Having trouble merging staves
I'm having trouble merging staves. I forget if I made these in Musescore or imported a midi, but it is supposed to be a guitar part. It somehow got on two staves. I went to Layout and change instruments, but I see no box to check merge. Is there a way to do this?
Comments
Try https://handbook.musescore.org/notation/instruments-staves-and-systems/… Be sure to save a backup copy before you make changes with an unfamiliar tool!
If that doesn't work, I recommend you attach your score (.MSCZ file) rather than an image.
In reply to Try https://handbook… by TheHutch
I tried following the handbook's instructions for imploding. I imploded each staff separately and then tried to implode both, but it didn't work. I have a sneaking suspician that even if successful it will look awful. My experience with lute tab has shown that you can only have the same note values for each chord. This part is sounding like it would on a guitar, i.e. open strings ringing on.
I should add that following chatGPT's instructions (below), every time I tried to paste, it would crash.
Copy the contents of one staff:
Click on the first measure of the staff you want to merge.
Press Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on Mac) to select all.
Press Ctrl+C (Cmd+C) to copy.
Paste into the other staff:
Click on the first measure of the destination staff (the one you want to keep).
Press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V) to paste.
MuseScore will paste the notes, adjusting them to fit the tab if possible.
Delete the now-empty staff:
Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the staff you don't need anymore.
Choose Staff/Part Properties.
Click Remove from Score.
In reply to I should add that following… by edurbrow
"... following chatGPT's instructions (below), every time I tried to paste, it would crash."
Follow the guidance provided by an immature AI system ??
Expected result: immediate crash
Actual result: immediate crash
Good luck ;-)
In reply to "... following chatGPT's… by DanielR
"I forget if I made these in Musescore or imported a midi, but it is supposed to be a guitar part."
I really doubt this score was written with MuseScore. Et what about a guitar that appears as two independent staves with two Bass clefs!? I'd say it was originally a MIDI file (look at the mess of rhythms and voices - image below) which was then saved in MusicXML format, since this is the source indicated in the Project Properties.
As a result, I don't know if there's any good advice to give you in the state this score is in. It's almost prohibitive (at least, the damaged part), unless you rewrite the whole thing, or find a better, more reliable source.
MuseScore can't repair a faulty file for you, at least not miraculously and with just a couple of clicks :)
In reply to *" I doubt this score was… by cadiz1
Wow, I didn't realize how messed up that looked. The notation doesn't look that bad.
![Screen Shot 2025-04-27 at 11.55.20 PM.png]( "Screen Shot 2025-04-27 at 11.55.20 PM.png")
Anyway, if it can't be made to work, I'll try again. I should be able to import a clean midi file. I went into Logic Pro and shortened all notes, so I should be able to export it again.
Thank you for looking at it. It is so good to know it is not me just not knowing how to do something, otherwise, I might keep posting and trying stuff that would never get me anywhere.
Thank you
In reply to Wow, I didn't realize how… by edurbrow
> "import a clean MIDI file"
There just "ain't no sech animal". MIDI simply doesn't make a good source to import from, if the music is at all complicated. Let's take a look at the four bars you posted. If you inspect the Guitar part, you can see that there are really three voices: the high rhythmic line and a drone in two octaves. Sorted out, that looks like this:
The drone can easily be re-written in a single voice ...
... but probably would best be written as single notes with laissez vibrer.
This now can be written easily and clearly as two voices on a single stave.
In 4.5, the l.v. even plays back correctly. (I think?)
In reply to MIDI simply doesn't make a… by TheHutch
Wow, you went to a lot of trouble to illustrate this problem. Thank you very much.
![Screen Shot 2025-04-28 at 2.13.41 PM.png]( "Screen Shot 2025-04-28 at 2.13.41 PM.png")
This is why tab is so great. It doesn't bother about durations. Your last example is beautiful, but does not reflect how it would really sound played on guitar, with the high Es and Ds ringing until plucked again. Notation looks pretty messy when it is very accurate.
Luckily, I don't care so much about the sound in Musescore. I use a DAW for finished products. I use Musescore for composing. Also, as in this case, for taking a screen shot to put in my lyric book to remind me of how something goes. I try to add as much information as I can fit on two pages. I used to use just chord symbols, but I find that I sometimes forget how I voiced a chord or what the guitar or keyboard pattern was for a piece. Here is an example. If I don't look at this for ten years, I should be reminded how it goes. (Oh, I should put a tempo marking!)
In reply to Wow, you went to a lot of… by edurbrow
> "Your last example is beautiful, but does not reflect how it would really sound played on guitar, with the high Es and Ds ringing until plucked again. Notation looks pretty messy when it is very accurate."
Put a l.v. on Voice 1 then, as well as Voice 2. Prolly need to also extend the notes to remove the rests. (I'm not sure exactly how l.v. sounds in 4.5. The computer I had it installed on died a few weeks ago :-(
In reply to > "Your last example is… by TheHutch
I cleaned up the guitar part in Logic Pro by shortening all notes to eighth notes and exporting just that part as a midi file. Unfortunately Musescore imports it as two bass staves. I copied one stave, chose voice two in the other stave and pasted, but it immediately crashes. Is there another way to merge?
![Screen Shot 2025-04-29 at 12.46.15 AM.png]( "Screen Shot 2025-04-29 at 12.46.15 AM.png")
![Screen Shot 2025-04-29 at 12.51.15 AM.png]( "Screen Shot 2025-04-29 at 12.51.15 AM.png")
In reply to I cleaned up the guitar part… by edurbrow
Success!
![Screen Shot 2025-04-29 at 1.13.47 AM.png]( "Screen Shot 2025-04-29 at 1.13.47 AM.png")
I exported as an XML file and it looked good as notation on one staff. I then converted to guitar tab. In this case, XML beats midi.
In reply to Success! I exported as an… by edurbrow
I was gonna say :-)
XML beats MIDI in every case of transferring music between computers. MIDI is for communicating with MIDI instruments. Good you found that out!!!
In reply to > "Your last example is… by TheHutch
The TAB Ring plugin can provide realistic sustain, even when you condense guitar TAB to a single voice.
https://musescore.org/en/project/tab-ring
https://sites.google.com/view/tab-ring/
In reply to The TAB Ring plugin can… by yonah_ag
So can the laissez vibrer marking in 4.5 (or so I was led to believe???)
In reply to So can the laissez vibrer… by TheHutch
Download 4.5.2, try it for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
In reply to So can the laissez vibrer… by TheHutch
Only MS3 due to missing functionality in MS4.
An emulation mode to achieve the same ring in MS4 is under development.
In reply to So can the laissez vibrer… by TheHutch
That marking works like a piano pedal and therefore makes a mess of guitar sustain.
In reply to So can the laissez vibrer… by TheHutch
The built in "Let Ring" works like a piano pedal and therefore makes a mess of guitar sustain.
https://musescore.org/en/node/286670
(It had these issues in MS3 but not sure about MS4)
In reply to The built in "Let Ring"… by yonah_ag
Same situation in MS4:
https://musescore.com/user/35880724/scores/24986242
I recall hearing something about "Let Ring slurs" but haven't been able to confirm that they exist yet, if they work properly, or if they work well for generating guitarist sustain. I thought I might find the object in the Guitar or Lines palette ...
That said, I get outstandingly realistic results with the TAB Ring plugin!
In reply to Same situation in MS4: https… by scorster
Ah, I was close. Not Let Ring slurs...
They are called Laissez Vibrer ties documented here in the new Handbook:
I've updated my recently embedded score (above) where the second line now illustrates Laissez Vibrer ties.