grid value for a particular note. For example, if you want to

insert a half note in the last quarter note position in a measure (in order to get two tied quarter

notes), you must set the snap resolution to a quarter note. SONAR will automatically convert the half

note to two tied quarter notes. The same method can be used to insert a syncopated note, such as a

quarter note at an eighth note position.

You may also wish to disable the Fill Durations and Trim Durations options before you enter

notes on the staff. This will allow you to see the true durations of all the notes you enter. These

options are discussed in “Changing the Way Notes Are Displayed” on page 757.

To Insert a Note on the Staff

1. Disable the Fill Durations and Trim Durations buttons in the Staff view toolbar, if desired (this is

usually the best way when you’re entering notes).

2. Click the Display Resolution button in the Staff view toolbar and choose a resolution that’s as

small or slightly smaller than the smallest note you plan to enter.

3. Click the Draw tool .

4. In the second row of the Staff view toolbar, select a note duration, and a modifier (dot or triplet) if

desired. You cannot insert a note that’s shorter in length than the note in the Display Resolution

field.

Note: You cannot insert notes whose durations are less than the value in the Display

Resolution field, which is located in the top level of the Staff view toolbar.