Cross-staff notes

The following instructions explain how to create cross-staff notation manually with the Note Mover and Special Tools Tool. To create cross-staff notation automatically with a plug-in, see Cross Staff plug-in. See also Reverse stems.

A cross-staff note is one that “belongs” to one staff, but that, for notational efficiency (for example, to eliminate the need for ledger lines) is written in another staff, often with a different clef—its stem is stretched from the original staff to the “target” staff. You encounter cross-staff notes most often in keyboard music.

 

In Finale, you enter the music on the original (“source”) staff and use the Note Mover Tool to move selected notes to other staves.

 

To create cross-staff notation with the Cross-staff Plug-in.

  1. Select the measure region including the notes you want to move to a different staff. See Selecting music.
  2. Hold down the Option key and press the down arrow key to move notes down a staff, or the up arrow key to move the notes up a staff. For additional control over cross-staff notes, use the NoteMover Tool (as described below). See also Cross-staff plug-in.

To create cross-staff notation 

  1. Enter the music in the usual way (all on one staff).
  2. Click the Note Mover Tool  image\Note_Mover_Tool.gif. The Note Mover Menu appears.
  3. From the Note Mover Menu, choose Cross Staff.
  4. Click the measure containing the notes in question. A handle appears on each note.
  5. Select the notes to be moved. You can select a single note by clicking its handle, additional notes by shift-clicking their handles, and a group of notes by drag-enclosing them. When selected, the handles become highlighted.

  1. Drag any selected handle to the desired target staff. As you drag the single handle, all selected handles move simultaneously. You don’t need to drag the handles to any particular pitch on the new staff—simply release the mouse button when the cursor is directly on the target staff, and you’ll find that the notes have now moved to the new staff. Their beams and stems, however, still originate in the source staff.

 

If you have a relatively simple cross-staff notation, you’re done. If you need the beam in the middle, continue with the instructions below.

  1. Click the Special Tools Tool  image\Special_Tools_Tool.gif, and click the measure in question.
  2. Click the Reverse Stem Tool . A handle appears above and below each note or chord.
  3. Click the upper handle (for an upstem note), or the lower handle (for a downstem note). Finale responds by attaching the stem to the opposite side of the notehead. For notes you want above the beam, click on the upper handle. For notes you want below the beam, click on the lower handle.

  1. Click the Beam Angle Tool  . A handle appears at the beginning and the end of the beam.
  2. Drag the left handle down to move it to the position you want. Drag the right handle up or down to change the beam angle. To restore the beam to its default angle and height, click the handle you used to change the position of the beam and press delete.

To restore cross-staff notes to their source staff

  1. Click the Note Mover Tool  image\Note_Mover_Tool.gif. The Note Mover Menu appears.
  2. Click the source measure. Don’t click the measure that now contains the notes; click the measure they came from. A handle then appears on each note.
  3. Select the notes to be moved. You can select a single note by clicking its handle, additional notes by shift-clicking their handles, and a group of notes by drag-enclosing them. When selected, the handles become highlighted.
  4. Press Delete. The selected notes are returned to their source staff.

To restore cross-staff notes to their source staff temporarily

At times, you may find your score easier to edit if all cross-staff notes are displayed on their original or “source” staves. With the following technique, you can tell Finale to restore them in this way temporarily; when you’re ready to print the score, you can tell Finale to display them once again on the “target” staves to which you dragged them.

  1. From the Document Menu, choose Document Options then select Notes and Rests. The Rest options appear.
  2. Select Display Cross-Staff Notes in Original Staff (so that an X appears). Click OK (or press return). When you want the cross-staff notes to return to their target staves, de-select Display Cross-staff Notes in Original Staff.
  3. Optional: uncheck Display Reverse Stemming in the Stems portion of the Document Options to return note to the “correct” side of their stems.

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