Simple Entry

1. Choose the Simple Entry tool . The Simple Entry palettes appear. (If they don’t, choose Simple Entry palette and Simple Entry Rests palette from the Window menu.) See Simple Entry palette for more information on moving and resizing the palette.
2. Choose the desired note (rhythmic value) icon in the palette. Click additional tools as needed, such as Sharp , Flat , Grace , Tuplet , Dot , or Tie . Click the staff. A note appears at the pitch you clicked. To build a chord, click another pitch above or below the first note.

   If you want to enter a tuplet (a triplet, quintuplet, etc.), Choose the Tuplet tool on the Simple Entry palette and the duration of the tuplet (an eighth note tuplet or a half note tuplet, regardless of the duration of the first note). In any of these instructions, you can press one of the shortcut keys on your keyboard to switch tools instead of clicking an icon (for example, press a number on the numeric keypad 1-8 to select a duration tool - 64th through double-whole note).

3. To change the rhythmic value of a note, click the icon representing the new value; then click the note. To change the rhythmic value of a rest, select the desired rhythmic-value icon on the Rests palette, and then click the rest.
4. To change a rest to a note, OPTION-click the note to select it. Type R. The note turns into a rest.
5. To delete a note, click the Eraser ; then click the note. The note disappears. If you click on a notehead that’s part of a chord, only that note disappears. If you click a rest, it disappears.
6. To move a note vertically, click and drag the note up or down. To move a rest, OPTION-click the rest to select it, then drag it up or down. If you want to move a whole chord up or down, OPTION+A-click the chord.
7. To hide a note or rest, OPTION-click the note to select it then press the letter H key. Press the H key again to display the note or rest again.
8. To flip a stem, OPTION-click the note to select it then press the L key. This process freezes the stem up or down, so that it’s no longer free to flip if, for example, it gets transposed. To restore the note to its “flippable” status, press SHIFT+L.
9. To make a note sharp, flat or natural, choose the Sharp tool , Flat tool , or Natural tool ; then click the note. A sharp, flat or natural appears next to the note, if needed by the key signature.
10. To raise or lower a note by a half step, double-click the Half Step Up or Half Step Down icon; then click the note. The note is raised or lowered a half step. If appropriate for the key signature, an accidental will appear or change.
11. To remove any accidentals from a note, choose the Eraser tool ; then click the accidental.
12. To hide a courtesy accidental, OPTION-click the note to select it then press COMMAND+SHIFT+-(minus). A courtesy accidental appears. For parentheses, press the P key. If you’ve hidden an accidental, press the A key again to display it again.
13. To tie a note to the next one, double-click the Tie icon ; then click the notehead. To tie every note of a chord, click its stem. Click the notehead (for a single note) or the stem (for a chord) to remove the tie.
14. To dot a note, double-click the Dot icon ; then click the note. Click again to add another dot (you can add up to ten dots). To remove the dots, choose the Eraser tool ; then click the dot. All of the dots are removed.
15. To change a note to a grace note, double-click the Grace Note icon , then click the note. Click the note again to restore it to full size. Press COMMAND+G when the grace note is selected to toggle between grace note, slashed grace note (for flagged grace notes) and full size.
16. To create or break a beam, OPTION-click the note to select it then press the / key. If the notes were flagged separately, they’re now beamed. If they were beamed, the beam is broken (and the notes are individually flagged, if they’re not beamed to any other notes). Use SHIFT+/ to restore the beaming to PrintMusic’s default settings.
17. To flatten a beam, OPTION-click the note to select it then press OPTION+/. If the beam was angled, it will now be flattened. If the beam was already flattened, the beam will now return to the default angle.
18. To enter a tuplet, choose the Simple Tuplet tool and the desired rhythmic duration icon, then click the staff. For more complicated tuplets, SHIFT-click the staff to display the Simple Entry Tuplet Definition dialog box.

All of the functionality that exists for entering notes with a mouse, and more, is available using your computer keyboard, and the Simple Entry caret. The Simple Entry caret works much like the cursor in a word processing program. While using your computer keyboard with Simple Entry, the caret allows you to specify pitches, rhythms, and other entry items before entering. You can also use modifier keystrokes to edit the note you just entered. In this section, you’ll first learn how to specify the next note to be entered using the Simple Entry caret, and then how to modify the previously entered note. The following instructions describe entry for standard notation staves.

1. Choose the Simple Entry tool . The Simple Entry palettes appear. (If they don’t, choose Simple Entry palette and Simple Entry Rests palette from the Window menu.)

   See Simple Entry palette for more information on moving and resizing the palette. Though the Simple Entry palettes do not need to be visible to enter notation with the Simple Entry caret, it’s a good idea to display them at first until you have become familiar with the corresponding keyboard shortcuts and modifiers.

2. Choose Simple > Use Simple Entry Caret to make sure it is checked. When this option is checked, a vertical line appears in the score. The caret also displays a note of the duration selected in the Simple Entry palette, as shown in the above image. Accidentals, ties, dots, and tuplets can also be indicated on the caret before entering the note. If you do not see the caret, select one of the duration tools in the Simple Entry palette.
3. To choose the desired rhythmic duration for the next entry, click a duration tool in the Simple Entry palette, or type the corresponding keystroke in the numeric keypad (1-8). The caret displays the chosen rhythmic duration. See the numeric keyboard diagram above (under Using a mouse to enter music).
4. To specify the pitch before entering, you can use the UP and DOWN ARROW on the computer keyboard until the caret displays the desired pitch. The note moves up and down in the staff diatonically. You can move the caret up an octave by pressing SHIFT+UP ARROW, or down an octave by pressing SHIFT+DOWN ARROW.
5. Select a tool, or a combination of tools, in the Simple Entry palette to specify additional properties of the next note to be entered. For example, to specify a dot and a sharp, click the Dot icon and the Sharp icon , or press the corresponding keystrokes for these tools to select them. The tools selected in the Simple Entry palette tell PrintMusic what to add to the next note when entered. The mouse cursor displays this information as well.
6. Press RETURN to enter the note. The note appears on the staff and the caret moves to the right. The note you just entered is selected automatically, so you can use modifier keystrokes to edit it (explained below). Notice the tools chosen in the Simple palette are still selected, and will apply to the next note if you were to hit RETURN again. To select a single tool (like any of the duration tools), and deselect all others, double-click the icon on the palette, or double-press the corresponding keyboard shortcut. For example, press the 5 key on the numeric keypad twice if you want to choose only the Quarter Note tool for the next entry.
7. Press 0 to enter a rest of the chosen duration.
8. Hold down the COMMAND key and press a duration keystroke to specify a rest of that duration for the next entry.
9. Type the letter name of a pitch, A through G, to enter it. The pitch appears in the staff of the chosen duration, along with any other items selected in the Simple Entry palette. The caret moves to the right.
10. To add additional notes above the previous entry, type the interval (1 through 8 or COMMAND+SHIFT+9) on your QWERTY keyboard. For example, to add a third to the note you just entered, type 3. To enter a fifth, type 5. The interval entered is automatically selected, so, to enter a triad, you would type 3 for the first third, and then 3 again for the second. To enter an interval lower than the note you just entered, hold down the SHIFT key and type the interval (1-9).

    Also, you can hold down the SHIFT key and type the letter name of a note to add it to the note you just entered. To add a note a fifth or more higher than the note you just entered, press SHIFT+UP ARROW, and then type the note letter. To add a note a fifth or more lower than the note you just entered, hold down the SHIFT+DOWN ARROW, and then type the note letter. Note that the caret position changes, and will apply to the next note entered as well. Use SHIFT+UP or DOWN ARROW to move it to the desired octave in preparation for the next entry.

11. After entering a note or rest, hold down OPTION and press a number (1-8) to change the duration of the note or rest you just entered (64th through double-whole note).
12. After entering a note, you can use additional modifier keystrokes to add a dot, tie, accidental, to the note you just entered. Or, even change it to a grace note, flip the stem or break/add beams.
13. After entering a note, to move it up down in the staff, hold down the OPTION key and press the UP or DOWN ARROW. Press OPTION+SHIFT+UP or DOWN ARROW to move the note up or down an octave.
14. After entering a note, use the UP and DOWN ARROW to adjust the caret pitch. Then, press COMMAND+RETURN to add a note to the previous entry.
15. After entering a note, press 9 to change it to the first note of a tuplet.
16. Press OPTION+9 to open the Simple Entry Tuplet Definition dialog box where you can specify more complicated tuplets.
17. To move the selection forward or back a note, press the RIGHT or LEFT ARROW. To move selection forward or back a measure, press COMMAND+RIGHT or LEFT ARROW respectively.
18. To activate the caret on an existing selected entry, press RETURN.
19. To move selection up or down in a chord or to the staff above or below, press COMMAND+UP or DOWN ARROW.
20. To change the pitch of existing notes, choose the Repitch tool . Then, activate the caret and type the new note letters (or play pitches on a MIDI keyboard) to alter the pitch without changing rhythmic values.

Using a MIDI keyboard for entry is an alternative to clicking notes onto the staff or typing them with your computer keyboard. To use an external MIDI device for entry, ensure you have properly configured a MIDI Input device in the MIDI Setup dialog box.

1. Choose the Simple Entry tool . The Simple Entry caret appears in the score. If it does not, choose Simple > Use Simple Entry Caret.
2. Choose Simple > Use MIDI Device for Input (if it is not checked already).
3. Activate the caret at the desired point of entry. Use the LEFT or RIGHT ARROW to move the caret left and right. Press COMMAND+UP or DOWN ARROW to move the caret up and down between staves.
4. Click a duration tool in the Simple Entry palette, or type the corresponding keystroke in the numeric keypad (1-8). You can also choose other tools, such as the Tuplet or Tie tool to specify other properties for the note(s) you are about to enter.
5. Play the desired note or chord on your MIDI keyboard or other MIDI input device. The notes appear on the staff and the caret moves to the right.

After entering a note or chord, use any of the available modifier keystrokes to change the entry.