Appalachian / Mountain Dulcimer Tabs in 3.6
So the release notes say that the new version has "Added Mountain Dulcimer instrument and 3-string tab presets."
Where do I find then?
I go ... File -> New (enter information); then I go to "Choose INstrumets" and find "Dulcimer" under "Percussion - Pitched." I add it to the score, remove the bass clef from the score; change the drop-dwn box to "Custom Tabulature"; select the time signature and key signature, click "Finish" andthen ... nothing that looks like a tab setup.
What am I doing wrong?
I already use MuseScore for making mountain dulcimer scores; I put the numbers where the lyrics would go.
It would be nice if MuseScore supported mountain dulcimer tabs, but right now, it's not working for me.
Comments
I typed Dulcimer into the search box of that dialog and saw "Mtn. Dulcimer (Tablature)" as one of the options. i chose that, and all was set up for me already.
I think the pitched percussion version you selected is something else, there are multiple instruments by that name. The one you want would be found under strings (plucked). But again, easier to use the search box.
In reply to I typed Dulcimer into the… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks. I'll have some screen shots when I have some time to gather them.
As it turns out, I guess I don't want dulcimer tabs! Or at least ONLY dulcimer tabs. I play with tabs but I like to see standard musical notation as well, as it helps me see where a song is gone, and I rely on it for time values.
In reply to Thanks. I'll have some… by johnrlaplante
Then do just as I described above - adding "Mtn. Dulcimer (Tablature)", then click the resulting staff in the list at right and click either "add staff" or "add linked staff", depending on whether you want the notation on the two staves automatically linked or not. Then change one of the staves from tablature to standard in that same dialog.
In reply to Then do just as I described… by Marc Sabatella
I've just tried what you kindly suggested, I could open a mountain dulcimer staff with a linked tablature (screenshot), but the tablature staff still is not diatonic, which I'm afraid makes it useless. I've added a screenshot of how it looks in tabledit.
In reply to I've just tried it, I could… by ortelius
" but the tablature staff still is not diatonic, which I'm afraid makes it useless"
Of course, there was confusion or rather a misunderstanding here. This feature is simply not implemented, see: #153016: add mountain dulcimer incl. a tab preset
EDIT: the new one is here: #316705: Request for a Diatonic instrument definition
It was one of the "ideas" of the Google Summer of Code (in ...2020, so, you understand what happens), see: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/developers-handbook/google-summer-cod…
Meanwhile, you can try this plugin (works not completely well - for now, for some reason, the obtained result after Applying the plugin is lost after Save/Reload - , but can be useful maybe in some way for you ? ), see: #316484: Changes to TAB made by PlugIn not saved
The included Plugin is this one: MtnDulcimer-TransCromoTABtoDiatonic(1).qml
In reply to I typed Dulcimer into the… by Marc Sabatella
Are you typing Dulcimer in the search box when adding instruments? I'm asking because when I do it, I don't get anything.
In reply to Are you typing Dulcimer in… by jeanbr
Maybe it is translated differently for your language?
In reply to Are you typing Dulcimer in… by jeanbr
Also be sure you have a recent version of MuseScore (current is 3.6.2). I think dulcimer was added only some time in the last few years, so very old versions probably won't have it.
In reply to Are you typing Dulcimer in… by jeanbr
Check https://musescore.org/en/instruments for all instruments available in 3.6.2 (and find https://musescore.org/en/instruments/dulcimer)
Hmm, strange "Mnt. Dulcimer" is not there, but is in the Add Instruments dialog.
1: If you just type "dulcimer" what you get is the Hammered Dulcimer instrument. Mountain Dulcimer is, of course, a completely different instrument.
2: I created a plugin that may help you. One plugin will create Mtn Dulcimer TAB from a standard notation staff. It is posted as Mountain Dulcimer - SMN to Diatonic TAB.
3: I just now fixed the issue noted in the other plugin. Tho it is still a work in process it does work, and in the end may not require much more tuning to formally publish it. It is available on my github: Musescore Plugin Chromo2DiatonicTab
In reply to 1: If you just type … by rocchio
I just entered Dulcimer and got Mnt. Dulcimer, 6 different ones
In reply to I just entered Dulcimer and… by Jojo-Schmitz
Yes, agree. I just tried it and got the same. So the search feature does actually work as designed : )
In reply to 1: If you just type … by rocchio
Also, if it helps, you can take a look at a score I created with Mtn Dulcimer TAB; using the common Mtn Dulcimer community's typical convention of including both the SMN and TAB staffs. See Danny Boy.
The dulcimer part in the above score looks like this:
![DannyBoy_ClipShot.png]( "DannyBoy_ClipShot.png")
In reply to Also, if it helps, you can… by rocchio
I found the tab staff, but how do I specify what number is entered if not 0?
In reply to I found the tab staff, but… by Loribeals
Have a look at the handbook page, which should contain the information you seek: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/tablature
In reply to Also, if it helps, you can… by rocchio
Jeff: We just used your Chromo TAB 2 Diatonic plugin for creating diatonic mtn dulcimer TAB. It worked great and was super easy! Thanks!
In reply to Jeff: We just used your… by mfredrickson
Excellent - thanks for letting me know. (I've had a busy start to the year, so just seeing this post now).