Local Harmonic Gesture
A smooth curve produces a green/blue-shaded background region and indicates a local harmonic progression (Classical Mode). This gesture has no effect in General Mode.
In Classical Mode the music will move from the tonic or key chord at the beginning of the green-shaded region, through a series of chords to arrive at the dominant-function chord at the beginning of the blue-shaded region. It will then resolve back to the tonic by the end of the shaded region.
A sharp point or "spike"' produces a yellow-shaded background region and indicates a modulation or change in the tonal center. This gesture operates in both General and Classical Modes.
In this case the music will progress from the current tonal center to a new tonal center determined by the height (or depth) of the spike. The background of the Sketch Window is divided into a series of faint horizontal bands or regions. The region in which the spike peaks determines the new key. The default key is C Major. Other keys are shown below (the spike in the image, for example, would cause the music to move into the key of E Minor).
