Beginning thoughts on first steps
Here is another newbie first question: When setting up the initial score sheet for your new song, do you add enough measures that will in essence give you enough staffs that you feel will complete the song without having to add more? In other words say your song will consist of 4 staffs for the verses and 4 staffs for the chorus do you start with enough measures that will make up 8 staffs, or do you take them a staff at a time?
Comments
Start with the instruments you want to use. For example, piano, guitar, base, and flute. That's four instruments or staves. Staves are made up of measures. You can always add more of both.
Here, I'm assuming you already have your instrument(s) selected.
Enter the number of measures. Then, as you fill them with notes, lyrics, etc., they will stretch to accommodate the content and MuseScore will automatically start a new system (line of music) when needed.
You can guess at the total number of measures initially needed as it is very easy to append additional measures, or to remove any empty trailing measures when you are done.
If you are copying note-for-note from an original score - let's say it has 80 measutres total - you can place 80 empty measures in Musescore (initially "scrunched up" on several lines) and start copying the notes. When you copy to the end of the first line of the original (i.e., the first system), you can place a system break in MuseScore which will move any remaining empty measures onto a new line (system)..
Another way...
If you are copying note-for-note from an original score - let's say it has 80 measutres total - you can start with 80 empty measures (initially "scrunched up" on several lines), and, before entering a single note, add system breaks to mimic the measure layout of the original score. In other words, if the original has 4 measures on a system, you can put a system break after every 4 measures and get 20 systems of 4 measures each - just like the original. Then you can enter the notes in these "spaced out" measures. This method may make it easier to find your way when shifting your gaze from the original score to the MuseScore copy.
Don't think in terms of staffs at all here. Just like in a word processor, you don't think in terms of lines - you simply add words, and the lines and pages take care of themselves. Same in MuseScore - add measures, and the systems and pages take care of themselves. Whether you start with too few measures then add more later via Add / Measures, or start with too many then delete the extra with Tools / Remove Select Range, doesn't really matter. make your best guess, then correct as necessary.
BTW, note that the correct term for what you are talking about is "systems", not "staffs" (or "staves"). The number of staves in a song seldom changes 0 a score for one instrument has one staff, unless it's a piano in which case it has two. A score for a string quarter has four staves, a bras octet has eighth staves, etc. But it has multiple systems according to how long the piece is. So be sure to understand the different here when reading the Handbook or answers given here. To add a staff to a score, you go to Edit / Instruments, because the main reason you would add a staff is for another instrument. To add a system to a score, again, it's like a word processor - just add measures and the systems take care of themselves.