Time signatures

Overview

Time signatures are applied from the Time signatures palette:

When creating a new score, the initial time signature can be set on the second page of the New Score dialog. The default is 4/4, which will be used if you skip this page.

Adding a time signature

To add a time signature, or replace an existing one:

• Select a measure, note or rest, or time signature in the score

• Click a time signature in the Time signatures palette.

Alternatively, drag a time signature directly from the palette onto the measure where you want it to appear.

Currently, time signature changes can only occur at the beginning of a measure.

Changing a time signature will cause any existing music that follows to be re-barred, and some items may be lost in this process, so the changes should be checked carefully.

Deleting a time signature

To delete a time signature, select it and press Del.

If you delete the time signature at the beginning of the score, the music is treated as though it is in a nominal 4/4 and re-barred accordingly.

Creating a custom time signature

If you need a time signature that is not available in the palette, you can create your own using the Create Time Signature dialog. You can access this dialog from the Time signatures palette:

1. In the Time signatures palette, click More

2. Click the Create time signature button in the popup

Or, from the Master Palette:

1. Select View -> Master palette from the menu bar, or press Shift+F9

2. Choose Time signatures from the list in the left of the dialog.

To create your time signature in this dialog:

1. In Value, enter the numerator and denominator

2. If you want the time signature to be displayed differently than its real value, enter the text you wish to see in the Text fields

3. If necessary, adjust the beaming in the Beam groups section (see below)

To add the new time signature to the Time signatures palette, click the Add button. You can now add it to the score from the palette in the usual way.

Controlling time signature visibility

To toggle whether time signatures are to be shown on a particular staff (throughout the score):

1. Right-click the staff and choose Staff/Part properties... from the context menu

2. Check/uncheck the Show time signature box.

To hide a specific time signature on all staves:

1. Select the time signature

2. In the Properties panel, under General, uncheck the Visible toggle (or simply press V).

For controlling visibility of courtesies, see Courtesy time signatures, below.

Adding a local time signature

Sometimes there may be different time signatures on different staves simultaneously. In this example, the global time signature is 3/4, but the right hand staff is notated in 18/16:

Bach: Goldberg Variations, no. 26

We refer to this as a 'local' time signature, i.e. one which applies only to a single staff, rather than to all staves.

To add a local time signature, add it (either by dragging from the palette to the required staff, or selecting the measure and clicking a time signature in the palette) while holding Ctrl (Mac: Cmd).

Local time signatures always result in bars of the same length as the global time signature; you can think of them as putting an invisible tuplet over each bar (in the Bach example above, an 18:12 tuplet). It is not yet possible to have bars of differing lengths.

It is also not possible to add a local time signature on a staff where there is any existing music following it.

Resizing a time signature

1. Select a time signature

2. In the Properties panel, under Time signature, adjust the Scale values. The horizontal and vertical scale can be modified separately.

Changing the scale affects the time signature on all staves where it appears.

Time signature properties

To open the Time Signature Properties dialog, either:

• Right-click on a time signature and select Time signature properties from the menu

• Select a time signature and click the Time signature properties button under Time signature in the Properties panel.

Appearance

These options let you change the appearance of the time signature without affecting its underlying rhythmic value. Choose between:

• Text: Insert the nominal numerator and denominator that you wish to appear on the score (if empty, the real values will appear in the score)

• Common time

• Cut time

• Other: a dropdown containing Medieval and Renaissance prolation symbols.

Beam groups

Here you can customize how groups of notes are beamed together. See Setting the default beaming for a time signature.

Courtesy time signatures

Normally, when a time signature change falls at the start of the system, a courtesy (also called cautionary) is shown at the end of the previous system.

To disable or re-enable all courtesy time signatures throughout the score:

1. Select Format -> Style from the menu bar and

2. Select Clefs, keys & time signatures from the list on the left

3. Under Time signatures, check/uncheck the Show courtesy time signatures box.

To hide or show an individual courtesy time signature:

1. Select the parent time signature (i.e. not the courtesy itself)

2. In the Properties panel, under Time signature, check/uncheck the Show courtesy time signature on previous system box.

Time signature style

There are some more global style settings for time signatures available in the style dialog (Format -> Style):

• In Measures, under Padding, some settings to configure the distances between time signatures and other items:

  • Clef to time signature

  • Key signature to time signature

  • Barline to time signature

  • Time signature to barline

• In Measures, under System header, one more distance setting:

  • Time signature to first note (this only applies at the beginning of a system)

• In Barlines, Use double barlines before time signatures has three options:

  • Always: always use a double barline

  • Never: always use a single barline

  • Only before courtesy time signatures: use a double barline before courtesies, but a single barline otherwise.