User Manual

10.24
The hold marks fermata and tenuto – and break marks caesura and breath mark (next topic) – are similar: they all
specify places in the score where you want to temporarily suspend the ongoing meter count during playback.
8 The hold marks (fermata and tenuto) cause a current note or chord (or, in the case of a fermata: perhaps a rest) to
continue beyond its specied time duration.
8 The break marks (caesura and breath mark) cause a complete break.
Play a Hold Mark
Since the durations for these symbols are strictly determined by interpretation, the default duration
setting for these marks is zero (no change). That means you specify exactly how long you want the
durations to be at each fermata and tenuto if you want to hear them whenever you play the score.
Perform a Hold Mark
With a fermata or tenuto you tap the beat containing the symbol and simply hesitate
before tapping again to determine the duration of the hold. The one requirement is there
must be a note value in the NTempo sta corresponding to each mark.
Fermata
You place the fermata sign at locations in your score where you want to dramatically
extend the current count of a note, chord, or rest. If you complete steps 5 through 7, below,
Notion playback will read and hold the fermata to your time specication.
1. Ensure you are in Edit mode.
2. To place this mark on your Music Cursor either:
> Press the 9 key once, or
> In the Entry Palette, hover over the third pane from the right and click the fermata
symbol in the pop-up menu.
» The symbol appears on your Music Cursor.
3. Position the Music Cursor over the aected note, chord, or rest. This must be on at least one instrument sta to be
read while playing (unlike breaks, holds will not be read in the NTempo sta alone during play).
4. Click your mouse or press Enter.
» Notion adds the mark to your score above the sta. If you only need the marking for musicians to read on your
score (and not be interpreted during playback) then you are nished with this procedure.
5. To have Notion play your fermata, you need to inform the software how long you want the hold to last. Double-click
the fermata sign you added to the score.
» A temporary text box appears, with the default setting of zero quarter note beats
(zero equals no change to written note values).
6. Clarify how long you want the fermata to last in playback. Either replace the zero with the
number of quarter note beats to hold, or replace the zero plus replace the “quarter notes “
with a longer (such as “half notes”) or shorter (such as “eighth notes”) value as the basis for
the count.
7. Either click anywhere in the score area away from the text box or press Enter.
Holds