Notion 6.8 Maintenance Release

Notion 6.8.0 Build 18060 is now available, adding compatibility with the updated Score Editor of Studio One 5.1, Portuguese as a new supported language, and more. Notion 6.8 is a free update for Notion 6 owners or PreSonus Sphere members that can be obtained by clicking “Check for Updates” within Notion, or download from your PreSonus Sphere or myPreSonus account.

NEW

Compatible with Studio One 5.1

Studio One 5.1 adds new functions to its score editor, including print, page layout, transposition and key signature changes. These items are now supported when you send score data between Studio One and Notion 6.8. To see more about Studio One 5 and its new Score Editor, click here.

Studio One 5.1 Now Available!

New score elements that can be exchanged with Studio One:

• Key signature changes
• Instrument transposition
• Staff name and abbreviation
• Page size and orientation
• Page margins
• Notation font size
• Staff and system spacing
• Bar number options
• Overall text size
• Multi-measure rest options

For a full guide to Studio One and Notion transfer, see updated User Guide (Chapter 15.7)

ALL FIXES

Import/Export Improvements

• If the track order is changed in Studio One, then the order is retained when importing into Notion
• Scores with instrument names that contain special characters now import as expected to Studio One
• Fix for sending audio from Notion to Studio One when there is a slash mark in the instrument name
• Avoid importing metronome marks, time- and key signatures twice on import from Studio One
• Half notes will now split into tied notes on Studio One or MIDI import, if they are syncopated and across the middle of a bar
• Fix for drawing a tie if only element is present in a MusicXML file
• Imported MIDI tempo now cleaner to read when there are many consecutive tempo changes

Video Window

• [Win] Fix video window showing only its caption when opening for the first time after installation
• [Win] Fix video window keeping the previous video’s aspect ratio after changing the video
• [Win] Fix video window moving around when resizing

Languages/Documentation

• New language – Portuguese
• New Portuguese Quick Reference Guide and Shortcuts pdf’s added to Notion, to your user account, and to the website here
• [Win] Installer language fixes
• Some translation improvements in Korean

General

• [Win] Fix for ‘Save As’ crash if an External MIDI port is set in ‘Preferences>MIDI IO’
• [macOS] Fix for starting Notion when an existing PreSonus Sphere membership expires
• [macOS] Add fix for plug-ins that use legacy copy protection
• Fix crash on entering glissando/portamento into part with only one staff
• Crash fixed if beaming tool is accidentally used on a tablature staff
• Version number scheme for Notion changed – Now 6.x.x Build xxxxx

Notion iOS 2.5.5 Maintenance Release

A maintenance update is now available for Notion iOS, the best-selling notation app on iOS. This is a free update for Notion iOS owners that can be obtained by visiting Notion in the App Store on your device, or checking your available updates in the App Store.

All the changes are below—if you missed all the major news for v2.5 itself, check it out here.

And while you’re here, please join us at our new official Facebook user group for news, tips and community support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PreSonusNotionUsers

All Fixes and Enhancements:

New:

• New language: Portuguese

Sounds Menu fixes:

• In Store tab, Notion now shows a check mark (instead of a cloud) for purchased bundles
• In Store tab, now shows a check for instruments purchased in bundles
• In Store tab, icons are force refreshed after tapping Restore Purchases
• In Sounds tab, instruments are reloaded after restoring purchases
• Notion no longer restarts purchase downloads when the app launches

Languages:

• (iOS13 and later) Can now change preferred language for just Notion, rather than following the language set globally for the device. Go to Device Settings>Notion>Preferred Language
• ‘Choose Instruments’ now localised as expected in New Score dialog
• Improved Korean translations in score setup
• Template documents localised
• Templates now open as expected in all languages

General:

• Fix for drawing a tie if only “tied” element is present in an imported MusicXML file
• Fix for Chord Root changing on iPhone only version of Chord Library when selecting extensions
• Half notes will now split into tied notes on MIDI import, if they are syncopated and across the middle of a bar
• General performance improvements
• Minimum requirements: Apple iOS9 or higher (please note, Notion 2.5.x will be the final version to support iOS9 and iOS10)

Notion iOS 2.5.3 Maintenance Release

An update is now available to the recent 2.5 release for Notion iOS, the best-selling notation app on iOS. This is a free update for Notion iOS owners that can be obtained by visiting Notion in the App Store on your device, or checking your available updates in the App Store.

All the changes are below—if you missed all the major news for v2.5 itself, check it out here.

And while you’re here, please join us at our new official Facebook user group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PreSonusNotionUsers

All Fixes and Enhancements:

Restore Purchases:

• New ‘Restore Purchase’ button in Settings>Handwriting
• ‘Restore Purchases’ in Sounds menu no longer also triggers downloading the sounds – it just restores the purchase state

Dragging Improvements:

• Fix for flickering when dragging score items
• Score items can now be more easily dragged across measure lines and between staves
• Improvement when dragging and dropping score item between staves
• Final drag position of score items more accurate
• Stability when dragging improved

General:

• Stability and performance improvements
• Fix for ‘Insert Barlines’ dialog position on iPhone
• General translation fixes
• Now uses original language expression text in Chinese localization (e.g. arco, pizz)
• Key signature is now always sent in MIDI export even if it is C major
• Minimum requirements: Apple iOS9 or higher (please note, Notion 2.5.x will be the final version to support iOS9 and iOS10)

Notion iOS 2.5.2 Maintenance Release

An update is now available to the recent 2.5 release for Notion iOS, the best-selling notation app on iOS. This is a free update for Notion iOS owners that can be obtained by visiting Notion in the App Store on your device, or checking your available updates in the App Store.

All the changes are below – if you missed all the major news for v2.5 itself, check it out here.

And while you’re here, please join us at our new official Facebook user group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PreSonusNotionUsers

All Fixes and Enhancements

• Issue entering notes with MIDI and MIDI Bluetooth instruments resolved
• Stability and performance improvements
• Context menus now display, after switching directly from Handwriting mode to the Handwriting zoom area and back
• On re-opening the app, the context menus now show in full the first time they are opened
• The ‘Continue’ button in the Export menu is now refreshed if the file type or export location is changed
• Lyrics can now be entered as expected on iOS13.4 and later when an external keyboard is connected
• Toolbar position fixed when in landscape on iPhone
• Background colour of Insert Barlines dialog fixed
• Language fixes for intervals in German
• Note that Soundcloud export is currently unavailable, as the API used is no longer supported by Soundcloud
• Minimum requirements: Apple iOS9 or higher (please note, Notion 2.5.x will be the final version to support iOS9 and iOS10)

Notion iOS 2.5 Major Maintenance Release

Notion iOS 2.5 is here, a major maintenance update for the best-selling notation app on iOS. This is a free update for Notion iOS owners that can be obtained by visiting Notion in the App Store on your device, or checking your available updates.

And while you’re here, please check out our new official Facebook user group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PreSonusNotionUsers

NEW: Document Handling

(iOS11 and later) Notion now directly supports Apple’s built-in document opener. This allows you to create, open and save scores directly in the location of your choice, whether on the device, in Notion’s iCloud folder, or via the linked cloud folders of your choice (such as Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive for example)

Note – If you are running iOS9 or 10, then there is a document opener built in to Notion that will allow saving to the device, or to Notion’s iCloud folder only.

Notion iOS 2.5 New Browser (shown in Dark Mode)

NEW: Export as MP3

Now you can export your score as an MP3 audio file, alongside the existing options of WAV and AAC formats. Just choose MP3 as the Export file format, and it will save an MP3 in the same location as your Notion document.

Listen to your scores on the go, with these lovely Eris HD10BT Bluetooth headphones (coincidentally, also made by PreSonus….)

NEW: Export for SMP Press

Export as SMP Press File is a simple process that creates a single PDF containing the full score and all the parts in score order. SMP Press, from Sheet Music Plus, is a self-publishing portal for composers. Its free to join, and you earn a commission for every sale.

For more info, click here: https://smppress.sheetmusicplus.com/

NEW: Save as Template

Now you can save a document you are working on as a new template. Go to Export, make sure Notion File is selected, then Save as Template. This will ask you to give it a name—your new template will be available from the New Score dialog next time you create a new document.

Choose your instruments or a template. Or create your own!

All Fixes and Enhancements

Change in Minimum Requirements

• Notion v2.5 requires Apple iOS9 or higher (was iOS8).
• Please note, Notion 2.5.x will be the final version to support iOS9.

iOS Device Improvements

• Add ‘Close’ button to Score Setup for larger phones, in order to dismiss the Score Setup menu
• Tools in the sidebar not covered by the ‘notch’ in larger iPhones
• Larger phones now load the correct chord symbol dialog (rather than trying to load the iPad version of this dialog which then couldn’t be dismissed)
• When in split view on an iPad, the onscreen fretboard, keyboard and mixer now show in the correct size
• Optimised for Dark Mode

Handwriting

• Fix for handwriting engine occasionally stopping during a long session
• Fix for subsequent measures sometimes changing after handwriting recognition on an earlier measure
• Rests on ledger lines no longer cause an issue
• Elements that cross systems (e.g. ties) now supported when using the handwriting area or continuous score view
• Adjacent offset notes on ledger lines now don’t transpose on subsequent notes being entered
• Fix for handwriting recognition problem on systems that have a repeat line

Audio

• Fix for some newer devices, where Notion was not using the device sample rate leading to distortion when playing back or exporting an audio file.
• Playback warning pop-up for large scores removed
• Hi-hat foot splash sample now plays back

MusicXML

• New MusicXML elements imported: sf, sfp, fp, sfz and fz; beaming; measured tremolos that include tuplets; very short duration notes (down to 1024th notes); fermatas; harmonic circle symbol / open circle symbol; snap (Bartok) pizzicato; scoop, doit and fall-off
• New MusicXML elements exported: clef changes; pizz and arco; pre-bends; sf, sfp, fp, sfz and fz; mutes; measured tremolos; noteheads; fermatas; harmonic circle symbol / open circle symbol; snap (Bartok) pizzicato; scoop, doit and fall-off
• Tablature export and import fully reworked
• Support for ‘.musicxml’ file extension
• Better handling of any missing slur end elements on import, to avoid very long slurs occurring
• Voices on grand staff reworked
• When importing with time signatures that have a high numeral (e.g. 11/4), whole measure rests now show as expected
• Better handling of imported beaming information
• Now imports grace notes with beaming information
• Fixed occasional duplication of symbols, when exporting legato-accent, and mezzo-staccato
• Fix for TAB pitches being wrongly transposed by an octave on export, for non-transposing fretted instruments (e.g. banjo,
  mandolin, ukulele)

MIDI

• Improved rhythmic spelling on MIDI import
• Fix for MIDI files not being imported from other apps in some circumstances

General notation and note entry

• 5th string banjo fret numbers now start at the 5th fret as expected
• 
• Lyrics and chord symbols now paste without replacing the notation, after copying a selection that is longer than one measure
• When writing chords with the on-screen piano keyboard, notes are no longer ‘held down’ after moving to the next position
• Fix for crash caused by deleting notes in measures with rhythm slashes in another voice
• When writing chords with the onscreen guitar fretboard, notes are held on the fretboard after moving to the next position to allow repeated chord strumming (keep moving to the next position with the right arrow to enter multiple chords). The chord is automatically cleared from the fretboard if a new note is tapped on the fretboard

Slash Notation

• Bass note of Chord Symbol now supported in playback
• Slashes with augmentation dots now have more spacing in Jazz Font
• Notes can be deleted in measures with rhythm slashes in another voice, without crashing

Tremolo

• Tremolo Entry behaviour changed: e.g. for a fingered tremolo with quarter duration, now insert two eighths before applying the tremolo
• Tremolo can now be tapped onto the first note or in between notes
• Stems now can go in either direction in a voice 2 tremolo
• Fingered tremolos that include chords now play back as expected
• Bug fixed for the second note of a fingered tremolo changing duration if tremolo entered onto second note (now does nothing)
• Bug fixed for a third note being erroneously added to an existing tremolo, if a tremolo is entered onto the second note (now does nothing)

Text

• Fix for existing text in text boxes becoming hidden when editing
• Lyrics font can now be changed globally per document. Go to either Full Score Settings or Parts Settings, then Layout>Lyric Font
• Fix for a melisma causing an issue if followed directly by a hidden measure (e.g. by a cut, a hidden staff, or a multi-measure rest)

Paste

• Paste into a Specific Voice is now accessed via a long press, at the point you wish to paste into the music
• Pasting into a different voice now does not remove any existing rest at the beginning of the destination measure
• The whole measure is now not replaced/overwritten when pasting a partial measure as expected.
• Paste no longer causes rhythmic changes, when pasting multiple times between different voices or between a grand staff
• Paste now ignores ties in other voices on a grand staff
• When using Duplicate, now automatically adds more measures before pasting, if you are duplicating past the end of a score
• Lyrics and chord symbols now paste without replacing the notation, after copying a selection that is longer than one measure

Languages

• Tuplet dialog is now translated properly in Japanese language
• Musical intervals are now translated properly in German language, in transposition window
• When Notion is set to Korean, Japanese or Sim Chinese, the drumpad now enters cymbals with expected cross noteheads
• New Score corrected in Spanish

General

• General performance and stability improvements
• Print Parts to PDF now prints in score order

Good ol’ Gary is at it again, this time with an exceptional, exhaustive offering of 26 (!) videos on mixing and mastering in Studio One. Head on over to AskVideo.Com to check ’em out.

A handful of them are free, but the rest will cost ya.  Totally worth it. Here’s the freebies:

• Preparing a Song for Mixing (02:15)
• Reverb for Depth (14:18)
• Adjusting Volumes of Tracks (03:16)

The full list of course topics available follows:

Preparing a Song for Mixing
Setting Up Markers
The Mix Console
EQing Tracks
Dynamics with Compression
Reverb for Depth
Delay and Modulation FX
Sidechain Compression
Getting Deeper with Automation
Bus and Folder Automation
Bus Compression on Bus Folders
Exporting the Mixdown
Setting Up a Mastering Project
Editing Songs in the Project
Adjusting Volumes of Tracks
Adding Inserts for the Pre, Master and Post
Mastering Chain Order
Using ‘Detect Loudness’
The Spectral and Output Meters
Using Multiband Compression
Limiting Your Tracks
Disable Tracks
Dithering
Burning a CD
Images and DDP Explained
Digital Releases

This Tuesday, May 21st, at 7 p.m. EST,  PreSonus’  Education Market Manager John Mlynczak will be presenting a free webinar on incorporating technology into music curriculums at all levels: Click here to sign up!

Spent today at Stroud College. They have a hell of a setup there, a classroom with 20 FireStudio Mobiles with S1 Pro for the student workstations, plus a studio with two linked StudioLive 26.4.2 mixers; and another 20 seat classroom getting set up at the minute. The day was me basically giving the students some tips on S1, particularly the Project window, and having a listen to the work they were doing with it. I have to admit I was pretty amazed at the quality of the work, it was really excellent. Shot a bunch of video so some of that will probably be up on Vimeo and YouTube soon once we get some editing done.

Packing gear for a trip to the South West of England to visit Stroud College in Gloucestershire. They have a great music technology department there who are installing Studio One in every classroom, along with a bunch of Firestudio Mobile interfaces and a couple of StudioLive mixers. I’m going to spend a day teaching the students how cool the software is, and check out what they are doing with it, which should be fascinating. It’s always good to see new people getting into Studio One and all the amazing things they can do with it. Teaching is fun, but it does mean having to really think on your feet sometimes – students can come up with some tricky questions!