1 - Music Notation and REAPER's Notation Editor1 1.1 Music Notation and REAPER's Notation Editor A Brief Introduction to Notation In a broad sense, the term notation can be applied to any system that uses written symbols to represent musical notes. Thus, the piano roll view of REAPER's MIDI Editor can be seen as a type of notation, as is the use of guitar tabs, which you might have encountered elsewhere. However, in practice the term “notation” is often used to refer to modern staff notation. This was developed for use with European classical music, but is now widely used to represent music of many genres. This chapter will focus on the use of REAPER's notation editor for modern staff notation. First, here is a general introduction. The practice of notation writing is sometimes also known as scoring. Notation is a huge subject about which there is much to learn, and the journey from complete beginner to competent achiever can be a long one. Many books are available on the subject, including Music Notation (Theory and Technique for Music Notation) by Mark McGrain and Music Notation and Terminology by Karl Wilson Gehrkens (available on line as a free download from Gutenberg). A handy short general introduction to understanding music theory and notation can be found on line at method-behind-the-music.com and some introductory tutorials at www.musiciansplace.com/harmonics/course-1/staff-notation.html. If all this intimidates you, don't let it! You don't need to be able to read or write musical scores to be a musician. Robert Johnson, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Tommy Emmanuel and many, many others are all proof of that! This User Guide does not aim for the impossible goal of teaching everybody everything they could ever wish to know about notation scoring and editing, in just a few pages! Its purpose is to help you to learn how to start using REAPER's notation editor with such knowledge and skills as you can bring to the table. Below are illustrated some of the basic elements and terminology of notation scoring: The staff is the five line grid on which notes can be written, and which is used to display the notes. If a MIDI item recorded using a keyboard or created by hand within the MIDI editor is opened in the notation editor, then that item will be automatically scored. You can also edit that score, or add to it, within the notation editor. The staff is divided into a number of measures for the duration of the piece. The number of beats to a measure is itself determined by the time signature (see also below). On the left end of the staff is displayed the clef. For the treble clef the first (lowest) line of the staff represents E this goes up alternately thru grid spaces and lines to F, G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. The bass clef uses the same musical alphabet but goes up G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Where a note needs to be displayed above or below the range covered by the staff, this is done using ledger lines. A different symbol is used to represent each note, shown above (left to right) from double whole note (breve) thru whole note (semibreve), half note (minim), quarter note (crotchet), one eighth note (quaver), one For a spiral-bound hard copy of this User Guide for about $30 go to LULU.com 1 Indeed. copying or modifying notes) in whichever view you find it easiest to work. You can make your edits (such as moving. and especially piano roll view. It is shown here in piano roll view (top) and musical notation view. Any changes you make when editing will be to the MIDI item itself. 1. delete or move notes. It could have been imported from an external MIDI file. then learning to use the notation editor presents a significantly less steep learning curve than would otherwise be the case.2 REAPER's Notation Editor: a First Look The single most important thing for you to understand about REAPER's notation editor is this: It is a fully integrated part of the MIDI Editor. you would probably be unwise to attempt to use the notation editor without first getting to know the MIDI Editor. such as: If you are familiar with working in. In 3/4 time also the quarter note will get the beat. This architecture has a number of significant advantages. you are seeing exactly the same notes each time. Above you can see where ties have been used to join together two or more adjacent notes of the same pitch. or crafted in the REAPER Midi Editor piano roll view or musical notation view.g.com 2 . The results of the edits will be visible (and audible) in any view. Note that a MIDI item can be displayed in only one view at a time (e. effectively creating a single longer note. In either of the two view shown here.Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 5. you can add. as is the essential MIDI Editor functionality. although different items may be open at the same time in different views in separate MIDI Editor instances. For example. The time signature determines how many beats there are per measure. say. not a stand-alone module . piano roll view. musical notation mode or piano roll mode. and what kind of note gets the beat.20 sixteenth note (semiquaver). recorded using a keyboard. To the immediate right of the clef are the key signature (if present) and the time signature. This is a fairly simple MIDI item. for example. For example. The different modes (already introduced in Chapter 13) are: Mode: piano roll (Alt 1) Mode: named notes (Alt 2) Mode: event list (Alt 3) Mode: musical notation (Alt 4) Consider the example on the right. but not both at once). For a spiral-bound hard copy of this User Guide for about $30 go to LULU. the menus and toolbars are the same. You can also see that the MIDI editor environment is also the same. The MIDI Editor's different views are selected from the View menu. in 4/4 time there are four beats per measure with the quarter note getting the beat. and will show up in every view. When you switch between views. one thirty-second note (demi-semiquaver) and one sixty-fourth note (semi-demisemiquaver). but with only three beats in a measure. The key signature designates notes to be played higher or lower than its corresponding natural note. Preferences. First. When we switch to musical notation view. for each track. all MIDI items on the same track. either by double-clicking. If you are working with projects which contain more than one track with MIDI items. and/or more than one MIDI item per track. There are a number of other options. you can also determine what happens when you open a MIDI item in the MIDI Editor. or for the entire project. or using the Open in built-in editor command. MIDI Editor you can specify whether you want one MIDI editor instance opened for each item. As you will see later in this chapter. For a spiral-bound hard copy of this User Guide for about $30 go to LULU. You can perform tasks on your selection such as delete. all selected MIDI items. 1. but there follows a brief summary.26 to 13. If necessary.28 of this guide. copy. Thus the process of working and moving between the different modes is quite seamless. quantize or humanize. musical notation view also incorporates a large number of extra features that are specific to scoring music. The options are to open the clicked item only. or all MIDI items in the project. You might already be familiar with this. In this case.1 . we can see that the edits are also displayed there. For example. use double-click to insert a new note. it can often be helpful to have all MIDI items open together. On the same page. it is important that you understand your options for managing how the MIDI Editor (including musical notation mode) can handle these. shown above. we have added some more notes in the piano roll view (shown here as selected).com 3 . move.3 Opening MIDI Items in the Notation Editor Under Options. the same. refer back to these sections. let's return for a moment to our simple example. When in musical notation mode. Use right-click-drag to select a series of notes (marquee). and so on. from sections 13. Editing Behavior.Music Notation and REAPER's Notation Editor Note also that the he methods employed when working within the different views (or modes) are as far as possible. By looking at the panel on the right you should just be able to see that all three items are visible in this window. as well as which is to be used when inserting notes (see 13. There are two boxes at the top left corner of the display.4 REAPER's Notation Editor: A Closer Look Once opened. An accidental (sharp or flat) will be shown beside it if the pitch is not in the current key. these boxes will display that note's time position and pitch.26 to 13.28). just below the toolbar. Let's look first at some of the things that you can already see here: If more than one track is visible. Shown here is an example of a folder with a synth inserted in its FX chain and three child tracks. Notes that are not currently editable are shown in a lighter shade of gray. This shows the current pitch that will apply when keyboard actions such as insert note are applied. For a spiral-bound hard copy of this User Guide for about $30 go to LULU. The tempo is displayed above and slightly to the right of the time signature.Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 5. Now let's take a look at some other things that might not be as immediately apparent. track names are displayed to the left of the staff.20 1. The first of these is the only one currently selected as editable and it has also been selected for inserting any new notes. To the right of the page. at the end of each pair of rows there is a pitch cursor in the form of a small gray triangle.com 4 . Clicking on the track name (in the notation or in the track panel) will make that track the target track for inserting e vents. This can be used. This symbol is editable by dragging up or down with the mouse. each containing a MIDI item. Both track and item names are visible in the track list panel. to determine which items are visible and optionally editable. amongst other things. musical notation mode can be selected (View menu) and the option to view the track list should be enabled from the Contents menu. All three are open together in the MIDI Editor's musical notation view. If you hover your mouse over any note. and will make the items on that track editable. For a spiral-bound hard copy of this User Guide for about $30 go to LULU. but can also be edited in notation mode. Be aware that most mouse behaviors that work in the piano roll will also work in musical notation mode. play very soft.com 5 . Perform task on note or note selection: Choose Edit command from menu. as in notation (as opposed to piano roll view) there is otherwise no way to idisplay velocity. In addition. familiarise yourself with the basics of the musical notation mode environment. Example Before digging any deeper. Select a note for editing: Click on the note. The menu shown on the right displays editing commands that can be applied to a note or selection of notes. A brief summary table is provided below for your convenience. as a first exercise. If you wish to display a single track in row view. Some notes also display colored bars. Page view is automatically selected if you choose to display only a single track.5 Basic Note Selection and MIDI Editor Tasks Basic note selection and MIDI editing tasks are covered in detail in Chapter 13 of this guide. named note mode or musical notation mode: if you need further information about any task. Notation Editor Views There are two views within the notation editor – page view and row view. etc. These are the currently selected notes. when when one track is visible) to Off.1 . Add a note: Double-click: in notation view this is on the staff. This could initially have been done in arrange view. A selection time selection and loop has been made. Get to grips with switching between modes and editing in both. Multiple tracks are displayed in a single staff row. 1. Make a copy of one of your MIDI projects. Lyrics have been added just below the first staff. They can be carried out in piano roll mode. set the action Notation: Page view (whole measures. They will all be explained shortly. moving or copying loop selections. Don't worry if you mess it up occasionally – it's just a scratch pad! We'll get to explaining how you manage the other (and perhaps more interesting) features shortly. but there's one other point worth making first. please refer back to Chapter 13. strip it back to a few simple MIDI items on no more than two or three tracks.Music Notation and REAPER's Notation Editor You can see several things in this illustration. Open this in the MIDI editor and get used to the feel and flavor of musical notation mode. and dimuendo) have been made above the staff. crescendo. Add to an existing selection: Hold Alt and Ctrl while right clicking and dragging around notes. there are a number of mouse and keyboard shortcuts. then select task. you can grab the handles with the mouse to adjust the start and end points of the loop. These tasks are not specific to musical notation view. Row view is automatically engaged when more than one track is made visible. Delete a note: Double-click on the note. How they are colored will depend which option you have set – channel or velocity or pitch. etc. The timeline flows from left to right and top to botto0m. Select a range of notes: Right click and drag around the selection. Notations (in this example. Setting color to velocity can be especially useful. For example. Don't yet be too ambitious: restrict yourself at first to simple tasks like adding or deleting notes. multiple staff rows. The timeline flows left to right and the tracks are displayed top to bottom. then. Other actions such as articulations. to the right of the transport bar. the Notes drop down list sets the default length for new notes when they are inserted.Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 5. section 13.6. and. Make sure you are also familiar with the MIDI Editor's zoom and scroll controls. lyrics.6 Notation Editor Specific Tasks and Functions Before delving too deeply into the notation mode's editing capabilities it's worth pausing to take on board a few important points: If you have several MIDI items open together in a single notation editor you should display the track list (Contents. it will take its key signature from the previous item on the same track. notations. For example. etc. One simple way of doing this is to make it the only item visible at the time (see right). Only a relatively small number of the commands that are exclusive to musical notation view affect the actual MIDI notes themselves. These include deleting and inserting notes and setting tuplets. etc. If no key signature is specified for an item. refer back to Chapter 13. not the underlying notes themselves. for many actions. These include: Actions: The MIDI Editor actions list includes many actions that are specific to notation mode.com 6 . the following mouse actions are also useful: Mousewheel: Horizontal Zoom Ctrl Mousewheel: Vertical Zoom Alt Mousewheel: Horizontal Scroll Ctrl Alt Mousewheel: Vertical Scroll Tip: remember that all of the MIDI Editor's functionality that you might have used in piano roll or named note view is available to you when working in musical notation mode. The actions list is covered in more detail in Chapter 15: some time spent browsing thru this list could prove to be time well spent. If there is no previous item on the same track and no key signature defined. This enables you to make sure that any item that you wish to work on is at least editable. This includes in some contexts assigning actions from the actions list to mouse movements. You should also make sure you understand the purpose of the MIDI Editor's other controls. Scale. or no key signature. especially those located near the bottom of the window. Each MIDI item can have its own key signature. These are labelled Grid. They are accessed by right-clicking in the appropriate place. left drag and double-click modifiers can be used in musical notation mode. will only affect what is drawn on the page. Mouse modifiers: MIDI editor right-drag modifiers and MIDI piano roll left-click. also selected as the target for inserting events. In addition to the various buttons and sliders displayed in the MIDI Editor window. MIDI Item Editing Commands and Actions For a spiral-bound hard copy of this User Guide for about $30 go to LULU.20 Move a note: Click and drag note to new position then release. The following summary table outlines the various tasks and functions that are available to you specifically in the musical notation view. it will not have a key signature. 1. Remember that you can custom these to suit your own requirements. If necessary. Notes. Track list). Click OK to confirm. choose Edit tempo/ time signature/rhythm pattern from menu. Change a clef. key sig using the MIDI Editor dropdown) from the menu. the time signature and/or the rhythm pattern. Tenor... Type your text and press Enter.. Options are Treble + Bass. as shown here). The item is now split (indicated by double vertical line. Change time signature and/or rhythm pattern.1 . Treble.com 7 . For a spiral-bound hard copy of this User Guide for about $30 go to LULU. Right-click on the staff at the start of the bar (but not on any note) and choose Insert tempo/ time signature/ rhythm pattern from the menu. Split MIDI item in order Right-click on the staff just after the start of the bar (but not on to insert a key change at any note) and choose Split MIDI media item (to set a new some point.Music Notation and REAPER's Notation Editor In order to do this … You need to do this . Hovering your mouse in the vacant area just below the Clef staff will display a faint blue lyrics lane. Bass. enable the Key option (located in the row of dropdowns at the bottom of this window). Text Editing Commands and Actions In order to do this … You need to do this .g. Right-click over existing time signature. The key signature that you selected will be displayed on the staff (see right). D# Natural Minor). Treble -8. Alto. Insert a tempo or time signature change at the start of a bar. To set the key signature. Treble +8 or Percussion. Insert lyrics. This displays the same dialog box as that shown immediately above. Right-click over an existing clef and select from menu. Select a key from the dropdowns (e.. Right click just there at the required position and you can choose the Insert lyrics command. You can change tempo. P (soft). MF (mezzo forte. moderately soft). Comments . Move notes up/down (Ctrl Up. Right-click over a notation and from the menu choose Remove notation. Again.7 Working with Notes and Note Selections A number of commands specific to musical notation view are available from this view's own context menu. Accidentals (sharps and flats) are an instruction to raise or lower the pitch of a note by half a step. For a spiral-bound hard copy of this User Guide for about $30 go to LULU. Select a note (or series of notes) and right-click to display this menu.. PPP (very. It is well beyond the scope of this User Guide to attempt to teach music theory. very softly). then select from the following: Text (type your own).20 In order to do this … You need to do this . Remove notation. Remove lyrics. and are not intended to be comprehensive or water-tight definitions. MP (mezzo piano.. Insert notation. the information in the table below might serve as a starting point by introducing you to some of these terms. FF (fortissimo. choose Edit lyrics. FFF (forte fortissimo. Note that some of these (notably accidentals and articulations) do not affect the notes as they are stored in the file: they merely represents instructions that will be displayed on the score. You can right-click here to add a notation. Dimuendo (gradually reduce volume). Right-click over existing lyric text.. for those that need to learn more. M (moderate). An example of how this is displayed is shown here. Ctrl Down) or by assigning such actions as mouse modifiers.. shown here (right). Nevertheless.. Make your changes and press Enter. can other events). moderately loud). as loud as possible). Option. These comments are offered for information and guidance only. select Remove lyrics. remember that these notations are performance instructions only: they do not affect the MIDI data that is stored and saved in the file. F (forte. for example. Accidentals. very loud). loud). choose Insert notation from the menu. 1. Edit lyrics Right-click over existing text.Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 5..com 8 . such as using shortcut keys on notes/note selections. Hover your mouse just above the top of a staff to reveal a pale blue notations lane. of course. Crescendo (gradually increase volume). Lyrics can also be edited in event list mode (as. Right-click above the staff at the required point. Note that they are an instruction only: changes to the actual note itself can be made using the techniques explained elsewhere. A phrase is indicated by a curved line. for example by changing the original note position or length. Be aware that for any particular note. as shown here. These are instructions only. 6:4. the musical notes accompanying those words can be said to make up a musical phrase. and the end of that phrase would be a suitable place for a very brief pause. Phrase Think of a musical phrase as being conceptually similar to a phrase in the English language. Tuplet.1 .8. not all of these options might be available. a quarter note (crotchet) can be divided into three (triplet). Likewise. or vice versa. 7:6. Grace note. 10. For example. A tuplet is an irregular rhythm that involves dividing the beat into a number of subdivisions which differ from those usually allowed by the time signature. A grace note is an extra note that is added as an embellishment and which is not essential to the harmony or melody. five (quintuplet). brief and detached (Staccato). The full range of tuplet options available within the musical notation editor are 3:2 (triplet). Take the example of the old Irish song. Select the note. The words “alive alive oh” can be seen to make up a phrase. Phrase.com 9 . first select the notes then choose Phrase. 8:6. Make phrase from the right-click context menu.. Remove phrase can be used to remove a phrase from a note selection. articulations do not affect the actual MIDI events. To define a phrase. 4:3.Music Notation and REAPER's Notation Editor Option. Comments . Clef Use this command to move a note or selection of notes from the treble clef to the bass clef. For a spiral-bound hard copy of this User Guide for about $30 go to LULU. use the Remove tuplet command from the same menu. Articulation Articulations are used to indicate how individual notes within a passage are to be played – for example emphasised (Accent)... w A tuplet is inserted by selecting an option from the tuplet sub menu. The options on this menu are shown on the right. Grace notes will affect the actual MIDI events. To remove a tuplet. Tuplets will impact on the actual MIDI events. They belong together. six (sextuplet) or seven parts (octuplet). 9:8. Cockles and Mussels.. then right-click and choose Grace note from the menu. 5:4.