editorial brackets around elements
I'm preparing some piano scores which need some editing. Sometimes i need to add an accent, a slur or a spread chord marking for instance, one that is missing in the original source.
I would like to put that element in square brackets to show that it's an editorial decision. Is there a way to select this element and have the choice of putting a square bracket to the left, right or both sides of it?
I'm new to Musescore so still figuring things out! Any help would be appreciated.
Comments
Square brackets are easy for accidentals, via the Inspector, for everything else you'd need to use some workaround, like a staff text which you manually drag into place, orby using the master palette's symbols palette
This requirement for editorial brackets has already been raised in the Issue Tracker as a Suggestion:
#300462: Add square brackets to score elements to indicate editorial additions/changes
In reply to This requirement for… by DanielR
Thank you both for your help. I was already trying to make it work with typing a bracket and moving it along, but it is just too clunky and takes much too long. I’m really enjoying using musescore for small personal projects but unfortunately this simple issue makes it basically unusable as a professional tool where one could prepare a critical score. It’s such a shame.
There is so much good about the programme though! I hope it continues to evolve and be so useful!
In reply to Thank you both for your help… by Phil Richardson 2
Sorry to hear this is affecting you so much! For most people, adding parentheses to elements other than notes or accidentals is very uncommon thing, so doing this manually would cost only a few extra seconds per day. but if you're doing it dozens of times an hour, I could see it adding up. meanwhile, let's make sure you are at least trying to do this using the most efficient means possible. If you attach a sample score and show an example of where you wanting the brackets, we can try to suggest the best way to do it currently.
In reply to Sorry to hear this is… by Marc Sabatella
Marc, I use editorial brackets fairly frequently when adding (missing) dynamics to a transcription. But in that case, it's relatively easy just to edit the dynamic and add the opening and closing square bracket with the keyboard.
In reply to Marc, I use editorial… by DanielR
Yes, and since it's probably a limited set of them you use a lot, you could be set them up that way via a custom palette. Similarly for articulations or other symbols that could just as easily be created as text (using Special Characters) especially given they don't necessarily need playback and might also need non-traditional positioning. So really, it's mostly slurs or other "lines" that would still need the manual positioning. And even then, there might be some good tricks here, like for some lines at least, adding the brackets in the begin/end text.
Which is why I'm curious to see some actual examples, because chances are pretty good we can offer some good solutions here that will make things go more smoothly and efficiently than it might at first appear would be possible.