Table of Contents
Notation reference
Time signatures
Time signatures indicate the meter of music, and apply to all bars from where they first appear until a subsequent change of time signature. Meter describes the rhythmic pulse of music, and its division into beats and bars.
Positions of time signatures
Standard time signatures are positioned on staves with the middle staff line, or only staff line for single-line staves, passing through their center. Large time signatures can be positioned in the middle or at the top of bracket groups, or above staves at system object positions.
Changing the position of time signatures on bracketed groups
By default, time signatures shown once per bracket are centered on each bracketed group. You can change their vertical position on bracketed groups for all layouts project-wide; for example, it is common in film scores to show the top of large time signatures aligned with the top of each bracketed group.

Changing the position of time signatures on bracketed groups

By default, time signatures shown once per bracket are centered on each bracketed group. You can change their vertical position on bracketed groups for all layouts project-wide; for example, it is common in film scores to show the top of large time signatures aligned with the top of each bracketed group.

You can also choose to show a single large time signature on all the staves between brass and string instruments, rather than showing smaller time signatures on each bracketed/braced staff group. This section typically includes percussion, harps, and pianos.

Procedure

Press Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-E to open Engraving Options.
In the category list, click Time Signatures.
In the Time Signatures Centered on Brackets section, choose one of the following options for Vertical alignment relative to bracket:
- Top
- Middle
Choose one of the following options for Instruments between brass and strings:
- Treat as single bracket
- Treat separately
Click Apply, then Close.