Can I remove all bar lines and still add notes?
To compose/practice the basics of melodic contour, devoid of rhythmic value (think Cantus Firmus), I require the ability to remove all bar lines and be able to add whole notes indefinitely and enter a bar line as needed between these uninterrupted lines of whole notes.
I noticed that this might not be possible in MuseScore, is that right or am I missing some option?
I can do this in Dorico 5 SE (added a screenshot), but since it's the free version, I cannot control the engraving and am limited to automatic spacing of the notes. There's a %50 discount ongoing, and was thinking about buying Doric 5 Pro, but if it's possible to do this in MuseScore, I'd pass.
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Comments
There is more than one way to do this:
a) retain a (hidden) 4/4 time signature and make all barlines invisible except at the end of each line
b) change the time signature to match the number of beats required in a line
c) don't change the time signature, but instead change the Bar Properties duration to the required number of beats for the line
The example below uses the first technique (invisible barlines).
![Hidden_barlines.png]( "Hidden_barlines.png")
Right-click a single barline, then Select > Similar, press V to toggle all barlines to invisible.
Then manually select each barline at the end of a system, press V to toggle to visible.
For the screenshot, I disabled View > Show >Show invisible :
In reply to There is more than one way… by DanielR
Thank you very much Daniel for the prompt response and for even providing a file as an example!
I will try out these options for sure. In the meantime, I experimented, clicking everything I could, and found that most everything I require is possible in MuseScore (and so much more besides), and the learning curve is 1/4th of Dorico's...
Honestly, it blows my mind that this software is free, the engraving capabilities (for what I need), blow Dorico 5 Pro (Pro!) out of the water in comparison, and that software would have cost me about 580 Euros full price.
Apologies, I got excited and wanted to praise this tool...
Thanks again.