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Slurs and ties

Pizzicato has 2 types of ties. The first one is the tie (notes and rests tool palette) used to tie two notes together, having the same pitch and showing that the note is held and only played once. To introduce a tie, select the tie tool (quarter note with a tie on the right) and click on the first of the 2 notes. The tie is automatically calculated by Pizzicato. Using the same tool, you can change its direction and erase it (by clicking again on the first note). The shortcut key is the "=" keyboard key, that you can use while pointing the note with the mouse (without clicking).

The slur is a different type of tie. Its purpose is to group 2 or more notes. It can include two or more notes of the same or different pitches. If the notes have the same pitch, the second note will be played, as opposed to the tie. The slur symbol is in the main symbol palette, in form of a curve, up or down. When the tool is selected, simply click on the first note of the group. The slur appears in a standard size. You can than display the control points with the marks tool (shortcut ":") to adapt the size, the form of the curve and the slur position. The slur can be created on several measures if necessary.

In both cases, Pizzicato plays the effect of the tie/slur. For slurs, by default Pizzicato links the notes at 100 %, which means that the stop of a note exactly corresponds to the beginning of the following note. This default value is fixed by a parameter of the instruments view, separately for each instrument. In the "Various effects" configuration, the "Dur." (Duration) column is place by default to 100 %. When you add a slur, you force Pizzicato to play notes to 100% of their duration. If you maintain the value by default in the instrument window, you will not hear the difference with the notes which are not linked. To get a contrast, fix the default value for example to 75%. All the notes which are not bound will be played with a very little staccato and the notes bound with a slur will play at 100%.