Changing Note Lengths without removing other notes

• Jan 19, 2021 - 07:26

In the measure pictured (referring to Voice 1, the blue notes), I want to change the C to an 8th note, and the subsequent Bb to a dotted half note. When I try to do this I end up losing the other notes and have to re-draw them in. What is the correct step by step method to convert that first quarter note to an 8th note and "merge" the 8th rest that was created into the half note?

Thank you for your help!!

-LR

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capture5.png 12.86 KB

Comments

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

Copy what? Cut what? Paste what? I don't mean to be obtuse but I don't understand how copy/cut/paste is going to get that quarter note converted to an 8th, the subsequent 8th rest deleted, and the half note now a dotted half.

This is the one thing about Musescore that has continued to confound me... editing existing measures/notes without deleting the entire measure and entering manually from a keyboard from scratch. I'd really appreciate it if you'd walk me through the process. Very sorry, and thank you!

edit: Of course I have the counting wrong, as a dotted half note wouldn't fit. So I need to add an 8th note to tie to the half note. Either way, it looks like there's no way to "merge" or "convert", I have to delete things and add them back in it seems.

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

So with your hint, I deleted the half note, changed the first quarter note to an 8th, which gave me a 8th rest. I then clicked outside the measure so nothing was selected and clicked on the half note and then went and added the half note "on top" of the 8th note which then put the half note in there and the 8th rest "downstream" of the added half note. I then changed the 8th rest to an 8th note and tied that to the half note. So I got it.

Thanks for the hint.

In reply to by Lets Rock

Alternatively, in this case, for only two notes, it is trivial and quick to simply re-enter two notes (so, in "Input" mode/ "N").
This will be at least as fast if not faster than any other action (for the moment, MuseScore does not allow to "move" the notes within a measure, except of course with the cut/paste method). See:

Video_2021-01-19_090153.gif

In reply to by Lets Rock

"as I admitted, the dotted half note was incorrect. I needed a half plus an 8th of course"
Ah, I had read it wrong. But the principle remains the same. Sometimes you make typing mistakes! And it is not necessarily useful to design alternative processes - again for only 2 notes - when redoing can at least go as fast!

In reply to by cadiz1

"And it is not necessarily useful to design alternative processes" (I don't know how you made italics lol)
I totally agree! Whenever I post a question here the #1 thing on my mind is "I'm not the first person to have this issue, and there's probably a very easy way to get around this, so... what's the best way/method to do it?"

My methodology is to scan sheet music in and modify it to change the keys so it's easier to sing, or change the arrangement as needed. There are times when I have a need to change the notes in a measure and if you watched me edit existing notes I think you would laugh out loud at me; I'm not very adept at it.

That being said I LOVE this software. I tried to use Cubase Pro to score some stuff I wrote and it was extremely difficult to use, not to mention the really ugly output. Musescore, with the exception of editing existing notes (for me anyway heh), is super super easy to use, very thorough manual, awesome support in this forum... I can't say enough. :) Honestly, if it weren't for Musescore I would have had to spend a few hundred bucks on another scoring program that I'm sure would not be nearly as easy to use.

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