How to add cue notes

After a prolonged rest in a score, a short passage of small-sized cue notes is used to signal to the musician that s/he is shortly to resume playing. To add cue notes:

To instrument parts only

  1. From the menu, select StyleGeneral...Score (MuseScore 2.x) resp. FormatStyle...Score (MuseScore 3.x), and untick "Create multimeasure rest;"
  2. Create the parts;
  3. Copy and paste the cue notes to the desired location in the part;
  4. Select the pasted cue notes and tick "Small" in the Inspector to reduce the size;
  5. Also, for the same cue-notes, untick "Play" in Inspector to mute the notes;
  6. Add staff text to the first cue note, with the name of the instrument providing the cue. Style/format the text as required;
  7. On the first actually-played note after the cue, add appropriate staff text.

To main score and instrument parts

  1. From the menu, select StyleGeneral...Score (MuseScore 2.x) resp. FormatStyle...Score (MuseScore 3.x), and untick "Create multimeasure rest;"
  2. In the main score, copy and paste the cue notes to the desired location;
  3. Select the pasted cue notes and tick "Small" in the Inspector to reduce the size;
  4. Also, for the same cue-notes, untick "Play" in Inspector to mute the notes;
  5. Add staff text to the first cue note, with the name of the instrument providing the cue. Style/format the text as required;
  6. On the first actually-played note after the cue, add appropriate staff text;
  7. Create the parts.

See also

  • Tom Gerou, Linda Lusk. Essential Dictionary of Music Notation (Alfred Pub. Co., 1996), pp. 10-11, 54-55.
  • Elaine Gould. Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation (Faber Music, 2011), p. 566 ff.

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