How To: Compose in

Noteflight
About Noteflight
• An online notation software
• Has a free and a paid option
• Very user friendly
Versions
• Free membership: ten composition limit, excludes certain features.
• Premium membership: no composition limit, has features like
transcribing from a MIDI keyboard, recording from a microphone, and
has a wider range of instrument sounds.
Starting a Composition
• The option to either start from a blank score sheet or to import an
XML or MIDI file.
• Default instrument is a piano, with a grand staff,
• Default tempo is quarter note equals 120, default key is C major (or
any relative mode), and the default time signature is 4/4.
Changing the Default Settings
• By going to the “Instruments” tab on the top right, you can either add
instruments, or change instruments by clicking the pencil next to an
instrument. You can also delete instruments.
• When choosing an instrument, they are organized into instrument
families. You can also search for an instrument, or play a sample of
what a certain instrument sounds like.
Changing the Default Settings (cont.)
• The tempo can be changed by going to the “tempo” menu on the top
left. You can change the bpm, and also which note receives the beat.
Here, you can also add accelerandos or ritardandos, fermatas, and
breath marks.
• You can change the time signature by either going to the “measure”
menu (below the tempo menu) or by clicking the the time signature
in the score. Here, you can insert a pickup meaure, change either the
top or the bottom note of the time signature, or make the piece
common time or cut time.
Changing the Default Settings (cont.)
• The key signature can be changed by also going to the meaure menu.
• The key signature can go up to 7 flats or 7 sharps, in any of the
western modes (Ionion, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian,
or Locrian)
Adding Notes Into a Score
• When adding notes, you have to highlight the bar you want the note
to be placed in.
• You then can either use your mouse to put a note on the staff, or use
your keyboard to insert the desired pitch.
• Change the inserted pitch by going to the “pitch” menu (top right),
where you can change the pitch diatonically, chromatically, or by an
octave.
• Here, you can also add accidentals and transpose a given selection.
Adding Notes Into a Score (cont.)
• You can change the rhythm by going to the “duration” menu (above
tempo).
• Here, you can make a highlighted note anything from a whole note to
a 64th note. You can also add dots and ties.
• Use the left and right arrows to highlight a specific pitch, or your
mouse to click on it.
Measure Menu
• As said before, the measure menu is where you can change the time
signature and key signature.
• You can also add or delete measures, add in a clef change or barlines,
and add in multi-measure rests.
• Next to the measure menu is the repeat menu, where you can add in
repeats and endings, including codas.
Hot Keys!
• Shift + the up and down arrows brings a highlighted pitch up or down
a half step.
• Command + up and down arrows brings a highlighted pitch up or
down an octave.
• Up and down arrows on their own move the pitch diatonically.
• [ makes a highlighted note half the duration.
• ] makes a highlighted note double the duration.