Repeats (barlines and text indications)

To place a basic repeat in your score

If you want to create a backwards repeat bar that will return to the beginning of the score, do the following.

1. Click the Repeat tool  and Control-click the measure prior to the desired repeat barline and choose Create Backward Repeat Bar. Or, click to select the measure and from the Repeat Menu, choose Create Backward Repeat bar. If a forward repeat bar does not appear earlier in the score, SongWriter automatically jumps to the first measure upon reaching this repeat barline during playback.

If you want to define a forward and backward repeat barline at the same time, do the following:

2. Click the Repeat tool  .
3. Highlight the measures you would like to enclose within repeat barlines. (If the section is too large to see at once, click the first measure, and then hold down Shift and click the last measure of the desired region).
4. Control-click the highlighted region and select Create Simple Repeat. Or, from the Repeat Menu, choose Create Simple Repeat. A forward and backward repeat barline appear on the first and last measure of the region respectively. Also, this section will repeat accordingly during playback.

There are several other options for creating repeat barlines. You could also Control-click the fist measure of a section you would like to repeat and choose Create Forward Repeat and then Control-click the last measure of the desired repeated section and choose Create Backward Repeat. Of course, instead of using the contextual menus (Control-click), you can also click to select a measure and choose the desired option from the Repeat Menu. This applies for all contextual measure selections described in this chapter.

To delete a repeat barline

1. Click the Repeat tool  ; then click the handle on the repeat barline (or any repeat indication) you want to remove.
2. Press the Delete key (or, Control-click a repeat handle and choose Delete). The repeat barline, ending, or text repeat (depending on what you clicked) disappears.

To change a repeat barline’s playback definition

1. Click the Repeat tool  .
2. Double-click any handle. The Backward Repeat or Edit Ending dialog box appears. Make the desired changes, and then click OK (or press return).

To break a repeat barline that connects staves

When you create a repeat barline, it’s ordinarily drawn as a solid line across the space between any grouped staves (those connected by a bracket, for example). If you prefer, you can instruct SongWriter not to draw the barline continuously through the space between staves.

1. Click the Staff tool  , and double-click the staff that’s just below the space where you want to omit the barline. The Staff Attributes dialog box appears.
2. Select Break Barlines Between Staves. Click OK.

To hide the ending brackets and text repeats for a specified staff

If your score includes a piano part (for example), you normally won’t want ending brackets (such as a first ending bracket) to appear above both the treble and bass staves. Similarly, you would probably want a Text Repeat (such as “To Coda”) only to appear above the treble staff, not above both. To show endings and text repeats on the top staff only, from the Repeat Menu, check Display Endings and Text Repeats on Top Staff.

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