User Manual

13.22
Many guitar genres make regular use of bends: stretching a string using a playing nger
pressing down on the fretboard to literally bend a little – or a lot. Notion easily accommodates
a wide range of bend sounds with your choice of six adjustable symbols.
Symbol Name What the Symbol Does
Bend
You start hearing the note at regular pitch, then hear the upward
microtonal changes in pitch as the string stretches. For example, a
full-step bend on a D note begins on a D and ends on an E.
Prebend
You rst hear the note AFTER the string is stretched. This means you do not
hear the original note’s pitch. For example, a full-step prebend on a G note
plays an A – even though the notehead remains on a G on the sta.
Release
Returns string to normal and you hear the downward microtonal changes
in pitch. This symbol is never used alone, but is available to add after one of
the above (to form one of the two symbols at the bottom of this Table).
Hold
Hold the pitch of the stretched string for a duration you set. You generally
place this symbol between a Bend or Prebend and a Release.
Bend
Release
A dual-sound symbol. You hear the upward microtonal changes
in pitch as a string stretches, then you hear downward microtonal
changes in pitch as a string returns back to normal.
Prebend
Release
A dual-sound symbol. The rst sound you hear is a string already
stretched to a higher position, then you hear downward microtonal
changes in pitch as the string returns back to normal.
You can access these symbols either in the Entry Palette (fourth pane from
the left) or with the keyboard shortcut with the letter B.
Customize Pitch: Drag Up or Down
The sound of a bend is partially dened by how far you stretch a string. You can move it slightly
to give the bend almost a grace-note feel, or you can stretch the string the equivalent of many
frets, a mainstay in blues and rock leads. By default, Notion automatically provides a full-step
(major second) stretch with every Bend and Prebend, but you are free to change this.
To start, place a bend symbol on any note in the Tab sta. Notice the word “Full” (meaning “full step”)
appears at the top. Hold down a click on this word (so it turns orange) and drag it downward (for a
lower pitch change) or upward (for a higher pitch change). Then release your click. The word Full is now
replaced with the numeric equivalent of the stretch. In the example below, after dragging the Full bend
upwards, the resultant “2 1/2” informs the software to mimic a bend of two and a half full-steps.
Changing a full step bend (default) to five half steps.
A quarter fraction, such as 1/4, refers to microtonal (quarter tone) pitches.
Bends