extending duration of notes and resulting notation

Hi,
In NC using D + arrow keys we can extend or shorten note duration. This is just what's needed so often and as usual, ergonomically well thought out. However I have a query regarding the resulting notation. While it is absolutely correct, it is not the best from an aesthetic point of view. Example. Say we have a two note chord, notes C and E both 1/8th notes. We select the C and use D+arrow to make that note a 1/4 note. NC in fact makes an additional 1/8th note and ties it to the first C. While this is correct and doesnt look too bad - when it is done to extend (say) a held note across a whole bar, we see a chain of 1/8th notes all tied together - rather than a preferred single note of longer duration.

I there a way to quickly clean this chain of tied notes up without having to delete it and insert a single note of appropriate duration?
Thanks
-John

Hello John,

The way to fix that problem is two split the notes into upper and lower voices. For example, you can have a quater note in the upper voice and four 8th notes in the lower voice. The quarter note will be a clean quarter note, and the four 8th notes will be beamed together, with no ties.

Cheers
-- Mark

Thanks Mark,
Can I do what you suggest post hoc? I mostly seem to need to do this after I have the outline bars in place. So even though I know I'll need to extend certain notes I usually enter them with same duration and voice to begin with.

The voice assignment is done with the stems up/down mechanism? (Been a while since I used it - that's my excuse as usual anyway).
Thanks again
-John

Hello John,

Yes, you can change notes back and forth between single voice and upper or lower voice. Upper voice notes have an upward stem. Lower voice notes have a downward stem. Single voice notes will have a stem going up or down depending on whether they generally below or above the middle of the staff.

To learn how to do this, look up "voice" or "stem direction" in the help Index that you can get to by using the User Guide command in the Help menu.

Cheers
-- Mark