Edit mode

Edit mode allows you to perform a wide range of editing operations on individual score elements, such as:

• adjust the length and shape of slurs, lines, barlines etc.
• add, delete and format text in text objects.
• adjust the position of most score elements (but not text).

Enter/exit edit mode

To enter Edit mode use any of the following methods:

• Double-click an element.
• Right-click on an element and, from the menu, select Edit Element.
• Click on an element and press Ctrl+E (Mac: Cmd+E).

To exit Edit mode use any of the following:

• Press Esc.
• Click on a blank area of the document window.

Text

For text edit mode, see Text editing.

Lines

Lines—such as slurs, ties, hairpins, voltas etc.— display square adjustment handles in Edit mode: these turn blue when selected. A slur, for example, looks like this:

The end handles are used to adjust the length of the line. The middle handle is used to adjust its vertical position. In the case of slurs and ties, there are also three more handles to adjust the shape of the curve (see image above).

To reposition a handle, click on it and use a keyboard shortcut (see below). Alternatively you can drag the handle with a mouse.

Each end handle is connected by a dotted line to an anchor on the staff. The start and end anchors mark the boundaries of the region of the score under the control of the line. By default, an end handle is positioned vertically above its anchor.

• To move both an end handle and its attached anchor: Click on the handle and use Shift+→ or Shift+←.
• To move an end handle without affecting its anchor: Click on the handle and use either the left/right keyboard arrows or a corresponding Ctrl (Mac: ⌘) command. See keyboard shortcuts below.

Notes

Offset notes

Sometimes it is necessary to shift a note to the right or left—to avoid a collision with another element or to override automatic notehead sharing for example:

1. Enter Edit mode on the desired note;
2. Press the arrow key in the direction (left or right) that you wish to nudge the note (or use Ctrl+← or Ctrl+→ for larger adjustments);
3. Press the Esc key. This will allow the note stem to be redrawn.

Alternatively, you can select the notehead and change the "Horizontal offset" (under "Chord") in the Inspector.

Adjust note stem length

1. Enter Edit mode on the desired note stem;
2. Use keyboard shortcuts (below) to extend or shorten the stem;
3. Exit edit mode.

Note: To reposition a note stem, you should select it and adjust the "Horizontal offset" in the Inspector.

Keyboard shortcuts

In Edit mode the following keyboard commands can be used to change the position of either (1) a score element (e.g. ornament, accidental etc.) or (2) an adjustment handle (e.g. slur, line etc.):

• ←: Move left 0.1 staff space.
• →: Move right 0.1 staff space
• ↑: Move up 0.1 staff space
• ↓: Move down 0.1 staff space
• Ctrl+← (Mac: ⌘+←): Move left one staff space
• Ctrl+→ (Mac: ⌘+→): Move right one staff space
• Ctrl+↑ (Mac: ⌘+↑): Move up one staff space
• Ctrl+↓ (Mac: ⌘+↓): Moves down one staff space
• Alt+←: Move left 0.01 staff space
• Alt+→: Move right 0.01 staff space
• Alt+↑: Move up 0.01 staff space
• Alt+↓: Move down 0.01 staff space

The following commands only apply to adjustment handles:

• Shift+←: Move end handle's anchor left by one note/rest.
• Shift+→: Move end handle's anchor right by one note/rest.
• Tab: Go to next handle.

See also

• Text editing
• Slur
• Bracket
• Line
• Beam
• Hairpin

Palettes and workspaces

To the left of the document window is the Workspace. This can be toggled on and off using the menu command, View → Palettes, or the shortcut, F9.

A workspace, in turn, consists of a number of palettes. Each palette is a folder containing a group of musical symbols.

Workspaces

MuseScore provides two preset workspaces: Basic (the default option) and Advanced (a version with more palettes and symbols). These contain symbols drawn from the various sections of the Master palette. In addition, you can create your own custom workspaces (below).

• To switch between workspaces: Use the drop-down menu at the bottom of the workspace panel.

The names of palettes within a workspace are listed under the title "Palettes."

Single Palette Mode

If you only want to allow one palette to open at a time, right click at the top of the workspace and check the "Single palette" box. This will cause a palette to automatically close when you open a different one.

Docking/undocking

To dock or undock a workspace, see Side panels.

Custom workspace

A custom workspace allows you to select which palettes are listed, and to customize the contents of those palettes.

To create a customizable workspace:

1. Select an existing workspace. Use the drop-down list at the bottom of the workspace panel if needed.
2. Click the + button, enter a name for the new workspace and press OK. The new workspace is added to the panel.

Alternatively you can use the menu option:

1. Select Edit → Workspaces, and chose a workspace.
2. Select New. Fill in the new workspace name and click OK.

Right-clicking over the workspace will display a menu: this has options allowing you to insert, delete, rename and reorder the palettes within it. The contents of individual palettes can be edited in a similar fashion once you've checked "Enable Editing" for a palette. For more details, see Custom palettes and Palette menu (below).

Palettes

Open/close palette

• Click once on the name of the palette or its accompanying side-arrow.

Apply symbols from a palette

A palette symbol may be applied to the score using one of the following methods:

• Select one or more score elements and double click the palette symbol.
• Drag and drop the symbol onto the desired score element in the staff.

Tip: To prevent accidental rearrangement of contents during use, right-click over a palette name and untick "Enable Editing."

For example, to add tenuto marks (—) to a selection of notes:

1. Select the desired notes.
2. In the Articulations & Ornaments palette, double-click on the tenuto symbol

Once added to the score, objects can be copied, pasted, and duplicated—see Copy and paste.

Preset palettes (Advanced workspace)

The more fully-featured Advanced workspace contains the following palettes:

• Grace Notes
• Clefs
• Key Signatures
• Time Signatures
• Barlines
• Lines
• Arpeggios and Glissandi
• Breaths and pauses
• Brackets
• Articulations and Ornaments
• Accidentals
• Dynamics
• Fingering
• Note Heads
• Tremolo
• Repeats and Jumps
• Tempo
• Text
• Breaks and Spacers
• Bagpipe Embellishments
• Beam Properties
• Frames and Measures
• Fretboard Diagrams

Custom palettes

Once you have created a custom workspace (see above), and enabled editing (see Palette menu below), you can customize the palettes within it to your own requirements.

To add an existing score element (such as a line, text, dynamic, fretboard diagram etc.) to a custom palette:

• Press and hold Ctrl+Shift (Mac: Cmd+Shift), then drag the symbol onto the palette.

To add a symbol to a custom workspace from the Master palette:

• Drag the symbol from the Master Palette window into a custom palette.

To re-arrange a symbol in a custom palette:

• Drag the symbol to the cell you want it to display in: it will swap places with the symbol currently occupying that cell.

Palette menu

Right-clicking on the name of a palette in a custom workspace brings up this menu:

• Palette Properties...: Adjust the appearance of the open palette:

  

  • Name
  • Cell Size: Width, Height
  • Element Offset: Adjust the vertical offset of all elements in the palette.
  • Scale: Make all palette elements appear larger or smaller.
  • Show grid: Visually divide the palette into cells, one for each element.
  • Show ‘More Elements…’: Create a cell which opens the Master Palette.
• Insert New Palette: Create a new empty palette.
• Move Palette Up / Move Palette Down: Reorder the palettes.
• Enable Editing: Allow modifying the contents of the palette.
• Save Palette: Save as an .mpal file.
• Load Palette: Load an .mpal file.
• Delete Palette: Remove the palette from the workspace entirely.

Right-clicking on an element within a palette (if editing of the palette is enabled) brings up this menu:

• Clear: Remove the element from the palette
• Properties...: Open the Palette Cell Properties dialogue:
  • Name: The tooltip that appears when you mouse over the element.
  • Content offset (X, Y): Adjust the position of the element in the palette.
  • Content scale: Make the element appear larger or smaller in the palette.
  • Draw staff: Draw the five lines of a musical staff behind the palette element.
• More Elements: Open the relevant Master Palette section.

Note: Changing values in "Palette Cell Properties" only affects the appearance of elements in the palette. It does not change their sizes or offsets on the score page.

Behavior of applied text and lines

If the symbol you are adding to the score from a palette contains a text element (e.g. staff text, dynamic, fingering, volta etc.), then properties such as font-type, font-size, text color, and alignment will adapt according to the following rules:

1. Text properties which have not been altered by the user will adopt the relevant, prevailing text styles.

2. Custom text-properties—i.e. those changed by the user before saving the symbol to a custom palette—remain as customized.

By contrast, the line properties of lines applied from a palette always remain unchanged (i.e. as set by the user before saving to a custom workspace, or as predefined in the Basic/Advanced workspaces).

See also

• Master palette

Inspector and object properties

Most score elements have properties that can be edited in one of two ways:

• Click on any element, and many of its properties can be viewed and changed from the Inspector panel on the right-hand side of your screen.

• Right-click on an element and select an option with the word Properties in it. This option opens a dialog with advanced properties, only available for certain types of elements.

Inspector

The Inspector is shown by default on the right of your screen. It can be displayed or hidden from the menu: select View and check/uncheck Inspector, or use the shortcut F8 (Mac: fn+F8).

In the Inspector, the properties of any selected object are displayed and can be edited. This applies to virtually every single element in the score window—notes, text, barlines, articulations etc. Multiple elements can also be selected and edited simultaneously, as long as they are of the same type. However, if the selected objects are of different types, then the Inspector restricts you to editing color and visibility only.

The Inspector panel can be un-docked to become a floating panel by clicking the double-chevron symbol or double-clicking the top bar of the panel.

To re-attach the panel double-click on the top bar again. See also: Side panels.

Inspector categories

When you select one or more elements of a specific type, the properties which can be edited are conveniently divided into categories in the Inspector. Categories can be identified by their bold, centered lettering. For example, if you select a barline, you will see the following displayed at the top of the Inspector:

For details about how to adjust the properties of various score elements, refer to the relevant sections in the handbook. However, a few general points will be covered here:

Element

All score elements, except frames, breaks and spacers, display this category in the Inspector when selected. The various options are as follows:

• Visible: Uncheck this box to make selected elements invisible: alternatively, use the shortcut V (toggle). Invisible elements do not appear in the music when printed out or exported as a PDF or image. If you still want them to remain on display in the document window, make sure that the "Show Invisible" option is selected in View → Show Invisible. Invisible elements will then be colored light gray.

• Color: Click on the rectangle to open a "Color Select" dialog. Adjust the color and opacity of selected elements.

• Horizontal offset / Vertical offset: Allows you to position selected elements exactly (in terms of space units). A positive number moves the elements right or down; a negative number moves the elements left or up. Snap to grid buttons are also provided.

Element Group

This category is displayed only when you have selected a mixture of different types of elements, and allows editing of color and visibility only.

Segment

This category is used to increase or decrease the space before/after an element in a music staff. Adjusting leading/trailing space here also affects any associated lyric syllables.

Chord

This category is displayed only if notes are selected. Any change to a notehead property under Chord affects the whole chord (i.e. all the notes in one voice) at that location—and not just the selected note. If you want to make changes to the position of just one note in a chord, then use the Element category (above).

Note

This category allows you to make changes to selected notes (but for note position—see Element). It contains the following properties:

• Small: Make notehead smaller (you can specify the relative size of all small notes from the menu: Style → General… → Sizes…).
• Head group: See Notehead groups.
• Head type: See Notehead types.
• Mirror head: Position notehead to the left or right of the stem (default is "Auto").
• Tuning: Adjust tuning of note to the nearest cent.
• Play: Unticking this box silences the note.
• Velocity type: Sets the MIDI velocity of notes directly. Chose one of two options:
  • Offset: Make the value shown in "Velocity" relative to the previous dynamic marking.
  • User: Make the value shown in "Velocity" absolute (i.e. the MIDI velocity is unaffected by dynamic markings).
• Velocity: Set the MIDI velocity according to the option displayed in "Velocity type."
• Fix to line: When ticked, the note is fixed to the top line of the standard 5-line staff.
• Line: A positive number moves the "fixed" note down; a negative number moves it upwards.

Select

This category appears differently according to the selection you have made:

• If you select a notehead, the "Select" category displays buttons which allow you to easily switch the selection to the stem, beam, hook, duration dot (or dots) or tuplet number associated with the notehead (see image below).

• If you select a range of measures, the "Select" category allows you to select either all notes, grace notes (from version 2.1) or rests.

Beam

This section is displayed in the Inspector when you select one or more note beams, and allows you to make fine adjustments to beam position and angle, and also change the spacing of beamed notes. See Adjust beam with the inspector.

Clef

This section appears when you select a clef: the tick box allows you to turn on/off the display of a preceding courtesy clef.

Properties dialogs

Properties of some objects are accessed by right-clicking on the object and choosing a "Properties" option from the context menu: these are in addition to the object's properties displayed in the Inspector.

(Note: Properties should not be confused with Styles. Changes to properties only affect the single element selected; all style controls apply to the entire score.)

Articulation properties

Right-click on an articulation and select Articulation Properties... See Articulations and ornaments.

Fretboard diagram properties

Right-click on a fretboard diagram and select Fretboard Diagram Properties... Allows you to create custom fretboard diagrams. See Edit fretboard diagram.

Line properties

Right-click on a line and select Line Properties... There are settings for the beginning, end, or continuation of the line. You can add or remove text, adjust the text's placement, and set the length and angle of optional hooks. Click the ... button to access text properties for text included in the line. See Custom lines and line properties.

Measure properties

Right-click on an empty part of the measure and select Measure Properties... Adjust visibility, bar duration, repeats, stretch and numbering. See Measure properties.

Staff properties

Right-click either an empty part of a measure or the name of an instrument and select Staff Properties... This dialog allows you to adjust attributes of both the single staff and the instrument it is a part of. See Staff properties.

Text properties

Right click on a text-based element and select Text Properties... See Text styles and properties. If the element is a line with text in it, see → above.

Time signature properties

Right-click on a time signature and select Time Signature Properties... Used to adjust appearance of time sig. and beam properties of notes. See Time signatures.

See also

• Measure operations
• Note input
• Layout and formatting
• Staff properties
• Part extraction

Measure operations

Note: To ensure that inserted or appended measures display correctly, multimeasure rests should be set to off (toggle M).

Select

Single measure

• To select a single measure, click on a space within the measure.

Range of measures

• To select a continuous range of measures, see Shift + click selection and Shift selection.

Insert

Insert an empty measure into the score

Use one of the following options:

• Select a measure or a frame, then press Ins (no shortcut on Mac).
• Select a measure or a frame, then chose from the menu: Add→Measures→Insert Measure.

Insert multiple measures

Use one of the following options:

• Select a measure or a frame, then press Ctrl+Ins (no shortcut on Mac); fill in the "Number of measures to insert" field and press OK.
• Select a measure or a frame, then chose from the menu: Add→Measures→Insert Measures...; fill in the "Number of measures to insert" field and press OK.

Append

Append an empty measure to the end of a score

Use one of the following options:

• Press Ctrl+B (Mac: ⌘+B).
• Select from the menu: Add→Measures→Append One Measure.

Append multiple measures to the end of a score

Use one of the following options:

• Press Alt+Shift+B (Mac: Option+Shift+B); fill in the "Number of measures to append" field and press OK.
• Select from the menu: Add→Measures→Append Measures...; fill in the "Number of measures to append" field and press OK.

Delete

Delete a single measure

1. Select the measure;
2. Press Ctrl+Del (Mac: Cmd+Del); or from the menu, select Edit→Measures→Delete Selected Measures.

Delete a range of measures

1. Select the range of measures to delete;
2. Press Ctrl+Del (Mac: Cmd+Del); or from the menu, select Edit→Measures→Delete Selected Measures.

Notes: (1) In multi-staff scores, measure deletion also removes all corresponding measures in the other staves of the system; (2) If you wish to delete only the measure contents (and not the measure itself), use the Del command instead at step "2."

Properties

To edit the properties of a measure, right-click an empty part of the measure and select Measure Properties...:

You can use the buttons, at the bottom left of the dialog, to navigate to the previous or next measure.

Staves

• The visible property allows you to show/hide the notes and staff lines for the current measure.
• The stemless property allows you to show/hide all note stems for the current measure. Notes that normally have a stem such as half notes (minims) and quarter notes (crotchets) only show the note head when marked as stemless.

Measure duration

This feature allows you to adjust the time signature of a single measure regardless of the time signature indicated in the score. You can use it to create a pickup measure (also known as anacrusis or upbeat), cadenza, ad lib section etc.

• Nominal is the apparent time signature and cannot be edited.
• Actual can be set to anything you like regardless of the nominal time signature.

Example: In the image below, the quarter note pickup measure has a nominal time signature of 4/4, but an actual time sig. of 1/4. The measures in the middle are in normal 4/4 time. The complementary measure at the end of the staff, with a dotted half note, has an actual time sig. of 3/4.

Other

Exclude from measure count

Use "Exclude from measure count" for "irregular" measures, i.e. ones that should not get counted in the measure numbering. Normally, a pickup measure is marked as "Exclude from measure count".

Add to measure number

You can also use the "Add to measure number" option to influence the measure numbering. You can enter positive or negative numbers here. Please note that this affects all subsequent measures. A value of "-1" has the same effect as marking a measure to be excluded from measure count.

Layout stretch

You can increase or decrease horizontal space between score elements (notes, rests, etc.) with this option. This provides a more precise control over the exact same measure spacing property as the menu commands or keyboard shortcuts for Increase/Decrease Stretch ({ and }), which are accessed outside of the Measure Properties dialog while a measure is selected.

Play Count (as of version 2.1) / Repeat count (prior to version 2.1)

If the measure contains an end repeat barline, you can define how often it is played.

Break multi-measure rests

This property will separate a multi-measure rest at the start of the selected measure. This option should be checked before you turn on the "Create multi-measure rests" option in Style→General..., in the "Score" tab.

Multi-measure rests are automatically broken at important breaks, such as rehearsal marks, time signature changes, double barlines, irregular measures, etc. The default for scores is off, for parts is on.

Numbering

MuseScore automatically numbers the first measure of each System (except for the first system, actually except for a measure with the number 1), but more numbering options are possible. From the main menu, choose Style→General..., in the left pane, choose the "Header, Footer, Numbers" tab. At the bottom of the right pane is the "Measure Numbers" ("Bar Numbers") section.

Mark the checkbox next to the "Measure Numbers" ("Bar Numbers") to turn on automatic measure numbers.

Mark "Show first" if you want the first measure numbered.

Mark "All staves" if you want numbers on all staves. Otherwise, only the top staff of each system shows measure numbers.

Choose to show numbers on "Every system" which numbers the first measure of each line, or show numbers by "Interval" and specify the size of the interval. For example, an interval of 1 numbers every measure; an interval of 5 numbers every fifth measure.

Split and join

You may want have to have a longer or shorter measure without changing the time signature. You can change a measure's duration in Measure Properties, but there is now a new option to split or join measures. (Beams may be automatically modified.)

Join measures

1. Select the measures you want to join;
2. From the menu bar, select Edit→Measure→Join Selected Measures.

Note: If you select measures on only one staff in a score with multiple staves, the same measures will be joined in each staff of the system.

For example, the image below shows the result of applying the Join command to four measures in the top staff:

Split a measure

1. Select a note (or chord);
2. From the menu bar, select Edit→Measure→Split Measure Before Selected Note.

Note: If you select only one note from one staff, each staff of the system will be split at the same place.

External links

• How to delete measures
• How to span a measure over multiple systems
• How to get scores without time signature (and clef)

Voices

A voice is a musical line or part which can have its own rhythm independently of other voices on the same staff. Voices are sometimes called "layers" in other notation software.

You can have up to 4 voices on each staff line. In a polyphonic measure, voice 1 usually takes the up-stem notes and voice 2 takes the down-stem notes.

N.B. Be careful not to confuse the concept of MuseScore voices (1, 2, 3, 4) with the order of voices found in vocal scores (SATB etc.). In particular, when creating a closed SATB score, use only (MuseScore) voices 1 and 2 for both upper and lower staves. There is no need to use (MuseScore) voices 3 and 4 unless there are more than two parts in the same staff.

When to use voices

• If you need stems pointing in opposite directions within a chord, on a single staff.
• If you need notes of different durations within a single staff, played simultaneously.

How to enter notes in different voices

The following instructions show you how to notate a passage of music in two voices:

1. Enter voice 1 notes first: Make sure you are in note input mode : the Voice 1 button becomes highlighted in blue in the toolbar. Enter the notes in the top voice first. When inputting, some notes may have down-stems, but these will flip automatically when the second voice is added.

   The following excerpt shows a treble staff with just the voice 1 notes entered:

   

2. Move cursor back to start of section: When you have finished entering a section of voice 1 notes, press the ← key repeatedly to move the cursor, note-by-note, back to the first note of the section; or alternatively use Ctrl+← (Mac:Cmd+←) to move the cursor back one measure at a time. Or else you can simply exit note input mode (press Esc) and click directly on the first note.

3. Enter voice 2 notes: Make sure you are in note-input mode and that the voice 1 note at the beginning of the section is selected. Click on the "Voice 2" button (on the right of the toolbar), or use the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+2 (Mac: Cmd+Option+2). Enter all the lower voice notes (down-stem).

The following image shows the above example after the addition of voice 2 notes:

Deleting and hiding rests

All rests can be made invisible if required (select the rest and press V, or uncheck the "Visible" checkbox in the Inspector). Rests in voices 2, 3 or 4 can also be deleted but it is not usually recommended: make them invisible instead. Rests in voice 1 cannot be deleted.

Restoring deleted rests

If a rest has been deleted in voices 2-4, you will need to restore it before you can enter a note on that beat in that voice (the problem may arise, for example, in imported XML or MIDI files). The easiest way to fix such a measure is to exchange that voice with voice 1 twice. For the exact method, see Exchange voices of notes (below).

Exchange voices of notes

To swap the notes between any two voices:

1. Select one or more continuous measures (or a range of notes);
2. From the Menu bar, select Edit → Voices;
3. Select the option for the two voices you want to exchange.

Notes: (a) The selection can encompass content of any voice, but only two will be processed at once. (b) If you select a partial measure the operation will still apply to the whole measure.

Move notes to another voice (without swapping)

You can also move notes from one voice to another (without note-swapping):

1. Ensure you are not in note input mode.
2. Select one or more noteheads (in any voice).
3. Click on the destination voice in the Note Input toolbar or use the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+1–4 (Mac: Cmd+Option+1-4).

Note: For a successful move, the following conditions need to be met:

• The chord in the destination voice must be the same duration as the note to be moved there.
• Alternatively, if the destination voice is occupied by a rest, it must be of sufficient duration to accommodate the moved note.
• Notes should not be tied.

See also

• Keyboard shortcuts: Voices
• Noteheads: Shared noteheads

External links

• How to merge/combine/implode two staves in one with two voices
• Video tutorial: How To Write Two Parts On One Staff: Voices

Copy and paste

MuseScore supports standard copy, cut, paste and (from version 2.1) swap with clipboard operations. These commands can be applied to a range of:

• Musical notes: e.g. to repeat a section of music, or shift a passage by a beat or a measure.
• Other score elements: such as articulations, staff text, dynamics, fingering etc.

Note: Lines cannot be copied but they can be duplicated (see below).

Copy/cut/paste/swap commands are accessed in three ways:

• From the Edit menu (above the document window).
• From the menu displayed by right-clicking on an element or range of elements.
• Using one of the standard keyboard shortcuts.

Summary of commands

Command	Kbd Shortcut (Win)	Kbd Shortcut (Mac)	Right-click menu	Main menu
Cut	Ctrl+X	Cmd+X	Cut	Edit → Cut
Copy	Ctrl+C	Cmd+C	Copy	Edit → Copy
Paste	Ctrl+V	Cmd+V	Paste	Edit → Paste
Swap with clipboard	Ctrl+Shift+X	Cmd+Shift+X	Swap with Clipboard	Edit → Swap with clipboard

Note: Before carrying out a copy, cut, paste or swap procedure, you should be in normal mode. Press the Esc key to exit into normal mode.

Notes

You can cut, copy, paste or swap notes as follows:

Copy or cut

To copy/cut a single chord

1. Hold down Shift and click on a note in the chord.
2. Apply a Copy or Cut option (see table above).

To copy/cut a range of chords

1. Click on the first note or measure that you want to select.
2. Shift+Click on the last note or measure that you want to select. A blue rectangle highlights the region you selected.
3. Apply a Copy or Cut option (see table above).

Paste

1. Click on the note or measure where you want your pasted selection to begin.
2. Apply a Paste option (see table above).

Swap with Clipboard

Available from version 2.1 onwards, the swap with clipboard operation combines two commands into one: (1) First it overwrites a selected part of the score with the contents of the clipboard, just like the paste command; (2) Secondly, it transfers the overwritten part of the score back to the clipboard, just like the copy command.

It can be used, for example, to swap two equal-length sections of a score, A and B:

1. Select section A, then apply the cut command;
2. Clear the selection (by pressing Esc or clicking on a blank area of the document window);
3. Press Shift and click on a note at the start of section B. Or, if B begins at the start of a measure, you can also simply select the measure;
4. Apply a Swap with clipboard option (see table above).
5. Section B is now in the clipboard. Paste it back to the blank area of score left by step "1."

Copy pitch of a single note only

It is possible to copy the pitch of a note only (and no other properties), by clicking on the notehead and applying the standard copy and paste, or copy and swap procedure. The pitch of the destination note changes to match that of the copied note but the duration remains the same.

Other elements

Score elements such as staff text, dynamics, fingering, etc. can be cut, copied and pasted one at a time (but from version 2.2 multiple-selection cut/copy/paste is possible for fretboard diagrams).

Multiple-selection cut/copy/paste is available for articulations such as sforzato, staccato etc.

Note: The Swap with clipboard command is only intended for use with sections of music and not other score elements.

Copy or cut

1. Select the element (or elements).
2. Apply a Copy or Cut option (see table above).

Paste

1. Click on the note where you want your pasted selection to begin.
2. Apply one of the Paste options (see table above).

In the case of articulations, they are pasted to the destination notes in exactly the same order (continuous or intermittent) as they were in the initial selection.

Quick repeat

To quickly copy and paste a note, measure, or passage:

1. Select a chord, measure, or passage as described above.
2. Press R .

MuseScore copies and pastes the selected notation to a point immediately after the last note in the selection. Any existing music in the destination range is replaced.

Duplicate

To instantaneously copy and paste a text element, line, or other object:

1. Hold down Ctrl+Shift (Mac: Cmd+Shift), click on the element and drag it anywhere in the score.
2. Release the mouse button, and the selected element is cloned to the new location.

Selection filter

The Selection Filter allows you to chose exactly which voices and elements you want to include in your selection.

• To display the Selection filter, press F6 (Mac: fn+F6); or from the menu, chose View→Selection Filter.

The Selection Filter appears by default below the Palettes. To change the viewing location, see Viewing and Navigation: Side panels.

Example: Suppose you want to copy measures 1 and 2 in the following passage (see image), to give measures 3 and 4:

1. Make sure the Selection Filter is displayed (see above);
2. Uncheck the "Articulations & Ornaments" and "Slurs" tickboxes;
3. Copy and paste the desired measures (in this example, 1-2 into 3-4).

Note: The Selection Filter works with the swap with clipboard command as well.

See also

If you want to change notes without altering the rhythm, you may combine transposition or re-pitch mode with copy and paste.

External links

• Video tutorial: Lyrics, copying & dynamics

Selection modes

Objects in the score—such as notes, measures, articulations etc.—can be selected in several ways: (1) one at a time, (2) as a continuous range, or (3) as a list.

Select a single object

Most score objects can be selected by simply clicking on them in "normal" (i.e. not note-input) mode.

Select a single note

1. Make sure you are not in note input mode;
2. Click on a note.

Note: Selecting a single note then copying and pasting it, will only copy and paste the pitch—not duration or other properties (such as stemless). To copy the entire note, including all properties, you need to hold down Shift—as for chord selection (below).

Select a chord

1. Make sure you are not in note input mode;
2. Press and hold Shift, then click on a note in the chord.

Select a single measure

• Click on a blank space within the measure.

Note: To select a range of consecutive measures, see Shift selection and Shift + click selection (below).

Select a continuous range of objects

There are several ways to select a continuous range of notes, chords or measures:

1. Shift selection

1. Make sure you are not in note entry mode;
2. Select the first note, chord, rest or measure in the range. You can extend the selection up or down to adjacent staves, if needed, using Shift+↑ or ↓;
3. Then choose one of the following options:
   • To advance the selection one chord at a time to the right: Press Shift+→.
   • To advance the selection one chord at a time to the left: Press Shift+←.
   • To advance the selection one measure at a time to the right: Press Shift+Ctrl+→ (Mac: Shift+Cmd+→).
   • To advance the selection one measure at a time to the left: Press Shift+Ctrl+← (Mac: Shift+Cmd+←).
   • To advance the selection to the beginning of the line: Press Shift+Home (Mac: Shift+Fn+←).
   • To advance the selection to the end of the line: Press Shift+End (Mac: Shift+Fn+→).
   • To extend the selection to the beginning of the score: Press Shift+Ctrl+Home (Mac: Shift+Cmd+Fn+←).
   • To extend the selection to the end of the score: Press Shift+Ctrl+End (Mac: Shift+Cmd+Fn+→).

2. Shift + click selection

To select a range of notes or rests:

1. Make sure you are not in note entry mode;
2. Click on the first note or rest in the range;
3. Press and hold Shift, then click on the last desired note or rest.

Note: The final selected element can be in the same staff or in staffs above or below the initial note/rest. All selected elements will be enclosed in a blue rectangle, including associated lines and articulations (but not voltas). You can repeat the operation to extend the selected range as required.

Select a range of measures

1. Click on a blank space in the first desired measure;
2. Hold down Shift, then click on a space in the last measure of the desired range.

Note: As with selecting notes, the range can be extended vertically as well as horizontally.

3. Drag selection

This method can be used to select notes or rests, or, independently, to select non-note symbols such as staccato dots, lyrics etc.:

• Press and hold Shift, then drag the cursor across the desired range.

4. Select All

This method selects the whole musical score including notes, rests and associated elements. Use one of the following options:

• Press Ctrl+A (Mac: Cmd+A).
• From the menu bar, select Edit → Select All.

5. Select section

This method is used to select a section—a region of the score starting and/or ending with a section break:

1. Click on an empty space in a measure in the section;
2. From the menu bar, select Edit → Select Section.

Note: See Copy and paste: Selection filter to disable certain types of elements from being selected in a range selection.

Select a list of objects

To select a list (or discontinuous range) of score elements:

1. Click on the first element;
2. Hold down Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) and successively click on the desired additional elements.

Note: This method cannot be used to select measures. Use single or range selection instead.

Select all similar

To select all elements of a specific type (e.g., all barlines, all text elements, all staccato markings):

1. Select an element;
2. Right click and chose Select…;

3. Several options are available:

   • All Similar Elements: Selects all elements in the score similar to the chosen object.
   • All Similar Elements in Same Staff: Selects all elements in the same staff similar to the chosen object.
   • All Similar Elements in Range Selection: only applies if a range has been selected. Selects all elements in the range similar to the chosen object.
   • More...: opens a dialog that lets you fine-tune more options. For example, if you have a notehead selected, the dialog will look something like this (as of version 2.1—previous versions had fewer options):

   

   Select

   • Same notehead: In this example, only noteheads of the same group will be selected;
   • Same pitch: Only noteheads of the same pitch will be selected;
   • Same type: All noteheads (of any group) will be selected;
   • Same duration: Only noteheads of same duration will be selected;
   • Same note name: Noteheads of that name in all octaves will be selected;
   • Same staff: Only noteheads on the same staff will be selected.

   Action

   • Replace selection: The default option: starts the selection from scratch;
   • Add to selection: Keeps everything you have already selected, and adds the current selection to it;
   • Search in selection:
   • Subtract from selection: Keep everything you have already selected, but takes away the current selection.

What selections are useful for

• Copy and paste
• Edit mode
• Inspector and object properties
• Tools

See also

• Basics chapter, esp. Note input
• Notation chapter, esp. Accidental
• Text chapter, esp. Text editing and Grid-based movement of symbols and staff text

Viewing and navigation

This chapter describes the options available in the View Menu, and in the Zoom and Page View/Continuous View menus (located in the toolbar above the score). It also details the various navigation commands and functions.

View menu

Show sidebars/panels

• Start center: F4
• Palettes: F9
• Master palette: Shift+F9
• Inspector: F8
• Play Panel: F11
• Navigator: F12
• Mixer: F10
• Synthesizer
• Selection filter: F6
• Piano keyboard: P

Zoom in/out

There are several ways to zoom the score in or out:

• Keyboard shortcut:

  • Zoom In: Ctrl++ (Mac: Cmd ++)
  • Zoom Out: Ctrl +- (Mac: Cmd +-).

• View menu:

  • Zoom In: View→Zoom In
  • Zoom Out: View→Zoom Out.

• Mouse

  • Zoom In: Scroll up with the mouse wheel while holding down Ctrl (Mac: Cmd)
  • Zoom Out: Scroll down with the mouse wheel while holding down Ctrl (Mac: Cmd).

• Drop-down menu: To set a specific zoom, use the dropdown menu in the standard toolbar to set the view magnification of the score (25–1600 %) or display it using the options "Page Width", "Whole Page", or "Two Pages".

  

• To return to 100% zoom: Use the shortcut Ctrl+0 (Mac: Cmd+0).

Toolbars (display)

As of MuseScore 2.1, this menu option allows you to hide or display the toolbars above the document window: File Operations, Playback Controls, Concert Pitch, Image Capture, Note Input (see Toolbars below).

Show Status bar

The Status bar, at the bottom of the screen, gives information about selected score elements. Tick/untick this option to display or hide.

Split display

It is possible to split the document display so as to view two documents at once, or to view two different parts of the same document. Tabs allow you to choose which document to display in each view. You can drag the barrier separating the two scores to adjust the amount of space in the window devoted to each:

• Documents Side by Side: Divides the window vertically into two score views.
• Documents Stacked: Divides the window horizontally into two score views, one above the other.

Visibility options

This section allows you to display or hide various non-printing elements:

• Show Invisible: View/hide elements that have been made invisible for printing and export. If this option is ticked, invisible elements are shown in the score window as light gray.
• Show Unprintable: View/hide breaks and spacer symbols.
• Show Frames: View/hide the dotted outlines of frames.
• Show Page Margins: View/hide Page Margins.

Full screen

Full Screen mode expands MuseScore to fill your screen so more content is visible.

Page/Continuous View

You can switch between two different views of the score using the drop-down list in the toolbar area:

To scroll the score:

• Vertically: Move the mouse wheel up or down.
• Horizontally: Press Shift and move the mouse wheel up or down.

Page View

In Page View, the score is formatted as it will appear when printed or exported as a PDF or image file: that is, page by page, with margins. MuseScore applies system (line) and page breaks automatically, according to the settings made in Page settings and Style: General. In addition, you can apply your own system (line), page or section breaks.

To choose between horizontal or vertical page scrolling, see Preferences: Canvas (Scroll pages).

Continuous View

In Continuous View, the score is shown as one unbroken system. Even if the starting point is not in view, measure numbers, instrument names, clefs, time and key signatures will always be displayed on the left of the window.

Note: Because the layout is simpler, MuseScore may perform faster in Continuous View than Page View.

Toolbars

The Toolbar area is located between the Menu bar and document window. It contains symbols which allow you to perform certain operations. It can be divided into the following toolbars:

• File Operations: New score, Load score, Save, Print, Undo, Redo.
• Zoom/Page View.
• Playback controls: Enable MIDI, Rewind, Play/Stop, Loop, Play Repeats, Metronome.
• Concert Pitch: Displays score in written or concert (sounding) pitch.
• Image Capture: Allows you to take a snapshot of part of the score.
• Note Input: Note entry mode, Duration, Tie, Rest, Accidentals, Flip stem direction, Voice (1, 2, 3, 4).

To choose which toolbars to display, right-click on an empty space in the toolbar area (or on the title bar of the Inspector) and, from the menu, check or uncheck the required options. This menu also allows you to view or hide the Piano keyboard, Selection sidebar, Palettes, the Inspector, and (if already displayed) the "Drum Tools" (i.e. Drum input palette).

These display options can also be accessed in the View menu, and, as of 2.1, in View→Toolbars.

Side panels

The workspaces, Inspector and Selection filter are conveniently displayed as side panels to the left and right of the score window. To undock a side panel use one of the following methods:

• Drag the panel;
• Click on the double chevron at the top of the panel;
• Double click in the title area at the top of the panel.

To dock a panel use one of the following procedures:

• Drag the panel to the top/bottom of an existing side panel and it will stack vertically above/below that panel.
• Drag the panel to the middle of an existing side panel and it will overlay that panel. Both panels can then be accessed by tabs.

Alternatively, double-clicking the title bar of the panel will restore it to its previously docked position.

Navigation

There are various commands available to help you navigate through the score. These are listed under Keyboard shortcuts: Navigation.

Navigator

The Navigator is an optional panel which allows you to navigate a long score more easily, or go to specific pages. To view/hide, go to the View→Navigator, or use the shortcut F12 (Mac: fn+F12). It appears at the bottom of the document window if scrolling pages horizontally, or on the right-hand side of the document window if scrolling pages vertically (see Preferences: Canvas).

The blue box represents the area of the score that is currently visible in the main window. You can drag either the blue box or the scroll bar, or click on an area to immediately go to it.

Find

The Find function allows you to speedily navigate to a specific measure, rehearsal mark or page number in the score:

1. Press Ctrl+F (Mac: Cmd+F), or select Edit→Find. This opens the Find (or Go to) bar at the bottom of the workspace.

2. Use one of the following options:

   • To go to a numbered measure: enter the measure number (counting every measure, starting with 1, irrespective of pickup measures, section breaks or manual changes to measure number offsets).
   • To go to a numbered page: enter the page number using the format pXX (where XX is the page number).
   • To go to a numerical rehearsal mark: enter the number using the format rXX (where XX is the name of the rehearsal mark (as of version 2.1).
   • To go to a rehearsal mark starting with a letter: enter the name of the rehearsal mark (the search is case insensitive).

   N.B.: It is best to avoid naming rehearsal marks with the single letters "R," "r," "P", "p," or one of these letters with an integer (e.g. "R1" or "p3"), as this can confuse the search algorithm.

See also

• Save/Export/Print
• File format
• Layout and formatting

Open/Save/Export/Print

In the File menu you can find the following options:

• Open, Open recent.
• Save, Save As..., Save a Copy..., Save Selection..., Save Online...
• Export..., Export Parts...

• Print....

  

Open

Apart from native format files (*.mscz and *.mscx), MuseScore can also open MusicXML, compressed MusicXML and MIDI files, as well as a variety of files in other formats.

To open any supported file:

1. Chose one of the following options:
   • Press Ctrl+O.
   • Click on the "Load score" icon on the left side of the toolbar area.
   • From the menu bar, select File→Open....
2. Select a file and click Open; or simply double-click a file.

Open recent… allows you to chose from a list of recently-opened scores.

Save

Save…, Save As…, Save a Copy… and Save Selection… allow you to save native MuseScore files (.mscz and .mscx).

• Save...: Save current score to file.
• Save As...: Save current score to new file.
• Save a Copy...: Save current score to new file, but continue to edit original file.
• Save Selection...: Save selected measures to new file. In MuseScore versions earlier than 2.1, to ensure that the file is saved correctly, the time signature needs to be displayed in the first measure of the selected passage, unless it is 4/4.
• Save Online...: To save and share your scores on the web at MuseScore.com. For details, see Share scores online.

Export

Export... and Export Parts... allow you to create non-MuseScore files, such as PDF, MusicXML, MIDI, and various audio and image formats. In the Export dialog, you can choose which format to export to:

• Export...: Export current score to format of your choice.
• Export Parts...: Export current score and all linked parts to separate files in a format of your choice.

MuseScore remembers which format you picked the last time and makes that the default for the next time. Note: There is a known issue with Windows XP and Vista, where you have to manually (un)set the filename's extension when choosing a different format than the one selected the previous time.

Print

Print... allows to print your MuseScore file directly to a printer from MuseScore. Depending on your printer you will have different options, but generally you can define the page range, number of copies and collation.

If you have a PDF printer installed, you could also "export" to PDF using Print, but it's usually better to use the native PDF option under Export for more accurate rendition. Note: For this to work properly with Adobe PDF, make sure to uncheck "Rely on system fonts only, do not use document fonts" in Printer properties.

See also

• File format
• Part extraction

Undo and redo

MuseScore remembers an unlimited number of undo/redo actions.

The standard shortcuts are:

• Undo Ctrl+Z (Mac: ⌘+Z)
• Redo Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y (Mac: ⌘+Shift+Z)

Or use the toolbar buttons:

Share scores online

Go to musescore.com/sheetmusic to view other scores from MuseScore.

You can save and share your scores online at MuseScore.com. You can choose to save a score privately for personal access from any computer, or share it publicly. MuseScore.com enables the viewing and playback of scores in your web browser - an additional feature entitled VideoScores allows synchronization between the score and a YouTube video. For use outside of a web browser, you can download the score in a variety of formats (including PDF, MIDI, MP3, MusicXML, and the original MuseScore file).

Create an account

1. Visit MuseScore.com and click on "Create new account". Pick a username and enter a valid email and press "Create New Account".
2. Wait a few minutes for an email from MuseScore.com support. If no email arrives, check your spam folder.
3. Click the link in the email and visit your user profile to change your password.

Share a score directly from MuseScore

To save a score online:

1. Make sure that the Concert Pitch button is off, and that the individual parts are correctly transposed.

2. From the menu, select File→Save Online.... The "Log in to MuseScore" dialog will appear:

   

3. Enter your email address or MuseScore username, and password, then click OK. Note: If you don't have a MuseScore account yet, create one first by clicking on the "Create an account" link. That will open your browser app and bring you to musescore.com/user/register.

4. Upon successfully logging in, you'll be able to enter your score information.

   

   • Title: The title of the score.
   • Description: The descriptive text that will appear next to it.
   • Make the score private: If ticked, the score can only be viewed via a private link. If unticked, the score is visble to all.
   • License: Chose an appropriate copyright license from the drop-down list. Note: Creative Commons license, allows people to use your scores under certain restrictions.
   • Tags: You can add tags to help identify scores on MuseScore.com. Use commas to separate multiple tags.

5. In case you already saved the score online earlier, it will automatically update the existing one, and, as of version 2.1, you can enter some additional information in a changlog section of the dialog, which you can then retrieve on MuseScore.com under "Revision history" for that score. Uncheck Update the existing score to save online as a new score.

   

6. (As of version 2.1) If you are using a different SoundFont than the default one and if you are able to export MP3 files, a checkbox Upload score audio will be visible:
   
   If the checkbox is checked, MuseScore will render the audio of the score using the current synthesizer settings and upload the audio to MuseScore.com.

Upload a score on MuseScore.com

You can also upload a score directly on MuseScore.com.

1. Click the Upload link on MuseScore.com.
2. You have the same options as with the Save Online menu.
3. You have also access to more information, such as Genre.

Note: Should you reach the five score upload limit, you can still upload scores directly from MuseScore, but only the last five are visible. If you wish more than this amount, upgrade to a Pro Account first.

Edit a score on MuseScore.com

If you want to make changes to one of your scores on MuseScore.com, edit the MuseScore file on your own computer, save it, and then do the following:

• If you originally shared the score directly from within MuseScore, simply go to File→Save Online... again to update the online score.
• If you originally uploaded the score via the Upload page on MuseScore.com, then you must follow these steps to update the online score:
  1. Go to the score page on MuseScore.com.
  2. Click the three dots menu ⋮ on the right and choose "Update this score".
  3. In the form, you can upload a replacement score file as well as change the accompanying information and privacy settings.

Switch to the direct method of updating an online score

It is much more convenient to update online scores from directly within MuseScore than by updating the score manually from the score page. Follow these steps if you originally uploaded the score via the Upload page and now want to switch to the direct method:

1. Go to the score page on MuseScore.com and copy the URL.
2. Open the score file on your computer with MuseScore.
3. From the menu, select File→Score Properties... and paste the URL into the "Source" field.

Now whenever you want to update the online score simply go to File→Save Online....

External links

• How to delete a score saved on MuseScore.com

Concert pitch

You can chose to display the score in either written or concert (sounding) pitch. Written pitch displays the score as it should look when printed for musicians to read. However, during preparation you may prefer the convenience of seeing the transposing instruments notated as they sound, without transposition. In this case you should select the "Concert pitch" option.

To toggle the score display between written or concert pitch use one of the following options:

• Press the Concert Pitch button (located in the top right of the toolbar area). When this button is highlighted the score is in concert pitch.
• From the menu bar, select Notes and tick/untick the Concert Pitch option.

Before printing the score, exporting it to PDF or saving it online, you should ensure that the Concert Pitch button is off, and that the individual parts are correctly transposed.

See also

• Transposition: Transposing instruments
• Accidental: Respell pitches

External links

• Concert pitch (Wikipedia article)
• Transposing Instrument (Wikipedia article)
• Concert pitch or not?? (MuseScore forum discussion)