How to add a sharp / flat (etc) sign to a chord symbol....?
Hi... new to Musescore..... Can't see how to add a sharp to a chord symbol....... I want to indicate a
C-sharp-minor chord.... I can get to Cm BUT can't see how to drag or copy the sharp sign from the Accidental section on the Palettes...
Any help welcome. Thanks
Dave
Comments
I'm using a MAC Book..
In reply to I'm using a MAC Book.. by davidlightleymiller
Thanks for e-mail... Regret it doesn't work.. as regards entering the sharp symbol... I'm using a MAC. There is no sharp or hash key on the key board. Using the Alt + 3 key as recommended for MACs doesn't input anything in to MUSESCORE. Any suggestions welcome... Thanks Dave
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/chord-symbols#enter-chord-symbol
Doesn't it work? Push the SHIFT key and 3?
What version are you using?
In reply to https://musescore.org/en… by Shoichi
Got it.....! Alt + 3 does the trick.... Many thanks. Dave
The sharp symbol does insert if you use the "alt" key with the "3" key; but only if you use the right hand alt key!?! I don't know why this happens, but my Mac won't insert the sharp symbol if I try to use the left "alt" key with the "3" key. It took a while for me to discover this, so I hope this helps save time and frustration for others. :-)
In reply to The sharp symbol does insert… by mgtcyqgpps
You shouldn't be using Alt at all - to enter sharps into chord symbols, simply type "#". It turns into a sharp sign automatically once you complete entry of the chord symbol. Similarly for "b" and the flat sign. For more on how to enter chord symbols, just see the corresponding section of the online Handbook, which explains everything in great detail.
In reply to You shouldn't be using Alt… by Marc Sabatella
If he's on an Azerty keyboard then AltGr + " is the way to write a normal hash (#). Shift + " is then the number 3.
Ctrl+Alt+" would also result in #, as AltGr is a shortcut key for Ctrl+Alt
In reply to The sharp symbol does insert… by mgtcyqgpps
If you are adding the sharp symbol then it will add to the frustration and waste time. If you add the sharp symbol, MuseScore will not transpose the chord properly if you transpose the score. Transpose it so the sharp should disappear. If the sharp persists, you have entered the symbol rather than the number sign and MuseScore actually does not recognize this as a sharp.
MuseScore expects you to enter a number sign for sharp and small "b" for a flat and it will automatically display the proper symbol. This is something that should be reconsidered for future updates. This is far from the most common issue with chord symbols but it does come up from time to time.
In reply to If you are adding the sharp… by mike320
Actually, this should have been fixed a few updates ago, even if you do enter an explicit sharp sign, it gets converted back to the "#" automatically internally.
In reply to Actually, this should have… by Marc Sabatella
So it did. I missed that.
In reply to If you are adding the sharp… by mike320
Yes, it would be great if the use of the lowercase 'b' to enter a flat could be reconsidered, because it makes it awkward when one actually wants a lowercase 'b' to indicate the first inversion, and likewise 'c' and 'd' for the second and third inversions respectively.
In reply to Yes, it would be great if… by radagasty
I'm not suggesting that the b not be used for the flat sign but I didn't realize that the chord parser now accepts. As for chord symbols, I'm not familiar with using b, c, and d for inversions. I've seen many chord symbols in songs but never seen this. There are other notation systems that do allow for indicating inversions.
In reply to Yes, it would be great if… by radagasty
b is not used for inversion in chord symbols that I have ever seen - only in Roman number analysis, and even then only in a very small circle - students of one or two writers in particular. And if you use the built-in Roman numeral facility, you can force "b" to stay "b" by preceding it with a backslash "\".
If you know of published scores that use b/c/d for inversions ion actual chord symbols, can post a scan and a reference to the publisher, so we can study their unique notation and see if there might be some way to support it?
In reply to b is not used for inversion… by Marc Sabatella
Yes, that's the usage I was referring to, wherein chords are specified by Roman numerals, such that 'I' would mean a major chord on the tonic in root position, whilst 'ivb' would refer to a minor chord on the subdominant in first inversion, and 'IIIc' a major chord on the mediant in second inversion, etc.
I wouldn't say, though, that this is used only within a very small circle. It is the standard notation for harmonic analysis, for instance, in music-theory exams before the AMEB, which is the national music examinations board in Australia, and likewise those before the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music), one of the major music-examinations boards in the UK, and I'll warrant that TCL, the other one, does likewise. Indeed, I would go so far as to assert that this represents standard notation in music theory, and not the idiosyncratic usage of particular authors.
In reply to Yes, that's the usage I was… by radagasty
Letters to indicate inversions seems to be a British (and British Commonwealth) thing. See here for earlier discussion https://musescore.org/en/node/296618. Being a Brit who was taught harmony by a Kiwi, I just thought it was the way it was done, but others (particularly US) seem to differ.
In reply to Yes, that's the usage I was… by radagasty
I wasn't aware it was used in ABRSM, but yes, it's a few British publications where I've seen it, and never anywhere else. The vast majority use 6, 64, 65, 43, 2, etc - that's what I'd consider the standard.
In any case, as I said, the Roman numeral facility does support this. so simply use that rather than trying to use chord symbols for that purpose.
In reply to I wasn't aware it was used… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks for that. I wasn't aware of a roman-numeral facility, but I'll check it out.
As for the use of lowercase letters to indicate inversions, you seem to keep implying that this is a niche thing used in a few publications, but what I'm trying to point out is that it is the standard convention in many countries—perhaps those of the British Commonwealth, as SteveBlower suggests. I have confirmed that TCL also uses this convention—see for instance, their music-theory syllabus, point 4 on page 13 https://www.trinitycollege.com/qualifications/music/grade-exams/theory—and indeed, having lived in the UK for 5 years, I can say that, in my experience, it is the standard there, but the fact that the AMEB also uses it indicates that this is standard across Australia, because that is the (one and only) national music examinations board, and perhaps also NZ, if SteveBlower's teacher is anything to go by.
In reply to Thanks for that. I wasn't… by radagasty
MuseScore can handle that usage anyway no matter whether it is niche or not. You just have to add the escape character "\" before the letter.
In reply to Thanks for that. I wasn't… by radagasty
Understood, it's common in the British Commonwealth, that's good to know for future reference. It's still a minority when considering the whole musical world, though. Not that it matters, just because it's a minority doesn't mean it isn't worth supporting also. So, I'm happy to report the backslash technique works with RNA.
Anyhow, to access the RNA facility, just use Add / Text / Roman Numeral Analysis. And you can define a shortcut in Edit / Preferences / Shortcuts.