Hot Rods and Hot Keys
Geek-o-meter: 1️⃣ 2 3
When Homer Simpson was working from home, he found himself answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’ DOS-prompts all day. Homer is not the type for careful consideration, so he opted to choose ‘yes’ every time. After a couple of days, he hesitated in a fit of celebration, only matched by a group of cheerleaders chanting, ‘Give me a Y, give me an…’ and before he had pressed the E-key, DOS had accepted his answer. Homer’s profound epiphany was this: He had tripled his productivity.
While this may be apparent and obvious to most people, let's explore how we can 'triple our productivity' in Sibelius by only using the first letters.
The Mouse Trap
First off, I want you to reconsider your use of the mouse. Most of Sibelius’ tasks can be accomplished via keyboard. Keeping two hands on deck has the crew ready to sail the boat, whatever the weather. Taking your hand off the keyboard to use the mouse is like having a sailor climb the mast: it takes so much time that it should only be done as a last resort.[^1]
According to TypingPal, the average typing speed is 200 characters per minute, and it can be even faster in ‘productive’ mode. Following the metrics on their site, this implies that one could type 3-5 characters per second, depending on their familiarity with the sequence.
How long does it take to reach for your mouse, move the pointer, and navigate through the menu? If you are still using the unergonomic mouse where you occasionally need to scoop the surface, these actions can take considerably longer.
If you are a seasoned professional power user of Sibelius, the following might be trivial. However, if you are reading to improve, try the following:
Get a timer ready.
Prepare with the keyboard, mouse, and a piece of paper.
Open any Sibelius file but don't look at the Sibelius window.
Write down this path: Appearance > Reset Note Spacing.
When ready, bring the Sibelius window to the front, start the timer, and execute the command by clicking.
How well did it go? Note down your time for the mouse method. Now, try the following: Press and release the control key, then follow the letters to the same target.
How was your time? Maybe it was the same as the mouse, maybe a bit slower. But you kept your hand on the tactile surface where you can reach every destination with ease. This process takes four keystrokes: Ctrl, A, R, N.
According to the previously linked table, I should be able to do it in about a second and, when practiced, in under half a second.
This is a function I use quite regularly. To me, the function has a name: Arn, and it makes me think of this. With these hotkeys, I can get to anywhere in the ribbon in 4 clicks on average; sometimes 3 and occasionally 5 (counting the control key). Now, you could also get to this if you simply press the comma key and type 'reset note spacing.' This procedure has a crucial caveat:
If you can't get it to the top search position in two characters, it's slowing you down.
I need to type comma, R E S E T (space) N to get it to the top and then arrow down once before pressing enter.
Now, you might be thinking, 'Why not just press cmd-shift-N?' Shortcuts work too. However, they work in addition to these hotkeys. I strategically deploy shortcuts for commands that can only be used with shortcuts. Ribbon commands can be accessed through these hotkeys, leaving plenty of options for shortcuts. If I can get there in under a second, the shortcuts can be saved for another, and hopefully, better use that I plan to explore here in the future.
Additionally, the results in the search function's dropdown can vary depending on whether you've installed new plug-ins
The Practice
To improve your speed with hotkeys, follow this analog procedure during your Sibelius sessions:
On one piece you write down every single ribbon command you have had to use your mouse to execute.
At the end of your session, select the 2-3 commands used most frequently and transfer them to a second piece of paper.
Write the corresponding hotkey combinations next to each of these commands in bold letters.
In your next session, exclusively use these hotkeys to access the chosen commands. It can be helpful to say them out loud. For all other commands, continue using the mouse and focus on learning the selected hotkeys.
Consider closing the ribbon for good, as engaging the hotkeys will display it temporarily, providing more workspace. Expand your hotkey vocabulary, and for the remaining commands: Keypad Shortcuts.
Footnotes
1: This will be the last sailing analogy.