Documentation for MuseScore 2.0

• Feb 28, 2015 - 09:09

From our first MuseScore users survey back in 2013, we learnt that the number one request was more and better documentation. In the meantime, as we were packing great new features into MuseScore 2.0, the need for good documentation would become even more necessary. So with the 2.0 release nearing, let's check what the state is of the documentation and what we can still do in the weeks to come.

Written documentation

First there is the 2.0 handbook which is an ongoing community collaboration effort. It is already far more extensive than the original 1.x handbook. What is currently missing is a downloadable PDF version of the handbook. This PDF file will be made available around the time of the Release Candidate (RC) and from that moment on, the PDF will be regularly updated as the handbook is a living document.

Secondly, there will be put more emphasis on writing how-to's. A how-to is different from the handbook as it tries to give a very concise answer on a specific question. There are many questions and answers in the forums which could be turned into an easy readable HowTo. Here is a good example. So frequently asked questions should be easily answered by pointing to a how-to. If it doesn't exist yet, we can/should create one.

Thirdly, there are tutorials which are basically long reads concerning a specific use case. In that list you will see a "lead sheet" tutorial, but we want much more of these, e.g. on using MuseScore to make scores for piano, guitar, choir, orchestra, ....

These three types of documentation (handbook page, how-to, tutorial) will be clustered in help topics. These topics will be linked with the MuseScore software through the contextual help. So when you place your mouse pointer on a measure and press F1, MuseScore will launch the browser and return the measure help topic page. Another way is that you right click on a note head and press help in the menu, you'll get to know everything about notes. We hope this contextual help will turn into a powerful self-support tool.

Finally a word on books. We had a few for MuseScore 1.x, but we definitely lacked a definitive bible to learn about all the little details in MuseScore. This is about to change as Marc Sabatella is currently writing this book. It will go on presale just before the release of MuseScore 2.0. If anyone else wants to write a book on MuseScore, don't hesitate to reach out to me. There is place for many books on the market targeted to specific audiences and use cases.

Visual documentation

The Getting Started in 10 Steps video tutorials have served MuseScore very well. Hundreds of thousands of new MuseScore users learnt to use the software through these videos. There are two initiatives going on to create a new video series for 2.x: Churchorganist and George Hess. As the creation of these videos require the 2.0 software to be finished, this work will only get started as soon as the RC is out.

Another visual solution is to make very short screencasts which can assist written documentation. I personally use a free tool named Licecap. Here is an example. I see these screencasts in particular handy for how-to's.

More?

At this stage of the development of 2.0, I'm very interested to brainstorm about more ideas which can lower the barrier to help first time users to get started with MuseScore, as well as turning existing users into MuseScore experts.

One of the ideas is to create a search facility in the MuseScore software which visually shows you what you are looking for. For instance, if you are looking to add a fermata but you don't know it listed under the Articulation & Ornaments palette, MuseScore would expand that palette for you and show with a pointer where you can find the fermata.

Another idea is to make worksheets giving users easy tasks to solve together with the instructions. This way first time users can learn about common tasks like how to add notes in multiple voices, how to input slurs or ties and more.

If you have more ideas on how you want to improve the documentation for 2.0, please don't hesitate to leave a comment.


Comments

Please, Marc, license your book under CC-BY-SA. I am perfectly happy if you plan to sell the book — getting funded for your work is important, just please don't lock it down with all-rights-reserved or the "no" clauses from CC. We'll see the best commons around MuseScrore if everything stays open as much as possible. The widest audience and respect for intellectual freedom and sharing can be part of increasing your sales…

In reply to by Thomas

That's superb, and that is the sort of the thing I want to see licensed freely so that people can indeed improve it and share! In this case, it may actually make sense to license the file as GPL rather than CC-BY-SA, although either would be good. Clearly, you're intending it to be welcome for people to modify and build upon, so licensing it explicitly makes sense.

Wonderful effort for a complex subject. Many of your users are music professionals, but not everyone is in this category. A graphical documentation page illustrating what is meant by "system spacing" etc, etc, etc would be very helpful. For example, how is the space between two complete lines of music referenced in the documentation? I see there are many forum questions about formatting; very explicit documentation of the meaning(s) of the terms would be helpful to us non professionals!

In reply to by Isaac Weiss

@ZackTheCardshark I tweaked the search box on musescore.org by adding a context aware search filter: when visiting any handbook related page, the search box will state "Search in handbook". For any other page, it will be the default "Search for help".

Am enjoying 2.01. One request and suggestion: Can you make it possible for users to save score settings in a file (ie tempo) when saving that particular file? Each score should be able to save its own tempo. Thanks!

In reply to by ckilgore

This thread is not really the best place to ask the question; probably better to ask on the forums . But yes, absolutely. Add a tempo from the Tempo palette to the beginning of a score and it will be saved with the file. I'm guessing you're trying to use the slider in the Play Panel to manually override the score's tempo, which is really not the way to do it: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/tempo-0

Hi @ all
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I would suggest a Documentation on "Reading & Translating Mensural Notation" as Addendum to the handbook.
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This intent is not new, indeed, it began on MuseScore on April 25, 2012, I presume.
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> Posted by ChurchOrganist on April 25, 2012 - 4:11pm
> I have now opened an official feature request in the issue tracker.....
> #16245: Provide Scholarly Notation Support
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Since MuseScore 2,x there is - some - support for that, declared to be an "Experimental Feature"
As far as I see - not for Input, only as "new, old tapestry for export to .PDF or printout."
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No support for "input" . . . B^(
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I believe, it really would not make much sense to use Mensural Notation as Input.
===================================================
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But there is need - for some users with interest in "Renaissance-Music" - for some Background-Information and some "How To" as public support, to "help them Translate" themselves. Might possibly end up as "addendum to the online Handbook".

I would suggest, to do this, and I'm willing to cooperate. and give some helping hand.
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I already collected some material on that and did write some "private" documents on that matter, (that wasn't discussed in "High School" music lessons. Only a few lines in a schoolbook - no "how to read"...) Well, better than nothing for a start.
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To collect further material and for winning some co-writers, I 've already set up
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https://musescore.org/en/node/82086 ' Forum-Thread for exchanging Scores and Documents
https://musescore.com/groups/3280/discuss/1243861 ' Discussion in "Renaissance-Group"
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Let me know, if this plan is worth to be followed, and what you think!
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Sincerely
FarrierPete

In reply to by FarrierPete

Since Mensural Notation is not my expertise, I guess I could benefit of learning about Reading & Translating Mensural Notation. That said, I don't think it belongs in the MuseScore online handbook. If you believe otherwise, we may first consider adding a chapter on: how to read western music notation.

In any case, the internet provides all type of collaboration tools which shouldn't prevent you from writing a first stub Reading & Translating Mensural Notation. So don't hesitate to keep us posted via the forum. I'm looking forward to read it.

In reply to by Thomas

Hi, Thomas,
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thank you for your reply.
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I thought of some kind of "addendum" - as online-help for users, to translate mensural notes to western music notation themselves, because you cannot answer all possible questions in "Forum" or "FAQ", even if you want to.
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You wrote "we may first consider adding a chapter on: how to read western music notation."
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Yeah, I agree. But, as any use of MuseScore already relies on >western music notation< from the start, I don't believe you will find much MS-users that really are naive and unwitting about Western music notation. Without any previous knowledge (may be, from grammar school or from "Hausmusik" / domestic music with the family) on that matter? I fear that many "unsuspecting prospects" will conclude after a few testruns with MS, that some software that follows the "tracker"-concept would suit them more, than that "old fashioned Note Scores"... B^{ (see e.g. www.medsoundstudio.com ; I use that, too, but prefer MS ).
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Why are some people so anxious and fear musical Note-Scores - indeed, they really CANNOT bite! I don't know...
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IMHO, that is a pity, indeed, as 85% of all human music-heritage is available as "Musical Score" in western music notation (and might be, further 10% as mensural notation.)
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If you take a look on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_notation#Modern_staff_notation or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_symbols , for example, you might find that there is some BTN ("better than nothing") - help available online. Musescore could be a big support for any music teacher as instrument in school lessons - but who could develop a concept how to use it and the contents for such lessons? Knowing, that a Carl Orff (Carmina Burana, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Orff ) spent much time of his life on music pedagogics, I believe, that will take much man-years to do. Too many for my lifetime, as I'm already 61...
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So, my intention would be: Assumed that any prospect already knows a little about >western music notation<, I want to give some "helping hand" to reach the further "10% of musical heritage". As mensural notation was no matter for school-lessons in germany, I knew nearly nothing 'bout it - until I hit the wall again at imslp.org! May be, there are some academic profs in Germany that know "how to", but they're not willing to share this knowledge in the "net", as it seems. In Group "Renaissance Music" at the startup-Info, there are already some links to be found, and some literature is named. Some source is available - in the US, of course...
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What I think of, is some kind of little "essay", designed as .PDF or .html, if you want, for the few prospects, that use MS AND know a few "modern notation" AND have interest in Renaissance Music.
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There is already some some BTN ("better than nothing") - help available online, too
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensural_notation
> https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensuralnotation
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IMHO, 'tis not enough. We could do better - with a tool like MuseScore at hand - than this.
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I know, even this will be a very big job to do. So, I opened up a discussion at Group "Renaissance music" and in the Forum - might be, I could collect some further information there, or find some helping hand. The first partner already joined the discussion.
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I'll let you know, if the first "PDF" will be written. It would be possible as upload to the forum, I think.
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Sincerely
FarrierPete

Some reference tables would be good - what springs to mind right now [since I'm struggling with it right now] would be a complete reference for elements and attributes used in chords.xml.

In reply to by coreymwamba

chords.xml is no longer used in MuseScore - do you mean chords_std.xml? It really isn't intended to be "supported" to edit this file or create custom versions of it. it's more of an "at your own risk" type of thing" - if you can figure it out from the comments in the file itself, great, but don't necessarily expect it to work the same in future versions. Is there some specific thing you are trying to accomplish? Probably best to simply ask specific questions on the support forum.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Perhaps - but I appear to have lots of different xml files along with it!

I vaguely understand each of the elements [though :push and :pop don't seem to do anything] but I'm sure there are different attributes for each element, and I think a reference guide/list of allowed elements and attributes would be quicker than asking a question... but I'll ask in the forums now!

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