Playback
Hear the score as you write it, with a metronome, a count-in and a slower speed when you need one.
Available on iPad, iPhone and Mac.
On this page
Reflow plays every track of the score with its own instruments, or with the Audio Units you chose for them on the Mac. It needs no connection, and the sounds are in the app.
The playback bar
The playback bar floats at the bottom right of the score. Closed, it shows Loop, Play and Go to Beginning; tapclick the arrow at its left to open it, and the rest appear: the MIDI input, the speed, Follow Playback Cursor, the precount, the metronome and the speed trainer. A button that is on is drawn in the accent colour.
Play, stop and where playback starts
Play starts where you are, and the same button stops:
- with the cursor on a bar, playback starts at that bar and goes on to the end;
- with bars selected, it plays those bars and goes round them until you stop;
- with a loop on, it plays the loop.
Go to Beginning stops playback and puts the cursor back on the first bar. Repeats, endings, D.S. and coda play as they are written.
Following the playback cursor
With Follow Playback Cursor on (the target button), the score scrolls to keep the playback cursor in view, from one system or page to the next. Turn it off to stay where you are, to read ahead or look at another part while the music plays.
Metronome and precount
The metronome (the metronome button) clicks the beat while the score plays. The precount (the clock button) counts one bar in at the score’s tempo before playback starts: you hear it on the metronome, and the score waits.
Playback speed
The speed button shows the speed, 1x at first. Touch it and slide your finger left or rightClick it and drag left or right: the speeds open above it, from 0.25x to 2x, and the one under your fingerpointer is chosen when you let go. The pitch stays the same; only the tempo changes. The score’s own tempo, in the Tempo dialog, is unchanged.
Editing while it plays
You can go on writing while the score plays: change a note, add an effect or a dynamic, and you hear it the next time playback passes there, without stopping.
A MIDI keyboard
The keyboard button lists the MIDI devices connected, and Bluetooth MIDI… finds a wireless one (on an iPhone held upright, MIDI Input in More). Choose a device to turn it on, and again to turn it off; the button is in the accent colour while one is on.