What is the optimum monitor size for MuseScore
I use a 15" laptop screen frequently, and I'd like to get a bigger monitor so I can see more of my score while I'm writing or editing. Does anyone have an opinion as to the best size/orientation?
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MuseScore itself doesn't care*, so it's totally a mater of personal preference. For me, anything I can't take with me everywhere I go so I can work any time I like is a non-starter. Others like to do most of their work in one location. but even among people who do most of their work in a single location, some people like a monitor where they can see it all at once - with the MuseScore window taking up the whole screen - others prefer having multiple windows open, each one set to the largest they can take in at once. others prefer multiple windows open at once but prefer them a bit smaller so they can actually take in two windows at once, for example if copying from a PDF. It's really totally up to you.
*MuseScore *does* care about monitor resolution, not size, but nothing you'd be looking at would be too low resolution to work, so it's kind of moot. MuseScore does have some issues with multiple monitor configurations if the resolutions differ in terms of their actual DPI. So if you are considering using multiple monitors at once, it would be best to try to match DPI.
I've enjoyed using MuseScore on a 21-inch screen when possible, but assuming you don't care about portability, just go for the largest and highest resolution you can conveniently afford to purchase (eBay or Craigslist are good sources for used ones).
In reply to I've enjoyed using MuseScore by Isaac Weiss
It occurs to me it is important to consider both size and resolution and the tradeoff this entails. Larger monitors tend to be lower resolution. That is, if a screen contains 2000 pixels across and is 20 inches wide, that is 100 DPI - that's pretty much average. If your screen is 28 inches wide and still has only 2000 pixels across, now it is only 72 DPI, which is going to be harder to read for the same size text or music. On the other hand, a screen that is 2000 pixels across that is only 13 inches wide is over 150 DPI and can look noticeably sharper.
Moral: don't assume bigger is better unless the pixel count goes up correspondingly.
Thank you, everyone for your answers. I think that the problem I was trying to solve was how the insertion point jumps to the next measure after you input the last note in the bar. If you're using a small screen when that happens then you can't see the note you previously entered unless you backup and move your mouse pointer to the previous bar, which is annoying if your creative juices are flowing and you want to change the previous note. I'm not Mozart so that happens frequently.
In reply to Thank you, everyone for your by CDW6001
FWIW, you don't need to move the mouse pointer - the up/down arrows work even though the input cursor has advanced. And of course, if the cursor stayed in the previous measure, but you actually wanted to enter notes into the next measure, you'd have the opposite problem. Basically, there is no ideal solution, but the way it works currently is what is wanted "most" of the time. That is, after entering a note, one more often wants to enter another note afterwards than the to change the most-recently entered note or otherwise go backwards and enter more notes. Multi-voice piano and guitar music are the cases where this is more questionable.
Anyhow, with a better understanding of what you are dealing with, I can give some better advice:
- If you aren't already, work in Continuous view rather than Page. That way the previous/next measures are always adjacent, so it is always possible to see both at once (or at least, portions of them, if they are unusually wide)
- The more measures you can fit on screen, the better as far as reducing the number of times the page needs to adjust, so bigger is better as far as monitors go. Also setting the zoom a little smaller than you otherwise might will allow more measures to fit on screen at once.
- If you are using the mouse to enter notes, put it away and use the keyboard instead - it is going to be far less sensitive to screen position, and you will be able to work at a smaller size (hence more measures on screen) than you could with the mouse, plus it is just many times faster.
- If you are using the mouse to move about the score, use the keyboard for this as well. Cursor left moves the input cursor back to the previous measure should you need to, and then you can type the new note. But note also, you don't *need* to move the cursor backwards to edit the previous note. Up/down arrows work even if the note is off screen, and Shift+letter adds a note to the chord even if it is offscreen.
I really like my (pretty old) 4:3 screen in portrait format