Handbook for MuseScore 2

This handbook is for MuseScore versions 2.0 to 2.3.2. It is maintained and translated by the MuseScore community. Find out how you can help.
The Handbook for MuseScore 3.x is available here.
(If you are still using MuseScore 1.x, you can access the old handbook).

Getting started

This chapter helps you to install and run MuseScore for the first time. The chapter will also show you how to create a new score.

Basics

The previous →"Getting started" chapter guides you through the installation and process for creating a new score. The "Basics" chapter gives an overview of MuseScore and describes the general methods for interacting with the score.

Notation

In the previous →"Basics" chapter you learn how to enter notes and interact with the palettes. The "Notation" chapter describes the different types of notation in more detail, including more advanced music notation.

See also →Advanced topics.

Sound and playback

MuseScore has "Sound and playback" capabilities built-in. This chapter covers the playback controls and ways to extend the instrument sounds.

Text

Many score elements in MuseScore are based on text, either alone (e.g., staff text, dynamics, tempo, fingering, lyrics, etc.) or in combination with lines (e.g., voltas, octave lines, guitar barre lines, etc.).

This chapter covers some of the different classes of text MuseScore supports, and formatting options.

Other types of text are covered in other chapters:

Formatting

Advanced topics

New features in MuseScore 2

For an overview about the new features, see

Documentation of new features are available in the chapter they belong to logically (except the one that is referring to upgrading from 1.x), but for users coming from 1.x here's a collection of links to be able to see at a glance what can be done now...

Support

This chapter describes how to find help using MuseScore: the best places to look, the best way to ask a question on the forums, and tips for reporting a bug.

Appendix