User Guide

Chapter 7: Notation and Printing
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Notation Modes
There are 3 modes to the Notation window,
1.Standard Notation Mode To display or print notation and enter chords.
2. Editable Notation Mode To enter or edit notation and chords.
3. Staff Roll Mode To enter/edit notation duration and velocity.
You can toggle between each of the modes by pressing the Notation Mode button on the Notation toolbar.
Shift+click on the [N] button will back up one notation mode.
Standard Notation Window
The Standard Notation window is for display, entry of melodies and chords (or any track). You see the melody/
chords on screen just as you would in a lead sheet. You can even display the Bass, Drums, Guitar, Piano, or Strings
tracks in notation. Handles Jazz eighth notes and triplet figures correctly. Automatic options like “auto durations,”
“clean notation,” “mono display,” “minimize rests,” and “engraver spacing” produce very musical and readable
notation. Notes can be entered in step time (clicking with the mouse on the staff, or on the onscreen piano), or in
real time from a MIDI keyboard.
Editable Notation Mode
This allows you to enter or edit notation. Usually, the Melody and Soloist tracks are the only ones you'll want to
edit.
Note: Although you could edit the other tracks (e.g., Bass track), your edits would be lost when the song is re-composed
when you press [Play] - unless you make a MIDI file to save it first.
You will notice the grid of vertical lines that indicates where the notes will be placed. This song is in Jazz Swing, so
Band-in-a-Box has automatically set the grid resolution to swing triplets, 3 grid lines per beat. This resolution can
be changed in the Notation Window Settings dialog, but Band-in-a-Box should set it to the correct value, based
upon the style that is currently in use. For example, when a style is a Bossa Nova the division will be sixteenth
notes, since Bossa Nova is an even rhythm, not a triplet feel rhythm.
To insert a new note.
Move the mouse to the location that you want. If you want Beat 1, move to the first dotted line in the bar. Click on
the staff over the note that you want.
The Current Note box in the toolbar will give you the name of the note that you're on. Click with the
mouse button to insert the note.
- To insert a SHARP hold down the SHIFT key as you click the note.
- To insert a FLAT hold down the CONTROL key as you click the note.
- To insert a NATURAL hold down the
key as you click the note.
How long does the note last that I insert?
Band-in-a-Box uses an intelligent auto-duration feature to determine how long the note should be. A note that is put
in will initially have a duration of 2 bars (2 whole notes). When the next note is put in (say 2 beats later), Band-in-a-
Box will shorten the duration of the previous note to just shorter than 2 beats. This means that you don't have to
worry about durations at all, and can just click on the notes that you want, at the locations that you want.
If you want a specific duration (i.e., over-ride the auto duration), you can do this by editing the note using by
clicking on the note while holding down the option key, and then you're in a dialog box that allows you to type the
exact duration that you want.