Navigating through Composer and the Score

The previous section of this Composer documentation describes how you can download from the Internet, open, view, print, and play MIDI files or previously created Notation .not files. You can accomplish those tasks without needing to understand details about how Composer's window, menus, toolbar, and palettes are arranged.

After you have gained some experience and enjoyment viewing and playing existing MIDI files, you will likely want to start editing them. To edit music in Composer, you will need to understand how Composer's window is basically arranged.

If you like to "learn by doing", then you will probably have success learning how Composer works by simply exploring on your own the menus, the toolbar, and the palette. There is little harm you can do by exploring Composer this way. If you ever accidentally delete or change part of the score, you can always undo the change. Composer offers multiple-level undo, that goes back for as many operations as can be held in your computer's memory.

Alternatively, if you like to learn by reading first, then read this introductory section. It provides an overview of all of the parts of Composer 's window, and details about how to navigate through a score.

This section is organized as follows:

Parts of the Composer Window

Showing and Hiding Parts of the Window

Menus

Toolbar

Play and Record Buttons

Metronome Button

Tempo and Volume Controls

Zoom-In and Zoom-Out Buttons

Mouse Mode Buttons: Add, Select, and Step-Time Record

Show/Hide Palette Button

Where Are All of the Buttons?