Čtečky obrazovky

MuseScore 4 v každém operačním systému podporuje následující čtečky obrazovky:

• Windows 10 a 11: Narrator a NVDA
• macOS: VoiceOver
• Linux: Orca

Řeč s JAWS většinou funguje, ale výstup není tak úplný jako v případě Narratoru nebo NVDA.

Řeč v operačním systému Windows

Pokud vám kdykoli přestane fungovat řečový výstup čtečky (odečítače) obrazovky, zkuste stisknout klávesovou zkratku Alt+F pro zaměření hlavní nabídky Soubor a stiskněte dvakrát Esc pro návrat na místo, kde jste se v aplikaci nacházeli, a řeč by měla opět pracovat normálně. Tento postup může být nutný, pokud například spustíte čtečku obrazovky poté, co je již spuštěna aplikace MuseScore.

Řeč v operačním systému macOS

Rychlý ovládací režim VoiceOveru musí být při používání aplikace MuseScore 4 vypnut. Funkci rychlého ovládání můžete zapnout nebo vypnout stisknutím klávesy Šipka vlevo a Šipka vpravo současně, když je spuštěn VoiceOver, nebo můžete funkci rychlé navigace vypnout v aplikaci VoiceOver: Nástroje → Příkazy.

Rozhraní aplikace MuseScore lze ovládat pomocí ukazatele tabulátoru a vlastního ukazatele VoiceOveru. Obecně je nejlepší používat ukazatel tabulátoru, protože odpovídá rozhraní na jiných platformách a jako takové je popsáno ve většině dokumentace a výukových programů. Ukazatel VoiceOveru lze použít k dosažení oblastí aplikace, které ještě nejsou přístupné pomocí ukazatele tabulátoru. Při používání ukazatele tabulátoru při ovládání nezapomeňte používat šipky a také tabulátor (podívejte se na pohyb v uživatelském rozhraní).

Řeč v operačním systému Linux

V systému Linux je nutné před spuštěním aplikace MuseScore spustit čtečku (odečítač) obrazovky, jinak budou funkce přístupnosti zakázány, aby se ušetřily systémové prostředky. Pokud na to zapomenete, jednoduše ukončete MuseScore a spusťte jej znovu. Totéž platí pro všechny aplikace pro Linux postavené na systému Qt.

Orca je nejúplnější čtečka obrazovky dostupná pro Linux. Orca je začleněna do prostředí GNOME, proto se uživatelům Linuxu s potřebou přístupnosti doporučuje používat distribuci založenou na GNOME nebo některém z něj odvozených systémů.

Přístup přes klávesnici

Pohyb v uživatelském rozhraní

Ovládání uživatelského rozhraní aplikace MuseScore 4 pomocí klávesnice se kromě klávesy tabulátoru opírá také o šipkové klávesy. Stisknutím klávesy tabulátoru procházíte jednotlivé skupiny ovládacích prvků a poté pomocí kláves se šipkami přecházíte na jednotlivé ovládací prvky v rámci skupiny. Tento nový systém pohybu umožňuje přejít na libovolné místo v rozhraní s mnohem menším počtem stisknutí kláves, než kdyby se pro přístup ke každému jednotlivému ovládacímu prvku používala klávesa tabulátoru, jak je tomu běžně v jiných aplikacích, včetně předchozích verzí aplikace MuseScore. Nový pohybový systém se stále zdokonaluje a zpětná vazba je vítána fórem pro vývoj.

Kromě kláves se šipkami a tabulátoru je dostupná nová klávesová zkratka F6, která vás přenese mezi různými panely v programu. Zde je uvedeno, jak pohybové zkratky spolupracují a vytvářejí stupňovitě vrstvený (hierarchický) ovládací systém:

• Klávesy Šipka nahoru, Šipka dolů, Šipka vlevo a Šipka vpravo: Přesunout zaměření z jednoho ovládacího prvku na další v rámci skupiny ovládacích prvků (např. přecházet mezi tlačítky na panelu nástrojů)..

• Tabulátor a Shift+Tabulátor: Přesunout zaměření z jedné skupiny ovládacích prvků do další (např. přecházet mezi panely nástrojů).

• F6 and Shift+F6: Move focus between panels and large sections of the UI (e.g. navigate from toolbars to the Palettes or notation view).

By default, the grave accent key ` (sometimes called "backtick") can be used as an alternative to F6 for navigation between panels. Grave accent is found above the Tab key on most QWERTY keyboards. If it's not there on your keyboard, consider changing this shortcut in Preferences to set it to whatever key is above Tab on your keyboard, as it can be convenient to have the navigation keys located close to each other.

Once you have navigated to a button or control, in most cases it can be activated by pressing the Spacebar, Enter or Return key. Within lists and other item views, Spacebar is often used to select items rather than to activate them. Once selected, certain items can be deleted by pressing the Delete key, or modified by tabbing to other UI controls that become active once something has been selected. For example, this approach can be used within the Instruments panel to remove instruments that you have previously added to the score.

Navigating the score

Navigation within the score (i.e. inside the "Notation view") is much the same as it was in MuseScore 3. Here are the shortcuts that are of particular value to accessibility users:

Shortcut	Action
Alt+Right and Alt+Left	Move to next or previous element. These shortcuts enable you to visit all kinds of notation elements, not just notes and rests.
Alt+Up and Alt+Down	Move to note above or below. These shortcuts enable you to move between individual notes in a chord, and also to reach notes and rests in other voices and in other staves.
F2 or Alt+Shift+E	Edit selected element. This is the keyboard equivalent of double-clicking on an element with the mouse. It enables you to edit text objects, including lyrics, dynamics, and tempo markings. It also enables you to adjust the length of line elements such as hairpins, slurs, and voltas (use the Tab key to change which end of the line you are adjusting). When you are done editing, press Esc to return to Normal mode.

Other aspects of keyboard navigation are described on pages throughout this handbook.

Video tutorials

The following accessibility tutorials are designed to get you up and running with MuseScore, using your keyboard and screen reader. They don't cover every aspect of the program, but they should give you a solid foundation that will enable you can take full advantage of the rest of this Handbook.

Video	Description
Installing MuseScore	This video covers the installation of MuseScore on Windows, including Muse Hub and Muse Sounds. The process is similar on macOS and Linux, although on Linux you need to install Muse Hub and MuseScore separately.
Score setup	This video covers the initial setup of your score, including choosing instruments and selecting the key and time signature and other settings.
Entering music	This video covers basic note input.
Adding markings	This video covers adding markings such as dynamics to your score, by using the palettes.
The user interface	This video walks through the main window of the program, so you can understand where all the different panels, toolbars, and controls are, and how to reach them by keyboard.

Hlavní nabídka

Hlavní nabídka v MuseScore 4 obsahuje tyto nabídky:

• Soubor: Vytvoření nového souboru, otevírání a ukládání souborů, zavádění a vyvádění různých formátů, vytváření a upravování nástrojových partů a tisk.
• Úpravy: Volby pro vrácení (Zpět) a opakování (Znovu), volby pro kopírování/vyjmutí/vložení a funkce Najít/Jít na
• Pohled: Ukázání nebo skrytí různých palet, dialogových oken a dalších prvků pracovní plochy.
• Přidání: Přidání různých druhů prvků notového zápisu: noty, text, takty atd.
• Formát: Úprava celkového a místního formátování notového zápisu. Umožňuje také notový zápis roztáhnout nebo zúžit, nahrát a uložit styly notového zápisu a mnoho dalšího.
• Nástroje: Zde je dostupných mnoho užitečných příkazů včetně transpozice, výměny hlasů, lomítkového zápisu (notace) atd.
• Moduly: Správa přídavných modulů
• Nápověda: Přístup k internetové příručce, hlášení chyb a poskytování zpětné vazby a obnovení továrního nastavení.

Keyboard users on Windows and Linux can access these menus by holding the Alt key and pressing a certain letter or number key, known as the mnemonic access key, that is displayed with an underline in the name of the menu item you are looking for. For example, press Alt+F for File followed by Alt+A for Save as. The letters 'F' and 'a' are underlined in the UI while the Alt key is held.

On macOS, MuseScore's menus are part of the system-wide menu bar, which you can navigate to by pressing Ctrl+F2.

Home tab

Beneath the main menu are three tabs, the first of which is the Home tab. This tab contains the following sections:

My account

Create a new MuseScore account, or login to your existing account. With an active account, you can get technical assistance and report bugs in the forums at musescore.org. You can also save your files to the cloud on musescore.com.

Scores

This section allows you to set up a new score, or to open an existing one. Learn about creating new scores in Setting up your score.

Plugins

This window displays a list of available plugins. See the chapter on Plugins to learn about managing these useful add-ons.

Learn

This is where video tutorials are hosted. Clicking on any video tutorial opens it on the official MuseScore YouTube channel.

Score tab

This are is where you do most of your work in MuseScore, including adding music notation and listening to the playback of your score. The workspace consist of several regions (numbered according to labels in the below diagram):

1. Parts: The button near the top center of the window opens the Parts dialog, where you can create, edit and delete instrument part scores.
2. Mixer: The button to the right of Parts opens and closes the Mixer panel.
3. Playback toolbar. Located to the right of the mixer icon.
4. Note input toolbar: Extending across the program window, this includes essential notation elements used in score writing. Use it to set the note input duration, toggle accidentals, apply common articulations, enter tuplets, and change between voices.
5. Side bar: The area on the left-hand side of the program window contains various panels such as Palettes, Properties, and Instruments. These can be hidden or displayed as desired.
6. Document/Score window: This area contains your score, and is where notation elements are added, edited, and deleted.
7. Status bar: This runs along the bottom of the window. The left-hand side displays useful information about the score when one or more elements are selected. The right-hand side contains controls for switching between workspaces, selecting concert or written pitch views, and specifying the page display and zoom factor (magnification).

Keyboard users can use the Tab key or F6 to navigate between these UI regions via the keyboard. Within each region, navigation is performed with the arrow keys and Tab.

Almost all panels and toolbars can be un-docked and repositioned according to your project requirements and workflow preferences. Learn more about this in Workspaces.

Publish tab

This tab allows you to view your score without the clutter of the note input toolbar or sidebar panels. There are options to print the score, and to export it in a variety of image, audio and document formats. When your score is finished, you can also publish it to musescore.com.

Context menus

In certain parts of the application, primarily in the Score tab, context menus are available with additional functionality, such as options to copy, edit, customise, delete, or view the properties of whatever item(s) were selected at the time you opened the menu.

Element context menus

Within the score, every element has a context menu. To open the context menu for a particular element, right-click on the element with the mouse, or select the element via the keyboard and press Shift+F10 (some PC keyboards also have a dedicated Menu key near to the right Ctrl key). The exact options available in the context menu can differ depending on the type of element you selected, so it is worth experimenting to find out what options are available for different kinds of elements. For example, when you right-click on an empty region within a measure the resulting context menu contains options for Staff/Part properties and Measure properties. This is currently the only way to get to those options and the dialogs they lead to.

UI context menus

Outside of the score, the presence of a context menu is often indicated by a small button with three dots, or by a settings cog. Press the button to open the menu. Sometimes the button is associated with another item in the vicinity, such as in the Palettes, where there is three-dots button for each palette. In this case you can right-click on the palette name, or select it with the keyboard and press the Shift+F10 or Menu key shortcut, as an alternative to using the three-dots button.

Scrolling

Mouse wheel

• Use the scroll wheel to move the view up and down.
• Use Shift plus the scroll wheel to move the view left and right.

Scrollbars

Scrollbars appear at the right-hand and bottom edges of the score view. Click and drag them to quickly move the score view up and down, or left and right. Scrollbars are usually hidden from view, but can be revealed by hovering over the edge of the score view with your mouse.

Keyboard

You can also scroll the score using the PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys on your keyboard. If your keyboard lacks dedicated keys for these functions, most systems will also allow you to access these functions by holding Fn or a similar key, then pressing Up, Down, Left, or Right respectively.

By themselves, PgUp and PgDn scroll one screenful at a time. This may be less than an actual page of your score. If you hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while pressing PgUp or PgDn, it moves a full page at a time.

Element navigation

When a single element is selected in your score, it acts as a cursor. You can change the selection—and thus move the cursor—using common keyboard shortcuts.

The Left and Right keys will move horizontally through your score one note or rest at a time. If you hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while pressing Left or Right, you can navigate a full measure at a time.

To move the cursor vertically through the various notes, voices, and staves in your score, use the shortcuts Alt+Up and Alt+Down (Mac: Option+Up and Option+Down).

You can also use the shortcuts Alt+Left and Alt+Right (Mac: Option+Left and Option+Right) to select elements other than notes or rests. These commands allow you select almost any elements—including articulations, barlines, hairpins, and more—using the keyboard alone.

In addition, Ctrl+Home (Mac: Cmd+Home) will select the first element in your score, and Ctrl+End (Mac: Cmd+End) will select the last element. Again, for keyboards that lack dedicated Home and End keys, most systems provide the alternative of Fn+Left and Fn+Right respectively.

See Default keyboard shortcuts to learn more.

Navigator

The Navigator is a panel that displays thumbnails of score pages. To view or hide the Navigator, click View → Navigator.

The blue bounding box represents the area of the score currently in focus in the score view. Click on the box and drag it to move around your score.

Timeline

A navigation aid that shows instruments and score structure. For details, see Timeline.

Views

You can switch between different views of the score using the pop-up in the right-hand side of the status bar.

Page view

The score is shown as it will appear when printed or exported as a PDF or image file: that is, page by page, with margins. MuseScore applies system (line) and page breaks automatically, according to the settings made in Page settings and Style. In addition, you can apply your own system (line), page or section breaks.

Continuous view (horizontal)

The score is shown as one unbroken system. Even if the starting point is not in view, measure numbers, instrument names, clefs, time and key signatures will always be displayed on the left of the window.

Continuous view (vertical)

The score is shown as a single page with a header but no margins, and with an infinite page height. System (line) breaks are added automatically, according to the settings made in Page settings and Style. In addition, you can apply your own system (line) or section breaks.

Zoom

There are several ways to zoom the score in or out:

Zoom in

Ctrl++ (Mac: Cmd++)
or scroll up with the mouse scroll wheel while holding Ctrl (Mac: Cmd).

Zoom out

Ctrl+- (Mac: Cmd+-)
or scroll down with the mouse scroll wheel while holding Ctrl (Mac: Cmd).

Status bar zoom controls

To zoom in and out of your score from the Status bar controls:

• Click on the magnifying glass icons in the right-hand area of the status bar
• Click the number field to the right of these icons, then type a custom zoom level
• Choose from one of the preset zoom levels in the pop-up list on the extreme right

Restoring 100% zoom

This restores the zoom to the default (100%) level.

Ctrl+0 (Mac: Cmd+0)

Find/Go to

The Find/Go to panel allows you to speedily navigate to a specific measure, rehearsal mark or page number in the score.

To show the panel:

• Go to Edit → Find, or
• Press Ctrl+F (Mac: Cmd+F).

To hide the panel:

• Click the X (close) button on the left side of the panel, or
• Press Esc while the panel has focus.

Navigating to a numbered measure

Enter the measure number (counting every measure, starting with 1, irrespective of pickup measures, section breaks or manual changes to measure number offsets).

Navigating to a numbered page

Enter the page number using the format pXX (where XX is the page number).

Navigating to a numerical rehearsal mark

Enter the number using the format rXX (where XX is the number of the rehearsal mark).

Navigating to an alphabetic rehearsal mark

Enter the name of the rehearsal mark (the search is not case sensitive).

Pro tip! It is best to avoid naming rehearsal marks with the single letters “R", “r", “P”, “p", or one of these letters with an integer (e.g. “R1” or “p3”), as this can confuse the search algorithm.

Přehled

Časová osa is a navigation aid that displays at the bottom of the program window, giving you an overview of the instruments and main structural elements measure-by-measure. You can easily move about the score by clicking on a measure or a structural element.

There are four parts to the timeline:

Meta labels

This is found in the top left corner of the timeline. These are the names of the meta rows.

Instrument labels

This is found in the bottom left corner of the timeline. These are the names of the rows in the main grid.

Meta rows

This is found in the top right corner of the timeline. These hold the meta values of the score.

Main grid

This is found in the bottom right corner of the timeline. This holds multiple 'cells' (a specific measure and staff in the score represented as a square)

Meta elements

Meta elements are those found in the score that are not notes, but are still important to the score—such as key signature, time signature, tempo, rehearsal marks, bar lines, and jumps and markers.

Basic interactions

Selecting a measure

To select a measure in the timeline, press the mouse button on the cell. A blue box will appear around the selected cell and the respective measure in the score will be selected. The score view will place the selected measure in view.

Selecting multiple measures

Drag selection

Holding Shift and holding the left mouse button and dragging the mouse over the main grid will create a selection box. Upon releasing the mouse button, all the cells underneath the selection box will be selected, as well as all the measures in the score.

[Shift] selection

If a cell is already selected, holding Shift and selecting another cell in the timeline will stretch the selection to that new cell, similar to how the score does

[Ctrl] selection

If no cells are currently selected, holding Ctrl and selecting a cell will select the entire measure

Clearing a selection

To clear selection, holding Ctrl and clicking anywhere on the grid or the meta rows will clear any current selection.

Meta values selection

Selecting the meta values on the timeline will attempt to select the respective meta values in the score.

Scrolling

Standard scrolling

Scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will move the grid and instrument labels down or up respectively. The meta labels and rows do not move.

[Shift] scrolling

Holding Shift and scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will move the grid and meta rows left or right respectively. The meta labels and instrument labels do not move.

[Alt] scrolling

Holding Alt and scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will move the grid and meta rows left or right respectively, faster than Shift scrolling. The meta labels and instrument labels do not move.

Dragging

To drag the contents of the timeline, hold the left mouse button and move it around.

Labels interaction

Rearranging meta labels

All meta labels besides the measures meta may be rearranged in any way. By moving the mouse cursor onto one of the meta labels, small up and down arrows will appear. Click the left mouse button on the up arrow to swap the meta label with the one above it. Click the left mouse button on the down arrow to swap the meta label with the one below it.

Collapsing the meta labels

In order to hide all the meta labels while keeping all the meta information on the timeline, click the left mouse button on the measures meta to collapse all the currently visible meta rows into one row, where the meta values are staggered in that row. Click the left mouse button again on the measures meta to expand the meta rows.

Hiding instruments

All instruments--hidden or not--will be displayed on the timeline. To start this interaction, the mouse cursor is moved over an instrument label. A small eye will appear on the right side of the label that is open if the instrument is visible on the score, and closed if the instrument is hidden. Click the left mouse button on the eye to toggle between the two options.

Zooming

To zoom in or out of the score, hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel up or down respectively (Mac: Cmd + scroll).

Overview

MuseScore 4.1 added a braille panel that displays the current measure in braille music notation. The content is similar to what you get if you export braille via the File menu, but the braille panel updates live as you navigate through the score.

As of MuseScore 4.2, the braille panel can be used to enter notes and some musical symbols using Perkins-style 6-key braille input.

Output to a physical braille display

The contents of the braille panel can be displayed on a braille terminal connected to your computer (e.g. via Bluetooth or USB).

The following limitations apply when using a physical braille display:

• NVDA must be used as the screen reader.
• MuseScore’s braille panel must have keyboard focus.
  • When the score has focus, the braille terminal will just show ordinary status text from the screen reader.
• Braille navigation and 6-key input must be performed with the computer keyboard.
  • Physical buttons on the braille terminal are not used, except to scroll within a measure that is too long to fit on your display.

Please let us know in the Documentation forum if you discover a way to bypass any of these limitations.

Terminology: braille vs. print

On this page, we refer to MuseScore's ordinary stave notation as "print music". This is the traditional music notation that sighted musicians use on paper or electronic devices, and is displayed in the central region of MuseScore's main window, known as the score view.

Braille can also be used on paper, but it's not printed with ink. Instead, it's embossed as raised dots, which blind musicians read by touch. It is common in accessibility circles to use the word "print" to mean non-braille notation.

Viewing braille

To open or close the braille panel

1. Go to Preferences > Braille.
2. Check (or uncheck) the Show braille panel box.

The braille panel appears directly below the score in MuseScore’s main window.

To focus the braille panel

With the braille panel open, press the Tab key while the score has focus. A caret (text cursor) will appear in the braille at the position of whatever element was selected in the score. For example, if a note was selected in the score, the text caret will appear on that note in the braille.

Press Shift+Tab at any time to leave the braille panel and return to the score. The braille panel will remain open so you can navigate to it again with Tab.

Navigating the braille

While the braille panel has focus, you can move the text caret around using the arrow keys. As the caret moves through the braille, the element to the right of the caret becomes selected in the score. If that element is a note, MuseScore will play the sound of the note.

The braille panel only shows one measure at a time, but it shows that measure for all instruments in the score. Each line of braille corresponds to a staff in the print notation, so grand staff instruments like the piano get two lines of braille, and the organ gets three lines.

If a staff has lyrics, these are written on another line of braille immediately below the line corresponding to that staff. If there are multiple lines of lyrics (e.g. for multiple verses), each line of lyrics is written on a separate line in the braille.

Shortcuts for navigation

The following keyboard shortcuts are available for navigating the braille.

Action	Windows/Linux	macOS
Go to next braille cell	Right	Right
Go to previous braille cell	Left	Left
Go to braille line above	Up	Up
Go to braille line below	Down	Down
Go to next measure	Ctrl+Right	Cmd+Right
Go to previous measure	Ctrl+Left	Cmd+Left
Go to beginning of score	Ctrl+Home	Cmd+Fn+Left
Go to end of score	Ctrl+Emd	Cmd+Fn+Right
Toggle braille input mode on/off	N	N

Writing braille

Notes and certain musical symbols can be entered in the braille panel using a 6-key method of braille input similar to that of the Perkins Brailler.

Turn braille input mode on or off

While the braille panel has focus, press N to toggle braille input mode on or off.

Constructing a braille cell

While in braille input mode, six letter keys on the computer keyboard are used to represent the six braille dots that make up a single braille cell (⠿).

The keys used are F, D, S for dots 1, 2, 3 down the first column of the cell, and J, K, L for dots 4, 5, 6 down the second column. The Space key is used to represent an empty braille cell (⠀), sometimes referred to as dot 0.

Up to six of these keys can be pressed in combination to construct any pattern of raised dots. For example, to enter a quarter note C, which in braille is ⠹ (i.e. dots 1, 4, 5, 6), press and hold F+J+K+L, then release these keys to confirm the pattern. The keys can be pressed and released in any order, providing at least one key is held at all times, until you have completed the pattern.

When the final key is released, MuseScore reads your braille pattern. If your pattern corresponds to a recognized note or musical symbol then this element is entered directly in the score, not in the braille panel, because print notation is the "ground truth" for MuseScore. Once the element is in the score, the braille panel automatically updates to reflect this change.

Sometimes in music braille, the same information can be expressed in multiple ways. For the sake of consistency, MuseScore always picks the same way regardless of how you entered the notation. Therefore, the braille that appears in the braille panel may not exactly match the pattern(s) you entered with the six keys, though it will have the same meaning.

Entering notes

Basic notes

In braille, eighth notes (quavers) and 128th notes are written as:

Note	Braille	Dots	Keys
C	⠙	1, 4, 5	F+J+K
D	⠑	1, 5	F+K
E	⠋	1, 2, 4	F+D+J
F	⠛	1, 2, 4, 5	F+D+J+K
G	⠓	1, 2, 5	F+D+K
A	⠊	2, 4	D+J
B	⠚	2, 4, 5	D+J+K

Additional dots are added to the above sequences to create other durations:

Duration	Braille	Dots added	Keys added
Quarter (crotchet) and 64th notes	⠠	6	L
Half (minim) and 32nd notes	⠄	3	S
Whole (semibreve) and 16th notes	⠤	3, 6	S+L

Hence a quarter note C is ⠹ (dots 1, 4, 5, 6) and is entered with F+J+K+L. This pattern is also used for a 64th note C.

16th notes and smaller

As mentioned above, 16th notes and smaller use the same dot patterns as larger durations. When reading braille, you can work out whether the shorter or longer duration is being specified by looking at the time signature as well as other notes in the measure. However, when writing braille, you need to tell MuseScore which durations you want to use.

	⠤	⠄	⠠	⠀	Dots to select	Keys to select
Group 1	whole	half	quarter	eighth	0, 1	Space+F
Group 2	16th	32nd	64th	128th	0, 2	Space+D

By default, MuseScore enters group 1 durations (whole, half, quarter, eighth). To switch to group 2, enter dots 0, 2 (i.e. press Space+D). Nothing will appear in the braille panel, but any notes or rests you write from now on will be in group 2 (16th, 32nd, 64th, 128th). To switch back to group 1 durations, enter dots 0, 1 (i.e. press Space+F).

It's not currently possible to enter durations of 256th and smaller, or breve (double whole) and larger, via the braille panel.

Dotted notes

Braille uses ⠄(dot 3) to represent an augmentation dot, which is added in a new braille cell immediately following a note. No other cells are allowed to come between the note and its augmentation dot.

To create a dotted note in the braille panel, first write the main note duration using the rules above, then follow it with dot 3 (i.e. press S).

For example, a dotted quarter note C is ⠹⠄, which can be stated as dot pattern 1456-3, where the dash means to start a new cell. In terms of keys, this is F+J+K+L, S.

It's not currently possible to enter multiple dot 3s to create double and triple dotted notes via the braille panel.

Octave marks

Octave marks in braille serve a similar purpose to clefs in print music. If you see a note in print, you don't know what pitch it is until you look at the preceding clef. In braille, if you see ⠙ (dots 1, 4, 5) then you know the note is a C, but it could be a C in any octave. To determine the octave, you need to look at the preceeding octave mark (and also at any notes between that octave mark and the current note).

A standard 88-key piano has 7 complete octaves. Starting on the lowest C, which is called C1 in braille as well as in scientific pitch notation, the first complete octave of white notes is C1, D1, E1, F1, G1, A1 and B1. After B1 comes C2, which is the start of the second complete octave. This scheme continues up to the final complete octave, which starts with C7 and ends with B7.

In this system, C4 is middle C, and A4 is "concert A" (i.e. the note that the orchestra tunes to at the start of a performance). Enharmonic spelling is important, so B♯3 sounds the same as C4 despite being notated in a different octave, and C♭4 sounds the same as B3.

Even standard 88-key pianos have a few notes outside the range C1 to B7. Braille refers to the C0 octave as the "sub" octave, and the C8 octave as the "super" octave. These simply double the markings used for the first and seventh octaves.

Octave	Marks	Dots	Keys
0 (sub)	⠈⠈	4-4	J, J
1	⠈	4	J
2	⠘	45	J+K
3	⠸	456	J+K+L
4 (middle)	⠐	5	K
5	⠨	46	J+L
6	⠰	56	K+L
7	⠠	6	L
8 (super)	⠠⠠	6-6	L, L

When specified, octave mark are placed immediately prior to a note. So a middle C quarter note is ⠐⠹, or dots 5-1456, which is entered as K, F+J+K+L. No other cells are allowed to go between the octave mark and the note it belongs to.

Octave marks don't have to be given before every note. Octave marks are only required for the:

• First note on each line of braille.
• First note after a double bar line, number sign, word indicator, and certain other markings.
• Second of two notes separated by a melodic interval of a sixth or more, regardless of their octaves.
• Second of two notes separated by a melodic interval of a fourth or more, only if their octave numbers are different.