Setting up a percussion staff or line

The first time you display a percussion track in the Staff view, Sonar picks a default percussion clef for the track. Tracks with only one note value are assigned the Percussion Line clef. Tracks with multiple note values are assigned the Percussion Staff clef.

If you want to change a Percussion Staff to a Percussion Line or vice versa, or if you want to change another type of staff to a percussion staff, you can do so in the Staff View Layout dialog box. If you change a track’s clef to a non-percussion clef, the percussion notation settings will be lost.

The lowest and highest lines on the Percussion clef are E5 and F6, respectively. The Percussion Line represents E5.

By default, percussion staves are given Sonar’s default note bindings and notehead assignments. If you want to use your own notation, or if you want to set up the appearance of a percussion line, you need to use the Percussion Notation Key dialog box. In this dialog box, the percussion sounds and staff positions that are bound have an asterisk near their names. When you select a bound percussion sound, a line joins the sound to its staff position. Each percussion sound can be bound only to a single position, but each position may be bound to several sounds. You can use different notehead types and articulation symbols to visually distinguish the sounds.

To assign a percussion staff or line to a track

1.	Click the Staff view Edit menu and choose Layout to open the Staff View Layout dialog box.

2.	Select your percussion track from the list.

3.	Select Percussion Staff or Percussion Line from the Clef drop-down list.

4.	Click Percussion Settings to set up the appearance of percussion notes (see To set up a track’s percussion notation key).

5.	Click Close.

Sonar changes the track’s clef to the selected percussion clef.

To set up a track’s percussion notation key

1.	Click the Staff view Edit menu and choose Layout to open the Staff View Layout dialog box.

2.	Select your percussion track from the list.

3.	Click Percussion Settings to open the Percussion Notation Key dialog box.

4.	Set up the percussion notation key according to the following table.

To do this	Do this
Map (bind) a percussion sound to a line or space on the staff	Select the sound (or corresponding MIDI note) in the MIDI Note list, select the intended position in the percussion staff in the Display As list, then click Bind.
Set the notehead and articulation mark for a percussion sound	Select the sound in the MIDI Note list, then select a Notehead Type and Articulation Symbol. (Only bound sounds can be assigned a notehead type and articulation symbol other than the default.)
Control how unbound percussion sounds display	In the Display As list, click the pitch that you want all unbound notes to display as. Then select a Notehead Type and Articulation Symbol, then click the Default note button to apply your changes.
Remove a binding	Select the percussion sound in the MIDI Note list, then click Unbind. Unbound notes are displayed in the default position.
Load a preset	Select the preset from the Preset list.
Save your settings as a preset	Click the Save button and enter a preset name.
Clear all bindings	Click Zap All.
Select notes in the note lists with a MIDI keyboard	Click in the MIDI Note or Display As list, then strike a key on your keyboard.

5.	Click OK to close the Percussion Notation Key dialog box.

6.	Click Close to close the Staff View Layout dialog box.

The Staff view shows the percussion clef with the note bindings and noteheads you assigned.