Arpeggios and glissandi
Arpeggio and Glissando symbols can be found in the "Arpeggios & Glissandi" palette in the advanced workspace. This palette also includes strum arrows, an arpeggio bracket, wind instrument articulations, and slide in/slide out symbols.
Add symbol
To add an arpeggio, glissando etc. to the score, use one of the following methods:
- Select one or more notes, then click a symbol in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
- Drag a symbol from a palette onto a note.
Adjust dimensions
To adjust the length and height of a symbol:
- Enter Edit mode for the symbol, and adjust the handles using keyboard shortcuts.
Custom symbols
After selecting a symbol, various useful properties can be adjusted in the "Glissando" or "Arpeggio" section of the Inspector.
Glissando
- Type: Choose between a straight or wavy line;
- Show text: Tick this box if you want the symbol to display text. Then set the wording, font-face, font-size and font-style underneath. Note: If there isn't enough room between notes, the text is not displayed;
- Play: Check/uncheck the box to turn playback on or off.
- Play style: Choose how the glissando plays back. There are four options: Chromatic, White keys, Black keys, Diatonic;
Arpeggio
- Stretch: Increase this to lengthen the duration of the arpeggio.
- Play: Untick if you don't want the symbol to affect playback.
If needed for future use, you can save the result in a custom palette.
Arpeggios
When an arpeggio or strum arrow is added to the score, it initially spans only one voice. To change the height, see Adjust dimensions (above). Playback of the symbol can be turned on or off in the Inspector.
Adjust vertical range of an arpeggio
Add the arpeggio to the top staff, select it and use Shift+↓ to extend it downwards to the next stave without it affecting distance between those staves.
Note: For this to work the notes in the 2 staves need to be in the same voice. And it won't affect playback.
Glissandi (slides)
A Glissando or, more informally, a slide, spans two consecutive notes. It may be wavy or straight, with or without text. E.g.:
Adjust start and end points of a glissando
To move an end handle vertically or horizontally, from one note to the next:
- Enter edit mode on the symbol;
- Click on the start or end handle:
- Use Shift+↑↓ to move the handle up or down, from note to note.
- Use Shift+←→ moves the handle horizontally, from note to note.
Use this command to create cross-staff glissandi. Or to correct the positions of end handles when applying multiple glissandi to chords.
Wind instrument articulations
Fall, Doit, Plop and Scoop symbols are provided. To change the length and curvature, select the symbol, enter edit mode and adjust the handles as described in Edit mode: Lines.
Slide in/out
Slide in and Slide out lines can also be found in the "Arpeggios & Glissandi" palette. To edit the length and angle of a line, double-click on it and drag the handle (or use the Inspector or keyboard arrows for finer adjustment).