Chords (notes aligned vertically), Staff Layering (2 voices)

For chord entry (notes vertically aligned and played at the same time):

1. Enter the first note of the chord.

2. Position the insertion point to the right of the note and at the pitch for the second note in the chord.

3. Press Ctrl+Enter to place the second note in a chord with the first note.

4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 to add more notes to the chord.

You can remove a chord member by positioning the insertion point to the right of the note to be removed and pressing Ctrl+Backspace.

The Note Chord Selector (quick key h) can also be used to select popular note combinations.

For rules of placing chords, see the  Chord Member Command section of the online help file. NoteWorthy Composer supports only one voice per staff. You can force it to look like two voices in some cases by using the stem direction control and changing longer duration notes into several smaller ones to get the chords right. For example: The smallest duration in a chord is what is counted for measures. To put a rest in the chord, the rest must be smaller duration than the note and must be added first, you may also need to put a stem direction on the rest.

Notating 2 voices on a staff - Staff Layering
Staff layering will allow you to notate each voice on a separate staff and then merge the staves for printing and viewing. The sample song file LAYERING.nwc demonstrates this feature, as does the SATB.nwc template.

To get started with Staff Layering

1. Open LAYERING.nwc. It is located in the Samples folder. Make sure you have the global setting at File: Page Setup, Contents, Allow Layering turned on to be able to layer and unlayer.

2. Using View: Layering in Edit Mode – make sure this is not checked so the staves are not layered. Now you can see how each voice is on a separate staff. Here you can edit each staff.

3. Click the top staff to make it active.

4. Press F2 (Staff Properties) and select the Visual tab. For the top staff, you will see that "Layer with Next Staff" is checked. Press OK. Press Page Down to make the next staff active. Press F2. Here you will see that it is not layered because the top staff will layer with it. Continue this process to see the third staff is layered with next and the fourth staff is not layered. (The Layer with Next command is also on the Staff menu).

5. View: Layering in Edit Mode – check this to allow layering. Now the staves are layered again. You can still use Page Up and Page Down to cycle through the staves and you can use Shift+F5 to play only one voice.

How to use the SATB template to start a new song with layering

Go to File: New, General tab, click SATB, Click OK, OK.

You will see that this template does have the staves layered. The layered settings are checked for the first and third staves. When you are ready to unlayer the staves, go back to View: Layering in Edit Mode and uncheck it. (Make sure you have the global setting at File: Page Setup, Contents, Allow Layering turned on to be able to layer and unlayer.)

How to start a blank new song with layering

If you want to start a new song with layering, the key is that for the staves you want to layer, you need to set the same Clef. For the upper staff, you will need to go to Staff: Staff Properties, Visual tab, and check Layer with Next Staff. This staff will then be layered with the staff below it when "Allow Layering" is turned on.

Layering Tips

• There are 3 commands associated with layering.
  -Staff: Staff Properties, Visual tab, Layer with next Staff
  -View: Layering in Edit Mode
  -The global setting at File: Page Setup, Contents, Allow Layering

• To move through layered staves, use Page Up and Page Down
  Look for the active staff color to show what staff you are working with. Once you have the staff active, you can edit the notes, use Tools: Play, Staff Play (to just play that staff), etc. To set an active staff color, go to Tools: Options, Color, Active Staff.

• Use Extra Note Spacing and Vertical Offset for Rests
  To make space for notes that overlap more than you want, select the note, press Alt+Enter, under the Notes tab, set Extra Note Spacing. The vertical position of a rest can be changed in the same way with Vertical Offset.

• Change Direction of Tie or Slur
  If you need to change the slur or tie direction of a note, select the notes, press ALt+Enter, under the notes tab, change the direction.