Online 2013

Speedy Arranging in Sibelius Session 3Katie WardrobeMidnight Music

Scanning and Sibelius 5

Introduction 5

Realistic expectations 5

What can scanning do for me? 5

Options for scanning 5

A word about copyright 5

Is it legal? 5

Scanning process 6

The four stages 6

Types of scanners 6

Basic is good! 6

Step 1: Scan 6

Options 6

Scanning directly into Photoscore 6

Scanning your usual way 7

PDF Scores 7

Tips for getting the best results 7

Step 2: Read 7

Interpreting the music 7

Reading pages automatically 8

Multiple pages 8

Changing page order 8

Step 3: Edit 9

Basic Corrections 9

Your two best friends 10

Time signatures 10

Rhythmic errors 10

Key signatures 10

Pitches 10

Scores with multiple pages 10

Playing your score 10

Step 4: Send to Sibelius 11

Corrections in Sibelius 12

Before you do anything else...! 12

Project 1: Scan a Bach Chorale and re-arrange it for brass ensemble 12

Unlock format 13

Add title and composer 13

Tempo 13

Creating metronome marks 13

Arrange for Brass Quartet 13

Instant arranging 14

Transposing score 15

Playback of brass parts 15

Piano part “for rehearsal only” 15

Deleting the piano part 15

Project 2: Scan an orchestral part for viola and rearrange it for violin 15

Opening the Blue Danube viola part 16

Basic corrections !rst 16

Missing alto clef 16

Multirests 16

Tremelos 16

Bar numbers 17

Repeat endings and incorrect bar lengths 17

Once in Sibelius 17

Project 3: Piano/vocal score with a varying number of staves 17

Identify the staves 18

Label staves throughout the score 18

Photoscore Lite vs Photoscore Ultimate 19

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Should you upgrade? 19

Using Photoscore Lite 19

Complete list of differences 19

Homework 19

Three projects 19

Test out your scanning skills 19

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Scanning and Sibelius

IntroductionMost teachers’ eyes light up when they discover they can scan music straight into Sibelius. “A dream come true: the answer to all of my transposing nightmares!”. No more transcribing viola parts for the violin 3 section 10 minutes before a rehearsal starts or transposing a piano accompaniment down a fourth at sight for the alto with a penchant for soprano repertoire.

Scanning music with Photoscore allows you to convert a PDF or printed score into editable notation.

Realistic expectations

Scanning music can be the answer to the problems mentioned above, but it is necessary to have realistic expectations.

Scanning is a highly complex process and even the scanning of simple text has only reached a reasonable level of accuracy in recent times. When you think about it, the scanning of music is much more difficult because your computer needs to interpret a complicated set of symbols, many of which are of variable size and shape, such as slurs, hairpin dynamics and articulations.

The bottom line is, scanning can be an excellent time-saving tool if you know a few tricks!

What can scanning do for me?

Options for scanning

• Transfer  music  that  was  created  in  an  out-­‐of-­‐date  nota3on  program  into  Sibelius  quickly

• Re-­‐assign  clefs:  rewrite  a  viola  part  in  the  treble  clef  for  your  Violin  III  sec3on  

• Transpose:  rewrite  the  bassoon  part  for  the  tenor  saxophone  or  transpose  a  song  for  your  lead  

vocalist

• Arrange:  scan  in  a  piano  piece  and  re-­‐arrange  it  for  brass  ensemble

• Backing  tracks:  scan  music  into  Sibelius  so  you  can  create  an  audio  file  from  the  score,  mute  or  solo  

parts,  change  the  tempo  and  play  it  back  in  iTunes  or  Windows  Media  Player

A word about copyright

Is it legal?

Make sure you’re aware of the copyright issues associated with scanning. If you scan someone else’s music without permission you’re likely to infringe copyright. You can check the copyright status of the music by contacting the publisher, composer or arranger.

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Scanning process

The four stages

There are 4 stages to the scanning process itself:

1. Scan the music (or open a graphic or PDF !le)

2. Read the music. This is where PhotoScore reads the scanned pages and interprets it as music

3. Edit the music in PhotoScore

4. Send the score to Sibelius

Then you’re ready to transpose, arrange, re-arrange or create a backing track.

Types of scanners

Basic is good!

The good news is that simple, basic scanners work the best with PhotoScore. Since you’re only scanning music – which is always black and white – you don’t need a scanner with a lot of fancy features. If you don’t already own a scanner, see the Buying a Scanner tips at the end of these notes.

Step 1: Scan

Options

You can either:

• scan music directly into Photoscore

• scan music using your usual method and save it as a PDF which you can then open in Photoscore

Scanning directly into Photoscore

To get started, you can open Sibelius and go to File > Scan (PhotoScore will open automatically), or you can open PhotoScore directly. All scanners are different, but the basic steps for scanning are the same:

• In Photocore, go to File > Scan Pages. A dialogue box will open which will vary depending on the type of scanner you’re using

• Place the music face down on the scanning plate

• Resolution: you’ll generally choose 300 dpi, but if the staff size is very small or very large choose a different resolution. A small staff size requires a higher dpi (400) and a larger staff size requires a lower dpi setting

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• Choose whether you’d like to scan in black and white or grey scale (not colour). Scanning in greyscale (shades of grey) can produce more accurate results

• Click Scan

• A small window will open giving your scanned page the title “Score 1, Page 1”

• You’ll then be given an opportunity to scan any subsequent pages in your score. You won’t need to name each one because PhotoScore will assume that the subsequent pages should retain the title of page one, but be named page 2, page 3 etc

• If you’ve !nished scanning all pages, click Cancel. You’ll see your newly scanned pages in the list of “Pending Pages” in the PhotoScore window

Scanning your usual way

If you don’t want to scan directly into Photoscore (and it’s often easier not to!), you can simply scan music your “usual” way - the way you would scan any document. When you scan the music, save it in a PDF format. You can then open the PDF in Photoscore (see below).

PDF Scores

If you already have a PDF version of a score, you can simply open the !le directly in PhotoScore using the Open PDF button at the top. Photoscore can also open graphic !les such as PITC, BMP or TIFF.

Tips for getting the best results

• Scan from a clean, clear copy

• Use the original for best accuracy. Scanning from photocopies yields lower accuracy

• Avoid using music copies with pencil markings (even erased ones!)

• If you’re scanning from a book, press gently on the lid of the scanner (or on the book itself ) so that it lies $at against the glass

• If you’re printing a score for scanning, avoid using an inkjet printer. Use a laser printer where possible

• Make sure the lid closes properly

• Keep the glass plate of the scanner clean!

• Each scanner gives a different result…even multiple scans using same scanner can give different results

Step 2: Read

Interpreting the music

The next step is for Photoscore to read - or interpret - the score. The is the time that the markings on the page are converted from dots and lines on a page into a working notation !le that you can edit.

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Photoscore may be set to Read the pages automatically after scanning (or, after opening a PDF), in which case you’ll see each one being processed (the reading progress will be shown by a green bar !lling the title from left to right) and they’ll end up in the list of Read Pages at the bottom left.

If it doesn’t happen automatically, you can manually ask PhotoScore to read your scan by clicking on the !rst page of your piece in the Pending Pages pane and then ticking the Read box at the right of the title.

Reading pages automatically

To make Photoscore to read the pages automatically in the future:

• Go to File > Preferences (Windows) or Photoscore Lite > Preferences (Mac)

• Select Scanning in the column on the left

• Check the Read Pages after scanning/opening option at the bottom of the window

Multiple pages

If your score has multiple (separate) pages, you should read all of the pages one after the other. This way, PhotoScore will group them together as a score.

Changing page order

If you need to re-read a page, or change the order in which you asked PhotoScore to read pages, you can double-click on the original score at the top of the output window to access further Reading options.

A toolbar appears at the top of the score window:

• The Read this page button allows you to re-read a page. There are also further options from the drop-down menu

• There are also buttons which allow you to change the orientation of your page (from upside-down or sideways to right-side-up

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Step 3: Edit

Select page 1 from the Read Pages list on the left. In the main part of your screen (the output window) you’ll see two views of the music on a split screen:

• At  the  top,  the  music  on  the  buff-­‐coloured  background  shows  you  what  the  “original”  looks  like  

• At  the  boLom  –  on  the  white  background  -­‐  is  PhotoScore’s  interpreta3on  of  your  scanned  image

• As  you  hover  your  mouse  over  the  top  stave  of  the  scanned  image  at  the  boLom,  you’ll  no3ce  that  the  view  of  the  original  follows  your  mouse  direc3on    

• There  is  also  a  Full  detail  view  window,  which  allows  you  to  see  a  close-­‐up  of  the  sec3on  of  the  score  you’re  looking  at

Basic Corrections

To allow you to make corrections there is a version of Sibelius’s Keypad on the bottom right of your screen (pictured, right) and Sibelius’s Create menu at the top of the screen.

The Create menu is a throw-back to Sibelius 6 and earlier (the Create menu does not exist in Sibelius 7) and is where you can create bar rests, barlines, key signatures, time signatures and so on.

However, it’s more straightforward to correct some of these musical elements once your score has been transferred to Sibelius, so exactly what should you correct whilst still working in PhotoScore?

The minimum elements you should correct are:

• time signatures

• key signatures

• rhythmic errors

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Your two best friends

Before editing anything, you should know that the two most important things to know are:

• The Escape key (Esc.) deselects anything you have selected

• The undo function (Ctrl+Z or ⌘Z) will undo your last action

Time signatures

To correct or add a time signature:

• Go to Create > Time signature

• Select the time signature you need and click OK

• Your mouse pointer will turn blue and you can click in the appropriate spot in the score

Rhythmic errors

Once PhotoScore knows what the time signature the score is in, it will indicate any rhythmic inaccuracies with small red notes over the barline showing the number of missing (or extra) beats in the bar. To add or change rhythmic elements:

• Select an individual note in the score

• Select the correct value on the Sibelius Keypad

The Keypad actually has 5 layouts (containing a further choices of rhythmic values, articulations and sharps and $ats etc) which can be accessed by clicking on the buttons at the top.

Key signatures

• Go  Create  >  Key  Signature  (your  mouse  pointer  will  turn  blue)  

• Click  in  the  appropriate  place  in  the  score

Pitches

• Alter the pitch of a note by selecting it and moving it up or down with the arrow keys

Scores with multiple pages

If you are working with a score with multiple pages, you should edit all of them before going on to the last step: sending the score to Sibelius.

Use the arrow keys at the top of the Output window to move between pages of your score.

Playing your score

Lastly, PhotoScore can play back your score back to you and this can be another useful way of checking for errors. Click on the Play button on the Toolbar at the top of the Output window to start playback.

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Step 4: Send to Sibelius

To send your score to Sibelius:

• Click on the Sibelius icon at the top of the output window

• If Sibelius isn’t already running it will open and the Open PhotoScore File dialogue will appear

• Check the This is a transposing score option if your score contains transposing instruments. Once you click OK, you’ll be prompted to choose the correct instruments

Then there are three options to do with choosing instruments for your score:

• Use default instruments: opens the !le without trying to work out which instruments are used in the score

• Choose instruments: allows the user to choose an instrument for each staff in the score

• Let Sibelius choose instruments: Sibelius will attempt to work out which instruments are used in the score

It’s often a good idea to select Choose instruments so that you have control over how the staves area assigned.

• If you select the Choose instruments option, a version of Sibelius’s Instruments dialogue will

open. Select Staff 1 in the Instruments in "le list, then select the corresponding instrument from the instruments list in the middle

• Click Add

• Repeat for each stave in the list on the left and click OK

The score will open in Sibelius and you can continue to edit it, re-arrange it, transpose and so on.

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Corrections in Sibelius

Now that your score is in Sibelius, you can now go ahead and !x any minor problems up that weren’t corrected in PhotoScore.

Before you do anything else...!

One of the !rst things you must do in Sibelius is adjust the layout and formatting of your score.

When the score is transferred into Sibelius from Photoscore, Sibelius locks the bars together to try to emulate the layout of the original scanned document. Usually this will result in notes being too close together, bars appearing as if they are on top of one another or staves without enough “breathing space” (such as the example below).

To !x this:

• Unlock the formatting by selecting the entire score (Ctrl+A or ⌘A) and going to Layout > Format > Unlock format

• If you’re using Sibelius 6 or 7, go to Layout > Staff Spacing > Optimize to have Sibelius correct the distances between staves for you

• If you’re using Sibelius 5 or earlier, go to House Style > Engraving Rules and click on Staves in the left column. Increase the Spaces between staves number and click Sibelius 6 or earlier: go to Create > Text > Title. (you may need to experiment with this setting until you get it right)

• Switch to Panorama view to continue working on your score. Try not to think about other layout and formatting issues until your score is complete

Let’s look at a few scanning examples and how best to deal with each one.

Project 1: Scan a Bach Chorale and re-arrange it for brass ensemble

Start by opening the provided Chorale 33 PDF in Photoscore. Using the steps outlined above, !x up the score in PhotoScore so that the time signature, key signature and rhythms are correct.

When you’ve !nished, click on the Send to Sibelius button.

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Unlock format

Once in Sibelius, unlock the formatting and increase the space between staves as above.

Add title and composer

If you are using Photoscore Lite, your score will be missing a title. You can add it in as follows:

• Sibelius 7: go to Text > Styles > Title (see right). Your mouse pointer will turn blue and you can click at the top of your score and type the title

• Sibelius 6 or earlier: go to Create > Text > Title. Your mouse pointer will turn blue and you can click at the top of your score and type the title

Tempo

Sibelius will have assigned the default tempo of crotchet = 100 which is too quick for this particular chorale. To change it:

• Sibelius 7: go to Text > Styles > Metronome Mark (choosing Tempo text will also work)

• Sibelius 6 or earlier: go to Create > Text > Metronome Mark (choosing Tempo text will also work)

• Your mouse pointer will turn blue and you can click above the !rst bar

• You can then type in metronome mark. Crotchet = 80 is a good tempo for this score. Read on for instructions about creating metronome marks....

Creating metronome marks

To create the crotchet at the beginning of the metronome mark:

• Hold down the Ctrl (⌘) key and press the number 4 on your numeric keypad on the right hand side of your computer keyboard (incidentally, number 3 will create a quaver, number 5 will create a minim and so on). Alternatively, you can right-click on the $ashing cursor and choose the crotchet from the right-click menu

• Type a space, followed by the equals sign (=), another space and then the number 80

Arrange for Brass Quartet

Next we’ll re-arrange this chorale for brass quartet. First, we’ll need to add some brass staves to the score. Open the Instruments dialogue by pressing the letter I.

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• From the Common Instruments category, select Brass

• Add Horn in F, Trumpet in B $at, Trombone and Tuba to the Staves in Score list

• Move the Trumpet in B $at up to the top of the list by clicking on it in the Staves in score list on the right-hand side and clicking the Move Up button

Instant arranging

We’ll arrange the piano part for the brass instruments in one easy step using the Arrange feature in Sibelius. Arrange is a really just a clever way of copying and pasting music.

Steps:

• Make sure you’re in Panorama view (press Shift+P) to make viewing and navigating around the score straightforward

• Select all of piano top stave by double-clicking in the any of the bars of the right-hand part

• Hold the Shift key down and click in any of the bars in the left-hand stave. Both staves should now be selected throughout the entire score

• Press Ctrl+C (⌘C) to copy the piano part to the clipboard

Next tell Sibelius where we want this material to go:

• Select the !rst bar in all of the brass staves - click in the !rst bar of the trumpet part and then hold Shift down while you click in the !rst bar of the Tuba part

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• Go to Notes > Arrange and select 1 family: Brass from the arrange styles list

• Click OK. Sibelius will “explode” the copied material on to the four brass staves all at once

Transposing score

• Click on the Transposing score button on the Toolbar (just to the left of the Parts drop-down menu) to view the brass parts in their correct key.

• You’ll need to add any missing fermatas by selecting the appropriate note and choosing the fermata sign from the keypad.

Playback of brass parts

To hear the brass parts, select the !rst bar of the trumpet, hold shift down and then click in the !rst bar of the tuba part. Press P to hear those staves play back on their own.

Piano part “for rehearsal only”

To !nish off, you might like to reduce the size of the piano part so that it becomes a piano reduction (to be played for rehearsal purposes only).

To do this:

• Press I to open the Instruments dialogue

• In the Staves in score list, select Piano (a) and Piano (b)

• Check the Small staff box and click OK

Deleting the piano part

Alternatively, you may just want to delete the piano part altogether:

• Select the piano staves and press Delete

• Say Yes when asked whether you really want to do this

To !nish, return to page view by pressing Shift+P and take a look at your new arrangement!

Project 2: Scan an orchestral part for viola and rearrange it for violin

Schools often lack student players of instruments like the viola (or the school may lack the instrument itself ) and it’s very common to see a conductor transcribing the orchestral part for the violin section. Scanning can really save you time and effort here – especially if the score is a long one.

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Opening the Blue Danube viola part

In PhotoScore, start by clicking on the Open PDF icon on the toolbar and opening the provided PDF Blue Danube - Viola. You’ll asked what resolution the PDF is – select 300 dpi and click OK.

PhotoScore will then add the two pages of the Blue Danube viola part to the Pending pages list on the left. You can go ahead and Read the pages (if Photoscore doesn’t do it automatically) by clicking on the title of page 1 and then clicking on Read. Do the same for page 2.

Basic corrections !rst

First of all, go through the score and correct the basic elements using the processes described previously:

• time signatures

• key signatures

• !x rhythmic errors

Missing alto clef

Photoscore Lite does not read alto or tenor clefs - only treble and bass clefs - so you will need to add the alto clef into the score yourself.

• Go to Create > Clef

• Select the alto clef and click at the beginning of the !rst stave

It’s not necessary to add the alto clef to any of the subsequent staves. Once you send the score to Sibelius, the alto clef will be added to all of the staves automatically.

Multirests

PhotoScore Lite doesn’t interpret multirests and it’s a good idea to add them in before sending the score to Sibelius:

• Select the full-bar rest where the multirest should be

• Go to Create > Bar Rest > Multirest

• Type the appropriate number in the Number of bars box and click OK

Once the score is sent to Sibelius, the multirest will now be correctly interpreted as multiple bars

Tremelos

Forget  about  the  missing  tremelos  un3l  in  you’re  working  in  Sibelius  (they  don’t  exist  in  PhotoScore’s  

version  of  the  Keypad).

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Bar numbers

Bar  numbers  will  oVen  incorrectly  in  PhotoScore  due  to  the  mis-­‐interpreta3on  of  bar  lengths.  Once  the  bar  

lengths  are  fixed  and  the  score  is  transferred  to  Sibelius,  bar  numbers  will  be  automa3cally  added  in  anyway,  so  it’s  not  necessary  to  fix  them  here.

Repeat endings and incorrect bar lengths

First  and  second-­‐3me  endings  are  not  available  in  Photoscore  Lite  and  generally,  repeat  endings  are  much  easier  to  add  in  and  fine-­‐tune  in  Sibelius  so  leave  them  for  now.  

You  will  need  to  fix  the  incorrect  bar  lengths  though  -­‐  such  as  those  in  the  3rd  and  4th  stave  on  the  second  

page  (where  the  first  and  second-­‐3me  endings  should  be).

Once in Sibelius

Once you have sent the score to Sibelius, you can !x the following:

• Tremelos: add tremelos by selecting the note and choosing the appropriate tremolo from the 3rd keypad layout. You can even apply a tremolo to all the notes in a bar. Select the whole bar by clicking somewhere in the bar that isn’t a note or a rest. You should have a blue box around the bar and you can extend the selection by holding down Shift and clicking in the next bar. Then select the appropriate tremolo from the 3rd keypad layout as before.

• Articulations: add or correct all articulations by selecting the note and choosing the articulation from the 2nd keypad layout

• Slurs: you can add any missing slurs/phrase marks by selecting a note and pressing S. Extend the slur by using the space bar (use the undo shortcut if you go too far!)

• Repeat endings: add in the 1st and 2nd time endings by pressing L to open the Lines menu

• Key changes: you can turn on Cautionary Naturals by going to Appearance > Engraving Rules (House Style > Engraving Rules in Sibelius 6 or earlier) and choosing Clefs and Key signatures from the list on the left of the dialogue. Then, tick the Cautionary naturals box and click OK

• Spacing: you tidy up note spacing issues by selecting a bar (or multiple bars) and using the

shortcut Ctrl+Shift+N (⇧⌘N)

Project 3: Piano/vocal score with a varying number of staves

The !nal project - Kids Rule - can be tackled in much the same way as the previous projects.

There is one main difference with the score though: there are a varying number of staves throughout this score. It is a piano/vocal score with a piano-only introduction followed by piano/vocal staves - sometimes one vocal part, sometimes two).

The way to deal with this scenario in Photoscore is to do the following:

• !rst identify all of the staves - tell Photoscore which instrument (or voice part) belongs where

• second, label all of the staves throughout the score

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Identify the staves

• Right-click on the Staff 1 instrument name at the beginning of the !rst piano stave

• Select Instruments from the bottom of the menu

In the window that opens, you will need to rename each of the staves in the list to re$ect which instrument is which:

• Select Staff 1 and click on Rename

• Type the name of the instrument in the Name box (or choose the correct instrument from the lists above.

• Click Rename

• Then repeat the renaming process for the remaining staves

• Note: it’s important to rename the staves in the correct order. In this score, Staff 1 must be renamed as Voice 1, Staff 2 is Voice 2, Staff 3 is Piano a (right hand) and Staff 4 is Piano b (left hand) - as pictured right

Label  staves  throughout  the  score

Once  you  have  iden3fied  the  staves  in  the  Instruments  window,  Photoscore  will  automa3cally  assign  names  to  the  staves.    You  will  then  need  to  go  through  the  en3re  score  and  label  each  stave.    

To  do  this:

• Start  with  the  first  stave  in  the  score  and  right-­‐click  on  the  staff  name

• Select  the  correct  staff  name  from  the  list

• Repeat  for  all  of  the  other  staves  throughout  the  score

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Photoscore Lite vs Photoscore Ultimate

Should you upgrade?

If you think you will be making use of scanning music very frequently, it’s probably worth upgrading to Photoscore Ultimate.

The Lite and Ultimate versions each read different amounts of information. There is no difference in the quality of the “read” !les.

Bear in mind that if you continue to use the Lite version, there will always be more !xing up to do in Photoscore because it does not read as many musical elements as Photoscore Ultimate.

Using Photoscore Lite

Here are some of the main considerations when assessing whether Photoscore Lite will suffice:

• Reads 12 staves only (Ultimate reads up to 64)

• Does not read articulation, slurs, hairpins, dynamics

• Does not read triplets

• Does not read text (lyrics, title, composer etc)

• Does not read handwritten music

• Reads 2 clefs only

• Semiquaver is smallest note value it will read

• Reads up to one dot only on dotted notes/rests

• Does not read irregular bars

• Does not read double barlines, repeat barlines, repeat endings, coda, segno

Complete list of differences

If you’d like to see the full list of musical markings that PhotoScore Lite (the version that comes free with Sibelius) and Photoscore Ultimate (the paid upgrade - $279 at time of writing) reads, go to http://www.sibelius.com/products/photoscore/ultimate.html

Homework

Three projects

Work your way through each of the three projects above using the provided PDFs.

Test out your scanning skills

Choose a score out of your own library and have a go scanning it and opening it in Photoscore. Take care of any issues and then send it to Sibelius for re-arranging.

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