Pause markers are used to tell SmartMusic to wait for a note or cue from the soloist to resume the accompaniment. Many musical elements including fermatas, caesuras, cadenzas, and sometimes ritardandi and rallentandi require a pause marker for the soloist to accurately perform the musical passage (or have freedom to interpret the music as desired). You can add a pause marker easily by placing it on the note you wish the accompaniment to resume using the Add SmartMusic Markers dialog box.
- Choose Document > Add SmartMusic Markers.
- Choose the type of pause marker you would like to add from the list on the left. The type of pause depends on the cue the performer will use to resume accompaniment. In other words, SmartMusic will “wait for”:
- A note (Wait for Note On) - Choose this option to instruct SmartMusic to wait for a specific note performed by the soloist as a cue to resume the accompaniment. This type of pause marker is appropriate for a ritardando or rallentando (see To add pause markers for ritardandi or rallentandi), rests or held notes in the accompaniment, (see To pause for accompaniment rests or held notes), and fermatas within a piece (see To add pause markers for fermatas). A Wait for Note marker is generally only required on the note you want the accompaniment to resume.
- The release of the note (Wait for End of Note) - Choose this option to instruct SmartMusic to hold notes in the accompaniment until the current note is released, for example, a fermata on the last note of a piece. See step three under To add pause markers for fermatas.
- A foot pedal message (Wait for Foot Pedal) - Choose this option to instruct SmartMusic to resume the accompaniment upon receiving a foot pedal message from the soloist. This type of pause marker is recommended for cadenzas, but could also be used for fermatas, rests/held notes in the accompaniment, or even rallentandi. A Wait for Foot Pedal marker is only required at the location you want the accompaniment to resume.
- Click Add. The Wait for Note, Wait for End of Note, or Wait for Foot Pedal dialog box appears depending on your selection.
- Specify the location of the marker using the provided fields. Here, you can either choose an existing rehearsal marker, a repeat marker, or you can specify a bar and beat. Remember, the pause marker should be added to the point at which the accompaniment should resume.
- Click OK. You return to the Add SmartMusic Markers dialog box. You can add additional markers without returning to the score.
- When you have finished adding the desired markers, click Done.
You will notice hidden text above the solo staff that indicates the markers you’ve added. These are actually hidden text expressions that Finale generated for you based on your settings in the Add SmartMusic Markers dialog box. The Add SmartMusic Markers dialog box is basically a tool that allows you to automatically generate these expressions without having to define them manually. If you wish, you can manually define these SmartMusic Markers using the Expression tool.
