Learning MuseScore

MuseScore provides a number of learning resources to help the new user get started.

Tours

When you run MuseScore for the first time, the Startup Wizard appears to help you set up some basic features of the software. One of these features is called Tours, and, as the name suggests, gives you a guided tour of the program.

• To activate this feature, on the Tours page of the Startup Wizard, tick "Yes" in response to "Would you like to see these tours?"

This will allow the Tour to run when the program opens, introducing you to the main features of the user interface.

• To end the tour: press the Close button.
• To stop the Tour showing when you open MuseScore: Uncheck "Continue taking Tours".
• To enable the Tour again (when program reopens): Select Help→Tours→Show Tours.
• To see all the Tours again (when program reopens): Select Help→Tours→Reset Tours.

Currently offered tours:

• Introduction to User Interface.
• Entering notes and rests in a score.
• Entering symbols from a palette.
• Navigating the score with Timeline.
• Navigating the score with keyboard.
• Entering multimeasure rests.
• Autoplace positioning of symbols.
• Modify properties with Inspector.
• Selecting elements.
• Add and edit lines in score.

Getting Started score

The interactive Getting Started score is a practical introduction to the basics of entering a score. When you open MuseScore for the first time, it will be displayed in the main window of the Start Center: just click to open it. Follow the instructions written in blue, and you will be led through the basic steps of score writing.

Note: If you don't see the Getting Started score, you can find it in the right hand panel of the Start Center. Click the right or left arrows to browse through the options until it appears.

Written tutorials

In the Tutorials and How-to section you will find tutorials on specific topics (e.g. MuseScore Drumline).

Video tutorials

Musescore 3 video tutorials created by musescore.org on Youtube are broken / unacessable due to private sharing restriction as of Jan 2023
Try the comprehensive Musescore3 tutorial videos on masteringmusescore.com created by Marc Sabatella instead. While Marc Sabatella contributed heavily to MuseScore codebase, his masteringmusescore.com is not affiliated with Muse Group or any of its subsidiary companies.

MuseScore offers a full set of instructions videos, each covering a specific subject. You can access these videos in several ways.

• From the MuseScore homepage at MuseScore.org: Support/Tutorials
• In the Start Center: browse to the Videos page in the right-hand panel.
• Look up directly by searching for "MuseScore in Minutes" on You Tube

• Use the list:

  • Lesson 1- Score setup
  • Lesson 2 - Working with MuseScore
  • Lesson 3 - Note Input
  • Lesson 4 - MIDI keyboard input
  • Lesson 5 - More Input Ideas
  • Lesson 6 - Text, Lyrics, and Chords
  • Lesson 7 - Tablature and Drum Notation
  • Lesson 8 - Repeats and Endings, Part 1
  • Lesson 9 - Repeats and Endings, Part 2
  • Lesson 10 - Articulations, Dynamics and Text
  • Lesson 11 - Layout and Parts

Get Support

If you experience a problem while working with MuseScore, there are several ways to get help and support.

Handbook

To access the Handbook:

• From the MuseScore website: select Support → Handbook from the menu.
• From the MuseScore program: select Help → Online Handbook from the menu.

You can browse through the Handbook using the menus, or do a search.

Context help

If you select an element in your score and press F1, a webpage opens displaying a list of links associated with that element in the Handbook.

Forums

MuseScore offers a number of on-line Forums for user collaboration. You may be able to find an answer here to your problem among the existing posts. A general search of the website will return a list of relevant hits to all forums and the Handbook.

How To's

Some tasks require the use of several different techniques. These can be difficult to find an answer for in the Handbook. Solutions for these may be found in the How To's

Post a question

If you cannot find the answer to your problem, you can ask a question in the Support and bug reports forum.

When you post your question:

• Try to be as precise as you can, when you describe what you want to do, and which steps you have already tried.
• Attach the score that shows the problem. This will make it much easier for others to understand the problem — use the "File attachments" option at the bottom of the page, just above the Save and Preview buttons.
• You may format the text using these tips.

Report a bug

If you encounter something you think is a bug, the first step is to post it in the Support and bug reports forum. This will allow others to help check if it is a genuine bug, and to advise workarounds, so you can continue your scorewriting. You will find more details on this in Bug reports and Feature requests.

External links

• How to write a good bug report: step-by-step instructions Isolate bug (MuseScore HowTo)

Installation

MuseScore exists for various different operating systems, including Windows and macOS, as well as many Linux distributions and several BSD variants. All are available from the MuseScore download page.

Installation

When you have downloaded the software, follow the installation instructions for your operating system:

• Install on Windows.
• Install on macOS.
• Install on Linux.
• Install on Chromebook.

Initial preferences

The first time you start MuseScore after the installation, you will be asked to confirm your basic preferences:

First, you can choose to authorize MuseScore (3.4 or later) to collect usage data, click on Yes, send anonymous reports or Don't send to continue:

The settings for language is retrieved from your installation, and should normally not need to be changed. Just click Next to continue:

followed by:

Select your keyboard layout in the drop down list, click Next to continue:

You will now be asked if you wish to take the Tours. If you are new to MuseScore keep the 'Yes' option checked, and click Next to continue:

Finally click Finish to start MuseScore.

    arch
 

    uname -m
 

    cd ~/Downloads
    chmod u+x MuseScore*.AppImage
 

    cd ~/Downloads
    ./MuseScore*.AppImage install
 

    ~/Downloads/MuseScore*.AppImage install
 

    ./MuseScore*.AppImage --help   # displays a complete list of command line options
    ./MuseScore*.AppImage man      # displays the manual page (explains what the options do)
 

  sudo apt-get install wget ca-certificates
 

  wget -O - https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/mirabile:/mscore/bionic-neon/Release.key | sudo apt-key add -
 

  echo deb https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/mirabile:/mscore/bionic-neon ./ | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mscore.list
 

  sudo apt-get update
 

Language, translations, and extensions

MuseScore works with your "System" language (the one used for most programs, and generally depending on your country and the language settings of the PC, or account).

Change language

1. From the menu, select Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...);

2. In the General tab, select the desired language from the drop-down list in the Language section:

   

Resource Manager

The Resource Manager is used to install and uninstall extensions, and to handle the update of translations. To access the menu use one of the following options:

• From the menu bar, select Help→Resource Manager.

• From the menu bar, select Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...), open the General tab, and click on the Update translations button.

  

Install/uninstall extension

To install or uninstall an extension:

1. Select the Extensions tab in the Resource Manager.
2. Select the extension.
3. Click the Install or Uninstall button.

Note: Extensions currently include the MuseScore Drumline (MDL) (as of version 3.0) and the MuseScore General HQ soundfont (as of version 3.1).

Update translations

To update translation(s):

1. Select the Languages tab in the Resource Manager.
2. Click on the Update buttons for the language(s) you want to update.

Note: Almost all menus and dialogs will switch to the changed/updated translations immediately, but some won't use them until the program is restarted.

See also

• Helping to improve translation

External links

• How to change the language in MuseScore (MuseScore HowTo)

Checking for updates

Note: These options are only available in the Mac and Windows versions of MuseScore (except the version from the Windows Store), as only those can be updated directly from MuseScore.org. Linux distributions (and the Windows Store) have different mechanisms to make updates available.

For the versions of MuseScore that can be directly updated, there are two ways to check for updates.

Automated update check

1. From the menu, select Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...);
2. Select the Update tab.
3. Ensure the box marked "Check for new version of MuseScore" is ticked. (It should be ticked by default):
   
   If you enable this option, MuseScore will check for updates on every start. On the Mac and Windows versions (excluding the Windows Store version), this option enables an auto-updater that will download and install updates automatically.

Check for update

1. From the menu, select Help→Check for Update:
   
2. A dialog will appear with the update status: either "No Update Available" or "An update for MuseScore is available:" followed by a link to download it.

See also

• Preferences: Update

Create a new score

To create a new score, open the New Score Wizard (see Create new score, below): this can also be accessed via the Start Center.

Start Center

This is the window that is displayed when you open MuseScore for the very first time:

To open the Start Center (if not already visible), use any of the following options:

• Press F4.
• From the menu bar, select File→Start Center...

To stop the Start Center from showing up when you open MuseScore:

• From the menu bar, select Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...) and uncheck "Show start center" in the Program Start section of the General tab.

From the Start Center you can:

• Create a new score (by clicking on the icon with the plus sign).
• View thumbnails of previously-opened scores: click on a thumbnail to open it.
• Open a score from your computer's file system: click on Open a score ...
• Open the "Getting Started" tutorial score. Use the arrow buttons in the right-hand pane to access the link.
• Search sheet music on musecore.com.
• Access various other facilities (see right-hand pane).

Create new score

To open the New Score Wizard when the Start Center is not open, use one of the following options:

• Click on the New Score icon in the toolbar on the top left of the window;
• Use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+N (Mac: Cmd+N);
• From the menu, select File→New....

Enter score information

Step 1: Enter score information.

Enter the title, composer or any other information as shown above, then click on Next >. This step is optional: you can also add this information after the score has been created (see Vertical frame).

Choose template file

Step 2: Choose template file.

In the left column is a list of solo, ensemble and orchestral templates, divided into categories according to musical styles. If you have previously stored any custom templates in your user templates folder, these are displayed under the heading, "Custom Templates". You can also use the Search bar (top left) to find specific templates.

To choose a score template:

• Click on the name of a score template to select it, then click Next >; alternatively, just double-click the score template name. This will automatically take you to the next page of the Wizard (see Choose key signature and tempo, below).

• If you wish to create a score template from scratch, click on "Choose Instruments" (under "General"), then click Next >; alternatively, just double-click "Choose instruments."

Choose instruments (or voice parts)

The Choose Instruments window is divided into two columns:

• The left column contains a list of instruments or voice parts to choose from. This list is categorized into instrument families and clicking a category shows the full list of instruments in each family.

  The default entry is "Common instruments" but you can choose from others as well, including "Jazz instruments" and "Early music". There is a search box at the bottom of the instrument window: typing the name of an instrument there will search for it in "All instruments".

• The right column starts off empty, but will eventually contain a list of instruments for your new score in the order that they will appear.

Add instruments

To add instruments to the score, use any of the following options:

• Select one or more instruments in the left column and click Add to score.
• Double-click an instrument in the left column.

The instrument names, and their associated staff lines, now appear in the list of instruments in the right column. You can add more instruments or voice parts, as needed. Each instrument added in this way is allocated its own Mixer channel.

Once an instrument track is added to your score, you can edit its sound features by using the Mixer's track area. You will find a vertical panel in the Mixer menu for that new instrument in the lower half of the panel, next to the volume (master Gain) slider. All instruments in the score will have their own panel, with their names at the bottom of the panel. If you can't see the names, drag the vertical scroll bar downward until the instrument track labels are visible. Then just click on a panel, and edit the volume, name, instrument choice, chorus, reverb, etc. The changes will take effect immediately"

Note: If you want staves to share the same instrument, use the Add staff or Add linked staff commands instead (see below).

Add Staff / Add Linked Staff

Important: Add a new instrument instead if the new staff you wish to add belongs to a separate instrument.

To add a staff to an existing instrument in the score:

1. Select a staff of the instrument in the score list on the right-hand side (e.g. see "Staff 1" in the image below). Click Add Staff or Add Linked Staff.
2. Adjust the Staff type, if applicable.

Summary of commands:

See also, Combine pitched staff with tablature.

Change order of instruments

To change the order of instruments (or staves) in the score:

• Click either an instrument name or a staff in the right-hand column, and use the arrow buttons to move it higher/lower.

Delete an instrument

To delete an instrument, or staff line from the score

• Select an instrument or a staff line in the right-hand column and click Remove.

Choose key signature (and tempo)

Step 3: Choose key signature (and tempo).

• Select the desired key signature, then click Next > to continue. Prior to version 3.5, you can also set the tempo here.

Choose time signature, tempo, pickup measure, and number of measures

Step 4: Choose time signature etc.

Here, you can set:

• The initial time signature.
• A pickup measure (anacrusis or upbeat measure), and its duration.
• The initial number of measures in the score (the default is 32, but you can add/remove measures from the score edit window).
• Tempo (prior to version 3.5, this is set on the Choose key signature (and tempo) page instead).

Click Finish to create your new score.

Adjustments to score after creation

Any settings you make in the New Score Wizard can always be changed when you start work on the score itself:

Add / delete / adjust measures

• Insert measures.
• Append measures.
• Delete measures.
• Create a pickup measure.

Add/edit text

• Add text (Text basics).
• Edit text.

Change instrument set-up

To add, delete, or change the order of instruments:

• From the menu, select Edit→Instruments...; or use the keyboard shortcut, I. This opens the Instruments dialog which is virtually identical to the Choose Instruments dialog in the New Score Wizard (see above).

See also Change instrument (Staff properties).

Hide a staff

• To hide a staff permanently: Open the Instruments dialog (I) and untick the "Visible" box for that staff.
• To hide a staff under certain conditions: See the "Hide" options in the Score dialog, and Staff Properties.

Adjust layout and formatting

To adjust the distance between staves and systems, set page margins etc., see Layout and formatting.

Templates

A Template is simply a standard MuseScore file that has been stored in one of two "templates" folders: any files in these folders are automatically displayed on the "Choose template file" page of the New Score Wizard. Two templates folders are created by default:

• A system templates folder.
• A user templates folder.

System templates folder

This folder contains the templates installed with MuseScore and should not be modified. It can be found in the following locations:

Windows: Usually at C:\Program Files\MuseScore 3\templates or C:\Program Files (x86)\MuseScore 3\templates (Actually %ProgramFiles%\MuseScore 3\templates or %ProgramFiles(x86)%\MuseScore 3\templates, respectively) .

Linux: Under /usr/share/mscore-xxx if you installed from the package manager. If you compiled MuseScore on Linux yourself, then look under /usr/local/share/mscore-xxx (with xxx being the version you are using).

MacOS: Under /Applications/MuseScore 3.app/Contents/Resources/templates.

User templates folder

Any templates that you create for future use should be stored here. Once in the user "templates" folder, they will automatically appear on the "Choose template file" page of the New Score Wizard—under the heading "Custom Templates".

The default location of the user templates folder is as follows:

Windows: %HOMEPATH%\Documents\MuseScore3\Templates.

MacOS and Linux: ~/Documents/MuseScore3/Templates.

Note: That above mentioned directory name ("Templates") might be translated according to your language settings!

To configure the location of your private templates folder:

• From the menu, select Edit→Preferences...→General.

See also

• Key signature
• Time signature
• Clef
• Tempo
• Staff properties

External links

• Video tutorial: MuseScore in Minutes: Lesson 1 - Score Setup
• Instrument index

Note input

MuseScore allows you to enter music notation from any of four input devices: computer keyboard, mouse, MIDI keyboard, or virtual piano keyboard. The default input mode is step-time, in which notes or rests are entered one at a time. However, other input modes are also available.

After exiting the New Score Wizard, your new score will consist of a series of measures filled with measure rests:

As you enter notes in a measure, the measure rests are changed to appropriate rests to fill the remainder of the measure:

Notes of different durations on the same beat are entered by using voices:

Basic note entry

This section introduces you to the basics of entering notes and rests in step-time from a computer keyboard. It is also recommended that you work through the tutorial, "Getting Started: An introduction to note entry in MuseScore". This is available from the Start Center.

Step 1. Select a starting position

Select a starting position for note input by clicking on a note or rest, or selecting a measure, with the mouse. If you don't select a starting point, the cursor automatically defaults to the beginning of the score when you enter Note Input mode ("Step 2" below).

Step 2. Enter Note Input mode

To enter Note Input mode, use either of the following options:

• Click on the "N" icon (on the extreme left of the Note Input toolbar).
• Press N on your computer keyboard.

To exit Note Input mode, use any of the following options:

• Press N.
• Press Esc.
• Click on the toolbar "N" button.

Step 3. Select a duration

Still in Note Input mode, select a note duration using either of the following:

• Click on a corresponding note icon in the Note Input toolbar (directly above the document window):
  
• Enter the keyboard shortcut for that duration (see below).

Step 4. Enter the note or rest

• To enter a note pitch from A–G, simply press the corresponding letter on your computer keyboard or place it using your mouse/touchpad (and a 'normal' left-click).
• To enter a rest, press 0 (zero) or right-click your mouse.

This method of entry also works if you are not in Note Input mode—as long as you have a note/rest selected, or the score is newly-created (in which case note entry will default to the beginning).

Select a note/rest duration

The following keyboard shortcuts are used to select note/rest duration in Note Input mode:

• 64th (hemidemisemiquaver): 1
• 32nd (demisemiquaver): 2
• 16th (semiquaver): 3
• Eighth (quaver): 4
• Quarter (crotchet): 5
• Half (minim): 6
• Whole (semibreve): 7
• Double whole (breve): 8
• Longa: 9
• Dot: . (toggles the selection to and from a dotted note/rest)
• "Increase active duration": In note input mode, this shortcut changes the selected duration to the next value above the current one. Set the shortcut in Preferences: Shortcuts.
• "Decrease active duration": In note input mode, this shortcut changes the selected duration to the next value below the current one. .

See also: Tuplets.

Additional durations

• Double, triple and quadruple dots: Apply from the note input toolbar in the advanced workspace or via a custom shortcut.
• 128th note: Ditto.
• 256th, 512th or 1024th durations: First enter a 128th note (or longer), then half it as many times as needed using the shortcut Q or, as of 3.5, via a custom shortcut, or via the corresponding entries on the note input toolbar in a custom workspace.

Input devices

Music notation can be entered by:

• Computer keyboard.
• Mouse.
• MIDI keyboard.
• Virtual Piano Keyboard.
• Any combination of the above.

Computer keyboard

This section expands on "Basic note entry" (see above) and introduces you to the full range of commands available for entering notes or rests from the computer keyboard.

Summary of commands

Here is a list of useful editing shortcuts available in Note input mode:

• 1–9 and . (dot): Set note input duration (as described above).
• A–G: Enter note A to G respectively.
• 0: Enter a rest.
• R: Repeat the last entered note.
• Backspace: Undo last entered note
• ↑ (Up): Raise the pitch of a note by a semitone (uses ♯).
• ↓ (Down): Lower the pitch of a note by a semitone (uses ♭).
• Alt+Shift+↑: Raise the pitch of a note by scale degrees using key signature (assumes Major).
• Alt+Shift+↓: Lower the pitch of a note by a scale degree using key signature (assumes Major).
• J: Change a note up or down to its enharmonic equivalent (e.g. D♯ to E♭). This alters the spelling in both concert pitch and transposed modes. See Accidentals.
• Ctrl+J (Mac Cmd+J): Change a note up or down to its enharmonic equivalent. This alters the spelling only in the current mode. See Accidentals.
• X: Flip direction of note stem (can be reset to Auto position in Inspector)
• Shift+X: Move note head to opposite side of stem (can be reset to Auto position in Inspector)
• Ctrl+Alt+1-4: Switch to corresponding voice
• Q: Halve the duration of the last entered note, and use that duration for future input. This is the default key for "Half Duration" shortcut command. Also see tips below.
• W: Double the duration of the last entered note, and use that duration for future input. This is the default key for "Double Duration" shortcut command. Also see tips below.
• Shift+Q: Decrease duration of the last entered note by a dot (for example, a dotted quarter note/crotchet becomes a quarter note/crotchet and a quarter note/crotchet becomes a dotted eighth note/quaver), and use that duration for the future input. This is the default key for "Decrease duration dotted" shortcut command. Also see tips below.
• Shift+W: Increase duration of the last entered note by a dot (for example an eighth note/quaver becomes a dotted eighth note/quaver and a dotted eighth note/quaver becomes a quarter note/crotchet), and use that duration for the future input. This is the default key for "Increase duration dotted" shortcut command. Also see tips below.
• Ctrl+↑ (Mac: Cmd+↑): Raise the pitch of the last entered note by an octave
• Ctrl+↓ (Mac: Cmd+↓): Lower the pitch of the last entered note by an octave
• Shift+←: Exchange last entered note with the note before it (repeat to keep moving note earlier)
• Shift+→: Exchange note moved with Shift+← with the note that follows it
• Alt+1-9: Add interval (unison to ninth) above current note.
• Shift+A-G: Add note A to G above current note respectively.

Note : (1) Q and W change the duration of the last entered note. The similar shortcuts "Increase active duration" and "Decrease active duration" do not change the last entered note, they are configurable in Preferences window. (2) Shift+Q and Shift+W change the duration of the last entered note by dot. Pressing . (dot) while in Note input mode does not change the last entered note.

Enter notes/rests

You can enter a note by typing the corresponding letter on your keyboard. After entering Note Input mode, type 5 C D E F G A B C to get the following result:

Note: When you enter a note using the keyboard, MuseScore places it closest to the previous note entered (above or below).

To enter a rest, type "0" (zero). To get the following, type 5 C D 0 E after entering Note Input mode.

Note: The duration selected in the toolbar applies to both notes and rests.

If you want to enter a dotted note, press . (period/full stop) after selecting the duration.

For example, after entering Note Input mode, type: 5 . C 4 D E F G A.

If you want to enter a tuplet (such as a triplet): see Tuplets.

If you want to write music with two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody on the same staff, see Voices.

Move notes up/down

To move a note up or down by a semitone:

• Press the ↑ or ↓ arrow.

To move a note up or down diatonically:

• Press Alt+Shift+↑ or Alt+Shift+↓.

To move a note up or down by one octave:

• Press Ctrl+↑ (Mac: Cmd+↑) or Ctrl+↓ (Mac: Cmd+↓).

Add accidentals

When a note is moved up or down with an arrow key (see above), any accidental required is automatically generated by the program. Accidentals can also be added manually—see Accidentals.

Chords

If you want to add a chord note to your previous entry:

• Press and hold Shift, then enter a note from AtoG.

Thus, typing C, D, Shift+F, Shift+A, E, F results in:

To add a note at a specific interval above or below one or more notes:

1. Ensure that one or more notes are selected;
2. Use one of the following options:
   • From the menu, select Add→Intervals and choose an interval from the list;
   • Press Alt+1-9 for intervals above (intervals below are also possible by adding relevant shortcuts to the list in Preferences).

Note: To create chords with notes of different durations, you will need to use more than one Voice.

Insert notes

Normally, when you enter music in MuseScore, any existing notes or rests are overwritten. There are, however, several ways to insert notes:

• Insert extra measures into the score.
• Cut and paste a section of the score forward, then enter music into the gap.
• To insert a note, press Ctrl+Shift (Mac: Cmd+Shift) + the note name (AtoG). This will insert a note of the selected duration and move the rest of the notes to the right in the same measure. If the measure exceeds the duration of the time signature, the blue plus will appear above the measure as in Insert Mode.

Delete notes

To delete a single note:

• Select the note and press Del (Mac: Backspace).

To delete a chord:

1. Press Esc to ensure that you are in Normal mode.
2. Press Shift and click on a note to select the chord.
3. Press Del (Mac: Backspace).

The delete command can also be applied to a range of notes/chords.

Mouse

It's easy to enter notes with the mouse, but it is not the fastest way to enter lots of notes.

1. Click on the desired note duration symbol in the Note input toolbar.
2. Click on the score to add a pitch of the selected duration.
3. To add more notes to an existing chord, simply repeat step 2.
4. To replace an existing chord (rather than adding to it), press Shift before clicking.
5. To add a rest, right-click.

Note: If you hover the cursor over the score in Note Input Mode it will show you a preview of the note or rest you are about to add.

MIDI keyboard

You can also insert pitches using a MIDI keyboard.

1. Connect your MIDI keyboard to the computer and switch the former on
2. Start MuseScore (this must be done after the keyboard is switched on)
3. Create a new score
4. Click the rest (selecting it) in measure 1 to indicate where you want note input to begin
5. Press N to enter note input mode
6. Select a note duration such as 5 for quarter notes (crotchets), as described above
7. Press a note on your MIDI keyboard.

The pitch should be added to your score. If the pitch does not appear, either use the toolbar and click 'Toggle MIDI Input' or follow these steps:

1. From the menu, select Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...).
2. Click on the Note Input tab and check "Enable MIDI Input".
3. Click OK to exit. You will need to restart MuseScore to apply the change.

Note: The default method of entry, Step-time allows you to enter one note at a time. Other note input modes are also available: see Note input modes.

If you have multiple MIDI devices connected to your computer, you may need to inform MuseScore which is the MIDI keyboard:

1. From the menu, select Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...).
2. Click on the I/O tab and select your device under the section labeled "MIDI input".
3. Click OK to exit. You will need to restart MuseScore to apply the change.

Virtual Piano Keyboard

You can also input notes using the on-screen piano keyboard.

• To toggle the display on and off: Press P (or select View→Piano).
• To resize the keyboard: Position the mouse pointer over the piano keys, hold down Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) and move the mouse scroll wheel up (larger) or down (smaller).

The method of note entry is similar to that for a midi keyboard:

1. Ensure that you are in Note Input mode.
2. To enter a:
   • Single note: Click on the appropriate piano key.
   • Chord: Select the note you wish to add to, press and hold Shift, then click on a piano key (in versions before 2.1, use Ctrl (Mac: Cmd). Repeat as required.

Note input modes

See Note Input modes main chapter.

MuseScore offers a variety of note input modes in addition to Step-time. All can be accessed by clicking the small arrow next to the "N" button on the left of the Note Input toolbar:

• Step-time (default): The default mode of note entry. See Basic note entry (above).
• Repitch: Replace pitches without changing rhythms.
• Rhythm: Enter durations with a single click or keypress.
• Real-time (automatic): Perform the piece at a fixed tempo indicated by a metronome beat.
• Real-time (manual): Perform the piece while tapping a key or pedal to set the beat.
• Insert: (Called "Timewise" until version 3.0.2) Insert and delete notes and rests within measures, automatically shifting subsequent music forwards or backwards.

Coloring of notes outside an instrument's range

Depending on the skill of the musician, certain notes are considered beyond the range of a particular instrument. For informational purposes, MuseScore optionally colors notes red if they are outside the range of a "professional" player, and olive green/dark yellow if outside the range of an "early amateur." The colors appear on the computer screen, but not on printed copies.

To enable/disable note coloration and to set "professional" and "amateur" ranges, see Usable pitch range (Staff properties: all staves).

Small notes/small noteheads

1. Select the note(s) you want in small size.
2. Check the "Small" checkbox in the Inspector. The one in the Note section is used to only change the size of the individual notehead; the one in the Chord section will change the note head, stem, beam, and flag sizes all together.

By default, the small size is 70% of the normal size. You can change that setting in Format → Style…→Sizes.

Change notes or rests already entered

Change duration, overwriting subsequent phrases or adding spaces

Version 3.3.3 and above

1. Make sure you are in Normal mode (press Esc to exit from Note input modes).
2. Select one or more notes/rests, or note-stems/hooks. Apply the desired duration shortcut (listed above), or click on the equivalent duration icon in the toolbar.

Prior to version 3.3.3

1. Make sure you are in Normal mode (press Esc to exit from Note input modes).
2. Click on a note or rest. Apply the desired duration shortcut (listed above), or click on the equivalent duration icon in the toolbar.

For example, to change three sixteenth rests into a single dotted eighth rest:

1. Click on the first sixteenth rest.
2. Hit 4 to turn it into an eighth rest.
3. Hit . to turn it into a dotted eighth rest.
4. As the duration increases, it overwrites the other two sixteenth rests following it.

Note that increasing duration overwrites the notes or rests that follow the selected phrase; decreasing duration adds rests between it and the notes or rests following.

See also Paste half/double duration

Change duration, expanding or shrinking the current measure

• Use the Duration Editor plugin that allows "Melody first, rhythm second" notes entry, or
• (insert only) insert notes or measure as described above.

Change duration of notes in selection only, overwriting rests only

Use the Note duration actions plugin to batch adjust notes length while keeping starting positions intact.

Change pitch

To change the pitch of a single note:

1. Make sure that you're not in note input mode and that you have no other notes selected.
2. Select the desired note and use any of the following methods:
   • Drag the notehead up or down with the mouse;
   • Press the keyboard arrows: ↑ (Up) or ↓ (down);
   • Type a new note letter name (A…G). Use Ctrl+↓ or Ctrl+↑ to correct the octave, if necessary (Mac: Cmd+↓ or Cmd+↑). This will automatically turn on note input mode.

To change the enharmonic spelling of a note, select it and use the J command. For more information, see Accidentals.

To change the pitches of a passage of music by a constant interval, you can use Transposition.

To change the pitches of a passage of music to a different melody, while keeping the rhythm unchanged, use Re-pitch mode.

If your score contains a lot of misspelled accidentals, you might try the Respell Pitches command (see Accidentals: Respell pitches).

Change voice

To change one or more notes to a different voice, see Voices.

Change rest to note and vice versa

To change a rest to a note of the same duration:

1. Make sure you are not in note input mode (press Esc to exit).
2. Select the rest.
3. Enter the desired pitch by entering a note letter, AtoG.

To change a note to a rest of the same duration:

1. Make sure you are not in note input mode (press Esc to exit).
2. Select the note.
3. Press 0 (Zero).

Note properties

• To adjust the horizontal position of a note/chord: see Offset notes.
• To edit note properties in general (spacing, offset, size, color, notehead direction, playback etc.): see Inspector and object properties.
• To adjust the layout of all notes in the score: see Layout and formatting, especially the sections about notes, accidentals and tuplets.

See also

• Note input modes
• Drum notation
• Tablature
• Tuplet
• Voices
• Shared noteheads
• Preferences (Configure keyboard shortcuts)

External links

• How to enter a chord (MuseScore HowTo)
• How to enter a rest (MuseScore HowTo)
• How to span a stem over two staves (MuseScore HowTo)
• How to add cue notes (MuseScore HowTo)
• Video tutorial: MuseScore in Minutes: Lesson 3 - Note input
• Video tutorial: MuseScore in Minutes: Lesson 4 - MIDI Keyboard Input
• Video tutorial: MuseScore in Minutes: Lesson 5 - More Input Ideas
• Video: Semi-Realtime MIDI Demo Part 1: New note entry modes
• Video tutorial: Musescore Quicktips: Note Entry

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 edit mode

MuseScore versions 3.4 and above

For lines, hairpins, slurs, note-stems, note-beams, and barlines, use one of the following methods:

• Click on an element.
• Right-click on an element and, from the menu, select Edit Element.

For other elements, use one of the following methods:

• Double-click an element.
• Click on an object already selected (text-based objects only).
• Right-click on an element and, from the menu, select Edit Element.
• Click on an element and press Alt+Shift+E.

MuseScore versions prior to 3.4

Use one 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 Alt+Shift+E.

Exit edit mode

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

See Lines: Change length, and Adjust slur.

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.

Alternatively, you can select the stem and change the "Length Offset" (under "Stem") in the Inspector.

To reposition a note stem, you should select it and adjust the "X" or "Y" setting for the "Offset" under "Automatic placement" in the "Element" section of 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: Cmd+←): Move left one staff space
• Ctrl+→ (Mac: Cmd+→): Move right one staff space
• Ctrl+↑ (Mac: Cmd+↑): Move up one staff space
• Ctrl+↓ (Mac: Cmd+↓): 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.

To undo all edits, ensure you are not in edit mode and press Ctrl+R.

See also

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

Palettes

A Palette is a folder containing musical symbols which can be applied to the score. Musescore's default palettes contain collections of related symbols, but you can customize palettes to display almost any kind of symbol, line or text. Palettes form the main part of a workspace.

Musescore comes with two sets of preset palettes: a Basic and an Advanced set (contained in similarly-named workspaces). But that is only the start. You can add your own symbols and text either to the existing palettes or to palettes you create in new workspaces. In other words, you can customize each workspace to exactly meet your particular scoring needs. See Customize palettes.

View or hide the Palette area

The default position of the Palette area is to the left of the document window. To view or hide it:

• From the menu, select View → Palettes, or use the keyboard shortcut F9.

To undock the Palette area:

• Click the double-chevron symbol (circled in the image above), or double-click the top bar of the panel.

To re-attach the panel, double-click on the top bar again. See Side panels for more information.

Open/close a palette

• Click on the arrow next to the palette name, or double-click the palette name (in versions prior to MuseScore 3.3, click once on either the arrow or the palette name).

Symbols assigned to the palette are shown in a grid below the palette name. If you have customized one of Musescore's default palettes, clicking More will show any symbols you have deleted.

Single Palette mode

If you only want one palette open at a time, click the ... button at the top of the workspace and check the Single Palette box. Any opened palette will now close when you open a different one.

Apply symbols from a palette

Versions 3.4 or above

• Select one or more score elements, then click the desired palette symbol. Or, drag and drop the symbol onto the desired score element in the staff.

Versions prior to 3.4

• Select one or more score elements, then double-click the desired palette symbol. Or, drag and drop the symbol onto the desired score element in the staff.

If you are dragging a symbol to the score and decide you don't want to apply it, press Esc.

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

You can search for symbols or palette names by typing in the Search box at the top of the list. As you type, symbols and/or palettes with names matching your keystrokes are displayed below, updating continuously as your typed input changes. Displayed symbols can come from any palette, which makes this a powerful way to locate symbols without visually searching through various palettes .

Symbols can be applied directly from the search results as described above.

To restore the list of palette names, which is temporarily hidden by the search results, click X in the search box.

Anything added to the score from a palette can be copied, pasted, and duplicated: see Copy and paste.

Apply the last selected item

Assign a keyboard shortcut key to "Apply current palette element" in Preferences: Shortcuts. After you use the mouse to click on a palette item to apply it to the score once, you can select any other score elements and repeatedly apply the same (last applied) item by pressing the shortcut key.

Customize the palette list

Change the order of palette names in the list

• Drag the name of a palette up or down to any desired position.

Create a new palette

1. At the top of the palette list, click Add Palettes→Create custom palette. Or, right-click anywhere on the list of palette names and choose Insert New Palette.
2. Type the name of the new palette in the Create Palette dialog.

See Customize palettes to learn how to add symbols to the new palette.

Hide a palette from the list

Hiding a palette depends on whether it is one of Musescore's default palettes or one you created yourself using the method above.

To hide a Musescore default palette:

• Right-click the name of the palette you want to hide and click Hide Palette.

To hide a palette you created:

• Right-click the name of the palette you want to hide, click Hide/Delete Palette, then click Hide in the dialog.

Show a hidden palette in the list

• Click Add Palettes at the top of the palette list and click Add beside the palette name.

Delete a palette

Only palettes you created yourself can be deleted.

• Right-click the name of the palette you want to delete, click Hide/Delete Palette, then click Delete permanently in the dialog.

You cannot delete Musescore's default palettes. If you don't intend to use a default palette, hide its name from the list instead.

Customize palettes

You can modify any Musescore default or user-created palette. Symbols may be added or deleted and layouts can be rearranged.

From MuseScore 3.3 onwards, all preset palettes in the Basic and Advanced workspaces can be customized directly (if you are using a previous version you will need to create a new workspace first).

Before customizing a palette:

1. Right-click on the palette name and make sure that Enable Editing is checked. It is automatically checked for new palettes you create yourself.
2. Make sure the palette is opened.

Add an existing score element to a palette

• Press and hold Ctrl+Shift (Mac: Cmd+Shift), then drag the score element from the score onto a palette. The score element could be a symbol, line, text, dynamic, fretboard diagram, imported image etc.

Add a symbol to a palette from the Master Palette

1. If the Master Palette is not visible, select View → Master Palette from the menu, or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+F9 (Mac: fn+Shift+F9).
2. Drag the symbol from the Master Palette window onto a palette.

Change symbol order in a palette

• Drag the symbol to the cell in which you wish to display it. Nearby symbols will automatically move to make space available.

Change the position and size of a symbol in a palette cell

• Right-click the cell and click Properties. The following dialog is displayed:
  
  • Name: The tooltip that appears when you mouse over the cell.
  • Content offset X, Y: Adjusts the position of the symbol in the cell.
  • Content scale: Makes the symbol appear larger or smaller in the cell.
  • Draw staff: Draws the five lines of a musical staff behind the symbol.

Note: Changing these values only affects the appearance of symbols within the palette. It does not change their sizes or offsets on the score page.

Remove a symbol from a palette

• Right-click the symbol and click Delete. Or, select the symbol and click the trash icon to the right of the palette name.

The More command functions differently in a user-created palette. It displays one palette at a time from the palette list, allowing you to add symbols from that palette by dragging or by selecting an item and clicking Add to. Use < and > to step through the palettes in the list.

Palette menu

The following menu appears either by right-clicking the name of a palette or by clicking the ... to the right of the name:

• Hide Palette: Removes the name of the palette from the list of available palettes.
• Hide/Delete Palette: Allows you to either hide or permanently delete a palette you created yourself. Shown in place of the above menu item.
• Insert New Palette: Creates a new empty palette. Identical to Add Palettes→Create custom palette.
• Enable Editing: Allows you to modify the contents and layout of the palette.
• Reset Palette: Discards any customizations made to a palette and restores its default contents and layout.
• Save Palette...: Saves the current palette as an .mpal file.
• Load Palette...: Loads a palette from an .mpal file and displays the palette name in the list.

• Palette Properties...: Displays the following dialog, where you can adjust the appearance of a palette:

  

  • Name: The name shown in the palette list.
  • Cell Size: Width, Height: The dimensions of each individual cell in the palette.
  • Element Offset: Adjusts the vertical offset of all symbols in the palette.
  • Scale: Makes all symbols in the palette appear larger or smaller.
  • Show grid: Draws a border around each palette cell.

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 text styles.

2. Custom text properties—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

Workspaces

The workspace consists of several components, the main one being the palette area situated to the left of the document window.

Each palette is a folder containing musical symbols (usually related) which can be applied to the score.

• To open or close a palette: Click on the arrow next to the palette name, or double-click the palette name (in versions prior to MuseScore 3.3, click once on either the arrow or the palette name).

To view or hide the palette area of the workspace:

• Press, F9; alternatively, from the menu, select View → Palettes.

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).

Switch between workspaces

Use one of the following methods:

• Select a new workspace from the drop-down menu to the right of the Note Input Toolbar (in versions prior to 3.3. this is located at the bottom of the workspace panel).
• From the menu, select View → Workspaces, and click on one of the options.

Docking/undocking

To dock or undock a workspace, see Side panels.

Create a new workspace

To create a new workspace:

1. Select an existing workspace (use the Switch between workspaces option if required);
2. Click the + button (next to the dropdown list), which displays the following dialog:
   
   Note: this can also be opened from the menu: View→Workspace→New;
3. Enter a name for the new workspace;
4. Tick the components that you want joined to the workspace, namely:
   • Toolbars: Allows you to customize the tool button display and the order in which they are displayed. Access this via View→Toolbars→Customize toolbars.
   • Menu bar: Allows you to change the menus and menu items displayed in the Menu bar. NOT IMPLEMENTED YET;
   • GUI components: Saves information with the workspace about the position of the GUI (Graphical user interface) components, and whether they are open or not. (e.g. Inspector, Timeline);
   • GUI Preferences: Saves the preferences selected for the GUI elements in Edit→Preferences, such as Theme and Canvas settings;
5. Press Save. The new workspace is added to the panel.

Edit a workspace

Note: In versions prior to MuseScore 3.3, only new workspaces can be edited—the Basic and Advanced workspaces are presets only. See Create new workspace.

• To change the palette display: see Palette menu.

• To change the palette contents: see Custom palettes.

• To change the overall workspace display: Select View→Workspace→Edit. This displays a window with the same options as the Create New Workspace dialog (above).

Save custom workspace

Any changes you make to the workspaces are automatically saved to the program (no further action required). Each custom workspace is saved as a separate file in a folder called "workspaces." Its location is as follows:

• Windows: C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\MuseScore\MuseScore3\(actually %LOCALAPPDATA%\MuseScore\MuseScore3)
• MacOS: ~/Library/Application\ Support/MuseScore/MuseScore3/.
• Linux: ${XDG_DATA_HOME:-~/.local/share}/MuseScore/MuseScore3/.

See also

• Palettes
• Master palette

Inspector

Displaying the Inspector

The Inspector appears by default on the right of your screen. To show or hide it:

• From the menu, select View and check or uncheck Inspector; alternatively, use the shortcut F8 (Mac: fn+F8).

To undock the Inspector panel:

• Click the double-chevron symbol or double-click the top bar of the panel.

  

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

What the Inspector does

When you select any object in the score window, its properties are automatically displayed in the Inspector where they can be edited. Multiple elements can also be selected and edited together—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, visibility, and automatic placement only.

"Reset to style default" and "Set to style" buttons

When you select a score object, two types of buttons are clearly visible on the right-hand side of the Inspector:

• Reset to style default: . Press this button to reset a particular property to the default value—i.e. the one shown in the Style menu.

• Set as style: . Press this button to make the value of a particular property the new default for the style. This will update the Style menu and all other objects governed by that style.

Note: You can also edit styles directly from the Style menu.

Inspector categories

Properties are conveniently listed under categories in the Inspector. Categories can be identified by their bold lettering. For example, if you select a barline, you will see the following displayed at the top of the Inspector:

For details of the various categories and their properties, see below:

Element

All score elements—except frames, breaks and spacers—display this category in the Inspector when selected. The 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.

• Automatic placement: See Automatic placement.

• Minimum distance: Minimum distance from other elements when automatic placement is enabled.

• Offset X/Y: 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.

• Stacking order (Z): See Automatic placement: Stacking order

Element Group

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

Segment

• Leading Space: Use this to increase or decrease the space before an element. This also affects any associated lyric syllables.

Chord

• Offset X/Y: This changes the positon of every note in the same voice as the selected note(s). If you want to make changes to the position of just one note, use the Element category instead).
• Small: Make noteheads and stem small.
• Stemless: Make chord stemless.
• Stem direction: Choice of Auto, Up, or Down.

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: Format → Style… → 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").
• 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.
• Play: Unticking this box silences the note.
• Tuning: Adjust tuning of note to the nearest cent.
• Velocity type: Sets the MIDI velocity of notes directly. Choose one of two options:
  • Offset: Make the value shown in "Velocity" relative to the previous dynamic marking. The value is taken as a percent offset, i.e. the note’s real MIDI velocity would be ((100 + Velocity) / 100) times what it would have been without this adjustment. Enter negative values to lower the velocity accordingly.
  • 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."

Dynamic

See Dynamics

Tempo text

See Tempo

Fermata

See Fermatas section in Tempo

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, 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.

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.

Articulation

This category appears when you select an articulation or ornament. The following options are available:

• Direction: Whether the symbol points up or down: only applicable to certain symbols.
• Anchor: The vertical placement of the symbol:
• Play: Turn on/off playback effect.
• Time stretch: Obsolete. Jump to Fermata instead.
• Ornament style: A choice of default or Baroque playback.

Fretboard diagram

See Fretboard diagrams.

Line

This category is displayed when a line is selected. Here, you can set various general properties.

• Visible: Hide or display just the line: any text remains visible.
• Allow diagonal: The default is horizontal (unticked). Tick if you want to edit the line to create a slope.
• Line color/thickness/style: Set various properties of the line.

Text Line Details

This category is displayed when a line is selected. It allows you to set the wording of a line, edit text properties, set line hooks, and align the text in relation to the line.

• Begin hook / Height: At the beginning of the line, specify None, 90° (vertical), 45° (angled), or 90° centered; set hook length.

• End hook / Height: Ditto for the very end of the line.

• Begin Text / Continue Text / End Text: Refers to text at the very beginning of the line; at the beginning of any continuation line; or at the end of the very last line. All have the same properties, as follows:

• Text: Create or edit the text associated with the line.
• Font face / Size / Style: Set the text properties, and/or edit the text style of the line.
• Align: Set the horizontal and vertical alignment of the text in relation to the line.
• Placement: Place the text on (Above/Below), or to the left of the line.
• Offset X / Y: Adjust the x and y offsets for exact positioning.

Properties dialogs

Some object types have additional properties. These are accessed by right-clicking on the object and choosing a "... properties" option from the context menu. The settings available in these dialogs are explained in the description of the object type in Notation or Advanced topics.
See:

• Articulations and ornaments
• Time signatures
• Staff and system text
• Measure operations
• Staff/Part properties

See also

• Note input
• Layout and formatting
• Parts

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 (Mac: Shift+I).
• Select a measure or a frame, then choose 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 (Mac: Shift+Del+I); fill in the "Number of measures to insert" field and press OK.
• Select a measure or a frame, then choose 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: Cmd+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; 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.

Remove

Remove a single measure

1. Select the measure
2. Press Ctrl+Del (Mac: Cmd+Del).

Remove a range of measures

1. Select a range of measures;
2. Press Ctrl+Del (Mac: Cmd+Del).

Note: In multistaff scores, measure deletion also removes all corresponding measures in the other staves of the system;

Remove empty trailing measures

To automatically remove any blank measures from the end of the score:

• From the menu, select Tools→Remove empty trailing measures.

Delete measure contents

To delete only the measure contents (and not the measure itself):

1. Select one or more measures;
2. Press Del.

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

• Visible: Check/uncheck to show/hide notes and staff lines for the selected measure.
• Stemless: Check/Uncheck to show/hide all note stems for the selected measure.

Measure duration

This section of the dialog allows you to adjust the duration of a single measure independently of the displayed time signature. 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.

Note: A small - or + sign appears above the measure when its duration is different than indicated by the time signature (see image below). This does not appear in any printed or PDF copy. You can turn off these marks by unchecking "Mark Irregular Measures" in the View menu.
Pressing Ctrl+Del on a note or pause also reduces the duration of the measure, while via insert mode you can increase the duration of the measure.

Other

Exclude from measure count

• Exclude from measure count: Tick to exclude the selected measure from measure numbering (e.g. a pickup measure).

Break multimeasure rests

• Break multimeasure rests: Tick to prevent a multimeasure rest at the start of the selected measure. This option should be checked before turning on "Create multimeasure rests" in Format→Style...→Score. The default program setting for scores is OFF; for parts is ON.

Note: Multimeasure rests are broken, by default, at important breaks—such as rehearsal marks, time signature changes, double barlines, irregular measures, etc.

Measure number mode

This allows you to control whether and how measure numbers display on the selected measure:

• Auto: Follows the setting in Format→Style...→Measure Numbers.
• Always Show: Forces display of number.
• Always Hide: Hides number.

Layout stretch

• Layout stretch: Controls the amount of horizontal space between score elements (notes, rests, etc.).

This setting allows a more precise degree of control than offered by the Increase/Decrease Stretch ({ and }) commands.

Add to measure number

• Add to measure number": Enter a positive or negative number to change the number of the selected measure, and subsequent meaures. A value of "-1" has the same effect as marking a measure to be excluded from measure count.

Play Count

• Play count: If a measure precedes an end repeat barline, this value controls the number of times that the entire repeat section plays back: see also, Repeats and jumps.

Vertical alignment

See Barlines:Vertical alignment

Numbering

By default, MuseScore numbers the first measure of each System (except for the first measure in a section), but other numbering options are available: see Format→Style...→Measure Numbers.

Split and join

To make a measure longer or shorter in duration—without changing the time signature—you can adjust its Measure Properties (above). But it is also possible to join or split measures.

Join measures

Method A. To join two measures only:

• Select the barline between the two measures and press Ctrl+Del.

Method B. To join any number of measures:

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

Notes: (1) 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. (2) Beaming may be automatically modified. (3) If you have generated parts already, this option is disabled.

Split a measure

Choose one of the following methods:

• Select a note; then hold Ctrl and click a barline in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Hold Ctrl and drag a barline (from a palette) to the note that starts the next measure.
• Select a note; then, from the menu bar, select Tools→Measure→Split Measure Before Selected Note/Rest.

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

See also

• Barlines
• Measure (Layout and formatting style)

External links

• How to span a measure over multiple systems (MuseScore HowTo, 1.x)
• How to split a measure (MuseScore HowTo, 1.x)
• How to delete measures (MuseScore HowTo)
• How to get scores without time signature (and clef) (MuseScore HowTo)

Voices

Daily usage of the term voice refers to a musical line or part which can have its own rhythm. In Musescore, voice is different, it is extended to include more, it is a software feature that allows individual stem direction within a chord, provides automatic stem direction function, and allows easier playback control. For each staff that can contain a clef symbol, Musescore offers 4 voices for composers to assign to. Voices are sometimes called "layers" in other notation software. N.B. Be careful not to confuse the concept of MuseScore voices (1, 2, 3, 4) with the order of voices found in SATB vocal scores.

How voices are displayed

Selecting a section of the score highlights each voice in a different color: voice 1 blue, voice 2 green, voice 3 orange and voice 4 purple.

Tips for writing SATB scores

• In Open score SATB (where four staves are used for the four voices separately), use (MuseScore) voice 1 in each staff.
• In Close/Closed score SATB (where two staves are used for the four voices, e.g., as in hymnals),
  • use (MuseScore) voices 1 and 2 only, for both upper and lower staves: in the upper staff use voice 1 for S (soprano) and voice 2 for A (alto) ; in the lower staff use voice 1 for T (tenor) voice 2 for B (bass)
  • Beginner's error: use voice 3 for T (tenor) or voice 4 for B (bass), this will create unwanted rest symbols, jump to hide rests.
  • Beginner's error: use voice 1 for B (bass), this will not activate the automatic stem direction function.
• There is usually no need to use (MuseScore) voices 3 and 4, jump to When to use voices

When to use voices

• If you have multiple musical lines that have different rhythm, that is, notes of different note lengths playing at the same time.
• If you want to write polyphonic music easily with the automatic stem direction function.
• If you need stems pointing in opposite directions within a chord, on a single staff.
• If you need to mute musical line separately in the Mixer.
• If you need to use voices for a plugin such as Check for parallel fifths and octaves.

Limitations of voices

• You cannot apply dynamics symbols to individual voice
• You cannot change volume of individual voice with a slider in the Mixer, you can mute though

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. On 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+Alt+2). Enter all the lower voice notes (down-stem).

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

Automatic stem direction

• Notes in voice 1 and 3 have upward stem ; voice 2 and 4 have downward stem. Use this function to write polyphonic music easily. This feature will not activate in any measure where voice 1 is used but voice 2 is missing.
• You can always override and set each note's stem direction directly using Stem direction property under Chord section in Inspector, or press X.
• If you do not want this function at all, use only voice 1 in each staff whenever you can.
• Beginner's error: for a Close/Closed score SATB, beginners often use voice 1 for B (bass), this will not activate the automatic stem direction function, jump to tips

Automatic rests

Rests are automatically added to voices of lower number if they contains no notes. Avoid this by using lowest voice number possible in each staff whenever you can.

Beginner's error: for a Close/Closed score SATB, beginners often use voice 3 for T (tenor) or voice 4 for B (bass), this will create unwanted rest symbols. jump to tips

Deleting and hiding rests

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

A voice 1 rest can only be deleted by removing that part of the measure from the score as well: see Remove selected range; or Delete measure(s).

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 Tools → 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+Alt+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.

Navigate between voices

To select a note in a higher-numbered voice than the current one:

1. Use Alt + ↓, to move the selection to the bottommost note in the current voice;
2. Press Alt + ↓, to move to the higher-numbered voice;
3. Repeat any of the above steps, as necessary, until the desired note is selected.

To select a note in a lower-numbered voice than the current one:

1. Use Alt + ↑, to move the selection to the topmost note in the current voice;
2. Press Alt + ↑, to move to the lower-numbered voice.
3. Repeat any of the above steps, as necessary, until the desired note is selected.

See also

• Keyboard shortcuts: Voices
• Noteheads: Shared noteheads

External links

• How to merge/combine/implode two staves in one with two voices (MuseScore HowTo)
• How to input multiple notes on a staff with different durations (MuseScore HowTo)

Copy and paste

MuseScore supports standard copy, cut, paste and 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.

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

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

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

Some elements such as staff text, dynamics, fingering, etc. can be cut, copied and pasted only one at a time. However, other elements support "multiple-selection" cut/copy/paste: such as articulations (sforzato, staccato etc.), fretboard diagrams, and chord symbols.

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.

Paste half/double duration (version 3.1 and above)

These commands allows you to copy/cut a section of the score, then paste it back anywhere with all the note durations either halved or doubled.

1. In Normal mode, select a range of notes in the score;
2. Cut or copy the range;
3. Select a destination note (or measure);
4. From the menu, select one of the following:
   • Edit→Paste Half Duration.
   • Edit→Paste Double Duration.

or use keyboard shortcuts:

• Ctrl+Shift+Q : Paste half duration
• Ctrl+Shift+W : Paste double duration

Selection filter

The Selection Filter allows you to choose 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, choose 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

• Note input.
• To change notes without altering the rhythm, use Re-pitch mode with copy and paste.

External links

• How To Paste Special - Changing note duration (MuseScore HowTo)
• 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.

Selection is invariably used before applying commands such as delete, copy/cut and paste, transpose and so on.

Select a single object

Most score objects can be selected by simply clicking on them in Normal mode.

Select a single note

• In Normal mode, click on a notehead.

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

• In Normal mode, press and hold Shift, then click on a notehead 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 an overlapping element

To select an element from a group of overlapping elements:

• Hold Ctrl and click until the desired element is selected.

Select a continuous range of objects

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

1. Shift + click selection

To select a range of notes or rests:

1. Make sure you are in Normal 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 chord symbols, lyrics etc. (as of version 3.5)

As of MuseScore 3.5, the shift + click method has been refined to make it easier to select a continuous range of items such as chord symbols, lyrics etc. For example:

1. Click on the first chord symbol in the desired range.
2. Shift + click on the last chord symbol in the range.

Result All chord symbols in that range are selected, and nothing else.

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.

2. Shift selection

1. Make sure you are in Normal 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+→).

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.

6. Selection Filter

The Selection Filter allows you include or exclude certain types of elements within a range selection. See Copy and paste: Selection filter

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.

Modify an existing selection (as of version 3.5)

You can also use the Ctrl + click method to add to, or subtract from, an existing selection. For example:

1. Make a selection in the score using any of the methods above.
2. To add a non-selected element to the selection, press Ctrl and click on it. Repeat as required.
3. To remove an already-selected element from the selection, press Ctrl and click on it. Repeat as required.

Select all similar

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

• Click on the first object of the type of element you want to match. Then shift-click the last similar element you want included. This creates a List Selection that includes the clicked element, the shift-clicked element and all similar elements in-between. NOTE: If you shift-click on a dissimilar element then only that element becomes selected. If you use this technique on notes or rests you'll invoke a Range Selection.

— OR —

• Right-click on the type of element you want to match and choose Select… from the contextual menu;
  Several options will appear in the submenu:
  • All Similar Elements
          To select all similar elements in the entire score:
               Right-click the element;
               then choose Select … All Similar Elements
  • All Similar Elements in Same Staff
          To select all similar elements within a particular staff:
               Right-click the element;
               then choose Select … All Similar Elements in Same Staff
  • All Similar Elements in Range Selection:
           NOTE: This only applies if a range has been selected.
                   Within an established range selection,
                   right-click the element you want to match similarly;
                   then choose All Similar Elements in Range Selection
  • 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:
    
    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 string: (tablature only) selects fretmarks on same string.
  • 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.
  • Same voice: Selects all notes of same voice.
  • In selection:
  • Same system:
    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

Undo and redo

MuseScore remembers an unlimited number of undo/redo actions.

The standard shortcuts are:

Or use the toolbar buttons:

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

• Palettes: F9
• Master palette: Shift+F9 (Mac: Fn+Shift+F9)
• Inspector: F8 (Mac: Fn+F8)
• Play Panel: F11 (Mac: Fn+F11)
• Navigator
• Timeline: F12
• Mixer: F10 (Mac: Fn+F10)
• Synthesizer
• Selection filter: F6 (Mac: Fn+F6)
• Piano keyboard: P
• Score comparison tool

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".

  
  You may type a custom zoom % into the dropdown field if your desired zoom level isn't available by default.

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

Toolbars

The Toolbar area is located between the Menu bar and the document window.

It contains 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).

Show/hide toolbars

To show or hide certain toolbars:

• Select View→Toolbars, and tick/untick the options as required.
• Alternatively, right-click on an empty space in the toolbar area, or the title bar of the Inspector, and, from the menu, check or uncheck the required options.

Note: This option also allows you to show or hide the Timeline, Score Comparison Tool, Script Recorder, Piano Keyboard, Selection Filter, and Drumset Tools.

Customize toolbar area

• Select View→Toolbars, and click on "Customize Toolbars…"

  

The dialog shows the toolbars that can be customized on the left, the current tool buttons for the selected toolbar in the middle, and the buttons that can be added on the right. When you have selected a toolbar in the left panel, you can do any of the following actions:

• Remove a toolbutton: Select the button in the middle panel, and press →.
• Add a toolbutton: Select the button in the right panel, and press ←.
• Move a toolbutton: Select the button in the middle panel, and move it up or down using ↑ or ↓.

Note: The toolbar cannot be customized unless a custom workspace is selected (see below).

Workspaces

Select this option to create a custom workspace or to edit an existing workspace.

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.

Mark irregular measures

A dash at the top right of a measure indicates that its duration differs from that set by the time signature.

Full screen

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

Page/Continuous View

You can switch between 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…. 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.

Single Page View

In Single Page View the score is shown as a single page with a header but no margins, and with an infinite page height. System (line) breaks are added automatically, according to the settings made in Page settings and Style…. In addition, you can apply your own system (line) or section breaks.

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

Commands

Various commands are available to help you navigate more easily through the score. These are listed under Keyboard shortcuts: Navigation.

Navigator

The Navigator is an optional panel which displays page thumbnails of the score at the bottom or to the right of the document window.

• To view or hide the Navigator, select View→Navigator; or use a customized shortcut.

The Navigator appears at the bottom of the document window if scrolling pages horizontally; or on the right if scrolling pages vertically (see Preferences: Canvas).

The blue box represents the area of the score that is currently visible in the document window: drag the box, or click directly on the navigator panel to bring another part of the score into view. You can also drag the scrollbar.

Timeline

The Timeline panel provides a detailed overview of the score, with expanded possibilities for navigation and interaction.

• To display the Timeline, press F12; or select View→Timeline.

For details, see Timeline.

Find / Go to

The Find / Go to 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).
   • 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.

Note: The "Pan score automatically" toolbar button must be enabled for the Find command to be able to reposition the score view to the correct location.

See also

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

Concert pitch

You can choose 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:

• 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.

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)

Open/Save/Export/Print

In the File menu you can find options for opening, saving, exporting and printing your file:

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. Choose 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 choose 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.
• Save Online...: To save and share your scores on the web at MuseScore.com. For details, see Share scores online.

Export

Export... allows 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.
  
  Here you can also select whether to export parts and which

MuseScore remembers which format you picked the last time and makes that the default for the next 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

Share scores online

Musescore.com allows you to:

• View and listen to scores from a large repository created by the MuseScore community.
• Download any score in a variety of formats—MuseScore, MusicXML, PDF, MIDI, MP3.
• Upload your own scores: control whether to share them publicly or privately (via a secret link).
• Synchronize your score with a YouTube video ("Videoscores").

Note: A MuseScore Pro account is required for all scores not marked as PD (Public Domain) or "Original" work, the latter must also have the approval of the score owner.

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 and if the score already exists online, it will be updated automatically. Uncheck Update the existing score to save online as a new score.

   

5. If you are using a different SoundFont than the default one and if you are able to export MP3 files (may not be the case on some Linux versions), 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.

6. Now you'll be able to enter your score information.

   

   • Make the score private: If selected, the score can only be viewed via a private link. If set to public, the score is visible to all.
   • Ensemble type: A list of possible values
   • Genre: A list of possible values
   • Title: The title of the score.
   • Description: The descriptive text that will appear next to it.
   • Copyright and download settings: Choose an appropriate copyright license from the drop-down list.
     Note: Creative Commons license, allows people to use your scores under certain restrictions.
     Here you also can restrict the ability of others to download your score (requires a Pro membership on MuseScore.com).

Upload a score on MuseScore.com

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

1. Click the Upload link on MuseScore.com.
2. You have the same options as with the Save Online menu, except for uploading score audio.

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....

Note: The URL should be follow the format of https://musescore.com/XXXXXXXX/scores/XXXXXXXX and should not contain 'Nice Link's.

External links

• How to delete a score saved on MuseScore.com (MuseScore HowTo)
• Score download becomes a part of the Pro subscription
• Download becomes a part of the Pro subscription

Barlines

A range of barline symbols for most ordinary purposes can be found in the Barlines palette (Basic workspace); repeat barlines, only, are also available in the Repeats & Jumps palette (Basic and Advanced). Additional symbols can be found in the Barlines palette of the Advanced workspace. It is also possible to create your own custom barlines (see below).

Change barline type

To change an existing barline, use one of the following:

• Select a barline, or measure, in the score, then click an icon in the Barlines palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag an icon from the Barlines palette onto a barline, or measure, in the score.
• Select an existing barline in the score, then adjust "Style" in the "Barline" section of the Inspector.

To change a non-single to a single barline:

• Select the barline and press Del.

To hide a barline:

• Select the line and press V, or uncheck Visible in the Inspector.

Insert barline

To insert a new barline between existing ones, either:

• Drag an icon from the Barlines palette onto a note or rest.
• Select a note or rest, then click an icon in the Barlines palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

Split a measure

You can insert a barline in order split a measure into two separate ones. Use one of the following methods:

• Press Ctrl (Mac Cmd) and drag the line from the Barline palette to the first note of the new measure.
• Select the first note of the new measure and press Ctrl (Mac Cmd) while you click a barline in the Barline palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4) .

Note: As of version 3.1 (or earlier), all barlines entered this way are entered as Normal Barlines. See also Split a measure.

Custom barlines

It is possible to create custom barlines by selecting one or more barlines, and adjusting the properties in the "Barlines" section of the Inspector:

• Style: Choose from a range of preset barlines.
• Span to next staff: joins the selected barline to the barline in the staff below.
• Span from: Sets the position of the top of the barline. "0" is the top staff line. Positive numbers start lower down the staff, negative numbers above.
• Span to: Sets the position of the bottom of the barline (see "Span from").
• Span presets: Use the buttons to apply preset customized barlines.

See also Mensurstrich.

Changes to color and horizontal/vertical offset can also be made in the Inspector.

Connect barlines

Barlines may extend over multiple staves, as in the grand staff of a piano, or in an orchestral score to join instruments in the same section. To join barlines:

1. Enter Edit mode on a barline.

   

2. Click on the lower blue handle and drag it down to the staff you wish to connect to. The handle snaps into position so there is no need to position it exactly.

3. Press Esc to exit edit mode. This will update all other relevant barlines as well.

   

Vertical alignment

Vertical alignment is absent because barlines are layout automatically according to content. A workaround for vertical alignment is to insert invisible short rests of same length at another voice, or Anchors for Dynamics and Hairpins plugin to automate the process.

See also

• Measure operations (Measure Properties dialog)
• Measure (Layout and formatting style)
• Repeats and jumps for information on repeat barlines
• Add fermata to barline

Clefs

Commonly used Clefs (Treble, Bass, Alto, Tenor) can be found in the Clefs palette in the Basic workspace. For a more complete range, see the Clefs palette in the Advanced workspace (see image below).

Add a clef

Add/change clef at the beginning of a measure

• Select a measure or an existing clef and click a clef symbol in the palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a clef from the palette onto a measure or an existing clef.

Add/change a mid-measure clef

• Select a note or rest, then click a clef in the palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a clef from the palette onto a note or rest
• If a mid-measure clef is already present you can also:
  • Select the clef and click a clef in the palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
  • Drag a new clef from the palette onto the clef.

Note: "Mid-staff" clefs are always smaller than the main system clef.

Example: In the following image, the top staff starts with a treble clef and switches immediately to bass clef, then after a note and a rest, changes back to treble clef.

Note: Changing a clef does not change the pitch of any note. Instead, the notes move to preserve pitch. If you want, you can use Transposition in conjunction with a clef change.

Remove a clef

• Select a clef and press Del.

Courtesy clefs

When a clef change occurs at the beginning of a system, a courtesy clef will be generated at the end of the previous system.

To show or hide all courtesy clefs:

1. From the menu, select Format→Style...→Page;
2. Check/uncheck "Create courtesy clefs."

It is also possible to show/hide courtesy clefs on a case-by-case basis:

1. "Create courtesy clefs" should already be ticked in the "General" menu (see above);
2. Select a clef and tick/untick "Show courtesy" in the Inspector.

Hide clefs

Display clef only in the first measure (for all staves)

1. From the menu, select Format→Style...→ Page;
2. Uncheck "Create clef for all systems."

Display clef only in the first measure (for a particular staff)

1. Right-click on the staff (Mac: Ctrl-click) , select Staff properties... and uncheck "Show clef;"
2. Open the master palette and select the "Symbols" section;
3. Drag and drop a clef from the master palette onto the first measure of the staff; OR select the first note and click a clef in the master palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

Note: This option may be useful to TAB users who do not want the clef to repeat on every subsequent line.

Hide all clefs in a particular staff

1. Right-click on the staff (Mac: Ctrl-click) , and select Staff properties...;
2. Uncheck "Show clef."

Key signatures

Standard key signatures are available in the Key Signatures palette in the Basic or Advanced workspaces. It is also possible to create custom key signatures (below).

Note that key signatures are always defined relative to concert pitch. If you are adding a key signature to a staff for a transposing instrument you should add the relevant concert pitch key signature. The correctly transposed key signature will show on the staff (unless you are viewing in concert pitch mode).

Add a new key signature

Add new key signature to all staves

Use any of the following methods:

• Select a measure and click a key signature in the palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Select a note or rest and click a key signature in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a key signature from the palette onto an empty part of a measure or a note or rest.

Add new key signature to one staff only

If you wish to change the key signature of only one staff line, leaving others unchanged:

• Press Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) and hold while you drag a key signature from a palette onto a measure.

Replace an existing key signature

Replace key signature for all staves

Use any of the following methods:

• Select the key signature to be replaced, and click a new key signature in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a key signature from the palette onto the key signature to be replaced (or onto the measure containing the key signature).

Replace key signature for one staff only

If you wish to replace the key signature of only one staff, leaving others unchanged:

• Press Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) and hold while you drag a key signature from a palette onto the key signature to be replaced (or onto the measure containing the key signature).

Remove a key signature

Use any of the following methods:

• Click on an existing key signature and press Del.
• Drag the empty key signature ("open/atonal") from the palette (in the advanced workspace) onto the measure.

Naturals on key signature changes

By default, MuseScore only shows cancelling naturals when the key signature changes to that of C Major/A minor (no sharps or flats). In all other cases, it simply shows the new key signature without cancellations:

However, you can opt to display cancelling naturals for all key signature changes:

1. From the menu, select Format → Style... → Accidentals. You'll see the options:

   

2. Select one of the three options.

3. If you are in a part and want the new option to apply to all parts, click on Apply to all parts.
4. Click OK to exit.

For example, selecting the option "Before key signature if changing to fewer ♯ or ♭" gives:

And the option "After key signature if changing to fewer ♯ or ♭. Before if changing between ♯ and ♭" gives:

Key signature changes and multimeasure rests

Multimeasure rests are interrupted if there is change of key signature:

Courtesy key signatures

To turn off the display of a particular courtesy key signature:

• Select the relevant key signature and untick "Show courtesy" in the "Key Signature" section of the Inspector.

To turn off the display of all courtesy key signatures:

• From the menu, select Format → Style... → Page, and untick "Create courtesy key signatures."

Note: Courtesy key signatures are not displayed at section breaks.

Custom key signatures

To create a custom key signature:

1. Press Shift+K to display the Key signatures section of the Master palette.

   

2. In the Create Key signature panel, drag accidentals from the palette onto the staff above to create the desired key signature. Note: The treble clef is only decorative—custom key signatures for any type of staff can be created here.

3. Use the Clear button, if required, to remove all accidentals from the "staff."
4. To move the new key signature into the library (center panel), press Add. To delete a key signature from the library, right-click it (Mac: Ctrl-click) and, in the drop-down menu, select Delete.

Note: A limitation of custom key signatures is that they cannot be transposed in the usual way. If a transposition is needed, or where there is a clef change, you will need to create a new custom key signature.

To move a key signature from the Master palette to a custom palette:

• Drag and drop the key signature onto a palette.

To apply a key signature to the score directly from the Master palette, use one of the following methods:

• Select a measure and click a key signature in the Master palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a key signature from the Master palette onto a measure; alternatively, to apply to one staff only, hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while dragging.

External links

• How to change enharmonic key signatures for transposing instruments (MuseScore HowTo, video)

Accidentals

The most common types of accidentals are provided in the Accidentals toolbar above the score and in the Accidentals palette in the basic workspace

A more comprehensive range can be found in the Accidentals palette in the advanced workspace.

Add accidental

Accidentals are automatically added to a note, as appropriate, when you increase or decrease its pitch:

• ↑: Increase the pitch of a note by one semitone (favors sharps).
• ↓: Decrease the pitch of a note by one semitone (favors flats).

To add either (i) a double flat or double sharp, (ii) a courtesy (also known as cautionary or reminder) accidental, or (iii) a non-standard accidental, use one of the following options:

• Select a note and click on an accidental in the toolbar above the score.
• Select a note and click an accidental in the Accidentals palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag an accidental from the Accidentals palette on to a note.

If you wish to add brackets to a cautionary accidental, use one of the following:

• Select the accidental in the score and click the parentheses symbol in the Accidentals palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag the parentheses symbol from the palette onto the accidental.
• Select the accidental and choose from the Bracket type dropdown in the Inspector.

If required, accidentals can be deleted by clicking on them and pressing Del.

Change enharmonic spelling

To change the enharmonic spelling of a note, or notes, in both written and concert pitch views:

1. Select a note, or group of notes;
2. Press J;
3. Continue pressing J to cycle through the enharmonic equivalents.

To change the enharmonic spelling in the written pitch view, without affecting the concert pitch view, or vice versa:

1. Select a note, or group of notes;
2. Press Ctrl+J (Mac: Cmd+J);
3. Continue pressing the same combination of keys to cycle through the enharmonic equivalents.

Note: If the pitches of selected notes are not all the same, the effect may be unpredictable.

Respell pitches

• From the menu, select Tools→Respell Pitches.

See also

• Key signature: Change
• Tuning systems, microtonal notation system, and playback

External links

• Accidental at Wikipedia
• Enharmonic at Wikipedia

Time signatures

Time signatures can be found in a Palette of the same name in both the Basic and Advanced workspaces.

Note: Whether or not a time signature is actually shown depends on the staff properties, by default it is not shown for tablature.

Add or replace a time signature

Use any of the following methods:

• Select a time signature, measure, note or rest, and click a time signature in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag and drop a time signature from a palette onto a space in a measure, or onto an existing time signature.

Delete a time signature

• To delete a time signature in the score, select it and press Del.

Create a time signature

If the time signature you require is not available in any of the existing palettes, it can be created using one of the following methods:

From the Time Signatures palette

Available as of version 3.3.

1. In the Time Signatures palette, click on "More", then, in the supplementary palette, click on the "Create Time Signature" button;
2. In the top line, enter the Numerator, Denominator, and Text (the latter is optional where you need the display to be different from the actual time signature).
3. Adjust the default note beaming in the Note Groups section. To restore the default beaming pattern, press Reset;
4. Press the "Add" button to transfer the newly-created time signature to the Time Signatures palette.

From the Master palette

1. Press Shift+T to display the Time signatures section of the Master Palette;
2. Select a time signature to edit in the center panel;
3. In the top line of the Create Time Signature panel, enter the Numerator, Denominator, and Text (the latter is optional where you need the display to be different from the actual time signature).
4. Adjust the default note beaming in the "Note group" section". To restore the default beaming pattern, press Reset;
5. Press Add to add the newly-created time signature to the center panel. To delete a time signature from the center panel, right-click (Mac: Ctrl-click) on it and select Clear.
6. Drag and drop the time signature from the Master Palette to the Time Signatures palette. You can also drag the time signature direct to the score, if desired.

Fractional time signatures

Starting in version 3.5.1 there is limited support for fractional time signatures. Only ½ and ¼ are supported at this time. If your keyboard does not have the characters on them you can enter them using Alt+0189 for ½ and Alt+0188 for ¼ on some operating systems. You can also copy/paste from here.

Time signature properties

To display the Time Signature Properties dialog, use any of the following:

• Select the time signature, then click on "Properties" in the "Time Signature" section of the Inspector.
• Right-click (Mac: Ctrl-click) on a time signature and select Time Signature Properties….

• Global value: Shows the global time signature and is set automatically when you add a time signature to the score. It is the reference for beats (as shown in the status bar) and tempo markings.
• Actual value: Shows the time signature associated with a particular staff. This is normally the same as the global time signature, but can be set independently if required. See Local time signatures.
• Appearance: Allows you to edit the displayed text without affecting the underlying time signature. For an example, see Additive meters.
• Note Groups: Allows you to change the default beaming of notes associated with a time signature. See Change default beaming.

Change default beaming

To change beaming of individual notes, see Beams instead.
To adjust note-beaming for a particular time signature:

1. Select the time signature, then "Properties" in the "Time Signature" section of the Inspector; or right-click (Mac: Ctrl-click) on the time signature and select, Time Signature Properties…;
2. To break a note beam in the Note Groups panel, click on the note following it. To reset the beam, click in the same place. Alternatively, you can change beaming by dragging a beam icon onto a note, as follows:
   • Start beam at this note.
   • Do not end beam at this note.
   • 1/8th note beam to left of this note.
   • 1/16 note beam to left of this note.

Checking the box for "Also change shorter notes," means that any beam changes at one level are applied automatically to shorter durations as well. The Reset button cancels any changes made in that session.

Additive (composite) meters

Additive (or composite) time signatures are sometimes used to clarify the division of beats within a measure. To use an additive time signature:

• Create a new custom time signature, see above, or
• Modify an existing time signature on the score:
  1. Right-click (Mac: Ctrl-click) on a time signature in the score and select Time Signature properties…;
  2. In the Appearance section, adjust the "Text" property as required;
  3. Adjust note beaming in the Note Groups section if required.

Local time signatures

In certain cases a score may show staves with different time signatures running at the same time. For example, in Bach's 26. Goldberg Variation:

In the above example, the global time signature is 3/4, but the time signature of the upper staff has been set independently to 18/16.

To set a local time signature for just one staff:

• Hold down Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) and drag and drop a time signature from a palette onto an empty measure.

Resize time signature

• Select one or more time signatures and, in the "Time Signature" section of the Inspector, adjust the "Scale X" (width) and "Scale Y" (height) values.

Pickup measures and cadenzas

Occasionally you will need to decrease or increase the duration of a measure without changing the time signature—for example, in a pickup measure (anacrusis) or in a cadenza etc. See Measure operations: Measure duration.

Time signature changes and breaks

Multimeasure rests are interrupted when a time signature change occurs. Also, a section break will prevent a courtesy time signature being shown at the end of the previous measure.

See also

• Key signature

External links

• How To Using Polyrhythm, mixed meters and local time signatures in MuseScore (MuseScore HowTo)
• Additive meters at Wikipedia.

Arpeggios and glissandi

Arpeggio and Glissando symbols can be found in the "Arpeggios & Glissandi" palette in the advanced workspace. This palette also includes strum arrows, an arpeggio bracket, wind instrument articulations, and slide in/slide out symbols.

Add symbol

To add an arpeggio, glissando etc. to the score, use one of the following methods:

• Select one or more notes, then click a symbol in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a symbol from a palette onto a note.

Adjust dimensions

To adjust the length and height of a symbol:

• Enter Edit mode for the symbol, and adjust the handles using keyboard shortcuts.

Custom symbols

After selecting a symbol, various useful properties can be adjusted in the "Glissando" or "Arpeggio" section of the Inspector.

Glissando

• Type: Choose between a straight or wavy line;
• Show text: Tick this box if you want the symbol to display text. Then set the wording, font-face, font-size and font-style underneath. Note: If there isn't enough room between notes, the text is not displayed;
• Play: Check/uncheck the box to turn playback on or off.
• Play style: Choose how the glissando plays back. There are four options: Chromatic, White keys, Black keys, Diatonic;

Arpeggio

• Stretch: Increase this to lengthen the duration of the arpeggio.
• Play: Untick if you don't want the symbol to affect playback.

If needed for future use, you can save the result in a custom palette.

Arpeggios

When an arpeggio or strum arrow is added to the score, it initially spans only one voice. To change the height, see Adjust dimensions (above). Playback of the symbol can be turned on or off in the Inspector.

Adjust vertical range of an arpeggio

Add the arpeggio to the top staff, select it and use Shift+↓ to extend it downwards to the next stave without it affecting distance between those staves.

Note: For this to work the notes in the 2 staves need to be in the same voice. And it won't affect playback.

Glissandi (slides)

A Glissando or, more informally, a slide, spans two consecutive notes. It may be wavy or straight, with or without text. E.g.:

Adjust start and end points of a glissando

To move an end handle vertically or horizontally, from one note to the next:

1. Enter edit mode on the symbol;
2. Click on the start or end handle:
   • Use Shift+↑↓ to move the handle up or down, from note to note.
   • Use Shift+←→ moves the handle horizontally, from note to note.

Use this command to create cross-staff glissandi. Or to correct the positions of end handles when applying multiple glissandi to chords.

Wind instrument articulations

Fall, Doit, Plop and Scoop symbols are provided. To change the length and curvature, select the symbol, enter edit mode and adjust the handles as described in Edit mode: Lines.

Slide in/out

Slide in and Slide out lines can also be found in the "Arpeggios & Glissandi" palette. To edit the length and angle of a line, double-click on it and drag the handle (or use the Inspector or keyboard arrows for finer adjustment).

External links

• Arpeggio at Wikipedia
• Glissando at Wikipedia

Articulations and ornaments

A comprehensive set of symbols can be found in the Articulations palette in the Advanced workspace:

and the Ornaments palette (Advanced workspace):

There is also an abbreviated version of Articulations palette in the Basic workspace.

Articulations

Articulations are the symbols added to the score to show how a note or chord is to be played. The principal symbols in this group are:

• Fermatas
• Accents (>)
• Staccato and variations—including mezzo-staccato (portato), staccatissimo.
• Tenuto
• Marcato (^)

Specialist articulations are also included for bowed and plucked strings, wind instruments etc.

Ornaments

Ornaments include:

• Mordents, Inverted Mordents, Pralltrills
• Trills
• Turns
• Bends

Note: Appoggiaturas and acciaccaturas can be found in the Grace Notes palette.

Add articulation/ornament

Use either of the following methods:

• Select a note or a range of notes, then click a symbol in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a symbol from a palette onto a notehead.

Add accidental to an ornament

To apply an accidental to an existing ornament, such as a trill:

1. Select the note to which the ornament is attached;
2. Open the Symbols section of the Master palette;
3. Search for and apply the desired accidental to the score (small accidentals can be found using the search term "figured bass");
4. Drag the accidental into position (or reposition using keyboard shortcuts or the Inspector).

Add fermata to a barline

Use one of the following methods:

• Select a barline, then click a fermata symbol in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a fermata symbol from a palette onto a barline in the score.

Note: This does not affect playback.

Keyboard shortcuts

• Toggle Staccato: Shift+S
• Toggle Tenuto(─): Shift+N
• Toggle Accent(>): Shift+V
• Toggle Marcato(^): Shift+O
• Add Acciaccatura (grace note): /

Keyboard shortcuts can be customized in MuseScore's Preferences.

Adjust position

Immediately after adding an articulation or ornament from a palette, the symbol is automatically selected: It can then be moved up or down from the keyboard as follows:

• Press up/down arrow keys for fine positioning (0.1 sp at a time);
• Press Ctrl+↑ or Ctrl+↓ (Mac: Cmd+↑ or Cmd+↓) for larger vertical adjustments (1 sp at a time).
• To flip a symbol to the other side of the note (where applicable), select it and press X.

To enable adjustments in all directions from the keyboard:

1. Enter Edit mode on the symbol;
2. Press arrow keys for fine positioning (0.1 sp at a time); or press Ctrl+Arrow (Mac: Cmd+Arrow) for larger adjustments (1 sp at a time).

You can also change the horizontal and vertical offset values in the Inspector. To position more than one symbol at a time, select the desired symbols and adjust the offset values in the Inspector.

Note: The symbol can also be repositioned by clicking and dragging, but for more precise control, use the methods above.

Articulation and ornament properties

For Fermatas, see Fermatas section in Tempo for their properties and effect on playback.
These can be edited from the Articulation section of the Inspector and may include:

• Placement: Above or below the staff.
• Direction: Auto / Up / Down.
• Anchor: Adjust the vertical placement of the symbol.
• Time stretch: Obsolete. Use Fermatas section of Inspector instead
• Ornament style: Default or Baroque.
• Play: Turn playback on or off.

For Bend properties, see Bends.

You can find additional global style settings for articulations and ornaments under Articulations, Ornaments.

Playback

Playback of note affected by articulation symbols varies among instruments, the general effect:

• Staccato : shorter
• Tenuto(─): longer (no effect on Strings eg violins)
• Marcato (^) : louder and shorter
• Accent (>) : louder (louder than using a Marcato) and longer (no duration extension effect on Strings eg violins)

To find out the effect of each instrument, save your score as .mscx, open it as plaintext, find <Articulation> and its <velocity> and <gateTime> values. see <Articulation name="sforzato"> for accent (>) symbol

To achieve your desired playback, either:

• inside Musescore: add multiple symbols, toggle their Play and Visible properties. You can also set the note itself's Velocity and Velocity type properties, or
• edit per instrument settings in your saved file: save your score as .mscx, open it as plaintext and edit the instrument articulation definitions. These modifications do not affect new instruments added later, or
• edit default settings in instrument.xml affecting new instruments.

See this battle between jazz and classical musicians on the forum for more details.

See also

• Grace notes
• Fermatas in Tempo
• Dynamics (sfz symbol)

External links

• How to create trills and ornaments with accidentals (and playback) (MuseScore HowTo)
• Ornaments at Wikipedia

Beams

Adjust automatic note beaming

By default, MuseScore beams notes according to settings in the Time Signature Properties dialog. To change this automatic pattern of note-beaming, see Change default beaming.

Change beaming of individual notes

MuseScore also allows you to override the default beaming of any note, using the beam symbols in the Beam Properties palette of the "Basic" or "Advanced" workspaces:

To change one or more note beams (except feathered beams, below), use one of the following methods:

• Drag and drop a beam symbol from the Beam Properties palette onto a note or rest in the score.
• Select one or more notes and/or rests in the score and click the desired symbol in the Beam Properties palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

To apply feathered note beams, use either of the following methods:

• Drag and drop a feathered-beam symbol from the Beam Properties palette onto a note beam in the score.
• Select one or more note beams in the score, then click on a feathered-beam symbol in the Beam Properties palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

Notes: (1) Feathered beams may use 2 or 3 lines depending on the tempo and the desired rate of the change; (2) To create a 2-line feathered beam, you need to start with a continuous run of beamed sixteenth notes; (3) To create a 3-line feathered beam, you need to start with continuous run of beamed thirty-second notes; (4) Playback of feathered beams is not supported.

Beam symbols and their effects

Icon	Name	Description
	Beam start	If the note is beamed to a previous note, break the beam.
	Beam middle	Create a beam from the selected note to the previous note (if applicable). This applies to Beam 16th sub and Beam 32nd sub as well.
	No beam	Break beams before and after the selected note.
	Beam 16th sub	Start a second level beam at this note.
	Beam 32nd sub	Start a third level beam at this note.
	Automatic Beam	Apply default beaming as determined by the current time signature (see above).
	Feathered beam, slower	Start feathered beam to indicate gradually slower tempo.
	Feathered beam, faster	Start feathered beam to indicate gradually faster tempo.

Note: Be aware that the beam between two notes/rests is determined by both of the note/rests. For example: Two consecutive notes with a status of start beam here will not have a beam between them. If the two consecutive notes are set up to connect to each other they will beam, if one of them is not set up for this, the two notes will not beam.

Adjust beam angle

To adjust with the keyboard or mouse:

1. Enter edit mode on the note beam—the right adjustment handle is automatically selected.
2. Use the up/down arrows or drag the right end handle to change the angle of the beam;
3. Press Esc to exit edit mode.

To adjust with the Inspector:

1. Click on a note beam.
2. Tick the "User position" box in the "Beam" section of the Inspector;
3. Set the "Position" values to get the desired beam angle.

Adjust beam height

To adjust with the keyboard or mouse:

1. Enter edit mode on the note beam—the right adjustment handle is automatically selected.
2. Press Shift+Tab or click the middle handle to select it (use the left handle prior to 3.4);
3. Use the up/down arrows or drag the middle handle to change the height of the beam (use the left handle prior to 3.4);
4. Press Esc to exit edit mode.

To adjust with the Inspector:

1. Click on a note beam.
2. Tick the "User position" box in the "Beam" section of the Inspector;
3. Set the "Position" values as desired.

Make beam horizontal

1. Select a note beam
2. Tick the "Force Horizontal" box in the "Beam" section of the Inspector;

Note: "Force Horizontal" in the "Beam" section of the Inspector can only be selected if "Custom position" has been deselected previously. This setting overrides the Custom Position values and automatically sets the horizontal bar to its original height.

If you want all note beams in the score to be horizontal there is a "Flatten all beams" option in Format→Style…→Beams. If this option is not selected, automatically inclined beams will be set according to the pitch of the connected notes. This global setting can be overridden for individual beams according to the methods described above.

Adjust feathered beams

To adjust feathered beams:

1. Select a note beam.
2. Adjust the values in the "Grow left" and "Grow right" boxes in the "Beam" section of the Inspector.

Local relayout

MuseScore spaces notes according to their time values, allowing for accidentals, lyrics etc. In systems where there is more than one staff, this may result in irregular note spacing, as in the following example:

Local relayout is a tickbox option in the Inspector allowing you to specify those passages in the score where you want the note spacing to be independent of other staves in the system. Applying "Local relayout" to the note beams in the top staff of the previous example results in a more even distribution of notes:

To do a local relayout:

1. Select one or more note beams.
2. Tick the option Local relayout in the "Beam" section of the Inspector.

Flip note beam

To flip a beam from above to below the notes, or vice-versa:

1. Select one or more note beams.
2. Use any of the following options:
   • Press the X key;
   • Press the "Flip direction" icon, , in the toolbar.
   • Select a "Direction" option (Auto, Up or Down) in the "Beam" section of the Inspector.

Reset Beam Mode

To restore beams to the mode defined in the local time signatures:

1. Select the section of the score you want to reset. If nothing is selected, the operation will apply to the whole score;
2. Select Format→Reset Beams.

See also

• Cross-staff notation
• Edit mode
• Note input
• Change default beaming

External links

• How beams work (MuseScore Tutorial)
• How to add a beam over a rest (MuseScore HowTo)
• How to place a beam between notes (MuseScore HowTo)
• Traditional Vocal Beaming (MuseScore Plugin)

Brackets

MuseScore provides brackets and a curly brace in the Brackets palette (Advanced workspace).

When a new score is created using a template, MuseScore automatically sets the correct brackets.

Add

To add a bracket or brace to systems, use one of two methods:

• Select a measure on the staff where you want the bracket/brace to start, and click the desired icon in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a bracket/brace icon from a palette on to the staff where you want the bracket/brace to start.

Delete

• Select the bracket and press Del.

Change

• Drag the desired icon from a palette onto an existing bracket/brace in the score.

Edit

When you first apply a bracket it only spans one staff. To extend to other staves:

1. Enter Edit mode.
2. Drag the handle downwards to span the required staves. The handle snaps into position, so exact placement is not required.

Style

The default thickness and distance from the system of brackets and braces can be adjusted in Format→ Style... → System.

In the System Brackets section, you can set the properties for the brackets in the two boxes on the left, and the properties for the braces in the two boxes on the right.

Breaths and pauses

Breath and pause markings are available in the Breaths & Pauses palette (Advanced workspace).

Add symbol

To add a breath, or pause (aka caesura / "tram lines" / "railroad tracks") to the score, use one of the following options:

• Select a note or rest and click a breath or pause symbol in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a breath or pause symbol from a palette onto a note or rest in the score.

The symbol is placed after the note. Its position can be adjusted by editing the X and Y offsets in the Inspector, or, in edit mode, using the arrow keys.

Adjust pause length

You can adjust the pause length (in seconds) of the added symbol in the Inspector.

Grace notes

A grace note is a type of musical ornament, usually printed smaller than regular notes. The Short grace note, or Acciaccatura, appears as a small note with a stroke through the stem. The Long grace note, or Appoggiatura, has no stroke.

Create grace notes

Grace notes can be found in the "Grace notes" palette in the Basic or Advanced workspace.

Add a grace note

Use one of the following methods:

• Select a regular note and click a grace note in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag a grace note symbol from a palette onto a regular note.
• Select a note and press / to create an acciaccatura only.

This will add a grace note of the same pitch as the regular note. To add a sequence of grace notes to a regular note, simply repeat the above actions as many times as required. See also, Change pitch (below).

Note: When a grace note is added to the score, a slur is not automatically created with it, so the latter needs to be added separately. See Slurs.

Add a chord of grace notes

Grace note chords are built up just like regular chords:

1. Enter the first note of the chord as shown above
2. Select this first grace note and enter subsequent notes as you would for any other regular chord (i.e. Shift+A...G).

You can also create a grace note chord by using the add interval shortcut in step 2: Alt+1...9 for intervals from a unison to a ninth above.

Change pitch

The pitch of a grace note can be adjusted just like a regular one:

1. Select one or more grace notes
2. Adjust pitch using the keyboard arrow commands, namely:
   • ↑ or ↓ to increase or decrease the pitch by a semitone;
   • Alt+Shift+↑ or Alt+Shift+↓ to increase or decrease the pitch one step at a time, according to the key signature.

Change duration

• Select the grace note and either click a duration icon on the toolbar, or apply the duration with the appropriate keyboard shortcut: i.e. 1...9 (see Note input).

Manual adjustment

Horizontal position

To adjust the horizontal space between a grace note and its regular parent note, use one of the following:

• Go into edit mode on the grace note, then use the left/right arrow keys to reposition as desired.
• Select the grace note and change the X-offset value in the Chord section of the Inspector.

Other adjustments

Various other properties of the grace note can be adjusted in the Inspector (see "Element," "Chord", and "Note" sections)—such as vertical position, size, stem properties etc. The exception is "Leading space" which only applies to standard notes.

External links

• Grace note at Wikipedia
• Appoggiatura at Wikipedia
• Acciaccatura at Wikipedia

Hairpins

Hairpins are symbols used to indicate gradual changes in volume in the score. There are two kinds: crescendo (getting louder) and decrescendo (getting quieter).

Add a hairpin

1. Select a range of notes or measures;
2. Use one of the following shortcuts:
   • <: to create a crescendo hairpin.
   • >: to create a diminuendo hairpin (decrescendo).

Alternatively, use one of the following options:

• Select a range of notes or measures, and click a hairpin in a palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag and drop a hairpin from a palette onto a staff line.

NOTE: Placing hairpins on different voices of the same staff at the same time does not create desired playback, it is a limitation of Musescore, because the minimal area of effect on playback loudness (Dynamic Range property) is staff, not voice. If playback is priority, try splitting voices into individual instruments.

Adjust length and height

A hairpins is a type of Line with playback properties, and its length is adjusted similarly:

1. Enter edit mode on the hairpin. Then click on the end handle that you want to move:

   

2. Use one of the following shortcuts:

   • Shift+→ to move the end handle, and its anchor, right by one note or rest.
   • Shift+← to move the end handle, and its anchor, left by one note or rest;
   • and then Tab once to select the start handle, then Shift+→ and Shift+← to adjust it.

   This method of extending or shortening the hairpin maintains playback integrity and allows it to cross line breaks:

   

3. To fine-tune the horizontal position of an end-handle (without changing playback), use the following shortcuts:

   • → to move the handle right by 0.1 sp.
   • ← to move the handle left 0.1 sp.
   • Ctrl+→ (Mac: Cmd+→) to move the handle right one sp.
   • Ctrl+← (Mac: Cmd+→) to move the handle left one sp.

To change the height of a hairpin:

• Adjust Height property, or
• Adjust the lower handle at the mouth of the hairpin (e.g. the blue square below):

Cresc. and dim. lines

In addition to hairpins, there are cresc.   _     _     _ and dim.   _     _     _ lines with the same function in the Lines palette. Edit the text in the Text Line Details property.

To turn a hairpin into its equivalent text line:

Pick an option in the Type property.

Copy hairpins

From version 3.1, a hairpin can be cut, copied and pasted just like a text element: see Summary of cut / copy / paste commands.
For versions prior to 3.1, you can only duplicate a hairpin: see Copying lines.

Edit hairpin properties

Properties of the hairpin can be edited in the Inspector:

• Under Element Section: Edit the Y offset to change the height of the hairpin above or below the staff.
• Under Line Section: Edit line properties such as color, line style and thickness.
• Under Text Line Details Section: Add text and set text properties.
• Under Hairpin Section:
  • Type: 4 options of hairpins (Arrow symbol, or expression text with a dashed line).
  • Circled tip: Additional circle symbol at the narrower end.
  • Height: The width at the wider end.
  • Continue height: The width of the hairpin at the end of a system on a page, before it continues to the next system.
  • Placement: Position on page, above or below staff. Press X to flip.
  • Dynamic range: Area of effect of the symbol:
    • System: Every instrument in the score.
    • Part: One instrument (all of its staffs), default.
    • Staff: One staff (eg one hand in piano) regardless of voices.
  • Velocity change:
    • 0 to 127. Magnitude of change in playback loudness across the span of the hairpin.
    • Choose an appropiate Type for desired direction of change.
    • The end MIDI velocity calculated by adding this value to (or subtracting this value from) the starting note's MIDI velocity (see Dynamics (symbol): loudness of a note), without any other mathematical conversion (it is not a percentage change).
    • For examples, a crescendo of Velocity change = 15 placed on a phrase with a starting note of MIDI velocity = 49 affects playback loudness of the phrase by assigning MIDI velocity from 49 up to 64 to the phrase across its timespan.
  • Use single note dynamics: (Version 3.1 and above) Enable playback loudness variation across the timespan of each of the note itself. Affects instrument supporting Single Note Dynamics only.
  • Dynamic Mode: (Version 3.1 and above) Rate of transition: Linear (default), Ease-in and out, Ease-in, Ease-out, or Exponential.

Playback of hairpins

MuseScore development focuses on engraving support, rather than playback support. Using hairpins without dynamics symbols are perfectly acceptable in real life scoring, but do not create desired playback inside Musescore.

To create playback loudness variation across a hairpin, either:

• create a note loudness difference (see "To create desired loudness" below) between the two ends of the hairpin, and make sure the difference does not contradict with the meaning of the hairpin, or
• use a non-zero "Velocity change" value, see above.

To create desired loudness:

• One popular way is to place Dynamics symbols and, optionally, make them invisible in the Inspector. eg p crescendos f .
• Note loudness is mainly determined by MIDI velocity, which is most commonly assigned by Dynamics symbols placed onto a score, a dynamics symbol affects playback from the parent note onward until the next dynamics symbol. Final barlines or rests do not reset the loudness to default. Notes which do not have loudness affected by any dynamics symbol can be considered to be in mf (mezzoforte), and has MIDI velocity 80.

To create desired timing, create anchor points for hairpin to adjust its length upon:

• Split a note and add a tie, or
• Add short rests to an unused voice and make them invisible in the Inspector, or
• Use the Anchors for Dynamics and Hairpins plugin to automate this process.

Complex notations are handled this way:

• Only the first hairpin affects playback loudness in case of redundant hairpins, such as two crescendos between p and f.
• Only the last placed hairpin affects playback loudness in case of redundant hairpins affecting the same note (overlapped Dynamic range settings).

Incorrect hairpins do not affect playback: eg f crescendo p.

For all instruments, each individual note under a hairpin can have its playback loudness affected by presence of hairpins at the moment of note start.

MuseScore 3.1 and above
For instruments supporting Single Note Dynamics (e.g. strings, brass etc.), loudness variation can also occur across the span of the note, and across a series of tied notes . This can be switched off individually with the Use single note dynamics checkbox property.

See also

• Dynamics symbols
• How to setup Musescore 3.x for correct playback for all dynamics and hairpins

Lines

The Lines palette of the Advanced workspace contains the following lines:

As you can see, the palette includes: Slurs, Hairpins, Volta brackets, Octave lines, and many others.

Applying lines to the score

Most lines (except Slurs, Volta brackets and the Ambitus) can be applied from a palette in the following ways:

To apply a line to just one note

1. Click on a note, then Ctrl+Click on the next note;
2. In a palette, click on a line (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

To apply a line across a range of notes

1. Select a range of notes;
2. In a palette, click on a line (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

To apply a line from a note to the end of that measure

Use any of the following methods:

• Click on a note, then, in a palette, click on a line (double-click the latter in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag and drop a line onto the score.

To apply a line across a range of measures

1. Select one or more measures;
2. In a palette, click on a line (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

To repeatedly apply the same line

To efficiently apply the same item again, such as adding end to end pedal marks to a piano phrase, setup and use a keyboard shortcut, see Palettes.

Lines and playback properties

Some lines, such as Hairpins, Voltas, Ottavas etc., also have an effect on the playback of the score itself. Each end handle is connected by a dotted line to an anchor on the staff (visible in Edit mode). These anchors indicate the extent of the playback effect.

Adjust vertical position

In Normal mode, apply one of the following methods:

• Click on one or more lines and change the vertical offset in the Inspector;
• Click on a line, press and hold Shift and drag it up/down with a mouse.

Note: You can also adjust the vertical position in Edit mode.

Change length

Note: The following two methods move the end of the line and its anchor together. This ensures that correct playback of the score is maintained (if applicable), and that the line can be extended between systems if required.

Using keyboard shortcuts

1. Enter Edit mode and click on an end handle;
2. Apply one of the following shortcuts:
   • Shift+→ to move the end handle, and its anchor, to the right by one note (or, in the case of Voltas, one measure)
   • Shift+← to move the end handle, and its anchor, to the left by one note (or, in the case of Voltas, one measure);

By dragging (as of version 3.5)

• Click on the end handle of a line and drag it with the mouse.

Fine adjustment

To make fine adjustments to the position of the line end (without changing the position of the anchor):

1. Enter Edit mode and click on an end handle;
2. Apply one of the following shortcuts:
   • → to move the handle right by 0.1 sp (1 sp = one staff space = the distance between two staff lines).
   • ← to move the handle left 0.1 sp.
   • Ctrl+→ (Mac: Cmd+→) to move the handle right one sp.
   • Ctrl+← (Mac: Cmd+→) to move the handle left one sp.

Text lines

A text line is a line that has text embedded within it—such as a volta, ottava, guitar barre line etc.

When you apply a text line to the score from a palette, the line properties always remain unchanged, but the text properties may, under certain circumstances, assume those of the current style for text lines. For details, see Behavior of applied text and lines.

Custom lines

Any line in the score can be customized by adjusting its properties in the Inspector, as follows:

1. Select the line;
2. If line hooks are needed, make a selection from Begin hook, End hook and Height (in the Text Line Core section);
3. To add text, tick Begin Text, Continue Text or End Text, then type in the "Text" box:
   • Begin: Text added here appears at the beginning of the line;
   • Continue: Text added here appears at the beginning of a continuation line (in the next system, if any);
   • End: Text added here appears at the end of the line;
4. Edit text properties and alignment as required;
5. Edit Placement: "Above" or "Below" sets the text so that it is on the line. "Left" places the text to the left of the line;
6. Make adjustments to the line color, thickness and style (solid, dashed etc.) in the Line section. The Diagonal option allows you to create a diagonal line by dragging the end handles;
7. To save the result for future use, see Custom palettes.

Copying lines

Once applied to the score, lines cannot be copied using the usual copy and paste procedures. However, you can duplicate lines within a score:

• Press and hold Ctrl+Shift (Mac: Cmd+Shift), click on the line and drag it to the desired location.

Extended ornament lines

To add an accidental to an extended ornament (e.g. a trill line), select the line and click on a symbol in the Accidentals palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

External links

• Piano pedal marks at Wikipedia
• Guitar Barre at Wikipedia

Measure rests

Full measure rest

A whole rest, centered within a measure (shown below), is used to indicate that an entire measure (or a voice within a measure) is silent, regardless of time signature.

To create one or more full measure rests

Use the following method if all selected measures are "standard"—i.e. with no custom durations:

1 Select a measure, or range of measures.
2. Press Del (Mac: Backspace).

If one or more of the measures contains a custom duration, use the following method instead:

1. Select a measure, or range of measures.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+Del (Mac: Cmd+Shift+Backspace).

To create a full measure rest in a particular voice

1. In the appropriate voice, enter a rest that extends for the full measure.
2. Make sure the rest is selected, then press Ctrl+Shift+Del (Mac: Cmd+Shift+Backspace).

If the voice contains only rests you can select the first rest and invoke the conversion keystroke.

Multimeasure rest

A Multimeasure rest indicates a period of silence for an instrument: the number of measures is shown by the number above the staff.

Multimeasure rests are automatically interrupted at important points, such as double barlines, rehearsal marks, key- or time signature changes, section breaks etc. and also at measures that are set to break multimeasure rests.

To display multimeasure rests

To turn multimeasure rests on or off:

• Press M on your keyboard.

Alternatively:

1. From the menu, choose Format→Style….
2. Click on the "Score" tab, if it is not already selected;
3. Tick/untick "Create multimeasure rests". Here you can also set the minimum of empty measures to combine into a multimeasure rest (see also Layout and formatting: Score).

Note: It is recommended that you enter all notes in the score first before enabling multimeasure rests.

Break multimeasure rest

You may want to have a multimeasure rest divided into two multimeasure rests:

1. Ensure that the option to display multimeasure rests in the score is off (see above).
2. Right-click on the measure where you want the second multimeasure rest to start;
3. From the menu, choose Measure Properties and tick "Break multimeasure rest."
4. Enable multimeasure rests again

See also: Measure operations: Break multimeasure rest.

Octave lines

Octave (Ottava) lines are used to indicate that a section of music is to be played one or more octaves above or below written pitch: The line may be dotted or solid. Ottavas are available in the Lines palette of the Basic and Advanced workspaces.

8─────┐or 8va─────┐: Play one octave above written pitch
8─────┘or 8va─────┘: Play one octave below written pitch

8va alta/bassa lines are particularly common in piano scores, though they are sometimes used in other instrumental music.¹ 15ma alta (2 octaves above) and 15ma bassa (2 octaves below) are also occasionally used.

MuseScore automatically adjusts playback of the score under the ottava to the correct pitch.

Apply an octave line

See Applying lines to the score.

And to adjust the vertical position, see Lines: Adjust vertical position.

Change length

See Lines: Change length.

Custom lines

Ottavas can be customized just like any other line. See Custom lines and line properties.

Properties unique to Octave lines can be adjusted in the Ottava section of the Inspector:

• Type: Change the Ottava line text.
• Placement: Set to "Above" or "Below" the staff.
• Numbers only: Untick for both number and text (e.g. "8va"). Tick for a number only (e.g. "8").

External links

• Octave at Wikipedia

Slurs

A slur is a curved line between two or more notes indicating that they are to be played legato—smoothly and without separation. Not to be confused with Ties, which join two notes of the same pitch.

There are a number of ways to add a slur to a score, and all may be useful depending on the context (adding a slur from the lines palette is also possible but not recommended).

Add slur in note-input mode

1. While in Note input mode, type in the first note in the slurred section;
2. Press S to begin the slurred section;
3. Type in the remaining notes in the slurred section;
4. Press S again to end the slurred section.

Add slur in Normal mode

Method 1

1. Make sure you are in Normal mode;

2. Select the note where you want the slur to start:

   

3. Press S to add a slur extending to the next note:

   

4. (Optional) Hold Shift and press → (right arrow key) to extend the slur to the next note. Repeat as required:

   

5. (Optional) Press X to flip the slur direction:

   

6. Press Esc to exit edit mode:

   

Method 2

1. Make sure you are in Normal mode;
2. Select the note where you want the slur to start;
3. Choose one of the following options:
   • To add a slur to one voice only: Hold down Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) and select the last note that you want the slur to cover.
   • To add slurs to all voices: Hold down Shift (Mac: Cmd) and select the last note that you want the slurs to cover.
4. Press S.

Adjust slur

If you only want to adjust the position of a slur:

1. Select the slur;
2. Use any of the following methods:
   • Drag the slur.
   • Adjust the horizontal and vertical offset values in the Inspector.

To adjust all the properties of a slur (length, shape and position):

1. Make sure you are not in note input mode;
2. Go into Edit mode on the slur;
3. Click on a handle to select it, or use Tab to cycle through the handles;
4. To move the left and right handles from note to note, use the following shortcuts:
   • Shift+→: Move to next note.
   • Shift+←: Move to previous note.
   • Shift+↑: Move to lower voice (voice 2 to voice 1 etc.).
   • Shift+↓: Move to higher voice (voice 1 to voice 2 etc.).
5. To adjust the position of any handle, use any of the following methods:
   • Drag the handle.
   • Use the arrow keys for fine adjustment (0.1 sp. at a time). For larger adjustments (1 sp. at a time) use Ctrl+→ ← ↑ ↓.
6. Press Esc to exit edit mode.

Note: The two outer handles adjust the start and end of the slur, whilst the three handles on the curve adjust the contour. The middle handle on the straight line is used to move the whole slur up/down/left/right.

Extended slurs

A slur can span several systems and pages. The start and end of a slur is anchored to a note/chord or rest. If the notes are repositioned due to changes in the layout, stretch or style, the slur also moves and adjusts in size.

This example shows a slur spanning from the bass to the treble clef. Using the mouse, select the first note of the slur, hold down Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) and select the last note for the slur, and press S to add the slur.

X flips the direction of a selected slur.

Dotted/dashed slurs

Dotted slurs are sometimes used in songs where the presence of a slur varies between stanzas. Dotted slurs are also used to indicate an editor's suggestion (as opposed to the composer's original markings). To change an existing slur into a dotted or dashed slur, select it and then in Inspector (F8) change Line type from Continuous to Dotted or Dashed.

See also

• Tie
• Edit mode
• Note input

Ties

A tie is a curved line between two notes of the same pitch, indicating that they are to be played as one combined note (see external links below). Ties are normally created between adjacent notes in the same voice, but MuseScore also supports ties between non-adjacent notes and between notes in different voices.

In note-input mode, if you specify a tie immediately after entering a note or chord, the program automatically generates the correct destination notes to go with the ties. Or, you can simply create ties "after the fact," between existing notes.

Note: Ties, which join notes of the same pitch, should not be confused with slurs, which join notes of different pitches and indicate legato articulation.

Add ties in Note Input mode

The following command adds an identical tied chord to the selected chord.

1. Ensure that a note is selected (i.e. highlighted). This can be a single note on its own or part of a chord.
2. Select a new note duration for the following note(s), if required (but see "Note" below).
3. Press + or the tie button, .

Note: This shortcut works, as described above, only if there is no chord following the selected note. If there is, then the duration is ignored and the tied note is added instead to the following chord.

Add ties in Normal mode

Method 1

1. Select one or more noteheads in the "start" chord.

   

2. Press +, or the toolbar tie button, :

   .

Ties will be created between the selected note(s) and the next available note(s) of the same pitch.

To remove ties, as of MuseScore 3.3.3, use the same command (toggle)

Method 2

This method ties all notes in the "start" chord (where possible):

1. Select the stem of the "start" chord;
2. Press +, or click on the toolbar tie button .

Ties will be created between all the notes in the selected chord and the following notes of the same pitches.

To remove ties, as of MuseScore 3.3.3, use the same command (toggle).

Add extra tied notes to a previously tied chord

Occasionally you may need to return to an existing tied chord in order to add one or more extra tied notes. In this case a different command is used. For example:

1. Add the extra notes to the first chord. e.g.
   
2. In Note input mode, and with any of the notes in the first chord selected, press Alt++. Corresponding notes are added to the following chord and the extra notes are tied:
   

Add ties to unison notes

A workaround is required to create ties between unison notes:

1. Create the first note as usual;
2. Any additional unison notes should be added at an interval other than unison: e.g. 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc.
3. Create a tied chord (as shown above): e.g.
   
4. Move the unison note(s) into position: e.g.
   

Flip a tie

X flips the direction of a selected tie, from above the note to below the note, or vice-versa.

See also

Slur

External links

• How to create ties leading into a 2nd ending (MuseScore HowTo)
• Ties (music) at Wikipedia

Tremolo

Tremolo is the rapid repetition of one note or chord, or a rapid alternation between two notes or chords. Tremolo symbols can be found in the Tremolo palette in the advanced workspace: both one note and two note tremolos are possible.

A one-note or one-chord tremolo is indicated by strokes through the stem of the note or chord (or above/below if a whole note). E.g.

In a two-note or two-chord tremolo, bars are drawn between the notes. E.g.

Tremolo symbols are also used to notate drum rolls.

Add a Tremolo

Single note/chord tremolo

1. If a single note, select that note; if a chord, select any note in the chord;
2. Click the desired symbol in the Tremolo palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

Alternatively, you can drag the tremolo symbol onto the applicable note.

Two note/chord tremolo

1. Input the notes at half the desired final duration;
2. If a single note, select the first note of the pair; if a chord, select any note from the first chord;
3. Click the desired symbol in the Tremolo palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).

Alternatively, you can drag the tremolo symbol onto the applicable note.

Example: To enter a two-note tremolo with the duration of a half note (minim), enter two normal quarter notes (crotchets). After applying a tremolo symbol to the first note, the note values automatically double to half notes.

External links

• Tremolo (Wikipedia)
• How to create 'old style' and other special tremolos? (MuseScore HowTo)

Repeats and jumps

Simple repeats

You can create a simple repeat by placing a start and an end repeat barline at the beginning and end of a passage. These can be applied from the Barlines or Repeats & Jumps palette.

Note: If the start of a repeat coincides with the beginning of a piece or section, the start repeat barline can be omitted if desired. Similarly, an end repeat barline can be omitted at the end of a score or section.

1st and 2nd endings

First create a simple repeat (as shown above), then apply the first and second time endings—see Voltas.

Playback

Turn repeat playback on/off

• Toggle the "Play Repeats" button on the toolbar.

Adjust repeat section playback

Simple repeats, such as the ones illustrated above, or "1, 2" volta sections, usually play back correctly first time. More complex repeats may need further adjustment as follows:

1. Ensure that the start and end barlines are correctly positioned. For a volta section, ensure that each volta, except the last one, terminates with an end repeat barline.
2. In the case of a simple repeat, where more than one repeat is needed, right-click on the measure containing the end repeat barline and select Measure properties. Adjust Play count so that it is equal to the number of times you want the section to play back.
3. In the case of a complex volta section, such as the following:
   
   Make sure that the volta "Repeat list" is set up correctly—see Volta properties. Right-click on the measure containing the end repeat barline and select Measure properties. Adjust Play count so that it is one greater than the number of measures listed in the Volta "Repeat list." In this case, since 5 measures are listed, the "Play count" needs to be set to 6.

Repeat symbols and text

Text and symbols related to repeats are located in the "Repeats & Jumps" palette (in the Basic and Advanced workspaces). This palette contains:

• Symbols for measure repeat, Segno, Segno Variation (Serpent), Coda, and Coda Variation (Codetta)
• D.S., D.C., al Coda, al Fine, To Coda, and Fine text
• Repeat barlines

To add a repeat symbol to the score use either of the following:

• Select a measure, then click the desired repeat symbol in the palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag and drop a repeat symbol from the palette onto (not above!) the desired measure (so the measure changes color).

Jumps

Jumps are symbols in the score which tell the musician to skip to a named marker (see below). Jumps include the various kinds of D.C. (Da Capo) and D.S. (Dal Segno) text.

To set correct playback of jumps:

• Make sure that the "Play Repeats" button on the toolbar is selected. This is a toggle, so you can turn off playback by clicking the same button.

• After the jump, and following established convention, only the last round of any simple repeat section is played back. If you want playback to take these repeats in full:

  1. Select the applicable jump symbol;
  2. In the "Jump" section of the Inspector, check "Play Repeats".

  Note: Jumps are taken only after all simple repeats in the section are played through.

If you click on a jump, some text boxes and a checkbox are displayed in the Jump section of the Inspector. These have the following effects on playback:

• Jump to: Playback jumps to the marker whose "Label" is the same as the "Jump to" tag.
• Play until: Playback continues until it reaches a marker whose "Label" is the same as the "Play until" tag.
• Continue at: Playback jumps to the next marker whose "Label" is the same as the "Continue" tag.

• Play repeats: Ticking this box tells MuseScore to play repeats after D.C. (Da Capo) or D.S. (Dal Segno) jumps. If this option is not ticked then simple Repeats are not taken after jumps and playback works as if it were the last repeat.

  Note: The tags start and end, referring to the beginning and end of a score or section, are implicit and don't need to be added by the user.

Markers

Markers are the places referred to by the jumps. A list of markers (in addition to the implicit "start" and "end") follows:

• : Segno (tag: segno)
• : Segno Variation (tag: varsegno)
• : Coda (tag: codab)
• : Coda Variation (tag: varcoda)
• Fine: (tag: fine)
• To Coda: (tag: coda)

If you click on a marker, the following properties appears in the Marker section of the Inspector:

• Marker type: This can be changed from the dropdown list, if required.
• Label: This is the (identifier) tag associated with the marker. See also, Jumps (above).

Examples of jumps

• Da Capo (D.C.): At the "D.C." sign, playback jumps to the start (i.e. to the implicit start tag) and plays the entire score or section again (i.e. up to the implicit end tag).
• Da Capo (D.C.) al Fine: At the "D.C. al Fine" sign, playback jumps to the start (i.e. to the implicit start tag) and plays the score up to the Fine (i.e. the fine tag).
• Dal Segno (D.S.) al Fine: At the "D.S. al Fine" sign, playback jumps to the Segno symbol (i.e. the segno tag) and then plays up to the Fine (i.e. the fine tag)
• Dal Segno (D.S.) al Coda: At the "D.S. al Coda" sign, playback jumps to the Segno symbol (i.e. the segno tag) and then plays up to the To Coda (i.e. the coda tag). Playback then continues at the Coda symbol (i.e. the codab tag).

Note: The properties (i.e. the tag names) of jumps and markers can be set via the Inspector.

You need to modify them if using multiple jumps and markers.

See also

• Barlines
• Volta

External links

• MuseScore in Minutes: Repeats and Endings, part 2 (video tutorial)
• How to separate a coda from the rest of the score (MuseScore HowTo)
• How to create a 2-measure repeat sign with playback (MuseScore HowTo)
• How to use Jumps and Repeats (MuseScore HowTo with examples)

Tuplets

Tuplets are used to write rhythms beyond the beat divisions usually permitted by the time signature. For example, a triplet consists of three notes in the time of two:

And a duplet consists of two notes in the time of three:

Create a tuplet

The exact method of tuplet entry depends on whether you are starting off in Note input mode or Normal mode. We'll start off with a simple example: the creation of an eighth note triplet.

Create a triplet in normal mode

1. Select a note or rest that specifies the full duration of the desired triplet group. In the case of an eighth note triplet, you will need to select a quarter note or rest—as in the example below:

   

2. Press the keyboard shortcut for a triplet, Ctrl+3 (Mac: Cmd+3); alternatively use the menu, Add→Tuplets→Triplet. This will give the following result:

   

3. The program automatically changes to note-input mode and selects the most appropriate duration—in this example an eighth note. Now enter the desired series of notes/rests. For example:

   

Alternatively, use the Duration Editor to switch between tuplet and non-tuplet.

Create a triplet in note input mode

1. Ensure you are in note input mode (press N).
2. Navigate to the note/rest (or blank measure) where you want the triplet to start (use the left/right arrow keys as required).
3. Select a final duration for the whole triplet group. In the case of an eighth note triplet, click on the quarter note in the note input toolbar (or press 5 on the keyboard).
4. Press the keyboard shortcut for a tuplet, Ctrl+3 (Mac: Cmd+3); alternatively, use the menu, Add→Tuplets→Triplet. This creates a triplet number/bracket and appropriately divides the original note/rest (see image above).
5. The program automatically selects the most appropriate duration—in this example an eighth note—allowing you to immediately start entering the desired series of notes/rests.

Create other tuplets

To create other tuplets substitute one of the following commands at the relevant step above:

• Press Ctrl+2–9 (Mac: Cmd+2–9). 2 for a duplet, 3 for a triplet etc.
• From the menu, select Add→Tuplets, then click on the desired option.

For more complex cases, see below.

Custom tuplets

To create other tuplets than the default options (e.g. 13 sixteenth notes in the space of one quarter note):

1. In Note input mode, select a note duration equaling the total duration of the tuplet; or, if in Normal mode, select a note or rest of the desired overall duration;
2. Open the Create Tuplet dialog from the menu: Add→Tuplets→Other...;

3. Select the desired number ratio (e.g. 13/4 for thirteen sixteenth notes in the space of a quarter note) under "Relation" in the "Type" section. Specify "Number" and "Bracket" using the radio buttons in the "Format" section;

   

4. Click OK to close the dialog:

   

5. Enter the desired series of notes/rests.

Triplet examples

Delete a tuplet

Use either of the following:

• Select the number or bracket and press Del.
• Select any element of the tuplet, then in the Note section of the Inspector press the "Tuplet" button (bottom right), and press Del.
• Select the entire tuplet, using the shift + click method, then press Del.
• Use the Duration Editor to switch between tuplet and non-tuplet.

Change display of tuplets

Using the Inspector

To change the display properties of tuplets in the score, select the tuplet numbers/brackets, and adjust the desired properties in the "Tuplet" section of the Inspector:

• Direction: 'Auto' places the bracket/number in the default position. 'Up' always places the bracket above the note heads; 'Down' always places the bracket below the note heads.
• Number type: Choice of 'Number', 'Ratio', or 'Nothing'.
• Bracket type: 'Automatic' hides the bracket for beamed notes and shows the bracket if the tuplet includes unbeamed notes or rests. 'Bracket' displays the bracket. 'None' hides the bracket.

Using the Tuplets Style dialog

To make fine adjustments to the way that all tuplets in the score are displayed: from the menu, select Format → Style...→Tuplets.

The legend below illustrates some of the properties that can be adjusted in the Tuplets style dialog:

(2) Vertical distance from stem.
(3) Vertical distance from note head.
(5) Distance before stem of first note.
(6) Distance after stem of last note.

External links

• How to create triplets and other tuplets (MuseScore HowTo)
• How to create nonstandard tuplets (MuseScore HowTo)
• How To create triplets and other tuplets across measures (MuseScore HowTo)
• Tuplet at Wikipedia
• The User Guide to Tuplets in MuseScore [video]

Voltas

Volta brackets, or first and second ending brackets, are lines used to mark different endings for a simple repeat. Score playback automatically follows the repeat indications.

To add a volta to the score

Use one of the following methods:

• Select a measure, or range of measures and click a Volta icon in the Lines palette (double-click in versions prior to 3.4).
• Drag-and-drop a volta from the Lines palette, then adjust the length as required (see below).

To change the number of measures that a volta covers

1. Go into Edit mode on the volta. The end handle is automatically selected.
2. Press Shift+→ to move the end handle forward one measure. Press Shift+← to move the handle backward one measure. Repeat as required.

Note: When you select a start or end handle, a dashed line appears connecting it to an anchor point on the staff (see diagram, below). This anchor shows the position of the playback start/end points of the Volta. The Shift commands change the anchor point so playback always remains in sync with the visual start/end points. To make fine adjustments to the visual start or end points, without affecting playback, use other keyboard arrow commands, or drag the handles with a mouse.

Volta properties

To make changes to Volta text:

• Select the volta, and edit the properties in the Text Line Core section of the Inspector.

  

To specify the order of repeats:

• Select the volta, and in "Repeat list" (Volta section of the Inspector) type in a number, or sequence of numbers separated by commas, to indicate the repeat(s) in which the volta is to be played.
  

For example, a first ending shows the number "1"; a second ending, the number "2" and so on. More complex repeats are also possible: e.g. a "Repeat list" displaying "1, 2, 4, 5, 7" indicates that the volta is to be played during repeats 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7, and so on.

Note: Each volta section, except the final one, should end with an end repeat barline.

Note: Keep in mind that the repeat is always referenced in comparison to it's starting point (either the most recent start repeat barline or the start of the current section).

Playback

Sometimes a repeat plays more than two times. If you want to change the number of times MuseScore plays a repeat, go to the measure containing the end repeat barline and change its "Play count". See Measure operations: Other properties and the note on playback for voltas in Repeats and jumps.

Play count

The play count of the measure with the end repeat barline must be set one higher than the number of times you want the measure to play (this is usually equal to the number of entries in that volta repeat list + 1).

Take the following score:

Measure 4 should have play count set to 4
Measure 6 should have play count set to 3

External links

• MuseScore in Minutes, Lesson 8: Repeats and Endings, Part 1 (Video tutorial for MuseScore 2)
• How to create ties leading into a 2nd ending (MuseScore HowTo)

Transposition

Transposition is the act of raising or lowering the pitch of a selection of notes by the same interval. You can choose to transpose notes either manually or by using the Transpose dialog.

Manual transposition

1. Select the notes that you wish to transpose;
2. Use any of the following options:
   • To transpose chromatically (i.e. one semitone at a time): Press ↑ or ↓. Repeat as required.
   • To transpose diatonically (i.e. one scale degree at a time): Press Alt+Shift+↑ or ↓. Repeat as required.
   • To transpose by an octave: Press Ctrl+↑ or ↓ (Mac: Cmd+↑ or ↓).

Automatic transposition

MuseScore's Transpose dialog gives you more options for transposing notes.

Note: By default this dialog opens from the Tools menu, but you can also choose to open it using a keyboard shortcut (see Preferences).

Transpose Chromatically

To Key

To transpose notes up or down to the desired key:

1. Select the notes you want to transpose; no selection equals "select all.".
2. From the menu bar, choose Tools → Transpose….
3. Tick "Transpose Chromatically" and "To key".
4. Tick/untick "Transpose key signature" and "Transpose chord symbols" if required
5. Tick one of "Closest", "Up" or "Down" and select a destination key signature from the drop-down menu.
6. Click OK.

By Interval

To transpose selected notes up or down in semitone increments:

1. Select the notes you want to transpose; no selection equals "select all".
2. From the menu bar, choose Tools → Transpose….
3. Tick "Transpose Chromatically" and "By Interval".
4. Tick/untick "Transpose key signature" and "Transpose chord symbols" if required.
5. Tick "Up" or "Down"; and select a transposition interval from the drop-down menu.
6. Click OK.

Transpose Diatonically

To transpose selected notes up or down by a diatonic interval:

1. Select the notes you want to transpose; no selection equals "select all".
2. From the menu bar, choose Tools → Transpose….
3. Tick "Transpose Diatonically".
4. Tick/untick "Keep degree alteration" and "Transpose chord symbols" if required.
5. Tick "Up" or "Down;" and select a transposition interval from the drop-down menu.
6. Click OK.

Options

Two options are available for both Chromatic and Diatonic transposition mode in the options area:

• Transpose chord symbols, if required.
• And the choice of Use Double ♯ and ♭ or Single ♯ and ♭ Only

Transposing instruments

Transposing instruments, such as the B-flat trumpet or E-flat alto sax, sound lower, or higher than their written pitch. MuseScore has a number of features to facilitate the scoring of these instruments.

Concert pitch

MuseScore's default viewing mode shows the musical notation in written pitch, but you can choose to display the score in concert pitch instead. In the latter mode, the musical notation of all instruments matches the actual pitches that you hear on playback.

• To change the view to concert pitch: Press the Concert Pitch button to highlight it.

You should ensure that the Concert pitch button is OFF before printing the main score or any parts.

Change staff transposition

Instrument transpositions are already set up in MuseScore. However, if you want a rare instrument or transposition that is not available in MuseScore, you may need to edit the instrument transposition manually.

1. Right-click an empty part of the instrument staff and select Staff/Part Properties….
2. At the bottom of the window, select the interval of transposition, any octave shifts, and whether the interval is "Up" (sounds higher than written) or "Down" (sounds lower than written).

You can also use the Change Instrument… button in the Staff/Part Properties window to automatically change the transposition to that of a different standard instrument.

External links

• How to transpose (MuseScore How-To)
• Concert pitch or not? (forum discussion)
• How to change enharmonic key signatures for transposing instruments (MuseScore How-To)

Drum notation

Entering percussion notation is somewhat different to entering notation for pitched instruments (such as the piano or violin).

Percussion staff types

When you create a percussion staff using the New Score Wizard or the Instruments dialog, MuseScore automatically chooses the most appropriate staff type (1-, 3-, or 5-line) for the instrument: this can be changed, if required, using the "Staff type" column on the Choose instruments / Instruments page. Any additional changes (e.g. to a 2-line staff) can be made from the score itself (see Advanced Style Properties).

On a 5-line percussion staff, each instrument is assigned a vertical staff position (line or space) and a notehead shape. For a drumset, one or two voices can be used. If the latter, voice 1 (the upper voice) usually contains (up-stem) notes played by the hands while voice 2 (the lower voice) usually contains (down-stem) notes played by the feet (see image below).

Note input methods

You can add notes to a percussion staff from any of the following:

• External MIDI keyboard;
• Piano keyboard (virtual);
• Computer keyboard;
• Mouse.

These methods can be used in any desired combination:

MIDI keyboard

To add notes to a percussion staff from a MIDI keyboard:

1. Ensure that the MIDI keyboard is connected and functioning correctly.

   Note: If you click on the percussion staff without entering note input mode, you can demo the percussion instruments from the MIDI keyboard.

2. Click on the note or rest where you want to start.

3. Enter note input mode.
4. Select the correct voice. For example, snares, sidesticks and all cymbals are normally added to voice 1; bass drum to voice 2.
5. Set note duration.
6. Press an instrument key to add a note to the score. To add another note at the same position, keep the first key held down while pressing the second key.

Note: Refer to a GM2 drum map for details about which MIDI keyboard key corresponds to which percussion instrument. Some keyboards (e.g., Casio) display percussion symbols next to the keys as an aid to the user.

Piano keyboard

To add notes to a percussion staff from the virtual Piano Keyboard:

1. Ensure that the Piano keyboard is displayed. Press P (or select it from the menu, View → Piano Keyboard).

   Note: If you click on the percussion staff without entering note input mode, you can demo the percussion instruments from the Piano keyboard.

2. Click on the note or rest where you want to start.

3. Enter note input mode.
4. Select the correct voice. For example, snares, sidesticks and all cymbals are normally added to voice 1; bass drum to voice 2.
5. Set note duration.
6. Click on a (virtual piano) key to add a note to the score.
7. To add another note to an existing one, press Shift and hold it while pressing the new note (in versions before 2.1, use Ctrl (Mac: Cmd)).

Note: Refer to a GM2 drum map for details about which piano key corresponds to which percussion instrument.

By default, the piano keyboard is docked at the bottom of the screen—to the left of the Drum input palette. However you can undock it by dragging, then dock the panel in several ways:

• Drag the panel downwards to the center and it will overlay the Drum input palette, full length. Both panels can then be accessed by Tabs.
• Drag the panel downwards to the right/left and it will dock to the right/left of the Drum input palette.

Computer keyboard

To enter notes on a percussion staff using your computer keyboard:

1. Click on the note or rest where you want to start.
2. Enter note input mode. The Drum input palette now appears at the bottom of the screen (see below).
3. Select the desired note duration.
4. Press the shortcut key (A–G) for the instrument that you wish to enter—refer to the Drum input palette window.
5. If you wish to add another note to an existing one in that voice, press Shift+[A–G].

Note: Voice allocation is determined by the color of the note in the drum input palette: blue for voice 1, green for voice 2.

Mouse

To add a note to a percussion staff

Use the following method to add a new note or to replace an existing chord.

1. Select the note or rest where you want to start. You can also select a measure.
2. Press N to enter note input mode. The Drum input palette now appears at the bottom of the screen (see below).
3. Set note duration.
4. Choose one of the following options:
   • Double-click a note in the Drum input palette.
   • Select a note (e.g. Bass drum, or Snare) in the Drum input palette, then click a note or rest in the score.

To add a note to an existing chord in the percussion staff

1. Ensure you are in note input mode.
2. Select a note duration equal to the note you are adding to.
3. Click on the new note in the Drum input palette.
4. Click above or below the existing note in the percussion staff.

Note: Voice allocation is determined by the color of the note in the drum input palette: blue for voice 1, green for voice 2.

Drum input palette

When a percussion staff is selected and note input mode is ON, a window opens at the bottom of the screen called the Drum input palette. This window is essential for mouse input, and displays shortcuts for computer keyboard input, but can be ignored if using a MIDI keyboard or the virtual Piano Keyboard.

Each note in the palette represents a percussion instrument: hovering the mouse pointer over the note displays the instrument name.

The letters A–G (shown above certain notes in the palette) are designated as shortcuts for entering particular instruments (bass drum, snare, closed hi-hat etc.), rather than referring to note pitches. They can be changed or reallocated as desired in the Edit Drumset window.

When the Drum input palette is open, double-clicking a note in the palette or entering a shortcut letter will add that instrument note to the percussion staff. The color of the note in the palette shows the voice allocated for that note—blue for voice 1, green for voice 2. This can be changed in the Edit Drumset dialog if required.

This voice allocation applies only to keyboard and mouse entry of notes: entry via a MIDI keyboard or the virtual Piano keyboard allows any voice to be used.

Edit Drumset

To open the Edit Drumset window, use one of the following options:

• Click on the Edit Drumset button at the left of the Drum input palette.
• Right-click on a percussion staff and select "Edit Drumset...".

The Edit Drumset dialog displays the percussion instruments available and the MIDI notes/numbers to which they are allocated. It also determines how each instrument is displayed on the staff— its name, position, notehead type and note-stem direction. Any changes made here are automatically saved in the parent MuseScore file.

Clicking on a row in the left-hand column allows you to edit the display properties for that note as follows:

Name: The name you want displayed in the Drum input palette when you mouse over the note. Leave empty to remove this note from the Drum input palette.
Notehead group: Choose a notehead for that instrument from a drop-down list of options (Note: choosing "Custom" activates "Edit noteheads" (below).
Edit Noteheads: Allows you to customize the display further by specifying the noteheads for particular note durations.
Default voice: Assign to one of four voices. This does not affect input from a MIDI keyboard or the virtual Piano keyboard.
Staff line: This number indicates the staff line/space on which the note is displayed. "0" means that the note is displayed on the top line of the 5-line staff. Negative numbers move the note upwards step by step, while positive numbers move it downwards in the same way.
Shortcut: Assign a keyboard shortcut to enter that note.
Stem Direction: Auto, Up or down.

The customized drumset can be saved as a .drm file by pressing Save As.... You can also import a customized drumset using the Load... button.

Sticking

To enter sticking symbols (R, L):

1. Select a start note;
2. From the menu, select Add→Text→Sticking. Alternatively, set up a keyboard shortcut to do the same thing in Preferences;
3. Input the symbol just as you would normal text. To move forward or backwards to the next note, use the same keyboard shortcuts as for chord symbols.
4. To exit, press Esc, or click on a blank section of the score.

Add drum roll

To create a drum roll, use a Tremolo.

External links

• How to create jazz drum notation [MuseScore How-To]
• Video tutorial: MuseScore in Minutes: Lesson 7 - Tablature and Drum Notation
• Drum Parts [video]
• Editing the Drum Palette in MuseScore 1.1 [video]
• Saving Drumset Changes in MuseScore 1.1 [video]
• Guide to Drum and Percussion Notation

Tablature

Music for fretted, stringed instruments is commonly notated using tablature, also known as tab, which provides a visual representation of the strings and fret numbers:

Tablature can also be combined with traditional staff notation:

Create a new tablature staff

If you wish to create tablature as part of a new score, use the New Score Wizard. If you want to add tablature to an existing score, use the Instruments dialog. Or, alternatively, you can convert an existing standard staff. See below for details.

With the New Score wizard

To create tablature in a new score (for combined staff/tablature systems see → below):

1. Open the New Score wizard.
2. Enter the score details (optional). Click Next.
3. On the Choose template file page, click on Choose Instruments under "General".
4. On the Instruments page, select the desired tablature in the "Strings – plucked" category, in the left-hand column. Then click Add.
5. Complete the rest of the New Score Wizard.

Note: If the desired tablature is not available in the Choose Instrument list, add a tablature staff anyway at step 4 (above). Then edit the tablature to your exact requirements using the Staff/Part properties dialog.

With the Instruments dialog

To add a single tablature staff to an existing score (for combined staff/tab system see below):

1. Open the instruments dialog (press I; or from the menu bar, select Edit → Instruments…).
2. Click on the staff to which you want to add another (linked or not).
3. Add the tab staff as described in Add instruments ("Create a new score").

By changing staff type

To convert an existing standard staff to tablature, or tablature to a standard staff:

1. Right-click into an empty spot of the staff and select Staff/Part Properties…. If "Instrument" is already set to a plucked-strings type, then go to step 3.
2. If "Instrument" is not a plucked-strings type, click on Change instrument and select an appropriate instrument from "Strings – Plucked."
3. Click on Advanced Style properties, select the appropriate tablature option from "Template", then press < Reset to Template. You can fine tune the display if necessary using the "Fret Marks" and "Note Values" tabs.
4. Click OK twice to exit.

Edit string data

Change tuning

Note: If you only want to view (rather than change) the instrument tuning, follow steps 1 and 2 only.

1. Right-click on the staff and select Staff/Part Properties….

   

2. Press the Edit String Data… button at the bottom of the dialog box. The String Data dialog opens:

   

3. Click on a string pitch and select Edit String…. Or, alternatively, just double-click the string pitch.

4. Select a new pitch in the Note Selection box and click OK. Or, alternatively, just double-click the new pitch.
5. Click OK to close the "String Data" dialog box. Then click OK to close the "Staff/Part Properties" dialog.

Notes: (1) If tuning is changed when the tablature for that instrument already contains some notes, fret marks will be adjusted automatically (if possible); (2) Any change of tuning to a particular instrument applies only to the score at hand, and does not change any program default settings.

Add a string

1. Right-click on the staff, select Staff/Part Properties…, then press Edit String Data.
2. Click on a string pitch and select New String....
3. Select the new pitch and press OK—or, alternatively, just double-click the new pitch. The new string is inserted below the selected string.

Note: After adding a tablature string you will need to adjust the number of lines in the Staff/Part properties dialog.

Delete a string

1. Right-click on the staff, select Staff/Part Properties…, then press Edit String Data.
2. Click on a string pitch and select Delete String.

Note: After deleting a tablature string you will need to adjust the number of lines in the Staff/Part properties dialog.

Mark unfretted string "open"

This feature is used to mark a (bass) course as unstopped (i.e. like a harp string, only played in the open position): as on a Baroque lute or Theorbo etc. This means that only "0" (zero) or "a" is accepted as a fret mark: any other fret mark will be converted to 0/a.

1. Right-click on the staff, select Staff/Part Properties…, then press Edit String Data.
2. Check one or more boxes in the "Open" column.

Change number of instrument frets

This property defines the maximum fret number which can be entered on a tablature staff.

1. Right-click on the staff, select Staff/Part Properties…, then press Edit String Data.
2. Select or enter a new number in the "Number of frets" spin box.

Change tablature display

From Staff / Part Properties

To access the full range of tablature display options, use the Staff / Parts Properties dialog:

1. Right-click on the staff and select Staff/Part Properties….
2. Click on the Advanced Style Properties… button.

From the Instruments dialog

Some basic tablature display options are available from the Instruments dialogue:

1. Press the keyboard shortcut I; or from the menu bar, select Edit → Instruments….
2. Select a tablature type from the drop-down list under "Staff Type" in the right-hand pane:
   • Simple: Displays fretmarks only. Best for staff/tablature systems.
   • Common: Displays fretmarks, note stems and beams.
   • Full: Displays fretmarks, enhanced note stems, beams, and rests.
   • Italian/French: Historical tablature options for the lute.

The same options are available from the Choose Instruments page of the New Score Wizard.

Combine pitched staff with tablature

Plucked-string instruments—such as the guitar—are commonly notated using both a music staff and tablature (TAB) together. MuseScore gives you the option of having the two staves either unlinked or linked:

1. Unlinked Staves: The advantage of using this option is that each staff can be edited independently. To transfer music notation from one staff to the other, select the desired range and copy and paste it onto the other staff.

2. Linked Staves: The staves are "mutually updating": i.e. any change you make to the notation in one staff is immediately applied to the other staff as well.

A note on fret mark conflicts: When the same note is entered in two different voices, MuseScore tries to ensure that the fret marks do not overlap on the same string. Any overlaps which do occur are marked with red squares: these appear only in the document window and not on any printed copy. In almost all cases (e.g. frets 0 to 4 on the 6th string), overlapping is the desired result and no further adjustment is required. You can hide the red marks by selecting "View" and unticking "Show Unprintable."

Create a new staff/tablature pair with the New Score Wizard

1. Open the New Score wizard.
2. Enter the score details (optional). Click Next.
3. On the Choose template file page, click on Choose Instruments under "General".
4. Select a music staff (not tab) in the "Strings – Plucked" section of the left-hand column. Then click Add.
5. In the right-hand column, click on the newly-created line, labelled "Staff 1". This reveals the "Add Staff/Linked Staff" options in the centre column:
   • Click Add Staff to create an unlinked staff/tab pair.
   • Click Add Linked Staff to create a linked staff/tab pair.
6. In the Staff type column, click on the dropdown list for the newly-created staff and select a tablature option (this can be modified later, if required, on the score page—see Staff/Part Properties).
7. Change the staff order using the ↑ button if needed.
8. Complete the rest of the New Score Wizard, or click Finish.

Note: To create unlinked staves with separate mixer channels, instead of step "5" (above), select a Tablature staff in the left-hand column and click Add. Then continue with steps 6 and 7.

Create a new staff/tablature pair in an existing score

1. Open the Instruments editor (press I, or from the menu bar, select Edit → Instruments…).
2. Then follow steps 4–8 above.

Create a staff/tablature pair from an existing staff

To add tablature to a plucked-string staff in the score (or vice versa):

1. Open the Instruments editor (press I, or from the menu bar, select Edit → Instruments…).
2. In the right-hand column, select the staff you want to create the staff/tab pair from, then follow one of the options shown in step 5 above.
3. Continue with steps 6–8 above.

Enter notes in tablature

Using a computer keyboard

1. In Normal mode, select the measure or existing note from which you want to begin note entry.
2. Switch to note input mode (N): a short 'blue rectangle' appears around one tablature string: this is the current string.
3. Select the duration of the note or rest that you wish to enter (see below).
4. Press the up/down arrow keys to move the cursor to the desired string. Use the left/right arrow keys to navigate through the score.

5. Press 0 to 9 to enter a fret mark from 0 to 9 on the current string; to enter numbers with several digits press each digit in sequence. Keys A to H and K can also be used: convenient when working in French tablature. For L , M, N, use the alphanumeric keyboard and type respectively 10, 11, 12... (Note: You cannot enter a number higher than the "Number of frets" value set in the Edit String Data dialog).

   Press ; (semicolon) to enter a rest of the selected duration.

6. You can enter notes in different voices if required—just as you would in a standard staff.

See also, Edit notes (below).

Historical tablature

Period notation for bass strings (lutes and sim.) is supported:

• French tablature: letters with prefixed slash-like strokes right under the tab body: i.e. 7th string: "a", 8th string: "/a", 9th string: "//a" and so on, all in the first position below the tab body.

• Italian tablature: numbers with 'ledger line'- like segment of string above the tab body: i.e. 7th string: "0" one position above the tab body with one 'ledger line'; 8th string: "0" two positions above the tab body with two 'ledger lines' and so on.

Input of fretmarks is via computer keyboard only: by moving the note entry cursor below (French) or above (Italian) the tab body, 'shadow' slashes or ledger lines will indicate the target string to which the fret mark will be applied; pressing one of the fret keys, will enter (and lay out) the note on that string.

Using a mouse

To enter notes into tablature with a mouse:

• Enter note input mode and select the note or rest duration (see below).
• Click on a string to create a note there. Notes are initially created on fret 0 (or a for French tablatures): to correct, type in the right number from the keyboard.
• You can also increase/decrease the fret mark using Alt+Shift+↑ or Alt+Shift+↓.
• You can enter notes in different voices if required—just as you would in a standard staff.

See also, Edit notes (below).

Select note duration

In note input mode, you can use any of the following methods to set note duration in tablature:

• Press Shift+1 to Shift+9: Sets duration from a 128th to a longa (availability of these shortcuts may depend on the platform and/or keyboard layout);
• Press NumPad1 to NumPad9: Sets duration from a 128th to a longa (if a numeric keypad exists and NumLock is on);
• Click on a note duration icon in the Note Input toolbar above the document window;
• Press Q to decrease the selected duration and W to increase it.

Edit notes

Change fret number

In Note input mode:

• Position the cursor above the fret mark and retype the desired number.
• Increment or decrement the fret mark using Alt+Shift+↑ or Alt+Shift+↓ (The fret mark automatically changes strings, if necessary, to achieve the lowest possible fret position).

In Normal mode:

1. Select one or more fret marks.
2. Use any of the following commands:
   • To increment or decrement, without changing the string: Press ↑/↓.
   • To increment or decrement, changing strings, when possible, to minimize the fret number: Press Alt+Shift+↑/↓

Note: The fret mark cannot be higher than the "Number of frets" value set in the Edit String Data dialog.

Change string number

To move the fret mark to an adjacent string without changing the pitch (if the string is free and can produce that note):

In Note input mode:

• Position the cursor over a fret mark, and press Ctrl+↑/↓ (Mac: Cmd+↑/↓).

In Normal mode:

• Select one or more fret marks, and press Ctrl+↑/↓ (Mac: Cmd+↑/↓).
• Drag a fret mark up or down to an adjacent string.

Crosshead notes

To change a fret mark to a crosshead note:

1. Select one or more fret marks (in non-note-input mode).
2. Press Shift+X to toggles ghost noteheads on/off.

Summary of keyboard commands

Note input mode

Normal mode