Changing the voice of a single note
Musescore is a very good program. Yet, it does have its "issues". For example, we may want to change the voice of a single note. There is no simple way to do this. The ideal way would simply be that you click on the note, then click on the voice that you want for that note. Totally simple. But, that doesn't work. The only way I can find to change the voice of a single note is to delete that note and then re-add the note using the desired voice for the new added note. This creates other problems. But, it is the only way to make the thing work.
Comments
Perhaps you are trying to do that while in note input mode. Outside note input mode it works just as you expect. See https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/voices#change-voice
[Edit] While in note input mode the voice buttons determine which voice the next note will be entered in
In reply to Perhaps you are trying to do… by SteveBlower
Indeed, and in this respect, it's completely consistent with how the other note input commands work - duration selection, dot toggle, ties, accidentals. In note input mode, these set the stage for the next note to be entere.d In normal mode, they alter the currently selected note or notes.
I think I discovered the solution to my own problem. I said I can't easily change the voice of a single note. Indeed. But, if I select several notes (all of the same voice) then it easily switches all of the notes to the desired voice. So, it was something about having only one note selected. Anyway, thanks to other commenters for their help.
In reply to I think I discovered the… by [DELETED] 42472376
It should work, though, to change the voice of a single note - unless it's one note within a triplet. Then that would obviously be impossible. Or, if the voice you are trying to send it to has something else going on rhythmically that prevent it - like trying to send a quarter note on beat two into a voice that has a whole note already. Neither of these makes musical sense and that's why they are impossible. But any time it's actually musically possible, MuseScore should allow it. If you have a case where it doesn't, please attach your score and give precise steps to reproduce the problem, so we can investigate.
In reply to It should work, though, to… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks Mark. Today, earlier, my seeming solution was working. Now it isn't again. I've attached the music to see if you can figure it out. The quarter note in measure 14 of this Gershwin song is currently assigned to part 2. But, it should be part 1. And, I can't seem to change it. I don't see a reason why. Can you explain what I need to do. It should be simple, but does not seem to be.
In reply to Thanks Mark. Today, earlier… by [DELETED] 42472376
As MuseScore reports when you load the score, it's corrupted, specifically because of problems in measures 14 and 20. See https://musescore.org/en/node/54721 for info on how to correct this. The corruption is why normal editing isn't working, so first step is to fix that. Then you can see if you continue to have problems. But again, see my post - selecting multiple notes is a red herring, that isn't the difference between it working and not. It's the things I said - it has to be musically meaningful. You can't move a note into a voice that already has something different happening on that beat.
BTW, there's some other strange things going on here, like a stem in the third full bar that has dragged to wrong side and made much longer than it should be as well, some hidden extra key signatures, measures with too many or two few beats, and extra measure. Also some incorrect beaming, like in bar 8, an empty measure (19) with a whole rest rather than a measure rest, and missing hyphens and lyrics extenders across the board. Was this the result of a somewhat botched PDF import, perhaps? It's often more efficient to simply enter music by hand than to attempt to fix all of these sorts of errors )which are quite common when attempt to import PDF files).
In reply to As MuseScore reports when… by Marc Sabatella
Wonderful information Marc. Thank you very much. I'll give your suggestions a try. Thanks again!