NOTION Music Forum

I'm a Finale user who recently purchased Notion 4, following my use of Notion on the iPad for some time.

As I do with most software programs, I attempt to work with files the way I normally do with other programs. I read the manual as I need to, and I do searches on forums.

I'm wondering if there is a way to "explode" notes from a staff to multiple staves, as there is in Finale. One of my main uses of music notation is to bring all of my choral literature (I'm a high school choir director) into the program, and then export audio (rehearsal tracks and accompaniment tracks). Often times, Sopranos & Altos are on the same staff, as well as Tenors and Basses. I always want to create separate tracks for those voices, so in Finale, I'm often able to explode the staff to two staves, and then edit any discrepancies.

I can't find that feature in Notion.

A better way of copying and pasting (cloning) lyrics would be nice. However, sometimes my lyrics jump from their location to a lower location--and then sometimes move back after I've deleted something somewhere else in the score. Is this a common bug? (Notion for Mac, by the way).

Thanks.

As far as I know, this isn't available in Notion. This would be a very useful feature to add in future updates though.

choirguy wrote:[...] sometimes my lyrics jump from their location to a lower location--and then sometimes move back after I've deleted something somewhere else in the score. Is this a common bug? (Notion for Mac, by the way).

I have also encountered the behavior you describe, but I don't really think it's a bug, at least not a serious one: Since Notion adjusts its lyrics automatically on a system-by-system basis (which Finale can't), these calculations are sometimes thrown for a loop when there's a lot of copying and pasting going on. I have always been able to "reset" the lyrics positioning by switching from Pages Across (which I usually work in) to Continuous View and back again.

A similar meltdown can occur if measures are cut/copied and/or pasted in such a way that the page count changes, and you'll end up either with one or more blank pages at the end of the document, or the last page will have music from two or more pages bunched up in overlapping systems. Again, the solution is simple: Switch to Continuous View and back again to one of the Pages views, and the score is recalculated.

Best wishes,
Thorrild

It's not there yet.

There is a way to do it through an export to MIDI and import MIDI File, but this is only a workaround that is cumbersome at best. It will get there in the future.

-Admin

Personally, the lack of this feature is the only reason that I haven't given up using Sibelius. Hopefully this feature can be pushed close to the top of the priority list. Currently it is difficult to sketch block or chorale based harmony within a section. In Sibelius, there are several capabilities:

a) To select and copy a particular note within a chord e.g. you may have a jazz phrase in close voicings (block harmony). All the notes of the chord were entered or recored into a single voice e.g. v1. You then want to select the 2nd note in the chord and drop it an octave to create a drop2 voicing. After you are happy with the arrangement you then want to split the harmony out for separate instruments.

b) To select and copy a particular voice e.g. you may have a 4 part chorale where each line has been entered on a grand staff in SATB corresponding to v1, v2, v3, v4. You now want to break this out for individual strings or brass etc.

c) Macros to split out the voicings automatically to various instrument templates. This relies on a plugin system that I doubt Notion will ever have. I don't see it as a priority as long as a) and b) above are implemented.

For Notion staff, please check out these features in Sibelius. There are various menu commands e.g. select, filter, swap various voices etc. I don't the exact location because I'm not at my music computer at the moment. If I have a chance during the week I'll do a screen grab of what I'm talking about.

Regards,
Alex