'Sibelius Blog: Strange-looking accidentals'

Messages in this thread

Sibelius Blog: Strange-looking accidentals - Philip R, 15 Apr 02:43PM
     Re: Sibelius Blog: Strange-looking accidentals - Bob Zawalich, 15 Apr 11:07PM

Sibelius Blog: Strange-looking accidentals
Posted by Philip R - 15 Apr 02:43PM
If you ever encounter strange symbols masquerading as accidentals in your score (like the attached), here's what they are and how to correct them.

http://www.sibeliusblog.com/tips/whats-with-those-strange-looking-accidentals/

--
Sibelius 7.1.3, 7.5.1, Mac 10.9.5
Mac Pro (Late 2013) 32 GB RAM
http://www.nycmusicservices.com/
http://www.sibeliusblog.com/
Attachment accidentals1.png (83K)
Back to top | All threads
 
Re: Sibelius Blog: Strange-looking accidentals
Posted by Bob Zawalich - 15 Apr 11:07PM (edited 15 Apr 11:08PM)
You sometimes see these when working in keys with lots of accidentals in the key signature and are entering notes on a MIDI keypad. In earlier days file convertors (like the Finale and Score convertors) or plugins would occasionally produce them by mistake.

They were common enough at one point that I wrote plugins to respell such accidentals (Respell Uncommon Accidentals is one such plugin).

I doubt much of anyone but me cares about things like this, but there is a reason why those specific weird symbols show up when there are triple (or even larger) accidentals.)

If you look on the Symbols window (see screenshot), you see the accidentals. Notice that the symbol for a natural is 2 slots above the flat symbol, and 2 slots below the sharp. So go down 2 more from a flat for a double flat, and 2 more again, and that is what Sib uses for a triple flat. The accidental is stored internally as a number, which effectively is an index into the table of symbols. So if the number for the accidental is beyond the expected range, it will index whatever is next in the symbol table.

Thus the characters in Philip's blog example.


--
Bob

An experienced user of Sibelius. Sib 1.2 - 7.5, Windows 7 Pro SP 1 64 bit, 4 G RAM. Year 2015.
Attachment snap1.png (84K)
Back to top | All threads
 

Quick reply

To add a reply to the end of this thread, type it below, then click Reply.

(.sib, .png and .jpg only)

Messages in this thread

Sibelius Blog: Strange-looking accidentals - Philip R, 15 Apr 02:43PM
     Re: Sibelius Blog: Strange-looking accidentals - Bob Zawalich, 15 Apr 11:07PM