Moving Notes and Symbols

You can move notes and symbols with and without affecting the score playback.

Procedure

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To move a note graphically, that is, without affecting the score playback, select the Layout tool on the Score Editor toolbar.

      Note

      In the Nudge category in the Key Commands dialog, you can assign the key commands Graphical Left, Graphical Right, Graphical Top, and Graphical Bottom to move symbols, notes, or rests graphically.

    • To move a note and change the score playback, select the Object Selection tool on the Score Editor toolbar.

    • To duplicate a note or a symbol, hold down Alt and drag them to a new position.

      Note

      This does not work for slurs, ties, and barlines.

    Note

    Other symbols such as braces and brackets can only be moved horizontally.

  2. Optional: Hold down Ctrl/Cmd to restrict the movement to one direction only.
  3. In the score, select the note or symbol that you want to move and drag it to another position.
    Note

    We recommend that you use the rulers and the Position Info window to position symbols and other score objects correctly.

Result

If you moved notes, their note symbols and note-dependent symbols move with them.

Note

Note symbols, slurs, and ties all have a default vertical distance from the noteheads. You can move them to adjust the vertical position, but if you move or transpose their notes, the symbols are automatically reset to their default positions.