Inversion Boundaries

When a pattern encounters a chord in a segment, the notes in the pattern are transposed to fit the chord. If the pattern encounters a chord that has a very high or low root, the notes in the part may transpose to exceed the typical range of the instrument playing the part. For example, if you create a flute part that is high in the flute range, a segment chord on a very high root can cause the flute part to transpose above the typical range for a flute, causing the instrument to sound shrill.

Use the Inversion Boundaries settings in the Part Properties window to establish high and low range limits for a part. Notes that exceed the boundaries when conforming to a segment chord are shifted one octave up or down as needed, so that they remain within the limits you set.

The default setting is equal to the full, ten-octave range of a MIDI keyboard, so an instrument part can transpose with any chord encountered by the pattern and not have notes that exceed the boundaries. In most situations, the chords in a segment are no more than one octave above or below the chord for composition you use when originally creating a pattern, and thus do not result in excessive transpositions. However, if you notice that a part sounds as though its notes are being transposed too far out of the typical range when playing with a chord, you can adjust the inversion boundaries.

Select Set automatically based on existing notes to set the low boundary one whole step below the lowest note in the part, and the high boundary one whole step above the highest note in the part. The values in the Low and High boxes are set accordingly. Deselect the check box to make adjustments to the settings.

The inversion boundaries for a part may be overridden by the chord inversion settings of a chord. For more information, see Chord Inversion Tab. The boundaries can also be overridden for individual notes; see Note(s) Tab