Albums

The Album feature has been disabled for 3.x. It will come back in 4.0.

The Album Manager allows you to prepare a list of multiple scores and save the list as an album file ("*.album"), print all the scores as one long print job with consistent page numbers, or even join the scores into a single new MSCZ score. This is ideal for preparing an exercise book or combining multiple movements of an orchestration.

To open the Album Manager, go to File → Album...

Create album

1. To create a new album, click the New button. Fill in a title in the "Album Name:" box at the top.
2. To add scores to the album, click Add Score. A file selection dialog will appear and let you choose one or multiple scores from your file system. Click OK.
3. The scores you add will appear in a list in the Album Manager. You can rearrange their order by selecting a score and clicking the Up or Down button.

Load album

If you have previously created an album, you can open it through the Album Manager by clicking the Load button. A file selection dialog will appear to let you load the .album file from your file system.

Print album

To print an album as if it were a single document, click Print Album. The scores loaded into the Album Manager are printed in the order they are listed in with the correct page numbers, ignoring the page number offset values in Layout → Page Settings... → First page number for all but the first score. As the album is printed in one print job, double-sided printing (duplex printing) also works as expected.

Join scores

To combine multiple scores into a single .mscz file, click Join Scores. The scores are combined in the selected order into one single score. If not already present, line- and section breaks are added to the last measure or frame of each score in the combined file.
All style settings are taken from the first score, different style settings from subsequent score are ignored.

All the scores should have the same number of parts and staves for this to work correctly, ideally with the same instruments in the same order. If the scores have the same total number of instruments but not the same ones, or not in the same order, then the instrument names from the first score will overwrite ones from subsequent scores. If some of the scores have fewer instruments than the first score, then empty staves will be created for those sections. Any part or staff that is not present in the first score will be lost in the joined score.

Save album

Upon clicking the Close button, you will be prompted to save your album as a .album file. This file is not the same as a joined score; it simply consists of the list of scores. Album files can be loaded into the Album Manager as described above.

File formats

MuseScore can import and export a wide variety of file formats, allowing you to share and publish scores in the format that best meets your needs.

MuseScore native format

MuseScore saves files in the following native formats:

• *.mscz: The default MuseScore file format. Being compressed it takes up relatively little disk space.
• *.mscx: An uncompressed MuseScore file format, mainly used for debugging or storing in a versioning system
• .*.mscz, / .*.mscx,: These are backup files. Notice the point (full stop) added before the file name, and the comma added to the file extension.

A note about fonts: MuseScore does not embed text fonts in saved or exported native format files. If you want your MuseScore file to be viewed by other MuseScore users, make sure you are using the built-in FreeSerif or FreeSans font families for your text, or a font that the other parties have installed too. If a system does not have the fonts specified in your original file, MuseScore will use a fallback option, which may cause your score to appear differently.

MuseScore format (*.mscz)

MSCZ is the standard MuseScore file format and recommended for most uses. A score saved in this format takes up very little disk space, but preserves all the necessary information. The format is a ZIP-compressed version of .mscx files and includes any images the score may contain and a thumbnail.

Uncompressed MuseScore format (*.mscx)

MSCX is the uncompressed version of the MuseScore file format. A score saved in this format will retain all information, except images. It can be opened with a text editor, allowing the user access to the file's source code.

MuseScore backup file (.*.mscz,) or (.*.mscx,)

Backup files are created automatically and saved in the same folder as your normal MuseScore file. The backup copy contains the previously saved version of the MuseScore file and can be important if your normal copy becomes corrupted, or for looking at an older version of the score.

The backup file adds a period to the beginning of the file name (.) and a comma (,) to the end (e.g. if your normal file is called "untitled.mscz", the backup copy will be ".untitled.mscz,"), and the period and comma need to be removed from the name in order to open the backup file in MuseScore. As it is stored in the same folder as your normal MuseScore file, you may also need to give it a unique name (e.g. changing ".untitled.mscz," to "untitled-backup1.mscz").

Note: In order to see the MuseScore backup files, you may need to change your system settings to "Show hidden files". See also How to recover a backup copy of a score.

Graphic files (export only)

MuseScore can export a score as a graphic file in either PDF, PNG or SVG format.

PDF (*.pdf)

PDF (Portable Document Format) files are ideal for sharing your sheet music with others who do not need to edit the content. This is a very widely-used format and most users will have a PDF viewer of some kind on their computers.

To set the resolution of exported PDFs:

1. From the menu bar, choose Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...), and select the "Export" tab;
2. Set the resolution in the "PDF" section.

PNG (*.png)

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) files are based on a bitmap image format, widely supported by software on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, and very popular on the web. MuseScore creates PNG images as they would appear if printed, one image per page.

To set the resolution of exported PNG images:

1. From the menu bar, choose Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...), and select the "Export" tab;
2. Set the resolution and transparency in the PNG/SVG section.

Note: If you want to create images that show only parts of the score (with or without screen-only items such as frame boxes, invisible notes, and out-of-range note colors), use Image capture instead.

SVG (*.svg)

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files can be opened by most web browsers (except Internet Explorer before version 9) and most vector graphics software. However, most SVG software does not support embedded fonts, so the appropriate MuseScore fonts must be installed to view these files correctly. SVG is the current format for all scores saved on MuseScore.com.

To set resolution and transparency of exported SVG files, see the instructions under PNG (above). Note that MuseScore does not (yet) support gradients on export (although it does for images in a score).

Audio files (export only)

MuseScore can create normalized, stereo audio of the score in any of the following formats: WAV, MP3, OGG VORBIS, FLAC. To export an audio file:

1. From the menu, select File → Export...;
2. Choose the desired format from the dropdown menu, then press Save.

You can adjust the sample rate of all audio formats as follows:

1. From the menu bar, select Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...), and click on the Export tab;
2. Set "Sample rate" in the "Audio" section.

WAV audio (*.wav)

WAV (Waveform Audio Format) is an uncompressed sound format. This was developed by Microsoft and IBM, and is widely supported by software for Windows, OS X, and Linux. It is an ideal format for use when creating CDs, as full sound quality is preserved. For sharing via email or the internet, use a compressed alternative such as MP3.

MP3 (*.mp3)

MP3 is a very widely-used compressed audio format. MP3 files are ideal for sharing and downloading over the internet due to their relatively small size.

To set the MP3 bitrate:

1. From the menu bar, choose Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...), and select the "Export" tab;
2. Set the MP3 bitrate in the "Audio" section.

FLAC audio (*.flac)

Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) is compressed audio format. FLAC files are approximately half the size of uncompressed audio and just as good quality. Windows and OS X do not have built-in support for FLAC, but software such as the free and open source VLC media player can play FLAC files on any operating system.

Ogg Vorbis (*.ogg)

Ogg Vorbis is intended as a patent-free replacement for the popular MP3 audio format (which MuseScore also supports—see above). Like MP3, Ogg Vorbis files are relatively small (often a tenth of uncompressed audio), but some sound quality is lost. Windows and OS X do not have built-in support for Ogg Vorbis. However, software such as VLC media player and Firefox can play Ogg files on any operating system.

Share with other music software

MuseScore can import and export MusicXML and MIDI files; it is also able to import a variety of native format files from other music notation programs.

MusicXML (*.xml, *.musicxml)

MusicXML is the universal standard for sheet music. It is the recommended format for sharing sheet music between different scorewriters, including MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale, and more than 100 others. MuseScore imports *.xml and *.musicxml, but exports only *.musicxml. If you need *.xml (because the program you want to import it needs that), you need to rename it yourself after the export.

Compressed MusicXML (*.mxl)

Compressed MusicXML creates smaller files than regular MusicXML. This is a newer standard and isn't as widely supported by older scorewriters, but MuseScore has full import and export support.

MIDI (*.mid, *.midi, *.kar)

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a format widely supported by sequencers and music notation software. For details of the protocol see the MIDI Association website.

MIDI files are very useful for playback purposes but contain little in the way of score layout information (formatting, pitch spelling, voicing, ornaments, articulations, repeats, key signatures etc.). To share files between different music notation software, MusicXML is recommended instead.

For details about how to import MIDI files see MIDI import.

MuseData (*.md) (import only)

MuseData is a format developed by Walter B. Hewlett beginning in 1983 as an early means of sharing music notation between software. It has since been eclipsed by MusicXML, but several thousand scores in this format are still available online.

Capella (*.cap, *.capx) (import only)

CAP and CAPX files are created by the score writer, Capella. MuseScore imports version 2000 (3.0) or later fairly accurately.

Bagpipe Music Writer (*.bww) (import only)

BWW files are created by the niche score writer, Bagpipe Music Writer.

BB (*.mgu, *.sgu) (import only)

BB files are created by the music arranging software, Band-in-a-Box. MuseScore's support is currently experimental.

Overture (*.ove) (import only)

OVE files are created by the score writer Overture. This format is mainly popular in Chinese-language environments, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. MuseScore's support is currently experimental.

Guitar Pro (various—import only)

MuseScore can open Guitar Pro files with the following extensions: *.gtp, *.gp3, *.gp4, *.gp5, *.gpx, and, as of version 3.5, *.gp.

Power Tab Editor (*.ptb) (import only)

PTB files are created by Power Tab Editor. MuseScore's support is currently experimental.

See also

• Open/Save/Export/Print
• Recovered files

External links

• How to recover a backup copy of a score (MuseScore HowTo)

Fretboard diagrams

Note: This page applies to MuseScore 3.1 and above only. Users of versions prior to 3.1 should go to Fretboard diagrams (prior to version 3.1).

Fretboard Diagrams overview

MuseScore allows the use and creation of fretboard (or chord) diagrams. They usually appear above the staff on lead sheets and piano scores. They are commonly used for guitar chords, but MuseScore permits the creation of diagrams for any instrument.

Below is a simple example of Fretboard Diagrams use.

(Note: Fretboard Diagrams are an alternative to and quite different from Tablature, which is a specialized notation form that is preferred by some string instrument players.)

The Fretboard Diagram mechanism can be used in several different ways.

1. Standard chords. A set of 21 common chord diagrams for the guitar are found in the Fretboard Diagrams palette in the Advanced Workspace. These consist of a single example of a major, minor, and seventh chord for each diatonic scale tone (CDEFGAB). These 21 chords are adequate for many simple pop or folk music scores. See the overview of this palette below.

2. Modified chords. In many cases, the standard chords from the Fretboard Diagrams palette are used as a starting point for creating modified chord diagrams, via the Inspector. This technique enables chord extensions, alterations, different voicings, different positions, etc. to be applied to the 21 standard diagrams. There are literally thousands of guitar chords in general use, making a comprehensive palette or dictionary impractical. See How to use Fretboard Diagrams for custom/complex chords for examples.

3. "Freehand" chords. More advanced guitarists often prefer to start from a blank chord grid, and then draw the specific chord tones desired. See How to use Fretboard Diagrams for custom/complex chords for examples.

Note: Many aspects of music notation follow well-established engraving standards. Guitar chord diagrams are an exception. Usage has varied widely from year to year, from publisher to publisher, from teacher to teacher, and from arranger to arranger. Many inconsistent practices persist today, and distinct styles of chord notation are preferred in different musical genres and regions. For this reason, the MuseScore Fretboard Diagram interface supports diagrams of various types. Users are free to choose their preferences.

Overview of the standard guitar chord palette

The Fretboard Diagrams palette in the Advanced Workspace provides 21 diagrams, comprising a single major, minor, and seventh chord for each diatonic scale tone (CDEFGAB). The name of each diagram appears when the cursor hovers over the entry.

Note: This range of chord diagrams, or indeed any selection of 21 chords, would not typically be sufficient for publication purposes. Arrangers must consider many other voicings, positions, and chord qualities. This palette is also an example of the diverse diagram formats in use, as discussed above. These 21 chords happen to incorporate open/mute string indicators (the X and O symbols above the diagrams). Although those symbols do often appear in published scores, their usage varies by context. For example, jazz arrangements generally omit mute string indicators, unless contextually important, and rarely use open strings.

Additional palettes that contain a broader range of standard chords are expected be available in the future. These would try to address the needs of specific musical genres and situations.

Overview of creating modified or custom chords

Modified Fretboard Diagrams are created by adding and then editing an existing diagram from the palette. By modifying standard chords, it is possible to create Fretboard Diagrams for any playable chord, and to reflect fingering on any Western fretted stringed instrument, regardless of tuning, number of strings, or number of frets. Most of the material below deals with the process of modifying diagrams and creating new ones.

Custom diagrams can be saved to a custom palette if desired for future use. Modified diagrams can of course be copied/pasted within a score in the usual ways.

To add a Fretboard Diagram

To add a Fretboard Diagram to the score, use one of the following methods:

• Select a note in voice 1 and double-click a Fretboard Diagram from the palette.
• Drag and drop a Fretboard Diagram from a palette to the desired position in the score.

As the cursor hovers over the chosen diagram within the palette, its name will appear as a pop-up hint (see the example in the overview).

Chord Symbols linked to Fretboard Diagrams

When adding a Fretboard Diagram to a score, a chord symbol is also automatically created. The chord symbol is normally placed above the diagram, and uses the chord name from the chord's palette cell. Automatic placement and formatting of a diagram's chord symbol is controlled by style settings (see style settings, below).

A Fretboard Diagram's generated chord symbol can be selected, moved, and modified like any other text element. It behaves generally like the normal chord symbols that are added using Add→Text→Chord Symbol or the shortcut Ctrl+K.

Note 1: A field on the Chord Symbols style page (Style submenu: select Format→Style…→Chord symbols) – rather than on the Fretboard Diagrams style page – controls the chord symbol's "Distance to Fretboard Diagram". This value interacts with the Element "Minimum distance" field, within the Inspector, to control automatic placement of the chord symbol relative to the diagram. Note also that the Fretboard Diagram's "top edge" includes the blank space where open/mute string indicators would appear, even if that area is empty. This may leave a larger gap than is desired. As usual, manual placement can be used to override the automatic settings.

Note 2: Automatic chord symbols generated for Fretboard Diagrams are not completely integrated with normal Chord Symbols that may be directly associated with notes on the staff. Specifically, focus does not flow from a Fretboard Diagram's chord symbol back to the sequence of other symbols on the page when using Space to move through the chord symbols. This minor issue will be addressed in a future update.)

Use of Chord Symbols with Fretboard Diagrams

• Add a diagram's Chord Symbol automatically simply be adding a Fretboard Diagram as described above.
• Delete a diagram's Chord Symbol by selecting the symbol and deleting it, as with any text item.
• Add a new Chord Symbol to a diagram without one by selecting the Fretboard Diagram and using Add→Text→Chord Symbol or the shortcut Ctrl+K.

To adjust a Fretboard Diagram's element properties (position, color, stacking order...)

The position of a Fretboard Diagram can be adjusted using the keyboard arrows in Edit mode; or with the X- and Y-offsets in the "Element" section at the top of the Inspector.

Visibility, Color and Stacking order can also be adjusted in the "Element" section: see the diagram under editing.

To adjust global/default Fretboard Diagram style properties

Certain default and global properties of Fretboard Diagrams (see diagram below) can be adjusted from the Style submenu: select Format→Style…→Fretboard Diagrams. Some of these properties are subject to override via the Inspector; but most affect all Fretboard Diagrams in the score.

• Default vertical position specifies the default placement of the diagram relative to the staff. (Subject to override via Inspector).
• Scale specifies the default scale (i.e. diagram size). (Subject to override via Inspector).
• Fret number font size and ...position control placement of fret numbers on all diagrams. (Global).
• Barre line thickness controls how large a line is used to represent a barre on all diagrams. By default, this is the same thickness as the solid dots. A smaller line will allow dots to be visible under the barre, for situations where that is desirable. (Global).
• Relative dot size controls the size of dots on all diagrams, relative to the size of the scaled grid. (Global).
• String spacing controls the spacing between strings, and thus the total width of all diagrams. (Global).
• Fret spacing controls the spacing between frets, and thus the total height of all diagrams relative to the number of frets they each display. (Global).

Most Fretboard Diagram properties exposed by the Inspector offer "reset to style default" and "save as style default" buttons. These values do not typically appear on the style page, but are manipulated via the Inspector.

To edit a Fretboard Diagram

When a Fretboard Diagram is selected, it can be edited in the Inspector as follows:

The Inspector displays three sections related to the Fretboard Diagram:

• An Element section that controls the Fretboard Diagram's visibility, placement, color, and other aspects that are used in common with other MuseScore elements; see adjust element properties and the Inspector for details.
• A Fretboard Diagram section, with control fields and buttons that define the appearance of this diagram.
• A magnified version of the Fretboard Diagram, showing its details and allowing editing.

Below is an example of the Inspector with a Fretboard Diagram selected.

Editing Fretboard Diagram properties

(See Inspector properties above in the editing example.)

• To adjust the scale (size) of the diagram: Use Scale.
• To adjust the diagram's placement relative to the staff: Use Placement.
• To adjust the number of instrument strings: Use Strings. Strings are added/removed from the left side of the diagram.
• To adjust how many frets to display (i.e. the height of the diagram): Use Frets. Frets are added/removed from the bottom of the diagram.
• To adjust the first fret position: Use Fret number. A digit is shown next to the first visible fret.
• To specify thickening of the nut (a heavy line above the first fret): Use Show nut.
• Place the finger dots as described below.

Finger dot editing (basic use)

(See Inspector properties above in the editing example.)

• To remove all current dots, use the "Clear" button above the diagram. (Note: you could save a blank grid in a custom palette, as a starting point for custom diagrams.)
• To create a dot, click on a fret in the diagram at the bottom of the inspector; click again to remove the dot.
• To move a dot, clear its current position by clicking on it; then create the desired dot.
• To create a barre or partial barre: Click the "Barre" button above the diagram; then click at the leftmost position desired for the barre. The barre will extend to the right edge of the fretboard. Keyboard shortcut: Holding the Shift key, click on the string where you want a barre to begin.
• To end a barre before the rightmost string: Click the "Barre" button above the diagram; then click at the rightmost position desired on an existing barre. The barre will end at that string. Keyboard shortcut: Holding the Shift key, click on the string where you want a barre to end.
• To delete a barre: Click the "Barre" button above the diagram; then click at the leftmost position of the barre. It will be removed. Keyboard shortcut: Holding the Shift key, click on the leftmost position of the barre.
• To create multiple barres: Use the above steps to create one than one barre, e.g. to show the third finger covering two strings.
• To adjust the barre thickness: Use the Style options (Format->Style->Fretboard Diagrams) to adjust the barre line thickness relative to the dots. This will allow dots to be visible on the barre, for cases where that is desired.
• To Indicate open and mute strings (optional). Click just above the diagram to toggle a string between:
  • Open (o)
  • Mute/unplayed (x)
  • No indication

Finger dot editing (advanced use)

Some arrangers and educators use a more advanced form of Fretboard Diagram that a) incorporates multiple types of "dot", and that b) allows multiple dots per string.

This technique is particularly associated with the many books and arrangements published by Ted Greene and his successors. (Note: No other notation software currently supports this diagram style.)

• Multi-dot notation style. With this approach, the round dots are played first. Then, on successive beats, the notes represented by the other dots are then played in order. This allows a single diagram to represent several beats of music. (The usual sequence is: dot→X→square→delta. Usage varies however.) Here are two examples of multi-dot diagrams.

  

  

• Optional-note notation style. Another use of multiple dots per string allows other symbols to show optional notes, rather than delayed notes. Typically, a related chord voicing is shown, such as an optional extension or an optional rootless chord version. Here is an example of an optional extension.

  

MuseScore Fretboard Diagrams allow the creation of these and other types of multi-symbol diagrams. A chord is first created and edited using the basic steps described above. Then, the multiple dot buttons above the diagram are used to add secondary notes.

1. To begin adding multiple dots (i.e. symbols) to a diagram, click "Multiple dots".
2. To add another dot to a string, click above or below an existing symbol. The next symbol in sequence will be placed at that position, e.g. if there is already a dot, an X will appear next.
3. To remove any symbol from a diagram, click on it.
4. To enter a particular symbol out of sequence, click on the button with that symbol before adding the dot; e.g. to enter an X on a string with no current dots, because that note should be played after the rest of the chord, click on the X and then place it as desired.

(Note: Experienced users of Ted Greene style diagrams will find that several secondary features from Ted's diagrams are not yet supported in MuseScore. These include: a. Displaying the fret number on a higher fret than the first visible fret. b. Allowing the note symbols to include digits, not just the four dot styles currently supported. c. Allowing the creation of annotation on and between diagrams, such as circling a particular note, or drawing lines linking notes in adjacent diagrams. However, MuseScore does provide many tools for drawing and annotation that can serve in place of these techniques.)

(Note: Because multi-note symbols are not standardized, even within the Ted Greene community, users must be careful to indicate how they are being used within a given score.)

External links

• How to use Fretboard Diagrams for custom/complex chords (MuseScore HowTo)
• Palette with fretboard diagrams for Mandolin (Forum article)
• Palette with fretboard diagrams for Ukulele (Forum article)

MIDI import

MuseScore can import MIDI files (.mid/.midi/.kar) and convert them into music notation.

• To import a MIDI file, use the standard Open command. This converts the MIDI file into a MuseScore file using default settings.

The MIDI Import Panel appears at the bottom of the screen: you can expand this by dragging the interface with the document window upwards. The panel shows all the tracks in the file (only those with note events are shown) and allows you to adjust parameters affecting the conversion process. If there are multiple tracks, then one more track is added at the top of the list to select all tracks at once.

• To accept the default conversion: Simply press the "X" symbol on the top-left of the Import Panel to close it. The panel can be re-opened at any time during the session by pressing "Show MIDI import panel" at the bottom of the document window.

• To reimport the file: Adjust the desired parameters in the Import Panel (see below) and press Apply. If you have made changes to the Import Panel but wish to UNDO them, press Cancel. To close the Import Panel, press the "X" symbol at the top-left of the panel.

Mouse wheel scrolling (MIDI Import Panel): Vertical scrolling is the default. For horizontal scrolling, press Shift or Ctrl while using the wheel.

Available operations

MuseScore instrument

Assign a MuseScore instrument (listed in instruments.xml or in specified custom xml file in Preferences) that defines staff name, clef, transposition, articulations, etc.

Quantization

Quantize MIDI notes by some regular grid. The grid MAX resolution can be set via the drop-down menu:

• Value from preferences (default) - quantization value is taken from the main Preferences dialog of MuseScore (in the “Import” tab)
• Quarter, Eighth, 16th, 32nd, 64th, 128th - user-defined values

However, the actual quantization grid size is adaptive and reduces when the note length is small, so for each note the quantization value is different. But there is an upper limit for the quantization value, and that value can be set by the user as "max. quantization".
For example, if some note is long - say, half note, and the max. quantization is set to 8th, then the note will be quantized with the 8th-note grid, not the half- or quarter-note grid as it supposed to be by the algorithm.
Such quantization scheme allows to quantize all notes in the score (with different lengths!) adequately.

Max. voices

Sets maximum count of allowed musical voices.

Search tuplets

When enabled, this option attempts to detect tuplets and applies the corresponding quantization grid to the tuplet chords.

Is human performance

If enabled, this option reduces the accuracy of MIDI-to-score conversion in favor of readability. It is useful for unaligned MIDI files, when no regular quantization grid is provided. For such files the automatic beat tracking algorithm is used which tries to detect the bar positions throughout the piece.

2x less measure count

The option is active for unaligned MIDI files (when "Is human performance" is checked by default). It halves measure count obtained in the internal beat tracking operation. It may be convenient when the beat tracking gives 2x more frequent bar subdivision than necessary.

Time signature

The option is active for unaligned MIDI files. The user can choose an appropriate time signature for the whole piece if the default detected value is wrong. The option is useful because it handles imported tuplets correctly unlike the direct time signature setting from the palette.

Split staff

This option is suited mainly for piano tracks - to assign notes to the left or right hand of the performer. It uses constant pitch separation (the user may choose the pitch via sub-options) or floating pitch separation (depending on the hand width - sort of a guess from the program point of view).
For drum tracks (“Percussion” sound in the track list) it splits the staff into multiple staves, each of which gets only one drum pitch (i.e. drum sound). There is also a sub-option to allow/disallow the application of the square bracket for the newly created set of drum tracks.

Clef changes

Small clefs can be inserted within a staff to keep chords closer to the 5 staff lines. Clef changes depend on the average pitch of the chord. Tied groups of notes are not broken by the clef insertion (if it occurs, one can report a bug for algorithm in importmidi_clef.cpp). This option is available for non-drum tracks only.

Simplify durations

Reduces number of rests to form more "simple" note durations. For drum tracks this option can remove rests and lengthen notes as well.

Show staccato

Option to show/hide staccato markings in the score.

Dotted notes

Controls whether MuseScore will use dotted notes or ties.

Show tempo text

Shows/hides tempo text markings in the score.

Show chord names

Shows/hides chord names in the score, if any, for XF MIDI file format.

Recognize pickup measure

When enabled, this option doesn't change the time signature of the first bar that is shorter than the second bar. It is also called anacrusis. This option is only available for all tracks at once.

Detect swing

MuseScore tries to detect swing, and automatically replace a pattern of 4th + 8th notes in triplets (for the most common swing feel, 2:1), or a dotted 8th + 16th pattern (for shuffle, 3:1), with two straight 8ths and a “Swing” or “Shuffle” text at the beginning.

Note input modes

MuseScore allows you to choose from any of several note input modes. Step-time (see below) is the default, but others can be accessed by clicking the small dropdown arrow next to the note entry button on the note input toolbar.

Step-time

This is the default method of note input and involves entering notes one at a time: first by selecting a note duration using the mouse or keyboard, then choosing a pitch using the mouse, keyboard, MIDI keyboard or virtual piano.

For details see Basic note entry.

Re-pitch

Re-pitch mode allows you to correct the pitches of a sequence of notes while leaving their durations unchanged (not to be confused with Accidental: Respell pitches).

1. Select a note as your starting point;
2. Select the Re-Pitch option from the Note input drop-down menu; or use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+Shift+I (Mac: Cmd+Shift+I).
3. Now enter pitches using the keyboard, MIDI keyboard or virtual piano keyboard.

You can also use the Re-pitch function to create a new passage from an existing one of the same sequence of durations—by copying and pasting the latter, then applying Re-pitch.

Rhythm

Rhythm mode allows you to enter durations with a single keypress. Combining Rhythm and Re-pitch modes makes for a very efficient method of note entry.

1. Select your starting point in the score and enter Rhythm mode.
2. Select a duration from the note input toolbar, or press a duration shortcut (numbers 1-9) on your computer keyboard. A note will be added to the score with the selected duration. In contrast to Basic note entry, pressing the . key will toggle dotting or not dotting all subsequent durations. All following rhythms will be dotted until the . key is pressed again. Unlike Basic note entry, the dot is to be pressed prior to entering the rhythm.
3. Entering rests is similar to adding dotted notes. Press the 0 key to toggle entering rests. All rhythms entered will be rests until the 0 key is pressed again. This can be used concurrently with dotted notes.
4. Continue pressing duration keys to enter notes with the chosen durations.
5. Now use Re-pitch mode to set the pitches of the notes you just added.

Real-time (automatic)

The Real-time modes basically allow you to perform the piece on a MIDI keyboard (or MuseScore's virtual piano keyboard) and have the notation added for you. However, you should be aware of the following limitations which currently apply:

• It is not possible to use a computer keyboard for Real-time input
• You cannot enter tuplets or notes shorter than the selected duration
• You cannot enter notes into more than one voice at a time

However, these restrictions mean that MuseScore has very little guessing to do when working out how your input should be notated, which helps to keep the Real-time modes accurate.

In the automatic version of Real-time input, you play at a fixed tempo indicated by a metronome click. You can adjust the tempo by changing the delay between clicks from the menu: Edit → Preferences... → Note Input (Mac: MuseScore → Preferences... → Note Input).

1. Select your starting position in the score and enter Real-time (automatic) mode.
2. Select a duration from the note input toolbar.
3. Press and hold a MIDI key or virtual piano key (a note will be added to the score).
4. Listen for the metronome clicks. With each click the note grows by the selected duration.
5. Release the key when the note has reached the desired length.

The score stops advancing as soon as you release the key. If you want the score to continue advancing (e.g. to allow you to enter rests) then you can use the Real-time Advance shortcut to start the metronome.

Real-time (manual)

In the manual version of Real-time input, you have to indicate your input tempo by tapping on a key or pedal, but you can play at any speed you like and it doesn't have to be constant. The default key for setting the tempo (called "Real-time Advance") is Enter on the numeric keypad (Mac: Fn+Return), but it is highly recommended that you change this to a MIDI key or MIDI pedal (see below).

1. Select your starting position in the score and enter Real-time (manual) mode.
2. Select a duration from the note input toolbar.
3. Press and hold a MIDI key or virtual piano key (a note will be added to the score).
4. Press the Real-time Advance key. With each press the note grows by the selected duration.
5. Release the note when it has reached the desired length.

Real-time Advance shortcut

The Real-time Advance shortcut is used to tap beats in manual Real-time mode, or to start the metronome clicks in automatic Real-time mode. It is called "Real-time Advance" because it causes the input position to move forward, or "advance", through the score.

The default key for Real-time Advance is Enter on the numeric keypad (Mac: Fn+Return), but it is highly recommended that you assign this to a MIDI key or MIDI pedal via MuseScore's MIDI remote control. The MIDI remote control is available from the menu: Edit → Preferences... → Note Input (Mac: MuseScore → Preferences... → Note Input).

Alternatively, if you have a USB footswitch or computer pedal which can simulate keyboard keys, you could set it to simulate Enter on the numeric keypad.

When the notes are entered they will be placed just before the selected starting element, which will be highlighted with a square blue marker. The start element and any subsequent notes or rests within the same measure will be shifted forward. You can move the insertion point forward and backward using the arrow keys → or ←, and the new insertion point will then be highlighted.

Insert

Insert Input mode (called Timewise in versions prior to 3.0.2) allows you to insert and delete notes and rests within measures, automatically shifting subsequent music forwards or backwards. Measure duration is automatically updated as you go.

1. Make sure you are in Note input mode, and that you have the element selected where you want to start inserting notes/rests;
2. Click on the arrow next to the Note input icon, and select Insert (or if Insert is the current default, just press N);
3. Enter a note or rest as you would in Step-Time mode. Each note is inserted before the current cursor position;
4. Move the cursor forward and backward if required (using the arrow keys), to change the insertion point.

Alternatively, if you have only one or two notes to insert, you may prefer to use a shortcut:

• Press Ctrl+Shift (Mac: Cmd+Shift) while adding the note by Mouse-click or keyboard shortcut (A-G).

If, at any time, the total duration of the notes and rests within the measure does not match the time signature, a small + or - sign will be shown above the measure.

See also: Remove selected range (Tools).

Normal mode

To leave Note Input mode, click on the Note Input tool button, press N, or press Esc. This puts you in Normal mode, in which you can change durations and delete notes or rests as follows:

• If you select a note and press Del the note will be replaced by a rest of the same duration.
• If you select a note or rest and press Ctrl+Del the note/rest will be deleted, and subsequent notes moved backward (see Remove selected range).
• If you reduce the duration of a note or rest the remaining duration will be filled with rests.
• If you increase the duration of a note or rest it will subtract duration from the subsequent notes/rests to make up the duration. If this is done on the last note/rest in the measure, a note or rest with the required duration will be inserted in the start of the following measure, and the two will be tied together.

See also

• Note input
• Copy and paste

External links

• Video: Semi-Realtime MIDI Demo Part 1: New note entry modes
• Introduction to the new Repitch Mode (YouTube)

Notehead schemes

You can choose choose any one of nine notehead schemes for a standard staff. To set a notehead scheme:

• Right-click on a staff and select Staff/Part Properties…; click on Advanced Style Properties… and choose from the "Notehead scheme" dropdown list.

The schemes are as follows:

• Normal: This is the default scheme and the one the vast majority of people will use: it is also the only scheme in MuseScore 1 and 2. It uses normal noteheads which can be changed via the Noteheads palette or the Inspector.
• Pitch name: Noteheads automatically and dynamically change to include the English pitch name in the notehead.
  
• German pitch name: Just like the previous one but B will be replaced by H, and Bb by B.
  
• Solfège Movable Do (also called Tonic Solfa): Noteheads include the solfege syllable, depending on the degree in the scale. It uses Ti and not Si.
  
• Solfège Fixed Do: Noteheads include the solfege syllable for the note name. As used in France, Italy, Spain, etc... It uses Si and not Ti.
  
• 4 Shape (Walker): Noteheads follow the four-shape system used in books such as William Walker’s Southern Harmony (1835).
  
• 7 Shape (Aikin): Noteheads follow the seven-shape system used in books such as Jesse B. Aikin’s The Christian Minstrel (1846), and books by the Ruebush & Kieffer Publishing Company. It's the most used 7-shape system.
  
• 7 Shape (Funk): Noteheads follow the seven-shape system used in books such as Joseph Funk’s Harmonia Sacra (1851).
  
• 7 Shape Walker: Noteheads follow the seven-shape system used in books such as William Walker’s Christian Harmony (1867).
  

(For more info about the different variant of shape notes, see the SMuFL specification)

The setting applies to a given staff and the notehead will be used when entering and editing notes. Here is an example.

Preferences

You can customize many of MuseScore's default behaviors via the menu: Edit→Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...).

The Preferences dialog has multiple tabs:

Reset All Preferences to Default will reset all preferences to the ones MuseScore had when you installed it. Ok will save the settings and close the dialog. Cancel will close the dialog without applying changes. Apply will make changes take effect without closing the dialog.

General

Here you can define:

• Program Start: Specify whether to start the session empty or to display a score. The options are one of the following: Start empty (no score) / Continue last session / Start with new score (i.e. New Score Wizard automatically opens) / Start with score (the program default, or one of your own chosing).
  You can also chose which panels to display. This can be any combination of: Splash screen, Play Panel, Navigator, or Start Center. Also select if Tours will be active.
• Folders: Specify the default folders for score files, style files, custom score templates, plugins, additional SoundFonts, images, and extensions.
• Language: Choose the language used by the program. Translations may be updated from here too. Note that language translation updates can also be done via the menu: Help→Resource Manager.
• Telemetry: Tick/untick to authorize MuseScore to collect usage data. The type of data collected is listed, and updated as needed, in telemetry.
• Theme: Specify a dark or light theme, and the width and height of icons. Set display "Font face" and "Font size".
• Auto Save: How frequently the program autosaves.
• OSC Remote Control

Canvas

Use Canvas to set your preferred color and wallpaper for the score background and paper. The default "Background" is dark blue (RGB 20, 36, 51; Alpha 255) and the default "Paper," white.

• Background: Use this to set the color or background around the score pages. Select "Color" then click on the bar to the right and make a choice from the color picker; or select "Wallpaper," click on the file icon and set a background image.
• Paper: Sets the color or background of the score pages. Controls identical to "Background" (above). You can also tick/untick "Use the same color in palettes".
• Scroll Pages: This defines the way that the pages are laid out in the score. Choose "Horizontally" for a row layout, or "Vertically" for a column layout. To limit scrolling, tick "Limit scroll area to page borders".
• Miscellaneous: "Draw antialiased" (the default option) makes diagonal lines and edges of shapes look smoother. "Proximity for selecting elements" controls the distance the mouse may be from an object and still act on it. Smaller numbers require more precision, making it harder to click on small objects. Larger numbers are less precise, making it harder not to click on nearby objects unintentionally. Choose a comfortable working value.

Note input

On this tab there are note input and MIDI remote control preferences. Here the following can be set:

Note Input

• Enable MIDI Input: Leave checked to allow MIDI input of notes.
• Color notes outside of usable pitch range: For details, see Coloring of notes outside an instrument's range and Usable pitch range (Staff properties: all staves).
• Delay between notes in automatic real-time mode: See Real-time (automatic).
• Play notes when editing: When ticked, MuseScore sounds the note when it is entered or selected. Tick "Play whole chord when adding note," if you want to hear all the notes of a chord when it is added to. You can also edit the "Default duration".

MIDI Remote Control

Midi Remote Control allows you to use certain keys on your MIDI keyboard to enter notes and rests and to select note durations, without involving the computer mouse or (computer) keyboard. The default setting is off.

To assign a command to a MIDI key:

1. Ensure that "MIDI Remote Control" is checked (your MIDI keyboard should be connected before opening the program).
2. Click the red button next to the option you wish to assign a MIDI key to: the red button now lights up.
3. Press a MIDI keyboard key. The red button becomes unlit and the green button lights up instead. The MIDI key has now been assigned to the desired option.
4. Repeat "2" and "3" to assign other keys.

Once you have defined your key settings you can use the MIDI keyboard to control note input operations. You can verify your key settings by observing the MuseScore Note Input toolbar while pressing the MIDI keys.

To temporarily deactivate Midi Remote Control: uncheck "Midi Remote Control": all MIDI input key action buttons are now greyed out. Note: Your key assignments are always saved between MuseScore sessions and are not affected by deactivation.

Notes: (1) The "Clear" option turns off all the green buttons for the current MuseScore session but all the user-recorded MIDI key settings are retained and will be reloaded on the next session. (2) A MIDI key setting that is activated cannot afterwards be turned off, and the green button will always remain lit: however it can be overwritten with a different MIDI key by using the red button again. (3) If the same MIDI key is accidentally assigned to more than one option, then all the associated green buttons remain lit although only one will work. To fix, see "(2)".

Score

Score preferences include

• Default instrument list files (two may be selected)
• Default style for score and parts (see Load/Save Style)
• Default zoom

I/O

PortAudio (API / Device)

This enables you to set the audio interface (API) and specify the device to be used for audio playback: e.g. built-in speakers/headphones, USB headset, wireless, etc.

MIDI Input/Output/Output Latency

When an external MIDI input device is connected, its identifier appears in MIDI Input. When the device is connected for the first time, you also need to select the correct MIDI Output option in order to enable note input and correct audio playback (e.g. in Windows, this might be "MMS<device name>"): then close and reopen the program to confirm the changes.

Jack Audio Server

Check these options as required if using the JACK Audio Connection Kit.

Audio Engine

In case of lost communication between your audio device or your MIDI keyboard and MuseScore (no sound output or MIDI action), click on Restart Audio and MIDI Devices to restore them.

Import

These settings determine how files from other sources are imported:

• Using either the built in MuseScore style or a style you choose (see Load/Save Style)
• Guitar Pro and Overture character sets
• MusicXML layout options
• Shortest note in MIDI files

Export

These settings determine how various files are exported from MuseScore:

• PNG: PNG/SVG image resolution (in DPI) and whether to use transparent background.
• MIDI: Whether to expand repeats in exported MIDI files.
• Audio: Set audio sample rate, MP3 bitrate, and whether to "normalize" exported audio.
• MusicXML: Whether to export the layout and how to export system and page breaks to MusicXML.

Shortcuts

This tab lists all the commands in MuseScore and any keyboard shortcuts associated with them. Shortcuts listed in preferences also appear next to their associated commands in the menus.

• To search for a particular command: Enter its name in the "Search" box near the bottom of the window.

• To create a new shortcut for a command:

  1. Select an existing entry in the list.
  2. Click Define...; or just double click the entry.
  3. Enter the new shortcut using up to four keys. Press Clear if you need to re-enter the shortcut.
  4. Press Replace to change the existing shortcut; or Add, to keep the old shortcut and add the new one.
     Note: Some shortcuts, including default ones, may not work with some keyboards.

• To reset a shortcut to its system default: Select a command in the list and press Reset Shortcut to Default.

• To save the shortcuts list: Press Save and save to a file name of your choice.

• To load a saved shortcut list: Press Load etc.

• To clear all shortcuts for an entry: Select the entry and press Clear.

• To print out the shortcuts list (incl. export to pdf): Press Print etc.

Update

This sets whether MuseScore will check for updates and extensions at startup.

Updates may be checked manually in Help→Check for updates.

Advanced

Allows you to control specific settings for "application, "export", "i/o" and "user interface", as well as color settings.

See also

• Keyboard shortcuts
• Language settings and translation updates
• Update checking

Recovered files

If MuseScore or your computer should crash, or if power is lost, a pop-up message upon restarting MuseScore will ask if you wish to restore the previous session:

• Click Yes, to initiate attempted recovery of files from the interrupted session. Or click No to ignore message.

Saving after session recovery

When MuseScore recovers files after a crash, it renames them with the full path name added in front of the original file name. This very long name will appear in the tab(s) above the active score window.

To ensure that the file is saved in its original location. You should immediately save the restored file using the "Save As..." option: this will open a window to allow you to navigate to the correct folder and directory. If you use the "Save" command instead, the file will be saved in its current location which is unlikely to be the original one.

Finding recovered files

In the event that "Save" is used instead of "Save As..." with a recovered file, you will have to find the files in your computer. The actual location of those files will vary, depending on your operating system, and in which directory MuseScore is installed.

For Windows 7, with a default installation of MuseScore to the x86 program files directory, recovered files are auto-saved to C:\Program Files (x86)\MuseScore 2\bin (actually %ProgramFiles(x86)%\MuseScore 2\bin).

For Windows 10, look in C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\MuseScore 2\bin (actually%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore\%ProgramFiles(x86):~3%\MuseScore 2\bin).

You may need to run a system-wide search in order to find files saved directly after a session recovery. Use keywords from the original file name as well as wildcards, and specify the date modified.

See also

Save/Export/Print

External links

How to recover a backup copy of a score (MuseScore HowTo)

Staff Type Change

You can change the appearance of a staff mid-score by adding a Staff type change element to a measure, and adjusting its properties in the Inspector.

Add a Staff Type Change

1. Select a measure in the score and, in the "Text" palette, click (double-click prior to version 3.4) the "Staff type change" symbol, ; alternatively, drag the "Staff type change" icon onto a measure;
2. Select the symbol, and adjust its properties (see below) in the Inspector as required.

Staff type change properties

When you alter a Staff type change property in the Inspector, the new value takes precedence over the value shown in the global Staff properties dialog. Only those property values in "Staff Properties" that cannot be changed in the "Staff type change" dialog will be valid throughout the score.

The properties that can be altered in the Staff type change dialog in the Inspector are:

Offset
How far the changed staff shall be moved up or down: measured in spaces (abbr.: sp) .

Small
Tick the box to create a reduced-size staff.

Scale
Changes the size of the staff and all associated elements, as a percentage.

Lines
The number of lines making up the staff.

Line distance
The distance between two staff lines, measured in spaces (abbr.: sp).

Step offset
How many steps up or down the notes in the staff are offset.

Show barlines
Whether the staff barlines will be shown.

Show ledger lines
Whether ledger lines will be shown for notes above/below the staff lines.

Slash style
Whether the notes shall be shown in standard or slash style.

Notehead scheme
Allows selection of how noteheads are displayed.

Generate clefs
Whether the staff clef will be shown.

Generate time signatures
Whether the staff time signature(s) will be shown or not.

Generate key signatures
Whether the staff key signatures will be shown or not.

Example

To illustrate the use of Staff type change, the staff shown below was created using the following steps:

1. Add a Staff type change to measure 2.
2. Set size to "Small".
3. Set "Lines" to 4.
4. Add a second Staff Type Change to measure 3.

5. Change "Lines" to 7,

   

Afterwards the global Staff Properties are changed using Staff properties:

1 Set "Lines" to 2.
2. Change "Staff Line Color".

As can be seen, the change in "Lines" is only effective up to the first staff type change, whereas the change to "Staff Line Color" is effective throughout the score.

Tools

A number of useful commands can be found in the Tools menu.

Transpose

This opens the Transpose dialog with various options for transposing passages of music.

See Automatic transposition.

Explode

The explode command allows you to select a passage of music in a single staff and split (explode) the chords into their constituent notes or voices as follows:

• If the passage is all in voice 1, the top note of the chord is retained on the top staff, while the lower notes are moved to subsequent staves.
• If the passage contains multiple voices, voice 1 notes are retained on the top staff, while other voices are moved to subsequent staves. All exploded voices are now in voice 1.

To explode a section of the score:

1. Ensure that there are enough staves underneath the source staff to receive the exploded notes. Create extra staves if necessary using the Instruments dialog.
2. Choose one of two options:
   • Select a range of measures in the source staff: this allows all notes to be exploded if there are enough staves available.
   • Select a range of measures that includes both the source staff and also extends downwards to include one or more destination staves: This limits the number of exploded notes/voices to the number of selected staves.
3. Choose Tools→Explode.

Notes: (1) If the selection is all in voice 1, MuseScore will discard the lowest note(s) of any chord that contains more notes than the number of staves in the selection. (2) If the selection is all in voice 1, and If a given chord has fewer notes than the number of destination staves, then notes will be duplicated as needed so that every staff receives a note. (3) Any existing music in the destination staves is overwritten. (4) If you select a partial measure, the explode command will automatically expand it to a full measure.

Implode

The Implode command works in the opposite way to "explode":

• With one staff selected, all notes in voices 1–4 are combined into voice 1.
• With multiple staves selected, the notes in the second staff are copied to the first available voice in the top staff, the notes in the third staff are copied to the next available voice in the top staff and so on.

Apply implode to a single staff

1. Select a range of measures in the desired staff.
2. Choose Tools→Implode.

All selected notes in the staff are now displayed in voice 1.

Apply implode to multiple staves

1. Ensure that there is only one voice in each staff.
2. Select a range of measures in the destination staff and extend this selection downwards to include the other staves to be imploded.
3. Choose Tools→Implode.

Voices

This allows you to swap the voices of a selected measure-range of notes. See Exchange voices.

Measure

Join or split measures. See Measure operations: Split and join.

Remove selected range

This command is used to completely remove an element, or range of elements from the score.

To remove measures (including partial measures):

1. Select a range of notes/rests, or a range of measures;
2. Use one of the following methods:
   • Press Ctrl+Del.
   • Select Tools→Remove selected range.

Note: If the selected range includes only part of a measure, the result will include a measure of smaller duration than the indicated Time Signature. This is indicated by a small - (minus) sign just above the system.

To join measures:

1. Select (i.e. click on) a barline;
2. Use one of the following methods:
   • Press Ctrl+Del.
   • Select Tools→Remove selected range.

The following table is a comparative summary of the Delete and Remove selected Range_ commands when applied to single elements:

	Selected Element	Apply Delete	Apply Remove selected range
	Note	Replaces with rest	Removes score section
	Rest (voice 1)	No effect	Removes score section
	Rest (voices 2-4)	Deletes rest	Removes score section
	Barline	No effect	Deletes barline and joins measures
	Measure	Replaces contents with rest	Removes measure

Note: To insert notes, see Insert.

Fill with slashes

This command fills the selection with slashes, one per beat:

1. Select one or more measures;
2. From the menu, select Tools→Fill With Slashes.

If a measure is empty the slashes are added to voice 1, full-sized and centered on the middle line of the staff:

Notes: (1) If there are already notes in a measure in the selection, the command will put the slashes into the first available empty voice. (2) Voice 2 slashes are full-sized and centered on the middle line of the staff; voices 3 slashes appear small and above the staff; voice 4 slashes are small and below the staff. (3) If a measure contains notes in all 4 voices, voice 1 will be overwritten. (4) All slashes are set to not transpose or playback.

Toggle rhythmic slash notation

This command toggles selected notes between normal notes and rhythmic slash notation:

1. Select a range of notes or measures (Note: use the selection filter if you need to exclude certain voices);
2. From the menu, select Tools→Toggle Rhythmic Slash Notation.

The selected noteheads are changed to slash noteheads which do not transpose or playback.

Slash-notehead notes in voices one or two are fixed to the middle staff line; those in voices three or four are small ("accent" notation) and fixed above or below the staff:

In percussion staves, notes in voices 3 and 4 are not converted to small slashes but to small notes above or below the staff.

Respell pitches

Corrects accidentals to fit in with the current key signature. See Accidentals: Respell pitches.

Regroup Rhythms

This option corrects note ties, durations and beaming so that they are grouped according to standard music notation practice. For example:

Before:

After:

Any notes that are tied and are the same length as a dotted note will be changed to the dotted note with two limitations. (i) Only the last note of a group of tied notes will have a single dot. Notes with more than one dot are not produced using this option. (ii) Dotted notes will not span from one group of beamed notes to another unless their duration is the same as all of the beam groups it covers. Any notes with more than one dot will be regrouped according to the above rules.

To apply:

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 Tools→Regroup Rhythms.

Note: This is an experimental feature and there are known bugs. Articulations and ornaments are deleted and some pitches respelled. Ties across barlines may be lost on UNDO.

Resequence rehearsal marks

The Resequence Rehearsal Marks command allows you to re-order the numbering/lettering of rehearsal marks if, for any reason, they have got out of sequence. For details see Automatically resequence rehearsal marks.

Unroll Repeats (version 3.1 and above)

This command creates a copy of the score (in a new tab), eliminates the repeat barlines and notates the repeat sections in full instead.

Copy lyrics to clipboard

This command copies all the lyrics of the score to the clipboard:

• From the menu, select Tools→Copy Lyrics to Clipboard.

Image capture

Take a snapshot of a selected part of the document window. PNG, PDF and SVG formats are supported. See Image capture.

Remove empty trailing measures

This automatically removes any blank measures at the end of the score.

See also

• Breaks and spacers
• Rehearsal marks

External links

• How to merge/combine/implode two staves in one with two voices (MuseScore HowTo)

乐谱对比器

乐谱对比工具使您可以对比两个版本的乐谱，以找出其间的差异。

介绍

要打开乐谱对比器：

• 顶部菜单：视图→乐谱对比器。

  

对话框在文档窗口下部打开，由三个部分组成，从左到右依次是：

• 选择乐谱来比较: 选择您要比较的曲谱。
• 结果显示模式：选择如何查看对比结果。
• 对比结果：乐谱的逐行比较会显示出来。

选取乐谱

第一步是选取乐谱。使用“乐谱甲”旁边的下拉菜单选择当前打开的乐谱，或单击、浏览按钮来开启文件浏览器，之后从硬盘选取一份乐谱。
第二步，使用右侧的下拉菜单来选择乐谱甲的版本（当前版本/上次保存的版本）。乐谱乙会自动设为与曲谱甲相同的乐谱，但你也可以选择另一个打开的乐谱。

当您已选好乐谱与版本后，点击开始对比来进行比较。

选择视图

"智能对比"是 结果显示模式的默认选项：它以人类易读格式展示差异（例：“小节 1：音符：属性 pitch 改变 从 B4 变为 C5”）。若您偏爱以XML代码展示的对比结果，请将结果显示模式选项更改为"原始对比数据"。

查看对比结果

当您按下开始对比后差异列表将显示在右侧，乐谱视图将自动更改为“左右分割视图”。在比较结果部分，双击列表中的一个差异，两个乐谱视图都会自动平移以显示更改的元素，该元素也会突出显示。

离开对比器

要离开乐谱对比器，关闭“乐谱对比器”窗口_以及_视图菜单中的“左右分割视图”。

示例

下面您会看到两个小乐谱之间存在的一些差异。

前一次保存的乐谱：

当前乐谱：

对比的结果将如下所示：

乐谱属性

乐谱属性对话框包含文档的元标签，例如“工作标题”（workTitle）、“作曲者”（Composer）、“版权”（Copyright）等等。要查看此对话框：

1. 首先请确保要应用的乐谱或分谱处于活跃状态；
2. 然后在顶部菜单内点击文件 → 乐谱属性。

当您使用新乐谱向导创建乐谱时，有几个元标签是自动生成的，其他标签可能会在稍后被添加。若有需要，元标签也可被纳入页眉与页脚——见下文.

编辑元标签

1. 首先请确保要应用的乐谱或分谱处于活跃状态；
2. 在顶部菜单中点击文件 → 乐谱属性；
   
3. 按需编辑各种元标签的文本；
4. 要添加另外的元标签，单击New 按钮。填入"New tag name（新标签名称）"字段，然后单击OK；
   

Pre-existing meta tags

Every score displays the following fields in Score Properties:

• File Path: 乐谱文件在您计算机中的位置。
• MuseScore Version: 最后一次保存时的MuseScore主程序版本。
• Revision: The revision of MuseScore the score was last saved with.
• API-Level: 文件格式版本。
• arranger: （一般是空的）
• composer: This is initially set to the same text as "Composer" on the first page of the New Score Wizard.
• copyright: This is initially set to the same text as "Copyright" on the first page of the New Score Wizard.
• creationDate: Date of the score creation. This could be empty, if the score was saved in test mode (see Command line options).
• lyricist: This is initially set to the same text as "Lyricist" on the first page of the New Score Wizard.
• movementNumber: (empty)
• movementTitle: (empty)
• originalFormat: This tag exists only if the score is imported (see file formats).
• platform: The computing platform the score was created on. This might be empty if the score was saved in test mode.
• poet: (empty)
• source: May contain a URL if the score was downloaded from or saved to MuseScore.com.
• translator: (empty)
• workNumber: (empty)
• workTitle: This is initially set to the same text as "Title" on the first page of the New Score Wizard.

Entering Work / Movement / Part metadata

• workNumber is the number of the larger work (e.g. 8—for "The Four Seasons," Op. 8, by Vivaldi).
• workTitle is the title of the larger work (e.g "The Four Seasons,").
• movementNumber is the number of the movement in the larger work (e.g. 3 for Autumn).
• movementTitle is the title of the movement in the larger work (e.g.“Autumn”).

It is customary, when using the New Score Wizard, to create a work with the movementTitle as title (even though it ends up in workTitle then) and, directly after creating the score, amending this information in the Score Properties dialogue.

每个分谱有以下额外的元标签，其已经在分谱创建时生成并写入数据：

• partName: The name of the part as given on part creation (which is also used to fill the corresponding part name text in the top vertical frame—be aware that later changes to one are not reflected in the other).

页眉/页脚

To show the content of one or more meta tags in a header or footer for your score/part:

1. Make sure that the correct score or instrument part is the active tab;
2. From the menu, select Format → Style... → Header, Footer:
   
   If you hover with your mouse over the Header or Footer text region, a list of macros will appear, showing their meaning, as well as the existing meta tags and their content.
   
3. 按需往合适的文本框内添加标签（例如$:workTitle:）以及宏（e.g. $M）；
4. Click Apply to see how the header or footer looks in the score. Make corrections to the dialog if required;
5. 若一个分谱在活跃状态的标签页内。若您欲将这些设置应用到全部分谱，请单击Apply to all parts；
6. 单击OK来确认页眉或页脚并关闭对话框。

参阅

• 排版与格式：页眉与页脚
• 命令行选项：调试模式

分谱

MuseScore不仅可以让你制作、打印总谱，还可以让你生成总谱中不同乐器的分谱。
你还可以在分谱中加入特定乐器的乐谱，甚至是谱中的特定声部。这可以让你在生成独自的分谱的同时把多个部分（例如：长笛1、长笛2）整合到同一行乐谱中。

创建所有分谱

最简单直接的方法就是同时生成所有乐器的分谱。分谱依据和谱中对应乐器一对一的原则生成：

1. 在菜单栏中选择 文件 → 分谱…。
2. 点击 新建所有 按钮（分谱按照乐器名命名，具有相同乐器名的乐器分谱会额外添加示以区别的数字）。

3. 单击OK。

该分谱现能通过单击文档窗口上端的标签页来访问。

创建特定分谱

本方法允许您仅为选中的乐器生成特定的分谱（而非多合一分谱）：

1. 在分谱窗口中，单击 新建 来创建一个分谱；
2. 在中央面板输入您想要用作字符“分谱标题”的文字（这同时也将作为导出时对应的文件名的一部分）；
3. 在“总谱乐器”中选择您想要添加在分谱中的乐器，并按下 + 以将其加“分谱乐器”面板。

若欲创建更多分谱，请对于每个分谱重复第１至３步。

4. 单击 OK 来保存所有分谱。

您现在已经完成了对分谱的设定。如果您不打算从总谱中添加或是删除乐器，则不必重复操作上述内容。

自定义分谱

一旦生成分谱之后，您就可以在分谱窗口上方选择任何分谱，并使用下方的选项来控制分谱中，甚至是这个分谱中里单个谱表和声部的的乐器。

向分谱添加乐器

要向已有分谱添加乐器：

1. 选择"分谱"面板内的分谱；
2. 从"分谱乐器"面板选取乐器；
3. 按下 + 来添加到"分谱乐器"面板。

从分谱移除乐器

要从已有分谱移除乐器：

1. 选择"分谱"面板内的已有分谱；
2. 从"分谱乐器"面板选取乐器；
3. 按下 - 按钮来移除乐器。

为乐器选择谱表

要选择一个乐器的谱表来纳入分谱:

1. 选择"分谱"面板内的分谱；
2. 单击“分谱乐器”中乐器旁的箭头来展开列表以显示所有谱表和声部的乐器。
3. 选择要移除的谱表。
4. 按下 - 按钮来从乐器列表中移除乐器。

为乐器选择声部

1. 选择"分谱"面板内的分谱；
2. 在“分谱乐器”中，单击乐器旁的箭头以展开列表显示所有谱表和声部的乐器；
3. 取消勾选要移除的声部。

提示：若您仅选中所给谱表的第一声部，则只有该谱表的第一声部中的内容会被纳入分谱。故为了共享同一谱表中的两个长笛声部，您将需要将所有音符输入到各自的声部，即使在部分乐段中他们的内容相同。您不能在乐段中输入两个声部作为和弦，尽管它们共享一段旋律。

删除一个分谱

1. 打开分谱对话框（文件 → 分谱...）；
2. 在"分谱"面板选择相应分谱；
3. 按下 Delete 。

输出分谱

1. 在顶部菜单中点击 文件 → 输出分谱;
2. 指定文件的保存位置并选择文件格式（默认为PDF）；
3. 对于文件名，只需输入对于任何分谱都有效的前缀，或者保留默认乐谱文件名；
4. 点击 OK 。

这将会生成名为“<标题>" + "-" + "<分谱名>.<扩展名>”的文件。此外，当导出为PDF时，也会生成"<标题>" + "-总谱与分谱.pdf".

保存分谱

分谱是与乐谱相关连的，即改变了其中的一个，另一个也会随之改变，但是这种情况不包括对版面的调整。 当您业已创建分谱，版面调整是每个乐谱单独保存的（若您打开了带有多个分谱标签页的乐谱）。

然而，若您想要单独保存分谱：

1. 请确保该分谱状态为“活跃”，否则请单击该分谱的标签页；
2. 在顶部菜单中选择 文件 → 另存为...。

打印一个分谱

1. 请确保该分谱状态为“活跃”，否则请单击该分谱的标签页；
2. 在顶部菜单中选择 文件 → 打印 以开启打印对话框。

图层（试验性功能）

此功能仍处于试验阶段，仅在MuseScore使用“-e”选项启动时可见，请参阅命令行参数

对于Open-Goldberg项目，需要能够创建不同版本的乐谱。其中一个版本是“Urtext”，即一个接近巴赫原始版本的乐谱。第二个版本可能是Czerny变体，除了Urtext之外，还包含了指法。

图层功能使您可以创建一个乐谱的不同版本。如果你想添加指法，你必须创建一个图层，并用图层名标记指法元素。

首先，创建图层：

其次，创建一个乐谱的变体：

向乐谱的变体版本加入可见图层，接着选择全部指法，并将它们用为变体乐谱的名称标记：

默认图层：

车尔尼图层：

另见

• 命令行参数

插件

插件是什么？

插件是微型的软件，会向MuseScore添加特定的功能。启用一个插件后，菜单栏中的插件菜单会增加新的一项。此后，当该项被选中时，插件会执行特定的功能。

MuseScore中有一些内置的插件——请看预装插件（本文下方）。你可以在插件库找到更多的插件。有些插件只支持MuseScore 3，有些只支持更低的版本，有些均可支持。它们的区别是：MuseScore 3.x和2.x的插件文件后缀名是.qml，老版本的则是.js.

警告：插件可能含有糟糕或者恶意的代码，它可能威胁到甚至损坏你的作品或系统。插件并没有经过任何的审查（除了预装插件）。你要么信任插件作者，要么自己检查代码。

安装

注：有些插件需要安装其他组件（例如字体）才能工作。查阅插件的文档以获取更多信息。

大多数插件以ZIP压缩包形式提供。下载插件的zip压缩包，解压到以下提及的某个目录（与你的操作系统有关）下。如果插件直接提供为未压缩的.qml文件，下载后直接放到那个目录下即可。

安装了插件后，需要先在插件管理器中启用才能使用它，详见启用/禁用插件。

Windows

MuseScore会在这些目录下寻找预装插件： %ProgramFiles%\MuseScore 3\Plugins （32位版本则是
%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MuseScore 3\Plugins ）和 %LOCALAPPDATA%\MuseScore\MuseScore 3\plugins （对于Win7或更高）。

新插件不应被装在上述文件夹中，而且这些文件夹应该永远不被修改。请将新插件安装在
%HOMEPATH%\Documents\MuseScore3\Plugins . 如果想要更改安装新插件的文件夹，可在MuseScore的偏好中指定。

macOS

MuseScore会在这些目录下寻找预装插件： /Applications/MuseScore 3.app/Contents/Resources/plugins 处的MuseScore bundle中（右击MuseScore 3.app，选择“Show package contents显示包内容”以显示相关文件）以及 ~/Library/Application Support/MuseScore/MuseScore 3/plugins .

新插件不应被装在上述文件夹中，而且这些文件夹应该永远不被修改。请将新插件安装在
~/Documents/MuseScore3/Plugins . 如果想要更改安装新插件的文件夹，可在MuseScore的偏好中指定。

Linux

MuseScore会在这些目录下寻找预装插件： /usr/share/mscore-3.0/plugins 以及
~/.local/share/data/MuseScore/MuseScore 2/plugins .

新插件不应被装在上述文件夹中，而且这些文件夹应该永远不被修改。请将新插件安装在
~/Documents/MuseScore3/Plugins . 如果想要更改安装新插件的文件夹，可在MuseScore的偏好中指定。

启用/禁用插件

如果要使用插件，首先要在插件管理器中将插件启用：

将插件前面的勾打上，那么插件名就会出现在插件菜单中供你调用。

创建/编辑/运行插件

可以创建新的、编辑现存的插件，并通过插件创建器运行：

关于所有可用元素的文档也能在这里找到。

预装插件

有些插件被预装在MuseScore中，但它们默认并未被启用。请看启用/禁用插件（本文上方）以启用插件。

ABC Import

该插件从文件或剪贴板导入ABC文本，并将其转换为MusicXML. 联网是必要的，因为转换过程用到了外部的网络服务。

Notes → Color Notes

该插件对所选范围（或整个乐谱）中的音符依据音高进行着色。It colors the note head of all notes in all staves and voices according to the Boomwhackers convention. 每个音高有不同的颜色。C 与 C♯ 颜色不同，而 C♯ 与 D♭ 颜色相同。
如果想还原所有的音符为黑色，只需再次运行该插件（点击相同的选项）。你也可以使用移除音符颜色的插件。

Create Score

该插件会创建一篇新的乐谱。它会创建一篇新的钢琴谱，有着4个四分音符：C, D, E, F. 利用它可以学到如何通过插件创建新乐谱以及增加音符。

helloQml

This demo plugin demonstrates some basic tasks.
该插件展示一些基本的任务。

Notes → Note Names

该插件对所选范围（或整个乐谱）中的音符进行命名。它会将音符的名称显示为staff text，依据MuseScore的language settings：voices 1 and 3 notes above the staff; voices 2 and 4 notes below the staff; and chord notes in a comma separated list, starting with the top note.

Panel

该插件展示一个GUI panel.

random/random2

创建随机乐谱。

run

该插件运行一条额外的指令。也许它只在Linux上有效。

scorelist

该测试性插件会遍历乐谱列表。

ScoreView

展示ScoreView的用法的插件

Walk

该测试性插件会遍历乐谱中的所有元素。

另见

• 工具

外部链接

• 支持3.x版本的插件

数字低音

添加新的数字低音提示{#adding-a-new-figured-bass-indication}

1. 选区要添加数字低音的音符；
2. 按下 数字低音快捷键。默认快捷键为Ctrl+G（Mac: ⌘+G）：若有需要，可在偏好设置：快捷键中修改；
3. Enter the text in the editor 'blue box' as required (see below);
4. Use one of the following options as required:
   • Press Space to move to the next note ready for another figured bass indication (or click outside the editor box to exit it). The editor advances to the next note, or to the rest of the staff to which figured bass is being added. (To move to a point in between, or to extend a figured bass group for a longer duration, see Duration (below)).
     
   • Shift+Space moves the editing box to the previous staff note or rest.
   • Tab advances the editing box to the beginning of the next measure.
   • Shift+Tab moves the editing box to the beginning of the previous measure.

Text format

Digits

Digits are entered directly. Groups of several digits stacked one above the other are also entered directly in a single text, stacking them with Enter:

Accidentals

Accidentals can be entered using regular keys:

要输入：	类型：
重降号	bb
降号	b
还原号	h
升号	#
重升号	##

These characters will automatically turn into the proper signs when you leave the editor. Accidentals can be entered before, or after a digit (and of course, in place of a digit, for altered thirds), according to the required style; both styles are properly aligned, with the accidental 'hanging' at the left, or the right.

Combined shapes

Slashed digits or digits with a cross can be entered by adding \, / or + after the digit (combining suffixes); the proper combined shape will be substituted when leaving the editor:

The built-in font can manage combination equivalence, favoring the more common substitution:

1+, 2+, 3+, 4+ result in (or )

and 5\, 6\, 7\, 8\, 9\ result in (or )

Please remember that / can only by combined with 5; any other 'slashed' figure is rendered with a question mark.

+ can also be used before a digit; in this case it is not combined, but it is properly aligned ('+' hanging at the left side).

Parentheses

Open and closed parentheses, both round: '(', ')' and square: '[', ']', can be inserted before and after accidentals, before and after a digit, before and after a continuation line; added parentheses will not disturb the proper alignment of the main character.

Notes: (1) The editor does not check that parentheses, open and closed, round or square, are properly balanced. (2) Several parentheses in a row are non-syntactical and prevent proper recognition of the entered text. (3) A parenthesis between a digit and a combining suffix ('+', '\', '/') is accepted, but prevents shape combination.

Continuation lines

Continuation lines are input by adding an '_' (underscore) at the end of the line. Each digit of a group can have its own continuation line:

Continuation lines are drawn for the whole duration of the figured bass group.

'Extended' continuation lines

Occasionally, a continuation line has to connect with the continuation line of a following group, when a chord degree has to be kept across two groups. Examples (both from J. Boismortier, Pièces de viole, op. 31, Paris 1730):

In the first case, each group has its own continuation line; in the second, the continuation line of the first group is carried 'into' the second.

This can be obtained by entering several (two or more) underscores "__" at the end of the text line of the first group.

Duration

Each figured bass group has a duration, which is indicated by a light gray line above it (of course, this line is for information only and it is not printed or exported to PDF).

Initially, a group has the same duration of the note to which it is attached. A different duration may be required to fit several groups under a single note or to extend a group to span several notes.

To achieve this, each key combination in the table below can be used to (1) advance the editing box by the indicated duration, and (2) set the duration of the previous group up to the new editing box position.

Pressing several of them in sequence without entering any figured bass text repeatedly extends the previous group.

Type:	to get:
Ctrl+1	1/64
Ctrl+2	1/32
Ctrl+3	1/16
Ctrl+4	1/8 (quaver)
Ctrl+5	1/4 (crochet)
Ctrl+6	half note (minim)
Ctrl+7	whole note (semibreve)
Ctrl+8	2 whole notes (breve)

(The digits are the same as are used to set the note durations)

Setting the exact figured bass group duration is only mandatory in two cases:

1. When several groups are fit under a single staff note (there is no other way).
2. When continuation lines are used, as line length depends on the group duration.

However, it is a good practice to always set the duration to the intended value for the purposes of plugins and MusicXML.

Editing existing figured basses

To edit a figured bass indication already entered use one of the following options:

• Select it, or the note it belongs to and press the same Figured Bass shortcut used to create a new one.
• Double-click it.

The usual text editor box will open with the text converted back to plain characters ('b', '#' and 'h' for accidentals, separate combining suffixes, underscores, etc.) for simpler editing.

Once done, press Space to move to a next note, or click outside the editor box to exit it, as for newly created figured basses.

Style

To configure how figured bass is rendered: from the menu, select Format → Style… → Figured Bass.

• Font: The dropdown list contains all the fonts which have been configured for figured bass. A standard installation contains only one font, "MuseScore Figured Bass," which is also the default font.
• Size: Select a font-size in points. Note: This value is also modified by any change made to Scaling (Format → Page Settings…), or Scale ("Staff properties").
• Vertical Position: The distance (in spaces) from the top of the staff to the top margin of the figured bass text. Negative values go up (figured bass above the staff) and positive values go down (figured bass below the staff: a value greater than 4 is needed to step over the staff itself).

• Line Height: The distance between the base line of each figured bass line, as a percentage of font size.

  The following picture visualizes each numeric parameter:

  

• Alignment: Select the vertical alignment: with Top, the top line of each group is aligned with the main vertical position and the group 'hangs' from it (this is normally used with figured bass notation and is the default); with Bottom, the bottom line is aligned with the main vertical position and the group 'sits' on it (this is sometimes used in some kinds of harmonic analysis notations):

  

• Style: Chose between "Modern" or "Historic." The difference between the two styles is shown below:

  

Proper syntax

For the relevant substitutions and shape combinations to take effect and for proper alignment, the figured bass mechanism expects input texts to follow some rules (which are in any case, the rules for a syntactical figured bass indication):

• There can be only one accidental (before or after), or only one combining suffix per figure;
• There cannot be both an accidental and a combining suffix;
• There can be an accidental without a digit (altered third), but not a combining suffix without a digit.
• Any other character not listed above is not expected.

If a text entered does not follow these rules, it will not be processed: it will be stored and displayed as it is, without any layout.

Summary of keys

Type:	to get:
Ctrl+G	Adds a new figured bass group to the selected note.
Space	Advances the editing box to the next note.
Shift+Space	Moves the editing box to the previous note.
Tab	Advances the editing box to the next measure.
Shift+Tab	Moves the editing box to the previous measure.
Ctrl+1	Advances the editing box by 1/64, setting the duration of the previous group.
Ctrl+2	Advances the editing box by 1/32, setting the duration of the previous group.
Ctrl+3	Advances the editing box by 1/16, setting the duration of the previous group.
Ctrl+4	Advances the editing box by 1/8 (quaver), setting the duration of the previous group.
Ctrl+5	Advances the editing box by 1/4 (crochet), setting the duration of the previous group.
Ctrl+6	Advances the editing box by a half note (minim), setting the duration of the previous group.
Ctrl+7	Advances the editing box by a whole note (semibreve), setting the duration of the previous group.
Ctrl+8	Advances the editing box by two whole notes (breve), setting the duration of the previous group.
Ctrl+Space	Enters an actual space; useful when figure appears "on the second line" (e.g., 5 4 -> 3).
BB	Enters a double flat.
B	Enters a flat.
H	Enters a natural.
#	Enters a sharp.
##	Enters a double sharp.
_	Enters a continuation line.
__	Enters an extended continuation line.

Note: For Mac commands, Ctrl is replaced with ⌘.

早期音乐特色功能

MuseScore 提供了几个专有功能来创建雕刻版的早期音乐（一部分是中世纪和文艺复兴期间的）akin to commercial editions from the 20th century onwards.

Unbarred (or unmetered) notation

In MuseScore, notes lasting longer than the duration of a measure are normally tied across barlines. However MuseScore has a special feature which allows it to display the note values intact, without splitting and tying them in this way. This enables you to notate music which is unbarred (i.e. not divided into measures), such as that of the renaissance:

1. From the menu bar, select Format→Style...→Score.
2. Tick the box labelled "Display note values across measure boundaries … ."
   
3. Click "OK" or "Apply." The existing score is immediately updated.

Example

1. The example below shows an excerpt from the original score of "De Profundis Clamavi" for 4 voices by Nicolas Champion:
   
2. The same excerpt displayed in MuseScore:
   
3. And after activating "Display note values across measure boundaries … ."
   
4. To get rid of the barlines, just untick the “Show barlines” box in the Staff / Part properties dialog. See also Mensurstrich (below).

Note: The feature is still in development and may contain bugs. The longest supported note value is the longa (a dotted longa is still broken up and tied over).

Mensurstrich

Since a complete lack of barlines could make performing the music more difficult for current musicians, many modern engravers settled on a compromise called Mensurstrich, where barlines are drawn between, but not across, staves.

To place barlines between staves:

1. In the staff below the proposed Mensurstriche, uncheck "Show barlines" in the Staff / Part Properties dialog;
2. In the staff above where you want the Mensurstriche, right-click on one barline and chose Select→All Similar Elements in Same Staff;
3. In the Barline section of the Inspector, tick the "Span to next staff" option;
4. In the Barline section of the Inspector, adjust the "Span from" value so that the top of the barlines meet the bottom line of the staff;
5. Repeat for other staves as required.

Ambitus

Before there was the concept of an absolute pitch, performers were required to transpose vocal music to a singable range for their ensemble "on the fly." To aid them, an ambitus was sometimes included, marking the entire range of a voice at the beginning of the piece.

To apply an ambitus, use one of the following methods:

• Drag the ambitus symbol (from the Lines palette of the Advanced workspace) onto a clef.
• Select a clef, then double-click the ambitus symbol (in the Lines palette of the Advanced workspace).

When applied, the ambitus automatically displays the note range of the score: if there is a section break then only the note range of the section is displayed. Beyond the section break a new ambitus may be applied.

The note range of the ambitus can be adjusted manually by selecting it and changing the "Top note" and "Bottom note" values in the Inspector. For automatic adjustment click the Update Range button in the inspector.

Mensural time signatures

In the mensural notation system, time signatures did not define the length of a measure, but the length of breves and semibreves. MuseScore supports mensural time symbols as a display method in the Time signature properties dialog rather than as symbols, but they are just for show, as the proportion of e.g. half notes per whole notes cannot be modified.

One way to make use of these symbols is to replicate when composers of the renaissance had multiple voices in different time signatures simultaneously without using tuplets. Edit the time signature on a per-staff basis, as long as the beginning and end of a measure in all staves match up. If they do not, then consider increasing the size of the measures to the lowest common denominator.

De Profundis Clamavi for 5 voices by Josquin Des Prez

See also

• Measure Operations: Split and join

时间轴

介绍

时间轴是作为谷歌仲夏之码活动（Google Summer of Code 2017）的一部分开发的，并首次在MuseScore 3.0中引入。

概览

The timeline is a navigation tool that displays an abstraction of the score to the order of measure numbers and instrument names. There are four parts to the timeline:

源数据标签

This is found in the top left corner of the timeline. These are the names of the meta rows.

乐器标签

This is found in the bottom left corner of the timeline. These are the names of the rows in the main grid.

Meta rows

This is found in the top right corner of the timeline. These hold the meta values of the score.

Main grid

This is found in the bottom right corner of the timeline. This holds multiple 'cells' (a specific measure and staff in the score represented as a square)

Meta

Meta are elements found on the score that are not notes, but are still important to the score (key signature, time signature, tempo, rehearsal marks, bar lines, and jumps and markers).

基本作用

选择一个小节

To select a measure in the timeline, press the mouse button on the cell. A blue box will appear around the selected cell and the respective measure in the score will be selected. The score view will place the selected measure in view.

选择多个小节

Drag selection

Holding Shift and holding the left mouse button and dragging the mouse over the main grid will create a selection box. Upon releasing the mouse button, all the cells underneath the selection box will be selected, as well as all the measures in the score.

[Shift] selection

If a cell is already selected, holding Shift and selecting another cell in the timeline will stretch the selection to that new cell, similar to how the score does

[Ctrl] selection

If no cells are currently selected, holding Ctrl and selecting a cell will select the entire measure

Clearing selection

To clear selection, holding Ctrl and clicking anywhere on the grid or the meta rows will clear any current selection.

Meta values selection

Selecting the meta values on the timeline will attempt to select the respective meta values in the score.

滚动

标准滚动

Scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will move the grid and instrument labels down or up respectively. The meta labels and rows do not move.

[Shift]滚动

Holding Shift and scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will move the grid and meta rows left or right respectively. The meta labels and instrument labels do not move.

[Alt] 滚动

Holding Alt and scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will move the grid and meta rows left or right respectively, faster than Shift scrolling. The meta labels and instrument labels do not move.

拖拽

To drag the contents of the timeline, hold the left mouse button and move it around.

Labels interaction

Rearranging meta labels

All meta labels besides the measures meta may be rearranged in any way. By moving the mouse cursor onto one of the meta labels, small up and down arrows will appear. Click the left mouse button on the up arrow to swap the meta label with the one above it. Click the left mouse button on the down arrow to swap the meta label with the one below it.

Collapsing the meta labels

In order to hide all the meta labels while keeping all the meta information on the timeline, there is an arrow that appears on the measures meta when the mouse is over it. Click the left mouse button on the large up arrow to collapse all the currently visible meta rows into one row, where the meta values are staggered in that row. Click the left mouse button on the large down arrow to expand the meta rows again.

Hiding instruments

All instruments--hidden or not--will be displayed on the timeline. To start this interaction, the mouse cursor is moved over an instrument label. A small eye will appear on the right side of the label that is open if the instrument is visible on the score, and closed if the instrument is hidden. Click the left mouse button on the eye to toggle between the two options.

Zooming

To zoom in or out of the score, hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel up or down respectively.

Context menus

To bring up a context menu, right click on the timeline. There are three context menus found in these locations: meta labels, instrument labels, and meta rows.

Meta labels context menu

Upon clicking the right mouse button on the meta labels, a context menu appears that displays all possible meta labels as well as two options: "Hide all" and "Show all." Next to each meta label in the menu, there is a check box that shows if the meta label is currently being shown on the timeline. To show or hide one of the meta labels, select the box of the meta label in the context menu. Selecting "Hide all" will hide all meta labels except for the measures meta. Selecting "Show all" will display all meta labels.

Meta rows context menu

Clicking the right mouse button on the meta rows will display the same context menu as the meta labels.

Instrument context menu

Clicking the right mouse button on the instrument labels will display a context menu with the option to "Edit Instruments." Selecting this will bring you to the same dialog as Edit > Instruments... or pressing I for the shortcut.

符号总面板

符号总面板包含给工作区增添的符号（基础、高级和自定义）。它也可以被用来创建新的拍号和调号。

使用下列方法其一打开它：

• 按下Shift+F9（Mac：fn+Shift+F9）；
• 在顶部菜单中选择 视图 → 符号总面板。

符号总面板根据符号类型被分为若干区域。用鼠标在一个项目上停留会显示提示条（黄底黑字）。

To transfer a Master palette item to a custom palette:

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

注意：Except for the Symbols section (below), it is not usual to add items directly to the score from the Master palette: use the workspace palettes instead. However, if desired, items can be added directly using either (i) drag-and-drop or (ii) by selecting one or more notes/rests and double-clicking the item.

符号

The Symbols section of the Master Palette is a large repository of hundreds of musical symbols in addition to those found in the preset 工作区。You can open it from the Master Palette，或直接使用快捷键Z。

寻找符号

The Symbols subcategories can be displayed by clicking on "Symbols". Use the font menu on the bottom right of the box to specify Emmentaler-, Gonville- or Bravura-specific symbols. You can search for a particular symbol by entering a keyword in the search box.

应用符号

要把符号总面板中的符号加入乐谱，请使用以下任意方法：

• 将符号拖拽到谱表上。
• 选中一个音符或者休止符，然后双击一个符号。

The position of the symbol can be adjusted by dragging or by changing the horizontal / vertical offsets in the Inspector. Color and visibility can also be adjusted in the Inspector.

Note: Elements from the Symbols section do not follow any positioning rules (in many cases unlike identical elements from other sections of the Master Palette), nor do they affect score playback.

Connect symbols

Elements from the Symbols section can be connected to each other on the score page, so that they can be moved as one unit:

1. Apply first symbol to the score. Adjust position as required.
2. Double click, or drag-and-drop, a second element onto the first symbol. Adjust position as required.

Drag the first element and the attached element will follow.

参阅

• 符号面板与工作区
• Symbols and special characters (add musical symbols to text objects)

符头

A range of alternative noteheads "can be accessed via the 符头 palette of the Advanced workspace, or the 检视器 (see 更换符头组，见下文).

注意：The design of the notehead may vary depending on the music font selected (Emmentaler, Gonville or Bravura). Those in the palette are displayed as half notes in Bravura font.

符头组

MuseScore supports a range of notehead styles:

• 普通: A standard notehead.
• Crosshead (Ghost note): Used in percussion notation to represent cymbals. It also indicates muted and/or percussive effects in stringed instruments such as the guitar.
• 菱形: Used to indicate harmonic notes in instruments such as the guitar, violin etc.
• 斜杠: Used to notate rhythms (e.g. guitar strums).
• 正/倒三角: Used in percussion notation.
• Shape notes: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti.
• Circle cross: Used in percussion notation.
• 带圈符头
• Slashed notehead: A notehead with an oblique line through it.
• Plus noteheads
• Alt. Brevis: Used in early music notation.
• 带括号符头 (Parentheses): applied around an existing note (or accidental).

更换符头组

要更改乐谱中一个或多个符头的外观，请使用下列任意办法：

• Select one or more notes and double click a notehead in a palette
• Drag a notehead from a palette onto a note in the score.
• Select one or more notes and change the notehead in the Inspector, using the drop-down list under Note → Head group (not supported for drum staves).

Change notehead type

Occasionally you may need to change the apparent duration of a notehead—i.e. notehead type—without altering its actual, underlying duration:

1. Select one or more notes.
2. Chose one of the following options from the Inspector under Note → Head type:
   • Auto: Automatic, i.e, apparent duration = actual duration.
   • Whole: Whole notehead, regardless of actual duration.
   • Half: Half notehead, regardless of actual duration.
   • Quarter: Quarter notehead, regardless of actual duration.
   • Breve: Breve notehead, regardless of actual duration.

Shared noteheads

When two notes in different voices, but of the same written pitch, fall on the same beat, one of two things may happen:

• The notes may share the same notehead.
• The notes may be offset: i.e. arranged side by side.

MuseScore follows standard music notation practice as follows:

• Notes with stems in the same direction do not share noteheads.
• Dotted notes do not share noteheads with undotted notes.
• Black notes do not share noteheads with white notes.
• Whole notes never share noteheads.

Note: If two unison notes occur in the same voice they are always offset.

Change offset noteheads to shared

Offset noteheads can be turned into shared noteheads in one of two ways:

• Make the smaller-value notehead invisible by selecting it and using the keyboard shortcut V (or unchecking the "Visible" option in the Inspector).
• Alter the notehead type of the shorter-duration note to match the longer one by switching "Head type" in the "Note" section of the Inspector.

Examples of notehead sharing

1. In the first example below, the notes of voices 1 and 2 share noteheads by default, because they are all black, undotted notes:

   

2. By contrast, in the next example, white notes cannot share noteheads with black notes, so are offset to the right:

   

   To create a shared notehead, make the black eighth note invisible or change its head type to match that of the white note (as explained above):

   

Remove duplicate fret marks

In certain cases, a shared notehead, when pasted to a tablature staff, may result in two separate fret marks on adjacent strings. To correct this, make any extraneous tablature notes invisible by selecting them and using the keyboard shortcut V (or by unchecking the "visible" option in the Inspector).

External links

• Shape notes at Wikipedia.
• Ghost notes at Wikipedia.

自动布局

MuseScore最初在乐谱中根据样式中的默认属性放置元素。而如果元素 应用了自动布局，MuseScore会试图自动调整元素的位置以避免位置冲突。

初始位置

The default position for most elements is controlled by their style settings. The specific properties you can set vary by element type but may include:

• 位置: Whether the element appears above or below the staff.
• 偏移: For elements with no "Placement above/below" properties, this specifies the default position. See Offset X/Y.
• 自动布局最小间距: Minimum distance from other elements when autoplace is enabled.

For details of the settings available for each element type, see Layout and formatting: Style.

To change the default position:

Use one of the following methods:

• From the menu, select Format→Style; chose an element type and then adjust the placement/position settings.
• Select a relevant element in the score and change the placement/position settings in the Inspector; then press the Set as style" button (S) to update the Style settings.

手动调整

After an element had been automatically placed, it's position can be changed manually using one of the following methods:

• Select the element and adjust the X and Y offsets in the Inspector.
• Drag and drop the element using the mouse.
• Change to edit mode and move the element using the arrow buttons.

If the element type can be placed both above or below the staff, you can change the position by:

• Changing the "Placement" settings in the Inspector
• Using X to flip between above/below

Note: When automatic placement is enabled for an element, you cannot position it in a way that causes a collision with other elements.

取消自动布局

• Select the element and uncheck the "Automatic placement" box in the Inspector.

The element reverts to its default position. It can be repositioned as desired and is no longer avoided when placing other elements.

堆叠次序

To change the value for Stacking order:

• Select the element and change the "Stacking order" value in the Inspector.

In cases where elements are allowed to overlap, Stacking order controls the order in which they are placed on top of each other. The element with the lower value will be placed behind.

谱表/声部属性

谱表/声部属性对话框允许您修改谱表的显示、调音、移调、替换乐器等等。右击一行谱表并选择 谱表/声部属性 来打开它。

3.0版本中的“谱表/声部属性”对话框

谱表类型

出于实用所需，一共存在四种不同类型的谱表：

1a. 标准谱表 I。被大多数乐器（琴格、拨弦乐器除外）使用的音高谱。
1b. 标准谱表 II。包含一个琴格、拨弦乐器的音高谱，有可以设置乐器的弦数以及调律的选项。
2. 指法谱. 包含一个琴格、拨弦乐器的谱表，可将音乐显示为一系列在弦上的品格图。亦包含可以设置乐器的弦数以及调律的选项。
3. 打击乐谱。一种打击乐器的音高谱。
只要谱表对应着合适的乐器，它可以在“乐器”对话框被替换为另一种谱表。比如，若要把一行标准谱表替换为TAB符号谱，它必须对应着一种拨弦乐器。同样的，若要把标准谱表替换为打击乐谱，它需要对应一种合适的打击乐器，等等。

“谱表/声部属性”中的大多数选项都适用于所有谱表，但是每个类型的谱表都会有一两个特殊的选项。

谱表/声部属性: 适用于所有谱表

下列有关谱表属性的选项适用于所有谱表：

谱线
组成谱表的谱线数量。

谱线间距
两条谱线之间的间距，单位为谱线距（简称为sp.)。注意：不建议更改这项数据的默认数值。如果您想调整谱表的大小，请使用“页面设置…”对话框。

谱表上的额外间距
增加或者减少所有谱表组中选中的谱表和上方谱表的间距。注意：此设定不适用于谱表组中的第一行谱表，第一行谱表上方间距是用“最小/最大谱表组间距”来控制的（参看版面与格式：格式 → 样式… → 页面）。

或者，您可以从乐谱页面直接修改谱表上的额外间距：
1. 按住Shift键；
2. 单击谱表空白处并用鼠标向上或向下拖拽。

注意：若要只改变特定谱表组中特定谱表之间的间距，参看换行符与占位符。

缩放比例
用百分比的形式调整选中的谱表和其中的元素的大小（若要调整整体的乐谱大小，请使用 格式→页面设置…中的“缩放比例”）。

当谱表内容为空时隐藏谱表
这个选项和格式 → 样式… → 乐谱中的“隐藏谱表组中的空白谱表”设定一同决定谱表为空白时是否隐藏。

可能的值有：

• 自动（默认）：当谱表为空白、“隐藏谱表组中的空白谱表”被勾选时，谱表会被隐藏。
• 总是：谱表在空白时会被隐藏，不论“隐藏谱表组中的空白谱表”有没有被勾选。
• 从不：谱表在空白时不会被隐藏。
• 乐器：对于含有多行谱表的乐器，只要乐器的所有谱表都为空白时，才会被隐藏。

显示谱号
是否显示谱表的谱号。

显示拍号
是否显示谱表的拍号。

显示小节线
是否显示谱表中的小节线。

隐藏谱表组小节线
显示/隐藏谱表最左端的小节线。

即使谱表组为空也不隐藏
这行谱表不会被隐藏，即使整个谱表组都是空的。这个选项否定格式 → 样式… → 乐谱中的任何“隐藏谱表组中的空白谱表”设定。

缩小化谱表
创建一个缩小化的谱表。您可以进入顶部菜单格式 → 样式 ... → 大小来设定缩小化的默认大小。

隐藏谱线
使谱线不可见。

谱线颜色
使用色彩选择器来改变谱线的颜色。

Ossia模式
用于创建截断的谱表（或被称作cutaway score，横断谱表）。这可以独立于各种“隐藏空谱表”的情况下使用。

乐器
使用乐器快捷键 (I)或选择乐器对话框来加载乐器。与此相关的声音可按需在混音器中更改。

分谱名称
分谱的名称。也显示在混音器和乐器对话框中（快捷键I）。

请注意：分谱名称被instruments.xml文件中的trackName元素的值所定义。若trackName 尚未被定义，将使用longName的值（即"完整乐器名"—见下文）来代替。

完整乐器名
完整乐器名称显示于第一行谱表组的左侧。可作为文本对象来直接编辑。（参见文本编辑）。

乐器名缩写
完整乐器名称显示于除第一行外的谱表组的左侧。可作为文本对象来直接编辑。（参见文本编辑）。所作的编辑影响到谱面中所有的缩写。

可用音域

• 入门级：在此音域之外的音符会以黄绿色标出。
• 专业级：在此音域之外的音符会以红色标出。

要关闭超音域音符色彩标记：在顶部菜单中选择编辑→偏好设置...（Mac: MuseScore→偏好设置...），单击“音符输入”标签页，然后取消勾选“用颜色标记超音域音符”。

参见用颜色标记超出乐器音域的音符.

移调书面音高至实际音高
此选项确保移调乐器的谱表在正确的书面音高上显示乐谱。可按照一个音程设定移调（如果必要，升/降八度）。

使用单音力度变化（3.1版之后）
勾选时，可以使单个音符（或一组延音线连结的音符）随着渐变记号而改变回放的单音力度（比如使用sfz等音色）。

导航箭头
使用位于谱表属性窗口左下角的↑及↓按钮来导航到前后的谱表。

谱表 / 分谱属性（仅拨弦乐器）

除去上文所列出的之外，有品、拨弦乐器的谱表有一些额外选项：

弦数
显示乐器上弦的数字。

编辑弦数据…
此按钮会打开一个对话框，以使您可以设定数字以及弦的调律。参见更改弦的调律.

高级样式属性

单击高级样式属性...按钮来打卡一个窗口以查看谱表的高级显示选项。其内容会依所选的谱表种类而变，请阅读下文相关章节以晓详情。

模版

在高级样式属性对话框的底部有许多按钮可以让您轻而易举地对以下内容进行更改：

• 打击乐谱的谱线数。
• 拨弦乐器的谱表种类。举个例子，您可以将标准的谱表改成指法谱，反之亦然，或者从众多指法谱选项中选择。

1. 在"模版"字样旁的下拉列表中进行选择;
2. 按下< 重设为模版;
3. 按下OK来批准更改并关闭对话框（或者Cancel来取消操作）。

标准谱表与打击乐谱选项

显示谱号/拍号/小节线/调号/加线
切换以上元素显示状态的开关选项。

无符干
若勾选它，谱表音符的符干、符杠、尾钩将会消失。

符头体系
请参阅符头体系。

指法谱选项

颠倒
若未勾选此项，顶部的指法谱线将表示最高的弦，底部的指法谱线将表示最低的弦（这是最常见的选项）。如果勾选此项，顶部的执法谱线表示最低的琴弦，底部的琴谱线表示最高的琴弦（如意大利式鲁特琴谱）。例如：

'Upside down' 指法谱.

指法谱选项：品格号

品格号是用于指示音符在指板上位置的数字或字母。下列属性定义了品格号的外观：

字体
字体用来显示品格号。提供了8套字体以支持在8套不同样式中的所有必要符号（modern Serif, modern Sans, Renaissance, Phalèse, Bonneuil-de Visée, Bonneuil-Gaultier, Dowland, Lute Didactic）。
大小
以排印点为单位的品格号大小。内置字体通常看起来在大小为9-10pt为宜。

垂直偏移量
MuseScore尝试以合理的方式放置符号，对于内置字体，通常不需要更改此值（设为0）。若字体中存在不对齐基线的符号（或在一些MuseScore无法预测的情况下），这个属性使您可以上移品格号（负值） 或者下移（正值）来进行更好的位置调整。数值的单位是sp（谱线间距）。

品格号类型
选择数字 (‘1’, ‘2’...）或字母（‘a’, ‘b’...）作为品格号。使用字母作为品格号样式时，跳过“j”而用“k”作为第九个品。或是因为拉丁文中不存在字母j（译者注）。

品格号位置
选择将品格号的位置放在谱线上或在谱线间。例如：

在谱线见的品格字母

品格号下谱线：
连续 （谱线径直穿过品格号）或断开（当品格号显示时，谱线上出现一片小空间）。例如：

断开谱线的指法谱.

显示延音线末端品格号
若未勾选，则在一系列有延音线的音符中，仅会显示首个音符。如果勾选，所有延音线下的一系列音符都会显示出来。
在指法谱中显示指法
勾选以允许显示从符号面板内应用到谱面的指法符号。

指法谱选项：音符时值

这组属性定义了表示音符时值的符号外观。

字体
字体用于显示时值符号。目前提供的五套字体用来支持5个不同样式的必要符号显示（现代、意式执法谱、法式执法谱、法式巴洛克（无符头)、法式巴洛克）。仅与音符记号选项搭配使用。

大小
按照排版尺寸的字体大小。内置字体通常以15磅为宜。仅和 音符选项使用。

垂直偏移
仅当音符记号被选中时应用（见下文）。使用负偏移值来升高音符值符号，正值反之。

显示为：

• 无：不显示音符时值（如上例所示）
• 音符符号：谱表上方会出现音符状记号。当此选项被选中，记号仅在音符时值有变更时出现，换句话说，默认情况同一时值的音符记号不会重复显示。例：
  
• 符干与符杠：符干与符杠（或符尾）将会显示。每个音符都使用了与常规五线谱相同的排版机制标示了时值；所有标准的符杠属性同样能应用于这些符杠。例：
  

重复出现：

如果序列中的几个音符具有相同的时值，您可以指定是否、在何处重复相同的音符符号，即：
* 从不
* 在新谱表组中
* 在新小节中
* 总是

注意：此选项仅在“显示为：音符符号”被选中时可用（见上文）。

符干样式：

• 置之谱外：符干以固定高度线出现在谱表的的上/下方。符干显示为在谱表上/下方固定高度的线条。
• 贯穿谱表：符干谱表并到达品格号。

注意：此选项仅在“显示为：符干与符杠”被选中时可用（见上文）。

符干位置：

• 上方：符干与符杠显示于谱表上方。
• 下方：符干与符杠显示于谱表下方。

注意：此选项仅在“显示为：符干与符杠”和“符干样式：置之谱外”被选中时可用（见上文）。

二分音符：

• 无
• 短符干
• 带条纹符干

注意：此选项仅在“显示为：符干与符杠”和“符干样式：置之谱外”被选中时可用（见上文）。

显示休止符
决定音符记号是否被用于表示休止符；当用来表示休止符时，音符记号显示在在低一些的位置。仅与音符记号选项配合使用。

预览

以指法谱格式显示为一个短乐谱，并应用所有当前参数。

更改乐器

您可以随时把乐谱上的任何乐器换成另一种乐器。下面的方法可以一次性更新乐器音色、谱表名称以及谱表的移调。

1. 右键单击小节的空白部分或者乐器名称，然后选择谱表属性...;
2. 单击更改乐器...（在“分谱属性”下）；
3. 选取您需要的新乐器并点击OK以返回到谱表属性对话框；
4. 再次单击OK来返回乐谱。

勿与中途更换乐器相混淆。

外链

• Ossia谱表制作指南.

跨谱表音符

在钢琴谱中，横跨两个谱表的记谱方式是非常常见的。在MuseScore也能用下列方式实现跨谱表记谱法:

1. 首先在一个谱表中输入音符，例:

   

2. 选中一个音符，然后按下Ctrl+Shift + ↓/↑ （Mac: ⌘+Shift + ↓/↑）。这会把选中的音符（和弦）下移/上移到另外一个谱表，例:

   

   注意: 如果您只要移动和弦中的某一个音符到另外一个谱表，请确保和弦和这个音符在不同的声部里。

3. 要调整符杠，请双击符杠使之出现手柄。使用键盘上的箭头或者拖拽手柄来调整符杠位置和角度:

   

参阅

• 连接小节线: 如何在在不同谱表间延伸小节线。

外链

• How to span a chord or stem over two staves (MuseScore "Howto")

辅助功能

介绍

本文档为使用MuseScore 2.x盲人与视觉障碍者而写。It is not intended to provide a full description of all of the features of MuseScore; you should read this in conjunction with the regular MuseScore documentation.

MuseScore comes with support for the free and open source NVDA screen reader for Windows. The features in this document have been tested on Windows with NVDA. There is no support at the moment for other screen readers such as Jaws for Windows, or VoiceOver for macOS, which may work differently, or not at all.

At this point in time, MuseScore 2.x is mostly accessible as a score reader, not so much as a score editor. This document will focus on the score reading features, with only a brief description of score editing.

Initial setup

When you run MuseScore for the first time, you may want to permanently disable the Start Center window. To do so, go close the Start Center window first, then the Edit menu (Alt+E), choose Preferences, and in there, uncheck Show Start Center. Save and close the preferences window.

Finding your way around

The user interface in MuseScore works much like other notation programs, or other document-oriented programs in general. It has a single main document window in which you can work with a score. MuseScore supports multiple document tabs within this window. It also supports a split-screen view to let you work with two documents at once, and you can have multiple tabs in each window.
In addition to the score window, MuseScore has a menu bar that you can access via the shortcuts for the individual menus:

• File: Alt+F
• Edit: Alt+E
• View: Alt+V
• Add: Alt+A
• Notes: Alt+N
• Layout: Alt+L
• Style: Alt+S
• Plugins: Alt+P
• Help: Alt+H

Of these, only the File menu is of much interest when using MuseScore as a score reader. Once opening a menu, it may take several presses of the Up or Down keys before everything is read properly.

There are also a number of toolbars, palettes, and subwindows within MuseScore, and you can cycle through the controls in these using Tab (or Shift+Tab to move backwards through this same cycle). When you first start MuseScore, or load a score, focus should be in the main score window. Pressing Tab takes you to a toolbar containing a series of buttons for operations like New, Open, Play, and so forth. Tab will skip any buttons that aren't currently active. The names and shortcuts (where applicable) for these buttons should be read by your screen reader.

Once you have cycled through the buttons on the toolbar, the next window Tab will visit is the Palette. This would be used to add various elements to a score, but it is not currently accessible except for two buttons that are visited by Tab: a drop down to select between different workspaces (a saved arrangement of palettes), and a button to create a new workspace.

If you have opened one of the optional windows, such as the Inspector, or the Selection Filter, the Tab key will also visit these. You can close windows you do not need by going to the View menu and making sure none of the first set of checkboxes are selected (the windows that appear before the Zoom settings). By default, only the Start Center, Palettes and Inspector should be selected. See Initial Setup for instructions for disabling the Start Center. F9 can be used to toggle the Palettes while F8 will toggle the Inspector.

To return focus to the score window after visiting the toolbar, or a subwindow, press Esc. This also clears any selection you may have made in the score window.

The score window

When you first start MuseScore 2.x, an empty example score entitled “My First Score” is loaded by default. If you wish to experiment with editing features, this would be a good place to begin. Otherwise, you will probably want to start by loading a score. MuseScore uses the standard shortcuts to access system commands like Ctrl+O (Mac: Cmd+O) to open a file, Ctrl+S (Mac: Cmd+S) to save, Ctrl+W (Mac: Cmd+W) to close, etc.

If you press Ctrl+O (Mac: Cmd+O) to load a score, you are presented with a fairly standard file dialog. MuseScore can open scores in its own format (MSCZ or MSCX) as well as import scores in the standard MusicXML format, in MIDI format, or from a few other programs such as Guitar Pro, Capella, and Band-in-a-Box. Once you have loaded a score, it is displayed in a new tab within the score window. You can move between the tabs in the score window using Ctrl+Tab (does not apply for Mac).

There are a few interesting things you can do with a loaded score besides reading it note by note. You can press Space to have MuseScore play the score for you. You can use File / Export to convert to another format, including PDF, PNG, WAV, MP3, MIDI, MusicXML, etc. And of course, you can print it via File / Print or Ctrl+P (Mac: Cmd+P).

If a score contains multiple instruments, it may already have linked parts generated. Linked parts are presented as part tabs within score tabs, but currently, there is no way to navigate these part tabs using the keyboard. The parts would not normally contain information different from the score; they would just be displayed differently (each part on its own page). If a score does not already have parts generated, you can do so through File / Parts, and that dialog is accessible. If you wish to print the parts, you can work around the inability of accessing part tabs individually by using the File / Export Parts dialog, which automatically exports PDF’s (or other formats) for all parts in one step.

Score reading

When you first load a score, the score window has the keyboard focus, but there will be nothing selected. The first step to reading a score is to select something, and the most natural place to begin is with the first element of the score. Ctrl+Home (Mac: Cmd+Home) will do this. You will probably also want to use this, should you ever clear your selection by pressing Esc.

As you navigate between elements, your screen reader should give the name of the selected element (most likely the clef at the beginning of the top staff of your score). You will hear it read the name of the element (for example, “Treble clef”) and also give position information (for example, “Measure 1; Beat 1; Staff 1”). The amount of information read is not currently customizable, but we tried to place the most important first so you can quickly move on to the next element before it has finished reading, or just ignore the rest of what is read. Pressing Shift currently interrupts the reading, which might also be useful.

Most navigation in MuseScore is centered around notes and rests only – it will skip clefs, key signatures, time signatures, barlines, and other elements. So if you just use the standard Right and Left keys to move through your score, you will only hear about notes and rests (and the elements attached to them). However, there are two special navigation commands that you will find useful to gain a more complete summarization of the score:

• Next element: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Right (Mac: Cmd+Option+Shift+Right)
• Previous element: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Left (Mac: Cmd+Option+Shift+Left

These commands include clefs and other elements that the other navigation commands skip, and also navigate through all voices within the current staff, whereas other navigation commands such as Right and Left only navigate through the currently selected voice until you explicitly change voices. For instance, if you are on a quarter note on beat 1 of measure 1, and there are two voices in that measure, then pressing Right will move on to the next note of voice 1—which will be on beat 2—whereas pressing Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Right (Mac: Cmd+Option+Shift+Right) will stay on beat 1 but move to the note on voice 2. Only once you have moved through all notes on the current beat on the current staff will the shortcut move you on to the next beat. The intent is that this shortcut should be useful for navigating through a score if you don’t already know what the contents are.

When you navigate to an element, your screen reader should read information about it. For notes and rests, it will also read information about elements attached to them, such as lyrics, articulations, chord symbols, etc. For the time being, there is no way to navigate directly to these elements.
One important note: Up and Down by themselves, with Shift, or with Ctrl / Cmd are not useful shortcuts for navigation! Instead, they change the pitch of the currently selected note or notes. Be careful not to inadvertently edit a score you are trying to read. Up and Down should only be used with Alt/Option if your intent is navigation only. See the list of navigation shortcuts below.

Moving forwards or backwards in time

The following shortcuts are useful for moving “horizontally” through a score:

• Next element: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Right
• Previous element: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Left
• Next chord or rest: Right
• Previous chord or rest: Left
• Next measure: Ctrl+Right
• Previous measure: Ctrl+Left
• Go to measure: Ctrl+F
• First element: Ctrl+Home
• Last element: Ctrl+End

Moving between notes at a given point in time

• The following shortcuts are useful for moving “vertically” through a score:

• Next element: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Right

• Previous element: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Left
• Next higher note in voice, previous voice, or staff above: Alt+Up
• Next lower note in voice, next voice, or staff below: Alt+Down
• Top note in chord: Ctrl+Alt+Up
• Bottom note in chord: Ctrl+Alt+Down

The Alt+Up and Alt+Down commands are similar to the Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Right and Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Left commands in that they are designed to help you discover the content of a score. You do not need to know how many notes are in a chord, how many voices are in a staff, or how many staves are in a score in order to move vertically through the score using these commands.

Filtering score reading

Excluding certain elements like lyrics, or chord names while reading the score is possible by using the Selection filter (F6). Uncheck those elements you don't want to read.

Score playback

The Space bar serves both to start and stop playback. Playback will start with the currently selected note if one is selected; where playback was last stopped if no note is selected; or at the beginning of the score on first playback.

MuseScore supports looped playback so you can repeat a section of a piece for practice purposes. To set the “in” and “out” points for the loop playback via the Play Panel (F11):

1. First select the note in the score window where the loop should start
2. Go to the Play Panel and press the Set loop In position toggle button
3. Back to the score window, navigate to the note where you want the loop to end
4. Switch again to Play Panel, and press the Set loop Out position toggle button
5. To enable or disable the loop, press the Loop Playback toggle button

You can also control the loop playback and control other playback parameters, such as overriding the basic tempo of a score, using the View / Play Panel (F11).

Score editing

Score editing is currently not very accessible – too many score elements require intervention of the mouse in order to place objects onto a score. Additionally, visual reference and manual adjustment of the position of various elements is sometimes necessary due to MuseScore's limited support for conflict avoidance of elements.

In contrast, MuseScore does often provide ample default, and a platform to experiment with the basics of note input.
To enter note input mode, first navigate to the measure in which you would like to enter notes, then press “N”. Almost everything about note input is designed to be keyboard accessible, and the standard documentation should be good to help you through the process. Bear in mind that MuseScore can either be in note input or normal mode, and it won’t always be clear which mode of these you are in. When in doubt, press Esc. If you were in note input mode, this will take you out. If you were in normal mode, you will stay there, although you will also lose your selection.

Customization

You can customize the keyboard shortcuts using Edit / Preferences / Shortcuts. At some point, we may provide a set of special accessibility-optimized shortcuts and/or a way of saving and loading sets of shortcut definitions.

External links

• Creating a New Score in MuseScore with NVDA
• Inputting notes in MuseScore with NVDA
• Creating Modified Stave Notation in MuseScore