User Manual
4.9
By default, each tap of a key in NTempo playback corresponds to the pulse of the meter (examples: a
quarter note in 4/4 time; an eighth note in 6/8 time). If a score contains dramatic passages that require
more precise control, Notion oers an optional feature: the NTempo sta. Notes on this sta specify
a time value at each keypress that can be less (or more) than a beat in the current meter.
You will recognize this single-line sta by its distinctive blue-colored notes. The notes you place on this track determine
how much of a time value each press of an NTempo key covers; there are no pitches involved. Each time you tap,
the cursor moves from one note value in the NTempo sta to the next and you hear Notion play whatever music lies
between the two blue notes in the staves of the system. Thus, you tap as if you were playing a percussion instrument.
Example
The notes (rhythm) in the NTempo sta usually appear as regular beats, but at
key points in the score it may also subdivide the beats to better control rubato. In
the snippet to the right, most presses of an NTempo key covers a quarter note’s
duration. However, to accentuate the playback of a particular tuplet, the NTempo
sta departs from a quarter note beat at this location to spell out a quarter-note
triplet. During playback at this spot, each press of a key corresponds to one note
in the triplet. This provides complete control over this tuplet while performing:
you can play the three notes straight, syncopated, dramatically slow, or whichever way you feel inspired in real-time.
NOTE: If you encounter tied notes in the NTempo sta, you tap the group
once (like you do when you play a musical instrument).
Auto-Cruise: Rest Marks in the NTempo Sta
There is a way to “force” Auto-Cruise with score markings: by placing rests in the NTempo sta. At the point where
a rest appears in the NTempo sta, the program automatically goes into Auto-Cruise (using the tempo you used
at the last note before the rests). At the point where a note appears in the NTempo sta you resume tapping.
For this reason, never tap rests in the NTempo line (if you do, the marker leaps to the
next note in the NTempo sta). Only tap to notes in the NTempo line.
Add or Edit an NTempo Sta
Since you have to be in Edit mode to add or delete an NTempo sta or edit the
notes on it, this is detailed in Chapter 11, “Edit NTempo Sta.”
NTempo Sta