Accents and dynamics

Add marks that change how loud notes are. Accents go on notes, dynamics on beats.

Accents#

Select a note and press AA for an accent, or ⌥AAlt+A for a heavy accent.

An accented note plays one step louder, and a heavy accent two steps louder. ⇧AShift+A adds a tenuto, which marks the note to be held for its full length. All three sit in the same place, so a note can have only one of them.

Staccato#

Press ⇧SShift+S to mark a note as short.

In playback the note is half as long. It’s separate from accents, so a note can have both.

Dynamics#

Select a beat and press ⇧DShift+D to make it one step louder, or ⌥DAlt+D one step softer.

There are eight steps from ppp to fff, and a beat without a marking plays at f. You can also pick a step directly on the Dynamics row of the Inspector.

Crescendo and decrescendo#

Use the Dynamic Change row of the Inspector to mark a gradual rise or fall in volume.

With a range selected, it applies to every beat in the range.