Quick Reference Guide

Table of Contents

Connect with users around the world and learn more about Notion 1

Install 2

Activate Notion

Notion for your iPad is a great companion for your new Notion software.

2

The Main Notion Window

The Toolbar

2

3

Guitar, Bass, and Other Fretted Instruments

Entry Palette

3

4

4

Score Setup

Try adding a Staff or Instrument

Score Area 7

Mixer 8

5

6

Virtual instruments 10

Transport 11

Keyboard Shortcuts 12

©2015 PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PreSonus is a registered trademark of PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. Notion is a trademark of PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc.

Connect with users around the world and learn more about Notion

Notion is now part of PreSonus - connect with us via www.presonus.com and check out the whole range of products we are now part of at www.presonus.com

Expand your sound library – visit http://www.presonus.com/buy/ stores/software for exciting new expansion sounds

Notion Music Forum – Join discussions across a wide variety of topics, from tips on using

Notion Music products to news about music technology hardware/software.

Notion Music Blogs – Read various news and views from the Notion Music team

Notion Social Outlets – Join us online at Facebook or Twitter!

http://www.presonus.com/community/blog/ http://forums.presonus.com/ http://www.facebook.com/Notionmusic http://www.twitter.com/Notionmusic

Knowledge Base

Go to – http://support.presonus.com/forums

Support

Notion Music works to have the best customer support in the industry. If you have questions please see the contact information below:

Technical Support - http://support.presonus.com/home

Local: (225)-216-7887 International : +001 225 216-7887

Toll-Free (in the USA): (866) 398-2994

1

Download

To receive your software, register online at my.presonus.com with the product key provided. The links to download the software and the sounds will be automatically added into your account once you’ve hit ‘Register New Software’ and entered the product key. You will also find the complete

Notion manual and Quick Reference Guides have been added to your account for reference.

Install

Double click your downloaded Notion software and follow the onscreen instructions. If you purchased the optional DVD, insert the disc into a dual-layer DVD disc reader on your computer. If the installer does not work automatically, double-click “Install Notion,” and follow the directions on the screen. You can choose your language and whether you wish to install in 32- or 64-bit during installation.

Activate

After the installation has completed you can choose to activate your copy of Notion or use in Demo mode – you will not be able to print, save or export until you have activated your software. To activate, enter the product key and your email address. Once this process is complete you will be able to start working in Notion.

Notion for your iPad is a great companion for your new Notion software.

Take advantage of the compatibility between Notion for your desktop and Notion for iPad.

When you use Notion on both your desktop computer and iPad you can share your files between these two great programs or with others. It’s a great way to continue working on your projects when you’re on the go. You can edit and playback your score on one platform and then send it to the other and continue working on the same file.

Find more information at: http://www.presonus.com

2

The Main Notion Window

You spend most of your time in the main Notion window where you’ll find many convenient controls, palettes, and indicators, here are a few.

NTempo. Control your score’s playback with

NTempo by selecting this icon.

Transport. Access playback and record controls.

Instrument Name. Displays the name of the instrument per stave.

Score area. Large area with your composition.

Have as few or as many instruments as you want.

Entry Palette. Most score markings are never more than a click away.

The Toolbar

The icons located in the toolbar allow the user easy access to tools frequently used.

Virtual Keyboard. Enter notes and chords or audition a melody on this interactive keyboard.

Virtual Drumpad. Enter the desired drum or pitch while in step-time entry mode.

Chord Library. Select, create and insert chords or chord diagrams into you score

Virtual Fretboard. Enter notes and chords or audition a melody with the interactive fretboard.

Score Setup. Click this button so you can quickly add, change, edit or remove a staff in your score.

Mixer. Click this button to open the audio mixer console so you can adjust individual instrument audio, edit effects, route output to external equipment, and more.

3

Guitar, Bass, and Other Fretted Instruments

Prefer to work in tablature? Notion has you covered. Work with tab staves, a virtual fretboard, and an interactive chord library to capture your latest ideas.

Enter commonly used techniques including bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, taps, slaps, vibratos, and harmonics.

The edits you make in a tab staff appears in a notation stave

– and vice versa.

Entry Palette

With the pop-up options in the Entry Palette you quickly access markings you can place on your score. By default, this palette automatically appears at the bottom of the score area whenever you switch from NTempo mode to Edit mode.

Try Adding A Score Marking

Simply hover your mouse over one of the bottom panes to open a flyout window with options.

Hover over any of the options to view more information in a tooltip (you see the name of the symbol and, as a reminder, a keyboard shortcut you could use as an alternate way to access that symbol). To use a particular marking, click it.

A representation of this symbol now appears on your cursor (a Music

Cursor). Position the marking where you want it (see left). To add it to the score, either click your mouse or press ENTER. It’s that easy.

4

Score Setup

Click the button, to display this function. In Score Setup you can quickly add, change, or remove staffs. You can also hide/show, customize the order, change the appearance, and change the instruments assigned to multiple staffs.

Score settings - access the score setup options.

Remove instrument - removes instrument from score.

Hide/Show instrument - hides/shows the instrument in your score.

Change instrument, part name, or abbreviation

Change instrument settings, and notation settings

5

Try adding a Staff or Instrument

Part of the process of adding a new staff is assigning an instrument, working from the bottom upward (letters refer to the callouts in the illustration):

Click a sound source, such as Notion built-in instruments.

Hover over an instrument family.

» A submenu of instruments displays.

.

Click an instrument.

» You have just created a new staff and assigned an instrument to it.

You can continue to rapidly create more staves this way. To exit Score Setup, you can press the Exit Score Setup button at the top or press ESC.

Instruments – Click the instrument you want to assign.

Instrument Families – The options change with the sound source you select below.

Library options – View the options currently installed on your computer.

You can download additional instruments, sound effects, and performance techniques. Check out the Expansion Sounds at: http://www.presonus.com/buy/stores/software

6

Score Area

Unlimited instruments, unlimited pages, and highly customizable. Work in a full score, or just with your choice of instruments – or quickly edit or print a single instrument (go to the Menu bar and select Score > Dynamic Parts).

Continuous Page View – Notion offers three page views. The one pictured here is Continuous. This “no manual scrolling” option features a continuous run through the score with no page breaks.

To change page views, go to the Menu bar and select

View. The three options at the top of the menu are

Continuous, Pages Across, and Pages Down

.

Margin – Seen in Continuous page view, this overlay updates you on the current Key and Time Signatures and identifies instruments in a red text.

Playback marker – Seen in all page views, this green marker across a system identifies where playback is at the moment. As the marker moves further to the right, your view of the score automatically jumps ahead.

7

Mixer

Works just like a hardware console, but without the hassle of wires! There’s a channel strip for each instrument, four buses, and a master channel strip. Click the Mixer button in the

Toolbar to open this separate window.

These instrument-family buttons help you find the channel strips you want quickly.

Sends – Send a percentage of a channel strip’s sound to one or more buses.

Power Panning – Not simply left/right placement, but also how wide a spread.

Output – Click to determine where sound from this strip goes: to the Master or to external digital channels.

Inserts – Place effects (such as reverb or distortion) on individual instruments or (better yet) on one or more buses to be shared among your choice of instruments.

The default location of the built-in

Notion reverb. Click here to view and edit reverb settings.

Solo/Mute – Great for isolating trouble spots while composing or during rehearsals.

Set up multiple solo or muted instruments with a few clicks.

Master – Global volume, panning, and effects.

• Buses (blue fader)

8

Heads-Up Display – The optional HUD

(available when you are in NTempo mode) keeps you updated on current playback conditions.

In this example:

• A – The current Rehearsal mark.

• 1/4 – The playback marker is on beat one of a four-beat measure.

• 15 – The playback marker is in the 15th measure.

•

130

130 – The smaller first number identifies the written tempo. The larger second number identifies your current tempo.

• The timecode at the bottom displays in hours: minutes:seconds:frames (30 frames/second).

9

Virtual instruments

The virtual instruments allow you to enter or audition notes/chords by selecting a duration and clicking the note on the instrument to either audition or enter the note.

Choose whether you’d like to enter music as single note (melody) or multiple notes (chord).

Choose the pencil icon to enter notes as you select them on the virtual instrument.

Choose the speaker icon to audition notes on the virtual instrument.

Select the octave you’d like to enter/audition notes (virtual keyboard only).

The virtual drumpad works just like the other virtual instruments with the addition of the drum library. To use the drum library select a style (funk, jazz, rock, or world), choose a pattern and click in the score to place it.

10

NTempo or Edit Mode – Notion operates in either Edit Mode, where you can make changes, or NTempo mode, where editing features are turned off and certain playback features become available. To change modes, click the NTempo button.

Transport

Optional buttons for common tasks.

Rewind – Click once to return to the spot where you last started. Click twice to return to the beginning.

Stop – Halt playback but stay at that location.

Play – Have Notion play your score using metronome marks in your score to determine tempo.

Real-Time Record – Click to have Notion record notation as you play a MIDI device.

Step-Time Record – Click to enter notation from a MIDI device a step at a time.

Also can be used with the fretboard.

Tempo Overdub – Using the NTempo feature specify and edit tempo, down to individual beats. Can be used to reduce the number of metronome marks in a score.

Velocity Overdub – Specify and edit velocity (loudness), down to individual notes. Can be used to reduce the number of dynamic marks in a score.

Toolbar – thin strip across the top of the window with various controls

Editing marker – Shows at a glance where you are currently in the score.

Tooltip – Unsure what a particular symbol is? These small windows open to tell you – and remind you of their keyboard shortcuts.

Customize your view – Change page views, change the font size or switch to a jazz lead-sheet font, zoom, specify where measure numbers appear, jump instantly forward or backward, and more.

11

Keyboard Shortcuts

Pressing keys to start, control, or end features are optional: there are always alternate methods available.

However, the more keyboard shortcuts you use, the less time it takes to enter and edit scores.

Notes and Rests

Bar rest

Double whole note/rest

Whole note/rest

Half note/rest

Quarter note/rest

8th note/rest

16th note/rest

32nd note/rest

64th note/rest

128th note/rest

Augmentation dots

Ghost note

Alternate noteheads

Z

SHIFT + W

W

International

Shortcut Set

0

9

H

Q

8

7

E

S

6

5

J

T

SHIFT + J

D

Select value, then zero

X

.

Edit Notes

Tie tool

Slur tool

SHIFT + T

SHIFT + S

Beam tool

SHIFT + B

Cross-staff beaming SHIFT + X

// ten.

’

Swing

Grace note

Octave trans- position marks

Fermata, Caesura,

Tenuto, Breath

G

SHIFT + 8

9

Trills

Tremolos and Shakes

SHIFT + ~

/ and SHIFT

+ /

Swing controls

SHIFT + G

Flat

Sharp

Natural

For quarter-tones, add SHIFT to above

4

Enharmonic spelling

2

3

SHIFT + E

TIP: To use a shortcut to enter a tuplet, first display a note value on your Music Cursor, then hold down ALT and press a number key representing the type of tuplet, such as the number 3 for a triplet.

12

Score Markings

Change instrument

Key signature

accel. rit.

Time signature

Clefs

Metronome mark

Tempo change abbreviations

Bar lines

Repeats and

1st/2nd endings

Repeat Measure signs

Rehearsal mark

Navigation marks

[cut...

Cut marks

SHIFT + ;

SHIFT + 5

SHIFT + R

7

SHIFT + 7

SHIFT + I

SHIFT + K

SHIFT + M

C

SHIFT + –

I

R

Fretted Instruments

Bbmaj7

H P T

Chord names and diagrams

Bends

Palm mute, let ring, slap

Hammer on, pull off, tap

Slides

Vibrato

SHIFT + C

B

M

N

V

\

Whammy bar

SHIFT + V

TIP: To quickly place on your Music Cursor a fingering mark of p, i, m, a, c, T, 1, 2, 3, or 4, press the Y key, then press the number or letter you need.

Score Text

Add lyric L

Add text K

TIP: To change the time value of multiple notes/rests, highlight (or click-select) the notation involved, press the equal key (=), then press the keyboard shortcut (see Notes and Rests table) for the time value you want all notes/rests to have.

13

Keyboard Shortcuts

Dynamics

ɓ ɓ ɓ ɓ ɓ ɓ ɓ ɓ ɓ ɓ ɕ ɓ

Piano dynamics ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ ɔ

ɕ ɔ ɕ ɓ ɕ ɔ cresc.

dim.

Forte dynamics

Mezzo-piano

Mezzo-forte

Crescendo symbol or text

Diminuendo symbol or text

F

P

SHIFT + P

SHIFT + F comma or < period or >

Instrument Marks

gliss. port.

Change Entered Pitch

Highlight or click-select notes, then:

Move to any degree on the staff

Move to the next higher degree

Move to the next lower degree

Move up by half steps

Move down by half steps

On the PC, move up by octaves

On the PC, move down by octaves

Drag and drop

UP ARROW

DOWN ARROW

SHIFT+ UP ARROW

SHIFT+ DOWN ARROW

CTRL + ALT + UP ARROW

CTRL + ALT + DOWN ARROW

arco pizz.

+ o

D ț C ț B ț

|

F ț G A

Pedal marks

Articulations

–

O O O

Accent

Staccato

Strong Accent

(Marcato)

Semi-Staccato

Harmonic, cut circle, Bartok pizz.

Up/down bow

Glissando and

Portamento

Arpeggios

Arco/Pizzicato

Close/stop

(horn, hi-hat)

Open

(horn, hi-hat)

Harp tuning

8

U

SHIFT + L

SHIFT + A

SHIFT + Z

SHIFT + =

O (letter O)

SHIFT + H

5

1

6

– (dash)

O

(letter O)

Multi-Voice: Notion supports up to 4 voices on a stave. To quickly switch from one voice to another, hold down (PC:) CTRL (Mac:)  and press a number from 1-4.

14

View

Zoom in

Zoom out

Zoom to...

Go To

Switch from one mode to the other

Scroll right

(in Continuous view)

Scroll left

(in Continuous view)

PC: CTRL + =

Mac:  + =

PC: CTRL + –

Mac:  + –

PC: SHIFT+ CTRL + =

Mac: SHIFT +  + =

PC: CTRL + G

Mac:  + G

SHIFT + ENTER

SHIFT + mouse wheel down

SHIFT + mouse wheel up

File Level

Open existing score

Create new score

Save edits

Save As to another file

Print

Close the file

Exit / Quit

Export score to a WAV audio file

PC: CTRL + O

Mac:  + O

PC: CTRL + N

Mac:  + N

PC: CTRL + S

Mac:  + S

PC: SHIFT+ CTRL + S

Mac: SHIFT +  + S

PC: CTRL + P

Mac:  + P

PC: CTRL + W

Mac:  + W

PC: CTRL + Q

Mac:  + Q

PC: SHIFT+ CTRL + E

Mac: SHIFT +  + E

Editing Tools

Undo

Redo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Duplicate

Express entry

PC: CTRL + Z

Mac:  + Z

PC: CTRL + Y

Mac: SHIFT+  + Y

PC: CTRL + X

Mac:  + X

PC: CTRL + C

Mac:  + C

PC: CTRL + V

Mac:  + V

PC: CTRL + D

Mac:  + D

Press single quote then start typing

Highlight

A measure

Entire score

All measures for a particular instrument

Double-click any- where in measure

PC: CTRL + A

Mac:  + A

PC: SHIFT+ CTRL + A

Mac: SHIFT +  + A

Import/Export

Import the contents of a file

Start real-time input

Start step-time input

PC: SHIFT+ CTRL + I

Mac: SHIFT +  + I

PC: CTRL + R

Mac:  + R

PC: CTRL + E

Mac:  + E

15

Keyboard Shortcuts

Play

Play

Adjust tempo faster

Adjust tempo slower

Stop

SPACEBAR

UP ARROW

DOWN ARROW

SPACEBAR or ESC

Move Playback Marker

Next measure

]

Previous measure

Next Rehearsal mark

[

SHIFT + ]

Previous Rehearsal mark

Rewind where you last started

Return to beginning

BACKSPACE

HOME or

BACKSPACE (2x)

With green playback marker:

Next beat

(in the NTempo staff)

Previous beat

(in the NTempo staff)

SHIFT + [

RIGHT ARROW

LEFT ARROW

NTempo

Activate in Edit mode

Perform

Pause or cutoff

Stop/end

Auto-Cruise

(play performed tempo)

Auto-Resume

(play written tempo)

Fade out

Fade in

SHIFT + SPACEBAR any key from

A through ’

Q

ESC or SPACEBAR

Z

X

U

R

Repeats and Vamps

Take next repeat

Vamp inside repeat signs

Sudden (emergency) vamp

Jump out of a vamp or repeat

Jump back to first beat of the vamp

= tap ENTER

(inside repeat) tap number of measures to vamp (1-4)

TAB

BACKSPACE

16

Quick Open

Score Setup

Open or close Mixer

Open or close Video window

VSTi interface for staff

Key Signature dialog box

Time Signature dialog box

Rules dialog box

Preferences

Help

PC: CTRL + T

Mac:  + T

PC: CTRL + /

Mac:  + /

PC: CTRL + ‘

Mac:  + ‘

PC: CTRL + I

Mac:  + I

SHIFT + K

SHIFT + M

SHIFT + Y

Mac:  + comma

Mac: SHIFT +

 + / [ ? ]

Sequencer Staff

Overdub just controller settings

Overdub on top of previous track

start real-time input and press SPACEBAR

PC: SHIFT + CTRL + R

Mac: SHIFT +  + R

Select marks you want to change, then:

Move mark

Shorten duration

Lengthen duration

Change pitch

LEFT/RIGHT

ARROW keys

SHIFT +

LEFT ARROW

SHIFT +

RIGHT ARROW

Drag or press

UP/DOWN ARROW

Quick Ways to Zoom

Zoom in:

Zoom out:

Zoom to:

PC: CTRL + =

Mac:  + =

PC: CTRL + -

Mac:  + -

PC: SHIFT + CTRL + =

Mac: SHIFT +  + =

Video

Advance video by frame

Advance video by 10 frames

Add hitpoint

Open or close Video window

PC: Alt + LEFT/RIGHT

ARROW

Mac: Opt + LEFT/RIGHT

ARROW

PC: SHIFT + ALT + LEFT/

RIGHT ARROW

Mac: SHIFT + OPT + LEFT/

RIGHT ARROW

SHIFT + O

PC: CTRL + ‘

Mac:  + ‘

17