Separate notes from lyrics ?

• Nov 2, 2022 - 13:55

Hi , so i made a score for guitar and tab and wrote in the lyrics along the measures underneath. The thing is in order to put lyrics in , it seemed i needed to always have a start note put up , to begin the lyrics at each line from that note . So i want to go back now and put the chords and notes along side the lyrics , but it's like the note i started each line of lyrics on , is tied together , so if i try to delete the note and go back to the beginning and start putting in the chords and notes from the beginning , it deletes the lyrics along with the note. So is there a way to just separate the notes from the lyrics so i can just leave the lyrics and go back to the beginning and start adding chords and notes along as the lyrics go? thanks


Comments

It's not really clear what you mean here - are you saying you attached multiple "fake" lyrics to a single note, not you want to convert them to "real" lyrics that are attached to the real notes? How did you add these fake lyrics if so - as staff text or using Ctrl+Space to separate the words or what?

If you attach your score and describe what you are trying to do in more detail, we can understand and assist better.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Yes , cntrl space separating words, but it seemed like i could not add any lyrics / text without having a note in there where they start. So i would just do , say a low E note , then type a line of lyrics to align with the measures , and at the end of the last measure on that line , i would , i believe hit enter , then on the beginning of the next line of lyrics , i would do a (fake) , low E again and start a new line of lyrics , doing this throughout the whole song. Which works out pretty good on the pages , but now i want to go back and put in the guitar chords and notes( i mean , mostly this is strumming chords on a 12 string , not really any individual notes ) , in along with the lyrics , but it seems each line of lyrics is tied to that one fake note that started each line. So it's like i have the pages of measures and lyrics lined up to them , but now i just want to go back and write the music in along with the lyrics. Its like if i could just separate the connection between notes and lyrics and just start at the beginning writing the music along. But at this point i cant even click at the beginning to add music on the staff.

In reply to by razzbizz

Also is there a way i can write the chord name above the staff at the top? I managed to somehow start adding notes at the beginning , but i am trying to add the chord name above the staff , i select the notes at the beginning and hit " add " , then "text" but it tells me i have no notes selected.

In reply to by razzbizz

So i watched a quick video and got the chord symbol up at the top now. There are no individual notes , so i guess i can just put the next chord where it goes. Is there some kind of up or down strokes one can put in for the strumming? Tough i can't seem to delete any rests or notes that are currently in there , that normally would not be there. I mean i can delete the note , but it deletes the lyrics with it.

In reply to by razzbizz

You shouldn't normally be adding lyrics until you have entered all the notes. The hack of using Ctrl+Space to enter multiple words on a note is on;ly meant for times when you are sure you will never ever add notes. If you have any inkling that you might later add notes, just do it right away, as indeed, there isn't a way to change those "fake" lyrics into real ones.

Sounds like you are saying you still aren't adding real notes, just strum rhythms? Then use a separate voice. Not sure what you mean about not being able to click, though. Best to attach your score and describe what you are trying to do next in more detail.

You wrote:
mostly this is strumming chords on a 12 string , not really any individual notes

The best way, for clarity, is to attach your score explaining precisely what your goal is.
Absent that, for something like strumming, see:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/tools#fill-with-slashes
and:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/tools#toggle-rhythmic-slash-notation

You wrote:
Is there some kind of up or down strokes one can put in for the strumming?

Guitar can use the down/up bowing symbols from the 'Articulations' palette.
If you wish to get fancy, there are down/up arrows available in the 'Arpeggios & Glissandi' palette.

If you are just strumming chords and singing without needing the melody notes to follow, have a look at this score:
Strumming_chords.mscz
I used staff text for lyrics. Staff text "sentences" can be spaced more loosely than the strict note-to-syllable attachment/alignment of actual lyrics text. This is the type of sheet you can print and use to strum chords and sing the melody while reading the chords and lyrics.

Since you haven't attached any score showing precisely what your aim is, I have included some hidden elements used for playback within that attachment:
If you use menu item: Edit > Instruments... you can put a check in the 'visible' boxes.
The hidden Acoustic guitar uses those fancy down/up arrows I mentioned earlier. The quickness of the "strum" can be adjusted via the Arpeggio 'Stretch' setting in the Inspector. This relates more to playback, which you might not be much concerned with.

In reply to by Jm6stringer

That score you posted up there would probably work really well , if i try to add staff text , it still asks for note to be selected. I guess the chord gotta go in first . It would be cool if i could just put all the lyrics on it , then freely just add chords or notes , and put rests or anything where i want them. How you get those pictures of the chords above the staff like in the pic ?

Attachment Size
muse.png 19.73 KB

In reply to by razzbizz

The AI that would be required to figure out how to match the individual syllables of your lyrics to the notes you entered hasn’t been invented yet. Even if it relied on some known algorithm to hyphenate the words into syllables, it would have no idea where there should be multiple notes per syllable, etc. For the foreseeable future, there’s no getting the fact that you need to enter notes first.

Fret diagrams are found on the palette of the same name, and also documented in the corresponding Handbook section.

In reply to by razzbizz

On the basic workspace you’d need to add the palette (look again, it’s there). In Advanced it’s there by default as mentioned.

But it’s beside the point - you shouldn’t be adding g these manually. Simply use Tools / Toggle Rhythmic Slash Notation. To convert ordinary notes into this more correctly (also does the right things regarding playback, transposition, clefs, etc).

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Obviously i am still learning Musescore . Appreciate the help . So i do see it in the tools or add palette options , but how do i add them into the score? It seems like you have to be out of note mode to even select the slash toggle , Also. i put a chord up and it seems to automatically add a rest (quarter rest in this case) , in there , which i wouldn't necessarily want. And i can't seem to remove the rest. I mean it seems i have to have a note selected to possibly add a slash , but there may be no notes there in that spot. I am using guitar + tablature.

In reply to by razzbizz

As mentioned, don't use the palette - it's the wrong way to do it. Use Tools / Toggle Rhythmic Slash Notation.
Simply add the notes, then select the whole range and use that command. See the Handbook section on Tools for more info (and in general, as a new user, an hour or so spent perusing the handbook up front will pay off tenfold in time saved fumbling around!) No idea what you mean about rests though. Toggling rhythmic slash notation doesn't change rests at all. if your original rhythm contains rests, so will your slash version. If your original rhythm doesn't, neither will the slash version.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

I wrote a few scores in Musescore in the past , but they were just instrumentals so it was bit easier , and this was a while ago. But yea , i am seein what your sayin , i think i am starting to get it now . Is there any way to edit the chord diagrams to reflect changes in chords ? Like i see the G diagram , but there comes a time when i add a C to it .

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Thanks for help , Yea i get what your saying , just thinkin if i had full free control of text and lyrics apart , i could put anything where i wanted , i mean , i could divide words into syllables with a dash , and put a rest or whatever there. I just figure it would be easier to write out this way. thanks

In reply to by razzbizz

Is that your own example then? Better to attach the actual score, then, instead of just a picture. but, if you did that in MsueScoire, it's the direct result of trying to use the slash noteheads directly instead of the toggle rhythmic slash notation function. Using slash noteheads directly only changes the notehead. The tool I mentioned fixes everything else for you.

In reply to by razzbizz

Correct, that's one fo the things this tools automates for you, to save you the trouble of silencing them yourself. That's assuming, of course, you didn't actually enter the notes you want to hear. If you went to the trouble of doing that, but for whatever reason don't want to see them, you can still sue the tool, but simply turn the Play property back on.

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.