335: Key signatures - hiding a key signature and retaining correct playback

In certain styles of music (e.g. lead sheets) it may be necessary to hide a key signature after the first system. Normally you can achieve this by using a staff type that doesn't display key signatures, but this has the disadvantage that any sharpened or flattened notes appear with their accidentals on each occurrence.

This may not be what you want; if you want the key signature to be hidden but the music to behave as if it were visible, you can follow one of these procedures:

(Choose your version)

Sibelius 5

  1. Select a bar in the first instrument that you require the hidden key signature and go to House Style > Edit Instruments.
  2. Check that the approriate instrument (i.e. the instrument that you just selected) is highlighted, click on New Instrument, then Yes to confirm.
  3. Add "no key signature" or similar to the Name in dialogs. For example, "Unnamed (treble staff)" could be changed to "Unnamed (treble staff, no key signature)".
  4. Ensure that the Instrument change name and Instrument change warning name are blank.
  5. Under Notation Options, click on Edit Staff Type.
  6. Under Other Objects, deselect Key signatures / Tuning.
  7. Click OK, OK and then Close.
  8. Repeat the previous steps for any other instruments that will use a hidden key signature.
  9. After you have created your music, select the barline at the end of the first bar and choose Create > Other > Instrument Change, select the newly-created "no key signature" instrument and click OK.
  10. Select all of the music starting from the second bar. (Use Shift-click to select a passage; see Selections and passages in your User Guide for details.)
  11. Press 8 on the main keyboard (not the numeric keypad) to create an octave line above your current music.
  12. Filter your newly-created octave by going to Edit > Filter > Top Note.
  13. In the General panel of Properties, change the selection to voice 2, and select Hide.
  14. Change voice 2 to use a silent notehead by going to the Notes panel of Properties and selecting the silent notehead type. (In scores created in Sibelius 2.x, it is the tenth in the list, two after the invisible one.)
  15. Now drop it down an octave by typing Ctrl + down arrow.

Earlier versions

  1. After you have created your music, create a staff type change beginning somewhere after the first bar: select any bar on the first system and choose Create > Staff Type Change > Pitched > 5 lines (no key signature).
  2. Select all of the music starting from the bar in which the staff type change occurs. (Use Shift-click to select a passage; see Selections and passages in your User Guide for details.)
  3. Press 8 on the main keyboard (not the numeric keypad) to create an octave line above your current music.
  4. Filter your newly-created octave by going to Edit > Filter > Top Note.
  5. In the General panel of Properties, change the selection to voice 2, and select Hide.
  6. Change voice 2 to use a silent notehead by going to the Notes panel of Properties and selecting the silent notehead type (two after the invisible one).
  7. Now drop it down an octave by typing Ctrl + down arrow.

Details

Product
 Sibelius
Versions
affected
 3.0 - 3.1.3, 4.0 - 4.1
Changed
 03 Nov 2008

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