Regroup rhythms

Updated 1 year ago

Overview

Standard music notation normally follows a set of conventions designed to facilitate the reading of rhythm. The basic idea is to group notes in ways that clarify which notes belong to which beat. Rules include:

  • sixteenth notes should be beamed in a way that clarifies each beat
  • eighth notes should be beamed in a way that clarifies each group of two beats
  • longer notes that start off the beat should be broken up with ties to clarify each beat or group of two beats

A full discussion of this topic is beyond the scope of this Handbook, but for more information, see this handout.

Here is an example of a rhythm written incorrectly and then correctly:

Example of rhythm written incorrectly and correctly

MuseScore can correct many of these cases automatically.

Regrouping rhythms

To regroup rhythms according to the common conventions of standard music notation:

  1. Select the passage you wish to regroup.
  2. From the main menu, select Tools→Regroup rhythms.

The rhythm itself is not changed—only the notation of it.

See also