You can also have two independent voices within each layer, called Voice 1 and Voice 2 (or V1/V2, as they’re called in the Speedy Entry editing frame).

To enter multiple voices using V1/V2

1. Click the Speedy Entry tool   and click a measure in which you want to enter music. Unlike the layer mechanism, in which it doesn’t matter which musical line you notate first, you must enter Voice 1 first when working with the V1/V2 mechanism. In general, it’s best to enter the longer note values first.
2. Enter the notes of the first voice (Voice 1). “First” doesn’t necessarily mean upper. V1 and V2 may have their stems up or down at any point.
3. Press the arrow keys to move the insertion point to the Voice 1 note at which the first Voice 2 note is to appear. A Voice 2 musical line may materialize at any point in the measure, as long as it’s been “launched” from an existing Voice 1 note. Indeed, you can have several “launches” within a measure (although you can’t beam together Voice 2 notes that have been launched from different Voice 1 notes).
4. To enter Voice 2, press the apostrophe (') key. The indicator now reads V2. The insertion bar is offset slightly from the Voice 1 note to remind you that you’re now editing a second voice.
5. Enter the notes of the second voice (Voice 2). You may notice that the note stems don’t always flip in the proper directions.
6. To correct note stem directions, switch to the correct voice by pressing the apostrophe key. Move the cursor to the note in question by pressing the arrow keys. Press the L key to freeze the stem in the opposite direction. When a stem is “frozen” up or down, it’s no longer free to change directions if it gets transposed. To restore a stem to its “floating” status, position the insertion bar on the note and press OPTION+L.

You can move rests up or down, too. If the rest is in Voice 1 or 2, you can simply drag it. If you later want the rest to snap back to its default position, position the cursor on it and press the asterisk (*) key.

User Manual Home