AKNotesUS
The AKNotes font allows all music teachers to quickly enter whole notes and their accidentals from g0 to g2 (including
clefs and key signatures) in any word processor without having to switch to another program. It is intended exclusively
for teaching or checking knowledge of notes, accidentals, intervals, triads, chords, scales and keys in lessons. Notes can
be entered in treble clef. A rhythm package is offered separately for note values and MagicMusicWriter for the possibility
to enter complete melodies or songs. The fonts are offered in customized versions for the respective keyboard layout.
AKNotesUS is the version for the US International Keyboard Layout. A point size of at least 18 is recommended.
Installation: Double-click on the font file and click on "Install"
System requirements: Mac, Windows or iPad and a program like WORD or PAGES that supports ligatures
Operation
The new keyboard concept allows a very fast note input and requires almost no familiarization. On the keyboard, in
the 1st row at the top, a C major scale is lined up in whole notes from left to right, starting with c1 on the "1" key. The
position of a note on the keyboard is not determined by its name, but by its step within the C major scale. Therefore, for
example, the b1 (7th degree in C major) is on the "7" key. The three notes of the lower octave are found in the keyboard
row below on the keys t, y and u.
Hint: When selecting a font in the font menu, it is advisable to enter the first three letters of its name (i.e. AKN) quickly,
as you may only see music symbols in the font menu.
Please be sure to read the hints for avoiding problems in the separate pdf file and
watch the included video. In some program versions the automatic activation of
! ligatures is not provided, but must be switched on deliberately. If this is switched
off, you cannot use the font correctly!
!
Templates are supplied which already bring the correct settings!
General Characters
Predefined Key Signatures (always followed by a space when entering)
V V1b V7bV1# V7#
K K1b … K7b K1# … K7#
F F1b F7bF1# F7# C C1b C7b C1# C7#
F F1b … F7b F1# … F7# C C1b … C7b C1# … C7#
Other Characters
There are two characters for the bar line. One on „\" for use within a line - at the same time the staff is moved on, so that
the following accidentals or notes have enough space - and one on „|" for the end of a note example or line. The space
key serves the purpose of separating the key signature from the notes. If space without lines is needed within a line, "M"
can be used instead.
"/" for empty lines or more space in task settings, "<" for a shift of chord tones in intervals of one second (see p. 2).
The two brackets on period and colon can be used to indicate half and whole note intervals. With the shorter bracket,
the notes are automatically moved closer together.
, ; / < . : M
\ | / < . : M
© 2023 Prof. Ansgar Krause
1
Notes and Accidentals
Notes (and at the same time reference for tone leves)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ß +
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - =
t z u
the notes of the 5th to 7th
degree in the lower octave
t y u
Accidentals
Accidentals are composed of character and pitch (n = natural; d = double-).
After entering the character for the accidental, the desired pitch is entered.
k j h ö l Examples: #3< b6< n1< d#0< dbß<
x3 = b6 = n1 = dx0 = db- =
x b n dx db
The most obvious key for raised notes (k) is the numbersign key (#), which can be used for this. However, it is unfortu-
nately located on shift-3 in the US International Keyboard Layout, where the note e already had to be placed for writing
chords. Therefore, whenever you want to write a k with this key (shift-3), the note e appears first, before you finish the
input with the pitch. If this does not confuse you, you can use this key. Otherwise, as an equivalent replacement for the
#, we have included the x key, which does not have this problem.
Writing Chords
For writing chords, all notes are available in a second version without lines, on the same keys as before, but
with the shift key held down. Required accidentals are entered before the chord, in case of multiple accidentals
usually the middle one first, the top one always last. Starting from an interval of a seventh, accidentals are auto-
matically stacked on top of each other by kerning.
The extended characters in the following table are only for appearance a difficult handling, they are on the same
(number) keys as before, only with the shift key pressed!
K<<!#%<x1/!#ˆ)<<<<@ˆ_<n8x2x-/@ˆ*_<<<<#ˆ)<&<x5/#%&)<x8/Yˆ*)<<| Before each chord, / (slash) or several < (less) must always
be pressed so that the staves are dragged on and the cursor
moved to the right, because the notes of a chord are placed
to the left of the cursor. If a note is to be moved slightly for
K<<!#%<x1/!#ˆ)<<<<@ˆ_<n8x2x-/@ˆ*_<<<<#ˆˆ)<&<x5/#%&)<x8/Yˆ*)<<| the interval of a second in a chord, < (less) can be pressed
for this.
Writing in Bass or Alto Clef
All characters can be SHOWN with bass clef. However, no transpositions are made, since they are only charac-
ters. Pressing the "1" key always produces the same optical image, so it looks like a c1 in treble clef and like an
E in bass clef. So when entering in bass clef, you have to imagine a scale in E, if you want to associate the root
with the 1 as intended. Or one works quasi transposing and thinks with the input, on which step the desired
note would be in C in the treble clef.
Everything said about the bass clef applies analogously to the alto clef. For a c in this clef, either shift-7 or 7
must be entered.
So that one can represent at least the c1 in the bass clef, the
note was still added. Of course, this can be used as a bonus a h j k
as a2 in the treble clef. The operation had to deviate from the
other concept. a h j k
