Published on MuseScore.

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Table of contents
1 About the handbook
2 MuseScore versions covered
3 Exploring the handbook
3.1 Browsing chapters
3.2 Searching the handbook
3.3 Reading in a different language
3.4 Downloading the handbook
4 Contributing to the handbook
4.1 Editing the Handbook
5 Guidelines for writing articles
6 Structure - General principles
6.1 Start with an overview
6.2 Establish a hierarchy
6.3 Group information logically
6.4 Focus on user tasks, not just UI components
6.5 Create a table of contents
7 Headings
8 Content
8.1 Descriptive material
8.2 Goal-oriented instructions
9 Use of non-written media
9.1 Creating animated GIFs
10 Linking to other pages
10.1 Use the right syntax
10.2 Link to the page's node number, not the page's URL
10.3 Use a bookmarklet to autogenerate links
11 Syntax
11.1 Examples for stuff beyond MarkDown
11.2 Writing keyboard shortcuts
12 Leaving a revision log message
13 Introduction to MuseScore 4
13.1 Download and installation
14 Windows
15 macOS
16 Linux
16.1 AppImage
16.1.1 Install
16.1.2 Uninstall
17 Create your first score
18 Entering score information
19 Entering notes
20 Adding items from the palettes
21 Making adjustments in Properties
22 Inserting and deleting measures
23 Saving your score
24 Exporting your score
24.1 Upgrading to MuseScore Studio 4 from earlier versions
25 New user interface
26 Instruments and parts
27 Inspector
28 New playback and VSTi support
29 Engraving improvements
30 Cloud storage
31 Other changes
32 Viewing and navigation
32.1 Accessibility
33 Screen readers
33.1 Speech on Windows
33.2 Speech on macOS
33.3 Speech on Linux
34 Keyboard access
34.1 Navigating the UI
34.2 Navigating the score
35 Video tutorials
35.1 The user interface
36 Menu bar
37 Home tab
37.1 My account
37.2 Scores
37.3 Plugins
37.4 Learn
38 Score tab
39 Publish tab
40 Context menus
40.1 Element context menus
40.2 UI context menus
41 Navigating your score
42 Scrolling
42.1 Mouse wheel
42.2 Scrollbars
42.3 Keyboard
43 Element navigation
44 Navigator
45 Timeline
46 Views
46.1 Page view
46.2 Continuous view (horizontal)
46.3 Continuous view (vertical)
47 Zoom
47.1 Zoom in
47.2 Zoom out
47.3 Status bar zoom controls
47.4 Restoring 100% zoom
48 Find/Go to
48.1 Navigating to a numbered measure
48.2 Navigating to a numbered page
48.3 Navigating to a numerical rehearsal mark
48.4 Navigating to an alphabetic rehearsal mark
49 Timeline
50 Overview
50.1 Meta labels
50.2 Instrument labels
50.3 Meta rows
50.4 Main grid
51 Meta elements
52 Basic interactions
52.1 Selecting a measure
52.2 Selecting multiple measures
52.2.1 Drag selection
52.2.2 [Shift] selection
52.2.3 [Ctrl] selection
52.3 Clearing a selection
52.4 Meta values selection
53 Scrolling
53.1 Standard scrolling
53.2 [Shift] scrolling
53.3 [Alt] scrolling
53.4 Dragging
54 Labels interaction
54.1 Rearranging meta labels
54.2 Collapsing the meta labels
54.3 Hiding instruments
55 Zooming
55.1 Braille
56 Overview
56.1 Output to a physical braille display
56.2 Terminology: braille vs. print
57 Viewing braille
57.1 To open or close the braille panel
57.2 To focus the braille panel
57.3 Navigating the braille
 57.4 Shortcuts for navigation
58 Writing braille
58.1 Turn braille input mode on or off
58.2 Constructing a braille cell
58.3 Entering notes
58.3.1 Basic notes
58.3.2 16th notes and smaller
58.3.3 Dotted notes
58.3.4 Octave marks
59 Basics
59.1 Setting up your score
60 Overview
61 Instruments
61.1 Choose instruments
61.1.1 Adding instruments
61.1.2 Changing order of instruments
61.1.3 Removing instruments
61.2 Create from template
62 Additional score information
62.1 Key signature
62.2 Time signature
62.3 Tempo
62.4 Measures
62.5 Title and other text
63 Changing instruments after score creation
63.1 Entering notes and rests
64 Overview
65 Entering notes
65.1 Selecting a start point
65.2 Entering note input mode
65.3 Selecting duration
65.4 Selecting pitch
65.4.1 Selecting pitch using the computer keyboard
65.4.2 Selecting pitch using the mouse
65.4.3 Selecting pitch using a MIDI keyboard
65.4.4 Selecting pitch using the virtual piano keyboard
66 Entering chords
67 Entering rests
68 Accidentals
68.1 Selecting an accidental before entering a pitch
68.2 Adding an accidental after entering a pitch
68.3 Adding courtesy/cautionary accidentals
69 Ties
70 See also
70.1 Working with multiple voices
71 Overview
72 Entering notes and rests in multiple voices
72.1 Using multiple instruments
72.2 Enter notes and rests in multiple voices in one staff
73 Editing notes and rests in multiple voices
73.1 Adjusting rests
73.1.1 Hiding or deleting rests
73.1.2 Positioning rests
73.2 Changing voice of existing notes
73.3 Combining voices into chords
73.4 Separate chords into Voices
74 See also
74.1 Alternative note input methods
75 Accessing alternative note input methods
76 Rhythm only
77 Re-pitch
78 Real-time
78.1 Real-time (metronome)
78.2 Real-time (foot pedal)
78.2.1 Real-time Advance shortcut
79 Insert
79.1 Adding and removing measures
80 Inserting measures
 80.1 Measure context menu
80.2 The Properties panel
80.3 Note input toolbar
80.4 Menu bar
80.5 Inserting measures with keyboard shortcuts
80.6 Add measures to a frame
81 Deleting measures
81.1 Remove empty trailing measures
82 See also
82.1 Selecting elements
83 Selecting a single element
83.1 Notes
83.2 Chords
83.3 Overlapping elements
84 Selecting a list of individual elements
84.1 Selecting multiple elements manually
84.2 Selecting similar elements automatically
85 Selecting a range of measures and staves
85.1 Selecting a range by dragging
85.2 Selecting a range by clicking
85.3 Selecting a range using the keyboard
85.4 Special range selections
86 Excluding elements from a range selection
86.1 Editing notes and rests
87 Overview
88 Making changes in note input mode
88.1 Changing duration in note input mode
88.2 Changing pitch in note input mode
88.3 Replacing notes and rests in note input mode
88.4 Deleting notes in note input mode
88.5 Moving notes in note input mode
89 Making changes in normal mode
89.1 Changing duration in normal mode
89.1.1 Changing selected notes to a specific note value
89.1.2 Increasing or decreasing the duration of a selected note
89.1.3 Doubling or halving all note values in a range selection
89.2 Changing pitch in normal mode
89.3 Deleting notes and rests in normal mode
89.4 Removing notes and rests and their associated time
89.5 Adding ties in normal mode
89.6 Changing voice in normal mode
89.6.1 Moving selected notes into another voice
89.6.2 Exchanging the contents of two voices
90 See also
90.1 Copy and paste
91 Accessing the commands
92 Copying a range selection
93 Copying a single element or a list selection
94 Moving elements
95 Swapping a selection with the clipboard
96 Repeating a selection
97 Copying a range selection to multiple staves
98 Paste half/double duration
99 Duplicating individual elements
100 See also
100.1 Using the palettes
101 Default position
102 Auto-place
102.1 Vertical collision avoidance
102.2 Horizontal collision avoidance
102.3 Vertical alignment
102.4 Disabling auto-place
103 Manual adjustment
104 Manual alignment
104.1 Properties panel
105 Accessing the Properties panel
106 Global settings
106.1 Show
 106.2 Score appearance
107 General settings
107.1 Visible
107.2 Auto-place
107.3 Cue size
107.4 Play
108 Playback settings
108.1 Velocity
108.2 Tuning
109 Appearance settings
109.1 Leading space
109.2 Measure width
109.3 Minimum distance
109.4 Offset
109.5 Snap to grid
109.6 Arrange
109.7 Color
110 Properties for characters inside text objects
111 Saving and restoring default settings
111.1 Adjusting elements directly
112 Changing the position of elements
113 Changing the shape of elements
114 Anchors
114.1 Moving between anchors
114.2 Moving dynamics to the 'end of duration' position
115 Working with lines
115.1 Changing the range of a line
115.2 Creating diagonal lines
115.3 Editing text of Text line objects
116 See also
116.1 Parts
117 Opening a part
118 Closing a part
119 Creating custom parts
119.1 Reveal instruments in default parts
119.2 Create a new part
119.3 Choose which voices appear in each part
120 Applying styles to parts
121 Managing synchronisation of score and parts
121.1 Excluding items from parts or score
122 Renaming, duplicating and deleting parts
123 Exporting and printing parts
123.1 Default keyboard shortcuts
124 Navigation
124.1 Page navigation
124.2 Score navigation
125 Note input
125.1 General
125.2 Duration
125.3 Pitch
125.4 Tablature
126 Selecting
127 Editing
127.1 General
127.2 Duration
127.3 Pitch
127.4 Notation
127.5 Manual adjustment
128 Text
128.1 General
128.2 Formatting
128.3 Lyrics
128.4 Chord symbols, Roman numeral analysis, Nashville numbers, figured bass
129 Other score elements
130 Score setup and formatting
131 File Operations
132 User interface
132.1 Playback
133 Notation: Instruments, staves, and systems
133.1 Working with instruments
134 Overview
134.1 Accessing the panel
134.2 Adding instruments
134.3 Deleting instruments
134.4 Changing the order of instruments
135 Instrument settings
135.1 Hiding/showing instruments
135.2 Renaming instruments
135.3 Replacing instruments
136 Adding and configuring staves
136.1 To add a staff to an existing instrument
136.2 To add a linked staff to an existing instrument
136.3 Configuring a staff
137 Showing staves only where needed
138 Hiding empty staff along one system (all its measures along that system)
138.1 Hiding all empty staves
138.2 Excluding specific staves from being hidden
138.3 Temporary staves
138.4 Choosing the staff to show when all staffs in a system are empty
139 Hiding empty measure
139.1 Cutaway staves
139.2 Ossia
139.3 Other invisible measures
140 Implode and explode
141 Implode
141.1 Combine notes from multiple voices in a single staff into one voice
141.2 Combine notes from multiple staves into multiple voices on a single staff
142 Explode
142.1 Copy passage of single notes to multiple staves
142.2 Separate a passage of chords into its constituent notes
143 Mid-score instrument changes
144 Adding an instrument change
145 Working with instrument changes
145.1 Removing an instrument change
145.2 Re-labelling an instrument change
145.3 Instrument changes in the mixer
145.4 Changing staff type
146 Staff type change
147 Adding a staff type change
148 Setting staff properties
148.1 Staff/Part properties
149 Overview
150 Staff properties
151 Advanced style properties
151.1 Advanced Style Properties: common to all four staff types
151.2 Advanced Style Properties: settings for standard and percussion staff (Type 1a, type 1b and type 3)
151.3 Advanced Style Properties: settings for standard staff (Type 1a, type 1b)
151.4 Advanced Style Properties: settings for tablature staff (Type 2)
152 Part properties
152.1 Instrument
152.2 Names
152.3 Usable pitch range
152.4 Transposition
152.5 Part Properties: settings for plucked strings only (Type 1b and type 2)
153 Brackets
154 Adding brackets
155 Editing brackets
155.1 Changing bracket type
155.2 Changing bracket span
156 Deleting brackets
157 Customizing bracket appearance
158 Notation: Rhythm, meter, and measures
158.1 Time signatures
159 Overview
160 Setting the initial time signature for your score
161 Adding a time signature change to your score
162 Deleting a time signature
163 Controlling the visibility of time signatures
164 Creating a custom time signature
165 Adding a local time signature for a single staff
166 Resizing a time signature
167 Time signature properties
167.1 Appearance
167.2 Beam Groups
168 Time signature style
168.1 Stems and flags
169 Stem direction
169.1 Default stem direction
169.2 Flipping stem direction
170 Changing stem length
171 Creating stemless notes
172 Stem and flag properties
173 Stem and flag style
174 See also
174.1 Beams
175 Overview
176 Controlling which notes are beamed
176.1 Setting the default beaming for a time signature
176.1.1 Accessing Time signature properties
176.1.2 Beam groups
176.2 Overriding the default beaming for a specific note
176.3 Beaming over rests
176.4 Beaming over barlines
177 Controlling the appearance of beams
177.1 Feathered beams
177.2 Beam angle
178 Beam style
179 See also
179.1 Regroup rhythms
180 Overview
181 Regrouping rhythms
182 See also
182.1 Tuplets
183 Creating tuplets
183.1 Simple tuplets
183.1.1 In note input mode
183.1.2 In normal mode
183.1.3 Consecutive tuplets
183.2 Custom tuplets
183.3 Nested tuplets
184 Changing the display of tuplets
185 Tuplet properties
186 Tuplet style
186.1 Barlines
187 Adding double and other special barlines
187.1 Changing barline type for all staves
187.2 Changing barline type for a single staff
187.3 Adding mid-measure barlines
188 Changing barline length
188.1 Extending all barlines in a staff
188.2 Extending selected barlines in a staff
188.3 Creating partial barlines
188.4 Creating barlines between staves only (Mensurstrich)
189 Barline properties
190 Barline style
191 See also
191.1 Measure numbering
192 Showing and hiding measure numbers
192.1 Showing measure numbers automatically
192.2 Showing measure numbers manually
192.3 Hiding measure numbers
193 Changing the measure number sequence
193.1 Excluding a measure from the count
193.2 Altering the numbering of a measure
 193.3 Resetting measure numbering for a new section
194 Changing the position of measure numbers
195 Measure number properties
196 Measure number style
197 See also
197.1 Measure rests and multimeasure rests
198 Measure rest
198.1 To create one or more full measure rests
198.2 To create a full measure rest in a particular voice
199 Multimeasure rest
199.1 Enabling and disabling multimeasure rests
199.2 Breaking multimeasure rests
199.3 Multimeasure rest properties
199.4 Multimeasure rest style
200 See also
200.1 Pickup and non-metered measures
201 Creating a pickup measure
201.1 Specifying the pickup duration during score creation
201.2 Converting a measure into a pickup
202 Creating non-metered measures
202.1 Inserting notes and rests
202.1.1 Using a keyboard shortcut
202.1.2 Using Insert mode
202.2 Joining measures
202.3 Splitting a measure
203 See also
203.1 Measure properties
204 Opening and using the dialog
205 Staves
206 Measure duration
207 Other
208 See also
209 Notation: Pitch
209.1 Clefs
210 Setting the initial clef for a staff
211 Adding or changing a clef
211.1 Add/Change a start clef
211.2 Add/Change a mid-measure clef
212 Delete
213 Controlling the visibility of clefs
213.1 Standard clefs
213.2 Courtesy clefs
214 Clefs and transposition
214.1 Using octave clefs
214.2 Using different clefs for transposed and concert pitch
215 Clef properties
216 Clef style
216.1 Key signatures
217 Overview
218 Setting the initial key signature for your score
219 Adding a key signature change to your score
220 Adding a local key signature for a single staff
221 Selecting a key signature for a single staff
222 Replacing an existing key signature
223 Deleting a key signature
224 Controlling the visibility of key signatures
225 Key signatures and transposing instruments
225.1 Open/Atonal key signature
226 Creating a custom key signature
227 Key signature properties
228 Key signature style
228.1 Format→Style→Page
228.2 Format→Style→Accidentals
228.3 Format→Style→Measure
229 See also
229.1 Transposition
230 Overview
231 Transposing with keyboard shortcuts
 231.1 Transpose chromatically
231.2 Transpose diatonically
231.3 Transpose by an octave
232 Using the transpose dialog
232.1 Transpose Chromatically
232.1.1 To transpose chromatically to a specific key:
232.1.2 To transpose chromatically by interval
232.2 Transpose Diatonically
233 Working with transposing instruments
233.1 Transposed and concert pitch
233.2 Setting the interval of transposition
233.3 Controlling enharmonic spelling
234 Octave lines
235 Overview
236 Adding an octave line to your score
237 Octave line properties
237.1 Style tab
237.2 Text tab
238 Octave line style
238.1 Noteheads
239 Overview
239.1 Notehead schemes
239.2 Notehead shape
239.2.1 Pitch factor
239.2.2 Duration factor
239.2.3 Notehead type factor
240 Changing notehead shape
241 Adding pitch information to notes
242 Changing notehead direction
243 Notehead properties
244 Notehead style and font
245 Sharing noteheads between voices
245.1 Remove duplicate fretmarks in tablature
246 See also
247 External links
247.1 Ambitus
248 Adding an ambitus to your score
249 Changing the range of an ambitus
250 Ambitus properties
250.1 Respell pitches
251 Manually changing the enharmonic spelling of notes
252 Automatically respelling all notes in a selection
252.1 Respell pitches
253 Notation: Expressive markings
253.1 Articulations
254 Adding articulations to a score
254.1 Keyboard shortcuts
254.2 Toolbar
254.3 Articulations palette
255 Articulations playback
256 Articulation properties
257 Articulation style
257.1 Alignment options
257.2 Combined articulation options
258 Dynamics
259 Adding dynamics to your score
260 Dynamics properties
261 Dynamics and playback
262 Assigning voices to dynamics
263 Positioning dynamics
263.1 Voice-based positioning
263.2 Centering dynamics between staves
264 Combining dynamics and text
265 Dynamics style
265.1 Editing the dynamics font
265.2 Editing expression text style
266 Dynamics playback compatibility
266.1 Hairpins
267 Types of hairpin
268 Adding a hairpin to your score
268.1 Lines palette
268.2 Keyboard shortcuts
269 Changing appearance of hairpins
269.1 Range
269.2 Height
269.3 Set at angle
269.4 Other adjustments
270 Changing playback of hairpins
271 Hairpin properties
271.1 Style tab
271.2 Text tab
272 Hairpin style
272.1 Slurs
273 Adding a slur to your score
273.1 Adding slurs in normal mode
273.1.1 Method 1
273.1.2 Method 2
273.2 Adding slurs in note input mode
274 Multi-voice and cross-staff slurs
275 Changing appearance of slurs
276 Slur properties
277 Slur style
277.1 Breaths and pauses
278 Types of pauses
278.1 Fermata
278.2 Breath mark
278.3 Caesura
279 Adding a pause to your score
280 Changing pause playback
281 Pause properties
282 Pause style
282.1 Ornaments
283 Adding an ornament to your score
283.1 Add an ornament
283.2 Add an ornament line
284 Changing ornament intervals (adding accidentals)
285 Ornament properties
285.1 Accidental visibility
285.2 Placement
285.3 Accidental properties
286 Ornament style
286.1 Arpeggios and glissandi
287 Arpeggios
287.1 Adding an arpeggio/strum to your score
287.2 Adjusting the height of an arpeggio/strum
287.3 Creating multi-voice or cross-staff arpeggios
287.4 Changing playback of arpeggios
287.5 Arpeggio style
288 Portamento
289 Glissandi
289.1 Adding a glissando to your score
289.2 Editing range of a glissando
289.3 Changing appearance of glissandi
289.4 Changing playback of glissandi
289.5 Glissando properties
290 Bends
290.1 Types of bends
290.2 Adding a bend to your score
290.3 Changing appearance of bends
291 Grace notes
292 Types of grace notes
293 Adding a grace note to your score
293.1 Add grace note with keyboard shortcut
293.2 Add grace note from palette
294 Multiple grace notes
294.1 Sequential grace notes
 294.2 Grace note chords
295 Editing grace notes
295.1 Change duration
295.2 Change pitch
296 Changing playback of grace notes
297 Grace note style
297.1 Tremolo and rolls
298 Types of tremolo and rolls
298.1 Single note tremolo
298.2 Tremolo between notes
298.3 Buzz roll
299 Adding a tremolo to a single note
300 Adding a tremolo between notes/chords
301 Changing appearance of tremolos
301.1 Other lines
302 Overview
303 Adding a line to your score
304 Adjusting a line
305 Types of lines
305.1 Standard lines
305.2 Staff and System Text lines
305.3 Tempo lines
305.4 Guitar-related lines
305.5 Trill lines
306 Line properties
306.1 Style tab
306.2 Text tab
307 Line style
307.1 Other symbols
308 The Symbols palette
308.1 View
308.2 Search
309 Adding symbols to your score
309.1 Add a symbol
309.2 Add to other symbols
309.3 Reposition symbols
309.4 See also
310 Notation: Repeats
310.1 Repeat signs
311 Adding repeat signs to your score
311.1 Simple repeats
311.2 Multiple ending repeats
312 Changing playback of repeat signs
313 Changing appearance of repeat signs
314 Repeat properties
315 Repeat style
315.1 Voltas
316 Adding voltas to your score
317 Changing appearance of voltas
318 Changing playback of voltas
318.1 Example of a complex Volta setting
319 Volta properties
320 Voltas style
320.1 Jumps and markers
321 Types of jumps and markers
322 Adding a jump or marker to your score
323 Changing appearance of jumps and markers
324 Changing playback of jumps and markers
325 Jump and marker properties
326 Jump and marker style
326.1 Measure and multi-measure repeats
327 Adding a measure or multi-measure repeat to your score
328 Measure repeat properties
329 Measure repeat style
329.1 Repeat playback
330 Turning repeat playback on and off
331 Idiomatic notation: Keyboard
331.1 Pedal
332 Types of pedal markings
332.1 In terms of visual representation
332.2 In terms of function inside Musescore
333 Adding pedal markings to your score
334 Creating pedal changes
335 Pedal properties
336 Pedal style
336.1 Cross-staff notation
337 Creating cross-staff notation
338 Changing appearance of cross-staff notation
339 See also
339.1 Accordion notation
340 Adding accordion symbols to your score
341 Idiomatic notation: Guitar
341.1 Fretboard diagrams
342 Adding a fretboard diagram to your score
342.1 Chord symbols linked to fretboard diagrams
343 Creating a custom fretboard diagram
343.1 Finger markers
343.2 Alternative notation styles
344 Fretboard diagram appearance
345 Fretboard diagram properties
345.1 General (tab)
345.2 Settings (tab)
346 Fretboard diagram style
347 See also
347.1 Guitar techniques
348 Adding a tremolo bar symbol to your score
349 Adding a slide to your score
349.1 Add a slide
349.2 Edit properties
349.3 Adjust start and end points of a slide
350 Adding a barre line to your score
351 Adding hammer-on and pull-off symbols to your score
352 Notating harmonics
352.1 Standard staff
352.2 Tablature
352.3 Staff/Tablature pairs
353 Notating guitar fingering
354 Adding a bend symbol to your score
354.1 Apply a bend
354.2 Edit a bend
354.3 Adjust bend height
354.4 Reposition bend
355 Creating a tablature staff
356 Overview
357 Types of tablature staves
358 Adding a tablature staff to your score
358.1 Add tablature using the New Score dialog
358.2 Add tablature using the "Add or remove Instruments" dialog
358.3 Change an existing staff from standard to tablature
359 Creating paired standard and tablature staves
359.1 Create paired standard/tab staves using the New Score Wizard
359.2 Create paired standard/tab staves using the Instruments dialog
360 Entering and editing tablature notation
361 Computer keyboard entry
362 Mouse entry
363 Selecting note duration
364 Period tablature notation
365 Editing tablature notation
365.1 Changing the pitch
365.2 Moving the fretmark to a different string
365.3 Changing the duration
365.4 Crosshead/Ghost notes
366 Customizing a tablature staff
367 Changing tuning
368 Adding or removing strings
368.1 Add a string
 368.2 Delete a string
369 Mark unfretted string “open”
370 Change number of instrument frets
371 Changing tablature staff type
371.1 Change staff type from Instruments panel
371.2 Change staff type from Staff/Part properties
372 Customizing appearance of tablature
372.1 Tablature staff properties
372.2 Tablature staff style
373 Applying capos
374 Overview
375 Applying a capo to your score
375.1 To apply a capo to a staff:
376 Adjusting capo settings
376.1 Turning capo on or off
376.2 Setting capo fret position
376.3 Specifying partial capo placement
376.4 Customizing capo text appearance
376.5 To place the capo text beneath the staff:
377 Changing capo setting mid-score
377.1 Alternate string tunings
378 Applying string tuning instructions
379 Specifying string tunings
380 Alternate tunings affect tablature fret positions
381 Reading transposed pitches on the standard stave
381.1 Guitar bends
382 Adding bends to your score
383 General points about bends in MuseScore
384 Applying a bend
384.1 Standard bends
384.2 Grace note bends
384.3 Pre-bends
384.4 Slight bends
384.5 Holds
385 Modifying bends
385.1 Modifying bends in the standard stave
385.2 Modifying bends in the Properties panel
386 Adding bends to chords
387 Customising bends styles
388 Idiomatic notation: Harp
389 Overview
390 Adding a harp pedal diagram to your score
390.1 To apply a harp pedal diagram to a staff:
391 Reading harp pedal diagrams
391.1 Visual diagram
391.2 Text diagram
392 Idiomatic notation: Percussion
392.1 Entering and editing percussion notation
393 Overview
393.1 Types of percussion staves
393.2 Adding a percussion staff to your score
394 Entering notes and rests in percussion staves
394.1 Mouse entry using the Drum input palette
394.2 Using keyboard shortcuts
394.3 Using a MIDI controller
394.4 Using the on-screen piano keyboard
395 Drumset customization
396 Introduction
397 Customizing a drumset definition
397.1 Selecting a sound
397.2 Defining the note
397.2.1 Name
397.2.2 Noteheads
397.2.3 Other properties
398 Saving and loading drumset definitions
398.1 Other percussion notation
399 Diddles
400 Pedal lines
401 Rolls
402 Sticking
403 Alternative notation
403.1 Mensural notation and Mensurstrich
404 Adding a mensural time signature to your score
405 Using mensural note symbols
406 Working with non-metered music
407 Working with Mensurstrich
407.1 Adding barlines between staves
408 Displaying note values across measure boundaries
409 See also
409.1 Slash notation
410 Filling a range with beat slashes
411 Creating rhythmic slash notation
411.1 Accompaniment rhythms on the staff
411.2 Accent rhythms above or below the staff
412 Custom staff types
413 Overview
414 Customizing appearance of staff lines
415 Customizing appearance of generated elements
416 Customizing appearance of notes
416.1 Notehead schemes
417 Changing staff type mid-score
418 External links
419 Text
419.1 Entering and editing text
420 Overview
421 Types of text
421.1 Musescore Text object
421.2 Score settings
422 Adding text object to a score
422.1 From a palette
422.2 From the menu
422.3 Using a keyboard shortcut
423 Deleting text object on a score
424 Editing text object content
424.1 Keyboard shortcuts available inside text edit mode
424.2 Special characters
425 Formatting text
426 Overview
426.1 Levels of formatting
426.2 Appearance and function of Text objects
427 Changing formatting of characters
428 Changing formatting of a text object
428.1 Changing which style a text object on a score uses
428.2 Position
429 Changing the values inside a style
429.1 Changing the values inside a User-1 to User-12 style
430 Staff Text, System Text and Expression Text
431 Overview
431.1 Similarity and difference between Staff Text and System Text
432 Adding Staff Text to your score
433 Adding expression text to your score
434 Adding System Text to your score
435 Repeating System Text on other staves
436 Properties
436.1 "Staff Text properties" window
436.2 "System Text properties" window
437 Style
437.1 Tempo markings
438 Overview
438.1 Using Metronome marks and Metric modulations
438.2 Using Tempo change lines
438.3 Using Verbal tempo indications
439 Adding tempo marks to your score
440 Changing appearance
440.1 Adding plain characters
440.2 Adding professional glyphs
 440.3 Tempo change lines
441 Changing playback
441.1 Metronome mark, Metric modulation, and Verbal tempo indication
441.2 Tempo change line
442 Repeating tempo markings on other staves
443 Tempo properties
444 Tempo style
445 External links
445.1 Lyrics
446 Overview
447 Adding lyrics to your score
447.1 Entering syllables
447.2 Entering a melisma
447.3 Entering multiple verses
447.4 Entering lyrics onto rests
447.5 Special characters within lyrics
447.5.1 Elision slur
447.6 Entering reserved characters
448 Editing existing lyrics
449 Delete lyrics
450 Entering lyrics above the staff
451 Changing verse number of lyrics
452 Copying lyrics
452.1 Copying lyrics within MuseScore
452.1.1 Copy to the same verse
452.1.2 Copy to a different verse
452.2 Copying lyrics to other programs
453 Lyrics properties
454 Lyrics style
454.1 Lyrics text
454.2 Lyrics dash
454.3 Lyrics melisma
455 Fingering
456 Types of fingering
457 Adding fingering to your score
457.1 Adding fingering from a palette
457.2 Adding fingering using a keyboard shortcut
457.3 Adding fingering using the menu
458 Adjusting position
459 Changing the appearance of fingering
460 Fingering properties
461 Fingering style
462 See also
462.1 Chord symbols
463 Overview
464 Adding chord symbols to a score
464.1 Entering a chord symbol
464.1.1 Chord names, accidentals and formatting
464.1.2 Navigation commands
464.1.3 Chord symbol syntax
464.1.4 Editing a chord symbol
464.2 Entering Roman numeral analysis
464.2.1 RNA accidentals and formatting
464.2.2 Examples of RNA
464.3 Entering a Nashville number
465 Appearance and function overview
466 Aligning chord symbols
466.1 Using the Style menu
466.1.1 "Style for Chord Symbols"
466.1.2 "Style for text inside certain object"
466.2 Using the Properties panel
467 Transposition of chord symbols
467.1 Transposing instruments
467.2 Transpose dialog
467.3 Enabling automatic creation of extra chord symbols (not NNS or RNA) with capo
468 Changing Spelling of Chord Symbols (not NNS or RNA)
468.1 Chord Spelling Systems
468.2 Automatic Capitalization
469 Changing appearance
469.1 Font
469.2 Rendering style of chord symbols and NNS (but not RNA)
470 Changing Playback of Chord Symbols
470.1 Enabling and disabling playback
470.2 Customizing playback
470.3 Generating chord voicings onto a staff
471 Chord symbol properties
472 Chord symbol style
473 External links
473.1 Figured bass
474 Overview
475 Adding figured bass to your score
475.1 Entering a figure
475.2 Text format
475.2.1 Digits
475.2.2 Accidentals
475.2.3 Combined shapes
475.2.4 Parentheses
475.2.5 Editing existing figured basses
475.3 Navigating by note, beat, or measure
475.4 Duration
475.5 Entering continuation lines
476 Figured bass properties
477 Figured bass style
478 Figured bass keyboard shortcuts
478.1 Rehearsal marks
479 Overview
480 Adding a rehearsal mark to your score
480.1 Manual placement and naming
480.2 Automatic placement and naming
481 Using measure numbers in rehearsal marks
482 Resequencing rehearsal marks
483 Finding rehearsal marks
484 Repeating rehearsal marks on other staves
485 Changing appearance of rehearsal marks
486 Rehearsal mark properties
487 Rehearsal mark style
488 External links
488.1 Header and footer
489 Overview
490 Adding a header or footer to your score
490.1 Entering information
490.2 Using metadata
491 Changing the appearance of headers and footers
492 Header and footer Properties
493 Header and footer Style
494 See also
494.1 Text blocks
495 Overview
496 Adding text blocks to your score
497 Changing the appearance of text blocks
498 Text block text Properties
499 Text block text Style
500 See also
501 Formatting
501.1 Page layout concepts
502 Definitions
502.1 Spatium (plural: Spatia) / Space / Staff Space / sp.
502.2 Staff
502.3 Grand staff
502.4 System
502.5 Frame
502.6 Margin
503 Positioning of elements
504 Default position
505 Auto-place
505.1 Vertical collision avoidance
 505.2 Horizontal collision avoidance
505.3 Vertical alignment
505.4 Disabling auto-place
506 Manual adjustment
507 Manual alignment
507.1 Score size and spacing
508 Page settings
508.1 Page and margin sizes
508.2 Scaling
508.3 Other settings
508.4 Actions
509 Style settings
509.1 Horizontal spacing
509.2 Vertical spacing
509.2.1 Music margins
509.2.2 Distance between staves within systems
509.2.3 Distance between systems
510 Staff/part properties
510.1 Systems and horizontal spacing
511 Features
511.1 System breaks
511.2 Layout stretch
511.3 Horizontal frames
511.4 Keep measures on the same system
512 Tasks
512.1 Placing fewer measures on a system
512.2 Placing more measures on a system
512.3 Changing the relative spacing of measures within a system
512.4 Creating space between measures
512.5 Creating space at the beginning or end of a system
512.6 Adjusting the width of the final system
512.7 Grouping measures
513 Pages and vertical spacing
514 Features
514.1 Page breaks
514.2 Spacers
514.3 Vertical frames
514.4 System dividers
515 Tasks
515.1 Placing fewer systems on a page
515.2 Placing more systems on a page
515.3 Adjusting the spacing on sparse pages
515.4 Adjusting space between specific systems
515.5 Adjusting space between specific staves
516 Using frames for additional content
517 Overview
518 Uses of frames
519 Adding frames between or before/after systems
519.1 Text frames
519.1.1 Adding a text frame
519.1.2 Adding text
519.2 Vertical frames
519.2.1 Adding a vertical frame
519.2.2 Adding text
519.2.3 Adding an image
519.2.4 Size
519.3 Position and alignment of content
519.4 Spacing
520 Adding frames between measures
520.1 Horizontal frames
520.1.1 Adding a horizontal frame
520.1.2 Adding text
520.1.3 Adding an image
520.1.4 Size
520.1.5 Spacing
520.1.6 Other horizontal frame properties
521 See also
521.1 Working with images
 521.1.1 Importing images
521.1.1.1 Add an image to a vertical or horizontal frame
521.1.1.2 Attach an image to a score object
521.1.2 Saving images to palettes
521.1.3 Copying imported images
521.1.4 Adjusting images
521.1.4.1 Change image height/width
521.1.4.2 Scale image
521.1.4.3 Adjust image position
521.1.5 Image properties
522 See also
522.1 Using sections for multiple movements or songs
523 Overview
523.1 Features
523.2 Time and key signatures
524 Adding section breaks
525 Section break properties
525.1 Pause
525.2 Instrument names
525.3 Bar numbers
526 File management
526.1 Opening and saving scores
527 Overview
528 Opening a score
528.1 File → Open
528.2 File → Open recent
528.3 Home tab → Scores
529 Import file formats
530 Saving a score
530.1 Save to computer
530.2 Save to the cloud
530.2.1 Name
530.2.2 Visibility
530.2.3 Never
530.2.4 Always
530.2.5 Every x saves
531 File export
532 Overview
533 Exporting your score
534 File formats
534.1 Graphical formats
534.1.1 PDF
534.1.2 SVG
534.1.3 PNG
534.2 Audio formats
534.2.1 OGG
534.2.2 MP3
534.2.3 FLAC
534.2.4 WAV
534.2.5 Other audio formats
534.3 Hybrid formats
534.3.1 MIDI
534.4 Score formats
534.4.1 MusicXML
534.4.2 Braille
534.4.3 MEI
534.5 Customizing export settings
535 MIDI import
536 Working with MusicXML files
537 Overview
538 Opening a MusicXML file
539 MusicXML import options
540 Cleaning up an imported score
540.1 Restoring stems
540.2 Restoring default leading spaces
540.3 Removing breaks
540.4 Restoring default text styles
540.5 Resetting default text positions
 540.5.1 Frame
540.5.2 Score text
541 Preparing a score for export
541.1 Export settings
542 Backup and recovered files
543 Project properties
544 Overview
545 Changing Project properties
546 Adding and deleting new project properties
547 Accessing project properties in a score
547.1 Score comparison
547.2 Publish to musescore.com
548 Overview
549 Creating a MuseScore account
550 Saving only to Musescore.com
551 Publish locally saved scores
552 Visibility in score manager
553 Manage generation of mp3 during upload
553.1 Never
553.2 Always
553.3 Every x saves
554 Share on Audio.com
555 Overview
555.1 To share audio from your score on Audio.com:
555.2 To share on Audio.com every time you publish a score:
556 Sound and playback
556.1 Playback controls
557 Overview
558 Playback commands
558.1 Start/stop
558.1.1 To play back all the instrument parts
558.1.2 To play back selected instrument parts only
558.1.3 To stop playback
558.2 Rewind
558.3 Loop
558.4 Metronome
558.5 Playback position and monitoring tempo
559 Other commands
559.1 Enable MIDI input
559.2 Play repeats
559.3 Play chord symbols
559.4 Pan score automatically
560 External links
560.1 Mixer
561 Overview
562 Opening the mixer
563 Mixer controls
564 Sound
564.1 To change an instrument's sound
565 Audio FX
565.1 To add an Audio FX plugin
565.2 To disable an Audio FX plugin
565.3 To remove an Audio FX plugin
565.4 Muse Reverb
566 Aux sends
566.1 To show/hide an Aux send row (slot)
566.2 To disable an Aux send row (slot)
567 Aux channels
567.1 To show/hide Aux channels
567.2 To add Audio FX to an Aux channel
567.3 To adjust an Aux channel's level
567.4 To apply the effect(s) of an Aux channel to an instrument
568 See also
568.1 SoundFonts
569 Install a SoundFont
569.1 Drag and drop installation
569.2 File directory installation
569.3 Add or change SoundFont directory
570 Using sounds from a SoundFont
570.1 Selecting individual sounds
571 Editing Soundfonts
572 Uninstall a SoundFont
573 A note on the Zerberus player and SFZs
574 See also
574.1 Installing Muse Sounds
575 Installation
575.1 Muse Hub (Windows and macOS)
575.2 Muse Sounds Manager (Linux only)
576 Using Muse Sounds in MuseScore Studio
577 Available sounds in Muse Sounds
577.1 Brass
577.2 Choir
577.3 Drumline
577.4 Guitars Vol. 1
577.5 Harp
577.6 Keys
577.7 Percussion
577.8 Strings
577.9 Woodwinds
578 Sound flags
579 Overview
579.1 To add a sound flag
579.2 To use a sound flag without showing text in the score
579.3 To remove a sound flag
579.4 To hide sound flags in the score
580 Additional options
580.1 To reset a sound flag
580.2 To select multiple sounds on one sound flag
580.3 To change which staves a sound flag affects
580.4 Sounds without sound flags
581 Keyboard navigation
581.1 To add a sound flag using the keyboard
582 See also
582.1 Capo playback (MS 4.0.2 and before)
583 Adding a capo marking to your score (before MuseScore 4.1)
583.1 Adding a capo to a single staff
583.2 Adding a capo to a staff / tablature pair
584 See also
584.1 Swing playback
585 Overview
586 Adding a swing or straight marking to your score
586.1 To add a swing marking
586.2 To add a straight marking
587 Changing swing playback
587.1 Adjust the type and degree of swing
587.2 Apply swing to one staff only
588 Working with MIDI
589 Working with VST and VSTi
590 Introduction to VST
591 Installing VSTs
592 Enabling, disabling, removing and replacing VST plugins
592.1 See also
593 Customization
593.1 Language
594 Overview
594.1 Change language
594.1.1 Update translations
594.2 See also
595 Appearance
596 Overview
597 Theme and Colors
598 Fonts
598.1 Toolbars and windows
599 Overview
600 Toolbars
600.1 Showing and hiding toolbars
 600.2 Rearranging toolbars
600.3 Customizing contents of toolbars
601 Windows and Panels
601.1 Docking and undocking panels
601.2 Customizing contents of panels
602 Templates and styles
603 Overview
603.1 Templates
603.2 Style files
604 Templates
604.1 Saving your score as a template
604.2 Creating a score from your template
605 Style files
605.1 Saving style settings for your score to a file
605.2 Loading style settings into your score from a file
605.3 Setting a default style for your score
606 Palettes
607 Adding palettes
608 Hiding and deleting palettes
609 Changing the order of palettes
610 Customizing palette contents
610.1 Adding elements from the Master Palette window
610.2 Adding elements from the score
610.3 Moving elements between palettes
610.4 Deleting elements from palettes
610.5 Resetting a palette
611 Saving and loading palettes
612 Palettes menu
613 Palette properties
614 See also
614.1 Workspaces
615 Overview
616 Creating a new workspace
617 Deleting a workspace
618 Switching between workspaces
618.1 Keyboard shortcuts
619 Overview
620 Defining a shortcut
621 Resetting and clearing shortcuts
621.1 To reset a shortcut to its default:
621.2 To clear (i.e. delete) a shortcut:
622 Importing and exporting shortcuts
622.1 Preferences
623 General
624 Appearance
625 Canvas
626 Save & publish
627 Note input
628 Score
629 Audio & MIDI
630 MIDI mappings
631 Import
632 Shortcuts
633 Update
634 Folders
635 Advanced
636 Braille
636.1 Plugins
637 Overview
638 Managing plugins
638.1 Installing a new plugin
638.1.1 Updating an existing plugins
638.2 Enabling and disabling plugins
639 Running a plugin
640 Pre-installed plugins
641 Create a plugin
642 See also
643 Support
 643.1 Getting help
644 Overview
645 Learn
646 Forums
647 Issue tracker
648 GitHub
649 Mastering MuseScore
649.1 Revert to factory settings
650 Overview
651 Reverting to factory settings from the menu
652 Reverting to factory settings from the command line
652.1 Windows
652.2 macOS
652.3 Linux
653 Troubleshooting
654 Installation issues
655 Score issues
656 Display issues
657 Sound issues
658 Printing issues
658.1 Known incompatibilities
659 Appendix
659.1 Command line usage
659.1.1 NAME
659.1.2 SYNOPSIS
659.1.3 DESCRIPTION
659.1.4 Batch conversion job JSON format
659.1.5 ENVIRONMENT
659.1.6 FILES
659.1.7 EXAMPLES
659.1.7.1 Convert a score to PDF from the command line
659.1.7.2 Run a batch job converting multiple documents
659.1.7.3 MIDI import operations
659.1.8 DIAGNOSTICS
659.1.9 SEE ALSO
659.1.10 STANDARDS
659.1.11 HISTORY
659.1.12 AUTHORS
659.1.13 CAVEATS
659.1.14 BUGS
659.2 All keyboard shortcuts
660 Keyboard Map
661 Navigation
661.1 Page navigation
661.2 Score navigation
662 Note input
662.1 General
662.2 Duration
662.3 Pitch
662.4 Tablature
663 Selecting
664 Editing
664.1 General
664.2 Duration
664.3 Pitch
664.4 Notation
664.5 Manual adjustment
665 Text
665.1 General
665.2 Formatting
665.3 Lyrics
665.4 Chord symbols, Roman numeral analysis, Nashville numbers, figured bass
666 Other score elements
667 Score setup and formatting
668 File Operations
669 User interface
669.1 Playback
669.2 Accessibility
 669.3 Other
670 Known incompatibilities
671 Changes for MDL percussion
671.1 Sound mapping
671.2 Notation
672 Upgrade from MuseScore 3.x
673 Overview
674 Keyboard Shortcuts
675 Other changes
676 Missing Features
676.1 Upgrade from MuseScore 2.x or 1.x
676.2 Handbook for MuseScore 3.x
676.3 Handbook for MuseScore 2.x
676.4 Handbook for MuseScore 1.x
676.5 Glossary
676.5.1 A
676.5.2 B
676.5.3 C
676.5.4 D
676.5.5 E
676.5.6 F
676.5.7 G
676.5.8 H
676.5.9 I
676.5.10 J
676.5.11 K
676.5.12 L
676.5.13 M
676.5.14 N
676.5.15 O
676.5.16 P
676.5.17 Q
676.5.18 R
676.5.19 S
676.5.20 T
676.5.21 U
676.5.22 V
676.5.23 W
676.5.24 External links
676.6 Full Table of Contents
677 About the handbook
677.1 Editing the Handbook
677.1.1 Guidelines for writing articles
677.1.2 Structure - General principles
677.1.3 Headings
677.1.4 Content
677.1.5 Use of non-written media
677.1.6 Linking to other pages
677.1.7 Syntax
677.1.8 Leaving a revision log message
678 Introduction to MuseScore 4
678.1 Download and installation
678.1.1 Windows
678.1.2 macOS
678.1.3 Linux
678.2 Create your first score
678.2.1 Overview
678.2.2 Create a quick new score
678.2.3 Entering score information
678.2.4 Entering notes and rests
678.2.5 Adding items from the palettes
678.2.6 Listening to the result
678.2.7 Making adjustments in Properties Panel
678.2.8 Inserting and deleting measures
678.2.9 Saving your score
678.2.10 Exporting your score
678.3 New features in MuseScore 4
678.3.1 New user interface
 678.3.2 Instruments and parts
678.3.3 Inspector
678.3.4 New playback and VSTi support
678.3.5 Engraving improvements
678.3.6 Cloud storage
678.3.7 Other changes
679 Viewing and navigation
679.1 Accessibility
679.1.1 Screen readers
679.1.2 Keyboard access
679.1.3 Video tutorials
679.2 The user interface
679.2.1 Menu bar
679.2.2 Home tab
679.2.3 Score tab
679.2.4 Publish tab
679.2.5 Context menus
679.3 Navigating your score
679.3.1 Scrolling
679.3.2 Element navigation
679.3.3 Navigator
679.3.4 Timeline
679.3.5 Views
679.3.6 Zoom
679.3.7 Find/Go to
679.4 Timeline
679.4.1 Overview
679.4.2 Meta elements
679.4.3 Basic interactions
679.4.4 Scrolling
679.4.5 Labels interaction
679.4.6 Zooming
680 Basics
680.1 Setting up your score
680.1.1 Overview
680.1.2 Instruments
680.1.3 Additional score information
680.1.4 Changing instruments after score creation
680.2 Entering notes and rests
680.2.1 Overview
680.2.2 Entering notes
680.2.3 Entering chords
680.2.4 Entering rests
680.2.5 Accidentals
680.2.6 Ties
680.2.7 See also
680.3 Working with multiple voices
680.3.1 Overview
680.3.2 Entering notes and rests in multiple voices
680.3.3 Editing notes and rests in multiple voices
680.3.4 See also
680.4 Alternative note input methods
680.4.1 Accessing alternative note input methods
680.4.2 Rhythm only
680.4.3 Re-pitch
680.4.4 Real-time
680.4.5 Insert
680.5 Adding and removing measures
680.5.1 Inserting measures
680.5.2 Deleting measures
680.5.3 See also
680.6 Selecting elements
680.6.1 Selecting a single element
680.6.2 Different ways of selecting notes in a chord
680.6.3 Creating a List Selection
680.6.4 Creating a Range Selection
680.6.5 Excluding elements from a Range Selection
680.7 Editing notes and rests
 680.7.1 Overview
680.7.2 Making changes in note input mode
680.7.3 Making changes in normal mode
680.7.4 See also
680.8 Copy and paste
680.8.1 Accessing the commands
680.8.2 Copying a Range Selection
680.8.3 Copying a single element or a List Selection
680.8.4 Moving elements
680.8.5 Swapping a selection with the clipboard
680.8.6 Repeating a selection
680.8.7 Copying a Range Selection to multiple staves
680.8.8 Paste half/double duration
680.8.9 Duplicating individual elements
680.8.10 See also
680.9 Using the palettes
680.9.1 Overview
680.9.2 Accessing the palettes panel
680.9.3 Adding palette items to your score
680.9.4 Expanding and collapsing palettes
680.9.5 Searching and navigating the palettes
680.9.6 Accessing more palette items
680.9.7 Adding more palettes
680.9.8 The Master palette
680.9.9 See also
680.10 Properties panel
680.10.1 Accessing the Properties panel
680.10.2 Properties for the score
680.10.3 Properties for objects
680.10.4 Properties for characters inside Text objects
680.10.5 Saving and restoring default values
680.11 Adjusting elements directly
680.11.1 Changing the position of elements
680.11.2 Changing the shape of elements
680.11.3 Working with lines
680.11.4 See also
680.12 Parts
680.12.1 Opening a part
680.12.2 Closing a part
680.12.3 Creating custom parts
680.12.4 Applying styles to parts
680.12.5 Managing synchronisation of score and parts
680.12.6 Renaming, duplicating and deleting parts
680.12.7 Exporting and printing parts
680.13 Default keyboard shortcuts
680.13.1 Navigation
680.13.2 Note input
680.13.3 Selecting
680.13.4 Editing
680.13.5 Text
680.13.6 Other score elements
680.13.7 Score setup and formatting
680.13.8 File Operations
680.13.9 User interface
681 Notation: Instruments, staves, and systems
681.1 Working with instruments
681.1.1 Overview
681.1.2 Adding and ordering instruments
681.1.3 Instrument settings
681.1.4 Adding and configuring staves
681.1.5 Hiding a staff but keeping its playback
681.1.6 Deleting instruments and staves
681.2 Showing staves only where needed
681.2.1 Hiding empty staff along one system (all its measures along that system)
681.2.2 Hiding empty measure
681.3 Implode and explode
681.3.1 Implode
681.3.2 Explode
 681.4 Mid-score instrument changes
681.4.1 Adding an instrument change
681.4.2 Working with instrument changes
681.5 Staff type change
681.5.1 Adding a staff type change
681.5.2 Setting staff properties
681.6 Staff/Part properties
681.6.1 Overview
681.6.2 Staff properties
681.6.3 Advanced style properties
681.6.4 Part properties
681.7 Brackets
681.7.1 Adding brackets
681.7.2 Editing brackets
681.7.3 Deleting brackets
681.7.4 Customizing bracket appearance
682 Notation: Rhythm, meter, and measures
682.1 Time signatures
682.1.1 Overview
682.1.2 Setting the initial time signature for your score
682.1.3 Adding a time signature change to your score
682.1.4 Deleting a time signature
682.1.5 Controlling the visibility of time signatures
682.1.6 Creating a custom time signature
682.1.7 Adding a local time signature for a single staff
682.1.8 Resizing a time signature
682.1.9 Time signature properties
682.1.10 Time signature style
682.2 Stems and flags
682.2.1 Stem direction
682.2.2 Changing stem length
682.2.3 Creating stemless notes
682.2.4 Stem and flag properties
682.2.5 Stem and flag style
682.2.6 See also
682.3 Beams
682.3.1 Overview
682.3.2 Controlling which notes are beamed
682.3.3 Controlling the appearance of beams
682.3.4 Beam properties
682.3.5 Beam style
682.4 Regroup rhythms
682.4.1 Overview
682.4.2 Regrouping rhythms
682.4.3 See also
682.5 Tuplets
682.5.1 Creating tuplets
682.5.2 Changing the display of tuplets
682.5.3 Tuplet properties
682.5.4 Tuplet style
682.6 Barlines
682.6.1 Adding double and other special barlines
682.6.2 Changing barline length
682.6.3 Barline properties
682.6.4 Barline style
682.6.5 See also
682.7 Measure numbering
682.7.1 Showing and hiding measure numbers
682.7.2 Changing the measure number sequence
682.7.3 Changing the position of measure numbers
682.7.4 Measure number properties
682.7.5 Measure number style
682.7.6 See also
682.8 Measure rests and multimeasure rests
682.8.1 Measure rest
682.8.2 Multimeasure rest
682.8.3 See also
682.9 Pickup and non-metered measures
 682.9.1 Creating a pickup measure
682.9.2 Creating non-metered measures
682.9.3 See also
682.10 Measure properties
682.10.1 Opening and using the dialog
682.10.2 Staves
682.10.3 Measure duration
682.10.4 Other
682.10.5 See also
683 Notation: Pitch
683.1 Clefs
683.1.1 Setting the initial clef for a staff
683.1.2 Adding or changing a clef
683.1.3 Delete
683.1.4 Controlling the visibility of clefs
683.1.5 Clefs and transposition
683.1.6 Clef properties
683.1.7 Clef style
683.2 Key signatures
683.2.1 Overview
683.2.2 Setting the initial key signature for your score
683.2.3 Adding a key signature change to your score
683.2.4 Adding a local key signature for a single staff
683.2.5 Selecting a key signature for a single staff
683.2.6 Replacing an existing key signature
683.2.7 Deleting a key signature
683.2.8 Controlling the visibility of key signatures
683.2.9 Key signatures and transposing instruments
683.2.10 Creating a custom key signature
683.2.11 Key signature properties
683.2.12 Key signature style
683.2.13 See also
683.3 Transposition
683.3.1 Overview
683.3.2 Transposing with keyboard shortcuts
683.3.3 Using the transpose dialog
683.3.4 Working with transposing instruments
683.4 Octave lines
683.4.1 Overview
683.4.2 Adding an octave line to your score
683.4.3 Octave line properties
683.4.4 Octave line style
683.5 Noteheads
683.5.1 Overview
683.5.2 Changing notehead shape
683.5.3 Adding pitch information to notes
683.5.4 Changing notehead direction
683.5.5 Notehead properties
683.5.6 Notehead style and font
683.5.7 Sharing noteheads between voices
683.5.8 See also
683.5.9 External links
683.6 Ambitus
683.6.1 Adding an ambitus to your score
683.6.2 Changing the range of an ambitus
683.6.3 Ambitus properties
683.7 Respell pitches
683.7.1 Manually changing the enharmonic spelling of notes
683.7.2 Automatically respelling all notes in a selection
684 Notation: Expressive markings
684.1 Articulations
684.1.1 Adding articulations to a score
684.1.2 Articulations playback
684.1.3 Articulation properties
684.1.4 Articulation style
684.2 Dynamics
684.2.1 Adding a dynamics symbol to a score
684.2.2 Changing appearance of a dynamics symbol
 684.2.3 Changing playback of a dynamics symbol
684.2.4 Dynamics symbols properties
684.2.5 Dynamics symbols style
684.3 Hairpins
684.3.1 Types of hairpin
684.3.2 Adding a hairpin to your score
684.3.3 Changing appearance of hairpins
684.3.4 Changing playback of hairpins
684.3.5 Hairpin properties
684.3.6 Hairpin style
684.4 Slurs
684.4.1 Adding a slur to your score
684.4.2 Multi-voice and cross-staff slurs
684.4.3 Changing appearance of slurs
684.4.4 Slur properties
684.4.5 Slur style
684.5 Breaths and pauses
684.5.1 Types of pauses
684.5.2 Adding a pause to your score
684.5.3 Changing pause playback
684.5.4 Pause properties
684.5.5 Pause style
684.6 Ornaments
684.6.1 Adding an ornament to your score
684.6.2 Changing ornament intervals (adding accidentals)
684.6.3 Ornament properties
684.6.4 Ornament style
684.7 Arpeggios and glissandi
684.7.1 Arpeggios
684.7.2 Portamento
684.7.3 Glissandi
684.7.4 Bends
684.8 Grace notes
684.8.1 Types of grace notes
684.8.2 Adding a grace note to your score
684.8.3 Multiple grace notes
684.8.4 Editing grace notes
684.8.5 Changing playback of grace notes
684.8.6 Grace note style
684.9 Tremolo and rolls
684.9.1 Types of tremolo and rolls
684.9.2 Adding a tremolo to a single note
684.9.3 Adding a tremolo between notes/chords
684.9.4 Changing appearance of tremolos
684.10 Other lines
684.10.1 Overview
684.10.2 Adding a line to your score
684.10.3 Adjusting a line
684.10.4 Types of lines
684.10.5 Line properties
684.10.6 Line style
684.11 Other symbols
684.11.1 The Symbols palette
684.11.2 Adding symbols to your score
685 Notation: Repeats
685.1 Repeat signs
685.1.1 Adding repeat signs to your score
685.1.2 Changing playback of repeat signs
685.1.3 Changing appearance of repeat signs
685.1.4 Repeat properties
685.1.5 Repeat style
685.2 Voltas
685.2.1 Adding voltas to your score
685.2.2 Changing appearance of voltas
685.2.3 Changing playback of voltas
685.2.4 Volta properties
685.2.5 Voltas style
685.3 Jumps and markers
 685.3.1 Types of jumps and markers
685.3.2 Adding a jump or marker to your score
685.3.3 Changing appearance of jumps and markers
685.3.4 Changing playback of jumps and markers
685.3.5 Jump and marker properties
685.3.6 Jump and marker style
685.4 Measure and multi-measure repeats
685.4.1 Adding a measure or multi-measure repeat to your score
685.4.2 Measure repeat properties
685.4.3 Measure repeat style
685.5 Repeat playback
685.5.1 Turning repeat playback on and off
686 Idiomatic notation: Keyboard
686.1 Pedal
686.1.1 Types of pedal markings
686.1.2 Adding pedal markings to your score
686.1.3 Creating pedal changes
686.1.4 Pedal properties
686.1.5 Pedal style
686.2 Cross-staff notation
686.2.1 Creating cross-staff notation
686.2.2 Changing appearance of cross-staff notation
686.2.3 See also
686.3 Accordion notation
686.3.1 Adding accordion symbols to your score
687 Idiomatic notation: Guitar
687.1 Fretboard diagrams
687.1.1 Adding a fretboard diagram to your score
687.1.2 Creating a custom fretboard diagram
687.1.3 Fretboard diagram appearance
687.1.4 Fretboard diagram properties
687.1.5 Fretboard diagram style
687.1.6 See also
687.2 Guitar techniques
687.2.1 Adding a bend symbol to your score
687.2.2 Adding a tremolo bar symbol to your score
687.2.3 Adding a slide to your score
687.2.4 Adding a barre line to your score
687.2.5 Adding hammer-on and pull-off symbols to your score
687.2.6 Notating harmonics
687.2.7 Notating guitar fingering
687.3 Creating a tablature staff
687.3.1 Overview
687.3.2 Types of tablature staves
687.3.3 Adding a tablature staff to your score
687.3.4 Creating paired standard and tablature staves
687.4 Entering and editing tablature notation
687.4.1 Computer keyboard entry
687.4.2 Mouse entry
687.4.3 Selecting note duration
687.4.4 Period tablature notation
687.4.5 Editing tablature notation
687.5 Customizing a tablature staff
687.5.1 Changing tuning
687.5.2 Adding or removing strings
687.5.3 Mark unfretted string “open”
687.5.4 Change number of instrument frets
687.5.5 Changing tablature staff type
687.5.6 Customizing appearance of tablature
687.6 Applying capos
687.6.1 Overview
687.6.2 Applying a capo to your score
687.6.3 Adjusting capo settings
687.6.4 Changing capo setting mid-score
687.7 Alternate string tunings
687.7.1 Applying string tuning instructions
687.7.2 Specifying string tunings
687.7.3 Alternate tunings affect tablature fret positions
 687.7.4 Reading transposed pitches on the standard stave
687.8 Guitar bends
687.8.1 Adding bends to your score
687.8.2 General points about bends in MuseScore
687.8.3 Applying a bend
687.8.4 Modifying bends
687.8.5 Adding bends to chords
687.8.6 Customising bends styles
688 Idiomatic notation: Harp
689 Idiomatic notation: Percussion
689.1 Entering and editing percussion notation
689.1.1 Overview
689.1.2 Entering notes and rests in percussion staves
689.2 Drumset customization
689.2.1 Introduction
689.2.2 Customizing a drumset definition
689.2.3 Saving and loading drumset definitions
689.3 Other percussion notation
689.3.1 Diddles
689.3.2 Pedal lines
689.3.3 Rolls
689.3.4 Sticking
690 Alternative notation
690.1 Mensural notation and Mensurstrich
690.1.1 Adding a mensural time signature to your score
690.1.2 Using mensural note symbols
690.1.3 Working with non-metered music
690.1.4 Working with Mensurstrich
690.1.5 Displaying note values across measure boundaries
690.1.6 See also
690.2 Slash notation
690.2.1 Filling a range with beat slashes
690.2.2 Creating rhythmic slash notation
690.3 Custom staff types
690.3.1 Overview
690.3.2 Customizing appearance of staff lines
690.3.3 Customizing appearance of generated elements
690.3.4 Customizing appearance of notes
690.3.5 Changing staff type mid-score
690.3.6 External links
691 Text
691.1 Entering and editing text
691.1.1 Overview
691.1.2 Types of text
691.1.3 Adding text object to a score
691.1.4 Deleting text object on a score
691.1.5 Editing text object content
691.2 Formatting text
691.2.1 Overview
691.2.2 Changing formatting of characters
691.2.3 Changing formatting of a text object
691.2.4 Changing the values inside a style
691.3 Staff Text, System Text and Expression Text
691.3.1 Overview
691.3.2 Adding Staff Text to your score
691.3.3 Adding expression text to your score
691.3.4 Adding System Text to your score
691.3.5 Repeating System Text on other staves
691.3.6 Properties
691.3.7 Style
691.4 Tempo markings
691.4.1 Overview
691.4.2 Adding tempo marks to your score
691.4.3 Changing appearance
691.4.4 Changing playback
691.4.5 Repeating tempo markings on other staves
691.4.6 Tempo properties
691.4.7 Tempo style
 691.4.8 External links
691.5 Lyrics
691.5.1 Overview
691.5.2 Adding lyrics to your score
691.5.3 Editing existing lyrics
691.5.4 Delete lyrics
691.5.5 Entering lyrics above the staff
691.5.6 Changing verse number of lyrics
691.5.7 Copying lyrics
691.5.8 Lyrics properties
691.5.9 Lyrics style
691.6 Fingering
691.6.1 Types of fingering
691.6.2 Adding fingering to your score
691.6.3 Adjusting position
691.6.4 Changing the appearance of fingering
691.6.5 Fingering properties
691.6.6 Fingering style
691.6.7 See also
691.7 Chord symbols
691.7.1 Overview
691.7.2 Adding chord symbols to a score
691.7.3 Appearance and function overview
691.7.4 Aligning chord symbols
691.7.5 Transposition of chord symbols
691.7.6 Changing Spelling of Chord Symbols (not NNS or RNA)
691.7.7 Changing appearance
691.7.8 Changing Playback of Chord Symbols
691.7.9 Chord symbol properties
691.7.10 Chord symbol style
691.7.11 External links
691.8 Figured bass
691.8.1 Overview
691.8.2 Adding figured bass to your score
691.8.3 Figured bass properties
691.8.4 Figured bass style
691.8.5 Figured bass keyboard shortcuts
691.9 Rehearsal marks
691.9.1 Overview
691.9.2 Adding a rehearsal mark to your score
691.9.3 Using measure numbers in rehearsal marks
691.9.4 Resequencing rehearsal marks
691.9.5 Finding rehearsal marks
691.9.6 Repeating rehearsal marks on other staves
691.9.7 Changing appearance of rehearsal marks
691.9.8 Rehearsal mark properties
691.9.9 Rehearsal mark style
691.9.10 External links
691.10 Header and footer
691.10.1 Overview
691.10.2 Adding a header or footer to your score
691.10.3 Changing the appearance of headers and footers
691.10.4 Header and footer Properties
691.10.5 Header and footer Style
691.10.6 See also
691.11 Text blocks
691.11.1 Overview
691.11.2 Adding text blocks to your score
691.11.3 Changing the appearance of text blocks
691.11.4 Text block text Properties
691.11.5 Text block text Style
691.11.6 See also
692 Formatting
692.1 Page layout concepts
692.1.1 Definitions
692.2 Positioning of elements
692.2.1 Default position
692.2.2 Auto-place
 692.2.3 Manual adjustment
692.2.4 Manual alignment
692.3 Score size and spacing
692.3.1 Page settings
692.3.2 Style settings
692.3.3 Staff/part properties
692.4 Systems and horizontal spacing
692.4.1 Features
692.4.2 Tasks
692.5 Pages and vertical spacing
692.5.1 Features
692.5.2 Tasks
692.6 Using frames for additional content
692.6.1 Overview
692.6.2 Uses of frames
692.6.3 Adding frames between or before/after systems
692.6.4 Adding frames between measures
692.6.5 See also
692.7 Working with images
692.7.1 See also
692.8 Using sections for multiple movements or songs
692.8.1 Overview
692.8.2 Adding section breaks
692.8.3 Section break properties
693 Sound and playback
693.1 Playback controls
693.1.1 Overview
693.1.2 Playback commands
693.1.3 Other commands
693.1.4 External links
693.2 Mixer
693.2.1 Overview
693.2.2 Opening the mixer
693.2.3 Mixer controls
693.2.4 Sound
693.2.5 Audio FX
693.2.6 Aux sends
693.2.7 Aux channels
693.2.8 See also
693.3 SoundFonts
693.3.1 Install a SoundFont
693.3.2 Using sounds from a SoundFont
693.3.3 Editing Soundfonts
693.3.4 Uninstall a SoundFont
693.3.5 A note on the Zerberus player and SFZs
693.3.6 See also
693.4 Installing Muse Sounds
693.4.1 Installation via Muse Hub
693.4.2 Using Muse Sounds in MuseScore
693.4.3 Available sounds in Muse Sounds
693.5 Capo playback (MS 4.0.2 and before)
693.5.1 Adding a capo marking to your score (before MuseScore 4.1)
693.5.2 See also
693.6 Swing playback
693.6.1 Overview
693.6.2 Adding a swing or straight marking to your score
693.6.3 Changing swing playback
693.7 Working with MIDI
693.8 Working with VST and VSTi
693.8.1 Introduction to VST
693.8.2 Installing VSTs
693.8.3 Enabling, disabling, removing and replacing VST plugins
694 File management
694.1 Opening and saving scores
694.1.1 Overview
694.1.2 Opening a score
694.1.3 Import file formats
694.1.4 Saving a score
 694.2 File export
694.2.1 Overview
694.2.2 Exporting your score
694.2.3 File formats
694.3 MIDI import
694.4 Working with MusicXML files
694.4.1 Overview
694.4.2 Opening a MusicXML file
694.4.3 Cleaning up an imported score
694.4.4 Preparing a score for export
694.5 Backup and recovered files
694.6 Project properties
694.6.1 Overview
694.6.2 Changing Project properties
694.6.3 Adding and deleting new project properties
694.6.4 Accessing project properties in a score
694.7 Score comparison
694.8 Publish to musescore.com
694.8.1 Overview
694.8.2 Creating a MuseScore account
694.8.3 Saving only to Musescore.com
694.8.4 Publish locally saved scores
694.8.5 Visibility in score manager
694.8.6 Manage generation of mp3 during upload
694.9 Share on Audio.com
694.9.1 Overview
695 Customization
695.1 Language
695.1.1 Overview
695.2 Appearance
695.2.1 Overview
695.2.2 Theme and Colors
695.2.3 Fonts
695.3 Toolbars and windows
695.3.1 Overview
695.3.2 Toolbars
695.3.3 Windows and Panels
695.4 Templates and styles
695.4.1 Overview
695.4.2 Style files
695.4.3 Default "level 2 information" for new score file and Musescore Part
695.4.4 Templates
695.5 Palettes
695.5.1 Adding palettes
695.5.2 Hiding and deleting palettes
695.5.3 Changing the order of palettes
695.5.4 Customizing palette contents
695.5.5 Saving and loading palettes
695.5.6 Palettes menu
695.5.7 Palette properties
695.5.8 See also
695.6 Workspaces
695.6.1 Overview
695.6.2 Creating a new workspace
695.6.3 Deleting a workspace
695.6.4 Switching between workspaces
695.7 Keyboard shortcuts
695.7.1 Overview
695.7.2 Defining a shortcut
695.7.3 Resetting and clearing shortcuts
695.7.4 Importing and exporting shortcuts
695.8 Preferences
695.8.1 General
695.8.2 Appearance
695.8.3 Canvas
695.8.4 Note input
695.8.5 MIDI device mapping
695.8.6 Score
 695.8.7 I/O
695.8.8 Import
695.8.9 Shortcuts
695.8.10 Update
695.8.11 Advanced
695.9 Plugins
695.9.1 Overview
695.9.2 Managing plugins
695.9.3 Running a plugin
695.9.4 Pre-installed plugins
695.9.5 Create a plugin
695.9.6 See also
696 Support
696.1 Getting help
696.1.1 Overview
696.1.2 Learn
696.1.3 Forums
696.1.4 Issue tracker
696.1.5 GitHub
696.1.6 Mastering MuseScore
696.2 Revert to factory settings
696.2.1 Overview
696.2.2 Reverting to factory settings from the menu
696.2.3 Reverting to factory settings from the command line
696.3 Troubleshooting
696.3.1 Installation issues
696.3.2 Score issues
696.3.3 Display issues
696.3.4 Sound issues
696.3.5 Printing issues
696.4 Known incompatibilities
697 Appendix
697.1 Command line usage
697.2 All keyboard shortcuts
697.2.1 Keyboard Map
697.2.2 Navigation
697.2.3 Note input
697.2.4 Selecting
697.2.5 Editing
697.2.6 Text
697.2.7 Other score elements
697.2.8 Score setup and formatting
697.2.9 File Operations
697.2.10 User interface
697.3 Known incompatibilities
697.4 Upgrade from MuseScore 3.x
697.4.1 Overview
697.4.2 Keyboard Shortcuts
697.4.3 Other changes
697.4.4 Missing Features
697.5 Upgrade from MuseScore 2.x or 1.x
697.6 Handbook for MuseScore 3.x
697.7 Handbook for MuseScore 2.x
697.8 Handbook for MuseScore 1.x
697.9 Glossary

MuseScore 4 Handbook
This handbook tells you everything you need to know about how to use the world’s most popular music notation program, MuseScore Studio, which
is freely available for Windows, macOS, and Linux-based operating systems.

About the handbook

MuseScore versions covered
This handbook is valid for MuseScore version 4.0 and above.

If you're using a different version of the program, please consult the appropriate handbook for your version:
 MuseScore 3 Handbook
MuseScore 2 Handbook
MuseScore 1 Handbook

Exploring the handbook

Browsing chapters

Use the chapter links on the main page to explore content in each chapter of the handbook.

There is also a single-page view of the entire handbook, which can be used with your browser's find-in-page facility (shortcut: Ctrl+F, or Cmd+F on
macOS).

Searching the handbook

To search the handbook, use the dedicated search field in the top right of each handbook page.

If you're not sure what to search for, try browsing the Glossary. It has pictures to help you to find things that you are unable to name.

You can also try a web search using this special syntax to only include results from MuseScore.org :

site:musescore.org your topic here

This works with most search engines. For example, perform a Google search for "site:musescore.org tempo markings" .

If you still can't find the information you need, please ask for help in the Support Forum .

Reading in a different language

The handbook is translated into several languages, although translations are not always up-to-date with the English version. Pages are translated
individually, so not every page is available in every language.

To read the handbook in a different language, use the languages dropdown displayed in the top right of each handbook page, directly below the
Search field. If a particular language isn't available in the dropdown this means the page hasn't been translated into that language yet.

In case of doubt, please consult the English version of the handbook , or ask for help in one of the forums . Use the Support and bug reports
forum if posting in English, otherwise use the appropriate forum for your language.

Downloading the handbook

To save a copy of the handbook to your computer for offline viewing:

Visit the single-page view of the entire handbook.

Open your browser's Print facility (shortcut: Ctrl+P, or Cmd+P on macOS).
Choose the option labelled Print to PDF, Save to PDF, or similar.
Make sure you are saving a file rather than printing a physical copy.

If you require a physical copy, it's best to follow the above steps to create a PDF, then check the PDF is formatted correctly before you proceed to
print it with a real printer. The handbook is quite long, so please don't print a physical copy unless you really need to.

Contributing to the handbook

The handbook is maintained and translated by the MuseScore community. If you'd like to help write content, please read Editing the handbook.

If you want to translate pages, please read How to translate the handbook .

Editing the Handbook

Guidelines for writing articles

So you'd like to contribute to the MuseScore 4 handbook – great! We're so happy you're here.

This page contains brief guidelines to get you started with writing articles. Please read this page carefully before editing anything in our handbook.
This information is intended to help, but if you're in doubt about anything or have any questions, please join the discussion on the Documentation
forum.

Structure - General principles

Each page should explain a single topic more or less completely. If a page feels like it is getting too long, try splitting it into separate pages.

Not every page is identical, but keeping the following in mind can help you structure your page content in a way that's easy to understand for the
reader:

Start with an overview

Starting your page with an overview can help introduce a topic before launching into details. Overviews don't usually need a section heading.

Establish a hierarchy

Think about what most users will be trying to achieve, and why they might be coming to the handbook to look for information. Put solutions for the
most common tasks towards the top of the page; less commonly needed information can go towards the bottom.

Group information logically

Related concepts should be discussed together. This may sometimes require less-commonly-used features to be discussed alongside more-
commonly used ones, but that's okay.

Focus on user tasks, not just UI components

For instance, a section about "Creating custom key signatures" is better than a section called "Using the master palette".

Create a table of contents

Please be sure to enable the "Generate a table of contents" option for all Handbook pages.

Headings
In an effort to ensure consistency of style for community-written pages, we have already provided headings on many pages. Please organize your
content within this structure. For pages that lack headings, feel free to create your own in a style similar to that used elsewhere.

For accessibility reasons, headings should never be formatted in regular bold text. All headings need to be formatted as tags with semantic
meaning.

All pages start by default with a Heading 1. The first section heading you will enter will therefore always be a Heading 2. Please also don’t skip
heading levels (By, for example, adding a heading 4 after a heading 2).

Heading level Usage and MarkDown syntax

Heading 1 Default for all page headings (Not editable by contributors)
Heading 2 Use for the start of every section. MarkDown syntax: ## Heading name
Use for the start of every sub-section, and to introduce single-step
Heading 3 instructions (I.e. where a list is not necessary). MarkDown syntax: ###
Heading name
Use sparingly if additional sub-sections are required. MarkDown
Heading 4
syntax: #### Heading name

Lastly, try to always start your headings with a verb. E.g. "Adding time signatures", rather than "Time signatures"

Content
The MuseScore handbook broadly contains two main types of information: descriptive material, and goal-oriented instructions.

Descriptive material

This is used to explain different areas of the program. For example,

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

Descriptive material tends to be longer and more “fleshed out” than goal-oriented instructions, but we still ask that you use simple, plain language
wherever you can.

Goal-oriented instructions
These explain how to perform a specific task. The instructions should be as short and direct as possible, generally taking the form of a numbered
list. For example,

To create a new palette

Open the palettes tab

Click Add palettes
Click Create custom palette
Name your new palette and click Create

Notice that we use bold text for named components of the user interface, including menus. Keyboard shortcuts, such as Ctrl+S, are rendered with
<kbd> tags (see Syntax).

When writing goal-oriented instructions, please:

Use only numbered lists (no dot points)

Begin each numbered instruction with a verb
Write only one task/direction per numbered item

For example, instead of writing this:

Open the palettes tab and click Add palettes

Please write this:

Open the palettes tab

Click Add palettes

Please be sure to include keyboard options for goal-oriented instructions, where such options exist. This is especially important for improving the
program's accessibility.

Use of non-written media

The use of non-written media is encouraged as a supplement to written descriptions. This includes:

Animated GIFs
Screenshots of relevant parts of the user interface

Creating animated GIFs

Animated GIFs offer many advantages over screenshots and videos in that they expose in the shortest amount of time the sequence of actions
required to achieve a particular task. There are lots of tools available for creating GIFs, however we recommend the following workflow to ensure
crisp and clear image quality while maintaining as small as possible file size (ideally <2MB per GIF).

Use only the MuseScore 4 interface, and set its appearance to dark mode with blue highlights (to achieve consistency across the entire
handbook)
Plan and rehearse the mouse clicks and keyboard shortcuts you will use, aiming to demonstrate the required steps in as short as possible
time (ideally <10s)
Use a free tool like gifcap to record the contents of your screen
Use a free tool like KeyCastr to record keystrokes (where required)
Only show the amount of UI required demonstrate a particular task

Linking to other pages

It's really helpful to link to other pages in the handbook. You might do this wherever you mention a different part of the user interface, or even when
referring back to previous versions of the handbook.

There is a specific process for adding links to other handbook pages, which will allow accurate redirects regardless of the language version being
read.

Use the right syntax

[node:######,title="Name of the page you want to link to"]

or, to link to a specific heading within the page:

[node:######,fragment="heading-slug",title="Name of the page you want to link to"]

Link to the page's node number, not the page's URL

To find a page's node number:

Open the desired page in your browser

Click the "three dots" icon in the top-right of the page
Click Edit in the context menu that appears
Click on your browser's search bar to read the URL

You will find the page's node number in the URL address visible in this edit screen (yes, it only appears in the edit screen). It will look something like
this:

Use a bookmarklet to autogenerate links

You can use the following code snippet and add it as a bookmarklet to your bookmarks. To do this,
 Select the code snippet
Drag it to your browser's bookmark bar

Alternatively, you can add a new bookmark to your browser and replace the bookmark's URL with the code snippet. If you are on a page within the
handbook that you want to link to, click on the bookmarklet in your bookmarks and copy the displayed link.

javascript:void function(){prompt("",`[node:${drupalSettings.path.currentPath.replace("node/","")}${document.querySelector("meta[property=\"og:title\

Taken from node,title,fragment bookmarklet .

Syntax
The handbook is written in MarkDown with a few permitted HTML tags.

If you're not familiar with MarkDown, it doesn't take long to learn. Get started by reading this page first (a MuseScore account is required to
properly view the content on that page, also note that you cannot use Filtered HTML anymore).

Examples for stuff beyond MarkDown

Keys
<kbd><kbd>A</kbd></kbd>, looks like A. (See Writing keyboard shortcuts below.)
Key combinations
<kbd><kbd>Shift</kbd>+<kbd>A</kbd></kbd>, looks like Shift+A. (See Writing keyboard shortcuts below.)
Buttons
<kbd><samp class="button">Advanced Style Properties…</samp></kbd>,
looks like Advanced Style Properties…, but this particular form is not used in
the MuseScore 4 handbook (instead use bold for text that appears in the program).
Menu entries
__File&rarr;Open__, looks like File→Open
Images
<img src="image URL" alt="File name description" width="500px"/>, can be a useful alternative to inline images, where the image width needs to
be specified

Writing keyboard shortcuts

Use the <kbd> syntax described above and follow these guidelines:

For accessibility reasons, always use words instead of symbols for the names of all whitespace keys, arrow keys, and modifier keys.

Good: Cmd+Space; Win+Return; Shift+Tab

Bad: ⌘+ ; ⊞+⏎; ⇧+↹

For keys that represent printable characters, the appropriate character should be used (e.g. write $ not Dollar).

Use common abbreviations like Ctrl, Cmd, Esc, Del, PgDn. Don't abbreviate key names that are not normally abbreviated.

Except where it matters, prefer Return instead of Enter, and Del instead of Backspace.

For combinations, write modifier keys in this order: Win+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Fn+… (Mac: Ctrl+Cmd+Option+Shift+Fn+…).

When in doubt, consult Default keyboard shortcuts for the canonical way to write key names and combinations.

Leaving a revision log message

Finally, whenever you make a change to a page (however big or small!), please leave a concise message that briefly describes the changes you
made. For example,

Added content about xxx

Added images
Corrected content
Added keyboard tags

Leave this information in the Revision log message text field in the right panel of the Edit view for each page:

Introduction to MuseScore 4
Download and installation
To download MuseScore Studio for free (no account or subscription required), please follow the instructions for your specific operating system
below.
Windows
Go to musescore.org
Click the button marked Free Download

[This section needs completing]

macOS
Go to musescore.org
Click the button marked Free Download

An application called MuseHub will be installed in your default download directory (usually the Downloads folder). This application makes it easy to
install MuseScore Studio, as well as a range of sound libraries and effects plugins that can greatly enhance your music writing experience.

To install and open MuseHub:

Open the Finder and go to the Downloads folder

Double-click the application Muse_Hub.dmg
In the dialog that appears, drag the MuseHub application icon into your Applications folder
Double-click the Applications folder icon to look inside the folder
Double-click the MuseHub application to open it

During this process, you may need to grant MuseHub various permissions and access to folders. These permissions are required to ensure
MuseHub installs correctly.

Now that you have MuseHub open in front of you, it's time to install MuseScore Studio:

Click on the Apps tab in the left panel

Locate MuseScore Studio and click the Free button beneath it to start the download and installation process
Once the app has been downloaded, click the Open button beneath the MuseScore Studio icon.

Now get writing some music!

Linux
Also see Troubleshooting

AppImage

Install

The easiest way to install the program is by using an AppImage:

Go to the Download→Software page at musescore.org

Under Linux→AppImage (recommended), click on the Download (64 bit) link
When the download is complete, right-click on the AppImage and select Properties
Switch to the Permissions tab
The next step varies depending on your file manager:
Nautilus-based (Nemo, Files, Caja) : Check the “Allow executing file as program” box.
Dolphin: Check the "Is executable" box.
Thunar: Check the “Allow this file to run as a program” box.
PCManFM: Change the “Execute” option in the drop down list to “Anyone”.
Exit the dialog.
Right-click inside the directory in which the AppImage is installed and select Open in Terminal
In the Terminal type, ./[file name] install (the dot and slash at the beginning are important!)

Steps 7 and 8 ensure that a MuseScore entry appears in the system’s menu and is linked to the new location of the AppImage (/home/[user
name]/.local/bin). The correct file associations are also automatically made.

Note: Instead of steps 7 and 8 (above) you can, of course, install using the absolute file path instead. That is:

Open the Terminal

Type [file path] install

Tip: if you apply copy to the AppImage and press Ctrl+Shift+V in the terminal this will enter the absolute file path of the file that has just been
“copied”.

Uninstall

No formal uninstall procedure is needed to remove the installed AppImage. Just delete menu entries and any shortcuts manually, then delete the
App itself, and its links (which will be in ~/.local/bin).

Create your first score

We’ll start by creating a new score from a template (Alternatively, you can learn about creating a score from scratch in Adding and removing
instruments).

To create a score from a template:

Click New score in the Scores screen

In the New score dialog that appears, browse templates by Category, or use the search bar to look up a template directly
Click Next to enter additional score information (or skip this step and let MuseScore pre-fill your score with default information, which you
can always change later)
Click Done to create your new score
Entering score information
In the Additional score information screen, you can set:

The initial key signature (the default key signature contains no sharps or flats)
The initial time signature (the default time signature is 4/4)
The initial tempo (Click Tempo, then Show tempo marking on my score for this to appear)
A pickup measure (anacrusis or upbeat measure), and its duration
The initial number of measures in the score (the default is 32, but you can add/remove measures from the score edit window)

Entering notes
The simplest way to enter notes in MuseScore is to:

Hit N on your keyboard to enter the note entry mode

Start typing note names (A, B, C, D, E, F, G)

You’re now engraving in MuseScore! You’ll notice the blue note input highlight, which indicates that you are in note input mode. It shows you
where in the measure your next note will be entered.

You can specify the duration of each note you enter in the Note input toolbar. To change note duration:

Ensure you are in note input mode (See above)

Click on the desired note duration, or
Use shortcut keys 1 through 7 to select different note values

Learn more about this topic in Entering notes and rests.

Adding items from the palettes

The Palettes panel contains almost every notational object you might need to add detail to your score. The simplest way to add palette items to
your notation is to:

Select an existing object (or range of objects) in your score (e.g. a notehead, clef, measure, etc.)
In the Palettes panel, open a palette by clicking the triangular arrow button
Click once on a palette object
Learn more about this topic in Palettes

Making adjustments in Properties

The Properties panel can be revealed by clicking on the Properties tab on the left side of the screen:

(Users of MuseScore prior to version 4 will know this as the Inspector).

The properties panel will show settings that are specific to the object being selected. These settings usually affect the visual appearance of the
selected object. Most of the time, changes you make in Properties will apply only to the object you have selected (e.g. you’ll change the
selected hairpin, and not every hairpin in your score).

As you add details to your score, click on any object to see what settings are available.

Learn more about this topic in Properties.

Inserting and deleting measures

To insert a single measure:
 Click on a measure to select it
In the Measure section of Properties, click Insert measures
Click the + button

This Measure section contains controls that allow you to insert multiple measures at once. Simply set the number of measures you wish to
insert in the text field. You can also use the dropdown menu to change the point where new measures will be inserted.

To delete a measure or group of measures:

Select the measure(s) you wish to delete

In the Measures popup, click the trash can icon

More information on this topic can be found in Measures.

Saving your score

To save your score locally to your computer's harddrive:

Select File→Save
In the dialog that appears, select folder and fill in the required info such as file name, click Save or OK

To save your score to the cloud on musescore.com:

Select File→Save to Cloud.

You may be asked to sign in to your account on musescore.com.
Fill in the Name of your score.
Set a Visibility. Private means only you may see your score. Unlisted means anyone with the correct link may see your score. Public
means anyone may see your score.
Press Save.

You can find all your cloud scores by going to Home > Scores > My online scores (look for the files marked with a small blue cloud symbol).
Read more about this in Opening and saving scores.

Exporting your score

Export allows you to create non-MuseScore files, such as PDF, MusicXML, MIDI, and various audio and image formats.

To export your score:

Select the Publish tab

Click Export
Select the parts you wish to export
Choose the file format for your exported file(s)
If exporting multiple parts, choose whether you want each part combined into one file or exported to as separate files
Click Export

You can also share scores online on musescore.com .

Upgrading to MuseScore Studio 4 from earlier versions

If you’re coming to MuseScore Studio 4 from earlier versions, you’ll notice changes not only to the user interface, but also to many familiar features
and ways of doing things. These changes have been designed to improve the user experience while providing much greater functionality. Here's a
very quick overview of some of the major changes.

New user interface

MuseScore Studio 4 comes with a sleek new interface. Nearly every part of the application has been completely redesigned to be cleaner and
easier to read. You can choose between light, dark and high contrast themes, as well as pick your preferred accent color. Changes to the
appearance of the app can be made in Preferences.

Instruments and parts

A new instruments panel allows you to hide, rearrange and customize your instruments without having to leave the score view.
The instruments panel integrates tightly with the process of creating parts, making it much easier to produce custom parts with any combination of
available instruments. There’s now also a convenient button in the toolbar that allows you to quickly open any available part.

Inspector
The Inspector from earlier versions of MuseScore is now known as the Properties panel. Every option in this panel has been re-organized and the
entire experience has been streamlined. By default, the Properties panel displays multiple useful options, like the ability to show or hide empty
staves and various other types of score markings. Whereas previously you needed to select single element types before you could make changes
to them, MuseScore Studio 4 always displays relevant settings, regardless of how many different elements you have selected.

New playback and VSTi support

Playback improvements are the single largest change to MuseScore Studio 4. Apart from new sample libraries (Muse Sounds, available as a
separate download), there’s now support for VSTi plugins, which can be applied to instruments using the new mixer panel. The mixer also lets you
easily switch between VSTi, SoundFonts and the Muse Sounds libraries, while also supporting VST effects. Sounds will now always be saved on a
per-score basis, so there is no longer any need for the Synthesizer panel found in MuseScore 3 (this has been removed in MuseScore Studio 4). If
you previously used SFZ files for playback in MuseScore 3, we now recommend that you use a free VST sampler, like Sfizz or Sforzando ,
both of which support SFZ playback.

Engraving improvements
MuseScore Studio 4 features many engraving improvements, some of which will have an effect on the appearance and layout of scores created in
earlier versions. The most significant changes affect the placement of beams, slurs and ties, horizontal spacing, and page layout. There are far too
many changes to list here, so those interested in learning more about the particularities may wish to read this dedicated document (link forthcoming)
that explains and illustrates everything in detail.

An unavoidable consequence of having made such significant engraving improvements is that it will not be possible to open a score in MuseScore
Studio 4 from an earlier version of MuseScore and have it look identical.

Cloud storage
When you save a document for the first time, you’ll now be asked whether you want to save your file locally to your computer, or to the cloud. This
new option is part of an exciting expansion we are making to services on musescore.com. Learn more about this in Open/Save/Export/Print and
Share Scores Online.

Other changes
As you use the program, you’ll find lots of other small but significant changes that have been designed to make the process of composing and
notating music just that bit easier. These include:

An expanded note input toolbar, with one-click access to frequently used elements like tuplets and articulation marks. There’s also a
convenient “+” menu where you can quickly add everything from notes and intervals, to frames and text elements.
Easy-access features in the Properties panel that let you quickly add and remove measures, and show and hide empty staves
A beautiful new mixer
Improvements to the time signature properties dialog
A streamlined experience for setting the language of the app
A new Learn center for instructional videos on how to get the most from the app

More changes are listed in Upgrading from MuseScore 3.x, including some keyboard shortcuts that are different or entirely new.

Viewing and navigation

Accessibility

Screen readers
MuseScore 4 supports all the major screen readers on each operating system. However, MuseScore's support for JAWS is not currently as good as
it is for Narrator or NVDA on Windows.

Speech on Windows

Screen Reader Availability Modifier key On/off shortcut Settings shortcut

Narrator Built into Windows Narrator = Caps Lock Windows+Ctrl+Enter Windows+Ctrl+N
Off only: NVDA+Q
NVDA For Windows, free NVDA = Insert / Caps Lock NVDA+N
Toggle speech: NVDA+S
JAWS For Windows, paid JAWS = Insert / Caps Lock Off only: JAWS+F4 JAWS+J

If speech isn't working in MuseScore, try pressing Alt+F to focus the File menu, then press Esc twice to return to where you were in the app, at which
point the screen reader should start working again. This tends to be needed if you start the screen reader after MuseScore is already running.

As mentioned above, MuseScore's speech output with JAWS is not currently as complete as it is with Narrator or NVDA.

Speech on macOS

Screen Reader Availability Modifier key On/off shortcut Settings shortcut

VO = Ctrl+Option / Caps
VoiceOver Built into macOS Cmd+F5 VO+F8
Lock

VoiceOver's Quick Nav mode must be turned off while using MuseScore 4. You can toggle Quick Nav on or off by pressing the Left and Right
arrow keys simultaneously while VoiceOver is running. It's also possible to disable Quick Nav from within VoiceOver Utility > Commanders.
MuseScore's interface is navigable with the tab cursor as well as with VoiceOver's own cursor. In general it's best to use the tab cursor because this
matches the interface on other platforms, hence is what you will find described in most documentation and tutorials. When using the tab cursor,
remember to use the arrow keys as well as Tab as described in Navigating the UI. VoiceOver's cursor can be used to reach areas of the application
that are not yet accessible to the tab cursor.

Speech on Linux

Screen Reader Availability Modifier key On/off shortcut Settings shortcut

Orca+Space
Orca Built into Linux GNOME Orca = Insert / Caps Lock Super+Alt+S
or run orca --setup

On Linux it is necessary to start the screen reader running before you launch MuseScore, otherwise accessibility features will be disabled to save
system resources (the same is true for all Qt applications on Linux). If you forget to do this, simply exit MuseScore and launch it again, this time with
the screen reader running.

Orca is the most feature-complete screen reader available for Linux. Orca is built into the GNOME desktop environment, so it's recommended that
Linux users with accessibility needs use a distribution based on GNOME or one of its derivatives.

Keyboard access
Navigating the UI

MuseScore 4's UI (user interface) has a hierarchical system of keyboard navigation, which is different to what you may be used to in other
applications, including previous versions of MuseScore. In the new system, you must remember to use the arrow keys in addition to the tab key,
because the tab key no longer visits every control. This allows for much faster navigation than the traditional system that uses the tab key for all
navigation.

Shortcut Action
Move to next or previous UI section (e.g. from the toolbars to the
F6 and palettes and back). The ` key (backtick or grave accent) can be used
Shift+F6 as an alternative to F6. ` is found above Tab on most QWERTY
keyboards, or next to the left Shift key on UK Mac keyboards.
Tab and Move to next or previous control group (e.g. navigate between
Shift+Tab toolbars).
Up Down Left or Move to next or previous control within the current group (e.g.
Right arrow keys navigate between buttons in a toolbar).
Activate the current control (e.g. press a button, or insert an
Enter or Return element from the palettes). Spacebar can also be used to activate
controls, unless the control is a selectable item in a list.
Select an item in a list (e.g. an element in the palettes). Once
selected, some items can be deleted by pressing Delete, or modified
Spacebar by navigating to other controls in the UI. This approach can be used in
the Instruments panel to reorder or remove the instruments in your
score.

Please note that the UI navigation shortcuts are fixed and cannot be changed, unlike the shortcuts for score navigation, which can be customized in
Preferences.

Navigating the score

Navigation within the score (i.e. inside the "Notation view") is much the same as it was in MuseScore 3. The following shortcuts are of particular
value to accessibility users:

Shortcut Action
Move to next or previous element. These shortcuts enable you to
Alt+Right and Alt+Left
visit all kinds of notation elements, not just notes and rests.
Move to note above or below. These shortcuts enable you to move
Alt+Up and Alt+Down between individual notes in a chord, and also to reach notes and rests
in other voices and in other staves.
Edit selected element. This is the keyboard equivalent of double-
clicking on an element with the mouse. It enables you to edit text
objects, including lyrics, dynamics, and tempo markings. It also
F2 or Alt+Shift+E enables you to adjust the length of line elements such as hairpins,
slurs, and voltas (use the Tab key to change which end of the line you
are adjusting). When you have finished editing, press Esc to return to
Normal mode.
Open context menu for selected element(s). This is the keyboard
equivalent of right-clicking on an element. It provides access to
Menu or Shift+F10 various options that depend on the element selected. Use this shortcut
on a range selection to provide access to Measure properties, and
Staff/Part properties.

Other aspects of keyboard navigation are described on pages throughout this handbook. All score navigation and manipulation shortcuts can be
customized in Preferences.

Video tutorials
The following accessibility tutorials are designed to get you up and running with MuseScore, using your keyboard and screen reader. They don't
cover every aspect of the program, but they should give you a solid foundation that will enable you can take full advantage of the rest of this
Handbook.
 Video Topics covered
Installation of MuseScore on Windows, including Muse Hub and Muse
Installing MuseScore Sounds. The process is similar on macOS and Linux, although on
Linux you need to install Muse Hub and MuseScore separately.
Initial score setup, including choosing instruments, key signature, time
Score setup
signature, and other settings.
Entering music Basic note input.
Adding markings Using the palettes to add markings (e.g. dynamics) to your score.
Main window of the program, so you can understand where all the
The user interface different panels, toolbars, and controls are, and how to reach them by
keyboard.

The user interface

Menu bar

The Menu bar in MuseScore 4 contains the following menus:

File: Create a new file, open and save files, import and export various formats, create and edit instrument parts, and print
Edit: Undo and redo options, copy/cut/paste options, and Find / Go to function
View: Show or hide various palettes, dialogs, and other workspace elements. Items under the Show submenu adjusts display of non-printing
elements:
Show invisible: Show/hide elements depending on their Properties panel: Invisible setting. If this option is ticked, invisible elements are
shown in the score window as light gray.
Show formatting: Show/hide Systems and horizontal spacing: System Breaks or Pages and vertical spacing: Page Breaks symbols.
Show frames: Show/hide the dotted outlines of Frames.
Show page margins: Show/hide Score size and spacing: Page margins.
Show irregular measures: A plus sign or minus sign at the top right of a measure indicates that its duration differs from that set by the
time signature.

Add: Add different kinds of score elements; notes, text, measures etc.
Format: Adjust global and local formatting of the score. Also allows you to stretch or contract the score, load and save score styles, and much
more
Tools: Many useful commands are available here including transpose, exchange voices, slash notation etc.
Plugins: Manage your plugins
Help: Access the online handbook, report bugs and give feedback, and restore factory settings

Keyboard users on Windows and Linux can access these menus by holding the Alt key and pressing a certain letter or number key, known as the
mnemonic access key, that is displayed with an underline in the name of the menu item you are looking for. For example, press Alt+F for File
followed by Alt+A for Save as. The letters 'F' and 'a' are underlined in the UI while the Alt key is held.

On macOS, MuseScore's menus are part of the system-wide menu bar, which you can navigate to by pressing Ctrl+F2.

Home tab

Beneath the main menu are three tabs, the first of which is the Home tab. This tab contains the following sections:

My account

Create a new MuseScore account, or login to your existing account. With an active account, you can get technical assistance and report bugs in the
forums at musescore.org . You can also save your files to the cloud on musescore.com .

Scores

This section allows you to set up a new score, or to open an existing one. Learn about creating new scores in Setting up your score.

Plugins

This window displays a list of available plugins. See the chapter on Plugins to learn about managing these useful add-ons.

Learn

This is where video tutorials are hosted. Clicking on any video tutorial opens it on the official MuseScore YouTube channel .

Score tab
This area is where you do most of your work in MuseScore, including adding music notation and listening to the playback of your score. The
workspace consists of several regions (numbered according to labels in the below diagram):

Parts: The button near the top center of the window opens the Parts dialog, where you can create, edit and delete instrument part scores.
Mixer: The button to the right of Parts opens and closes the Mixer panel.
Playback toolbar. Located to the right of the mixer icon.
Note input toolbar: Extending across the program window, this includes essential notation elements used in score writing. Use it to set the
note input duration, toggle accidentals, apply common articulations, enter tuplets, and change between voices.
Side bar: The area on the left-hand side of the program window contains various panels such as Palettes, Properties, and Instruments. These
can be hidden or displayed as desired.
Document/Score window: This area contains your score, and is where notation elements are added, edited, and deleted.
Status bar: This runs along the bottom of the window. The left-hand side displays useful information about the score when one or more
elements are selected. The right-hand side contains controls for switching between workspaces, selecting concert or written pitch views, and
specifying the page display and zoom factor (magnification).

Keyboard users can use the Tab key or F6 to navigate between these UI regions via the keyboard. Within each region, navigation is performed with
the arrow keys and Tab.

Almost all panels and toolbars can be un-docked and repositioned according to your project requirements and workflow preferences. Learn more
about this in Workspaces.

Publish tab

This tab allows you to view your score without the clutter of the note input toolbar or sidebar panels. There are options to print the score, and to
export it in a variety of image, audio and document formats. When your score is finished, you can also publish it to musescore.com .

Context menus
In certain parts of the application, primarily in the Score tab, context menus are available with additional functionality, such as options to copy, edit,
customise, delete, or view the properties of whatever item(s) were selected at the time you opened the menu.

Element context menus

Within the score, every element has a context menu. To open the context menu for a particular element, right-click on the element with the mouse,
or select the element via the keyboard and press Shift+F10 (some PC keyboards also have a dedicated Menu key near to the right Ctrl key). The
exact options available in the context menu can differ depending on the type of element you selected, so it is worth experimenting to find out what
options are available for different kinds of elements. For example, when you right-click on an empty region within a measure the resulting context
menu contains options for Staff/Part properties and Measure properties. This is currently the only way to get to those options and the dialogs
they lead to.

UI context menus

Outside of the score, the presence of a context menu is often indicated by a small button with three dots, or by a settings cog. Press the button to
open the menu. Sometimes the button is associated with another item in the vicinity, such as in the Palettes, where there is three-dots button for
each palette. In this case you can right-click on the palette name, or select it with the keyboard and press the Shift+F10 or Menu key shortcut, as an
alternative to using the three-dots button.

Navigating your score

Scrolling
Mouse wheel

Use the scroll wheel to move the view up and down.

 Use Shift plus the scroll wheel to move the view left and right.

Scrollbars

Scrollbars appear at the right-hand and bottom edges of the score view. Click and drag them to quickly move the score view up and down, or left
and right. Scrollbars are usually hidden from view, but can be revealed by hovering over the edge of the score view with your mouse.

Keyboard

You can also scroll the score using the PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys on your keyboard. If your keyboard lacks dedicated keys for these functions,
most systems will also allow you to access these functions by holding Fn or a similar key, then pressing Up, Down, Left, or Right respectively.

By themselves, PgUp and PgDn scroll one screenful at a time. This may be less than an actual page of your score. If you hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while
pressing PgUp or PgDn, it moves a full page at a time.

Element navigation
When a single element is selected in your score, it acts as a cursor. You can change the selection—and thus move the cursor—using common
keyboard shortcuts.

The Left and Right keys will move horizontally through your score one note or rest at a time. If you hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while pressing Left or Right,
you can navigate a full measure at a time.

To move the cursor vertically through the various notes, voices, and staves in your score, use the shortcuts Alt+Up and Alt+Down (Mac: Option+Up and
Option+Down).

You can also use the shortcuts Alt+Left and Alt+Right (Mac: Option+Left and Option+Right) to select elements other than notes or rests. These
commands allow you select almost any elements—including articulations, barlines, hairpins, and more—using the keyboard alone.

In addition, Ctrl+Home (Mac: Cmd+Home) will select the first element in your score, and Ctrl+End (Mac: Cmd+End) will select the last element. Again, for
keyboards that lack dedicated Home and End keys, most systems provide the alternative of Fn+Left and Fn+Right respectively.

See Default keyboard shortcuts to learn more.

Navigator
The Navigator is a panel that displays thumbnails of score pages. To view or hide the Navigator, click View → Navigator.
The blue bounding box represents the area of the score currently in focus in the score view. Click on the box and drag it to move around your score.

Timeline
A navigation aid that shows instruments and score structure. For details, see Timeline.

Views
You can switch between different views of the score using the pop-up in the right-hand side of the status bar.

Page view

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

Continuous view (horizontal)

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

Continuous view (vertical)

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

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

Zoom in
Ctrl++ (Mac: Cmd++)
or scroll up with the mouse scroll wheel while holding Ctrl (Mac: Cmd).

Zoom out

Ctrl+- (Mac: Cmd+-)

or scroll down with the mouse scroll wheel while holding Ctrl (Mac: Cmd).

Status bar zoom controls

To zoom in and out of your score from the Status bar controls:

Click on the magnifying glass icons in the right-hand area of the status bar
Click the number field to the right of these icons, then type a custom zoom level
Choose from one of the preset zoom levels in the pop-up list on the extreme right

Restoring 100% zoom

This restores the zoom to the default (100%) level.

Ctrl+0 (Mac: Cmd+0)

Find/Go to
The Find/Go to panel allows you to speedily navigate to a specific measure, rehearsal mark or page number in the score.

To show the panel:

Go to Edit → Find, or
Press Ctrl+F (Mac: Cmd+F).

To hide the panel:

Click the X (close) button on the left side of the panel, or

Press Esc while the panel has focus.

Navigating to a numbered measure

Enter the measure number (counting every measure, starting with 1, irrespective of pickup measures, section breaks or manual changes to
measure number offsets).

Navigating to a numbered page

Enter the page number using the format pXX (where XX is the page number).

Navigating to a numerical rehearsal mark

Enter the number using the format rXX (where XX is the number of the rehearsal mark).

Navigating to an alphabetic rehearsal mark

Enter the name of the rehearsal mark (the search is not case sensitive).

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

Timeline

Overview
Timeline is a navigation aid that displays at the bottom of the program window, giving you an overview of the instruments and main structural
elements measure-by-measure. You can easily move about the score by clicking on a measure or a structural element.

There are four parts to the timeline:

Meta labels

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

Instrument labels

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 elements
Meta elements are those found in the score that are not notes, but are still important to the score—such as key signature, time signature, tempo,
rehearsal marks, bar lines, and jumps and markers.

Basic interactions
Selecting a measure

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.

Selecting multiple measures

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 a 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.

Scrolling
Standard scrolling

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] scrolling

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] scrolling

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.

Dragging
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, click the left mouse button on the measures meta 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 again on the
measures meta to expand the meta rows.

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 (Mac: Cmd + scroll).

Braille

Overview
MuseScore 4.1 added a braille panel that displays the current measure in braille music notation . The content is similar to what you get if you
export braille via the File menu, but the braille panel updates live as you navigate through the score.

As of MuseScore 4.2, the braille panel can be used to enter notes and some musical symbols using Perkins-style 6-key braille input.

MuseScore 4.1: Live Braille Features

Output to a physical braille display

The contents of the braille panel can be displayed on a braille terminal connected to your computer (e.g. via Bluetooth or USB).

The following limitations apply when using a physical braille display:

NVDA must be used as the screen reader.

MuseScore’s braille panel must have keyboard focus.
When the score has focus, the braille terminal will just show ordinary status text from the screen reader.
Braille navigation and 6-key input must be performed with the computer keyboard.
Physical buttons on the braille terminal are not used, except to scroll within a measure that is too long to fit on your display.

Please let us know in the Documentation forum if you discover a way to bypass any of these limitations.
Terminology: braille vs. print

On this page, we refer to MuseScore's ordinary stave notation as "print music". This is the traditional music notation that sighted musicians use on
paper or electronic devices, and is displayed in the central region of MuseScore's main window, known as the score view.

Braille can also be used on paper, but it's not printed with ink. Instead, it's embossed as raised dots, which blind musicians read by touch. It is
common in accessibility circles to use the word "print" to mean non-braille notation.

Viewing braille
To open or close the braille panel

Go to Preferences > Braille.

Check (or uncheck) the Show braille panel box.

The braille panel appears directly below the score in MuseScore’s main window.

To focus the braille panel

With the braille panel open, press the Tab key while the score has focus. A caret (text cursor) will appear in the braille at the position of whatever
element was selected in the score. For example, if a note was selected in the score, the text caret will appear on that note in the braille.

Press Shift+Tab at any time to leave the braille panel and return to the score. The braille panel will remain open so you can navigate to it again with
Tab.

Navigating the braille

While the braille panel has focus, you can move the text caret around using the arrow keys. As the caret moves through the braille, the element to
the right of the caret becomes selected in the score. If that element is a note, MuseScore will play the sound of the note.

The braille panel only shows one measure at a time, but it shows that measure for all instruments in the score. Each line of braille corresponds to a
staff in the print notation, so grand staff instruments like the piano get two lines of braille, and the organ gets three lines.

If a staff has lyrics, these are written on another line of braille immediately below the line corresponding to that staff. If there are multiple lines of
lyrics (e.g. for multiple verses), each line of lyrics is written on a separate line in the braille.

Shortcuts for navigation

The following keyboard shortcuts are available for navigating the braille.

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Go to next braille cell Right Right
Go to previous braille cell Left Left
Go to braille line above Up Up
Go to braille line below Down Down
Go to next measure Ctrl+Right Cmd+Right
Go to previous measure Ctrl+Left Cmd+Left
Go to beginning of score Ctrl+Home Cmd+Fn+Left
Go to end of score Ctrl+Emd Cmd+Fn+Right
Toggle braille input mode on/off N N

Writing braille
Notes and certain musical symbols can be entered in the braille panel using a 6-key method of braille input similar to that of the Perkins Brailler .

Turn braille input mode on or off

While the braille panel has focus, press N to toggle braille input mode on or off.

Constructing a braille cell

While in braille input mode, six letter keys on the computer keyboard are used to represent the six braille dots that make up a single braille cell (⠿).

The keys used are F, D, S for dots 1, 2, 3 down the first column of the cell, and J, K, L for dots 4, 5, 6 down the second column. The Space key is used
to represent an empty braille cell (⠀), sometimes referred to as dot 0.

Up to six of these keys can be pressed in combination to construct any pattern of raised dots. For example, to enter a quarter note C, which in
braille is ⠹ (i.e. dots 1, 4, 5, 6), press and hold F+J+K+L, then release these keys to confirm the pattern. The keys can be pressed and released in
any order, providing at least one key is held at all times, until you have completed the pattern.

When the final key is released, MuseScore reads your braille pattern. If your pattern corresponds to a recognized note or musical symbol then this
element is entered directly in the score, not in the braille panel, because print notation is the "ground truth" for MuseScore. Once the element is in
the score, the braille panel automatically updates to reflect this change.

Sometimes in music braille, the same information can be expressed in multiple ways. For the sake of consistency, MuseScore always picks the
same way regardless of how you entered the notation. Therefore, the braille that appears in the braille panel may not exactly match the pattern(s)
you entered with the six keys, though it will have the same meaning.

Entering notes

Basic notes
In braille, eighth notes (quavers) and 128th notes are written as:

Note Braille Dots Keys

C ⠙ 1, 4, 5 F+J+K
D ⠑ 1, 5 F+K
E ⠋ 1, 2, 4 F+D+J
F ⠛ 1, 2, 4, 5 F+D+J+K
G ⠓ 1, 2, 5 F+D+K
A ⠊ 2, 4 D+J
B ⠚ 2, 4, 5 D+J+K

Additional dots are added to the above sequences to create other durations:

Duration Braille Dots added Keys added

Quarter (crotchet) and 64th notes ⠠ 6 L
Half (minim) and 32nd notes ⠄ 3 S
Whole (semibreve) and 16th
notes ⠤ 3, 6 S+L

Hence a quarter note C is ⠹ (dots 1, 4, 5, 6) and is entered with F+J+K+L. This pattern is also used for a 64th note C.

16th notes and smaller

As mentioned above, 16th notes and smaller use the same dot patterns as larger durations. When reading braille, you can work out whether the
shorter or longer duration is being specified by looking at the time signature as well as other notes in the measure. However, when writing braille,
you need to tell MuseScore which durations you want to use.

⠤ ⠄ ⠠ ⠀ Dots to select Keys to select

Group 1 whole half quarter eighth 0, 1 Space+F
Group 2 16th 32nd 64th 128th 0, 2 Space+D

By default, MuseScore enters group 1 durations (whole, half, quarter, eighth). To switch to group 2, enter dots 0, 2 (i.e. press Space+D). Nothing will
appear in the braille panel, but any notes or rests you write from now on will be in group 2 (16th, 32nd, 64th, 128th). To switch back to group 1
durations, enter dots 0, 1 (i.e. press Space+F).

It's not currently possible to enter durations of 256th and smaller, or breve (double whole) and larger, via the braille panel.

Dotted notes

Braille uses ⠄(dot 3) to represent an augmentation dot, which is added in a new braille cell immediately following a note. No other cells are allowed
to come between the note and its augmentation dot.

To create a dotted note in the braille panel, first write the main note duration using the rules above, then follow it with dot 3 (i.e. press S).

For example, a dotted quarter note C is ⠹⠄, which can be stated as dot pattern 1456-3, where the dash means to start a new cell. In terms of keys,
this is F+J+K+L, S.

It's not currently possible to enter multiple dot 3s to create double and triple dotted notes via the braille panel.

Octave marks

Octave marks in braille serve a similar purpose to clefs in print music. If you see a note in print, you don't know what pitch it is until you look at the
preceding clef. In braille, if you see ⠙ (dots 1, 4, 5) then you know the note is a C, but it could be a C in any octave. To determine the octave, you
need to look at the preceeding octave mark (and also at any notes between that octave mark and the current note).

A standard 88-key piano has 7 complete octaves. Starting on the lowest C, which is called C1 in braille as well as in scientific pitch notation, the first
complete octave of white notes is C1, D1, E1, F1, G1, A1 and B1. After B1 comes C2, which is the start of the second complete octave. This
scheme continues up to the final complete octave, which starts with C7 and ends with B7.

In this system, C4 is middle C, and A4 is "concert A" (i.e. the note that the orchestra tunes to at the start of a performance). Enharmonic spelling is
important, so B♯3 sounds the same as C4 despite being notated in a different octave, and C♭4 sounds the same as B3.

Even standard 88-key pianos have a few notes outside the range C1 to B7. Braille refers to the C0 octave as the "sub" octave, and the C8 octave
as the "super" octave. These simply double the markings used for the first and seventh octaves.

Octave Marks Dots Keys

0 (sub) ⠈⠈ 4-4 J, J
1 ⠈ 4 J
2 ⠘ 45 J+K
3 ⠸ 456 J+K+L
4 (middle) ⠐ 5 K
5 ⠨ 46 J+L
6 ⠰ 56 K+L
7 ⠠ 6 L
8 (super) ⠠⠠ 6-6 L, L

When specified, octave mark are placed immediately prior to a note. So a middle C quarter note is ⠐⠹, or dots 5-1456, which is entered as K,
F+J+K+L. No other cells are allowed to go between the octave mark and the note it belongs to.
Octave marks don't have to be given before every note. Octave marks are only required for the:

First note on each line of braille.

First note after a double bar line, number sign, word indicator, and certain other markings.
Second of two notes separated by a melodic interval of a sixth or more, regardless of their octaves.
Second of two notes separated by a melodic interval of a fourth or more, only if their octave numbers are different.

Basics
Setting up your score

Overview
To create a new score, use one of the following options:

In the Home→Scores tab, select New score, or click New (bottom right)
From the menu, select File→New
Use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+N (Mac: Cmd+N)

This will open the New Score dialog (more instructions about this dialog are below). Once you've finished setting up your score, it will be visible in
the Score tab.

Instruments
When creating a new score, you can either choose instruments yourself or use a template that comes pre-configured with appropriate instruments
(these can always be changed later).

Choose instruments

In the New Score dialog, make sure the Choose instruments tab is selected.

MuseScore contains over 500 instruments. Instruments are grouped into categories, and categories are organized into families. If you know what
you’re looking for, you can type an instrument's name into the search bar. Alternatively, you can browse instruments by group from the Family
dropdown menu.

Adding instruments

To add an instrument to your score:

Double-click on an instrument name, or

Click on the instrument name to select it, then click the → button
Instruments are automatically arranged according to the order shown in the dropdown menu under Your Score. From this menu, you can choose
from a range of standard score configurations.

Changing order of instruments

To manually change the order of instruments:

Select an instrument in the Your Score panel

Click on ↑ or ↓ to change its position

Removing instruments

To delete an instrument from your score:

Select an instrument in the Your Score panel

Click the trash can button
You can also delete multiple instruments at once by first holding down Shift and selecting multiple instruments, then clicking the trash can button.

Create from template

Scores can also be created from pre-configured templates.

Templates are organized into categories based on musical style or ensemble configuration. Each template contains the instruments most commonly
required for a particular type of score. Instruments are ordered and styled according to conventional practice.

To create a score from a template:

Click Create from template

Select a group of templates from the Category panel
Choose your desired template from the center panel
Click Done

You can also search across all available templates in the search bar.

Visit Templates and styles to learn more templates, including how to create your own for future use.

Additional score information

Click Next in the New score dialog to specify additional information about your score.

Key signature

By default, new scores are created with a key signature containing no sharps or flats (C major). Specify a different key signature by clicking the
button under Key signature. Major keys are shown first; minor keys can be displayed by selecting the Minor tab.

Time signature

New scores are created in 4/4 by default. Change this by clicking the button under Time signature. Change the number of beats per bar using the
arrows in the spin box, and change the beat quality from the dropdown menu. You can also select common and cut-common (alla-breve) time
signatures in this popup.
Tempo

By default, new scores will play at a tempo of quarter note (crotchet) = 120 beats per minute (bpm). Metronome markings are not automatically
included in new scores.

To customize the starting playback tempo, and to show a metronome marking above the uppermost stave:

Click the button under Tempo

Tick Show tempo marking on my score
Select the desired beat value
Enter the desired number of beats per minute in the text field (or use the up and down arrows to scroll through the tempo range)

Learn more about tempo text indications, metronome markings, and playback speed in tempo markings.

Measures

New scores are created with 32 measures and no pickup (anacrusis). To change the starting number of measures in your new score:

Click the button under Measures

Enter the desired number of measures in the Initial number of measures field

Learn more about Adding and removing measures at any time after score creation.

To start your score with a pickup:

Click the button under Measures

Tick Create pickup measure
Enter the desired number of beats for the pickup in the text field
Select the metrical value of the pickup measure from the drop-down menu

You can always create a pickup later. Learn how to do this in Pickup and non-metered measures.

Title and other text

Enter text in the fields at the bottom of the New score dialog, and MuseScore will automatically place it in an appropriate format in your new score.
You can enter text labels for the score's:

Title
Composer
Subtitle
Lyricist
Copyright

This information gets saved to the score's project properties, which you can change at any time.

Once you've finished specifying additional score information, click Done to confirm your selections and create your score.

Changing instruments after score creation

There are three ways to change existing score instruments:

Use the keyboard shortcut I while in the Score tab

Click Add from the Instruments panel (If this panel is not yet visible, press F7, or select View → Instruments)
Click Replace instrument in the Staff/Part properties dialog

Entering notes and rests

This page explains music creation on standard staves only. See also the tablature and percussion pages.

Overview
To enter a note or rest, simply choose a duration in the toolbar, then type the pitch name (A–G) for a note or a 0 (zero) for a rest. MuseScore Studio
supports inputting music via the computer keyboard, mouse, a MIDI keyboard, or MuseScore's own virtual piano keyboard.

MuseScore supports virtually unlimited undo history, so you don't have to worry about making mistakes. Just click the undo button on the far right of
the toolbar, or use the standard keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Z (Mac: Cmd+Z).

Entering notes
This chapter explains the default input mode, step-time, where notes and rests are entered one at a time. For other modes of entry, see Alternative
note input methods.

Selecting a start point

To add a note or rest to the score, start by selecting a location to begin entry. You can use the mouse or the keyboard navigation commands.
Entering note input mode

Next, enter note input mode by pressing the pencil icon in the toolbar, or using the keyboard shortcut N. The note input cursor appears, indicating
where the next note will be added in the score.

If you don't select a starting location first, MuseScore places the cursor at the last input position, or in some other logical place, so be sure the
cursor is where you intend.

Once in note input mode, enter notes left to right by first selecting a duration and then entering a pitch or rest. When you are done entering notes in
this location and are ready to do something else—for example, entering notes at a different location, adding other markings, or performing other
operations like copy and paste—you can leave note input mode by clicking the note input button or pressing N again. You can also press Esc to
return to normal mode from note input or any other mode.

Selecting duration

While in note input mode, select a note value for the next note to be entered by:

Clicking a corresponding note icon in the Note Input toolbar (directly above the score window)

Entering the keyboard shortcut 1–9 corresponding to the desired duration

The keyboard shortcuts are designed to be efficient and easy to remember. The most common note values are eighth, quarter, and half (UK:
quaver, crochet, minim) and these are represented by the keys 4, 5, and 6 respectively (the middle row of a numeric keypad). Shorter note values
are represented by smaller numbers, longer values by larger numbers. The full list is as follows:

64th (hemidemisemiquaver): 1
32nd (demisemiquaver): 2
16th (semiquaver): 3
Eighth (quaver): 4
Quarter (crotchet): 5
Half (minim): 6
Whole (semibreve): 7
Double whole (breve): 8
Longa: 9
Dot: . (changes the selection into a dotted note/rest)

Other durations, including double dots and 128th notes, can be selected if you first customize your toolbar and/or define your own keyboard
shortcuts.

Note: It is also possible to select duration using a MIDI keyboard, if you set up the keys you wish to use for this in advance.

Selecting pitch

Once you have selected a duration, you can enter pitches using the computer keyboard, mouse, MIDI keyboard, or virtual piano keyboard.

Selecting pitch using the computer keyboard

This is generally the most efficient way to enter notes in MuseScore.

To enter a note of a given pitch using the computer keyboard, simply press the corresponding letter (A–G) on your computer keyboard.

Notes entered in this way will replace any rests or notes that were already present at the cursor location. To add a note to an existing note or chord,
press Shift while entering the note. See the section on chords below for more information.

When entering notes by letter name, MuseScore will choose the octave that is closest to the previous note on that staff. This works well for
passages that move mostly by steps and small leaps. If you need to change the octave for a larger leap, use Ctrl+↑ and Ctrl+↓ (Mac: Cmd+↑ and
Cmd+↓) to raise or lower the pitch of the previously entered note by an octave.

Selecting pitch using the mouse

To enter a note using the mouse, position your mouse on the desired line or space in the staff, then click. The mouse cursor will show you a preview
of the note you are about to enter to help you place it accurately.

If any notes already exist at the location where you are entering a new note, the new note will be added above or below it. To replace existing notes
instead, press Shift while entering the new note.

It can be difficult to enter notes very far above or below a staff with this method, because MuseScore may interpret clicks far from the intended staff
as an attempt to enter notes onto the staff above or below. Instead, try entering the note an octave lower or higher, then raise or lower the pitch by
an octave using Ctrl+↑ and Ctrl+↓ (Mac: Cmd+↑ and Cmd+↓).

Note: Although one would normally enter notes left to right, the mouse entry method actually allows you to enter a note at any location where there
is an existing note or rest to replace.

Selecting pitch using a MIDI keyboard

If you have a MIDI keyboard connected, you can enter notes while in note input mode by simply pressing the corresponding keys.

When playing notes on a MIDI keyboard, they are entered consecutively so long as you release each key fully before pressing the next. If you press
a key before releasing the previous key, the new note is added above or below the previous note.

Notes entered via MIDI keyboard that are outside of the current key signature will have accidentals applied automatically, but the spelling of the
accidental may not be what you intend. To change the enharmonic spelling of a note, press J.

Selecting pitch using the virtual piano keyboard

You can also input notes using the on-screen Piano keyboard window. To display this, use View→Piano keyboard or press the shortcut P. The
window can be closed the same way.

To enter a note of a given pitch, simply click the appropriate piano key with your mouse.

As with the computer keyboard, notes entered in this way replace any existing notes or rests. To create chords instead, press and hold Shift while
entering notes.

Note: To resize the keyboard, position the mouse within the window and hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while scrolling up or down.
Entering chords
For the purpose of this section, chords are any combinations of multiple notes all starting at the same time, all sharing the same duration, and all
sharing a single stem.

If you wish to enter notes that sound together but start at different times, have different durations, or have separate stems, see Voices. Text of the
form "Dm7" is a chord symbol, discussed in Chord symbols.

Just as for individual notes, chords can be entered by computer keyboard, mouse, MIDI keyboard, or virtual piano keyboard. Except for MIDI
keyboard (where you can play multiple notes at once), the notes are still entered one at a time, but in a way that tells MuseScore to combine them
into a chord rather than add them sequentially.

To add a note to a chord using the computer keyboard, press and hold Shift while entering the note
To add a note to a chord using the mouse, click the location where you wish to add the note
To add a note to a chord using a MIDI keyboard, either play all the notes at the same time, or play them one at a time but do not release one
key before pressing the next
To add a note to a chord using the virtual piano keyboard, press and hold Shift while entering the note

When using Shift+A–G to add a note to a chord, the note will be added above any notes already present at the cursor location. You can also specify
the note to be added based on the interval above or below the currently-selected note.

To add an interval above the selected note, use one of the following:
From the Note input toolbar, select Add→Intervals and choose an interval from the list
Press Alt+1-9.
For intervals below the selected note, you can apply a custom shortcut of your own (see Preferences)

Entering rests
Rests can be entered using the computer keyboard or mouse. The duration is selected in the same way as for notes (e.g., using the toolbar or
keyboard shortcuts 1–9). Then instead of entering a pitch as you would for a note, choose one of the following options.

From the computer keyboard: Press 0 (zero)

From the note input toolbar: Click the rest icon, then click in the score

Using a mouse: Right-click in the score

Accidentals

Standard accidentals (flat, natural, sharp, double flat, double sharp) can be entered either by selecting one before entering the pitch it applies to or
by adding them to a note already entered.

Selecting an accidental before entering a pitch

To specify an accidental to be applied to the next note entered, you can use the buttons on the Note input toolbar above the score or the
corresponding keyboard shortcuts. This can be done either before or after selecting the duration.

The default accidental shortcuts are:

Flat : -
Sharp : +
Natural : =

Unlike selecting duration—which applies to all subsequent notes until you change it—an accidental is applied only to the next note entered. But the
usual rules of music notation apply, so if you apply a flat to a given note, any subsequent notes you enter of that same pitch within the same
measure will be flatted as well, even though no explicit flat sign will be added in front of them.

Adding an accidental after entering a pitch

Appropriate accidentals are automatically added to a note when you increase or decrease its pitch:

Move pitch up a semitone (spells with sharps): ↑

Move pitch down a semitone (spells with flats): ↓

You can also apply an accidental to a note by clicking the appropriate icon in the Accidentals palette. This palette also contains a large number of
microtonal and other special accidentals.

Adding courtesy/cautionary accidentals

Although the rules of music notation say that a barline cancels an accidental, and that any note on the same staff line or space in the next measure
returns to the pitch indicated by the key signature, it is considered good practice to add a courtesy (also called cautionary) accidental anyhow.
These do not change the pitch of the note, so they cannot be added with the ↑ and ↓ keys. However, any of the other methods described above
work.

While parentheses or brackets are not required for courtesy accidentals, some editors do choose to use them. To add parentheses or brackets
around an accidental, you will need to temporarily leave note input mode, select the accidental, then either use the Properties panel to select a
bracket type, or click the parentheses or brackets in the More section of the Accidentals palette.

Note: There are also a set of plugins pre-installed with MuseScore that can automatically add courtesy accidentals as needed.

Ties
A tie is a curved line between two notes of the same pitch, indicating that they are to be played as one combined note. Even though they look
similar, ties should not be confused with slurs, which join notes of different pitches and indicate legato articulation.

Because ties are always between notes of the same pitch, you do not need to enter the pitch for the second note. After entering the first note:

Select the duration for the second note

Click the tie button on the toolbar or use the shortcut T

The tie command adds the second note and ties it to the first in one step. If the first note you entered is part of a chord, then the tie command
actually creates an entire second chord with the same pitches as the first and ties all of the notes.

Note: Ties normally connect adjacent notes in the same voice, but MuseScore also supports ties between non-adjacent notes and between notes in
different voices as described in the section on editing.

See also
Editing notes and rests
Voices
Tuplets
Alternate note input modes
Tablature
Drum notation
Slash notation
Noteheads

Working with multiple voices

Overview
A MuseScore voice is a line of music on a staff that has its own rhythm independent of other music on the same staff. Other notation programs may
refer to it as a "layer".

"Voice", in a different sense, may also refer to a pitch range in vocal music—soprano, alto, tenor, bass etc. It is important not to mix up the two
meanings by assuming, for example, that the four "voices" in an SATB choir are equivalent to MuseScore "voices" 1–4 (see below); that would be to
confuse chalk with cheese.

MuseScore allows up to four voices in one staff: Voice 1, Voice 2, Voice 3, and Voice 4. When writing music on a staff, one usually starts in voice
1 then moves on to voice 2. Voices 3 & 4 are less commonly used.

Two voices on the same staff are normally indicated using opposing stems—an upper voice with stems up and a lower voice with stems down:
In a four-part SATB arrangement on two staves, you would use voices 1 & 2 on the top staff for soprano and alto, and voices 1 & 2 on the bottom
staff for tenor and bass:

Entering notes and rests in multiple voices

The first step to enter multiple voices is to determine whether you need to write notes as voices in one staff, or spread voices among multiple
staffs such as four voices among two staffs of a piano, or among multiple instruments such as four voices on four string instruments. You should
consider the design of MuseScore's notation function and your production needs. Do not base your decision merely on academic
reasons.

MuseScore sets stem directions automatically based on the voice used and which voices are used in each measure. In measures where only
Voice 1 is used, but no notes or rests are written on Voice 2, Voice 3 or Voice 4, stem directions of notes are determined by pitch; notes above
the center line have stems pointing down, while notes below the center line have stems pointing up. Otherwise, the stem directions are
determined according to the voice: up for Voice 1 and Voice 3, down for Voice 2 and Voice 4.
To assign an overriding stem direction setting manually, use the Flip direction button on the toolbar, or the keyboard shortcut X, also see
Stems and flags.
Writing on voice 2 right away may seem correct academically, but MuseScore will create rest symbols in voice 1 automatically which might be
redundant in some cases. Popular options in this scenario are to either manually hide rests afterwards (jump to how to) or to simply use voice
1 instead of voice 2.
It's not yet possible to assign different sounds to individual voices, so you may have to use multiple instruments. For example, you cannot
assign a Soprano VSTi to voice 1 and a Tenor VSTi to voice 2, only one or the other.
Sometimes you must use multiple voices in one staff to create certain visual notation result in MuseScore, even if they aren't different voices
musically. For example, in MuseScore, inside one voice, a chord can only be created with notes of the same duration. If constituent notes of a
chord have varying durations, you must use separate voices to write them. A list of common similar scenarios can be found on the Handbook
3 Voices page.

Using multiple instruments

If you decide you need to write different voices as notes on different instruments, start by creating multiple instruments using Setting up your score:
Changing instruments, then edit clef symbols as required, and then compose on Voice 1 in all of these staffs. A common example is to write four
voice SATB open score on four instruments' Voice 1.

To convert separate staffs into one staff containing multiple voices, or to do the opposite, see Implode and explode. A common example is SATB
open score <-> short score conversion,

Enter notes and rests in multiple voices in one staff

To enter new notes into a Voice:

Select your starting point in the score.

Click the pen icon on the toolbar or press N to enter note input mode.
Select the desired voice using the toolbar icons or press one of the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+Alt+1–Ctrl+Alt+4
Enter notes and rests normally as described in Entering notes

You can repeat these steps to enter notes into other voices.

Note: to enter new notes, make sure you are in note input mode before selecting the desired voice, otherwise you will change the voice of any
currently-selected elements instead.

Note: the note toolbar only displays voice 1 and 2 icons by default. You can make all voice icons visible using the controls that appear when you
click the gear icon on the toolbar. For more information, see the section on customizing the note input toolbar.

Editing notes and rests in multiple voices

Adjusting rests

To make sense notation wise, rests should be used in each existing voice whenever necessary to complete beats of a measure, Musescore creates
them automatically. In measures containing multiple voices, rests are automatically added to voices of lower number whenever appropriate.
MuseScore also automatically positions rests to avoid overlapping other score elements.

To hide, delete, or adjust the position of these rests to create better layout, use one of the following methods:
Hiding or deleting rests

Rests may be hidden by selecting them and unchecking the Visible box in the Properties panel or using the keyboard shortcut V.

Rests in voices 2-4 may also be deleted by selecting them and pressing Delete. However, this leaves a "hole" in the voice that can be difficult to edit
later. To restore missing rests from a voice, you can use the commands in Tools→Voices to exchange the contents of the voice with those of voice
1, which will fill the holes with rests again. You can then use the same command to move the contents of the voices back where they were.

Note: to ensure the correct duration of each measure, voice 1 rests can be hidden, but they cannot be deleted.

Positioning rests

While MuseScore will normally avoid collisions with other voices, it can sometimes be helpful to move rests up or down to create more space or to
clarify which voice they apply to.

To move a rest vertically, select it and press Up or Down to move it a staff space at a time.

For more information on manual positioning, see Changing position of elements.

You can also change the default vertical offset between rests and elements in other voices from 1 space to 2 spaces in Format→Style…→Rests

Changing voice of existing notes

Notes originally entered into one voice can be moved into another voice, depending on the situation. For more information, see Changing voice in
normal mode.

Combining voices into chords

In cases where the rhythms match, notes originally entered as multiple voices can be combined into chords in a single voice. For more information,
see the Implode command.

Separate chords into Voices

To separate a chord written in one voice into separate notes of different voices:

Manually select the notes

Press the toolbar button to assign a Voice to selected notes, or use the Ctrl+Alt+1–Ctrl+Alt+4 Keyboard shortcuts.
Explode onto an empty stave, and then implode. See Implode and explode

See also
Instrument Parts (and see Part in the Glosary)
Editing notes and rests
Stems and flags
Positioning of elements
Implode and explode

Alternative note input methods

Accessing alternative note input methods

In addition to the default step-time note entry method, there are several other methods by which notation can be entered in MuseScore.

To enter these alternative note input methods:

Click and hold the Note input button in the Note input toolbar.
Select from one of the available note input methods.

Keyboard users can get to the Note input button by pressing Shift+Tab or Shift+F6 a few times from the score. Screen readers will say something
like "Note input toolbar: Default (step-time)". Press Space on this button to open a menu that contains all the available note input methods.
Each note input mode can also be activated directly using an assigned keyboard shortcut (See Keyboard shortcuts to learn how to assign these).

Note that the selected note input method remains in effect even when you leave note input mode and will be enabled the next time you enter note
input mode. So if you change to the Re-pitch method for a single passage, be sure to change back to the Step time method when you are done.

Rhythm only
The Rhythm note input method allows you to enter durations with a single keypress. This is especially useful for unpitched percussion instruments
that use a single sound. In addition, you can combine Rhythm and Re-pitch methods for an efficient workflow in certain circumstances.

Select your starting point in the score.

Select the Rhythm note input method as described above.
Select a duration from the note input toolbar, or use the keyboard shortcuts 1-9, to add a note of the selected duration.
Add a dotted duration by pressing . and selecting/typing your desired duration. In this mode, the duration dot is toggled on/off for all
subsequently entered durations. It's worth noting that the duration dot needs to be activated prior to entering the note value, rather than
afterwards.
Enter rests by clicking the rest icon in the note input toolbar and select/type your desired duration. When the desired duration already has
been selected (from the previous entered note), pressing 0 will enter the rest. Click the rest button to return to entering notes.
Continue pressing duration keys to enter notes with the chosen durations.

By default, notes are entered onto the middle staff line. You can use the cursor keys to change the pitch of the note just entered, and subsequent
notes will also be entered using that pitch. You can also use Re-pitch mode to quickly enter pitches for a passage after entering the rhythm.

Re-pitch
The Re-pitch note input method allows you to change the pitches of a sequence of notes while leaving their durations unaltered.

Select your starting point in the score.

Select the Re-pitch note input method as described above, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (Mac: Cmd+Shift+I).
Enter pitches using the computer keyboard, MIDI keyboard or virtual piano keyboard. Note: you cannot use the mouse to input notes in the
Re-pitch method.

The Re-pitch method can be an extremely efficient way of entering notes in music with repeated rhythmic patterns. Simply copy and paste an
existing passage that uses the same rhythm as your new passage, then use re-pitch mode to alter the pitches. The same technique can be used to
enter multiple instrumental or vocal parts that share the same rhythm but different pitches.

Real-time
The real-time note input methods 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:

You must pre-select the shortest duration you wish to use.

You cannot enter tuplets in Real-time note input.
You must enter notes onto a single staff and in a single voice, just as with other note input modes.
It is not possible to use a computer keyboard for Real-time note input.

These restrictions mean that MuseScore has very little guessing to do when working out how your input should be notated, which helps to keep
these methods accurate.

Real-time (metronome)

With the Real-time (metronome) note input method, 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).

Select your starting position in the score.

Select the Real-time (metronome) note input method as described above.
Select a duration from the note input toolbar to represent the metronome click.
Press and hold a MIDI key or virtual piano key to enter a note of the selected duration.
Listen for the metronome clicks—with each click the note grows by the selected duration.
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—necessary to enter rests—then you can
use the Real-time Advance shortcut to start the metronome. The same action will stop the metronome again.

Real-time (foot pedal)

With the Real-time (foot pedal) note input method, you indicate your input tempo by tapping on a key or pedal. 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).
 Select your starting position in the score.
Select the Real-time (foot pedal) note input method as described above.
Select a duration from the note input toolbar to represent the metronome click.
Press and hold a MIDI key or virtual piano key.
Press the "Real-time Advance" shortcut with each press, the note grows by the selected duration.
Release the note when it has reached the desired length.

Real-time Advance shortcut

The "Real-time Advance" shortcut is used to start the metronome with the Real-time (metronome) method or to tap beats with the Real-time (foot
pedal) method. 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...→MIDI
mappings (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences...→MIDI mappings).

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.

Insert
Insert note input method allows you to insert and delete notes and rests within measures, automatically shifting subsequent music forward and
backward within the measure. The measure duration is automatically updated as you go.

To insert a note:

Select your starting position in the score.

Select the Insert note input method as described above.
Enter a note or rest as you would in Step time mode. Each note is inserted before the current cursor position, and the measure duration is
increased to compensate.

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.

Alternatively, if you have only one or two notes to insert, you can do this directly with the default Step time note input method. Press Ctrl+Shift
(Mac: Cmd+Shift) while adding the note by mouse or keyboard shortcut (A-G).

To insert a rest, first insert a note of the desired duration, then press Delete.

To delete a note or rest, use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Delete. The measure duration is decreased to compensate. The shortcut works with both the
Step time and Insert note input methods.

Because inserting and notes may cause the measure duration to increase or decrease beyond what is specified by the time signature, a small "+"
or "-" sign will be shown above the measure when this happens.

Adding and removing measures

Inserting measures
MuseScore allows you to insert or delete measures in the score using a variety of methods. Measures can be inserted:

After a selection
Before a selection
At the start of the score
At the end of the score

Measure context menu

To insert one or more measures:

Right-click on a blank area of a measure

From the context menu, choose Insert measures
From the options presented, choose the location where you want the measure(s) inserted
Complete the dialog box and press OK.

The Properties panel

To insert one or more measures:

Click on a measure
Go to the Properties panel
Click Insert measures in the Measure section
Type the number of measures you wish to insert (or leave it as “1” to insert a single measure)
Select where you want the measure(s) to be inserted from the dropdown menu (or leave it as is to insert the new measure(s) after the
selection point)
Click the + button

This popup remains open until you click another part of the user interface. As such, you can continue pressing the + button as many times as you
need to insert further measures.
In addition, you can insert measures from one of two menus:

Note input toolbar

Select something in your score (can be anything except line objects)

Click the + button in the Note input toolbar
Navigate to Measures
Choose where you want the new measure(s) to be inserted

Menu bar

Select something in your score (can be anything except line objects)

Click the Add in the Menu bar
Navigate to Measures
Choose where you want the new measure(s) to be inserted

Inserting measures with keyboard shortcuts

To quickly insert one measure before the selection point:

Select something in your score (can be anything except line objects)

Press Ins

Insert more measures before the selection point by repeatedly pressing Ins.

To quickly insert multiple measures before the selection point:

Select something in your score (can be anything except line objects)

Press Ctrl+Ins (Mac: ⌘+Ins)
Type the number of required measures in the dialog that appears
Click OK

To append to the end of your score, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+B (Mac: ⌘+B) for a single measure, or Alt+Shift+B (Mac: Option+Shift+B)
for multiple measures.

Add measures to a frame

It is also possible to add measures to a frame in the score:

Click on the frame

Use one of the methods shown under "Note input toolbar" or "Menu bar", or a keyboard shortcut (above).

Deleting measures
To delete one or more measures using keyboard shortcuts:

Select a measure (or hold Shift and select multiple measures)

Type Ctrl+Backspace or Ctrl+Del (Mac: ⌘+Backspace or ⌘+Del).

Alternatively,

Select a measure (or hold Shift and select multiple measures)

Right-click on any measure within the selection
Select Delete measures

You can also:

Select a measure (or hold Shift and select multiple measures)

Go to Tools
Select Remove selected range

Remove empty trailing measures

To remove any empty measures at the end of your score:

Go to Tools
Select Remove empty trailing measures

See also
Other measure-related pages:

Measure numbering
Measure and multimeasure rests
Pickup and non-metered measures
Measure properties
Mensural notation and Mensurstrich

Selecting elements
You can select elements in MuseScore using the keyboard or mouse. Selections can consist of a single element, a list of individual elements that
may possibly be discontinuous, or a range of measures and staves that includes the elements within it. Certain commands work only on single
elements or lists; some work only on ranges; others work on any type of selection. The documentation for any given command should explain which
types of selection are allowed.

When selected, elements display in blue (or whatever color is defined for the voice the element belongs to).

For range selections, a blue rectangle appears around the entire range.

Selecting a single element

To select a single element with the mouse, simply click it.

To select a single element with the keyboard, use the cursor keys to navigate to the element. Note that there is no separate concept of a “cursor” in
MuseScore that is separate from the selection, except while in Note Input mode. In Normal mode, the left and right cursor keys select elements
one by one as you navigate, so even though there is technically not a cursor, the selection itself acts in a similar way.

By themselves, the cursor keys navigate through notes and rests only. When combined with Alt, they navigate through all elements, including
articulation, dynamics, and other markings.

Notes

A note normally consists of multiple elements: the notehead, stem, flag, dot, accidental, etc. Most commands that operate on a single note expect
you to select the notehead itself.

Chords

The notes of a chord share a single stem and flag. Even a single note can be considered a “chord” in the sense that it consists of these multiple
elements.

To select a complete chord (all noteheads plus the stem and other elements), first make sure nothing is currently selected (you can press Esc to be
sure) and then Shift+click the chord. This creates a range selection that encompasses the chord.
Note that the selection may also include content in other voices if present, but see the section on excluding elements from range selections for
information on how to avoid that if necessary.

Overlapping elements

If multiple elements overlap, clicking selects the topmost element. To select the element underneath a currently-selected element, Ctrl+click it. This
deselects the currently-selected element and selects the next element beneath it, if any. Thus, repeated Ctrl+click operations cycle through a set of
overlapping elements.

Selecting a list of individual elements

You can select a list of elements manually by selecting each individually or automatically by using commands to select elements that are similar to a
given element.

Selecting multiple elements manually

To add an element to the list of selected elements, Ctrl+click it. If an element is already selected, Ctrl+click removes it from the list of selected
elements.

You can also use Ctrl+click to add or remove individual elements from a range selection. In the process, this converts the selection into a list
selection.

If the elements you wish to select are outside of the staff and clear of other elements, you may be able to create a list selection by using Shift+drag
to draw a selection box around the desired elements. If any notes or rests are included, however, a range selection is performed instead.

Selecting similar elements automatically

To select all elements of a given type in the entire score or in a given staff:

Right-click one such element

In the resulting menu, click Select→Similar or Select→Similar on this staff as appropriate

To select all elements of a given type within a range:

Click the first such element

Shift+click the last such element

—OR—

Perform the range selection using the techniques described below

Right-click one element within the range
In the resulting menu, click Select→Similar in this range

To create more complex selections of similar elements:

(Optional) Perform a range selection

Right-click an element
In the resulting menu, click Select→More
Check the desired boxes within the resulting dialog (see below)

The options available in the select dialog will depend on the type of element you right-clicked.
The selection options specific to notes are:

Same notehead: notes with the same notehead group (normal, cross, slash, etc.)
Same pitch: notes with the same pitch name, accidental, and octave
Same string: notes with the on the same string (tablature only)
Same type: notes of the same type (normal, acciaccatura, appoggiatura)
Same note type: notes of the same duration, not considering presence of dots or tuplets
Same duration: notes of the same actual duration
Same note name: notes with the same pitch name and accidental, not considering octave
Same staff: notes in the same staff
Same voice: notes in the same voice
In selection: notes within the current selection
Same system: notes in the same system

In addition to the type-specific selection options, there are action options at the bottom of the dialog that are common to all element types. These
control what happens to the selected elements, and only one of these can be chosen at a time:

Replace selection: if checked, this action selection replaces an existing selection

Add to selection: if checked, this action adds elements to an existing selection
Subtract from selection: if checked, this action removes elements from an existing selection

Selecting a range of measures and staves

A range selection includes all elements from a given beginning and ending time position across a given set of staves. It is the usual starting point for
operations such as copy and paste.

Selecting a range by dragging

To select a range of measures and staves with the mouse alone, use Shift+drag to draw a rectangle around it. Note that this is only feasible for
relatively small selections that fit on screen at once.

Selecting a range by clicking

A more flexible method for making selections uses a combination of mouse and keyboard:

Click the first note or rest of the desired selection

Shift+click the last

In between the click and Shift+click, you can use navigation commands to position the score. This allows you make selections that span several
pages.

This method works just as well if you first click the last note/rest then Shift+click the first.

Selecting a range using the keyboard

You can also make range selections using the keyboard alone or primarily:

Select the first note or rest using keyboard navigation or by clicking

Hold Shift while using keyboard navigation to extend the selection as you navigate

The available commands include:

Shift+Left and Shift+Right to extend the selection one note or rest at a time
Shift+Ctrl+Left and Shift+Ctrl+Right to extend the selection one measure at a time (Mac: use Cmd instead of Ctrl)
Shift+Up and Shift+Down to extend the selection one staff at a time
Shift+Home and Shift+End to extend to the beginning or end of the system
Shift+Ctrl+Home and Shift+Ctrl+End to extend to the beginning or end of the score (Mac: use Cmd instead of Ctrl)

Special range selections

MuseScore includes some special commands to make command selections:

Edit→Select all or Ctrl+A (Mac: Cmd+A) to select the entire score

Edit→Select section to select the current section of the score (everything between the previous and next section breaks)

Excluding elements from a range selection

For certain operations involving range selections, you might want to exclude elements of a given type from the selection. For example, you may
wish to copy the notes, rest, and most other markings in a phrase, but skip the lyrics. Or in a passage with multiple voices, you may wish to delete
everything not in voice 1. To exclude elements of a given type from a range selection:

Perform the range selection normally

Open the Selection Filter with View→Selection filter
Remove the checkmarks next to any element types you want excluded from the selection

Note that if you exclude voice 1, you will not be able to select any measures that lack content in other voices. So be sure to restore voice 1 after
performing the operation for which you are excluding voice 1. For example, if you wish to copy and paste only voice 2, make your range selection,
use the Selection Filter to exclude voice 1, use Edit→Copy or Ctrl+C, then restore the checkbox next to voice 1 before attempting to select the
destination to paste.

Editing notes and rests

Overview
After you have entered notes into your score, you may wish to change something about them - pitch, duration, time position, etc. MuseScore
provides a number of commands for this purpose. Many of the most powerful commands are only available after you leave note input mode and
return to normal mode, but there are a number of quick edits possible while still in note input mode.

Making changes in note input mode

Immediately after entering a note or rest, it is selected, and there are a handful of commands that operate on the selected note or rest while in note
input mode. These commands also work if you use the cursor keys to navigate to a previously-entered note or rest.

Changing duration in note input mode

There are two commands that alter the duration of an existing note or rest while in note input mode:

Shift+W increases the duration

Shift+Q decreases the duration

Both commands will first add or remove a dot if appropriate, then will move to the next larger or smaller note value. So for instance, pressing Shift+W
on a quarter note changes it into a dotted quarter, and pressing Shift+W again changes it to a half note.

Changing pitch in note input mode

The commands for changing the pitch of a selected note while in note input mode are:

↑ - move pitch up a semitone (spells with sharps)

↓ - move pitch down a semitone (spells with flats)
Alt+Shift+↑ - move pitch up a step diatonically
Alt+Shift+↓ - move pitch down a step diatonically
 Ctrl+↑ (Mac: Cmd+↑) - move pitch up an octave
Ctrl+↓ (Mac: Cmd+↓) - move pitch down an octave

Replacing notes and rests in note input mode

Most note input in MuseScore is in what a word processor might call "replace" or "overwrite" mode. This means that if you wish to replace a note
with a different one, you don't need to delete the old note first—just enter the new one directly, and it automatically overwrites what was there
before.

Note: sometimes you may wish to add a new note and move some of the subsequent notes later to make room. In MuseScore, this is done by
moving the subsequent notes directly using cut and paste.

Deleting notes in note input mode

To delete a note and replace it with a rest, simply press Del.

Note: if you instead wish to move subsequent notes earlier to take the place of the deleted note, there is no need to first delete the original note -
simply move the subsequent notes directly using cut and paste.

Moving notes in note input mode

Although for the most part, moving notes to a different time position is done in normal mode, there is one pair of commands that can be used to
change the time position of a note or rest in certain cases while in note input. If you have two notes or rests of the same duration and you wish to
exchange them while in note input mode, you can use Shift+← or Shift+→ to exchange a note or rest with its neighbor of the same duration.

Making changes in normal mode

Most changes one might want to make to notes and rests already entered are more easily performed in normal mode—the mode you are in when
you leave note input or any other mode.

Except where noted, the methods described below work on either a single selected note or rest, a list selection consisting of multiple notes or rests,
or entire range selections. See the page on selections for more information.

Changing duration in normal mode

Changing selected notes to a specific note value

To change the duration of one or more selected notes in normal mode to a specific note value, simply click the appropriate duration icon or use the
keyboard shortcuts 1–9.

Increasing or decreasing the duration of a selected note

To increase the duration of a selected note, you can use the Shift+W command as described above. This adds an augmentation dot if one is not
already present, or changes to the next longer note value if the note is already dotted. For example, an eighth note will be changed into a dotted
eighth note, and a dotted quarter will be changed into a half note. You can also use W to double the duration, thus changing an eighth note into a
quarter note directly, or a dotted eighth into a dotted quarter.

The commands Shift+Q and Q perform the opposite operation, decreasing or halving the duration in the same way.

All of these commands work on only a single selected note.

Doubling or halving all note values in a range selection

If you have entered a passage using eighths and sixteenths but wish to double the durations of all notes and rests—thus doubling the duration of
the passage itself—see the section on the paste half/double duration commands.

Changing pitch in normal mode

The same commands that work to change pitch in note input also function in normal mode, including single, list, and range selections. These
commands are:

↑ - move pitch up a semitone (spells with sharps)

↓ - move pitch down a semitone (spells with flats)
Alt+Shift+↑ - move pitch up a step diatonically
Alt+Shift+↓ - move pitch down a step diatonically
Ctrl+↑ (Mac: Cmd+↑) - move pitch up an octave
Ctrl+↓ (Mac: Cmd+↓) - move pitch down an octave

In addition, when in normal mode, the accidental buttons on the Note input toolbar and corresponding keyboard shortcuts will toggle (add or
remove) accidentals on any selected notes, thus potentially changing their pitch. The Accidentals palette can also be used to add accidentals to
selected notes.

Deleting notes and rests in normal mode

To delete a note and replace it with a rest, simply press Del.

If multiple notes are selected as a list, Del replaces them each by rests individually.

If you select a range, Del replaces the entire passage with the correct rests according to the meter.

Rests cannot normally be deleted, as removing them would leave a measure with fewer beats than it should have. However, see the remove
selected range command below for information on how to do this when required. Also, rests in voices 2–4 can be deleted without removing time
from a measure.
Removing notes and rests and their associated time

To completely remove selected notes or rests—thus leaving the piece with fewer measures if entire measures are selected, or fewer beats within
the measure if a partial measure is selected—use Tools→Remove selected range or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Del (Mac: Cmd+Del).

Adding ties in normal mode

Ties can be added in normal mode, but unlike in note input mode where the tie command automatically adds a note and creates a tie, in normal
mode, both notes must already exist.

To add a tie in normal mode:

Select a note that you wish to tie to the next note of the same pitch
Click the tie button or use the shortcut T

This works even if the next note of the same pitch is in a different voice.

If you select multiple notes, MuseScore will start a tie at each of them. You can use the technique to tie entire chords at once.

This technique also allows you to tie notes that are not adjacent, such as to show an arpeggiate-and-hold pattern on piano.

Changing voice in normal mode

A note entered into a given voice may be moved into another voice if this is musically possible, or the contents of two voices may be exchanged.

Moving selected notes into another voice

To move a selection of one or more notes into another voice, either press one of the voice buttons on the toolbar or use the keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl+Alt+1–4 (Mac: Cmd+Option+1–4). Notes will be moved to the extent it is possible without compromising the current content of the destination voice.

A note can be moved into another voice if there is currently silence (rests, or nothing at all) in the destination voice at that time position for the
duration of the note to be moved. In that case, the note will simply be moved to the new voice.

A note can also be moved into another voice if there is already a note or chord of the same duration starting at that time position. In that case, the
note will be combined with the existing note or chord.

Exchanging the contents of two voices

MuseScore can also exchange the contents of any pair of voices. These commands work only on full measures (or multiple measures), not on
individual notes.

To exchange the contents of any two voices, use the corresponding command in Tools→Voices:

Exchange voice 1-2

Exchange voice 1-3
Exchange voice 1-4
Exchange voice 2-3
Exchange voice 2-4
Exchange voice 3-4

See also
Entering notes and rests

Copy and paste

The cut, copy, and paste commands can be used to reproduce entire passages of music, to move music earlier or later, to copy text or other
markings between staves, to exchange the content in different measures, and more.

Accessing the commands

In all cases, the first step is to select what you want to cut or copy.

As with other programs that support cut, copy, and paste, you can access these commands from the Edit menu, from a context menu that appears
upon right-click or related gesture (e.g., Ctrl+click, or two-finger tap), or via the standard keyboard shortcuts.

Command Shortcut (Windows) Shortcut (Mac) Context menu Main menu

Cut Ctrl+X Cmd+X Cut Edit→Cut
Copy Ctrl+C Cmd+C Copy Edit→Copy
Paste Ctrl+V Cmd+V Paste Edit→Paste
Edit→Swap with
Swap with clipboard Ctrl+Shift+X Cmd+Shift+X Swap with Clipboard
clipboard
Edit→Paste half
Paste half duration Ctrl+Shift+Q Ctrl+Shift+Q (as of 4.2) N/A
duration
Edit→Paste double
Paste double duration Ctrl+Shift+W Ctrl+Shift+W (as of 4.2) N/A
duration

Note: When using the context menu, take care to always right-click on a selected item; if you right-click on an empty space by mistake your
selection will be lost!

Copying a range selection

To copy a range&mdash;whether a single chord, a single measure, several measures on one staff, or multiple measures across multiple staves—do
the following:

Select the range you want to copy

Use the Copy command from the menu or press Ctrl+C (Mac: Cmd+C)
Select the first note or rest of the destination

Use the Paste command from the menu or press Ctrl+V (Mac: Cmd+V)

Copied music will replace the existing content of the destination. All elements in the selected range will be copied, with the exception of system-wide
elements such as tempo text, key and time signature changes, and repeats. You can use the Selection Filter to exclude other elements of a given
type from the operation.

Copying a single element or a list selection

MuseScore also allows copying a single element, or a list selection of multiple lyrics, chord symbols, dynamics, articulation, or other markings from
one place to another, while keeping the content such as notes in the destination intact. Multiple notes list selection cannot be copied.

MuseScore preserves the relative time positions of the markings based on literal note value distance if possible, measure rhythm is not taken into
account. This includes case of copying chord symbols and dynamics. Valid note or rest anchors are required at the destination music when pasting
lyrics and articulations.

Select the elements you want to copy

Use the Copy command from the menu or press Ctrl+C (Mac: Cmd+C)
Select the first note or rest of the destination
Use the Paste command from the menu or press Ctrl+V (Mac: Cmd+V)

Moving elements
Cut and paste commands can be used to

move a passage to another staff, such as music on flute to clarinet, or

shift a passage earlier or later. This method is especially useful as a way to insert or delete a note or rest and also shifts existing notes
and rests to create or trim silence.
Measures (their rhythmic structure) cannot be moved, but see Adding and removing measures and Time signatures chapters. When moving list
selection, its elements' relative positions are preserved if possible, see "Copying a list selection" section.

To move a selection:

Select what you want to move

Use the Cut command from the menu or press Ctrl+X (Mac: Cmd+X)
Select the first note or rest of the destination
Use the Paste command from the menu or press Ctrl+V (Mac: Cmd+V)

Swapping a selection with the clipboard

The swap with clipboard command combines two operations into one: (1) First it overwrites a selected part of the score with the contents of the
clipboard, just like the paste command; (2) Second, it transfers the overwritten part of the score back to the clipboard, just like the copy command.

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

Select section A
Apply the cut command
Select section B
Apply the swap with clipboard command to paste A over the contents of B while moving the contents of B to the clipboard
Select section A again (or just the first note, rest, or measure)
Apply the paste command

Like the other commands discussed here, you can access the swap with clipboard command from the menu or via a keyboard shortcut—in this
case, it is Ctrl+Shift+X (Mac: Cmd+Shift+X).

Repeating a selection
A common use for copy and paste is to duplicate a given passage (including notes, chords etc) immediately after the original. Use the special
repeat selection command to simplify this process.

Select a single element or range to be repeated

Press R

This does not work on list selection. It works on a single chord, either on a range selection of it, and when exactly one note of that chord is
selected. See Selecting elements chapter. In note input mode, this command repeats the entire chord that contains the current note. This is useful
for creating a series of repeated chords.

Copying a range selection to multiple staves

If you wish to copy a passage to multiple staves—for instance, to double music of flute with oboes and clarinets—you can use the explode
command:

Select the passage you wish to copy

Extend the selection to include the staves below (e.g., by pressing Shift+↓)
Use Tools→Explode

This copies the original selection, assuming it contains only single notes—no chords and no multiple voices. If there are chords or multiple voices,
then these are distributed among the remaining staves as described in the section on the explode command.

Paste half/double duration

If you have entered a passage using mostly eighth notes but wish to halve the entire passage to using mostly sixteenth notes, or double it to quarter
notes, MuseScore provides a pair of special commands to accomplish this. You can either modify the durations of a selection in place or create a
separate copy of the passage with the modified durations. To halve or double the duration of a passage:

Select a range to modify

Use the copy command
If you wish to create a separate copy of the passage with the modified durations, select the destination
Use the paste half duration or paste double duration command Ctrl+Shift+Q/W

Duplicating individual elements

Individual elements—even those that are not selected automatically in a range selection, like time signatures or voltas—can be selected and then
duplicated using the mouse.

While pressing Ctrl+Shift (Mac: Cmd+Shift), and click and hold on an element
Drag it anywhere in the score

When you release the mouse button, the selected element is copied to the new location
See also
Selecting elements
Implode and explode

Using the palettes

MuseScore Studio places elements in your score automatically according to a set of rules and style settings. These are designed to produce
excellent results by default. Elements are positioned according to standard engraving practices while avoiding collisions. Default positions can be
customized for any given element.

Default position
Most elements in MuseScore have a default position that is determined by a style setting that can be customized via the Properties panel or the
Format→Style dialog. For elements that are placed above the staff, the position is specified as an offset from the top line of the staff; for elements
that are placed below the staff, the position is specified as an offset from the bottom line of the staff. These offsets, like most measurements in
MuseScore, are expressed in staff spaces—abbreviated sp. For many element types, you can specify an offset to be used when placed above as
well as a separate offset to be used when placed below, and also which of these placements should be applied by default.

For example, for dynamics, the default placement is below the staff, and the default offset below the bottom staff line is 2.5 sp. If you flip a dynamic
marking above the staff, it defaults to 1.5 sp above the top staff line staff (expressed as a negative offset: -1.5 sp). These settings are all found in
Format→Style→Dynamics.

NOT FOUND: dynamics-style.png

Note that the default offset is larger for dynamics placed below the staff than above only because the offset is measured from the baseline of the
text.

NOT FOUND: offset.png

Auto-place
Auto-place is the term MuseScore uses for a set of algorithms used to avoid collisions as well as to align certain elements automatically. A basic
understanding of how auto-place works can be useful when making adjustments.

Vertical collision avoidance

For most elements placed above or below the staff, collision avoidance works vertically. When an element is being positioned, MuseScore first tries
to place it according to the default offset for that element type. If that would result in a collision with another element, then one of the two elements
will be moved further from the staff to avoid the overlap. MuseScore follows standard engraving rules in determining which elements to move. For
example, tempo markings are placed above trill lines, rather than vice versa.

NOT FOUND: vertical-collision-avoidance.png

The Minimum distance style setting determines how much distance MuseScore places between elements when avoiding collisions in this manner.
The corresponding setting in the Properties panel allows you to override this for individual elements where necessary. But MuseScore adjusts this
value automatically when positioning elements manually, as seen below in the section on manual adjustment.

Horizontal collision avoidance

For certain elements such as lyrics or chord symbols, MuseScore will widen measures to avoid collisions rather than displace these elements
vertically.

NOT FOUND: horizontal-collision-avoidance.png

Vertical alignment

MuseScore will also try to align certain elements vertically, so that if one element of that type needs to be adjusted vertically to avoid a collision,
other elements of that same type on the same system will automatically be adjusted as well. Elements that are always aligned vertically include
lyrics and pedal markings. Dynamics and hairpins will be aligned if they are directly adjacent.

NOT FOUND: dynamics-align.png

Chord symbols can also be aligned vertically if you enable this in the chord symbol style settings, by setting a Maximum shift value. See Chord
symbols for more information.

Disabling auto-place

Auto-place normally does a good job of avoiding collisions and of aligning elements. In cases where you wish to position an element manually, you
can usually do so directly without the need to disable auto-place (see manual adjustment below).

However, you may still wish to disable auto-place in some situations. For example, rehearsal markings default to displaying above voltas, but you
may wish to reverse this for some specific case where the volta was already displaced higher and there is then room for the rehearsal mark
underneath.

NOT FOUND: disable-autoplace.png

In this case, disabling auto-place for the rehearsal mark allows it to display underneath the volta, while still allowing the volta to automatically avoid
collisions with the notes.

To disable auto-place for an element, select it and uncheck Auto-place in Properties→General.

NOT FOUND: auto-place-setting.png

The element will be returned to its default position (as determined by its style settings) and it will not be included in the detection of collisions with
other elements. Disabling auto-place for an element also causes it to be excluded from any vertical alignment that would otherwise have applied.

Manual adjustment
Whether auto-place has displaced an element from its default position or not, the position of elements can be adjusted manually either by dragging,
using the cursor keys, or the Offset fields in the Properties→General→Appearance. See Adjusting elements directly for more information.

MuseScore even allows you to perform manual adjustments that would result in collisions. In the example above, if you drag the rehearsal letter
below the volta, MuseScore will allow this and will automatically set the Minimum distance for that element to a negative value, thus effectively
allowing the collision without disabling auto-place.

Manual alignment
Elements of the same type will normally be aligned by default simply because they have the same style settings and therefore the same offset.
However, auto-place can result in some of the elements being moved further from the staff than others. As described above under Vertical
alignment, MuseScore will automatically align some types of elements. For other elements types, you can align them manually by assigning them
the same vertical offset.

To do this, simply select the elements you wish to align (e.g., click the first, Shift+click the last), then gradually increase or decrease the vertical
offset in the Properties panel. For example, to align a series of tempo markings above the staff, you will need to set their vertical offsets to the
same value. To make sure they are aligned and also avoid the collisions that cause auto-place to display one or more of them to begin with, you will
need to set the offset to a sufficiently large negative value.

NOT FOUND: align-manually.png

Properties panel

The Properties panel shows settings for objects you select in the score. It was known as the “Inspector” in MuseScore 2 and 3.

You can select one object (say, a dynamic mark) or multiple objects at a time (say, a dynamic mark, a notehead, and a hairpin). If any of the objects
you have selected contains editable settings, Properties is the place to find them.

An important thing about Properties is that by default it affects only the object(s) you have selected, so changing how one hairpin looks won’t
change all of the hairpins in your score—only those you have selected. However, for most settings, you can save as the default style for the score.

Accessing the Properties panel

Open the Score tab
Press the default keyboard shortcut F8, or click on the Properties tab on the left side of the screen.

Global settings
This is what the Properties panel looks like when you have nothing selected in your score. All these settings affect your entire score (not just
individual elements):
Show

Invisible hides/shows all invisible objects in your score

Frames hides/shows Frames
Formatting hides/shows formatting elements added from the layout palette
Page margins hides/shows the page margin
Sound flags hides/shows sound flag buttons on staff text

Score appearance

Empty staves hides/shows staves that contain no notated music within a system. This setting mirrors the Hide empty staves within
systems settings in the Style dialog.
Page settings opens the Page settings dialog. Same as Format→Page Settings. See Templates and styles.
Style settings opens the Style dialog. Same as Format→Style. See Templates and styles.

General settings
These settings are visible whenever something is selected in your score.

Visible

Click this box to hide/unhide selected elements, or use the keyboard shortcut V.

Use this feature to hide elements so they don't appear in your exported or printed score. This can be useful when, for example, applying tempo
marks or dynamics solely to affect playback in MuseScore. Use the Invisible toggle in Properties (when nothing is selected) to show or hide these
hidden elements in the score view (hidden elements will be rendered in a lighter shade).

Auto-place

Usually checked by default, this feature positions the selected object according to MuseScore's vertical and horizontal collision avoidance
algorithms. Uncheck Auto-place to have more control over the positioning of certain elements. Learn more about this feature in Positioning
elements.

Cue size

This feature is used to create small cue notes: i.e. notes provided to assist the performer by indicating what another ensemble/orchestra member is
playing at the same time. Checking the box makes any selected notes smaller, including their stems and any attached beams.

Play

When checked, this property allows playback of the selected element. Uncheck Play to silence the element.

Playback settings
The Playback button displays the editable playback properties of the selected elements.
Under the Playback button, playback properties are shown if the selected elements have any.

Velocity

Only notes have the Velocity property. The valid range is 1 to 127. This property is usable for instruments using Soundfonts.

This property has no effect on instruments using Muse Sounds. See Dynamics for changing loudness of playback on instruments using Muse
Sounds.

Tuning

Used to adjust the tuning of notes in cents. Only notes have the Tuning property.

Appearance settings
Leading space

This changes the leading space of selected elements: i.e. the space in front of the element. The leading space adjustment is applied across all
staves, so that notes at the same time position remain aligned.

Measure width

This changes the width of the measure as a proportion of the original width: e.g. 1.5 = one-and-a-half times the default width.

Minimum distance

This is used by the auto-place collision avoidance algorithm and applies only to elements that are applied above/below the staff by default, such as
staff text, dynamics, fingerings, lines etc. It sets the minimum distance (in sp.) of the selected objects from other elements that are closer to the
staff, or the staff itself.

Offset

When newly applied, elements assume a default position. The horizontal/vertical offsets give you a more precise way of positioning an element than
dragging it or moving with the keyboard arrows.

Snap to grid

This feature allows you to constrain drag operations to increments of a desired distance. First you need to check the Snap to grid box, then press
Configure grid and set the desired horizontal/vertical step distances.

You can switch Snap to grid on/off as required by checking/unchecking the box.

Arrange

The four buttons in this section control how overlapping elements are drawn.They work as follows:

Forwards moves the selected element in front of the next element

Backwards moves the selected element behind the next element
To front moves the selected element in front of all other elements.
To back moves the selected element behind all other elements, including the staff lines.

Color

Click on this button to change the color of selected element(s). Choose a preset or custom color, or create your own by clicking the + button. This is
stored for future reference in the list of custom colors to the right.

Properties for characters inside text objects

When Text object(s) are selected (the object, not the characters), the Properties panel shows the formatting settings of the Text object. Editing these
properties may affect all of the characters inside.

When character(s) inside a Text object are selected, the Properties panel shows the formatting settings of the characters. Editing these properties
only changes the selected characters. See Formatting text.

Saving and restoring default settings

After changing any given setting, you can click the "three dots" menu button adjacent to the setting to reveal a menu that allows you to either Reset
the setting to the default for the score, or Save as default style for this score. The latter option is only available for properties that correspond to
style settings, but this includes many of the properties in this panel.

Adjusting elements directly

This chapter explains methods to fine tune the literal positioning of elements on a score for layout purpose. The more common musical editing
methods are explained in Entering and editing text, and Editing notes and rests chapters.

Changing the position of elements

To fine tune the literal positioning of elements on a score, either

Drag it, see also Snap to grid chapter, or

Select element(s) on a score, adjust their Offset property, see Properties panel chapter. or

Use Edit mode.

To enter Edit mode, either

Right-click → Edit element on an element on a score, or

Select an element on a score, use the keyboard shortcut F2, or
Select an element on a score, use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Shift+E (Mac: ⌥+Shift+E)

Then, in Edit mode, press the keyboard arrows ← → ↑ ↓ to move the object in step of 0.5 sp, or

Edit it directly, this method does not work on notes, rests, and elements added from "Master palette : Symbols" (see Other symbols chapter).
Select element(s) on a score, press the keyboard arrow keys ← → ↑ ↓ to move in small steps (0.1 sp). In combination with Ctrl (Mac: ⌘), they
are moved in large steps (1 sp).

Read more about spatium (sp.) in Page layout concepts chapter.

Changing the shape of elements

To change the shape of elements such as slurs and ties after adding them to the score:

Click on the slur or tie to be adjusted

Click and drag the adjustment handles that appear around the element (N.b. red letters in the below diagram are for reference only)

Note that:

Handles B, C, and D change the shape of the curve at that point

Handles A end E adjust the element's length (This can also be achieved by pressing Shift+←/→ to move the ends one chord/rest at a time)
Handle F repositions the whole line without changing its shape or length

If you wish to change the note to which a slur or tie is connected, the recommended method is to use the keyboard shortcuts described above
(Shift+←/→). This is the most efficient way of changing both the visual and playback range of notes encompassed by a slur or tie.

Anchors
Some types of item – dynamics, hairpins, tempo text, pedal marks – do not have to be attached directly to notes or rests, but can also be attached
to rhythmic positions within a duration. We call these anchors.

In general, items cannot be added directly to an anchor point within a duration, but must be added to a note or rest and then moved into the
required position. The keyboard shortcuts to move between anchor points are Shift+←/→ (the same shortcuts that move other types of item between
notes). The anchor positions are stored in the file as real rhythmic positions, so items will stay in the correct place when the score reformats.

If you select an 'anchorable' item and press Shift, you will see a visualization of the available anchors in that measure as alternating dark and light
rectangles. The color is determined by the voice to which the item is assigned (purple for all voices, blue for voice 1, green for voice 2, etc.) Each
slice represents a rhythmic subdivision to which you can anchor the item.

Moving between anchors

To move an item between anchors, hold Shift and press ← or →:

With lines (hairpins, pedal markings), both ends can be moved independently.
By default, the subdivisions shown are half of the beat as determined by the time signature (so, in this example, half of the quarter beat, i.e. eighth
notes). However, anchors will also be shown for notes on other staves which are at rhythmic positions that fall outside of these subdivisions, which
means you can align an item to notes on other staves, whatever their position:

Moving dynamics to the 'end of duration' position

By using Shift+Alt+←/→, you can step not just between rhythmic subdivisions but also the end of each of those subdivisions. This is a special
position; for a dynamic, the end of one duration is not the same as the start of the following one (which may have its own dynamic – or may be a
rest.) This is most commonly encountered in something like this form:

To input the dynamics in this example:

Add a f dynamic to the note

Add a hairpin to the note; it will end on the rest
Add a p dynamic to the hairpin (which will put it at the endpoint of the hairpin, i.e. on the rest), or directly onto the rest
Select the dynamic and press Shift+Alt+←, which will move the dynamic to the end of the last subdivision of the previous note

Note that hairpins cannot be moved to an 'end of duration' position; if there is no dynamic, then the distinction is meaningless. Therefore, the
dynamic should be moved, and any hairpins will follow.

For clarity, when moving hairpins or other lines, the subdivisions that the item spans are shaded darker so you can see the range it spans:

Working with lines

See also the main chapter Other lines.

Changing the range of a line

To change the start and end points of a line:

Select the line to reveal its adjustment handles

Press Shift+←/→ to move the end of the line one step at a time (a step = one note/rest, or one measure—depending on the line type).
Note: You can click or use Tab to move the focus between handles when adjusting. Focus on the left handle to move the beginning of the
line.
Fine-tune the position of handles using the keyboard arrows ←/→ if required. Note that this does not affect the playback range of the line.

As with slurs and ties, it is recommended to use Shift when adjusting line length with the arrow keys to ensure that the playback range also adjusts
accordingly.

Creating diagonal lines

Although lines are horizontal by default, they can be set at any angle simply by dragging the start or end adjustment handles; or by selecting a
start/end handle and using the Up/Down keyboard arrows.

Editing text of Text line objects

To edit the displayed text of Text line objects ( such as "system text line", "staff text line", and "barré line", see Entering and editing text):

Select a text line element

Go to the Properties panel
Open the Text tab in the Text line section
Edit these fields
 Beginning text
Text when continuing to a new system: the text to display if the object spans more than one system (page layout concept), see Page
layout concepts chapter.

See also
Other lines: Line properties
Positioning of elements

Parts

MuseScore in Minutes: Layouts & Parts

Opening a part
MuseScore 4 automatically creates a separate (default) part for every instrument in your score.

To open all parts at once:

Click Parts in the toolbar (This will open the Parts dialog)
Click Open all

To open an individual part:

Click Parts in the toolbar

Click a part to select it
Click Open selected

You can also select specific parts to open at once. Do this by holding Control (Mac: ⌘) while selecting the parts you’d like to open, then click Open
selected. You can also select a range of contiguous parts by clicking the first and holding Shift while clicking the last.

Closing a part
Click the X close button in a part tab to close a part.

Note that changes you make to a part will be saved with that part and retrievable the next time you open it from the Parts dialog.
Creating custom parts
The Parts dialog is tightly integrated with the Instruments panel. This integration makes it easy for you to create parts with any combination of
instruments from your score.

There are two ways to customize parts in MuseScore 4: using the default (i.e. ready-made) parts to reveal other instruments, and creating entirely
new parts.

Reveal instruments in default parts

As we’ve already seen, MuseScore 4 automatically creates a new (default) part for every instrument in your score. All you have to do is open the
part from the Parts dialog.

In fact, each default part already contains all of the instruments in your score – they’re simply hidden from view (except, of course, the chosen part
instrument).

This means you can “reveal” other instruments within any of the default parts. To do this:

Open a part (as described above)

Select the Instruments panel
Click the eye icon next to another instrument

This instrument will now be visible in the chosen part.

This makes creating custom parts an incredibly flexible process. Revealing or hiding other instruments is completely non-destructive, meaning you
can customize every instrument in every part, and hide or show only what you want to reveal to different players (or for different musical projects)
without having to create entirely new parts each time.

Create a new part

You can create a completely "blank" part from scratch, allowing you full control over which instruments it shows. To do this:

Click Parts in the toolbar to open the Parts dialog

Click Create new part
Give your new part a name
Click Open selected

Your new part will now be open in the Score tab, but it will appear to contain no instruments. To add instruments to this part:

Go to the Instruments panel

Click the "eye" icon next to each instrument you’d like to appear in your part

Choose which voices appear in each part

Sometimes it will be necessary to create individual parts from staves that contain multiple voices. You might, for example, want to extract separate
parts for orchestral players who share a staff in the main score (E.g. Flute I and Flute II). Or you might wish to create individual vocal parts from
choral scores where, for example, four voices are notated across two staves.

You'll need to first create (see above) or duplicate (see below) a part. To then select which voices will appear in a part:

Open a part (see above)

Go to the Instruments panel
Expand an instrument by clicking on the triangular dropdown icon
Click the settings icon next to the staff name
Select which voice(s) you want to appear in your part by ticking/un-ticking the checkboxes under Voices visible in the score

Applying styles to parts

Style settings for a wide range of engraving elements can be applied specifically to parts without affecting the main score.

To change style settings for a specific part:

Ensure a part has been opened and is currently selected in the Score tab
Go to Format → Style...
 Make your desired style settings changes (applicable changes will be visible in the score in real time)
Click OK to confirm your changes

Changes you make in this dialog will affect only the part selected in the Score tab. If you want changes to affect all parts (but not the main score),
select Apply to all parts before clicking OK.

Learn more about saving and loading default style settings in Templates and styles.

Managing synchronisation of score and parts

(This section describes features that are new or considerably enhanced in MuseScore 4.2.)

When you make changes to the content of the score - adding or deleting an item, or changing pitches and durations of notes, for example - these
changes are always reflected in the parts, and vice versa.

However, just as you can apply different styles to score and parts, you may want the properties (position, style/appearance) of certain items to differ
between score and parts. Therefore:

When you change any property of an item in a part, that change will not be reflected in the score and the item will be marked as
'desynchronised' from the score, if it is not already;
When you change any property of an item in the score, that change will be reflected in the part, unless that item is already desynchronised.

When an item in a part is desynchronised, its colour when selected changes to orange and, according on which properties have been changed, the
toggles which appear in the Properties panel under Score and part synchronisation will switch off:

Position refers to offset, leading space, minimum distance, autoplace, direction (up/down, above/below), alignment, and a few other properties
specific to certain types. Style/appearance is, essentially, all other properties.

If you have made changes to an item in the part but wish to resynchronise that item with the score, you can turn these toggles back on to reset
those properties to match the score.

Text items have a third toggle, Text, which allows you to control synchronisation of the content and formatting of a text item. Unlike other properties,
this must be manually switched off before you make changes to a text item in a part which you do not want to be reflected in the score.

Excluding items from parts or score

In some cases you may wish certain items to be in the score but not to appear in the parts at all, or to appear in a part but not in the score. This is
not the same as simply making the item invisible, as invisible items sometimes affect the layout.

This option is available for frames, clef changes, ottava lines, staff text and system text. In the case of clefs and ottavas, excluding these items from
one view will cause the notes there to be repositioned accordingly.

To exclude an item from parts:

Select the item in the score

Open Properties
Under Score and part synchronisation, check Exclude from parts

To exclude an item from the score:

Select the item in the part

Open Properties
Under Score and part synchronisation, check Exclude from score

Renaming, duplicating and deleting parts

This all takes place in the Parts dialog (accessible from the Parts button in the toolbar).
Simply click the "three dots" menu icon next to a selected part to reveal its options. Note that only newly created parts (created by clicking the
Create new part button) can be deleted. All parts can be duplicated or renamed.

To duplicate any part:

Select a part in the Parts dialog

Click the "three dots" menu icon for the selected part
Select Duplicate from the context menu that appears
Enter a new name for the part (or leave the default name as is)
Hit Enter, or click anywhere in the Parts dialog

To rename any part:

Select a part in the Parts dialog

Click the "three dots" menu icon for the selected part
Select Rename from the context menu that appears
Type your new part name
Hit Enter to confirm the new name

Note you can also double click on any part in the Parts dialog to rename it.

To delete a newly created part:

Select a newly created part in the Parts dialog

Click the "three dots" menu icon for the selected part
Select Delete from the context menu that appears

When a part is deleted, its tab in the Score tab (if already opened) will be closed. Any customizations made to that part will also be lost. The part
will also no longer appear in the Parts dialog.

Exporting and printing parts

To export parts:

Click File → Export... (alternatively, select the Publish tab and click Export...)
Check the box next to the part(s) you want to export, or click Select all to choose all parts at once
Select whether to export all parts combined in one file, or leave the default export setting as each part to a separate file
Click Export...
Select your destination file and name your score in your operating system's Export dialog
Click Save

Parts will be exported in the PDF format by default. To change the export format, select your preferred format from the dropdown menu in Export
settings. You can export your parts in a range of image and audio formats, as well as the braille format for compatible printers. For more
information, see File Export.

To print parts:

Ensure the part you wish to print is selected in the Score tab
Click File → Print
Use your operating system's print dialog to print the selected part

Note that parts can currently only be printed one at a time.

Default keyboard shortcuts

On macOS, make the following substitutions:

Replace Ctrl with Cmd (or ⌘)

Replace Alt with Option (or ⌥)
Replace Home with Fn+Left
Replace End with Fn+Right
Replace PgUp with Fn+Up
Replace PgDn with Fn+Down
Add Fn with function keys

Navigation
Page navigation

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Zoom in Ctrl+= Cmd+=
Zoom out Ctrl+- Cmd+-
Zoom to 100% Ctrl+0 Cmd+0
Go to first element in score Ctrl+Home Cmd+Fn+Left
Go to last element in score Ctrl+End Cmd+Fn+Right
Jump to next screen PgDn Fn+Down
Jump to previous screen PgUp Fn+Up
Jump to top of first page Home Fn+Left
Jump to bottom of last page End Fn+Right
Jump to next page Ctrl+PgDn Cmd+Fn+Down
Jump to previous page Ctrl+PgUp Cmd+Fn+Up
Find / Go to Ctrl+F Cmd+F
Score navigation

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Select next chord Right Right
Select previous chord Left Left
Go to next measure Ctrl+Right Cmd+Right
Go to previous measure Ctrl+Left Cmd+Left
Select next element in score Alt+Right Option+Right
Select previous element in score Alt+Left Option+Left
Select note/rest above Alt+Up Option+Up
Select note/rest below Alt+Down Option+Down

Note input
General

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Note input: toggle note input mode N N
Show/hide piano keyboard P P
Use voice 1 Ctrl+Alt+1 Cmd+Option+1
Use voice 2 Ctrl+Alt+2 Cmd+Option+2

Duration

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Set duration 1 –9 1 –9
Set duration: 32nd note 2 2
Set duration: 16th note 3 3
Set duration: 8th note 4 4
Set duration: quarter note 5 5
Set duration: half note 6 6
Set duration: whole note 7 7
Toggle duration dot . .
Enter tuplet Ctrl+2 – Ctrl+9 Cmd+2 – Cmd+9
Enter tuplet: duplet Ctrl+2 Cmd+2
Enter tuplet: triplet Ctrl+3 Cmd+3
Enter tuplet: quadruplet Ctrl+4 Cmd+4
Add tied note T T
Halve selected duration (includes dotted
Shift+Q Shift+Q
values)
Double select duration (includes dotted
Shift+W Shift+W
values)

Pitch

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Enter note A –G A –G
Add note to chord Shift+A – Shift+G Shift+A – Shift+G
Enter interval Alt+1 – Alt+9 Option+1 – Option+9
Toggle accidental: flat - -
Toggle accidental: natural = =
Toggle accidental: sharp + +
Enter rest 0 0
Add grace note: acciaccatura / /

Tablature

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Set duration (TAB) Shift+0 – Shift+9 Shift+0 – Shift+9
Set duration: 32nd note (TAB) Shift+2 Shift+2
Set duration: 16th note (TAB) Shift+3 Shift+3
Set duration: 8th note (TAB) Shift+4 Shift+4
Set duration: quarter note (TAB) Shift+5 Shift+5
Set duration: half note (TAB) Shift+6 Shift+6
Set duration: whole note (TAB) Shift+7 Shift+7
Enter TAB: fret 0–9 0 –9
Enter TAB: fret A–K A –K
Go to string above (TAB) Up Up
Go to string below (TAB) Down Down
Toggle ghost note Shift+X Shift+X

Selecting
 Action Windows/Linux macOS
Select all Ctrl+A Cmd+A
Add to selection: previous note/rest Shift+Left Shift+Left
Add to selection: next note/rest Shift+Right Shift+Right
Add to selection: staff above Shift+Up Shift+Up
Add to selection: staff below Shift+Down Shift+Down
Select to beginning of measure Ctrl+Shift+Left Cmd+Shift+Left
Select to end of measure Ctrl+Shift+Right Cmd+Shift+Right
Select to beginning of score Ctrl+Shift+Home Cmd+Shift+Fn+Left
Select to end of score Ctrl+Shift+End Cmd+Shift+Fn+Right

Editing
General

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Escape Esc Esc
Undo Ctrl+Z Cmd+Z
Redo Ctrl+Shift+Z Cmd+Shift+Z
Copy Ctrl+C Cmd+C
Cut Ctrl+X Cmd+X
Paste Ctrl+V Cmd+V
Repeat selection R R
Insert one measure before selection Ins Ins
Insert measures before selection Ctrl+Ins Cmd+Ins
Insert one measure at end of score Ctrl+B Cmd+B
Insert measures at end of score Alt+Shift+B Option+Shift+B
Delete Del Del
Delete selected measures Ctrl+Del Cmd+Del
Show/hide properties F8 Fn+F8
Edit element F2 Fn+F2

Duration

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Set duration 1 –9 1 –9
Enter tuplet Ctrl+2 – Ctrl+9 Cmd+2 – Cmd+9
Add tied note T T

Pitch

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Toggle accidental: flat - -
Toggle accidental: natural = =
Toggle accidental: sharp + +
Move pitch/selection up Up Up
Move pitch/selection down Down Down
Move pitch up an octave Ctrl+Up Cmd+Up
Move pitch down an octave Ctrl+Down Cmd+Down
Change enharmonic spelling (concert and
J J
written pitch)
Move note to higher string (TAB) Ctrl+Up Cmd+Up
Move note to lower string (TAB) Ctrl+Down Cmd+Down

Notation

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Flip direction X X
Use voice 1 Ctrl+Alt+1 Cmd+Option+1
Use voice 2 Ctrl+Alt+2 Cmd+Option+2

Manual adjustment

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Move text left Left Left
Move text right Right Right
Move text left quickly Ctrl+Left Cmd+Left
Move text right quickly Ctrl+Right Cmd+Right
Move selection up Up Up
Move selection down Down Down
Move selection up quickly Ctrl+Up Cmd+Up
Move selection down quickly Ctrl+Down Cmd+Down
Text
General

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Add text: staff text Ctrl+T Cmd+T
Add text: expression text Ctrl+E Cmd+E
Add text: system text Ctrl+Shift+T Cmd+Shift+T
Add text: tempo marking Alt+Shift+T Option+Shift+T
Add text: rehearsal mark Ctrl+M Cmd+M

Formatting

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Format text: bold face Ctrl+B Cmd+B
Format text: italic Ctrl+I Cmd+I
Format text: underline Ctrl+U Cmd+U

Lyrics

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Add text: lyrics Ctrl+L Cmd+L
Go to next syllable Space Space
Go to previous syllable Shift+Space Shift+Space
Lyrics: enter hyphen - -
Lyrics: enter melisma _ _
Add lyric verse Return Return
Go to next lyric verse Down Down
Go to previous lyric verse Up Up

Chord symbols, Roman numeral analysis, Nashville numbers, figured bass

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Add text: chord symbol Ctrl+K Cmd+K
Next text element Space Space
Previous text element Shift+Space Shift+Space
Advance cursor: next beat ; ;
Advance cursor: previous beat Shift+; Shift+;
Advance cursor: duration Ctrl+1 – Ctrl+9 Cmd+1 – Cmd+9

Other score elements

Action Windows/Linux macOS
Show/hide palettes F9 Fn+F9
Search palettes Ctrl+F9 Cmd+Fn+F9
Add slur S S
Add articulation: accent Shift+V Shift+V
Add articulation: marcato Shift+O Shift+O
Add articulation: staccato Shift+S Shift+S
Add articulation: tenuto Shift+N Shift+N
Add hairpin: crescendo < <
Add hairpin: decrescendo > >

Score setup and formatting

Action Windows/Linux macOS
Add/remove instruments I I
Open instruments dialog F7 Fn+F7
Toggle visibility of elements V V
Decrease layout stretch { {
Increase layout stretch } }
Add/remove system break Return Return
Add/remove page break Ctrl+Return Cmd+Return
Reset shapes and positions Ctrl+R Cmd+R

File Operations
Action Windows/Linux macOS
New Ctrl+N Cmd+N
Open Ctrl+O Cmd+O
Close Ctrl+W Cmd+W
Save Ctrl+S Cmd+S
 Action Windows/Linux macOS
Print Ctrl+P Cmd+P
Quit Ctrl+Q Cmd+Q

User interface
Playback

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Play Space Space
Show/hide mixer F10 Fn+F10

Notation: Instruments, staves, and systems

Working with instruments

Overview
The Instruments panel is a new feature in MuseScore 4. It gives you control over your instruments and some basic staff properties without having
to leave the score view. All of the instruments in your score will appear in this panel.

Accessing the panel

Open the panel by clicking on the Instruments tab on the left side of the screen:

Adding instruments

Click Add. This will open the Instruments dialog (see Adding and removing instruments for more information).

Deleting instruments

Select any instrument and click the trash can icon to delete it from your score.

Changing the order of instruments

Select any instrument and use the ↑ or ↓ buttons to change its position in the score. Alternatively, you can drag the instrument up/down using the
mouse.

Instrument settings
Hiding/showing instruments

The visibility of entire instrument staves can be toggled by clicking the eye icon next to an instrument label.
Hidden instruments aren't ever deleted — they are simply hidden. This means they won't be printed, but you can still generate and export parts for
them.

This feature might be useful if you have alternative instruments or alternative versions of a part that you'd like to toggle between (e.g. for different
performers or instrumental configurations). You might also like to isolate different sections of a larger score (say, for orchestra) without actually
deleting anything or generating any new project files.

Renaming instruments

Click the cog icon to expose settings for renaming your instruments. Leaving any of these fields blank will ensure that no label appears on the score
or in the part for that instrument.

Replacing instruments

To replace an instrument in the Instruments panel:

Click the cog icon

In the popup that appears, click Replace instrument
Select your desired replacement instrument in the dialog that appears
Click OK

Adding and configuring staves

The Instruments panel can also be used to add staves to an existing instrument and configure some of their basic properties.

To add a staff to an existing instrument

If there are no staves visible under the instrument label, click the triangular "show more" icon next to the label
Click Add staff
Click the cog icon of the newly-added staff, and adjust "Staff type", if required.

Added staves share the same instrument but their notation can be edited independently. Amongst other things, they can be used to create
staff/tablature for stringed-instrument players (e.g. guitar, banjo, ukulele etc.).

To add a linked staff to an existing instrument

Certain notational objects on one staff can be made to automatically appear on other staves if they are linked together. Linked staves can be used
to create staff/tablature for stringed-instrument players (guitar, banjo, ukulele etc.).

To create a linked staff:

If there are no staves visible under the instrument label, click the triangular "show more" icon next to the label
Click the cog icon next to the staff label (E.g. "Treble clef")
Click Create a linked staff
Click the cog icon of the newly-added staff, and adjust "Staff type", if required.
Configuring a staff

Each stave contains some independently configurable properties. By clicking on the cog icon alongside a staff label (E.g. "Treble clef"), you can:

Change its staff type (including the clef and number of staff lines)
Reduce the size of the staff (Small staff)
Hide any measures that do not contain notation

Learn more about staff customization in Staff/part properties.

Showing staves only where needed

By default, a score will show all measures of all staves on all pages throughout the score, whether they contain notes or not. However, you may
wish to have certain staves appear only on systems where they are needed. You may even wish to have a staff appear or disappear mid-system.
MuseScore provides a number of controls for this purpose, this chapter explains them.

To hide certain instrument everywhere on a score, use Choose instruments dialog (shortcut key i), Instruments panel on the left (a new feature in
MuseScore 4), and the Parts toolbar button on the top instead.

Hiding empty staff along one system (all its measures along that system)
Omission of empty staves is a common practice found in printed ensemble scores. When a staff along one system (the page layout concept)
contains no notations, the staff (all its bars along that system) are hidden.
Hiding all empty staves

To configure the current score to automatically hide any of its staves on systems where the staff is empty:

Ensure that nothing in your score is selected (press Esc if necessary).

Go to the Properties panel.
Click the icon next to Empty staves.

Alternatively, you can enable the Hide empty staves within systems option in Format→Style→Score.

MuseScore will normally continue to show all staves on the first system, in accordance with common convention. If you would like to force
MuseScore to hide empty staves on the first system as well, disable the Don't hide empty staves in first system option in the dialog. You can also
control whether or not brackets are shown if, for example, only a single instrument from a section is playing, via the Show brackets when
spanning a single staff option.

Excluding specific staves from being hidden

The score-wide setting explained above affects all staffs on a score. There is also an individual setting for each staff (that contains a clef) that
overrides the score-wide setting:

Right-click a staff.
Click Staff/Part properties.
In the resulting dialog, set Hide when empty option

In a score where score-wide setting Hide empty staves within systems option is enabled,

To specify that one staff should not be hidden when empty, set its Hide when empty option to Never.
The default hiding behavior treat each staff independently. For instruments that use two or more staves (like piano, organ, and harp), you may
wish to specify that a staff should be shown even if it is empty. For example, in a piano concerto score's piano solo passage where only the
piano treble clef staff has notes, it is common to show the bass clef staff even if it is empty. To do this, set the Hide when empty option to
Instrument for each of the staves. For the above example, set the option of the bass clef staff.
To remove individual staff setting and revert to use score-wide setting, set its Hide when empty option to Auto.
Temporary staves

The score-wide setting explained above affects all staffs on a score. There is also an individual setting for each staff (that contains a clef) that
overrides the score-wide setting:

Right-click a staff.
Click Staff/Part properties.
In the resulting dialog, set Hide when empty option

In a score where all staffs are shown everywhere (score-wide setting Hide empty staves within systems option is disabled), there may
nonetheless be one or two special staves that you wish to only show where needed. For example, this might be a solo part in an ensemble score, or
a bass staff in a lead sheet. To set one staff to hide when empty without assigning a score-wide staff hiding setting, set its Hide when empty option
to Always.

Choosing the staff to show when all staffs in a system are empty

In a score that contains a system where all staffs of all visible instruments are completely empty, the top staff is shown by default. To specify
the staff to display:

Right-click a staff.
Click Staff/Part properties.
In the resulting dialog, enable the "Do not hide if system is empty" option.

This setting may be useful when using Musescore Parts function. This setting is unrelated to all other staff hiding settings covered in this chapter.

Hiding empty measure

Cutaway staves

Film scores and other contemporary scores often use a style of notation where individual measures are hidden when empty. These are
sometimes called cutaway scores.

To use this style on one staff in MuseScore:

Right-click a staff.
Select Staff/Part properties.
In the resulting dialog, set Hide when empty to Always.
Enable the Cutaway option.

The Cutaway option alone does not change vertical layout, the staff's vertical space is reserved in all systems as if invisible.

If you wish all staves to be displayed in cutaway score style, you can replace step 3 with score-wide setting explained above. However, you still
need to set the Cutaway option for each staff individually. You can speed up this process by using the arrow buttons in the Staff/Part Properties
dialog:

Set the Cutaway option for the top staff.

Press the Apply button.
Press the ↓ button to move to the next staff.
Repeat steps 1-3 until you have gone through all staves.

Ossia

An ossia is a special type of cutaway staff in which a given musical passage is notated using a small staff above the normal staff, such as to show
an alternate interpretation.

These can be created in MuseScore using a combination of features:

Add a staff as described in Adding and configuring staves.

Select and delete or otherwise adjust any automatically added bracket.
Enter the desired notation.
Right-click the staff.
Select Staff/Part properties.
In the resulting dialog, set Hide when empty to Always.
Enable the Cutaway and Small options.
Press OK.
If you wish to hear the ossia playback instead of the normal staff, select the corresponding measures on the normal staff and uncheck the Play
setting on the Properties panel. Do the same for the ossia staff if you would rather hear the normal staff playback.

Depending on the look you desire, you might also want to hide the initial or final barline for the passage. To do this, select the barline and press V or
uncheck the Visible option in the Properties panel.

You may also wish to decrease the distance between the ossia and the normal staff. To do this, use a Staff spacer fixed down from the Layout
palette.

Other invisible measures

MuseScore also allows you to make individual measures invisible on any given staff, whether empty or not.

To set a measure to be invisible on a given staff:

Right-click the measure.

Select Measure properties.
Disable the Visible checkbox for the staff or staves in which you wish the measure to be set invisible.

Note: you cannot make a measure invisible on all staves—it must remain visible on at least one.

Implode and explode

Implode
The Implode command allows you to do either of the following:

Combine the notation of several voices in the same staff into one voice
Combine notation from several staves into separate voices in one staff.

Combine notes from multiple voices in a single staff into one voice

Select a range of measures in a single staff.

From the menu bar, select Tools→Implode.

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

Combine notes from multiple staves into multiple voices on a single staff

Ensure that there is only one voice in each staff to be imploded;

Select a range of measures in the top staff and extend this selection downwards to include up to 4 staffs.
From the menu bar, select Tools→Implode.

The notation initially in the upper staff will now be in voice 1, that from the staff below in voice 2, and so on.

Explode
Explode allows you to do either of the following:

Copy a passage of single notes, in a single staff, into one or more staves below.
Transform the chords of a selected passage of music, in a single staff, into their constituent notes on one or more staves below.

Copy passage of single notes to multiple staves

Ensure that the passage is in voice 1 (there should be no notes or rests in other voices).
Select the desired range of measures
Extend the selection downwards through as many staves as you wish to copy to.
From the menu bar, select Tools→Explode.

The passage in the top staff is copied to each of the selected staves below.

Separate a passage of chords into its constituent notes

In this case the chords in a selected passage of music are separated into their constituent notes 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 notes end up in voice 1.

Ensure that there are enough empty staves underneath the source staff to receive the exploded notes. Create extra staves if necessary using
the Instruments panel.
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.
From the menu bar, select 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.

Mid-score instrument changes

Adding an instrument change
When a musician is required to double on a different instrument for a section of a piece, the instruction to switch instruments is generally placed
above the staff at the beginning of that section. A return to the primary instrument is handled in the same manner.

In MuseScore, the instruction to change to a different instrument is handled by the Change Instrument text element, which is found in the Text
Palette. This text element is different from Staff Text, System Text and Expression Text in that it is linked to playback, allowing for a change in sound
to the new instrument.

To add an instrument change:

Click on a note or rest to select the start point for the change
Click on the Change instr. palette item in the Text Palette
Choose which instrument you wish to change to in the Select instrument dialog that appears
Click OK

The instruction to change to the new instrument will appear above the selected insertion point in the score.

Working with instrument changes

Removing an instrument change

To remove an instrument change, click once on a Change instrument text element to select it, and press either Del or Backspace.

Re-labelling an instrument change

You can re-label any Change instrument text element in the score by double-clicking on it and entering new text. This will not affect the playback
sound of the new instrument.

Instrument changes in the mixer

Playback sounds for instrument changes are reflected in the Mixer as separate channel strips stacked to the right of the primary instrument channel
strip. These instruments are labelled in parentheses. You can change the assigned playback library, apply effects, adjust the volume, and mute,
solo, and pan these channel strips just as you would any other instrument channel strip. For more information, see the Mixer.

Changing staff type

Changing to a different instrument may necessitate the use of different key signatures, clefs, and even staff type. Learn more about changing staff
type in Staff type change.

Staff type change

To change one staff everywhere on a score change Staff type or template instead. Staff types and templates supported by Musescore are covered
in Staff/Part properties chapter.

You can change the appearance of a staff starting from certain point on a score by adding a "Staff type change" element to a measure, and
adjusting its properties in the Properties panel. This can be used when changing between pitched and unpitched staves or for various experimental
notation effects.

Adding a staff type change

Select a measure in the score and, in the Layout palette

Click the "Staff type change" symbol to add it to your score

Alternatively, you can drag the symbol from the palette to a measure in your score.

Setting staff properties

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

The properties that can be altered for the "Staff type change" in the Properties panel are:

Cue size
Use the Small staff size that is defined for the score

Offset
Displace the staff vertically

Scale
Change the size of the staff using a custom percentage

Number of lines
Change the number of lines making up the staff

Line distance
Change the distance between two staff lines

Step offset
Offset the notes on the staff relative

Invisible staff lines

Toggle visibility of the staff lines

Staff line color

Set the color of the staff lines

Notehead scheme
Specify alternate noteheads such as pitch names or shape note

Stemless
Toggle display of note stems

Show barlines
Toggle display of barlines

Show ledger lines

Toggle display of ledger lines

Generate clefs
Toggle display of clefs

Generate time signatures

Toggle display of time signatures

Generate key signatures

Toggle display of key signatures

Staff/Part properties

Overview
Warning: the word "Part" mentioned in this chapter and the window heading is is currently a wrong use of wording in Musescore 4 due to be
updated (a outdated data from Musescore 3). Inside this chapter, the word means Musescore Instrument, but note that everywhere else inside
this handbook and Musescore 4, it means Parts (the feature to create different versions of the same score)

The Staff / Part Properties dialog allows you to change display properties of one Staff and the properties of the Musescore Instrument it belongs
to. To open the dialog:
 Right-click onto either an empty area in a staff, or the instrument name, and select Staff / Part Properties….

Clicking on Navigation arrows ↑ and ↓ buttons at the bottom left will cancel any unsaved changes and switch to edit the previous or next staff.

There are four different types of staff:

1a. Standard staff I. A pitched staff used for most instruments except fretted, plucked-string ones.
1b. Standard staff II. A pitched staff containing a fretted, plucked-string instrument, with options to set the number of instrument strings and tuning.
2. Tablature staff. A staff containing a fretted, plucked-string instrument, which displays music as a series of fret-marks on strings. Also contains
options to set the number of instrument strings and tuning.
3. Percussion staff. A pitched staff for percussion instruments.

four instruments shown above are examples of the four staff types respectively. Download this testing score file MS4-1-1 Staffstypes.mscz

For each type, there are pre-defined Template to choose from in the Advanced Style Properties (Edit Staff Type) window

Replacing an instrument also changes staff types but may create unreasonable result and wrong playback. For example, replacing Piano (a
standard staff, type 1a) with Drumset (percussion staff, type 3).

Staff properties
The top section of the dialog allows you to adjust many aspects of the appearance of an individual staff. The following options are common to all
types of staves:

First column:

Style group: Display the staff Types. Type 1a and type 1b as Standard , type 2 as Tablature , type 3 as Percussion.
Lines: The number of lines making up the staff. For tablature, this number usually matches the number of strings in the String Data dialog
(exceptions being the Baroque Lute, Theorbo etc. which have more strings than lines).
Line Distance: The distance between two staff lines of the current staff. Changes rarely needed. See how to change the scaling of all
staffs in Page layout concepts chapter.
Extra distance above staff: Increases or decreases the distance between the selected staff and the one above in all systems.
Note: (1) This setting does not apply to the top staff of a system, which is controlled by the minimum/maximum system distance (see
Formatting). (2) To adjust the spacing above just one staff line in a particular system, see Fitting systems on a page: Spacers.
Scale: Changes the size of the current staff and all associated elements as a percentage. See how to change the scaling of all staffs in
Page layout concepts chapter.
Second column:

Hide when empty: Staff level setting for empty staff hiding along one system, see Showing staves only where needed chapter.
Show clef: Whether the staff clef will be shown.
Show time signature: Whether the staff time signature(s) will be shown or not.
Show barlines: Whether the staff barlines will be shown.
Hide system barline: Show/hide barline at left-hand edge of the staff.
Merge matching rests: Check if you want matching rests in different voices to be merged rather than separate.

Third column:

Do not hide if system is empty: Designate as the staff to show when all staffs in a system are empty, see Showing staves only where
needed : Choosing the staff to show when all staffs in a system are empty chapter.
Small staff: Create a reduced-size staff. You can set the default from the menu in Format→Style…→Sizes.
Invisible staff lines: Make staff lines invisible.
Staff line color: Use a color picker to change the color of the staff lines.
Cutaway: Setting for hiding empty measures, see Showing staves only where needed : Hiding empty measure chapter.
Advanced style properties: (see below)

Advanced style properties

Clicking on Advanced Style Properties… opens the Edit Staff Type window, the properties available vary depending on staff type.

Advanced Style Properties: common to all four staff types

First row: Lines, Line Distance: duplicated UI for the exact same property as above
Second row: Show clef, Show time signature, Show barlines: duplicated UI for the exact same property as above
At the bottom of the window:
- Template dropbox
Assigning a template changes the number of lines (type 3 percussion staff) or switch staff types altogether (type 1a, type 1b and type 2). To apply a
template:
1. Make a selection from the drop-down list labeled “Template”;
2. Press < Reset to Template;
3. Press OK to accept the changes and exit the dialog (or Cancel to cancel the operation).

Advanced Style Properties: settings for standard and percussion staff (Type 1a, type 1b and type 3)

Third row:

Show key signature, Show ledger lines: Option to turn the display of these elements ON or OFF.
Stemless: If checked, staff notes will have no stem, hook or beam.

Advanced Style Properties: settings for standard staff (Type 1a, type 1b)

Notehead scheme: See Notehead scheme.

Advanced Style Properties: settings for tablature staff (Type 2)

Upside down: If not checked, the top tablature line will refer to the highest string, and the bottom tablature line to the lowest string (this is the
most common option). If checked, the top tablature line refers to the lowest string, and the bottom tablature line to the highest line (e.g. Italian-
style lute tablatures).
Preview: A window at the bottom displays a short section of a specimen score as it would look with the current properties applied.
Under Fret Marks tab:

Fret marks are the numbers or letters used to indicate the location of notes on the fingerboard. The following group of properties define the
appearance of fret marks:

Font: The font used to draw fret marks. A selection of eight fonts are provided supporting all the necessary symbols in 8 different styles—both
modern and historic..
Size: Font size of fret marks in typographic points. Built-in fonts usually look good at a size of 9-10pt.
Vertical offset: MuseScore tries to place symbols in a sensible way and you do not usually need to alter this value (set to 0) for built-in fonts.
If the font has symbols not aligned on the base line (or in some other way MuseScore does not expect), this property allows you to move fret-
marks up (negative offsets) or down (positive offsets) for better vertical positioning. Values are in sp.
Marks are: Select from using Numbers (“1”, “2”…) or Letters (“a”, “b”…) as fret marks. When letters are used, the letter “j” is skipped and “k” is
used for the 9th fret.
Marks are drawn: Choice of placing fretmarks On lines or Above lines.
Lines are: Choice of Continuous (lines pass through fret marks) or Broken (a small space appears in the line where the fretmark is displayed).
Show back-tied fret marks: If unchecked, only the first note in a series of tied notes is displayed. If ticked, all notes in the tied series are
displayed.
Show fingering in tablature: Check to allow the display of fingering symbols applied from a palette.
Under Note Values tab: properties define the appearance of the symbols indicating note values

Font: The font used to draw the value symbols. Currently 5 fonts are provided supporting all the necessary symbols in 5 different styles
(modern, Italian tablature, French tablature, French baroque (headless), French baroque). Used only with the Note symbols option.
Size: Font size, in typographic points. Built-in fonts usually look good at a size of 15pt. Used only with the Note symbols option.
Vertical offset: Applies only when Note symbols is selected (see below). Use negative offset values to raise the note value symbols, positive
values to lower them.
Shown as:
None: No note value will be drawn (as in the examples above)
Note symbols: Symbols in the shape of notes will be drawn above the staff. When this option is selected, symbols are drawn only when
the note value changes, without being repeated (by default) for a sequence of notes all of the same value.
Stems and beams: Note stems and beams (or hooks) will be drawn. Values are indicated for each note, using the same typographic
mechanics as for a regular staff; all commands of the standard Beam Palette can be applied to these beams too.
Repeat: If several notes in sequence have the same duration, you can specify if and where to repeat the same note symbol. i.e. Never / At
new system / At new measure /Always.
Note: This option is only available if “Shown as: Note symbols” is selected (see above).
Stem style:
Beside staff: Stems are drawn as fixed height lines above/below the staff.
Through staff: Stems run through the staff to reach the fret marks.
Note: This option is only available when “Shown as: Stems and Beams” is selected (see above).
Stem position:
Above: Stems and beams are drawn above the staff.
Below: Stems and beams are drawn below the staff.
Note: This option is only available when “Shown as: Stems and Beams” and “Stem style: Beside staff” is selected (see above).
Half notes: None / As short stems / As slashed stems.
Note: This option is only available when “Shown as: Stems and Beams and “Stem style: Beside staff” is selected (see above).
Show rests; Whether note symbols should be used to indicate also the rests; when used for rests, note symbols are drawn at a slightly lower
position. Used only with the Note symbols option.

Part properties
Warning: The wording "Part" used in the heading is a misnomer as of Musescore 4.1.1

Instrument

The name of the instrument is shown here. To change the instrument,

Click on Replace instrument and make a choice from the "Select Instrument" dialog. This replaces the instrument that this staff belongs to and
changes all staffs this instrument has. It changes playback, staff name, and staff transposition etc. The Staff Type change may be
unreasonable and create wrong playback.

Names

Long instrument name: Name displayed to the left of the staff in the first system of the score or section.
Short instrument name: Name displayed to the left of the staff in subsequent systems of the score.

Usable pitch range

 Amateur: Notes outside the amateur range are colored olive green / dark yellow in the score.
Professional: Notes outside the professional range are colored red in the score.

Note: To disable out-of-range coloration of notes, from the menu, select Edit→Preferences… (Mac: MuseScore→Preferences…), click on the “Note Input”
tab, and uncheck “Color notes outside of usable pitch range.”

Transposition

Set the octave, and up/down interval to ensure that transposing instruments are notated correctly. This is automatically done by the program for
most instruments.

For transposing instruments an additional option is shown: "Prefer sharps or flats for transposed key signatures". There are three options:

Default: Let MuseScore decide

Flats: Prefer flats
Sharps: Prefer sharps

Part Properties: settings for plucked strings only (Type 1b and type 2)

In addition to those listed above, staves of fretted, plucked-string instruments (Type 1b and type 2) have a few extra options at the bottom part of
the window,

Number of strings: Displays the number of instrument strings.

Edit String Data…: This button opens a dialog box which allows you to set the number and tuning of strings. See Change tuning.

Brackets

Brackets/braces are used to connect multiple staves of one instrument (e.g. a piano's grand staff) or of a group of instruments (e.g. 2 x violins, viola
and cello in string section) within a system. See Page layout concepts : system chapter.

Brackets/braces are automatically applied when a score is created in the New Score dialog. You can easily change them if the default is not what
you want (see below).

To add brackets and curly braces, use Brackets palette.

Adding brackets
To add a bracket or brace to all systems:

Click on the first measure of the staff where you want the bracket/brace to start, hold Shift and click on the measure where you want the
bracket/brace to end.
Click the desired bracket icon in the "Brackets" palette.

Alternatively:

Select the start measure, and click the bracket into place from the "Brackets" palette.
Select the bracket, click on the adjustment handle and drag it down to the desired position. It will snap into place.

Nested brackets can also be applied using these methods, applying the innermost first and ending with the outermost. The order can be edited
subsequently using the "Column" property (see below)

Editing brackets
If you select a bracket/brace, you can edit its properties in the Properties panel (sidebar).

Column: Moves the bracket inwards/outwards.

Span: Extends or retracts the end of the bracket/brace.

Changing bracket type

Select the bracket/brace in the score to be changed, then click on a new bracket/brace from the "Brackets" palette.

Changing bracket span

Use one of the following methods:

Select the bracket, click on the adjustment handle, and drag it to the desired position.
Select the bracket, click on the adjustment handle, and press Shift+↑/↓ to move it from staff to staff.
Alter "Span" in the Properties panel.

Deleting brackets
To delete a bracket/brace, select it and press Del.

Customizing bracket appearance

Brackets/Braces also have a few global properties which can be adjusted from the Style menu:

Adjust thickness and distance from the staff in Format→Style→System.

Adjust distance above/below in Format→Style→Page→Enable vertical justification of staves.

Notation: Rhythm, meter, and measures

Time signatures

Overview
Time signatures are applied to the score from the "Time Signatures" palette.

Setting the initial time signature for your score

This is done from page 2 of the New Score dialog.

Adding a time signature change to your score

Use any of the following methods:

Select an existing time signature, measure, note or rest in the score, and click a time signature in a palette.
Drag and drop a time signature from a palette onto a space in a measure, or onto an existing time signature.

Deleting a time signature

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

Controlling the visibility of time signatures

To hide/show time signatures on a particular staff:

Right-click on the staff and choose "Staff/Part properties";

Uncheck/Check "Show time signature".

To disable/enable all courtesy time signatures (at the end of systems):

From the menu bar, select Format→Style→Page.

Uncheck/Check "Create courtesy time signatures".

To hide or show an individual courtesy time signature:

Select the parent time signature;

In the Time signature section of the Properties panel, uncheck/check "Show courtesy time signature".

Creating a custom time signature

In the Time Signatures palette, click on More, then, in the supplementary palette, click on the “Create Time Signature” button;
In Value enter the Numerator, Denominator, and Text (the latter is optional, when you need the display to be different from the actual time
signature);
Adjust the note beaming in the Beam Groups section (see Beam groups (below)
Press Add to transfer the newly-created time signature to the Time Signatures palette.

You can also do the same thing from the Master Palette (Shift+F9).

Adding a local time signature for a single staff

In certain cases a score may show staves with different time signatures running at the same time. For example, in the following (J. S. Bach’s
Goldberg Variation no. 26):

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

To set a local time signature for just one staff:

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

Resizing a time signature

Select a time signature
In the Time signature section of the Properties panel, adjust the horizontal and vertical Scale values.
Time signature properties
To open the Time signature properties dialog use one of the following:

Right-click on a time signature and from the context menu select "Time signature properties".
Select a time signature, then click on Time signature properties in the "Time signature" section of the Properties panel.

Appearance

This part of the dialog allows you to adjust the nominal appearance of the signature without affecting its underlying rhythmic value.

Text: Insert the nominal numerator and denominator that you wish to appear on the score.

Alternatively, you can make a selection from a range of time signature symbols below.

Beam Groups

See the Beams chapter.

Time signature style

There are a few global style properties for time signatures (see Format→Style).

Create courtesy time signatures: Found in the Clefs, key & time signatures section. Check or uncheck to turn on or off.
Clef to time signature / Key signature to time signature / Barline to time signature / Time signature to barline / Time signature to first
note: Found in the Measure section. Allows you to set spacing for various aspects of time signature layout.

Stems and flags

Stem direction
Default stem direction

MuseScore aligns the stems of voice 1 notes according to the conventions of music theory. By contrast, voice 2 and voice 4 stems point downwards
by default, while voice 3 stems point upwards. Voice 1 stems automatically flip upwards in the presence of voice 2 or 4 notes.

Flipping stem direction

Select either the notehead, stem or attached beam (if any)

Use any of the following methods:
Press X
Click on the "Flip direction" icon in the Note input toolbar
Select a stem direction from the Stem tab in the Properties panel

This action will flip any attached beam as well.

Changing stem length

Select the stem
 Use one of the following methods:
Press ↑/↓ to extend or shorten the stem
Change Length in the Properties panel

Creating stemless notes

To hide the stems of individual notes:

Select one or more noteheads

Go to the Properties panel
Select the Stem tab
Select the checkbox next to Stemless

To hide all stems in an instrument part:

Right-click on the staff and select Staff/Part properties

Click on Advanced style properties
Select the checkbox next to Stemless

Stem and flag properties

Properties specific to stems and flags can be edited from the Stem tab in the Note section of the Properties panel:

Stemless removes the stem (and associated beams) from the selected note(s)
Stem direction:
Auto determines the direction of the stem according to the voice of the selected note(s)
Up and Down override the default stem direction
Flag style sets the appearance of flags for the entire score to either traditional (default) or straight
Thickness determines the stem's width
Length determines the stem's length
Stem offset can be used to move the stem in a horizontal and/or vertical direction

Stem and flag style

Global settings for Stem thickness and Flag style may also be set in Format→Style→Notes.

See also
Beams

Beams

Overview
A beam is a line connecting consecutive notes to indicate rhythmic grouping of eighth or shorter notes (Wikipedia ). You can change control the
presence or absence of beams between notes as well as their appearance.

Controlling which notes are beamed

The default beaming of notes is determined by properties of the time signature. You can edit those defaults and thus affect the beaming of all notes
within that time signature, and you can also override the beaming of individual notes to differ from the time signature defaults.

Setting the default beaming for a time signature

See the main chapter Time signatures

Each time signature has a set of beaming defaults that control the beaming of all notes in that time signature. Since you will normally want the
beaming consistent throughout the score, this is usually the place to start when altering the beaming. To edit the defaults for a given time signature,
use the Time signature properties dialog.

Accessing Time signature properties

Select a time signature within the score

Click the Time signature properties button in the Properties panel
Edit the Beam Groups section as explained below

You can also access this dialog by right-clicking a time signature.

Note: the settings made in this dialog are per score and also per staff. To apply changes to other staves within the same score, you can
Ctrl+Shift+drag the time signature to another staff, which acts similarly to adding it from the palette. To make a customized time signature available
to other scores, Ctrl+Shift+drag it back to the palette.

Beam groups

beam groups.png

To change the beaming of a note of a given duration on a given beat, click the corresponding note in the Beam groups section to toggle the beam
into that note on or off. That is, if you click a note that is currently beamed to the previous note, that will break the beam, and if you click a note that
is not currently beamed to the previous note, that will join them. You can also drag one of the Beam selector icons to any given note to set its
beaming as explained further below.
If you select the Also change shorter notes option, then changes made to any given note will affect notes on the same beat of shorter durations
as well.

Click Reset to remove all changes made since this dialog was opened. Note that this button does not reset settings back to the original defaults from
the palette. To revert all changes made since the time signature was added, use the palette to replace the time signature.

Overriding the default beaming for a specific note

The time signature properties control the default beaming for notes in your score, but you can override those defaults on a note-by-note basis, such
as to have one measure beamed differently from another. This can be useful when writing certain rhythms that might be more readable beamed in a
non-standard manner, or in cases where the options available in Time signature properties are insufficient to create the defaults you want. It is
also the only way to create beams over rests.

Beam properties are set on the notes themselves. To change the beam between two notes, you will normally start by selecting the second of the
two notes, as most of the beam properties control the beam into a note. Note that these properties can be set from the Properties panel or the
Beam properties palette, but this discussion will focus on the Properties panel.

To change the beaming of a given note:

Select the note

Select the Beam tab in the Note section of the Properties panel

Select one of the icons to set the appropriate property

beam type - properties.png

From left to right, the available properties are:

Auto: resets the beaming of the note to the time signature default behavior
No beam: breaks any beams into or out of the selected note
Break beam left: breaks any beam into the selected note
Break inner beams (8th): breaks all but one beam into the selected note (for notes that would otherwise have two or more beams)
Break inner beams (16th): breaks all but two beams into the selected note (for notes that would otherwise have three or more beams)
Join beams: joins a beam from the previous note into the selected note (unless the previous note is set to No beam)

Beaming over rests

beam over rest.png

To extend a beam over a rest:

Select the rest

Apply the Join beams or Break beam left property

Beaming over barlines

beam over barline.png

To extend a beam across a barline:

Select the first note or rest after the barline

Apply the Join beams property

Controlling the appearance of beams

While breaking and joining beams is a function of the individual notes, the actual appearance of the beam can be controlled by selecting either the
beam itself or any of the notes it joins. Thus, to set these properties, you can either:

Select a note that is currently beamed

Select the Beam tab within the Note section of the Properties panel

or

Select the beam itself

Either way, at that point, you will see the options to control the appearance of the beam.

Feathered beams

feathered beam.png

The buttons in the Feather beams section of the Properties panel can be used to indicate gradual slowing down or speeding up of the joined notes
(note this is not supported in playback). These options only apply to 16th and shorter durations using multiple beams.

feathered beams - properties.png

None: reset the beam to standard (non-feathered) appearance

Decelarate: feather the beams to fan inward to indicate a gradual slowing down
Accelerate: feather the beams to fan outward to indicate a gradual speeding up

Beam angle

beam angle.png

The angle of a beam can be edited directly by selecting it and moving the handles by dragging or using the cursor keys. But you can also use the
settings in the Properties panel. You may need to click the More button first to display this section.
 beam height - properties.png

The two settings here correspond to the left and right handles on the beam and allow you to set the height of either side of the beam independently.

You can also force a beam to be horizontal by enabling the Force horizontal property.

Beam style
A few global properties of beams can be set from Format→Style→Beams:

Beam distance: Set the vertical distance from one beam to the next.
Beam thickness: Set the thickness of all beams.
Broken beam minimum length : Set the minimum length of broken beams such as those used in dotted rhythms.
Flatten all beams: Check to make all note beams horizontal, regardless of context.

See also
How to add a beam over a rest
Using the palettes

Regroup rhythms

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

sixteenth notes should be beamed in a way that clarifies each beat

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

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

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

MuseScore can correct many of these cases automatically.

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

Select the passage you wish to regroup.

From the main menu, select Tools→Regroup rhythms.

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

See also
Notation Rules: Rhythm

Tuplets

Creating tuplets
A tuplet is any group of notes that divide the beat in a way other than what is normally permitted by the time signature. Triplets consisting of three
eighth notes in one beat are the most familiar type of tuplet.

Simple tuplets

A simple tuplet such as the triplet shown above can be entered in note input mode or in normal mode.

In note input mode

Navigate to the note/rest (or blank measure) where you want the tuplet to start.
Select a final duration for the whole tuplet group (e.g. for an eighth note triplet, this will be a quarter note—keyboard shortcut 5).
Use one of the following commands:
Press the keyboard shortcut for the required tuplet: i.e. Ctrl+3 for a triplet; Ctrl+4 for quadruplet … and so on, up to Ctrl+9 for a nonuplet.
(Mac: Cmd+3 … Cmd+9);
 From the menu, choose Add→Tuplets…, then select the required tuplet.
From the note input toolbar, click on the Tuplet icon and select from the dropdown.

The note or rest is automatically divided for you and an appropriate annotation is applied.

Enter the desired series of notes/rests.

In normal mode

Select a note or rest that specifies the full duration of the desired tuplet group. You may need to create this in the score beforehand. Thus, if
you want an eighth note triplet you need to select a quarter note/rest.
Use one of the following commands:
Press the keyboard shortcut for the required tuplet: i.e. Ctrl+3 for a triplet; Ctrl+4for quadruplet … and so on, up to Ctrl+9 for a nonuplet.
(Mac: Cmd+3 … Cmd+9).
From the menu, choose Add→Tuplets…, then select the required tuplet.
From the note input toolbar, click on the Tuplet icon, and select from the dropdown.

The note or rest is automatically divided for you and an appropriate annotation is applied.

Enter the desired series of notes/rests.

Consecutive tuplets

If you need to input a series of tuplets, and don't want to continually repeat the tuplet command, you can select the notes of the first tuplet and press
R (Repeat) as many times as needed; then move subsequent notes into position using keyboard arrows, retyping or re-pitch mode.

Custom tuplets

More complex tuplets can be created as follows:

In note input mode, select a note duration equaling the total duration of the tuplet; or, if in normal mode, select a note or rest of the desired
overall duration.
Open the Create Tuplet dialog from either the menu (Add→Tuplets…→ Other…), or by clicking on the tuplet icon (note input toolbar).

In the Ratio field, specify the desired number ratio of the tuplet.
Set Number and Bracket to get the required tuplet display.
Press OK to close the dialog.
Enter the desired series of notes and rests.

Nested tuplets

Tuplets can be nested within other tuplets.

To create a nested tuplet:

Create the outer tuplet as described above.

While entering the individual notes, create inner tuplets in the same way (select the total notated duration for the inner tuplet, then use one of
the tuplet commands to divide it appropriately).

Changing the display of tuplets

You can choose to display or hide a tuplet number or bracket, change its orientation, or adjust line thickness. See Tuplet properties (below) for
details.

Tuplet properties
The display of selected tuplets can be changed in the Tuplet section of the Properties panel.

Direction: Whether the tuplet indication appears above or below the staff. Available settings are "Auto", "above" (↑) or "below" (↓).
Number type: Affects the numerical display. Choice of "Number", "Ratio" or "None".
Bracket type: Sets bracket display. Settings are "Auto", "bracket", or "no bracket".
Line thickness: The thickness of the tuplet bracket, if displayed.

Tuplet style
See Templates and styles

Values of the "Style for tuplets" can be edited in Format→Style→Tuplets.

Values of the "Style for text inside tuplets" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Tuplet

"Style for tuplets" contains

The settings include:

Properties
Direction
Number type
Bracket type
Brackets
Bracket thickness
Bracket hook height
Vertical distance from notes
Maximum slope
Vertical distance from stem
Vertical distance from notehead
Avoid staves
Horizontal distance from notes
Distance before stem of first note
Distance before head of first note
Distance after stem of last note
Distance after head of last note

Barlines
A full range of common barlines is contained in the Barlines palette.

Adding double and other special barlines

Changing barline type for all staves

Select one or more barlines in a staff ;

Click on the desired barline in the palette.

Alternatively, you can drag a barline from the palette onto a barline in the score.
Changes are applied automatically to all barlines at the same point in the score.

Changing barline type for a single staff

Select one or more barlines in the score;

Hold Ctrl then click on the desired barline in the palette.

Alternatively, you can hold Ctrl and drag a barline from the palette onto a barline in the score.

Only barlines in the one staff are affected.

Adding mid-measure barlines

Select one or more notes.

Click on a barline in the palette.

This will add a "barline" in front of each selected note. The barline is for visual purposes and does not factor into any measure operations.

If you wish to divide a measure, inserting a real barline in the process, see Splitting a measure.

Changing barline length

Here we are concerned with the vertical extension of barlines in order to link staves together, or their reduction to create partial barlines.

Extending all barlines in a staff

Select a barline on the "start" staff;

Use either of the following:
Drag the end handle downwards until it meets the destination staff. This method is the best for extending barlines through multiple
staves.
Select the edit handle and press ↓.
Check the "Span to next staff" in the Barlines section of the Properties panel; then click Set as staff default
Repeat if required for subsequent staves.

The barline snaps into place, and all other barlines in that staff follow.

Extending selected barlines in a staff

Select one or more barlines (and their counterparts in the staves below if there are more than two staffs to join).
Check the "Span to next staff" in the Barlines section of the Properties panel.

Creating partial barlines

Partial barlines can be easily created by adjusting "Span from" and "Span to" in the Barlines section of the Properties panel.

Creating barlines between staves only (Mensurstrich)

See Working with Mensurstrich.

Barline properties
You can edit properties specific to barlines in the Barlines section of the Properties panel:

Style: Used to change selected barlines to one in the dropdown list.

Span to next staff: Check this to make selected barlines extend to the staff beneath.
Span from/to: used to set the vertical start and end points of one or more selected barlines.
Set as staff default: Applies the changes made in Span to next staff and Span from/to to all barlines in the staff.
Span presets: Applies the selected preset to one or more selected barlines in the score.

Barline style
Selected properties for all barlines in the score can be changed in Format→Style→Barlines:
See also
Fixed Measure Widths for a workaround to ensure barlines are aligned vertically between systems.
Repeat signs

Measure numbering

Showing and hiding measure numbers

Showing measure numbers automatically

By default, MuseScore shows measure numbers at the start of each system except the first one in a section. Numbering starts at the first complete
measure in a section.

if you wish to change measure numbering:

From the menu bar, select Format→Style→Measure numbers.

Edit the following properties as required:
Measure numbers: This is ON by default. Uncheck to turn off measure numbering.
Show first: Check to show measure number on the first system of a section.
All staves: Check to show measure numbers on every staff.
Every system / Interval: If "Every system" is selected, measure numbers are shown at the start of each system. If "Interval" is selected,
you can choose a measure interval at which to display measures.
Make changes to positioning using the controls on the right.
Edit the display of multimeasure numbers in the section below:
Show measure number range at multimeasure rests. If checked, you can also customize the appearance and position of the
numbering. Unchecked (the default setting), only the count of multimeasure rests is displayed.

Showing measure numbers manually

To always show the number of a particular measure, regardless of style settings, open Measure properties and select "Always show" from the
Measure number mode dropdown.

Hiding measure numbers

To hide all measure numbers, uncheck "Measure numbers" in Format→Style→Measure numbers.

To hide the number of a particular measure, regardless of style settings, open Measure properties and select "Always hide" from the Measure
number mode dropdown.

Changing the measure number sequence

Excluding a measure from the count

In Measure properties, check "Exclude from measure count" (in the Other pane).

Altering the numbering of a measure

In Measure properties, edit "Add to measure number". Both positive and negative numbers are accepted.

Resetting measure numbering for a new section

By default, numbering of measures always restarts at the beginning of a new section. To prevent this, and make numbering continuous, select the
break and in the Properties panel uncheck "Reset measure numbers for new section".

Changing the position of measure numbers

To adjust the position of all measure numbers, edit the X and Y offsets of "Position above" and "Position below" in Format→Style→Measure numbers.
Measure number properties
Note that any changes made to a measure number in the Properties panel may be lost if the layout changes.

Measure number style

See Templates and styles

Values of the "Style for Measure number" can be edited in Format→Style→Measure number.
Values of the "Style for text inside Measure number" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Measure number.

See also
Other measure-related pages:

Measure rests and multimeasure rests

Pickup and non-metered measures
Measure properties
Adding and removing measures
Mensural notation and Mensurstrich

Measure rests and multimeasure rests

Measure rest
A measure rest looks like a whole rest, but is centered within a measure and indicates that the entire measure (or a voice within it) is silent:

It is commonly used in all meters (except 4/2 and 8/4).

To create one or more full measure rests

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

1 Select a measure, or range of measures.

2. Press Del (Mac: Backspace).

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

Select a measure, or range of measures.

Press Ctrl+Shift+Del (Mac: Cmd+Shift+Backspace).

To create a full measure rest in a particular voice

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

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

Multimeasure rest
A multimeasure rest is used to indicate a run of empty measures, the number of measures being shown by a figure above/below the staff.

Enabling and disabling multimeasure rests

Multimeasure rests can be turned on/off with the shortcut M (prior to 4.4), Ctrl+ShiftM (as of 4.4, Mac: Cmd+Shift+M), or by checking "Multimeasure
Rests" in Format→Style…→Rests.

By default, if multimeasure rests are enabled, any sequence of two or more empty measures is automatically converted to multimeasure rests.

To change the minimum number of empty measures needed to trigger multimeasure rests:

From the menu, choose Format→Style…→Rests.

Check "Multimeasure rests" (if the option is not already enabled).
Edit "Minimum number of empty measures".

Multimeasure rests can be turned on/off independently in the score and instrument parts.

Breaking multimeasure rests

Multimeasure rests are automatically broken at important points, such as double barlines, rehearsal marks, key signature or time signature
changes, section breaks etc.

However, you can opt to break a multimeasure rest elsewhere as follows.

Disable multimeasure rests;

Right-click on the measure at which you want the multimeasure rest to break, and select Measure properties.
In the dialog, check "Break multimeasure rest".
Click OK.
Re-enable multimeasure rests.

Multimeasure rest properties

You can edit properties specific to multimeasure rests in the Multimeasure rest section of the Properties panel:

Show number: This box is checked by default. Uncheck it to hide the multimeasure number.
Number position: Adjust the vertical position of the multimeasure number, above or below the rest.

Multimeasure rest style

Values of the "Style for text inside Multimeasure rest range" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Multimeasure rest range .

Values of the "Style for Measure numbers" can be set in Format→Style…→Measure numbers:

Others from Format→Style…→Rests:

See also
Other measure-related pages:

Measure numbering
Pickup and non-metered measures
Measure properties
Adding and removing measures
Mensural notation and Mensurstrich

Pickup and non-metered measures

Creating a pickup measure

A pickup measure, also known as an upbeat or anacrusis, is a partial, or incomplete, measure at the beginning of a score or section.

Note: By convention, measure numbering starts at the first complete measure.

Specifying the pickup duration during score creation

Click on Measures in the "Additional score information" page (page 2) of the New Score dialog;
Check "Create pickup measure";
Choose an underlying time signature using the spin controls below.

Converting a measure into a pickup

Right-click on the measure and choose Measure properties;

In the Measure duration section, next to "Actual", choose an underlying "time signature";
Click OK; or click Apply and then ← or → if you want to configure an adjacent partial measure.

It is accepted musical practice to omit the same duration as the pickup from the final measure of the piece or of the same repeat section. The same
method of shortening the measure applies here.

Creating non-metered measures

A non-metered measure is one which is less or greater in duration than the indicated time signature.

A measures of less duration than the indicated signature may be created in exactly the same way as a pickup measure (see above).

Other ways of creating non-metered measures are described below:

Inserting notes and rests

Extra notes/rests can be inserted in a measure with the help of either a keyboard shortcut, or by using a special mode of entry called Insert mode:

Using a keyboard shortcut

Select the note or rest in the score before which you want to insert notes/rests;
Enter note-input mode;
Select a duration;
Press Ctrl+Shift (Mac: Cmd+Shift) while adding the note/rest from the keyboard or mouse.

Using Insert mode

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

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.

Joining measures

This command joins selected measures into one measure.

Method A. To join two measures only:

Select the barline between the two measures;

Press Ctrl+Del; or select Tools→Remove selected range.

Method B. To join any number of measures:

Select the measures you want to join;

From the menu bar, select Tools→Measures→Join selected measures.

Notes: (1) If you select measures on only one staff in a score with multiple staves, the same measures will be joined in each staff of the system. (2)
Beaming may be automatically modified.

Splitting a measure

This command inserts a barline before a selected note, splitting the measure into two.

Use one of the following methods:

Select a note; then hold Ctrl and click a barline in a palette.

 Hold Ctrl and drag a barline (from a palette) to a note.
Select a note; then, from the menu bar, select Tools→Measures→Split Measure Before Selected Note/Rest.

See also
Working with non-metered music.

Other measure-related pages:

Measure numbering
Measure and multimeasure rests
Measure properties
Adding and removing measures
Mensural notation and Mensurstrich

Measure properties

Opening and using the dialog

The Measure properties dialog allows you to adjust various properties of an individual measure—such as visibility, duration, numbering and width
("Stretch"). To change all measures on the score, use Format → Style window : Score, Page, Measure numbers, and Measure categories. To
change all measures of one staff on the whole score, change the staff Staff / Part properties .

To open Measure properties, right-click on a measure and select "Measure properties".

If you only want to adjust one measure, click OK to make the changes permanent. However, if you also want to adjust adjacent measures there is no
need to close the dialog; simply click Apply, then use the arrows on the bottom left of the window to move the dialog to the new measure. The new
measure number appears both at the top of the dialog and in the status bar.

Staves
Visible : Uncheck/check the boxes to hide/show the selected measure.
Stemless: Check/uncheck the box to hide/show stems.

Measure duration
Nominal: This is the time signature set in the score.
Actual: Adjust these figures to increase or decrease the duration of a measure.

Other
Exclude from measure count: Check to make the count skip the selected measure.
Break multimeasure rest: See Breaking multimeasure rest.
Measure number mode: Allows you to display/hide measure number for the selected measure irrespective of style settings.
Add to measure number: Changes numbering from this measure onwards in the score.
Layout stretch: This property is normally adjusted first with a shortcut (see Stretch); use "Measure properties" for fine adjustment.
Play count: This only appears if the measure is before an end repeat barline. It indicates the number of times the repeat section is played.

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

Take the following score:

Measure 4 should have play count set to 4

Measure 6 should have play count set to 3
See also
Fixed Measure Widths for a workaround to ensure barlines are aligned vertically between systems.

Other measure-related pages:

Measure and multimeasure rests

Pickup and non-metered measures
Adding and removing measures
Mensural notation and Mensurstrich

Notation: Pitch
Clefs
Clefs are applied to the score from the "Clefs" palette.

Setting the initial clef for a staff

MuseScore automatically applies the most appropriate clef(s) for the instrument when creating a new score. You can easily change this from the
score window if needed.

Adding or changing a clef

Add/Change a start clef

To change a clef at the start of a system, use one of the following:

Select the first measure in the system and click a clef symbol in the palette.
Drag a clef from the palette onto the first system measure.
Select the clef and click a clef in the palette.
Drag a new clef from the palette onto the clef.

Add/Change a mid-measure clef

To add/change a mid-measure clef before a note, use one of the following:

Click on the note, then click a clef in the palette.

Drag a clef from a palette onto the note

To add/change a mid-measure clef in front of a barline, use one of the following:

Select the following measure and click a palette clef.

Drag a clef from a palette onto the following measure.

Notes: (1) “Mid-staff” clefs are always smaller than the main system clef. (2) Notes after a clef change are automatically repositioned so that they
continue to sound at the original pitch.

Delete
To delete a clef, just select it and press Del. Note that clefs at the beginning of systems cannot be deleted.

Controlling the visibility of clefs

Standard clefs

To hide/show clefs at the beginning of all systems except the first:

From the menu bar, select Format→Style→Page;

Uncheck/check Create clef for all systems.

Mid-measure clefs are unaffected.

To hide/show all clefs on a selected staff:

Right-click on a measure;
Choose "Staff/Part properties";
In the dialog, uncheck "Show clef".

This affects clefs at the start of a system and mid-measure.

Courtesy clefs

To hide/show courtesy clefs:

From the menu bar, select Format→Style→Page;

Uncheck/Check the Create courtesy clefs.

If courtesy clefs are enabled, you can still hide an individual courtesy clef as follows:

Select the relevant standard clef;

In the Properties panel, uncheck/check Show courtesy clef on previous system.
Clefs and transposition
Using octave clefs

[To be added]

Using different clefs for transposed and concert pitch

[To be added]

Clef properties
See Courtesy clefs (above).

Clefs applied to an entire measure or the first note in a measure are shown before the barline.

To move the clef after the barline:

1. Select the clef
2. Open the Properties panel
3. Under Position relative to barline, choose After

To replace the first clef in a score, see Add/Change a start clef.

Clef style
Tablature users can select the type of TAB clef displayed:

From the menu, select Format→Style→Clefs

Set the default TAB clef to "Standard" or "Serif" as required.

Other style properties are available in Format→Style→Page, namely:

Create clef for all systems

Create courtesy clefs

For details, see Controlling the visibility of clefs (above).

Key signatures

Overview
Key signatures are applied to the score from the "Key signatures" palette.

Setting the initial key signature for your score

The initial key signature is set from page 2 of the New Score dialog.

Adding a key signature change to your score

Use one of the following methods:

Select a measure and click a key signature in the palette.

Drag a key signature from the palette onto an empty part of a measure.

Note: It is also possible, though uncommon, to add a key-signature mid measure by selecting a note then clicking a palette key signature, or
dragging the key signature to a note.

Adding a local key signature for a single staff

If you wish to add a key signature to only one staff, leaving others unchanged, apply one of the following methods:

Select the measure from which you want the new key signature to apply, then press and hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) and click on a key signature in
the (Key signatures) palette.
Press and hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd), then drag a key signature from a palette on to a measure.

Selecting a key signature for a single staff

If you wish to select a key signature for a single staff only, press and hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd), then click on the key signature.

Replacing an existing key signature

Use any of the following methods:

Select the key signature to be replaced, and click a new key signature in a palette.
Drag a key signature from the palette onto the key signature to be replaced (or onto the measure containing the key signature).

To replace the key signature on a single staff only, press and hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) before carrying out the above operations.

Deleting a key signature

 To delete a key signature in the score, select it and press Del.
To delete a key signature from single staff only, hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while selecting it, then press Del.

Controlling the visibility of key signatures

To show key signatures only at the beginning of a score, and at a key change:

From the menu bar, select Format→Style→Page;

Uncheck/Check "Create key signature for all systems".

To hide/show all courtesy key signatures (at the end of systems):

From the menu bar, elect Format→Style→Page;

Uncheck/Check "Create courtesy key signatures".

To hide/show a particular courtesy key signature:

Select the parent key signature;

In the Properties panel, uncheck/check "Show courtesy key signature on previous system".

Key signatures and transposing instruments

Care needs to be taken when working in written pitch and applying a key signature directly to a transposing instrument. For example, a Bb clarinet
is written a tone higher than it sounds; so, to get the clarinet to display in G major, you need to apply a key signature of F major from the palette.
And so on.

Open/Atonal key signature

Some instruments (e.g. French horn) are conventionally written with no key signature. To achieve this, you need to add an open/atonal local key
signature to the staff (this is already done in scores created from templates).

An open/atonal key signature looks similar to a 'C major/A minor' key signature. However, unlike standard key signatures, an open key signature
always remains the same, regardless of key changes to the rest of the score.

Creating a custom key signature

To create a custom signature:

In the "Key signatures" palette, click More, then Create key signature

Drag accidentals onto the staff image as required. Note: Accidentals are horizontally aligned by default. If you want to place an accidental in a
custom position, hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while dragging it.
 To remove an accidental select it and press Del. Note: The Clear button deletes all added accidentals.

To add the completed signature to the main palette, click Add.

Note: Custom key signatures are adapted to transposing instruments automatically. If You want transposing instrument to use custom key signature
exactly the same, as it is in palette, You need to transpose it back. Select measure where key signature is placed and use Tools→Transpose.

Key signature properties

You can edit properties specific to key signatures in the Key signature section of the Properties panel:

Show courtesy key signature on previous system: See Controlling the visibility of key signatures (above).
Mode: You can select a mode for the key signature if required—major, minor, dorian etc. The default is "unknown".

Key signature style

Various style properties affect key signature display.

Format→Style→Page

Create key signature for all systems

Create courtesy signatures

The use of these properties is discussed in Controlling the visibility of key signatures (above).

Format→Style→Accidentals

Here you can change the way accidentals are displayed in key signature changes in the score.

Format→Style→Measure

Clef to key signature

Key signature to time signature
Barline to key signature
Key signature to barline
Key signature to first note
These properties control the various distances before and after key signatures in the score.

See also
Transposition

Transposition

Overview
Transposition is the act of raising or lowering the pitch of a selection of notes by the same interval.

In MuseScore, you can transpose your music using keyboard shortcuts, or via the Transpose dialog.

Transposing with keyboard shortcuts

To transpose with keyboard shortcuts, first select a range of notes (See Selecting elements). Then use one of the following options, depending on
how you need to transpose your music:

Transpose chromatically

Press ↑ or ↓ to move the selection up/down in semitone steps

Transpose diatonically

Press Alt+Shift+↑/↓ to move the selection up/down in scale degrees (Mac: ⌥+Shift+↑/↓).

Transpose by an octave

Press Ctrl+↑/↓ to move the selection up/down in octave steps (Mac: ⌘+↑/↓).

Using the transpose dialog

The Transpose dialog gives you more control over transposition, with options to transpose to selected keys or by specific intervals.

First select a range of notes you wish to transpose. (See Selecting elements). If no selection is made, the whole score is automatically selected for
transposition.

Then open the dialog by selecting Tools → Transpose...

Transpose Chromatically

When this is selected, you can choose to transpose to a specific key, or by specified interval.

To transpose chromatically to a specific key:

Select To key
Select whether to transpose to the Closest key (relative to the current key signature of the selection), or Up or Down to the destination key
signature
Choose your destination key signature from the drop down menu
Leave Transpose key signatures selected to transpose any existing key signatures in your selection (deselecting this will leave any existing
key signatures unchanged)
 Leave Transpose chord symbols selected to transpose any existing chord symbols in your selection (deselecting this will leave any existing
chord symbols unchanged)
Click OK

To transpose chromatically by interval

To transpose selected notes up or down in semitone increments:

Select By interval
Select whether to transpose your selection Up or Down by the specified interval
Select the transposition interval from the drop down menu
Select options for Transpose key signatures and Transpose chord symbols as required (see above)
Click OK

Transpose Diatonically

Select this to transpose the selection by a specified interval without changing the existing key signature(s). Note: the intervallic relationships
between pitches in your selection will change as a result!

Select Transpose Diatonically

Select whether to transpose your selection Up or Down by the specified interval
Leave Keep degree alterations selected to retain any accidentals in the selection (Note: accidentals will be modified relative to the existing
key signature. Note also: Deselecting this will remove any existing accidentals upon transposition)
Leave Transpose chord symbols selected to transpose any existing chord symbols in your selection (see above)
Click OK

Working with transposing instruments

Transposed and concert pitch

Transposing instruments (such as the clarinet, French horn, trumpet etc.) are notated at a different pitch (and key signature) to how they sound. The
notated pitch is called the written pitch, while the actual pitch is called concert or sounding pitch.

By default the program is displayed with all the staves at written pitch. However, if you wish to view the score at concert pitch just check the
"Concert pitch" box (to the left of the tuning fork icon) in the status bar.

Setting the interval of transposition

When you set up a score in the New Score, or Add or remove instruments dialogs, transposed key signatures are automatically applied to any
transposing instruments. However if for any reason you need to set up the staff transposition manually, this is how to do it.

Right-click on the instrument staff and select Staff/Part properties;

Next to "Transpose" in the lower part of the dialog, select the interval that the instrument sounds above/below concert pitch. (Music for the Bb
clarinet, for example, is written a tone above its sounding pitch and the transpose setting is therefore a major second down.)

Click OK.

The correct transposed key signature will now appear on the staff.

Controlling enharmonic spelling

The enharmonic spelling of the transposed key signature, whether in sharps or flats, is set in Staff/Part properties (see Setting the interval of
transposition ).

To change the enharmonic spelling of pitches in the score, see Change spelling.

Octave lines

Overview
Octave (Ottava) lines are used to indicate that a section of music is to be played one or more octaves above or below written pitch; the line may be
dotted or solid:

8--------┐or 8va--------┐: Play one octave above written pitch.

8--------┘or 8va--------┘: Play one octave below written pitch.

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

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

Ottava lines may be found in the Lines palette.

Adding an octave line to your score

See Adding a line to your score.

To adjust the range and vertical position of the line, see Adjusting elements directly.
Octave line properties
Properties specific to the selected ottava(s) can be adjusted in the Ottava section of the Properties panel, namely:

Style tab

Type: Specifies whether the Ottava line is 8va, 8vb etc.

Show number only: Hides any text (such as “va”).
Show line: Makes the line visible / invisible. Text is unaffected.
Allow diagonal: Allow line to slope if required.

For other properties in this tab, see Line properties.

Text tab

This has a similar user interface to general lines (see Line properties), but uses special code to specify the ottava text.

Octave line style

Default properties for ottavas can be adjusted in Format→Style→Ottava.

Noteheads

Overview
This chapter discusses the appearance of noteheads in MuseScore.

Notehead schemes

One aspect of music notation systems is notehead scheme. A scheme is a set of rules used to decide notehead shape's meaning, some of which
are supported in MuseScore. Supported schemes relate notehead meaning to a note's:

duration: as in the most widely used scheme.

pitch (using movable-do or absolute pitch solfege): literally written on it, and
pitch (relative pitch using shape note solfege): as in "shape note notation" (see reference under External links).

The most widely used scheme is very likely the only one known to most musicians. It is referred to as "Normal" in MuseScore and is the default
setting for a new staff. Details of the nine schemes available in MuseScore are covered in Custom staff types:Notehead scheme.

Understanding relative pitch notations (shape note solfege, shape note notation) can enhance the reader's comprehension of this chapter. Most of
the time, a notehead shape conveys one specific meaning, and that meaning is only associated with one notehead shape. Shape note solfege is
like a variant of movable-do solfege that belongs to the exceptions. For example, in one type of "shape note notation", a triangle must be used to
notate a relatively pitched "C4", but triangles are also read as relatively pitched "C"s or "F"s only, and triangles must sing "Fa" or a syllable agree
upon by singers on-site. The loosely related shape note solfege notates interval perception much better than the "Normal" setting.

Notehead shape
Shown above, the diamond notehead can be used for harmonic notes in guitar, violin etc; and slash notehead for guitar strums etc. The cross is
also known as crosshead, ghost note, or dead note.

Final display of notehead shape in MuseScore is determined by three factors: the notehead type factor, the pitch factor, and the duration factor
(or note-value, rhythm).

Pitch factor

Note pitch may affect affect notehead shape, depending on the scheme, but it only happens on note(s) that do not use an overriding Notehead
type property. See "Notehead type factor" section. "Normal" notehead scheme does not use pitch to determine notehead shape.

Duration factor

The duration factor is determined by a note's duration. To edit duration see Entering notes and rests and Editing notes and rests chapters. It also
can be visually overridden for an individual note, while keeping the real value and playback intact.

Notehead type factor

Options available for notehead type factor depends on staff type:

On Standard staffs (type 1a, type 1b), there are three levels:
Level 1 Notehead scheme of a staff : Default is "Normal".
Level 2 Notehead scheme of a note (option named "Notehead System" in Musescore 4.1.1):
The default option "Auto" means "ignore this level".
Other options: scheme to use on this note, overrides Level 1.
Level 3 Notehead type property of a note. Affects notehead shape if and only if the result scheme of Level 1 and Level 2 is "Normal".
Tablatures (type 2) do not use notes. To change selected fret number(s) into crosshead, click the cross item in the Noteheads palettes. To
enclose selected fret number(s) with brackets (parentheses, dead note or ghost note), use Shift+X. Only the first two items of Noteheads
palettes works on Tablatures.
On percussion staffs (type 3), instrument (like snare or hi-hat, not the "drumset" MuseScore Instrument) determines the notehead type factor.
See Entering and editing percussion notation: Notehead shape chapter.

Notehead scheme is used to determine notehead shape unless overridden by individual note's Notehead type property. When notehead scheme
is not overridden, note pitch may affect notehead shape, depending on the scheme. "Normal" notehead scheme does not use pitch to determine
notehead shape. When a note uses an overriding Notehead type property, note pitch information does not affect notehead shape at all.

Changing notehead shape

Notehead type factor

(Valid on standard staffs only) To change level 1 notehead scheme of a single staff, affecting all notes:
Right click on an empty part of the desired staff and select Staff/Part properties.
Click on the Advanced style properties button (opens Edit Staff Type window).
Select an option in Notehead scheme dropdown.
(Valid on standard staffs only) To change level 2 notehead scheme of note(s):
Select note(s) on a score.
In the Properties panel, open Note: Head tab.
select an option from the Notehead system dropdown (you may need to click "Show more" at the bottom of the panel to reveal it): the
default "Auto" means "ignore this level".
(Valid on standard staffs only) To change level 3 notehead type property:
Select note(s) on a score.
Use one of the following:
In Properties panel, open Note: Head tab, select a Notehead type, or
Click on an item in the Noteheads palettes, or drag it onto a notehead in the score.
To change selected fret number(s) into crosshead, click the cross item in the Noteheads palettes. To enclose selected fret number(s) with
brackets (parentheses, dead note or ghost note), use Shift+X.
To change noteheads on percussion staffs, see Entering and editing percussion notation: Notehead shape chapter.

Duration factor

To change note duration, see Entering notes and rests and Editing notes and rests.
To change the apparent duration without altering real value so that playback is not affected:
Select note(s) on a score.
In the Properties panel, open Note: Head tab.
Select the desired option from the Override visual duration (you may need to click "Show more" at the bottom of the panel to reveal it):
the default "Auto" means "no override"

Adding pitch information to notes

shown above 7 Shape (Aikin), a "shape note notation"

There are six methods to change "pitch".

Most of the time, a note's pitch only affects its staff space / vertical position, to change it:

Change note pitch, see Entering notes and rests and Editing notes and rests.
Modify the playback pitch of note(s) on score without altering notation: In Properties panel, click General: Playback , edit Tuning (cents).
This is useful for reasons explained in Musescore 3 Handbook's Tuning systems, microtonal notation system, and playback . Does not work
on instruments using Muse sounds (yet) on Musescore 4.1.1

Tablatures, percussion staffs and some notehead scheme (see Overview) use notehead shape to convey pitch information:

[not working yet, upcoming fixed 4.3 https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/16500 ] The brackets (parentheses, dead note or
ghost note) item in Noteheads palettes can be added to a note or accidental.
To change selected fret number(s) into crosshead, click the cross item in the Noteheads palettes. To enclose selected fret number(s) with
brackets (parentheses, dead note or ghost note), use Shift+X.
To use custom notehead shape for visual pitch representation:
Change level 1 setting as required for the staff.
Use a level 2 overriding setting on selected note(s):
Select note(s) on a score.
In the Properties panel, open Note: Head tab.
Select an "Normal" from the Notehead system dropdown (you may need to click "Show more" at the bottom of the panel to reveal
it).
Assign level 3 notehead type property. Use either one of the following:
In Properties panel, open Note: Head tab, select a Notehead type, or
Click on an item in the Noteheads palettes, or drag it onto a notehead in the score.
These note(s) will be always use this item, regardless of any future pitch change by user unlike other notes on this staff.
Change duration factor as required.
To loosen the relationship between note vertical position and pitch so that all notes on a staff create desired playback, take advantage of
'Transposing instruments' feature.

Changing notehead direction

To move notehead(s) horizontally to the other side of stem, use one of the following:

Press Shift+X, or
In Properties panel, open Note: Head tab, select a Notehead direction (you may need to click "Show more" at the bottom of the panel to
reveal it).

(Note: Contrast this command with X which moves the stem and beam horizontally and vertically to other side of the notehead)

Notehead properties
Selecting a note(s) on score, in the Properties panel Note: Head tab :
 Notehead parentheses: Add or remove parentheses.
Notehead type: See overview and changing notehead shape.
Hide notehead: Makes notehead invisible, see Properties: visibility.
Small notehead
Duration dot position: This provides an alternative vertical offset for the duration dot.
Show more / Show less button
Notehead system: level 2 Notehead scheme, see Overview. The default "Auto" means "ignore this level".
Override visual duration: change duration factor, see Overview. "Auto" means "no override".
Note direction: See Changing notehead direction (above).
Notehead offset: This changes the offset of the notehead only (to change the offset of the complete note, use "Offset" in Properties:
Appearance instead).

Notehead style and font

There are 8 font options (two new options compared to MuseScore 3) for notehead set in Format→Style→Score. Notehead does not use style
profiles (Templates and styles).
Noteheads palette is displayed with Bravura font.

Sharing noteheads between voices

When two notes in different voices coincide on the same beat, they can either share a single notehead, or else be offset to allow the display of both
noteheads. This is done automatically by MuseScore according to certain rules (see below).

To force two offset noteheads in different voices to share a single notehead, use one of the following methods:

Make the smaller-value notehead invisible. This works for the majority of cases.
Select the smaller value notehead and in the Note section of the Properties toolbar change "Head type (visual only)" to that of the higher
value note.

Rules for automatically sharing or offsetting noteheads:

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.

Remove duplicate fretmarks in tablature

If you are using paired standard and tablature staves you will come across situations where a shared notehead in the standard staff generates
two fretmarks in tablature. In this case simply hide one of the fretmarks by making it invisible.

See also
Entering and editing percussion notation

External links
The Music Notation Project Wiki > Shape Note Notation
IMSLP.org Wiki > 4-shape notation
IMSLP.org Wiki > 7-shape notation

Ambitus
An ambitus indicates the range of notes included within a stave. It is used to indicate the appropriate voice for a particular part. See Wikipedia:
Ambitus .

Adding an ambitus to your score

To create an ambitus choose one of the following methods:

Select the desired start clef and click on the ambitus symbol in either the Pitch or Lines palette.
Drag the ambitus symbol from either the Pitch or Lines palette and drop it onto the desired start clef.

Changing the range of an ambitus

The top and bottom notes of the range can be manually adjusted via Properties.

Ambitus properties
Four different properties of the ambitus can be manually altered:
1. style: vertical or diagonal
2. notehead type
3. notehead duration
4. line thickness of the line joining the two noteheads

Respell pitches

Manually changing the enharmonic spelling of notes

To change the enharmonic spelling of a note, or notes, in both written and concert pitch views:
 Select a note, or group of notes;
Press J;
Continue pressing J to cycle through the enharmonic equivalents.

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

Select a note, or group of notes;

Press Ctrl+J (Mac: Cmd+J);
Continue pressing the same combination of keys to cycle through the enharmonic equivalents.

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

Automatically respelling all notes in a selection

Respell pitches

From the menu, select Tools→Respell Pitches.

Notation: Expressive markings

Articulations

This chapter discusses articulation symbols available in the Articulations palette (accents, staccato, vibrato markings etc).

To add verbal articulation objects available in the Text palette (legato, pizz. , arco, tremolo etc) to a score, see Entering and editing text chapter.
Guitar articulation is covered in chapters under Idiomatic notation: Guitar. Brass or woodwind articulation (Fall, Doit, Plop, Scoop) is covered in
Arpeggios and glissandi.

Adding articulations to a score

Keyboard shortcuts

To add an articulation with a keyboard shortcut:

Select one or more notes;

Apply the relevant shortcut from the list below:
Marcato: Shift+O
Accent: Shift+V
Tenuto: Shift+N
Staccato: Shift+S

Toolbar

Certain articulations (accent, marcato, staccato, and tenuto) can be added from the note input toolbar (above the document pane).

Select one or more notes;

Click on the desired icon in the articulations toolbar area.

Articulations palette

To add an item to a score:

Select one or more notes;

Click on the desired articulation in the Articulations palette;

Alternatively, drag and drop an articulation symbol from the palette to a notehead.

Articulations playback
Certain articulations affect note playback—such as staccato, staccatissimo, louré (tenuto + staccato), and accents. This is handled automatically by
the program.

Articulation properties
Editable properties of selected articulation(s) on the score are shown in the Properties Panel.

Placement: This alters the position of the symbol above or below the note.
Articulation style
See the main chapter Templates and styles

Values of the "Style for Articulations & Ornaments" can be edited in Format → Style → Articulations & Ornaments.

Shown below are the result of some options on the score.

Alignment options

Align with stem

Align with notehead

Center between stem and notehead

Combined articulation options

Always keep together

Prefer closeness to notehead (combined articulations may become separated)

Dynamics

Adding dynamics to your score

All dynamics symbol objects are in the Dynamics palette. To add a dynamics symbol to the score:

Select one or more notes, and then click an item in the Dynamics palette; or
Drag an item from the Dynamics palette onto a note.

Dynamics properties
Dynamics can be edited in Properties panel. The following options are available:

Scale: Size of dynamics symbols

Avoid barlines: Toggles whether dynamics markings avoid collisions with barlines.
Voice assignment: Choose to which voice the selected dynamic is assigned. Affects both the dynamic's position and playback.
Position: Choose whether the selected dynamic sits above or below the stave.
Center between staves: On instruments with more than one stave, choose whether the selected dynamic sits vertically centered between
two staves. Can be used in combination with Position.
Alignment with notehead (under Show more) : For dynamics symbols with expression text added, the combined element can be justified to
the right of the notehead, or aligned to the center of the notehead.
Frame (under Show more): Add a square or circular frame to the dynamic marking and customize its styling

To edit the score-wide settings, see the Dynamics style section.

Dynamics and playback

In MuseScore 4.4 onwards, dynamics symbols (including hairpins) can apply independently to individual voices and staves. A dynamic affects its
assigned voice(s) from the point at which it appears until playback reaches another dynamic in the same voice or a dynamic that affects all voices.

See the dynamics playback compatibility section to learn how this feature works with different sound technologies.

Assigning voices to dynamics

Watch our video on dynamics and voices

In MuseScore Studio 4.4, dynamics and hairpins can be assigned to either All voices or a specific voice from 1–4 using the Voice assignment
property. By default, dynamics are assigned to all voices on the instrument.

For instruments with multiple staves, selecting All displays distinct options for

All voices on this instrument (i.e. applying to all staves) and

All voices on this staff only (i.e. applying to all voices on the staff to which it is attached only)

To assign a dynamic directly to a specific voice when you add it:

Select a note or rest in the score

Click on a dynamic in the palette while holding Ctrl (Mac: Cmd)
The dynamic will be assigned to the voice of the selected note or rest

To change the voice assignment of an existing dynamic, select it and then either:

Click one of the buttons in Properties → Voice assignment

Click one of the voice buttons in the Note input toolbar
Use the keyboard shortcuts
For voice 1–4:
Ctrl+Alt+1–4 (Mac: Cmd+Opt+1–4)
For All (or All voices on instrument*):
Ctrl+Alt+0 (Mac: Cmd+Opt+0)
For All voices on this staff only*:
Ctrl+Alt+- (Mac: Cmd+Opt+-)

*For instruments with multiple staves

Control whether dynamics are assigned to all voices or individual voices by default in Preferences → Note input → Voice assignment.
Positioning dynamics
There are three options available in Format → Style → Dynamics & hairpins → Default positions of dynamics and hairpins which control
general dynamics positioning:

Position determines whether dynamics should be positioned according to their voice assignment ('Based on voice', the default), or should all
go 'Above' or 'Below'
Place above the staff on vocal instruments specifies whether dynamics should go above the stave on vocal staves (on by default)
Center on grand staff instruments automatically will center dynamics vertically between the staves of multi-stave instruments automatically
(on by default)

Voice-based positioning

If the Based on voice position is chosen, voice assignment will affect position of dynamics as follows:

Voice 1 dynamics go below the stave if there is only one voice at that rhythmic position, and otherwise go above
Voice 3 dynamics go above the stave
Voice 2 and 4 dynamics go below the stave
Dynamics assigned all voices go below the stave

The position of any dynamic can be explicitly overridden via Properties → Position.

Centering dynamics between staves

Dynamics on grand staff instruments (e.g. keyboards, keyboard percussion, harp) can be centered vertically between the staves.

By default, dynamics are automatically centered when:

There is a stave on the same instrument above or below the dynamic (according to its position relative to the stave to which it is attached)
against which it can be centered
Properties → Voice assignment is set to All voices on instrument
Properties → Center between staves is set to Auto
In Format → Style → Dynamics & hairpins, the Center on grand staff instruments automatically option is on
No manual Y-offset has been applied to the dynamic

You can also manually center dynamics by setting Center between staves to On and configuring Position based on whether the stave to which
you want to center is above or below.

Combining dynamics and text

To add a dynamics instruction that combines a dynamics symbol with text, for example poco f:

Add an appropriate dynamics symbol to your score using the above steps (For poco f, add an f dynamics symbol)
From the Text palette, add an expression text element to the same note.
The dynamics symbol and expression text will snap together, allowing you to reposition them as a single unit.
Double-click the expression text to edit it (For poco f, replace the text with the word poco)

Alternatively, you can double-click a dynamic symbol and type additional text on either side of it.

When an expression text is combined with a dynamic, the size of the expression text can be independently scaled using the Size property in
Properties > Text.

Dynamics style
See the main chapter Templates and styles

Format → Style → Dynamics & hairpins contains options for the default positioning, spacing, and size of dynamics and hairpins.

Editing the dynamics font

You can select the font used for dynamics in Format → Style → Score → Musical symbols font. The default font is Leland. You can also change
the font for dynamics without changing the font used for other musical symbols in Format → Style → Dynamics & hairpins → Override score
font.

Editing expression text style

You can edit expression text style in Format → Style → Text styles → Expression. You can toggle whether expression text automatically snaps to
dynamics in Format → Style → Expression text.

Dynamics playback compatibility

Support for voice-specific dynamics varies depending on the sound technology chosen (e.g. SoundFont, VST, or Muse Sounds) and whether the
instrument is a single-note-dynamic instrument (i.e. an instrument capable of changing its dynamic on a single note, such as the violin or flute) or
a non-single-note-dynamic instrument (e.g. the piano or percussion instruments, where the instrument's dynamic properties begin to recede after
a note's initial attack).

In the below table, single-note-dynamic instruments are referred to as SND instruments, while non-single-note-dynamic instruments are
referred to as non-SND instruments.

Sound technnology Support for individual voices/staves

Muse Sounds Full support for per-voice and per-stave dynamics.
Both SND and non-SND instruments will support dynamics on
SoundFont (MS Basic) individual voices. Only non-SND instruments will support dynamics on
individual staves.
VST Only non-SND instruments support per-voice and per-stave dynamics.

Hairpins

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

There are also crescendo and diminuendo lines which do the same thing:

All can be found in the Lines or Dynamics palettes.

Adding a hairpin to your score

Lines palette

To enter a hairpin from a palette use one of the following options:

Select a range of notes or measures, then click on a hairpin in the palette.

Drag and drop a hairpin onto a notehead. The hairpin will extend to the end of the measure.

Keyboard shortcuts

To enter a hairpin using a keyboard shortcut:

Select a range of notes or measures;

Use one of the following options:
For a crescendo hairpin press < ("less than" sign).
For a diminuendo hairpin press > ("greater than" sign).

Changing appearance of hairpins

Range

To extend or contract the range of a hairpin, see Changing range of a line.

Height

To change the height, select the height adjustment handle (shaded in the image below) …

… then use keyboard arrows, offsets (Properties panel), or dragging, to move the handle into the desired position. (See Basics: Adjusting elements
directly.)

Alternatively you can adjust the "Height" in the Hairpin: Style section of the Properties panel.

Set at angle

To allow the hairpin to slope at a diagonal, check the "Allow diagonal" box in Hairpin: Style in the Properties panel. Then move the start/end
adjustment handles to get the desired slope.

Other adjustments

See Hairpin properties.

Changing playback of hairpins

See Dynamics and playback

Hairpin properties
You can edit properties specific to hairpins in the Hairpins section of the Properties panel.

Style tab

Niente circle: Places a small circle at the point of the hairpin.

Allow diagonal: Allows the hairpin to be set at an angle; see Changing appearance of hairpins (above).
Line style: Choose solid, dashed or dotted lines.
Thickness / Height:
Height (new system): Specify the height of subsequent hairpins if the first one spans a system.
Position: Above or Below.

Text tab

Properties here allow you to specify beginning, end, and continuation texts and their vertical offsets.

Hairpin style
See Templates and styles and Dynamics style

Slurs

A slur is a curved line between notes of different pitches indicating legato phrasing; exact interpretation depends on the instrument.

Slurs should not be confused with (note) ties which connect notes of the same pitch and extend the duration of the first note to encompass the
connected notes.

Adding a slur to your score

After selecting a note, a slur can be created using any of the following:

A keyboard shortcut, S. This option is both convenient and fast.

The menu option, Add→Line→Slur
A slur from the lines palette.

The exact method of applications depends on whether you are in note input or normal modes of operation. The keyboard shortcut method will be
used as an example.

Adding slurs in normal mode

Method 1

Select the note where you want the slur to start:

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

To extend the slur to the next note, hold Shift and press → (right arrow). Repeat as required:

To flip the slur direction, press X:

Press Esc to exit edit mode:

Method 2

Select the note where you want the slur to start;

Choose one of the following options:
To add a single slur: Hold down Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) and select the last note that you want the slur to cover.
To add slurs to all voices: Hold down Shift and select the last note that you want the slurs to cover.
Press S.

Adding slurs in note input mode

Enter the first note in the slurred section;

Press S to begin the slurred section;
Type in the remaining notes in the slurred section;
Press S again to end the slurred section.

Multi-voice and cross-staff slurs

Using method 2 (above) you can create a slur between notes in the same or different voices. Cross staff slurs can be created in exactly the same
way. e.g.

You can also adjust the start/end handles of an existing slur to move the start or end to a note of a different voice:

Click on the start/end handle of the slur.;

Press Shift+↑/↓ to move the start/end between voices, and from staff to staff.

Changing appearance of slurs

To adjust the shape of a slur or its range, see Adjusting elements directly.

Slur properties
The following properties specific to slurs can be adjusted in the Properties panel.

Style: Solid, dashed or dotted line.

Position: Above or below.

Slur style
Some default properties for all slurs in the score can be adjusted in Format→Style→Slurs/Ties:

Breaths and pauses

Breaths and pause symbols may be found in the Breaths & pauses palette.

These symbols also have an adjustable playback effect.

Types of pauses
Fermata

A fermata, or pause appears above/below a note, and extends its written duration, indicating a pause in the music.

It may also be written above a rest, or a barline, indicating the end of a piece or section of music.

Breath mark

A breath mark is placed just above the staff, and tells a wind instrument performer or singer to take a breath here, or other instruments to pause
slightly. It may occur between two notes or at the end of a measure.

Caesura
The caesura also indicates a pause, slightly longer than a breath mark but less so than a fermata. It may occur between two notes or at the end of
a measure.

Adding a pause to your score

To add a fermata:

Select a note, rest or barline;

Click on a fermata symbol in the Breaths & pauses palette

Alternatively drag a fermata symbol onto a note.

To add a breath mark or caesura:

Select a note;
Click on a breath mark/pause symbol in the Breaths & pauses palette.

Alternatively drag a breath mark/caesura symbol onto a note.

MuseScore automatically places the breath mark/caesura in the correct position, just above the staff and after the selected note.

Changing pause playback

Pause symbols have a playback effect in the score. To adjust the pause length, click on Playback in the Properties panel and adjust "Time stretch".

Pause properties
The position of selected pauses can be altered by clicking on Appearance in the Properties panel and adjusting the offsets. Alternatively you can drag
a symbol, or enter Edit mode and use the keyboard arrows to move it.

In addition you can position a fermata above or below the staff by selecting the desired option in "Placement on staff" in the Fermata section of the
Properties panel.

Pause style
You can specify default positional properties for all fermatas in Format→Style→Fermatas.

Ornaments

Ornaments and ornament lines can be applied from the Ornaments palette.
If the it is not already displayed in the palettes area, see Adding more palettes. Available ornaments include turns, (short) trills, and mordents, are
discussed here. See Other lines for ornament lines available including (long) trill lines, upprall, downprall, prallprall.

Adding an ornament to your score

Add an ornament

To add an ornament to the score:

Select one or more notes;

Click on the desired ornament in the Ornaments palette;

For a trill only, it is possible to use a custom shortcut instead at step 2.

Add an ornament line

See main chapter of ornament lines Other lines.

The procedure for applying ornament lines is just like any other line, i.e.

Select a start note;

Press Shift and click on an end note;
Click on an ornament line in the Ornaments palette

If you subsequently need to adjust the ornament's length, see Changing the range of a line.

Changing ornament intervals (adding accidentals)

Ornaments are aware of the key signature and of other accidentals in the bar. By default, trills, turns, mordents and other ornaments will display and
play diatonic intervals. Use the Properties panel to change the interval, displaying the appropriate accidentals in the score and changing playback.

To change the interval of an ornament:

Select an ornament
Open the Properties panel
Use the interval selectors to choose the desired interval. The score will display the appropriate accidentals for the chosen interval.

Trills can be customized by quality (major, minor, augmented, etc.) and interval number from unison to octave. The appropriate accidental or upper
auxiliary note will display in the score above or below the ornament. For intervals larger than a second, consider using a tremolo.

Both the upper and lower interval can be set for turns.

Short trill and mordent intervals can be set to the minor or major second.

Any accidentals introduced only by an ornament must be confirmed or cancelled later in the measure for clarity, meaning it is not possible to delete
accidentals where the note:

is after AND in the same measure as an ornament with accidentals

as the same pitch class as a note with an accidental specified by the ornament (excluding the base note)

For example, in a measure starting with a chromatic turn on A as seen below, all Gs and Bs later in the measure will have an accidental, even if it is
the same as what appears in the ornament.

While these accidentals cannot be deleted, their visibility can be turned off. To do so:

Select the accidental

Open the Properties panel
Uncheck Visible

Ornament properties
The following properties of selected ornaments can be edited from the Ornament section of the Properties panel:

Accidental visibility
 Default only shows accidentals that have not shown up yet in the measure.
Show any alteration shows accidentals again even if they appear earlier in the measure.
Always display an accidental shows accidentals even for diatonic notes.

Placement

Use the placement controls to either let MuseScore automatically choose the standard placement, or manually select above or below.

Accidental properties

When selected, accidentals, including those linked to ornaments, have the following options in the Properties panel:

Add parentheses or brackets

Toggle small accidental

Ornament style
Default sizing and spacing properties for ornaments can be edited in Format→Style…→Articulations, Ornaments.

Ornaments can be individually repositioned by clicking and dragging in the score or via the Appearance dialog in the Properties panel.

Arpeggios and glissandi

Arpeggios, strum arrows, glissandi (slide), portamento (glide), brass or woodwind instrument bends and Guitar techniques: Slide in and slide out
can be applied from the Arpeggios & Glissandi palette:

Many have an adjustable playback effect (see below).

Arpeggios
Adding an arpeggio/strum to your score

To add an arpeggio/strum to a score:

Click on any note in a chord (multiple selection is possible)';

Click on an arpeggio/strum symbol in the palette.

Alternatively you can drag an arpeggio/strum symbol from a palette onto a notehead.

Adjusting the height of an arpeggio/strum

Click on an arpeggio and two adjustment handles will appear at the top and bottom of the symbol. You can move either up or down by dragging, or
by selecting a handle and using the up/down keyboard arrows.

Creating multi-voice or cross-staff arpeggios

Arpeggios only span the voice to which they are input initially, but then can then be adjusted to span multiple voices in the same instrument, even
across multiple staves.

To adjust an arpeggio to span multiple voices:

Select either the top or bottom handle of the arpeggio

Press Shift+↑ or Shift+↓ to move the handle up or down to the next adjacent voice

The handle will jump to the next voice above or below that has any notes at that point. This includes voices on staves above or below, in the case of
multi-staff instruments.

The arpeggio is considered to 'belong' to the uppermost voice that it spans, and will be coloured accordingly.

(Prior to MuseScore 4.2, only the bottom handle could be used, to extend an arpeggio to a voice of the same numberr in the stave(s) below. Any
other adjustments had to be made manually.)
Changing playback of arpeggios

To change the speed of a selected arpeggio, press Playback in the Properties panel, and adjust "Spread delay".

If you want to turn off playback altogether, untick the "Play" box in the General section of the Properties panel.

Arpeggio style

Default properties for all arpeggios in the score can be adjusted from the style menu at Format→Style→Arpeggios:

Portamento
To add a slide or "portamento" between two notes, add a glissando symbol and change its appearance and playback setting.

To add a slide or portamento before or after a note before a note (a string instrument or guitar technique), add either one of the four brass or
woodwind instrument bends or a Guitar techniques: Slide in and slide out, see also Guitar techniques. Alternative wavy symbols are found in the
Symbols category in Master palette, those do not affect playback.

Glissandi
Note: Guitar slides are covered in Guitar techniques.

Adding a glissando to your score

Select one or more start notes;

Click on the desired glissando icon in the palette. A glissando is created extending to the next note in the same voice:

Alternatively you can drag a glissando symbol from the palette onto a notehead.

Glissandi can cross staves if needs be:

Editing range of a glissando

If required, you can change the start or end position of a glissando as follows:

Select the edit handle whose position you want to change;

Press Shift+↑/↓/←/→, to move the handle in the specified direction, one note at a time.

This method can also be used to move the edit handle between voices and across staves.

Changing appearance of glissandi

The line type of a selected glissando—whether straight or wavy—and any text associated with it, can be changed in the Glissando section of the
Properties panel. You can also turn off text by unchecking the "Show text" box.

Changing playback of glissandi

To change the playback effect, click on Playback and select an option from the dropdown list: chromatic, white keys, black keys, diatonic, portamento
(this option for glissando symbol creates a portamento between two notes, to add other types see portamento).

You can also choose to turn off the playback effect by unchecking "Play" in the General section of the Properties panel.

Glissando properties

The following properties are available in the Glissando section of the Properties panel.

Glissando line: Choose from "Straight" or "wavy".

Show text: Uncheck/Check this box to turn off/on the display of the glissando text.
Text: Specify any text to appear with the glissando.

The default style of all glissando text is determined by the settings of "Glissando" in Format→Style→Text styles.

Bends
Not to be confused with Guitar techniques: Bends.

The Arpeggios & glissandi palette also contains bend symbols for brass or woodwind instruments:
These have a playback effect on the score.

Types of bends

Fall:
Doit:
Plop:
Scoop:

if you are not sure what's what, mousing over the palette icon will display the name of the symbol in a tooltip.

Adding a bend to your score

Select a notehead;
Click on the desired bend symbol in the palette.

Alternatively, drag a bend symbol onto a notehead in the score;

Changing appearance of bends

To change the shape of the bend, click on it and four adjustment handles become visible. Drag the handles, or click on them and press the
keyboard arrows, until you get the shape you want.

Grace notes

Grace notes can be applied to the score from the Grace notes palette.

For bagpipe players there is a comprehensive range of grace notes in the Bagpipe embellishments palette.

Types of grace notes

Grace notes are small (cue-size) notes which ornament a previous or following note. They take their value from this parent note but do not
themselves count towards the measure duration.

There are several kinds:

Acciaccatura: Usually written with an oblique stroke through the note flag, or through the beam, if there is a beamed series.

Appoggiatura: A stressed note which takes half the value from the parent note.

Grace note after (trill endings):

Adding a grace note to your score

Note: For standard staves and tablature, the following instructions for adding grace notes work in both note input and normal modes.

Add grace note with keyboard shortcut

Ensure that the "parent" note is selected (multiple selection is possible in normal mode).
To apply an acciaccatura, press / (slash). For other grace notes use a custom shortcut (see Preferences: Shortcuts).

Add grace note from palette

Ensure that the "parent" note is selected (multiple selection is possible in normal mode).
Click on the desired symbol in the Grace notes palette.

Alternatively, you can drag and drop a grace note from the palette onto a note in the score.

Multiple grace notes

Sequential grace notes

You can add a run of grace notes to a selected note by repeatedly applying any of the following:

pressing the relevant keyboard shortcut (see above).

clicking on a grace note icon in a palette.
dragging and dropping a grace note from a palette onto a note.

Grace note chords

To apply a chord of grace notes:

Add a single grace note (as described above).

For standard staves use one of the following methods:
Press Shift and a note letter, A to G. This will add the corresponding note above.
Press Alt+1–9; or from the menu bar, select Add→Intervals and choose an interval from the list. This will add a note at the indicated
interval above the selected note.
You can add intervals below in the same way, but using a custom shortcut (see Preferences: Shortcuts).
For tablature, select the grace note in normal mode, then add further chord notes using the method of adding intervals in step 2.

Editing grace notes

Change duration

To edit the visual duration, click on the grace note in normal mode, and select a duration from the note input toolbar or by using a keyboard shortcut
(see Selecting duration).

Change pitch

Standard staves. To change the pitch of grace notes, use one of the methods described in Editing notes and rests.

Tablature. To change the pitch of grace notes, use one of the methods described in Changing the pitch in normal mode (tablature).

Changing playback of grace notes

[To be added?]

Grace note style

You can adjust the default size for all grace notes in Format→Styles→Sizes.

Tremolo and rolls

Types of tremolo and rolls

A Tremolo is the rapid repetition of one note or chord, or a rapid alternation between two notes or chords. The placement of tremolos is handled
automatically by the program.

Single note tremolo

For stemmed notes, the rhythmic value of the tremolo is indicated by the number of diagonal strokes through the stem. One stroke indicates that the
original note is divided into eighth notes. e.g.

Two strokes divides the note into sixteenth notes, and three strokes into thirty-second notes. On whole notes the tremolo symbol is placed above
the note.

Tremolo between notes

In traditional two-note or two-chord tremolos, incomplete beams are drawn between the notes to indicate the rhythmic value of the tremolo (to
change the style see below). One beam indicates eight notes, two beams sixteenth notes, and three beams thirty-second notes. e.g.

Buzz roll

A buzz roll symbol is also available from the Tremolos palette. However, it is notational only and currently has no playback properties.

Adding a tremolo to a single note

Click on a notehead in the score.
Click on the desired tremolo symbol in the Tremolos palette.

Adding a tremolo between notes/chords

Enter the notes at half the desired final duration of the tremolo.
Select a note in the first chord.
Click on the desired tremolo symbol in the Tremolos palette (it has to be one of the tremolo symbols without a stem).

Tremolo beams appear between the notes/chords and the appearance of the noteheads is adjusted accordingly.

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

Changing appearance of tremolos

Three styles of tremolos between notes/chords are supported in MuseScore. To change the style:

Click on the (between notes) tremolo symbol.

In the Tremolos section of the Properties panel, click on the desired style icon under “Style (between notes)”.

Other lines

Overview
Musescore Line is a type of object capable of attaching (anchoring) to a horizontal continuous range of more than two notes or rests, or vertical
collection of notes (chord). A Musescore Line object contains a length of string or arc, and optionally a text. These objects can functionally affect the
score, and share similar configurable line properties, text properties, and styles.

Musescore Line objects include these subtypes, follow the hyperlink on text to read their dedicated main chapters, or "jump to section" on this
chapter:

Standard line or Plain line (a simple general purpose, straight line) (jump to section)
Slurs
Staff text lines and System text lines (jump to section)
Hairpins and crescendo, decrescendo lines
Tempo lines such as rit --- (jump to section)
Voltas (repeat section brackets on top)
Idiomatic notation: Keyboard: Pedal markings
Octave lines (8ve etc)
(Long) Trill lines (jump to section)
Arpeggios
Glissandi (slides) and portamento between two notes
Upprall, Downprall, Prallprall, affects playback
Guitar-related lines (jump to section): including Barre line, "let ring" line, P.M. --- (palm mute), Vibrato line, and the custom Fingering/String
number-line.
vibrato sawtooth, tremolo sawtooth, does not affect playback
Ambitus (an early music feature)

These markings contain length of string or arc, but do not belong to Musescore Line objects because they cannot attach (anchor) to a continuous
range:

Bends (brass or guitar articulations)

Ties
Tremolo and rolls
Single note Ornaments such as turns, (short) trills and mordents
(Staff) Brackets and curly braces
Barlines
Staff line (To change global staff line thickness, see Page layout concepts: Staff. Other related settings see Staff/Part properties chapter.)

Note: The following description of actions and general behaviors applies to Line objects discussed here (those do not have a dedicated handbook
chapter), for Line objects having dedicated handbook chapters, refer to those chapters for more accurate info.

Adding a line to your score

The commonest way to add a new Musescore Line is to use either:

a predefined keyboard shortcut, for example S to add slurs (see the respective chapter above), or
the Lines palette and the Guitar palette

To apply a line to a selected range:

Select a range of notes,

Click on a line in a palette;

Or

Drag a line from a palette to the starting note,

Adjust the end handle to extend the range (see Changing range of a line).

To apply a line to a single note:

Select a note and click on the desired palette line.

Drag a palette line to the desired start note.

Adjusting a line
To adjust the range of a line, see Changing range of a line.

Types of lines
Standard lines

Plain lines are applied from the Lines palette. They can be purposed to anything you like such as to create guitar fingering/string number lines.
They can be adjusted to be diagonal or vertical.

Staff and System Text lines

A staff text line, like staff text, is affixed to one staff in a system, and is indicative only for that staff. It appears only in the part featuring that staff.
A system text line, like system text, is affixed to one staff but is indicative for all the staffs in the system. It appears in all instrument parts.

Tempo lines

Tempo markings such as rit --- are new in Musescore 4, they affect playback tempo.

Guitar-related lines

Barre lines in Guitar palette: Used to indicate fret positions, see Guitar techniques: Adding a barre line to your score.
To create a Fingering/String number-line:
add a Fingering from Fingerings palette,
add a Standard lines from Lines palette,
adjust the length as required.
Vibrato in the Guitar palette. You can change the shape of the line in the Vibrato section of the Properties panel.
Palm mute in the Guitar palette: Changes playback sound to that of a clean muted electric guitar.
Let ring in the Guitar palette: Affect playback, acts like the sustain pedal on a keyboard.

Trill lines

Not to be confused with (short) trills Ornaments.

Trill lines are upgraded in Musescore 4, their have lots of new engraving settings such as showing a bracketed small note and accidentals to notate
trill note pitch, these settings are explained in Ornaments.

They still create playback with SoundFonts instruments like in previous Musescore versions. If the instrument use Muse Sounds and the sound
sample exists, a trill line will utilize the beautifully recorded trill audio for playback, for example in case of a perfect fifth trill line.

Line properties
The Properties panel allows you to view and edit General, Appearance, and Playback settings.

The name of the section below varies depending on the type of line. But it will have two tabs marked Style and Text:

Style tab

Clicking on the Style tab allows you to set the properties of the line itself:

Line type: A choice of straight, hooked, angle-hooked, or double-hooked.

Thickness / Hook height:
Style: Choice of solid, dashed or dotted line.
Dash / Gap: Adjust the appearance if "Dashed" is selected.

Text tab

Clicking on the Text tab allows you to apply and position any text associated with the line:

Beginning text: Enter the text, if any, to appear at the beginning of the line.
Vertical offset: Allows you to move the text vertically in relation to the line (in sp.).
Text when continuing to a new system: If the line spans a system, this is the text that will appear before the line in the next system.
Vertical offset: As above.

Line style
See Templates and styles

Values of the "Style for Text line" can be edited in Format→Style→Text line.
Values of the "Style for System text line" can be edited in Format→Style→System text line.
Values of the "Style for text inside Text line" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Text line
Other symbols
The Symbols palette is a category within the Master palette and houses all symbols and text from all built-in music fonts.

Unlike other categories in the Master palette, items in the Symbols palette are non-functional: they are for display purposes only and have no other
effect on the score.

You should find most symbols and text items you need for scoring in the Palettes panel—use of the Symbols palette should be reserved for
specialist items not available in the small palettes, or on those occasions when you really do need a non-functional element.

The Symbols palette

View

To view the Symbols palette, select View→Master Palette, or use the shortcut Shift+F9.

Selecting “Symbols” in the list of headings reveals all symbols under all subcategories. Selecting one subcategory to focus on a specific set.

Search

You can search for a symbol by entering a term in the Search box at the top of the Symbols section. Specify the musical font you want in the
dropdown at the bottom right.

Adding symbols to your score

Symbols added from the Symbols palette scale in line with the score (see Staff size), but their font-size is fixed.

If you need a symbol with an adjustable font-size, you should consider adding it instead from the Special characters palette as staff text.

Add a symbol

Use one of the following methods:

Select one or more score elements (notes, rests, barlines) then click on the desired symbol in the Symbols palette.
Drag the desired symbol from the Symbols palette onto a score element (note, rest, barline).

Add to other symbols

After adding a symbol, you can, if required, add an additional symbol to the existing one. Use one of the following:

Select a symbol (previously added to the score from the Symbols palette), then click on the desired symbol in the Symbols palette.
Drag the desired symbol onto the existing symbol in the score.

Reposition symbols

To reposition, you can drag the symbol, or edit the offsets in the Apprearance section of the Properties panel. You can also move the symbol using
the keyboard arrows—after selecting it and entering edit mode by pressing Alt+Shift+E or F2.

If two symbols have been joined together (see Add to other symbols, above), moving the first-added symbol moves both. However you can still
move the second symbol in relation to the first.

See also

Using the palettes for information about how to search for and apply palette items to the score.
Working with images for how to apply images to your score.

Notation: Repeats
Repeat signs

A repeat sign looks like a double barline with a dot above and below the center line of the staff (see image below). It is used to enclose repeated
sections of the score.

Adding repeat signs to your score

Simple repeats

Place a start repeat barline at the beginning of the repeated section and an end repeat barline at the end.

If the start of the repeat section coincides with the beginning of the piece there is no need for a start repeat barline.

Multiple ending repeats

See Voltas, for repeat sections with multiple endings.

Changing playback of repeat signs

To change the number of times the repeat section is played, adjust the Play count of the final measure in the Measure properties dialog.

Ignore Repeat barlines, Jumps, Markers playback by unchecking Play toolbar : Cogwheel → Play repeats, see Playback controls chapter.

Changing appearance of repeat signs

Select a barline on a score

Do any of these as required

Edit values in Properties panel.

Drag the square handle (see image below) to extent vertically all barlines across the score.
Ctrl + drag the square handle to extent vertically the selected barline only.

Repeat properties

Select a barline on a score

UnderProperties panel : Barline:
Style: leave it as "--", do not edit.
Repeat style: winged tip.
Other items: see Barlines chapter.

Repeat style
See the main chapter Templates and styles

Values of the "Style for Barlines" can be edited in Format→Style→Barlines. Specify thickness, distance etc.
Voltas
Volta brackets are lines above the staff used to mark different endings for a repeat section. Musescore creates correct playback. Shown below is an
example, the repeat section is played once through with the ending marked "1", then a second time with the ending marked "2".

Adding voltas to your score

Make sure that repeat barlines are in the correct position;
To apply the Volta bracket use one of the following:
Select a measure and click on the desired line in the Lines palette, or
Drag a line from a palette onto a measure

Changing appearance of voltas

Select a volta in the score
Under Properties panel Volta section,
Open the Style tab, edit the line appearance, see Other lines : Line properties chapter.
Open the Text tab, edit the text appearance, see Entering and editing text and Formatting text chapters. Text is for indication only and does
not affect playback.

To change the time range covered, see Changing range of a line chapter.

Changing playback of voltas

Select a volta in the score
Under Properties panel Volta section, open the Style tab, enable playback of music passage under this volta by editing Repeat list.
For example, enter "1" to enable playback of this music passage only for the first time, it is skipped during the repeat; enter "2" to enable
playback of this music passage only for the repeat.
A series of numbers joined with commas can be used, such as "1,2,3" .
Remember to edit Measure properties : Play count accordingly. Measure with the end repeat barline must have a Play count value that is
equal to the total number of times of playback of this measure + 1 or more. The total number of times of playback of a measure is usually the
amount of Repeat list entries. See example below. For example, if Repeat list is "1,7,9", then Play count should be "4".

The End hook property affects playback.

To change the time range covered, see Changing range of a line chapter.

Ignore Repeat barlines, Jumps, Markers playback by unchecking Play toolbar : Cogwheel → Play repeats, see Playback controls chapter.

Example of a complex Volta setting

Download example mscz file :

Measure 3 should have play count set to 4

Measure 5 should have play count set to 3

This example plays back as: 1-3, 1-2,4-5, 1-3, 1-3, 1-2,4-5, 1-2,6-8

Volta properties
Select a volta in the score
 Under Properties panel Volta section, there are two tabs, Style tab and Text tab, their usage are covered in the sections above. The End
hook property affects playback.

Voltas style
See the main chapter Templates and styles

Values of the "Style for Volta" can be edited in Format→Style→Volta.

Values of the "Style for text inside Volta" can be edited in Format→Style→Text Style→Volta.

Jumps and markers

Jumps and markers are used to create repeated sections in a score.

Types of jumps and markers

Jump object that act as a jumping point:

D.C. (Da Capo): Repeat from the beginning.

D.S. (Dal segno): Repeat from Segno marker.
D.C. al Fine : Repeat from the beginning up to Fine.
D.S. al Fine : Repeat from Segno marker up to Fine.
D.C. al Coda : Repeat from the beginning up to To Coda, then continue at Coda.
D.S. al Coda : Repeat from Segno marker up to To Coda, then continue at Coda.

Marker object that act as both a jumping point, and a labelled time position:

To Coda: To used as jumping point to Coda marker, it must be used together with D.C. al Coda or D.S. al Coda. Its default label property is
"coda".

Marker object that act as a labelled time position only:

Fine: To indicate the end, it must be used with D.C. al Fine or D.S. al Fine .

Coda: . Its default label property is "codab".

Segno: .

Adding a jump or marker to your score

Use one of the following methods

Select a measure, then click the desired repeat symbol in the Repeats and jumps palette.
Drag and drop a repeat symbol from the palette onto the desired measure.

Changing appearance of jumps and markers

Jumps and markers are Text objects. To edit text see Entering and editing text and Formatting text chapter. Segno, Capo symbols are glyphs that
can be added from the special character window. Segno, Capo glyphs use Format → Score : Musical symbols font, see Musescore 3
handbook Fonts chapter.

Changing playback of jumps and markers

Ignore Repeat barlines, Jumps, Markers playback by unchecking Play toolbar : Cogwheel → Play repeats, see Playback controls chapter.

Jump and marker properties

Select Jump(s) or Marker(s) on a score.

Under the Properties panel Jump and Marker sections:
Label: internal program text used for jumping, make sure it matches with the text in the jump starting object. Not to be confused with
appearance text, see "Changing appearance of jumps and markers" section.
Jump to: enter a target label
Play until: enter a target label
 Continue at: enter a target label
Play repeats: play with Repeat signs after jumping.

Jump and marker style

See the main chapter Templates and styles

Values of the "Musical symbols font" can be edited in Format→Style→Score.

Values of the "Style for text inside Repeat text left" can be edited in Format→Style→Text Style→Repeat text left. Use by Segno, Capo.
Values of the "Style for text inside Repeat text right" can be edited in Format→Style→Text Style→Repeat text right. Use by others.

Measure and multi-measure repeats

A measure repeat symbol indicates that the previous measure is to be repeated. Two- and four-measure repeat symbols indicate the repetition of
the previous two or four measures.

Adding a measure or multi-measure repeat to your score

To apply a measure repeat symbol, select a measure in the score and click on the measure repeat icon in the Repeats & Jumps palette. Or drag
the symbol on to a measure.

To apply a two- or four-measure repeat symbol, select the first blank measure following the section you want repeated, then click on the applicable
measure repeat icon in the Repeats & Jumps palette. Alternatively, drag the repeat icon from the palette onto the same blank measure instead.

Note: You may need to click the More icon in the palette to reveal the two- and four-measure repeat symbols.

In the case of multiple-measure repeats a "Group measures" symbol appears above and between measures. This keeps the measures together on
the same system, where possible, in case of any automatic layout changes in the score. This symbol can be deleted if desired.

Measure repeat properties

Number position in the Measure repeat section of the Properties panel, allows you to edit the vertical offset of the number above the measure.

Measure repeat style

Properties of all measure repeats in the score can be set from Format→Style…→Measure repeats:

Repeat playback

Turning repeat playback on and off

By default, repeats are always played. If you want to turn off repeat playback,

Click on the Cog button in the Play toolbar

Uncheck "Play repeats".

Idiomatic notation: Keyboard

Pedal

For Harp Pedal see Idiomatic notation: Harp instead.

Types of pedal markings

This chapter focuses on the types of piano pedal engraving available, for knowledge of various piano pedals see wikipedia article .
In terms of visual representation

Supported engravings including:

Line at either or both ends, have no hook or hooks at angles of either 45 or 90 degrees, or "T" end;
Ped. followed by such a line, or a rosette symbol (*): The line from the built-in Ped. * palette item is invisible and non-printing. Adjust on-
screen display with View menu > Show > Show invisible setting accordingly, see The user interface. To convert the line to visible in printing,
or style it as dashed, see properties.

Other related symbols and pictogram can be found under Symbols category in Master palette window, see Other symbols. Sost. (sostenuto
pedal) marking should not be confused with sost.-- Tempo markings, see also discussion on steinberg.net .

Create custom sim. or pedal ad lib marking with Staff text.

Full pedal is implied for playback, embed images to add pedal strength symbols for engraving need.

In terms of function inside Musescore

There are three different subtypes:

Type 1 includes:

Line with 45 degree angled End hook or no End hook, with or without Ped. beginning text.
Ped. followed by a rosette symbol (*)

Visually, the line or symbol only extends horizontally to the notehead attached to the end anchor.
Functionally, if that note is attached to another marking's start anchor, the following marking will automatically connect and make a shape
resembling "-^-", which is indicative of the piano technique "pedal released and pressed again without releasing this note".

shown above is the auto connect, their playback are also in line with the piano technique
If the instrument use SoundFonts such as "MS Basic", or when exported as MIDI file, sustain (MIDI CC 64) is created. When consecutive type 1
markings create a "-^-", playback matches the piano technique, the first marking is interpreted by synthesizer as released at the note attached to
the end anchor. Single or trailing type 1 markings creates playback like type 2: sustain until the note attached to the end anchor ends.
The last two type 1 markings shown above are single or trailing, they create the same playback as type 2

Type 2 includes:

Line other than described in Type 1, with or without Ped. beginning text.

Visually, the line extends horizontally to an aprpopiate length spanning the full duration of note attached to the end anchor.
Functionally, if the instrument use SoundFonts such as "MS Basic", or when exported as MIDI file, sustain (MIDI CC 64) is created. Type 2 always
sustain until the note attached to the end anchor ends.

Type 1 and 2 are interchangable by adjusting properties.

Type 3 includes the sostenuto pedal marking and custom Staff texts, they are for engraving purpose only and are non-functional.

Adding pedal markings to your score

shown above a type 2 marking on score

Add pedal markings from Lines palette, see Other lines:Adding a line to your score.

Adjust with Shift+←/→, switch handle with Tab, see Adjusting elements directly: Changing the range of a line.

Unfortunately, you might need to make compromise with engraving style or not notate at all if you must create a desired playback, because of the
functional limitation of Type 1 and Type 2 explained. As of Musescore 4.1.1, pedal marking always create sustain playback only (cannot be turned
off), making it impossible to use "add redundant symbol, make it invisible" trick.

To create shape resembling "-^-" with consecutive Type 1 markings, make sure the end anchor is attached correctly, which is usually to the first
note of the next measure instead of the last note of the previous measure. This big picture shows the correct end anchor result.

MuseScore 4.1.1 does not offer keyboard shortcut bindings to palette items, the keyboard shortcut key available in Musescore 3 that you can use to
re-apply the same (last used) palette item is removed (not reimplemented yet).

Creating pedal changes

Not to be confused with Harp pedal change

Use type 1 markings, explained in "adding marking" section.

For issues related to MusicXML direction import / export, there are upcoming changes in Musescore 4.2, see forum discussion
https://musescore.org/en/node/356899 [please feel free to update info here]

Pedal properties
Select pedal marking(s), in Properties panel Pedal section, Line properties can be set, the extra option available to pedal marking is "Show line
with rosette" checkbox under Style tab, tick it to make the default line visible in printing and exporting.

Pedal style
See Templates and styles

Values of the "Style for Pedal" can be edited in Format→Style→Pedal.

Values of the "Style for text inside Pedal" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Pedal
See also Line style.

Cross-staff notation

Creating cross-staff notation

First of all, enter the notation on one staff only.

Select a note in the voice that you wish to move up or down to the other staff. e.g.

Press Ctrl+Shift+↓/↑ (Mac: Cmd+Shift+↓/↑), to move the voice up or down to the other staff. Alternatively, you can click on the cross-staff icon
in the note input toolbar and choose the same options from the context menu.

Note: This operation works on a voice basis, rather than on individual notes. It follows that if you want to ensure that notes remain on the
same staff during the operation, they should be in a different voice to the one selected above. Be aware that notes which have been moved to
a different staff still belong logically to the staff of origin. This is why no rest is shown in the place where the moved notes originated.

Changing appearance of cross-staff notation

To adjust the beam angle and height, click on the beam, then click on an adjustment handle and use the keyboard arrows, or drag the handle with a
mouse. e.g.
Alternatively you can make more precise adjustments from the beam section of the Properties panel.

See also

How to span a chord or stem over two staves

Accordion notation
[work in progress, please add missing info]

See Accordion notation and playback tutorial.

accordion symbols are literally just symbol from the Symbols, but there is a dedicated palette for them
we could consider eliminating this page
we could also consider adding one for harp

Adding accordion symbols to your score

Idiomatic notation: Guitar

Fretboard diagrams

Fretboard (or Chord) diagrams usually appear above the staff on lead sheets and piano scores:

They are commonly used for guitar chords, but MuseScore allows you to create diagrams for any stringed instrument.

A library of common guitar chord diagrams (major, minor and 7th) is provided in the Fretboard Diagrams palette.

To reveal the chord name of any diagram in the palette, hover the cursor over it.

Adding a fretboard diagram to your score

Use one of the following methods:

Select one or more notes, then click a fretboard diagram in the palette.
Drag and drop a fretboard diagram from a palette on to a note.

Chord symbols linked to fretboard diagrams

When any of the preset diagrams is applied to the score, a chord symbol is automatically placed above it. This linked chord symbol has the same
properties as a stand-alone chord symbol and can be edited and moved as such.

The default placement of a chord symbol in relation to its parent diagram is controlled by the “Distance to Fretboard Diagram” property (set in
Format→Style…→Chord Symbols→Positioning). This value interacts with the chord symbol Minimum distance (to view, press Appearance in
the Properties panel). Adjust the diagram’s position manually if you need to override this.

A linked chord symbol can be deleted independently of its parent diagram. You can also add a new linked chord symbol to a fretboard diagram: see
Entering a chord symbol.

Note: Neither fretboard diagrams nor their linked chord symbols are affected by transposition commands.

Creating a custom fretboard diagram

Select an existing fretboard diagram in the score; or add one from the Fretboard diagrams palette.
Ensure that the Properties panel is open (toggle F8).
Edit the properties in the Settings tab as required.
In the General tab, apply the following instructions to the fretboard image, as required:
Remove all dots: Click the Clear button above the diagram.
Add a finger dot: Click on a fret. The shape of the dot is determined by the Marker type setting. If Multiple dots is checked you can
add more than one dot per string.
Delete dot: Click on an existing dot.
 Add barre / partial barre: If "Barre" is unchecked, press Shift and click on the string fret where you want the barre to begin. If Barre is
checked simply click on the fret. e.g.

Add partial barre ending before first string: Create a standard barre first (see previous instruction). Then shorten it by Shift clicking (if
Barre is disabled); or clicking (if Barre is enabled) the fret where you want the barre to end. e.g.

Delete a barre: With Barre disabled, Shift click on the "top" of the barre. With Barre enabled, just click on the "top".
Create multiple barres: Repeat the above steps at different fret positions.
Open / Mute strings: Click just above the diagram to toggle a string between:
No symbol
Open (o)
Mute/Unplayed (X)

Note: See also Fretboard diagram properties (below).

Finger markers

The default finger marker is a round black dot, which suffices for standard chord (and scale) diagrams. However a number of other shapes are
provided—cross, square and triangle—to enable other notation styles.

Alternative notation styles

Some arrangers and educators have extended the basic form of the fretboard diagram, incorporating finger dots of various shapes, and allowing
multiple dots per string. Jazz guitarist Ted Greene and his successors are notable examples.

Multi-dot notation style. With this approach, the chord signified by round dots on the fretboard diagram is played first (see image below). Then, on
successive beats marked by chord symbols, the chord fingering is modified to incorporate other shapes on the same diagram; the usual playing
order is: dot → X → square → delta, but this can vary.

Optional-note notation style. Another use of multiple dots per string allows other symbols to show optional notes, rather than delayed notes:

Fretboard diagram appearance

Select a chord diagram and click on Appearance in the Properties sidebar.

Edit the following properties as desired:

Leading: The leading space.

Measure width:
Min distance: Minimum distance from the staff.
Offset: Move the diagram horizontally or vertically.
Snap to grid:
Arrange: Backward or forward.
Color: Click on this button to change the color of a selected chord diagram.

Fretboard diagram properties

When a fretboard diagram is selected, its properties are viewable in the Properties tab of the sidebar as follows:

General (tab)

Barre: Check if you want to add or delete finger barres with one click on the fretboard image below. If unchecked, barres are added by Shift
clicking instead.
Multiple dots: If unchecked you can only add one finger dot per string. If checked you can add multiple dots per string.
Marker type: When you click on the fretboard image the shape of the dot added is determined by this property. This allows you to add a
variety of shapes if desired.
Clear: Clears everything leaving an empty fretboard.

Settings (tab)

Scale: Allows you to make the fingerboard larger or smaller.

Strings: The number of strings to be displayed.
Visible frets: Specifies the number of displayed frets: these are added, or removed, from the bottom of the diagram.
Fret number: Specifies the fret number to be displayed at the top left/right of the diagram.
Placement on staff: Positions the diagram above or below the staff.
Show nut: Check the box to embolden the nut. Applies to first position diagrams only.

At the bottom of the Fretboard diagram section of the sidebar is an image of the selected fretboard diagram. Any changes made to this image are
automatically applied to the fretboard diagram in the score as well.

Fretboard diagram style

Global fretboard diagram properties can be set in Format→Style…→Fretboard Diagrams:

See also
Customizing palette contents

Guitar techniques

Adding a tremolo bar symbol to your score

Tremolo bar symbols are available from the Guitar palette (look for the oversized "V") and are applied and adjusted in a similar way to bend
symbols (above)—with a similar graphical interface in the "Tremolo" bar section of Properties.

You can choose from a range of presets in "Tremolo bar type", or create your own custom one.
Adding a slide to your score
Slides can be found in the Arpeggios and glissandi palette. They are of two types:

Glissando-type slides: these run from one note or chord to the next.

In / Out slides: played before or after a note; these can be slide-up or slide down.

By default, slides have a playback effect on the score. You can turn this off by unchecking "Play" in the General section of the Properties panel.

Add a slide

Use one of the following methods:

Select one or more notes as start points, then click the desired slide icon in the palette.
Drag the desired slide from the palette onto a note.

In the case of in-between slides going from one chord to the next, the program will attempt to link the correct notes where possible. If further
adjustment is required, see below.

Edit properties

For in-between slides, the following properties can be adjusted in the Glissando section of the Properties panel.

Type: Choose between Straight or Wavy.

Show text: Tick this box to display text. Note: If there isn't enough room between notes, the text is not displayed.
Text: The wording displayed above the slide (if any).

Adjust start and end points of a slide

In-between slides:

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

Select the slide.

Click on the start or end handle:
Use Shift+↑↓ to move the handle up or down, from note to note.
Use Shift+←→ moves the handle horizontally, from note to note.

Slides in/out:

To adjust the position of the end handle:

Select the slide.

Click on the adjustment handle.
Drag the handle, or use the keyboard arrows.

Adding a barre line to your score

A Barre lines is a text-line drawn above a guitar staff to indicate that the passage requires a full or half barre. Symbols such as the following are
commonly found in guitar music:

Full bar (2nd fret):

Half barre (2nd fret):

The C before the roman numerals can be omitted and other variations in line style and text are possible—according to the publisher.

To apply a barre:

Click on the start note for the barre, then shift click on the end note to establish the range.
Click on the "Capo Line" symbol in the Guitar palette.
Customize the line and text as required. See Line properties (Other lines).

To adjust the length of a line, see Changing range of a line.

Adding hammer-on and pull-off symbols to your score

Hammer-ons and pull-offs are notated by slurs. If you need text annotations as well, create them using staff text; they can be saved to a palette for
future use (see Adding elements from your score).

Notating harmonics
Standard staff

A natural harmonic can be notated in one of three ways:

 At the pitch of the open string on which it is produced. For example, harmonics on the third string appear as:

At the pitch of the string fret at which it is produced. The same harmonics now appear as:

At concert pitch. The same harmonics now appear as:

An annotation, such as "Nat. Har.", "N.H.", "Har.", is usually attached, as well as string and fret numbers; the notehead may be standard or
diamond-shaped, and rendered clear rather than black; fret numbers may be Arabic or Roman, and so on.

Fixing Playback: If harmonics do not play back at the correct pitch, mute them and create a hidden voice containing the harmonics at concert pitch.

See also, How to Read Harmonic Notation on the Classical Guitar (douglasniedt.com).

Tablature

A natural harmonic in tablature may be rendered simply as a fretmark, or may be followed by a dot, or enclosed in a diamond, or a pair of angled
brackets. e.g.

To create a pair of angled brackets:

Select a harmonic and add staff text.

Enter a "single left-pointing angle quotation mark" (U2039), then a space, then a "single right-pointing angle quotation mark" (U203A).
Move the text so it sits over the fretmark;
Adjust the font size of the staff text and the space inside it to just enclose the harmonic.
Save it to a palette for future use.

Staff/Tablature pairs

You should ensure that the staff/tab pairs are not linked, since you need to be able to edit each staff independently of the other.

Notating guitar fingering

The types of guitar fingering and how to apply them are explained in Fingering.

Adding a bend symbol to your score

Not to be confused with brass or woodwind instrument bends.
This section shows old instructions for using Bends in MuseScore 4.0 to Musescore 4.1. For users of MuseScore 4.2 and above versions, see
the Guitar bends chapter.

Apply a bend

Bends are created with the Bend Tool located in the Guitar palette. To apply one or more bends to the score, use one of the following options:

Select one or more notes and click the bend symbol in the palette.
Drag the bend symbol from the palette on to a note.

A default bend is created in the score. You can modify this bend or choose from a range of alternatives using “Bend type” in the Bends section of
the Properties panel.

Edit a bend

Bend shape and length can be edited in the graphical display in the Bends section of the Properties panel:

Each red line segment between blue nodes represents one step in the bend, and each step extends horizontally for 1 sp. in the score. The slope of
any line shows whether it is an up-bend, a down-bend or a hold. So the above graph describes an up bend, then a hold—total length 2sp.

The vertical axis of the graph represents the amount by which the pitch is bent up or down: one unit (the side of a small square) equals a quarter-
tone, 2 units a semitone, 4 units a whole-tone, and so on.
To add another step to a bend

add another node by clicking on the appropriate line intersection.

To delete a bend step

click on the relevant node to remove it.

Adjust bend height

The height of the bend is automatically adjusted so that any text appears just above the staff. This height can be adjusted, if necessary, with a
workaround:

Create another note vertically above the note (shortening the height) or below the note (extending the height) at which you want the bend to
start.
Apply the bend to the new note.
To adjust the height of the bend move this created note vertically so that the bend symbol gets the desired height.
Drag the bend symbol to the correct position (to the original note).
Mark the created note invisible and silent (using the Properties panel).

Reposition bend

Bends can be freely repositioned using the methods shown in Changing position of elements.

Creating a tablature staff

Overview
Music for fretted, stringed instruments is commonly notated using tablature (often abbreviated as tab); this gives a visual representation of the
strings and fret numbers. Tablature is frequently found in combination with traditional staff notation.

Types of tablature staves

A variety of tablature templates for common instruments are supplied. If this isn't quite what you're looking for, you can easily change the template
(see Changing tablature staff type), and/or customize the staff (see Tablature: customization).

Adding a tablature staff to your score

There are three possibilities:

Create tablature as part of a new score.

Add tablature to an existing score.
Change an existing staff from standard to tablature.

Add tablature using the New Score dialog

To create tablature as part of a new score:

Open the New Score dialog.

Select the required tablature from either the Choose Instruments or Create from template tabs.
Complete the rest of the New Score dialog.

Add tablature using the "Add or remove Instruments" dialog

To create a tablature staff in an existing score:

In the Instruments panel, click on the Add button; or press the shortcut key, I. This brings up the Add or remove instruments dialog.
Click on the Strings – Plucked family and choose the desired tablature from the Instruments column.
Press OK.

Change an existing staff from standard to tablature

Make sure that the standard staff contains a plucked string instrument;
Use one of the methods described under Changing tablature staff type.

Creating paired standard and tablature staves

Music for the guitar (and other plucked-string instruments) is often notated using paired standard and tablature staves. In MuseScore, the staves
can be either linked or unlinked.

Linked: Any change you make to the notation in one staff automatically updates the other.
 Unlinked: Each staff is edited independently. To update the other staff, copy and paste the relevant music notation.

Note : In both cases, the staff/tablature pair shares the same instrument.

Create paired standard/tab staves using the New Score Wizard

There are two ways to do this when creating a new score (A or B):

A. For linked staves only:

Open the New Score Wizard.

In the "Create from template" tab, click on the "Solo" category and choose the "Guitar + Tablature" .
Complete the rest of the New Score wizard.
Change the instrument type, if required, in Staff / Part properties.
Change the tablature type, if required (see Changing tablature staff type).

B. For linked or unlinked staves:

Open the New Score Wizard.

In the "Choose instruments" tab, click on the "Strings – Plucked" family, and select a staff option from the "Instruments" column.
Complete the rest of the wizard.
Add the desired staff using the Instruments panel.

Create paired standard/tab staves using the Instruments dialog

Use this method when you want to add to an existing score:

Open the Add or remove instruments dialog: press I; or, alternatively, the Add button in the Instruments sidebar
Click on the Strings – Plucked family and choose the desired staff from the Instruments column.
Press OK.
Add the desired tablature from the Instruments panel.

Note: If you already have one staff of a standard/tab pair in your score, you can simply add the missing staff from the Instruments panel. See
Adding and configuring staves.

Entering and editing tablature notation

Computer keyboard entry

In normal mode, select a measure, or note/rest.
Switch to note input mode: the cursor appears as a small “blue rectangle” on the currently "active" string.
Select the duration (see below) of the note or rest to be entered.
Press the up/down arrow keys to move the cursor between strings. Use the left/right arrow keys to navigate through the score.
Press a number from 0 to 9 to enter a fret mark from 0 to 9. To enter double digit numbers press each digit in sequence (Note: You cannot
enter a number higher than the “Number of frets” value set in the Edit String Data dialog).
Press ; (semicolon) to enter a rest of the selected duration.
To enter grace notes, see Grace notes.
You can enter notes in different voices if required—just as you would in a standard staff.

Note for period instrument tablature: A to K (skipping I) can also be used to enter numbers 0 to 9. In French tablature the corresponding letters
appear instead; for L, M, N, you need to type respectively 10, 11, 12.

See also, Editing notes and rests" (below).

Mouse entry
Enter note input mode and select the note or rest duration (see below).
Click on a string and MuseScore will enter a 0 which means "open string." (For French tablatures MuseScore enters an a. )
You can immediately type a single or double digit number to replace the 0. (Note: You cannot enter a number higher than the “Number of frets”
value set in the Edit String Data dialog).
You can also increase/decrease the fret mark using Alt+Shift+↑; or, Alt+Shift+↓.
You can enter notes in different voices if required—just as you would in a standard staff.

See also, Editing notes and rests" (below).

Selecting note duration

Whether you are using a keyboard or mouse, you can set note duration using one of the following:

Press Shift+0 up to Shift+9: to set duration from a 128th note to a longa (availability of these shortcuts may depend on the platform and/or
keyboard layout);
Press NumPad 0 to 9: to set duration from a 128th note to a longa (if a numeric keypad exists and NumLock is on);
Click on the desired note duration icon in the Note Input toolbar above the document window;
Press Q to decrease the selected duration and W to increase it.

Note: This applies to note input mode only. If you want to change the duration of a selected note in normal mode see Changing duration in
normal mode.

Period tablature notation

MuseScore also supports tablature notation for period instruments such as the renaissance and baroque lutes, Theorbo etc. There are a number of
notation systems in use (French, Italian, German, Spanish), but the most common is French.
French tablature features 6 lines representing the top 6 courses. Instead of numbers, fretmarks are indicated by letters—as explained above. Any
notes on bass courses below the 6th string (fretted or unfretted) are represented by symbols in the space underneath the 6th line of tablature.

To enter symbols below the 6th course:

In note input mode, move the cursor until it is in the space below the 6th line. Press ↓ to move the cursor to the next lowest course and so on.
As you do so a "cue mark" appears at the left side of the cursor to show you which course is active:

Cue mark Number of course Fretmark entered automatically for unstopped course
no cue 7 a
/ 8 /a
// 9 //a
/// 10 ///a
4 11 4
5 12 5
6 13 6
7 14 7

Conversely you can return to a higher course by pressing ↑, and the cue mark changes accordingly.
2. If the selected course is fretted simply enter a fretmark in note input mode (as shown above). If the selected course is unstopped press any note
key in note input mode and MuseScore will automatically enter the correct zero fretmark (see table above).

Editing tablature notation

Changing the pitch

In note input mode:

Position the cursor over the fret mark and type the desired number.
Increment or decrement the fret mark using Alt+Shift+↑; or, Alt+Shift+↓ (The fret mark automatically changes strings, if necessary, to achieve
the lowest possible fret position).

In normal mode:

Select one or more fret marks.

Use any of the following commands:
To increment or decrement, without changing the string: Press ↑/↓.
To increment or decrement, changing strings, when possible, to minimize the fret number: Press Alt+Shift+↑/↓.

Note: The fret mark cannot be higher than the “Number of frets” value set in the Edit String Data dialog.

Moving the fretmark to a different string

To move the fret mark to an adjacent string without changing the pitch:

In note input mode:

Position the cursor over a fret mark, and press Ctrl+↑/↓ (Mac: Cmd+↑/↓).

In normal mode:

Use one of the following methods:

Select one or more fret marks, and press Ctrl+↑/↓ (Mac: Cmd+↑/↓).
Drag a fret mark up or down to an adjacent string.

Note: This operation can only proceed if the relevant string is free and can produce that note.

Changing the duration

See Changing duration in normal mode.

Crosshead/Ghost notes

To change a fret mark to a crosshead/ghost note:

Select one or more fret marks (in normal mode).

Press Shift+X to toggles ghost noteheads on/off.

Customizing a tablature staff

Changing tuning
Right-click on the staff and select Staff/Part Properties…
 Press the Edit String Data… button at the bottom of the dialog box. This opens the String Data dialog:

Under Strings tuning, click on a string pitch and select Edit String…; Alternatively, just double-click the string pitch.
Select a new pitch in the Note Selection box and click OK. Alternatively, just double-click the new pitch.
Click OK to close the “String Data” dialog box.
Click OK to close the Staff/Part Properties dialog.

Notes: (1) If the tuning is changed on a tab staff that already contains some notes, fret marks will be adjusted automatically (if possible); (2) Any
change of tuning to a particular instrument applies only to the score at hand, and does not change any program default settings.

Adding or removing strings

Add a string

Right-click on the staff and select Staff/Part Properties…

Click on Edit String Data…
Click on a string pitch and select New String…
Select the new pitch and press OK; alternatively, just double-click the new pitch.

The new string is inserted below the selected string. You will also need to adjust the number of lines in Staff/Part properties→Advanced style
properties.

Delete a string

Right-click on the staff, select Staff/Part Properties…

Click on Edit String Data…
Click on a string pitch and press Delete String.

Note: After deleting a tablature string you will also need to adjust the number of lines in Staff/Part properties→Advanced style properties.

Mark unfretted string “open”

For an instrument such as the Baroque lute, this feature is used to mark a bass course as unstopped—i.e. always played open like a harp string.
This means that only a fret mark indicating a zero fret can be displayed.

To mark a bass course as unstopped:

Right-click on the staff, and select Staff/Part Properties...

Click on Edit String Data…
Check the required boxes in the Open column.

See also Period tablature notation.

Change number of instrument frets

This property defines the maximum fret number which can be entered on a tablature staff.

Right-click on the staff, and select Staff/Part Properties…

Click on Edit String Data…
Select or enter a new number using the “Number of frets” spinner.

Changing tablature staff type

MuseScore provides a range of common tablature types. If you want to change the tablature type, choose one of two options:

Change staff type from Instruments panel

 Ensure that the Instruments panel is visible (toggle F7).

Click on the arrow next to the instrument name to reveal the staves.
Click on the edit cog next to the desired staff and choose an option from the "Staff type" dropdown.
To close, press Esc, or click outside the dialog.

Change staff type from Staff/Part properties

Right-click onto an empty area of the staff and select Staff/Part Properties….
Click on Advanced Style properties, select the desired option from "Template", then press < Reset to Template. You can fine tune the display if
necessary using the "Fret Marks" and "Note Values" tabs.
Click OK twice to exit.

Note: For customization options in detail, see Customizing appearance of tablature (below).

You will find the terms "simple", "common" and "full" in the tablature type names:

Simple: Displays just fretmarks.

Common: Displays fretmarks, rests, stems and beams.
Full: Displays fretmarks; rests, stems and beams, half-note stems.

Customizing appearance of tablature

Tablature staff properties

Right click on the staff and select Staff/Part Properties…

Click on Advanced Style Properties….

This gives you access to a full range of tablature customization options. See Staff properties: Tablature options.

Tablature staff style

Global settings are set in Format→Style→Tablature styles.

Applying capos

Overview
A capo is a device that can be clamped onto the fretboard of a fretted stringed instrument, such as the guitar. The capo effectively shortens the
strings, which makes the instrument play in a higher key than it normally would.
MuseScore allows you to emulate this effect by adding a Capo marking to an instrument staff (or staves). This automatically transposes playback to
the desired pitch while keeping the notes, or fretmarks, unchanged. Partial capos, where only some strings are shortened, are also possible (see
below).

Applying a capo to your score

The capo element is available in the Guitar palette, which is hidden by default.

To find the capo element:

Click the Search Palettes button at the top of the palettes, or use the shortcut Ctrl+F9 (macOS: Cmd+F9).
Type "capo".

Alternatively, to permanently reveal the Guitar palette:

Click Add palettes

Click the Add button next to Guitar

Note: The Add palettes dialog is not currently accessible to screen readers, so blind users must use the first method (via search).

To apply a capo to a staff:

In the score, select the note or rest where you want to add a capo marking.
In the Guitar palette, select the Capo element.
“Capo 1” text is added to the score, and a Capo settings popup dialog appears next to it.
Adjust the capo's settings in the popup dialog (see below).

Adjusting capo settings

The Capo settings popup dialog appears when you add a new capo marking or select an existing capo marking in the score.

Note: Keyboard users can press Tab to focus the Capo settings popup after it has appeared, and then use the arrow keys to navigate the available
settings. If you press Tab a second time the popup will disappear. To get it back, simply deselect the capo marking with Alt+Left, reselect it with
Alt+Right, and then press Tab to focus the popup.

Turning capo on or off

Select On at the top of the Capo settings dialog to indicate that a capo should be added to the instrument.
Select Off to indicate that the capo should be removed from the instrument and return playback to the original key.

By default, if you select Off the text in the score will change to read "No capo".

Setting capo fret position

The number in the Fret spinner refers to the fret where the capo should be applied. For example, fret 1 transposes the key up by a semitone, fret 2
by a whole tone, and so on. The text label in the score will update automatically.

For example, if you choose fret 4, the text in the score will say "Capo 4".

Note: Keyboard focus can get stuck in the fret edit control. If this happens, press Up and Down to change the value of the spinner, then press Right to
move to the Apply to string checkboxes below.

Specifying partial capo placement

The checkbox switches in the Apply to section let you specify that a capo should be applied only on certain strings. When at least one string is
turned off, the text in the score will change to indicate a partial capo.

For example, if you choose fret 4 and then turn off strings 1 and 2, the text in the score would say "Partial capo: Fret 4 on strings 3, 4, 5, 6".

Customizing capo text appearance

To change the wording of the Capo text:

Check the Manually specify instruction text box in the popup dialog.
Type the text you want to appear in the score.
To place the capo text beneath the staff:

Under Position, select Below.

Changing capo setting mid-score

Using the steps above, you can, if desired, vary the capo setting at different points in the score. Each capo instance will affect the transposition of
all music that follows it, up until the next capo mark.

Note: It is not possible to apply more than one capo at the same time. This feature is planned for a later release.

Alternate string tunings

This page describes features added in MuseScore 4.2. For string tuning in older versions of MuseScore 4, see Customizing a tablature staff.

Applying string tuning instructions

To apply a string tuning instruction to a stave:

Go to the Guitar palette

Click and drag the String tunings element to a measure

A tuning fork icon will appear above your stave.

Alternatively, first select a measure, then select the String tunings element in the Guitar palette.

String tuning instructions are added to measures, and affect only the stave to which they have been applied (including any linked staves). You can
apply multiple string tunings at different measures in your score. Each string tuning will apply from the start of the measure to which it has been
added, up until the next string tuning element.

Specifying string tunings

Once you've added a string tuning element to a stave, you can specify the tuning you want for your instrument.

Select the tuning fork icon (outlined in the steps above)

In the widget that appears, choose from the many common tunings in the Preset dropdown

The tuning fork icon will be replaced with the conventional tuning text instruction, comprising encircled numbers for each of the instrument's strings,
and text designations showing the new pitch of each string.

You can customise the string tuning text to display any number of strings, as well as any pitch you like:

Click on the string tuning text

In the widget that appears, toggle on or off the 'eye' icon to show or hide instrument strings
Adjust the pitch of each string using up and down arrows in the text boxes alongside each string

Note that the 'eye' icons merely show or hide the text instruction on the score. The actual tuning of each string, insofar as it affects playback and
tablature fret positions (see more below), is determined by the pitch indicated in the text field alongside each string – regardless of whether that
string's tuning instruction is shown or hidden in the score.

Alternate tunings affect tablature fret positions

When an alternate tuning element is applied to a stave, the pitch specified for each string will be shown as an open position ("0") in the tablature
stave.

During playback, the pitch of all fret positions along each string remains relative to the pitch of the open string: For example,

If the sixth string is tuned to E, the open position will sound like an E during playback, and the first fret will sound like an F;
If the sixth string is tuned down to a D, the open position will sound like a D during playback, and the first fret will sound like an E-flat.

The notation on any linked standard stave remains unaffected by the presence of alternate string tunings. This allows the player to continue reading
the sounding pitches of each string.
Reading transposed pitches on the standard stave
Sometimes, especially in cases where every string on the instrument has been uniformly tuned down, it will be preferable for the player to read the
standard notation at the ‘regular‘ (i.e. pre-tuned) pitch rather than the sounding pitch. In order to achieve this, the standard stave can be transposed.

Right-click on a measure in the standard stave

Select Stave/Part properties...
In the Transposition dropdown menu, select your desired transposition amount.

A common example is to want to tune the guitar down a half-step without affecting the standard notation. To achieve this:

Apply an alternate string tuning element to your stave (see steps above)
Select the Tune down 1/2 step preset
Where required, add a key signature that corresponds to the pitch of the song/work (I.e. its concert pitch)
Right-click on a measure and choose Stave/Part properties...
From the Transposition dropdown menu, select 1 – Minor second
Select the Down radio button
Finally, if you are using a linked tablature stave and wish for the tablature fret positions to continue showing the expected standard fingering,
select the Don't reflect transposition in linked tablature staves checkbox
When you're done, click OK.

Both the standard stave and any linked tablature stave (where applicable) will show the fret positions and standard notation at the standard playing
pitch (as if no alternate tuning had been specified). Playback will, however, reflect the alternate tuning.

Toggling on Concert pitch will show the sounding pitches notated on the standard stave.

[Draft only: more content forthcoming]

Guitar bends
This page describes features added in MuseScore 4.2. For older versions of MuseScore 4, see Guitar techniques.
For other types of bends, see brass or woodwind instrument bends.

Adding bends to your score

From MuseScore 4.2 onwards, four types of guitar bends can be added to your score:

Standard bend
Pre-bend
Grace note bend
Slight bend

These bends can be found in the Guitar palette

General points about bends in MuseScore

In general, bends in MuseScore connect two notes together: a ‘starting note’ and an ‘arrival note’.

Bends are contextual, meaning if the arrival note is higher than the starting note, an upward bend will be created. Conversely, if the arrival note is
lower than the starting note, a release will be drawn.

Whenever a bend is added to a tablature stave, both the starting and arrival notes will be entered as a fret positions. The arrival note, however, will
be hidden by default. This allows you to create sequences of multiple bends (such as bend-release combinations) using only the tablature stave,
without needing to input notes in the standard stave. If you're working mainly in the standard stave, you may find it more convenient to hide these
fret positions via the Invisible setting in the Properties panel.

In all cases, the bend amount, being the intervallic distance between the starting and arrival notes, is reflected by the notated pitches on the
standard stave, allowing you to see the shape of a melodic line, as it is affected by the presence of bent notes. On the tablature stave, the bend
amount is given by a numerical indicator: "1" for a whole tone, "1/2" for a half-tone (semitone), "1/4" for a quarter-tone, etc.

Applying a bend
To apply any type of bend to your score:

Select one or more notes and click the desired bend symbol in the Guitar palette
Drag the bend symbol from the Guitar palette on to a note
Select one or more notes, and enter the required keyboard shortcut (see details below)

Standard bends

Windows Alt+B | macOS ⌥+B

A standard bend connects two notes together: a ‘starting note’ and an ‘arrival note’. Standard bends are mostly used when it is desired to clearly
specify the rhythm of the bend pattern.

When a bend is added to a note, it will automatically be drawn to the next note in the score (the arrival note). If a rest follows the starting note,
MuseScore will replace the rest so that the bend has an arrival note to connect to.

Grace note bends

Windows Ctrl+Alt+B | macOS ⌘+⌥+B

Grace note bends can be used to indicate bends that don’t have a defined rhythmic duration; they are generally played quite quickly before the
beat.

When you apply a grace note bend to a note, it will automatically be entered one diatonic step lower than the note it precedes.

Pre-bends

No default keyboard shortcut: set your own shortcut in Preferences

Pre-bends indicate a string that has been bent prior to being struck. On the standard stave, it is represented as a stemless, parenthesised grace
note. On the tablature stave, it is illustrated with a straight, rather than curved arrow.

Slight bends

No default keyboard shortcut: set your own shortcut in Preferences

Slight bends are the only bend type in MuseScore that do not connect to an arrival note.

They are always set to a pre-defined amount of a ¼ of a tone, and always bend upwards from the starting note.

Holds

A hold is indicated by a dashed horizontal line between two bends. It is only ever shown in the tablature stave.

Hold lines are drawn automatically where a bent note is subsequently tied to one or more notes.

In addition, you can manually show or hide hold lines where it makes sense to do so.

Select a bend in your score

Open the Properties panel
Under Hold line, select either Show or Hide to force a hold line to be drawn, or to be hidden, respectively

Modifying bends
Both the intervallic amount and playback speed of bends can be adjusted in MuseScore, either by modifying the pitch of bent notes on the standard
stave, or adjusting the bend curve in the Properties panel.

Modifying bends in the standard stave

To change the bend amount of a standard bend, grace note bend, or pre-bend in the standard stave, simply raise or lower the pitch of either the
starting or arrival note in your score. The fractional indicator in any linked tablature stave will be adjusted automatically.

Modifying bends in the Properties panel

Both the bend amount and its playback speed can be adjusted via the Properties panel.

To adjust the bend amount:

 Apply a bend to your score, using any of the methods outlined above
Select the bend
Open the Properties panel
In the Customize bend graph, click and drag the end point of the curve up or down

The left-most point of the bend curve corresponds to the starting note in a bend. The right-most point corresponds to the arrival note.

Dragging the right-most (end point) of the curve upwards raises the arrival note in ¼-tone steps. In the same way, dragging the end point
downwards lowers the pitch of the arrival note. The fractional indicator in the tablature stave, and the notated pitch in the standard stave, will be
updated accordingly.

To adjust the playback speed of a bend:

Select a bend in your score

Open the Properties panel
In the Customize bend graph, click and drag the start and end points of the curve left or right

Dragging a curve point horizontally changes only its playback speed, including the duration for which the starting and arrival notes are held
(indicated with a horizontal line). It does not affect rhythmic notation in your score.

Adding bends to chords

MuseScore also makes it possible to apply bends to chords, and to create unison bends.

To apply bends to chords:

Create a chord of two or more notes

Select the note(s) to which you want to apply a bend
Add the desired bend (see steps above)

To create a unison bend:

Create a chord containing two notes in unison (Add a unison interval to an existing note using Alt+1 on Windows, or ⌥+1 on macOS)
Select the note to which you wish a bend to apply
Add the desired bend (see steps above)

In the case of unison bends, it can be helpful to apply the bend in the tablature stave, where it can be easier to see which string exactly is being
bent.

Customising bends styles

To customize the appearance of bends across an entire score:

Go to Format in the menu bar

Select Style...
In the dialog that appears, choose Bends from the list of categories on the left

In this dialog, you can modify:

Line thickness: the thickness of all bend lines in both standard and tablature staves
 Arrow width and Arrow height: the width and height of the arrow heads on bend curves in tablature staves
Label for full bends: choose from displaying "1" or the word "full" to indicate a whole-tone bend in the tablature stave
Tablature fret numbers: selecting the checkbox in this section makes all fret positions for grace note bends in tablature staves appear as cue
sized numbers (by default, fret position numbers for grace note bends are the same size as fret position numbers for other types of bends).

Idiomatic notation: Harp

Overview
Harps typically have seven strings per octave, with one string per pitch-class from C to B. Modern harps also have seven pedals, each of which has
three positions: middle (natural), highest (flattened), and lowest (sharpened). Raising the pedal from middle position loosens the tension of one
pitch-class of strings in every octave, lowering the notes by a half step, and lowering the pedal results in notes a half step higher. For example,
moving the C pedal to the lowest position will make all C strings play C#.

In notated music for pedal harps, diagrams or text markings in the score indicate when to change pedal positions to change playable notes.

Adding a harp pedal diagram to your score

The harp pedal diagram element is available in the Harp notation palette.

To apply a harp pedal diagram to a staff:

Click in the score where you want to add a harp pedal diagram.
Click the Harp pedal diagram element in the Harp notation palette.
Choose the tuning in the popup dialog.

Notes that cannot be played with the selected pedal configuration will turn red.

The diagram view shows every pedal, while the text view shows only the notes that need to change since the last pedal marking.

By default, diagrams appear above the staves and text markings appear between them.

To change a diagram, select it in the score to reopen the popup dialog.

Reading harp pedal diagrams

Visual diagram

The diagram corresponds visually to the seven harp pedals. The three to the left of the vertical line are the left foot pedals; the four on the right
correspond to the right foot. From left to right, the notes the pedals control are:

Left foot: D, C, B
Right foot: E, F, G, A

A bar on the line indicates the middle position, which plays a natural note. A bar above the line tells the player to raise the pedal, flattening the note,
and a bar below indicates lowering the pedal, sharpening the note.

For example, the playable notes indicated by the diagram below are C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, and B.

Text diagram

The upper line of notes refers to the pedals controlled by the right foot, and the bottom line to the left foot pedals.

The first instance of a harp pedal text diagram in the score will always show the positions of all seven pedals. The text view shows only the notes
that need to change since the last pedal marking.

Text diagrams appear between the staves by default, but can be manually repositioned.
Idiomatic notation: Percussion
Entering and editing percussion notation

[This chapter (Oct 2023) does not contain the latest info on the topic. Please refer to the handbook 3's Entering and editing percussion
notation chapter (May 2024). Feel free to port and improve, pls note that "major percussion overhaul" is upcoming soon
https://musescore.org/en/node/354177 ]

Overview
In percussion notation, the lines and spaces of the music staff are allocated to different instruments—rather than different pitches—and a range of
different notehead shapes is used.

The example below shows a simple drumkit beat on a five-line music staff. By convention, the bass drum rhythm is written on the lowest space of
the staff, the snare drum on the third space, and the closed hihat, using crosshead notes, on the space above the staff.

Stem direction usually describes whether an instrument is hit with a hand-stick or with a foot-pedal. Musescore use the Musescore Voices feature to
help create notes that have different stem direction.

Types of percussion staves

Percussion music is usually written on a 5-line, 3-line, or 1-line staff—depending on the instrument. When a percussion instrument is created using
the New Score dialog, MuseScore automatically chooses the most appropriate staff type. This can be changed later, if necessary, using the "Staff
type" column in the Instruments panel. You can also create a Custom staff types.

Adding a percussion staff to your score

See Setting up your score and/or Instruments panel.

Entering notes and rests in percussion staves

There are several ways of entering music on a percussion staff:

Using a Mouse (and the Drum Input Palette).

Via keyboard shortcuts.
Using an external MIDI keyboard.
Using the virtual piano.

After each note or rest is entered, the cursor automatically advances so that it is in the correct position for subsequent entry.

Mouse entry using the Drum input palette

Select a start location in the percussion staff.

Enter note Input mode (shortcut N). The Drum input palette (DIP) appears at the bottom of the window:

This displays a range of percussion instruments and how they will appear on the staff. If any instrument has a keyboard shortcut this is shown
above the staff.
Click on an instrument in the DIP, and its name appears on the left-hand side of the palette. The color of the note shows the voice pre-
allocated to that instrument: blue for voice 1, green for voice 2 etc.
Use one of the following methods:
Click on an instrument in the DIP; select the desired note duration, then, click on the staff at the desired location.
Select a note duration, then double-click the desired instrument in the DIP. The note is entered at the cursor position.
Note: Any existing notes in that voice are overwritten.
To enter another instrument in the same voice at a location, press Shift, then double-click the instrument in the DIP.
To enter a rest of the selected duration, press 0 (zero).

Using keyboard shortcuts

This method is suitable for adding instruments which have a keyboard shortcut displayed in the Drum Input palette.

Select a note, rest or measure in the percussion staff as a start point.

Enter note Input mode (shortcut N). The Drum input palette (DIP) appears at the bottom of the window (as above).
Choose a note duration.
 Type the keyboard shortcut for the desired instrument; this is shown above the staff in the DIP. The note is entered at the cursor position.
Note: Any existing notes in that voice are overwritten.
To enter another instrument in the same voice, hold Shift, while entering the shortcut.
To enter a rest of the selected duration, press 0 (zero).

Note: Shortcuts can be changed in the Edit drumset dialog.

Using a MIDI controller

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

Ensure that the MIDI keyboard is connected to your computer before launching MuseScore. Check that it is functioning correctly.
Note: If you click on the percussion staff in normal mode, you can "preview" the sound of the percussion instruments from the MIDI keyboard.
Click on the note or rest where you want to start.
Enter note input mode.
Select the voice in which you wish to enter notes.
Select a note duration.
Press an instrument key to add a note to the score. To add another instrument in the same voice, keep the first key held down while pressing
the second key.
To enter a rest of the selected duration, press 0 (zero).

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

Using the on-screen piano keyboard

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

Ensure that the Piano keyboard is displayed. Press P (or select it from the menu, View → Piano keyboard).
Note: If you click on the percussion staff without entering note input mode, you can demo the percussion instruments from the Piano
keyboard.
Click on the note or rest where you want to start.
Enter note input mode.
Select the voice in which you wish to enter notes.
Select a note duration.
Click on a (virtual piano) key to add a note to the score. To add another note to an existing one, press Shift and hold it while pressing the new
note.
To enter a rest of the selected duration, press 0 (zero).

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

Drumset customization

Introduction
You can customize the notation of instruments inside the "drumset" Musescore Instrument using the Edit drumset dialog and
To customize percussion staff, see Staff/Part properties and chapters under Idiomatic notation: Percussion.

Edit drumset dialog can be opened in note input mode from the Drum input palette by clicking on the Edit drumset button (bottom left of the
program window). Alternatively, in normal mode, right-click on the percussion staff and select Edit drumset...

On the left is a list of available percussion instruments. You can put these in MIDI number order by clicking on the "No." heading; this automatically
shows them in note order as well. Clicking again puts the list in reverse order.

The right of the dialog shows you how the selected instrument is displayed on the percussion staff: its name, position, notehead type and note-stem
direction.

Any changes made here are automatically saved in the parent MuseScore file (after pressing OK). You can also save the drumset independently as a
drumset file.

[the following is a work in progress, "major percussion overhaul" is upcoming https://musescore.org/en/node/354177 , in the meantime
see Musescore 3 handbook Drum notation , feature is still identical in Musescore 4.1.1 ]
Customizing a drumset definition
Selecting a sound

info on GM drum sounds

how much of this is relevant for VST?

Defining the note

Name

Noteheads

Other properties

Saving and loading drumset definitions

Other percussion notation

Diddles
Diddles can be added by using an eighth-note Tremolo.

Pedal lines
To add a vibraphone pedal line, see Pedal.

Rolls
To add a drumroll to your score, see Tremolo.

Sticking
To enter sticking symbols (R, L):

Select a start note;

From the menu, select Add→Text→Sticking (alternatively, set up a keyboard shortcut to do the same
thing). The cursor positions itself ready to accept your keyboard input;
Input the letter just as you would normal text. To move forward or backwards to the next note, see Keyboard commands (chord symbols).
To exit, press Esc, or click on a blank section of the score.

Alternative notation
Mensural notation and Mensurstrich

Adding a mensural time signature to your score

To apply mensural signs to a score you need to add a conventional time signature first, then modify its display by substituting with the appropriate
mensural symbol in the Time signature properties dialog. Note that these signs are for show only; it is not possible to modify the duration ratio
between different note values, and the actual underlying time signature remains unchanged.

Using mensural note symbols

[To be added]

add from symbols palette, hide

Working with non-metered music

Early music, such as renaissance choral music, may be written without barlines or a time signature. This can be achieved in MuseScore as follows:
 Set up the instruments or voices of the score in the usual way (See Setting up your score);
Hide the time signature;
in Format→Style→Score, check the box titled "Display note values across measure boundaries";
Right-click on a measure in the top staff and select Staff/Part properties;
Uncheck "Show barlines"; repeat this for each applicable staff (see note);
Click OK.

Note: In step 4 you can make the barlines invisible instead by selecting all and pressing V.

Note that the score still behaves as if measures are present. Measure properties can be applied if required.

Working with Mensurstrich

Mensurstrich is a form of modern notation of early music in which barlines are drawn between staves rather than across them:

Adding barlines between staves

Right click on the bottom staff of the intended mensurstrich system, and select Staff/Part properties. Uncheck "Show barlines".
Select the first (not the start!) barline for each of the remaining staves;
Check the "Span to next staff" box in the Barline section of the Properties panel;
Adjust "Span from" to set the position of the top of each barline;
Press Set as staff default;

Displaying note values across measure boundaries

From the menu bar, select Format→Style→Score;
Check "Display note values across measure boundaries".

See also
Slash notation

In jazz and popular music, passages are often notated with slash noteheads that indicate no specific pitch. The notation can either include stems to
indicate specifc rhythms, or the notation can be stemless and just indicate the beat.

Filling a range with beat slashes

Beat slashes have no stems and thus show no rhythm; just the beat itself. Depending on the content, this might indicate an improvised solo, and
accompaniment pattern to be devised by the player, or a suggestion to continue in the style of previously notated passage. These slashes are often
accompanied by chord symbols, which can also be added in the usual way.

To fill a range with slashes:

Select the desired range of blank measures

From the menu, select Tools→Fill with slashes

These slashes do not play, but the chord symbols do.

Creating rhythmic slash notation

To notate a specific rhythm, use rhythmic slash notation. By default, these slashes do not play, but you can override that if you wish to enter specific
notes or chord voicings you want to hear even though they will be turned into pitchless slashes in the notation.

Accompaniment rhythms on the staff

Add notes in the desired rhythm using standard notation on the staff. If you will wish to hear playback, enter the actual notes you wish to hear,
but otherwise you can enter any pitch you want.
Select the range of chords
From the menu bar, select Tools→Toggle rhythmic slash notation

If you wish to hear the playback of the notes you entered, select the applicable range of chords and check “Play” in the Properties: General
panel.
Accent rhythms above or below the staff

To enter rhythms above the staff, use the same process, but enter the rhythm into voice 3. Use voice 4 for a rhythm below the staff.

Custom staff types

Overview
Musescore has four staff types, each of them has different build-in templates, see Staff/Part properties.

To create a custom staff used on whole score :

Use this step common to all four staff types: find and add an instrument similar to the target staff type by Setting up your score or in
Instruments panel, then change its Staff properties and Advanced style properties, notehead scheme is also customized there.
For percussion staff (type 3, see Staff/Part properties), in addition to the above, use Edit drumset window for notehead related settings, see
Drumset customization.

To create a custom staff to be used on one section of score:

Use the Staff type change element.

The Change Instrument text element also change staff type by changing the instrument, see Mid-score instrument changes.

Modified Stave Notation (MSN) is a formatting common used in large print. To use MSN see MuseScore 3 tutorial page Creating Modified Stave
Notation in MuseScore , it works similarly inside Musescore 4.

Customizing appearance of staff lines

[this section is a work in progress, please add missing info]

Number
Color
Visibility
Line distance

Customizing appearance of generated elements

[this section is a work in progress, please add missing info]

Clef
Key signature
Time signature
Barlines

Customizing appearance of notes

Ledger lines [ a work in progress, please add missing info]
Stems [ a work in progress, please add missing info]

Notehead schemes
Download this testing score file MS4 Noteheadschemes.mscz

'Notehead schemes' are used by musicians to designate notehead shape meaning. In Musescore 4.1.1, schemes for a staff is named "Notehead
Scheme", same options for a note is named "Notehead System", see Noteheads.

Musescore has nine of them. Five of them are directly fully supported, notes written create correct playback. Four "shape note notations" are
supported in terms of notehead engraving, users need to take advantage of 'Transposing instruments' feature to create desired playback, see
Noteheads.

To create custom "shape note notations", see Noteheads.

The nine supported by Musescore are:

Normal: The default scheme used by vast majority of musicians.

4 solfege related notations:

Pitch name: Noteheads automatically and dynamically change to include the English pitch name in the notehead.
German pitch name: similar to Pitch name but B replaced with H, and B♭ with B.
Solfège Movable Do (also called Tonic Solfa): Noteheads with solfege literally written. It uses Ti and not Si.
Solfège Fixed Do: Noteheads with solfege literally written. Used in France, Italy, Spain, etc. It uses Si and not Ti.

4 shape note notations, need further config if you wish to create desired playback:

4 Shape (Walker): used in books such as William Walker’s Southern Harmony (1835).
7 Shape (Aikin): 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): used in books such as Joseph Funk’s Harmonia Sacra (1851).
7 Shape (Walker): used in books such as William Walker’s Christian Harmony (1867).

Changing staff type mid-score

See Overview

[this section is a work in progress, please add missing info]

Most of the above plus line & step offset

External links
For Notehead scheme:

The Music Notation Project Wiki > Shape Note Notation

IMSLP.org Wiki > 4-shape notation
IMSLP.org Wiki > 7-shape notation
staff/part properties preview window score https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/tree/master/src/notation/view/re…
shape note SMuFL specification
Text
Entering and editing text

Overview
Musescore has different text editing functionalities. This chapter and other chapters under handbook Text section focus on the Musescore Text
objects, individual objects that can be placed on a score, and objects containing it. There are also score settings that add text onto pages
automatically.

Types of text
Musescore Text object

A Musescore Text object is an object on a score that contains individual characters that can be entered and removed by using (typing on) a
computer keyboard. It is usually attached to a note or a rest, some of them attach to another object.

Staff Text can be attached to a staff;

Jumps and Markers are attached to measures;
Some types (Title, Subtitle etc.) must be attached to a frame, see Frame, and Text blocks chapters.

Different types of Text object are not interchangeable. They have distinct property fields that affect how Musescore functions. For example, a Staff
Text object styled as a metronome mark can never be configured to change playback tempo inside Musescore. The Tempo object should be used
to change playback tempo inside Musescore.

To check the object type, select an object on a score, its type is displayed on the status bar.

Text object type Uses

General purpose text for one MuseScore instrument. Can be
Staff Text configured to apply swing playback or sound flags. See Setting up
your score and Staff Text, System Text and Expression Text chapter.
Similar to Staff Text, but for all instruments in the system (page layout
System Text concept). See Page layout concepts and Staff Text, System Text and
Expression Text chapter.
The expression item in the Text Palette. A new type introduced in
Expression Text Musescore 4. Does not affect Musescore playback as of Musescore
4.2. See Staff Text, System Text and Expression Text chapter.
The Change instr. item in the Text Palette. Change the Musescore
Instrument change Instrument after the anchored note or rest. See Setting up your score
and Mid-score instrument changes chapters.
Such as p and mf, are Text that affects Musescore playback
Dynamic
dynamics. See Dynamics chapter.
Such as crese. and dim., are Text line that affects Musescore
Hairpin
playback dynamics. See Hairpins chapter.
The legato. pizz. etc items in the Text Palette. [This info is a work in
progress, the software function is under active dev, pls see and
Playing technique annotation
update Staff Text, System Text and Expression Text, and
Dynamics, and Mixer, and Glossary and Articulations chapters]
Numerical metronome mark, verbal direction. A Text type that specifies
Tempo
Musescore playback tempo. See Tempo marks chapter.
Such as accel.. A new Text line type introduced in Musescore 4 that
Gradual Tempo Change
affects Musescore playback tempo. See Tempo marks chapter.
A pre-configured System Text. See Swing playback and Staff Text,
Swing and Straight item in the Tempo Palette
System Text and Expression Text chapters.
Ctrl+V keyboard shortcut breaks up words stored in clipboard, paste
Lyrics
and then jump to next anchor conveniently. See Lyrics chapter.
Such as "D.C."(Da Capo), "D.S. al Coda" etc found in the Repeats &
Jump
Jumps Palette. See Jumps and markers chapter.
The Capo symbol, Segno symbol, "Fine", "To Coda" etc found in the
Marker
Repeats & Jumps Palette. See Jumps and markers chapter.
The boxed B1 item in the Text Palette. Facilitate rehearsals, divide
Rehearsal mark score into sections, bookmark passages etc. See Rehearsal marks
chapter.
 Text object type Uses
Has playback, notes automatically decided. See Chord symbol
Chord symbol
chapter.
Has playback, similar to Chord symbol. See Chord symbol:NNS
Nashville number
chapter.
Roman Numeral No playback. See Chord symbol:RNA chapter.
Figured bass A period keyboard notation. No playback. See Figured bass chapter.
Letters (L and R) attached to (drum) notes showing which hand or foot
Sticking
to use. See Sticking chapter.
Numbers or letters attached to notes showing which fingers to use.
Fingering
See Fingering chapter.
They are Text types designed to be added into a frame. See Text
Title, Subtitle, Composer, Lyricist, and Text (text block type) blocks and Frame chapters. They are not the placeholder text used in
the header and footer, see "Score setting" section.
Volta etc found in Repeats & Jumps Palette. Pedal found in
Text line, including Volta, Pedal etc types Keyboard Palette. Ottava (8--, 8ve, 8va, 15--) etc found in Pitch
Palette. Guitar Barre lines etc. See Other lines chapter.

Score settings

Long and short name of Musescore Instrument (see Setting up your score chapter) is automatically added to the left of staff in each system (page
layout concept, see Page layout concepts chapter). Names can be changed direcly on a score using text edit mode, or using Staff/Part property
window, see Staff/Part properties chapter. They are, by default, only added when there are more than one instrument. To change this default
behavior, change the setting under Format → Style → Score.

Measure numbers can be added automatically. Configure it at Format → Style → Measure nubmers, see Measure numbering chapter.

Musescore's header and footer functionality adds text to every pages automatically. Configure it at Format → Style → Header & footer.
Placeholder text (special symbols) can be used to add information like the current page number, copyright claim etc. Placeholder text is also used to
add metadata tags, the digital data of a score file, onto the score dynamically. See Header and footer chapter.

Adding text object to a score

Different types of Text object are not interchangeable, decide on the suitable object type before adding it. Use the chart under "Musescore Text
object" section. For general engraving or visual display purpose, it is recommended to use a Staff text or System text.

The following explains how to add text to a note or a rest or a valid anchor outside frames. Adding text to a frame is covered in the Text blocks
chapter.

From a palette

To add a text element to your score from a Palette, either select one or more notes/rests and click on the desired palette item; or drag the text from
the palette onto a note/rest. e.g.

From the menu

If the text object is associated with a staff you can add it by selecting a note, then choosing a text option from Add→Text.

Using a keyboard shortcut

Many text types can be entered using keyboard shortcuts. Shortcuts are shown to the right of items in Add→Text.

To create a text object, select a note, then enter the required shortcut.

Deleting text object on a score

To edit *text automatically added by score settings*, see "Score setting" section.

To delete object(s) on a score, select the objects then press Delete.

Editing text object content

To edit *text automatically added by score settings*, see "Score setting" section.

Text and text line objects are edited with two different methods, depending on the object type:

edit directly in text edit mode, as explained below; or

edit properties in the Properties panel, see the text object's specific chapter.

To enter text edit mode use one of the following methods:

Double click on the text object, or

Select the text object and press Return, or
Select the text object and press F2 or Alt+Shift+E, or
Right-click on the text object and select "Edit element."

To leave text edit mode either press Escape or click on a part of the score outside the edit area.

Keyboard shortcuts available inside text edit mode

The following keyboard shortcuts are available in text edit mode:

Function Windows & Linux Mac

Bold (toggle) Ctrl+B Cmd+B
Italic (toggle) Ctrl+I Cmd+I
Underline (toggle) Ctrl+U Cmd+U
Move cursor Home, End, ←, →, ↑, ↓ (Alt+) ←, →, ↑, ↓
Remove character to the left of the cursor Backspace Delete
Remove character to the right of the cursor Del → Delete or Fn+Del
Start new line ↵ return
Insert special characters (see below) Shift+F2 Fn+F2

Special characters

Characters not available from the standard keyboard may be accessed using the Special Characters window.

To open Special Characters, in text edit mode (see "Editing text object content" section), press Shift+F2; or click on Insert special characters in
the Text section of the Properties panel.

The dialog is divided into 3 tabs: Common symbols, musical symbols and unicode symbols. The musical and unicode tabs are further
subdivided into alphabetically-arranged categories. It is preferable to use items in Common symbols tab as they are functional, see Musescore 3
handbook Fonts chapter.
Clicking an item in the Special Characters dialog immediately adds it to the text where the cursor is positioned. Multiple items can be applied
without closing the dialog box, and the user can even continue to type normally, delete characters, enter numerical character codes etc., with it
open.

In text edit mode, the following keyboard shortcuts add a functional version of special characters (whenever possible) into the current Text object,
see Musescore 3 handbook Fonts chapter.

Character Windows & Linux Mac Note

May not work on some keyboard
Sharp ♯ Ctrl+Shift+# Cmd+Shift+#
layouts
Flat ♭ Ctrl+Shift+B Cmd+Shift+B

Natural ♮ Ctrl+Shift+H Cmd+Shift+H

Piano p Ctrl+Shift+P Cmd+Shift+P
Forte f Ctrl+Shift+F Cmd+Shift+F
Mezzo m Ctrl+Shift+M Cmd+Shift+M
Rinforzando r Ctrl+Shift+R Cmd+Shift+R
Sforzando s Ctrl+Shift+S Cmd+Shift+S
Niente n Ctrl+Shift+N Cmd+Shift+N
Zz Ctrl+Shift+Z Cmd+Shift+Z
Elision ‿ Ctrl+Alt+- Cmd+Alt+-

Formatting text

Overview
Levels of formatting

Layout and formatting in Musescore has 2 main levels, read Templates and styles first. Text objects have finer levels:

Level 1: Properties of each individual text object in a score file:

Formatting of individual characters within a text object;
Formatting of the object that contains all the characters.
Level 2
"style for certain type of object": you can change their values in 'Style' window: left pane
"style for text inside certain type of object": you can change their values inside items under 'Style' window: left pane 'Text style'

Appearance and function of Text objects

The final visual and function of most object in a score file is determined by:

Characters do not have any specific formatting. When formatting are added to them, they will always be used. See Changing characters
below.
Text objects do not have any specific properties. When properties are Properties panel, they will always be used except for characters that
already have their own formatting. see details in "Text properties" below.
functional settings: all object on a score uses values in "style for certain type of object", this behavior cannot be changed, but you can edit
values in them.
visual settings:
an object on a score uses values in appropriate "style for text inside certain type of object", such as "Style for text inside Chord
symbols", "Style for text inside Lyrics Odd Lines" automatically. This behavior can be changed with the More... > Text Style property in
Properties panel. You can also utilize the 12 custom style.
"Style for text inside Staff Text" is special. Every Text-related object on a score uses its values unless overridden, this behavior
cannot be changed, but you can edit values inside.
A subset of characters always use font settings in 'Style' window > Score : "Musical symbol font" (8 options): musical glyphs such as Segno,
Coda, ottavas, dynamics glyphs such as mf and some Special characters. See Musescore 3 handbook Fonts (mostly the same as in
musescore 4.1.1 but upgraded and added 2 options).

Options in Properties panel behave differently depending on the current selection.

"Font", "Style", "Size", "Subscript and superscript" are both object properties, and individual character formatting options. When you change an
object using the Properties panel, incompatible formatting on individual characters are removed.

"Alignment", "Frame", "Text style" are object properties. When you select individual characters and change these options in the Properties panel,
the object properties are changed instead.

Changing formatting of characters

To edit text content, see Entering and editing text instead.

Use the Properties panel to change formatting of individual characters. Musescore 4 updated the Inspector present in Musescore 2 and
Musescore 3 and integrated the function of Text Toolbar (Text editing) into the Properties panel.

enter text edit mode using one of the following methods:

Double-click on the text object.
Select the object and press F2 or Alt+Shift+E
Right-click on the element and select Edit element
highlighted characters
apply formatting in Text section of the Properties panel, and/or use keyboard shortcuts (see Editing text).

Changing formatting of a text object

Click More to see:

To edit text content, see Entering and editing text instead.

Use the Properties panel to change formatting of the Text object, which may change all of the characters inside:

Select text object(s) on a score

Edit settings in the Text section of the Properties panel.

Options are self-explanatory, these special settings are shown after clicking More:
Match staff size: whether text size changes proportionally, see Page layout concepts.
Text style : Changes which style a text object on a score uses, see below
Position : Above or below the staff, see below

Changing which style a text object on a score uses

In the Properties panel, use Text style property under More. Concept of formatting is explained in the overview. Only the "style for text inside certain
type of object" a text object on a score uses can be changed, they includes the "User-1" ... "User-12", see below. See Templates and styles.

Position

The Properties panel is used for assigning formatting to the Text object(s). When a Text object is changed, all of the characters inside it may
change. The Properties panel also is used for assigning formatting to individual characters inside a Text object, when characters are selected.

It is important to know that, even when characters inside a Text object are selected, some properties shown on the Properties panel are still the Text
object's setting, but not the character property. They includes the Position property.

In the Properties panel, Use Position property under More to change layout of the Text object. If a overriding option exists for this type of object, is
in "style for certain type of object", but not in "style for text inside certain type of object", see "Changing the values inside a style" section below. See
also the main chapter Templates and styles.

Changing the values inside a style

Concept of formatting is explained in the overview.

Understand Templates and styles first. To change values inside a style, use the "Style" window: Format→Style.

"style for certain type of object": you can change their values in 'Style' window: left pane"
"style for text inside certain type of object": you can change their values inside items under 'Style' window: left pane 'Text style', or
Use the more efficient way from the Properties panel:
Select a score object that use the style;
Edit a property;
Click on the ellipsis (…) above the property and select "Save as default style for this score".
Repeat for other properties as required.

Changing the values inside a User-1 to User-12 style

To assign visual settings values to a custom style: "User-1" to "User-12", use the "Style" window: Format→Style > Text Style > User-1 ... User-12

Staff Text, System Text and Expression Text

Overview
Staff Text objects and System Text objects are for indicative purposes listed right below. They can optionally affect Musescore playback, only the
section after the attached note or rest is affected.

Applying swing and straight time (Staff Text and System Text).
Applying score and movement titles.
Capo playback for guitarists (Staff Text, for Musescore 4.0.2 and below only. For Musescore 4.1.0 and above use the new Applying capos
chapter instead.)
Other general purpose not covered by other text types only. Different types of text-based objects are not interchangeable, see Text types.

Expression text objects indicate musical expressions and performance indications. They do not affect Musescore playback. To indicate dynamics
and create playback at the same time, use Dynamics symbol object. To indicate and affect tempo at the same time, use Tempo markings.

Similarity and difference between Staff Text and System Text

Staff Text and System Text are similar in behavior and function.

Both of them attaches to a note or rest.

Both of them can be set-up to have effect on audio created by Musescore's Synthesizer, a Staff Text only affects the Musescore Instrument
that that note belongs to, a System Text affects all Musescore Instruments on a score.
Staff Texts are hidden along with "Hide empty staves within systems" option (and the sub-option "Don't hide empty staves in first system")
under "Style" window : "Score", see Templates and styles.
A Staff Text only appears in the Musescore Part(s) that features the Musescore Instrument. A System Text appears on all Musescore Parts.
New System Text is positioned above the top staff of each system (layout concept).

Adding Staff Text to your score

Select a note
Use one of the following methods:
Press Ctrl+T.
From the menu, select Add→Text→Staff Text.
Click on the "Staff Text" icon in the Text palette
Enter the desired text in the bounding box.

Alternatively, drag the "Staff Text" icon onto a note in the score before entering the desired text.

Adding expression text to your score

Select a note
Use one of the following methods:
Press Ctrl+E.
From the menu, select Add→Text→Expression text.
Click on the "Expression text" icon in the Text palette
Enter the desired text in the bounding box.

Alternatively, drag the "Expression text" icon onto a note in the score before entering the desired text.

Adding System Text to your score

Select a note
Use one of the following methods:
Press Ctrl+Shift+T.
From the menu, select Add→Text→System Text.
Click on the "System Text" icon in the Text palette
Enter the desired text in the bounding box.

Alternatively, drag the "System Text" icon onto a note in the score before entering the desired text.

Repeating System Text on other staves

New System Text is positioned above the top staff of each system (layout concept). If you need a similar indication on a lower staff, add it to that
staff using Staff Text.

Some templates have an additional feature. When you create a System Text, it is automatically duplicated and shown just above another lower
staff. If either instance of the object is edited the content of both is updated. If either one is removed, both are removed. These templates includes:

Symphony Orchestra : duplicated and shown above violin.

Classical Orchestra : duplicated and shown above violin.
SATB + Piano : duplicated and shown above piano.
SATB + Organ : duplicated and shown above organ.
SATB Closed Score + Piano : duplicated and shown above piano.
SATB Closed Score + Organ : duplicated and shown above organ.

Properties
Edit properties of selected Staff Text, System Text, and Expression Text object(s) in the Properties panel. Text related settings are covered in
Formatting text chapter.

Staff Text and System Text can optionally affect playback. Playback related settings are edited in "Staff Text properties" and "System Text
properties" window. When a Staff Text or System Text is duplicated, or reused through customized palette, the playback settings are reused.
An Expression Text can be added to a note that already has a Dynamics symbol attached. Doing so snaps it to the dynamics symbols, this behavior
and the Properties : Expression: Snap to dynamic property is explained in Dynamics chapter.

"Staff Text properties" window

Staff Text properties, for swing and capo settings, can be accessed as follows:

Right-click on the text object

Select Staff Text properties
Choose one of the following tabs:
Swing settings
Capo settings : for Musescore 4.0.2 and below only. For Musescore 4.1.0 and above use the new Applying capos chapter instead.

"System Text properties" window

"System Text properties" window only has one tab, the Swing settings.

Style
See main chapter Templates and styles.

"Style for text inside Staff Text" is special, see Formatting text.

Values of the "Style for Staff Text" can be edited in Format→Style→Staff Text.
Values of the "Style for Expression text" can be edited in Format→Style→Expression text
Values of the "Style for text inside Staff Text" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Staff
Values of the "Style for text inside System Text" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→System

Values of the "Style for text inside Expression" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Expression

Tempo markings

Overview
The musical terminology tempo means the speed or pace of a composition. Musicians use tempo markings/marks to indicate tempo. Supported
tempo markings include:

Metronome marks: Consists of a note, an equals sign, and a whole number. indicates 80 minims (half note) per minute.
indicates 80 quarter notes (crotchets) per minute.
Verbal tempo indications: Andante, Allegro, "a tempo", "tempo primo" etc.
Tempo change lines: Consists of a text and a dashed line. Includes "accel.", "allarg.", "rall.", and "rit.".
Metric modulations:

Musescore's synthesizer paces based on two settings:

The real, written tempo of score. It is only determined by tempo markings on the score. Section breaks and barlines do not reset anything.
If no tempo marking is present on a score, it plays as if ♩ = 120 is used (120 crotchets or quarter notes in one minute).
The control slider that change pace temporarily, intended for monitoring purpose. See Playback panel chapter.

Musicians use tempo markings to indicate the value of one beat, but Musescore does not use the beat information inside tempo markings. Beat
information is obtained from Time signatures only.

Tempo markings are Musescore Text, except tempo change lines are Musescore Line that contains Text, see Text and Other lines chapter.

The Properties palette and Playback panel use a special unit "BPM". "BPM" is the amount of quarter notes would have been within one minute in
decimal number. It is not related to the musical beat. It is not the whole number used in metronome marks conventionally, or on the score.

Using Metronome marks and Metric modulations

Playback follows written content by default only when note and augmentation dot professional glyphs are used. User can also use an overriding
setting.

Using Tempo change lines

The tempo changes along the object's anchored range, see Other lines chapter.

Musescore does not understand the written content. These items have pre-defined tempo setting. In Musescore 4.2 beta's Tempo palette, by
default:

accel.: Gradually speeds up to 133% of the original tempo

 allarg.: Gradually slows down to 75% of the original tempo. The italian allargando means widen.
rall.: Gradually slows down to 75% of the original tempo
rit.: Gradually slows down to 75% of the original tempo

The setting is changable, see "Changing playback" section.

Using Verbal tempo indications

Musescore does not understand the written content. In Musescore 4.2 beta's Tempo palette, by default:

"a tempo" item: Changes tempo back the latest tempo before any change by tempo change lines.
tempo primo item: Changes tempo back to that indicated by the first valid marking.
Other verbal tempo indication items have pre-defined tempo setting.

All of these settings are changable, see "Changing playback" section.

Adding tempo marks to your score

All markings are found in the Tempo palette, see Using the palettes chapter.

Tempo markings affect playback of all staffs on a score.

New Tempo change line is positioned on top of a staff, like Staff Text does. It only appears in the "FullScore" and the "Part" that features the staff.
All other new tempo markings are positioned on top of system, like System Text does. System is a layout term, see Page layout concepts chapter).

To add a Metronome mark, Verbal tempo indication, or Metric modulation onto the score, use one of the following methods:

Select a note/rest and click an item in a palette.

Drag the item from a palette onto a note/rest.
From the menu bar, select Add→Text, and click on Tempo marking.
See also External links for alternative method utilizing a 3rd-party font.

To add a Metronome mark that use a suitable note value by using the beat information from the time signature:

Select a note/rest and press the keyboard shortcut Alt+Shift+T.

To add a Tempo change line, use the methods explained in the Other lines: apply line chapter. One common method is to add it to a selected
range:

Either
Select a note or rest, for creation of Tempo object with "Staff Text Line" behavior, or
Select a measure for creation of Tempo object with "System Text Line" behavior;
Shift+Click the last.
Click an item in the palette.

Changing appearance
Playback can be configured to follow written content of Metronome mark and Metric modulation. Musescore only understand note and
augmentation dot professional glyphs. Do not copy or use unicode characters from other programs or the internet. The augmentation dot is not a
"Full stop / period" on the computer keyboard.

Other characters and numbers are plain characters, entered using (typing on) a computer keyboard. They have different formatting behaviors, for
example changing the Properties panel:Font does not affect glyphs, see musescore 3 handbook Fonts chapter. See also Entering and editing
text chapter.

Adding plain characters

Select an object.
Enter edit mode (double click)
Type text.

Adding professional glyphs

Select an object.
Enter edit mode (double click).
Use Special characters window: Common symbols tab, one way to open the window is Shift+F2

Tempo change lines

Tempo change lines are Musescore Line. To change appearence of the dashed line, see Other lines: line properties and Adjusting elements
directly: Changing the range of a line chapters.

Changing playback
Metronome mark, Metric modulation, and Verbal tempo indication

To change the predefined tempo setting:

Select object(s)
Open the Properties palette
Under Tempo section
Enter a value in Override written tempo, this value use the special BPM unit, see Overview.

To assign a manual / overriding tempo setting:

 Select object(s)
Open the Properties palette
Under Tempo or A Tempo or Tempo primo section, click to change:
Follow written tempo : uncheck to ignore written content on the score
Set specific tempo : check to ignore written content on the score
Enter a value in Override written tempo, this value use the special BPM unit, see Overview.

Tempo change line

To change the manual tempo setting:

Select object(s)
Open the Properties palette
Click Playback, change any if required:
Amount: Target tempo as a percentage of original tempo. 100% means no change.
Easing Methods: Rate of tempo change, options are
Normal : a linear transition effect with the same rate of change from start to end
Ease in : a transition effect with a slow change rate at the start but a quicker change rate at the end
Ease out : a transition effect with a quick change rate at the start but a slow change rate at the end

Tempo change lines are Musescore Line. The tempo changes along the object's anchored range. To change the range, see Other lines: line
properties and Adjusting elements directly: Changing the range of a line chapters.

Repeating tempo markings on other staves

A tempo marking's layout and default positioning depends on how it is added, see "Adding tempo marks to your score" section.

For tempo markings that behave like "System Text" or "System Text Line", there is a special method to mirror the object, see Staff Text, System Text
and Expression Text: Repeating System Text on other staves chapter.

Tempo properties
Selected tempo markings(s) on a score can be edited with Properties panel, settings are already covered in other sections of this chapter. The
Properties panel: Font property affects plain characters, but not the professional glyphs. Professional glyphs use "Musical symbols font", see
"Tempo style" section. Text related settings are covered in Formatting text chapter. Line related settings are covered in Other lines chapter.

To edit the score-wide settings, see "Tempo style" section.

Tempo style
See main chapter Templates and styles

Values of the "Musical symbols font" can be edited in Format→Style→Score.

Values of the "Style for Tempo text" can be edited in Format→Style→Tempo text.
Values of the "Style for text inside Tempo" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Tempo
Values of the "Style for text inside Gradual Tempo Change" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Gradual Tempo Change

Values of the "Style for text Metronome" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Metronome. No object uses this profile by default, its
purpose is for styling Tempo markings which have both a verbal indication part and a metronome mark part. Often the metronome mark part is
non-bold and a little smaller. Source: https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/13377#issuecomment-147399…

External links
github "a tempo" https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/pull/15563
create advanced metric modulation text with "Metrico" font by Florian Kretlow, PSA: If you want to write complex metric modulations, check
out this awesome font Florian Kretlow made!

Lyrics
Overview
Lyrics are a form of text associated with melody lines on staves. e.g.

As you can see in the example above, lyrics are entered syllable by syllable, those within words being connected by hyphens. Underscore lines or
hyphens (depending on the context) are used to indicate melismas, where a syllable extends over several notes (see below).

Lyrics are organized into verses, with verse 1 at the top and subsequent verses in order below.

Adding lyrics to your score

In order to enter new lyrics, or to edit/format existing ones, you need to be in lyrics mode.

There are two ways to enter lyrics mode:

Start from a selected note—see Entering syllables (below).

Start from an existing lyric syllable—see Editing existing lyrics.

Entering syllables

Select the desired start note, and enter lyrics mode by pressing the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+L (Mac & Linux: Cmd+L). This will create a bounding
box ready for text input.
Type the syllable;
To enter a connected syllable, press - (hyphen), then enter the new syllable.
To move forward to a new word (from any point in a syllable), press Space, Alternatively, and only if you are at the end of a word, press → (right
arrow).
To enter a non-breaking space, type Ctrl+Space.
To enter a melisma, see below.
To move forward or backwards one character at a time, jumping between syllables, press →/← (right/left arrows).
To move backwards one syllable, press Shift+Space.

Entering a melisma

A melisma is a syllable that extends over more than one note.

If the melisma is at the end of a word it should be notated by an underscore line:

Starting from the end of the previous syllable, press _ (underscore) for as many notes as the melisma extends.

If a melisma occurs in the middle of a word it may be notated by hyphens instead:

Starting from the end of the previous syllable press - (hyphen) for as many notes as the melisma extends.
For long melismata, instead of repeated typing of hyphens, select the last note in the melisma and press - (hyphen). The intermediate
hyphens will automatically be inserted between the previous typed syllable and that final note.

Entering multiple verses

To enter subsequent verses, simply repeat the steps shown under Entering syllables. Lyrics entry automatically starts in the space beneath the last
entered verse.

In lyrics mode you can move up and down between verses using the keyboard arrows, ↑ and ↓.

Entering lyrics onto rests

By default, the cursor skips over rests in lyrics mode. However, It is possible to enter a syllable on a rest by selecting the rest, (re-)entering lyrics
mode and typing the syllable. Then you can continue entering lyrics as above.

Special characters within lyrics

Characters not available from the computer keyboard may be entered in lyrics mode using the Special characters palette. A special case is
highlighted below:

Elision slur

An Elision slur (lyric slur or synalepha) is a symbol used to join two syllables together under one note.

For example, to create the lyrics text below, starting with the syllable text "te":
 Type te;
Open the Special Characters palette;
Click one of the elision slurs in the "Common Symbols" tab
Type A.

Entering reserved characters

For the most part, lyrics can be edited like normal text. However, as noted above, keys like - (hyphen) and _ (underscore) have a special meaning
during lyrics entry. If you want to enter one of these characters as itself then an escape modifier (i.e. a shortcut) must be pressed to avoid triggering
the special meaning.

Character Windows/Linux macOS

Space ( ) Ctrl+Space Alt+Space
Hyphen (-) Ctrl+- Alt+-
Underscore (_) Ctrl+Shift+_ Alt+Shift+_
Line feed (↵) Ctrl+Return (or Enter on the numeric keypad) Alt+Return (or Enter on the numeric keypad)

Editing existing lyrics

To make additions or changes to existing lyrics, click on a syllable and use a text edit mode shortcut to enter lyrics mode.

Delete lyrics
Lyrics are automatically deleted with their parent notes. You can also delete lyrics while leaving the notes intact, by selecting the lyrics and pressing
Delete.

Entering lyrics above the staff

If you wish to position all lyrics above, instead of below, the staff:

From the menu bar, select Format→Style→Lyrics;

Set Placement to "Above".

You can of course do the same thing by selecting all lyrics in the score and changing Position to "Above" in the text section of the Properties panel.

Changing verse number of lyrics

Each verse attached to the staff is allocated a verse number—with the lowest positioned at the top and highest at the bottom. (You can of course
prepend a number to the beginning of each verse, but this is a visual indication only.)

To change the verse number, select the verse and adjust "Set to verse" in the Lyrics section of the Properties panel.

Copying lyrics
Copying lyrics within MuseScore

Lyrics are automatically copied with their parent notes, but you can also copy lyrics on their own without the notes.

Copy to the same verse

Select a range or list of lyrics syllables;

Apply cut/copy;
Select a destination note in the same verse
Paste the lyrics.

Note that the destination range should be clear of existing lyrics, otherwise the clipboard contents will be pasted on top of them.

Copy to a different verse

Copy the entire lyrics to a text editor (e.g. Notepad in Windows). Remember to insert hyphens as well as spaces.
Copy the entire lyrics into the clipboard.
Position the cursor on the first lyric of the previous verse and press Enter. This will move the cursor ready for input at the start of the next
verse.
Using Ctrl+V repeatedly, paste in the lyrics syllable by syllable.

Copying lyrics to other programs

All lyrics attached to staves can be copied to the clipboard from the menu using Tools→Copy lyrics to clipboard.

Lyrics properties
See Changing verse number of lyrics.

Lyrics style
See Templates and styles

Values of the "Style for Lyrics" can be edited in Format→Style→Lyrics.

Values of the "Style for text inside Lyrics odd lines" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Lyrics odd lines
Values of the "Style for text inside Lyrics even lines" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Lyrics even lines

Lyrics text

Placement / Position above / Position below: Sets the default positioning of lyrics in relation to the music staff.
Line height: The space between verse lines.
Min top/bottom margin: The distance above and below the lyrics block to the staves above and below.
Min. distance: The minimum distance allowed between syllables. Increase this if the lyrics are too squashed.
Align verse number:

Lyrics dash

Here you will find a number pf properties which allow you to control how hyphens between syllables are displayed:

Min./Max. dash length: Sets the minimum and maximum length of inter-syllable dashes.
Max. dash distance: Maximum distance allowed between dashes. Reducing this value allows more dashes to form between syllables where
possible—and vice versa.
Dash thickness: The (vertical) thickness of the dash.
Dash pad: The distance between the - and the syllable
Dash Y position ratio: Affects the vertical placement of the dash.
Always force dash: Tick to ensure that a dash is always visible between syllables.

Lyrics melisma

Melisma thickness: The (vertical) thickness of the melisma.

Melisma pad: The distance between the melisma and the syllable
Align:

Fingering

Types of fingering
Fingering symbols for various instruments are found in the Fingerings palette; some of these are duplicated in the Guitar palette.

Mouse over the palette icons to reveal the names of the symbols.

The different types of fingerings are as follows:

 Fingering; In keyboard notation, used to indicate left and right hand fingering. Also used in guitar music for left hand fingering.
LH guitar fingering: In guitar notation, 1–4, indicates the left-hand fingers. 0 (zero), an open string. T, the left hand thumb. Can also be used
in keyboard music.
RH guitar fingering: In guitar notation, used to indicate the right hand fingers, namely: p = thumb, i = index, m = middle, a = ring/annular, c =
little.
String number (circled): In guitar notation, used to indicate the strings (1–6, top to bottom). 0 (zero) is used for the open string.
Other fingering: Lute fingerings may be found by clicking "More" in the Fingerings palette.

Adding fingering to your score

Note: If you want fingering to be displayed in tablature, right-click on the TAB, and select Staff/Part Properties…→Advanced Style Properties; then
check the box labelled "Show fingering in tablature"

Adding fingering from a palette

To add fingering to a selection of notes:

Select one or more notes;

Click on the desired fingering symbol in a palette.

Alternatively, you can drag and drop a fingering symbol from a palette onto a single note.

When fingering is added to a note, the focus immediately shifts to the symbol, so you can adjust it right away.

Adding fingering using a keyboard shortcut

Select a start note;

Choose one of the following options:
(for any fingering) Add the desired fingering symbol from a palette (as shown above);
(for Fingering only) Enter the custom keyboard shortcut for "Add Fingering," then type the desired number.
(Note: you can create this shortcut from the menu Edit→Preferences→Shortcuts
Choose one of the following options:
To move the cursor to the next note: Press Space, or Alt+→;
To move the cursor to the previous note: Shift+Space, or Alt+←;
Type the desired number; a fingering is added of the same type as the initial one .
Repeat steps 3 and 4 as required;
Press Esc, or click on an empty space in the document window, to exit.

Adding fingering using the menu

Select the start note;

From the menu bar, select Add→Text→Fingering;
Type the fingering number of the first note;
Press space to move to the next note; and so on.

Adjusting position
To edit fingering position, see Changing position of elements.

Some fingerings can be flipped to the other side of the staff using the X shortcut, or the Flip direction icon on the note input toolbar.
Changing the appearance of fingering
The text formatting of fingering elements can be adjusted in the Text section of the Properties panel. See Formatting text for details.

Fingering properties
General and text properties for fingering can be edited from the Properties panel.

For General properties see General settings.

For Text properties, see Formatting text.

Fingering style
Each of the different classes of fingering have their own text style. These can be viewed and edited from the menu: Format→Style→Text styles.

See also
Drum sticking

Chord symbols

Overview
A chord symbol is an abbreviated way of representing a musical chord and its harmony.

MuseScore supports the following notations:

Chord symbol: Alphabetical chord name plus chord quality. e.g. Am,
Nashville Number System (NNS): Arabic numeral plus chord quality. e.g. 6m,
Roman Numeral Analysis (RNA): Roman numeral plus chord quality. e.g. vi.

Adding chord symbols to a score

Entering a chord symbol

Select a start note, note slash, or rest;

Press Ctrl+K (Mac: Cmd+K). The cursor is now positioned above the staff ready for input.
Enter the chord symbol using the following characters:
Root note: a, b, c, d, e, f, g. (the lower case will automatically change to upper-case when you exit the chord symbol)
Sharp: # (hash).
Flat: b (small letter "b").
Double sharp: x (small letter "x") or ## (two hash symbols).
Double flat: bb (small letter "b" twice).
Natural: Ctrl+Shift+H (Mac:Cmd+Shift+H). However, this won't playback, the entire chord's playback decays to its root note.
Space: Ctrl+Space (Mac: Alt+Space);
For other symbols, see Chord symbol syntax (below).
To move the cursor forward to the next chord/rest/beat, press Space. For other ways of moving the cursor, see navigation commands (below);
Exit chord symbol mode by pressing Esc.

Chord names, accidentals and formatting

After you exit Edit Mode, any characters entered are automatically converted to the correct format. A root note typed in lower case turns into upper
case (for alternative options, see Automatic Capitalization). And characters entered for accidentals are automatically converted into professional
glyphs. For example, a "#" (hash character) automatically becomes a sharp sign (♯). Don't input, or copy and paste, unicode characters, such as
U+266F (sharp sign, ♯), or U+266D (flat sign, ♭) etc, as MuseScore will not render them correctly in chord notation.

Navigation commands

The following is a summary of keyboard shortcuts used to move the cursor in chord symbol entry mode:

Action Command (Windows) Command (macOS)

Move cursor to next note, rest, or beat Space Space
Move cursor to next beat ; (semicolon) ;
Move cursor to previous note, rest, or beat Shift+Space
Move cursor to previous beat : (colon) :
Move cursor to next measure Ctrl+→ Cmd+→
Move cursor to previous measure Ctrl+← Cmd+←
Move cursor by duration number Ctrl+1-9 Cmd+1-9
Exit chord symbol entry Esc Esc

Chord symbol syntax

MuseScore understands most of the abbreviations used in chord symbols:

Major: M, Ma, Maj, ma, maj, Δ (type t or ˆ for the triangle, the latter doesn't seem to work on Windows though)
Minor: m, mi, min, -
Diminished: dim, ° (entered with lowercase letter o, shows as ° if using the Jazz style, as o, the Greek omicron, otherwise)
 Half-diminished: ø (entered with 0, number zero, shows as ø if using the Jazz style, as 0 (zero) otherwise). Alternatively, you can, of course,
choose abbreviations such as mi7b5 etc. Note: to get Dø, type "D0", not "Dm70" or "Dm0"
Augmented: aug, +
The following abbreviations are also valid: extensions and alterations like b9 or #5, sus, alt, and no3; inversions and slash chords, such as
C7/E; commas; parentheses, which can enclose part, or even all, of a chord symbol.

Editing a chord symbol

Chord symbols are Text. Double-click on a chord symbol to enter Edit Mode, see Text editing. Use methods described above to create special
characters. After you exit Edit Mode, they are automatically converted to the correct formatting.

Entering Roman numeral analysis

Not to be confused with Figured bass.

Select a start note;

From the menu, select Add→Text→Roman Numeral Analysis. Alternatively, set up a keyboard shortcut to do the same thing in
Preferences ;
Input the RNA symbols for the chord just like normal text, as follows;
Major chord: Upper case roman numerals
Minor chord: Lower case roman numerals
Diminished chord: o (lower case)
Half-diminished chord: 0 (zero)
Augmented chord: +
Chord inversions: Enter up to 3 single-digit numbers, top note first
Accidentals: enter # for a sharp, b for a flat or h for natural. These turn into a proper (and superscripted) ♯ , ♭ or ♮ right away, see
entering accidentals above.
To prevent any character from being interpreted or superscripted, prefix the character with a backslash, "\". This could be used, for
example, to add a literal letter "b", "h", a hash symbol "#", or a non-superscripted number etc.
Inversion notation using alphabet a,b,c,d can be created with the method described above.
Inversion notation using vertically aligned arabic numerals without accidentals such as 64 can be created with the method described
below.
Inversion notation using vertically aligned arabic numerals with accidentals such as 6#3, ie altered chord, is unsupported, workaround :
create Figured bass text instead; or create separate text objects and manually nudge them into place.
For other symbols, see the images below.
Move the cursor forward or backwards to continue entering or editing symbols for other chords;
When RNA is completed, exit by pressing Esc, or by clicking on a blank section of the score.

RNA input offers the same keyboard shortcuts for navigation as in chord symbols (see above ).

RNA accidentals and formatting

Upon each computer keyboard input, characters are automatically converted to the correct format. MuseScore uses a specialist font, Campania ,
to provide the correct formatting for RNA.

Examples of RNA

Type this:

To get:

Entering a Nashville number

The Nashville Number System (NNS), is a shorthand way of representing chords based on scale degrees rather than chord letters. This allows an
accompaniment to be played in any key from the same chord chart.

To start entering Nashville notation:

Select a start note;

From the menu, select Add→Text→Nashville Number.

Just as with standard chord symbols, you can type Nashville notation normally and MuseScore will do its best to recognize and format the symbols
appropriately. The same shortcuts used for navigation when entering standard chord symbols (e.g. Space, see above) are available for Nashville
notation as well.

Appearance and function overview

See also the main chapter Templates and styles.

The final visual and function of a chord symbol, Nashville Number, or Roman Numeral Analysis in a score file is determined by:

Properties of each individual symbol on a score, By default, objects do not have any specific properties. When properties are assigned in
the Properties panel, they will always be used; and
The global profiles (per each Musescore Part and the "Full Score").
Chord symbols, NNS, RNA use corresponding compatible values in "Style for Chord symbols" defined in Format → Style → Chord
Symbols, this behavior cannot be changed. For example, Chord symbols and NNS (but not RNA) are affected by Jazz rendering style.
Chord symbols, NNS, RNA use their respective "Style for text inside certain type" by default.Format → Style → Text Styles → Chord
Symbol, Roman numeral analysis, Nashville number. This behavior can be changed in each individual object's Properties panel:
More... button → Text Style dropbox option. For example, Chord symbols use "Style for text inside Chord symbol", you can switch to
use the profile "Style for text inside Chord symbol (Alternate)", or any other profile. This allows two separate sets of formatting for easier
editing in a reharmonization scores.

Aligning chord symbols

See main chapter Formatting text, also "Appearance and function" section above.

Using the Style menu

"Style for Chord Symbols"

The default vertical alignment of all Chord Symbols, NNS and RNA are defined in "Style for Chord symbols" Format→ Style→Chord Symbol:
Positioning.

Distance to fretboard diagram: Affects the distance between fretboard diagrams and any chord symbols above.
Minimum chord spacing: The minimum distance allowed between chords.
Maximum barline distance:
Maximum shift above/below: This is used to line up chord symbols whose vertical alignment is irregular. Experiment until you get the
apperance you want.

"Style for text inside certain object"

The default alignment of objects also depends on the profile used, see "Chord symbol style" section. Effect of values in style profiles are cumulative.

Using the Properties panel

To align object(s):

Select object(s), see Selecting elements chapter.

In Properties panel
Under Text section, change Text style, see "Style for text inside certain object" section. Adjust Alignment, Position.
Press Appearance button, adjust Offset. Effects are cumulative.

Transposition of chord symbols

Transposing instruments

Upon switching "concert pitch" score viewing mode, chord symbols of transposing instrument adjust themselves automatically. When chord symbols
are copied and pasted, they are transposed accordingly. See also Transposition chapter.

Chords associated with guitar fretboard diagrams are not transposed automatically, see Fretboard diagrams chapter.

Transpose dialog

The Transpose dialog transposes all selected objects except NNS and RNA, see Transposition: Using Transpose dialog chapter. To disable
transposing selected chord symbols, uncheck Transpose chord symbols.

Enabling automatic creation of extra chord symbols (not NNS or RNA) with capo

Musescore can be configured to create an extra bracketed chord symbol with capo next to each chord symbol (not NNS or RNA) on the score
automatically. The bracketed symbol, when played using that capo, sounds identical to the unbracketed one. To enable this feature:

In Format → Style → Chord Symbols: Capo fret position.

Assign the capo position for the appended extra chord symbol. Default value 0 does not create extra chord symbols.

Changing Spelling of Chord Symbols (not NNS or RNA)

For chord symbols only (not NNS or RNA).

MuseScore uses letter names (A-G) by default, but you can switch the spelling system. MuseScore also automatically capitalizes, regardless of
whether you entered them in upper or lower case, you can change this behavior.

Chord Spelling Systems

From the main menu, choose Format→ Style→Chord symbols. Then choose one of the following radio buttons in the spelling section:

Standard: A, B♭, B, C, C♯,…

German: A, B♭, H, C, C♯,…
Full German: A, B, H, C, Cis,…
Solfeggio: Do, Do♯, Re♭, Re,…
 French: Do, Do♯, Ré♭, Ré,...

Automatic Capitalization

From the main menu, choose Format→ Style→Chord symbols. Then choose from of the following options:

Lower case minor chords: c, cm, cm7,...

Lower case bass notes: C/e,...
All caps note names: DO, RE, MI,...

You can also turn off the automatic capitalization completely, in which case note names are simply rendered the way you type them.

Changing appearance
Shown below are results of different Font face and Rendering style settings. In the third exmaple, individual objects' Font property are ignored
because the Jazz rendering style is used.

Font

Font (font face, typeface, or font family) is not to be confused with Rendering style. See also Fonts .

To assign font and formatting to individual symbol on a score, use Properties panel. To assign default font, use global style profiles "style for text
inside certain type". For chord symbols and NNS (but not RNA), individual object's Font property is ignored when the Jazz rendering style is used.

Rendering style of chord symbols and NNS (but not RNA)

Rendering style is not to be confused with Font option.

Rendering style is the MuseScore feature that uses extra formatting to improve engraving. It is defined in the global style profile "Style for Chord
Symbol" in Format → Style → Chord Symbols . All Chord symbols are affected by the chosen rendering style, there is no individual property
option. An appropriate default setting is used automatically, based on the template selected to create the score. For Jazz templates the Jazz
rendering style is used, for other templates the Standard rendering style is used. The three options available are:

Standard rendering style: chords are rendered simply with the font, no extra formatting is used.
Jazz rendering style: MuseJazz font is used for a handwritten look, with distinctive superscript and other formatting characteristics.
Custom rendering style: allows you to customize the look of chord symbols (and also ensures compatibility with older scores) with a Chord
symbols style file (*.xml) . These files are found under installation's "styles" folder. In Windows 10, that would be C:\Program
Files\MuseScore 4\styles\ . Documentation can be found in the same folder. This is for advanced users only, see external links below.

Musescore uses the following terminology:

Extension part and modifier part can use extra formatting:

Extension scaling and Modifier scaling: This affects the size of the chord extension or of the modifier.
Extension vertical offset and Modified vertical offset: This affects the vertical position of the chord symbol extension or of the modifier.

Changing Playback of Chord Symbols

Enabling and disabling playback

Only chord symbols and NNS create playback, RNA does not create playback.
To disable/enable playback of these objects of the Musescore program:

Click the cog icon to the right of the playback controls

Deselect/select Play chord symbols.

To disable/enable playback of selected object(s) on score:

Uncheck/check Properties panel: General section : Play checkbox .

Customizing playback

To edit selected chord symbols edit settings under Properties panel: Chord symbol section. To edit the global settings for all chord symbols and
NNS (but not RNA) in a score, edit settings under Format→ Style→Chord symbols : Playback section.

Interpretation: Literal or Jazz.

Voicing: Automatic, Root Only, Close, Drop two, Six note, Four note, three note. See details on musescore 3 handbook Playback: Chord
symbols / Nashville numbers chapter.
Duration: Until next chord symbol, Until end of measure, Chord/rest duration

Note: The triangle symbol Δ in Musescore creates a Major triad only.

Generating chord voicings onto a staff

MuseScore allows you to generate notes from selected chord symbols and NNS (but not RNA) . The voicing depends on the playback settings
explained.

To realize a selection of chord symbols:

Make a selection of chord symbols;

Right click on any chord in the selection;
Click Realize chord symbols;
Optional. Check "Override with custom options" and set the options as required;
Click OK.

Note: The triangle symbol Δ in Musescore creates a Major triad only. To change chord quality afterwards, see "External links" section.

Chord symbol properties

Chord symbol(s) on a score can be edited with Properties panel. Text related settings are covered in Text. Playback related settings are covered in
Changing Playback of Chord Symbols section above.

Chord symbol style

See main chapter Templates and styles, and Appearance and function section above.

Values of the "Style for chord symbols" can be edited in Format→Style→Chord symbols.
Values of the "Style for text inside Chord Symbol" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Chord Symbol
Values of the "Style for text inside Chord Symbol (Alternate)" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Chord Symbol (Alternate).
Values of the "Style for text inside Nashville Number" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Nashville Number
Values of the "Style for text inside Roman Numeral Analysis" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Roman Numeral Analysis

External links
To change chord quality after Generating chord voicings onto a staff, use a plugin such as:

Chord Level Selector

Next inversion: replaces all chord(s) in (keyboard) selection with their next inversion

To identify harmony or chord, use a plugin such as:

Chord Identifier (Pop & Jazz) for music that features harmonic chromaticism heavily, as the RNA created has jazz influence.
Chord ID and Roman numeral analysis for music that features stable tonality, as conventional RNA are created.

Chord symbols style file (*.xml):

chords.xml with sub/superscript and stacked chord alterations shared by RunasSudo

github issue Support for chords with stacked extensions #16241 workaround by MarcSabatella

Figured bass

Overview
Figured bass is a shorthand notation for representing chords on a continuo instrument (such as a keyboard), using a series of numbers and other
symbols written underneath the notes of the bass line.

Adding figured bass to your score

Entering a figure

Select the note to which the figured bass applies;

Press the Figured Bass shortcut. The default is Ctrl+G (Mac: Cmd+G); this can be changed in Preferences: Shortcuts if desired;
Enter the text in the "edit box" which appears.

Text format

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.

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:

To enter: type:
double flat bb
flat b
natural h
sharp #
double sharp ##

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.

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.

Navigating by note, beat, or measure

The duration of a Figured Bass indication often lasts until the next bass note or the end of a bar. Such Figured Bass can be entered consecutively
using the keyboard. (To move to a point in between, or to extend a figured bass group for a longer duration, see Duration).

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.

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.

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:

When several groups are fit under a single staff note (there is no other way).
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.

Entering continuation lines

Continuation lines are input by adding an '_' (underscore) at the end of the line, then pressing the keyboard combination for the required duration of
the continuation line to exit the editing box. Each digit of a group can have its own continuation line. To write the continuation lines in the following
example:

Select the note to which the figured bass applies;

Press the Figured Bass shortcut Ctrl+G (Mac: Cmd+G) to enter the editing box;
Type 6_Enter;
Type 4_Enter;
Type Ctrl+6 to edit the editing box and advance the cursor.
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.

Figured bass properties

The text formatting of figured bass symbols is handled automatically by the program, based on style settings (see below). Only General and
Appearance properties can be adjusted from the Properties panel..

Figured bass style

Properties of all figured bass symbols in the score can be set from Format→Style…→Figured Bass.

Font: This is the preset "MuseScore Figured Bass," which is specially designed to realize figured bass notation.
Size: Select a font-size in points.
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: Choose between "Modern" or "Historic." The difference between the two styles is shown below:

Figured bass keyboard shortcuts

Type: to get:
Ctrl+G Adds a new figured bass group to the selected note.
 Type: to get:
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.
Advances the editing box by 1/64, setting the duration of the previous
Ctrl+1
group.
Advances the editing box by 1/32, setting the duration of the previous
Ctrl+2
group.
Advances the editing box by 1/16, setting the duration of the previous
Ctrl+3
group.
Advances the editing box by 1/8 (quaver), setting the duration of the
Ctrl+4
previous group.
Advances the editing box by 1/4 (crochet), setting the duration of the
Ctrl+5
previous group.
Advances the editing box by a half note (minim), setting the duration
Ctrl+6
of the previous group.
Advances the editing box by a whole note (semibreve), setting the
Ctrl+7
duration of the previous group.
Advances the editing box by two whole notes (breve), setting the
Ctrl+8
duration of the previous group.
Enters an actual space; useful when figure appears "on the second
Ctrl+Space
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 Cmd.

Rehearsal marks

Overview
Rehearsal marks (sometimes called Rehearsal Letters) can be used in a number of ways. e.g.

To identify specific points in a score to facilitate rehearsing.

As bookmarks in the score to which you can instantly navigate—using the Find/Search command.
To mark the various sections in the score.

Rehearsal marks are a type of system text. In a full score they show only above the top staff of a system, but appear in all instrument parts.

Rehearsal marks can be added to the score in two ways: (1) manually, allowing you to name them as you wish, or (2) automatically, which ensures
that they are named in sequence

Adding a rehearsal mark to your score

Manual placement and naming

To create a rehearsal mark manually and give it a name of your own choosing:

Click on a note (or rest) at the desired location;

Select one of the following options:
Press Ctrl+M (Mac: Cmd+M);
From the menu, choose Add→Text →Rehearsal Mark;
Enter the desired text.

Automatic placement and naming

MuseScore can name the Rehearsal Marks automatically. Do either:

Click on a note (or rest) at the desired location, then click the [B1] rehearsal mark icon in the "Text" palette
Drag and drop the rehearsal mark from the "Text" palette onto the score.

Notes: (1) By default, marks are added in the sequence, A, B, C etc. (2) To change the format of subsequently-added marks (to lower case letters,
or numbers), edit the previous rehearsal mark accordingly. (3) Marks added between existing rehearsal marks append a number or letter to the
previous mark: it is a good idea to apply the Resequence command afterwards (see below).

Using measure numbers in rehearsal marks

If you want the rehearsal marks to be displayed as measure numbers:

Add the first rehearsal mark, then edit it to read the same as the number of the measure it is attached to;
Add subsequent marks as shown in Automatic placement and naming (above). They will automatically adopt the measure-number format.

Resequencing rehearsal marks

MuseScore allows the user to automatically re-order a series of rehearsal marks if they have got out of sequence for any reason. Use the following
method:

Before making a selection, you can, if desired, establish a new format for the rehearsal marks (lower/upper case, number, or measure
number) by manually altering the first mark in the range accordingly.
Select the range of measures you wish to apply the Resequence command to (if there is no selection then the program assumes you wish to
resequence all measures).
From the menu, select Tools→Resequence Rehearsal Marks.

MuseScore automatically detects the sequence based on the first rehearsal mark in the selection—all rehearsal marks in the selection are then
altered accordingly. The following sequences are possible:

A, B, C etc.
a, b, c etc.
Numerical: 1, 2, 3 etc.
Numerical: according to measure numbers.

Finding rehearsal marks

See Find / Go to (Navigating your score).

Repeating rehearsal marks on other staves

In most full scores any Rehearsal marks are shown only above the topmost staff of a system, but appear in all the generated instrument parts. If
duplicate marks are required on lower staves they should be added as staff text.

Some templates have an additional feature, e.g. Symphony Orchestra or Classical Orchestra, see the list of templates in Staff Text and System Text
chapter. On a new score created using either of the two templates listed abve, when you create a rehearsal mark above the top staff, an identical
one is automatically added just above the string section. If either instance of the mark is edited the content of both is updated. If either one is
removed, both are removed.

Changing appearance of rehearsal marks

By default, rehearsal marks appear in a large bold font, enclosed in frames, and aligned to the center of the start barline of the measure. You can
edit the default text properties from Format→Style→Text style .

Rehearsal mark properties

The properties of selected rehearsal marks can be changed in the Properties Panel.

Rehearsal mark style

See Templates and styles.

Values of the "Style for Rehearsal marks" can be edited in Format→Style→Rehearsal marks.
Values of the "Style for text inside Rehearsal mark" can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Rehearsal mark

External links
Rehearsal letter (Wikipedia article)

Header and footer

Not to be confused with the top vertical frame and text added to the first page, when a new score is created from certain templates, see Create your
first score and Using frames for additional content chapters.

Overview
The header and footer are text automatically added to the top and the bottom area of each page respectively. To add text to certain page(s) only,
use frame and Musescore Text objects instead, see Entering and editing text chapter.

Adding a header or footer to your score

From the main menu, select Format→Style→Header & Footer.

 Check the "Header Text" and "Footer Text" boxes as required.

Note: To create a header or footer for a Part, open and view that Part first.

Entering information

From the main menu, select Format→Style→Header & Footer:

The area on the top is for headers, area below it is for footers.
Both of them are divided into two rows, labelled Odd, and Even, for content on odd and even pages respectively.
They are also divided into three columns, labelled Left, Middle, and Right, representing the corresponding areas.
There are three kinds of valid input:
plain text,
placeholder text, or special symbols, that converts into information automatically, they include
read-only information such as the current page number, and
editable metadata, see "Using metadata" section.
To see a list of available placeholder text or special symbols, hover the mouse cursor over any text input area and wait for a popup box to
appear. Shown below is the list for Musescore 4.2.
Placeholder text or special symbols are case-sensitive, they must be entered letter-for-letter with the correct case. For example
$d converts into current date
$D converts into creation date
$:movementNumber: converts into "Moverment number" metadata
$:movementnumber: is invalid because of the wrong lower case 'n'

Part name placeholder text is only available in a Part, but not the "Full Score". Its placeholder text is $I, $i, or $:partName: . To rename a Part's
name, see Parts: Renaming chapter.

Using metadata

Metadata are digital information, or tags, assigned in File→Project properties, use $:[metadata tag]: syntax to add them to header and footer. See
the example in "Entering information" section, and the main chapter Project properties.

Changing the appearance of headers and footers

From the main menu, select Format→Style→Header & Footer:

Show on first page
Different odd/even pages: Use different content on odd pages and even pages.

Header and footer respect page margins configured in Format→Page Settings (see the main chapter Score size and spacing). Page margins are
always left blank, Musescore resizes the staffs area to show content of header and footer. Additional margin can be achieved by adjusting the
Offset in style profiles, font options are also available there, see "Header and footer Style" section.

Header and footer Properties

Header and footer are not Musescore Text objects, it is not possible to select and use Properties panel to change properties of a header or footer
on a particular page separately. To settings for all headers and footers, change values in the style profiles, see "Header and footer Style" section
below.

To add text to certain page(s) only, use frame and Musescore Text objects instead, see Entering and editing text chapter.

Header and footer Style

See the main chapter Templates and styles

Page numbers, only when referenced using the $p or $P symbols, will use the Page number text style, which can be edited in
Format→Style→Text styles→Page numbers
Copyright text, only when referenced using the $c or $C symbols, will use the Copyright text style, which can be edited in
Format→Style→Text styles→Copyright
All other text in the header fields will use the Header style, which can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Header

All other text in the footer fields will use the Footer style, which can be edited in Format→Style→Text styles→Footer
See also
Specify a custom starting page in Format→Page Settings : First page number. See also the main chapter Score size and spacing.

Text blocks
Not to be confused with header, see Header and footer chapter.

Overview
A text block is a Text object in frame. Used together with a vertical frame that spans whole width of a page, they are designed to elegantly:

Display the title, subtitle composer, arranger, lyricist etc at the beginning of a score.
Display details of individual pieces within a suite.
Display lyrics at the end of a song/hymn.

Score created from certain template contains a top vertical frame with Text objects on the first page. They are automatically assigned with
information provided by user in the New Score dialog, see Setting up score : Additional score information . They are not header, header is the
functionality to add text to every pages, see Header and footer chapter.

Adding text blocks to your score

Add an appropriate frame first if there is none, see Using frames for additional content.

To add a text block to a frame, either:

Right-click on the frame and select Add , then select Text, Title, Subtitle, Composer, Lyricist, or Part name, or
Select the frame, then from the menu bar select Add→Text → Title, Subtitle, Composer, Lyricist, or Part name . This method does not
have Text option.

Every option explained above adds a blank object, regardless of information provided in New Score dialog or metadata tags (see Project properties
chapter. Content entered into the said object also does not change the metadata tags. The main difference between these options is the default
alignment positioning and font size, see "Text block text style" section.

Changing the appearance of text blocks

Select a Text object.
In the Properties panel, edit the desired property. Some useful properties are:
Alignment under Text section.
Offset in the window appeared after clicking on Appearance button, see also Adjusting elements directly chapter.
Match staff size checkbox under Text section. It is collapsed inside Show more button. See Score size and spacing : Page Settings
window chapter.

To save settings into a style profile, click on the ellipsis (three dots) icon to the right of a property and select “”Save as default style for this score”,
see Templates and styles chapter.

Text block text Properties

The text properties of a selected text block can be changed in the Text section of the Properties panel.

Alternatively you may wish to choose a different text style altogether from the dropdown list under “Text style” (in Properties: Text→More)
Text block text Style
See the main chapter Templates and styles

Values of the "Style for text inside Part name" can be edited in Format→Style→Text Style→Instrument Name (Part).
Values of the "Style for text inside Text (text object type)" can be edited in Format→Style→Text Style→Frame.
Values of the "Style for text inside Title" can be edited in Format→Style→Text Style→Title.
Values of the "Style for text inside Subtitle" can be edited in Format→Style→Text Style→Subtitle.
Values of the "Style for text inside Composer" can be edited in Format→Style→Text Style→Composer.
Values of the "Style for text inside Lyricist" can be edited in Format→Style→Text Style→Lyricist.

See also
Using frames for additional content

Formatting
Page layout concepts
MuseScore generally does an excellent job of arranging music and text on the page, but there are situations where you may need to adjust things—
to make music larger or smaller, to add space between staves, to change the number of measures on a page, to move text closer to or further away
from the staff, etc. In order to make these types of changes, it helps to understand how MuseScore works with respect to page layout.

Definitions
There are a number of terms used throughout this chapter that you will need to be familiar with.

Spatium (plural: Spatia) / Space / Staff Space / sp.

The size of everything on a score, such as staff, note heads, note stems, accidentals, clefs etc., uses a basic unit of measurement called "staff
space" or "sp." to maintains correct proportions.
One sp is defined as the standard vertical distance between the midpoints of two lines of a music staff (or one quarter of vertical dimension of a full
five-line staff, assuming a hypothetical staff line thickness of 0).
When you create a new score, MuseScore tries to adjust the staff space automatically so that the staves all fit on the page initially.
This usually leads to 1 sp = 1.75 mm, which results in a staff height of 7 mm, which is a good staff height for most solo music, choral music, small
ensemble scores, and individual parts. Lead sheets and children's music may benefit from a larger staff size. Large ensemble scores may often
require a smaller staff size in order to fit all instruments on the page.
You may need to adjust this value further as you add music, if auto-place results in additional space being added between staves in order to avoid
collisions.

Modify the definition of "staff space" itself in the "Page settings" window. See Score size and spacing chapter, the overriding options are also
explained there.

Staff

You should know the concept of Musescore instrument too.

A staff is the set of lines and spaces on which notes are written. When the term is used in MuseScore, it refers to that set of lines and spaces for a
given instrument throughout an entire score. In the following score for voice and piano, everything marked in yellow constitutes a single staff—the
staff for the voice:
Grand staff

In music for piano and certain other instruments, two staves are used—one primarily for the right hand, the other for the left. This set of two staves
is normally connected by curly braces and is referred to as a grand staff. In the following excerpt, the portion marked in yellow is a grand staff:

System

Like text, music is read left to right, top to bottom. Each line of music read across the page is called a system, and it contains the staves and grand
staves for all instruments. In the following example, the yellow highlighted region represents a single system:
Even if a score has only a single staff for a single instrument, we still refer to a line of music read across the page as a system. In the following lead
sheet, there is only a single staff but three systems:

Frame

Most text in notated music is associated with specific notes or measures. However, you may also need to place text that is not associated with a
specific note or measure—the title at the beginning of a score, lyric verses placed at the end of a score, explanatory information placed between
systems or even between measures. MuseScore uses elements called frames for this. There are vertical, text, and horizontal frames—each
optimized for a particular type of use. Horizontal frames can also be used to create separation between measures on a system, with or without
associated text.
Margin

A margin is an area in which MuseScore will not normally place music or other elements. The page margin is the area around all four edges of the
page where no elements are placed. The music margin is the area between the top and bottom margin and the first and last staff. The staves
themselves will not be placed in those margins, but notes and other markings above or below the staves may be.

Positioning of elements

MuseScore Studio places elements in your score automatically according to a set of rules and style settings. These are designed to produce
excellent results by default. Elements are positioned according to standard engraving practices while avoiding collisions. Default positions can be
customized for any given element.

Default position
Most elements in MuseScore have a default position that is determined by a style setting that can be customized via the Properties panel or the
Format→Style dialog. For elements that are placed above the staff, the position is specified as an offset from the top line of the staff; for elements
that are placed below the staff, the position is specified as an offset from the bottom line of the staff. These offsets, like most measurements in
MuseScore, are expressed in staff spaces—abbreviated sp. For many element types, you can specify an offset to be used when placed above as
well as a separate offset to be used when placed below, and also which of these placements should be applied by default.

For example, for dynamics, the default placement is below the staff, and the default offset below the bottom staff line is 2.5 sp. If you flip a dynamic
marking above the staff, it defaults to 1.5 sp above the top staff line staff (expressed as a negative offset: -1.5 sp). These settings are all found in
Format→Style→Dynamics.
Note that the default offset is larger for dynamics placed below the staff than above only because the offset is measured from the baseline of the
text.

Auto-place
Auto-place is the term MuseScore uses for a set of algorithms used to avoid collisions as well as to align certain elements automatically. A basic
understanding of how auto-place works can be useful when making adjustments.

Vertical collision avoidance

For most elements placed above or below the staff, collision avoidance works vertically. When an element is being positioned, MuseScore first tries
to place it according to the default offset for that element type. If that would result in a collision with another element, then one of the two elements
will be moved further from the staff to avoid the overlap. MuseScore follows standard engraving rules in determining which elements to move. For
example, tempo markings are placed above trill lines, rather than vice versa.

The Minimum distance style setting determines how much distance MuseScore places between elements when avoiding collisions in this manner.
The corresponding setting in the Properties panel allows you to override this for individual elements where necessary. But MuseScore adjusts this
value automatically when positioning elements manually, as seen below in the section on manual adjustment.

Horizontal collision avoidance

For certain elements such as lyrics or chord symbols, MuseScore will widen measures to avoid collisions rather than displace these elements
vertically.

Vertical alignment

MuseScore will also try to align certain elements vertically, so that if one element of that type needs to be adjusted vertically to avoid a collision,
other elements of that same type on the same system will automatically be adjusted as well. Elements that are always aligned vertically include
lyrics and pedal markings. Dynamics and hairpins will be aligned if they are directly adjacent.

Chord symbols can also be aligned vertically if you enable this in the chord symbol style settings, by setting a Maximum shift value. See Chord
symbols for more information.

Disabling auto-place

Auto-place normally does a good job of avoiding collisions and of aligning elements. In cases where you wish to position an element manually, you
can usually do so directly without the need to disable auto-place (see manual adjustment below).
However, you may still wish to disable auto-place in some situations. For example, rehearsal markings default to displaying above voltas, but you
may wish to reverse this for some specific case where the volta was already displaced higher and there is then room for the rehearsal mark
underneath.

In this case, disabling auto-place for the rehearsal mark allows it to display underneath the volta, while still allowing the volta to automatically avoid
collisions with the notes.

To disable auto-place for an element, select it and uncheck Auto-place in Properties→General.

The element will be returned to its default position (as determined by its style settings) and it will not be included in the detection of collisions with
other elements. Disabling auto-place for an element also causes it to be excluded from any vertical alignment that would otherwise have applied.

Manual adjustment
Whether auto-place has displaced an element from its default position or not, the position of elements can be adjusted manually either by dragging,
using the cursor keys, or the Offset fields in the Properties→General→Appearance. See Adjusting elements directly for more information.

MuseScore even allows you to perform manual adjustments that would result in collisions. In the example above, if you drag the rehearsal letter
below the volta, MuseScore will allow this and will automatically set the Minimum distance for that element to a negative value, thus effectively
allowing the collision without disabling auto-place.

Manual alignment
Elements of the same type will normally be aligned by default simply because they have the same style settings and therefore the same offset.
However, auto-place can result in some of the elements being moved further from the staff than others. As described above under Vertical
alignment, MuseScore will automatically align some types of elements. For other elements types, you can align them manually by assigning them
the same vertical offset.

To do this, simply select the elements you wish to align (e.g., click the first, Shift+click the last), then gradually increase or decrease the vertical
offset in the Properties panel. For example, to align a series of tempo markings above the staff, you will need to set their vertical offsets to the
same value. To make sure they are aligned and also avoid the collisions that cause auto-place to display one or more of them to begin with, you will
need to set the offset to a sufficiently large negative value.

Score size and spacing

MuseScore provides a number of score-wide settings to control the overall size and spacing of music.
Below we will cover these settings and Musescore's algorithm. These settings are in the "Page settings" window, and in the items around the top of
"Style" window left pane: Format → Style → Score, Page, Size, System, Bars etc.
There are also a variety of ways to override these defaults to change the horizontal or vertical spacing of individual systems pages, and these are
covered in Systems and horizontal spacing and Pages and vertical spacing chapters.

See also Templates and styles if you are using Musescore Part feature.

Page settings
The settings that control the overall size of your music are found in Format→Page Settings.
Note that units in this dialog default to millimeters, but you can change to inches using the control provided.

Page and margin sizes

Page Size: select from predefined pages sizes

Width: set a custom width
Height: set a custom height
Portrait / Landscape: set the page orientation
Two sided: determines whether margins as well as Header and footer can be set independently for odd and even pages

The default page size is Letter in North and Central America, and A4 in most of the rest of the world.

Odd Page Margins: set the top, bottom, left, and right page margins for odd-numbered pages
Even Page Margins: set the top, bottom, left, and right page margins for even-numbered pages

The margins default to 15 mm regardless of the page size. If Two sided is not enabled, then only the Odd Page Margins settings are applicable.

Scaling

Staff space (sp) : changes the definition of staff space (sp) itself. See Page layout concepts chapter.

See overview above for info on other overall size and spacing options and the two chapters detailing individual systems pages specific options.

Overriding options for individual object on a score are available:

Each Text object on a score has a "Follow staff" size checkbox property set in Properties panel, see Formatting text chapter.
Various profiles "style for text inside certain type of object" have "Follow staff size" checkboxes set in Format → Style → Text Styles →
(middle pane items), see Templates and styles and Formatting text chapter.
Each Image on a score has a Size in staff space units checkbox property set in Properties panel, see Working with images.
[Please add missing options if you find them]

Other settings

First page number: Set the number on which page numbering starts (useful if your score has a title page, for example)
Unit: select between inches and millimeters for values in this dialog

Actions

In addition to the standard OK and Cancel buttons, this dialog also contains:

Reset All Page Settings to Default: reset all settings in this dialog to their default values
Apply to all Parts: apply the current page settings to all individual parts

Note that in large ensemble scores where MuseScore has automatically reduced the staff size in order to fit all instruments on a single page,
resetting page settings will revert to the standard staff space default of 1.75 mm.

Style settings
The horizontal spacing of notes and the vertical spacing of staves and systems are controlled by style settings.

Horizontal spacing

This section contains overview, see Systems and horizontal spacing for details.

MuseScore determines an initial width for each measure based on the music it contains, then calculates how many measures can fit on each
system, and then stretches those measures out so that all systems (except the last if desired) are filled to the right margin, similar to the "justified"
option in word processor software . You cannot change this behavior, but see overriding options in Systems and horizontal spacing.
The initial width for a measure is determined by the music within it as well as a group of style settings that control the spacing between notes and
other symbols. Most of the settings affecting the horizontal spacing for a score are found in Format→Style→Bars. The most important are:

Minimum measure width: set the minimum width for a measure

Minimum note distance: set the minimum distance between two notes
Spacing ratio: set the ratio of space allocated for one note value compared to the next shorter value

The default spacing ratio of 1.5 means that each note value takes 1.5 times as much space as the next shorter value. So, a half note takes 1.5
times as much space as a quarter note, etc. The minimum note distance specifies the smallest distance MuseScore will allow between two notes,
and this sets the initial distance for the shortest note values. Longer note values will always receive more space as per the spacing ratio, and by the
time measures are stretched to fill the page width, it is likely that even the shortest notes will not actually be as close as the minimum. The minimum
note distance and spacing ratio settings together determine how tight or loose the spacing is.

At one extreme, the top staff above uses a Spacing ratio of 1.0, which results in all notes taking equal space regardless of note duration. At the
other extreme, the bottom staff uses a ratio of 2.0, which results in notes spaced proportionally to their relative duration, such that a half note gets
twice as much space as a quarter note. This is useful if measures of equal width are desired. Values closer to the default of 1.5 are best for most
cases. A slightly smaller value allows for tighter spacing, while a slightly higher value allows for looser spacing. Decreasing or increasing the
minimum note distance also results in tighter or looser spacing.

If the spacing calculation results in some measures (those containing relatively few notes) working out to less than the minimum measure width,
extra space is added to enforce the minimum.

There are also many individual settings in this same dialog to control specific details such as the padding from Clef to time signature or Barline to
grace note. More such settings are added over time, and these are meant to be self-explanatory.

Additional relevant style settings can be found in :

Format→Style→Score
Enable indentation on first system: set to indent the first system of the score
First system indentation: set the amount of indentation
Format→Style→Page
Last system fill threshold: determines whether to fill the last system of the score to the right margin

Vertical spacing

This section contains overview, see Pages and vertical spacing for details.

MuseScore provides a choice of two different vertical spacing algorithms.

In both algorithms, MuseScore fills pages with systems in a similar manner to how it fills systems with measures. First, it determines an initial size
for each system, then it determines how many systems can fit on each page, and then it spreads those systems out so that all pages are filled well.
Depending on your style settings, MuseScore may literally fill each page to the bottom margin, or it may leave additional space on the bottom of
some pages if trying to fill the page completely would spread things out too widely.

The difference between the two algorithms has to do with how the spreading to fill the page occurs.

If you select Disable vertical justification of staves, the distance between the staves within a system is fixed, unless that would result in
collisions. In this algorithm, if MuseScore needs to spread systems to fill a page, it will always do so by adding space between systems rather than
within systems. This yields consistent spacing between staves from one system to the next, but it can result in spacing between systems being
much larger than spacing within them, and it will usually result in ragged bottom margins on pages with only a single system (since the staves within
the system won't be spread to fill the page).

The default, however, is to Enable vertical justification of staves. With this method selected, the distance between staves within systems is also
subject to spreading. This results in more even spacing overall—the spacing between systems will still be larger than the spacing within them but
not to the same extreme—and it mostly avoids ragged bottom margins on pages with only a single system (since the staves within the system can
be spread to fill the page).

Most of the settings controlling the vertical spacing for a score are found in Format→Style→Page. There is, however, one relevant setting in
Format→Style→Score.

Minimum vertical distance: set the minimum amount of space that MuseScore will allow between symbols below one staff or system and
symbols above the next staff or system below

Music margins

Regardless of whether vertical justification is enabled or disabled, MuseScore will add space above the top staff and below the bottom staff of each
page:

Music top margin: set the minimum amount of space between the page top margin and the top staff
Music bottom margin: set the minimum amount of space between the page bottom margin and the bottom staff

Distance between staves within systems

If you select DIsable vertical justification of staves, then there are two settings that control spacing within systems:
 Staff distance: set the distance between the staves of adjacent instruments
Grand staff distance: set the distance between the staves of a grand staff (e.g., for piano, actually for all staves connected by a curly brace).

Note: even with DIsable vertical justification of staves selected, MuseScore will still add more space between staves as necessary to avoid
collisions. To force a completely consistent distance between staves (and accept the resulting collisions), set the Minimum vertical distance to a
large negative number.

If you select Enable vertical justification within staves, then there is not a single setting for staff or grand staff distance. Instead, you select a
range of acceptable distances and values that control how much of the available space MuseScore will fill by spreading systems versus spreading
staves (and how much extra space to add between bracketed and braced groups of staves). The relevant settings include:

Minimum staff distance: set the minimum distance between adjacent staves
Maximum staff distance: set the maximum distance between adjacent staves
Maximum grand staff distance: set the maximum distance between adjacent staves of a grand staff
Factor for distance above/below bracket: set the extra amount to spread between bracketed staff groups
Factor for distance above/below brace: set the extra amount to spread between braced staff groups

Distance between systems

Whether vertical justifications of staves is enabled or disabled, you specify the distance between systems as a range:

Minimum system distance: set the minimum distance between adjacent systems
Maximum system distance: set the maximum distance between adjacent systems

In addition, if you select Enable vertical justification of staves, there are two more settings:

Factor for distance between systems: set the extra amount to spread between systems
Maximum page fill distance: the total maximum amount of spread

Staff/part properties
See Staff/Part properties main chapter.

There are also a couple of staff-specific settings that affect size and spacing. To access these, right-click (Ctrl+click) a staff and then select
Staff/Part properties. The relevant settings are:

Small staff: set staff size to percentage specified in Format→Style→Sizes

Scaling: set staff size to a custom percentage
Extra distance above staff: set an extra distance between this staff and the staff above

Systems and horizontal spacing

The horizontal spacing algorithm in MuseScore determines the width of each measure, which in turn determines how many measures will fit on
each system. While this will produce good results in many cases, there are also situations where you may wish to override this and have fewer or
more measures on a system, or to have them spaced differently within the system.

Features
The main tools used to control systems and horizontal spacing are described below.

System breaks

A system break causes MuseScore to end a system after a specific measure or horizontal frame, even if more measures would fit. To add a system
break, select a measure (or any element within it) or a frame, and then click the System break icon in the Layout palette:

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Enter. Both methods of adding breaks also work while in note input mode.

After adding a break, the icon will appear above the measure you added it to:

As with other formatting elements, system breaks appear in gray and will not print, and their on-screen display can be disabled via the Properties
panel.

Layout stretch

You can increase or decrease the width of measures, and their contents will stretch accordingly. The calculated width of a measure is multiplied by
a layout stretch factor that you can set numerically for selected measures, but you can also use commands to increase or decrease the stretch of
selected measures directly without needing to set a specific number.

To change the layout stretch directly, you can select one or more measures, then use one of the commands in Format→Stretch:

Increase layout stretch: increase the width of the measure (shortcut })

Decrease layout stretch: decrease the width of the measure (shortcut {)
Reset layout stretch: reset the width of the measure
To set the layout stretch value numerically, you can select one or more measures and then set the Measure width in the Appearance section of
the Properties panel.

As you can see if you watch this setting, each press of } or { increments or decrements this value by 0.1.

You can also set this value for a single measure by right-clicking it, selecting Measure properties, and setting Layout stretch in the resulting
dialog.

Horizontal frames

A horizontal frame is a container for empty space, text, or images, that can be placed between measures in a score. Although you can place text or
images within horizontal frames (see Using frames for additional content), one of their main purposes is to create empty space within systems, as
shown below.

To add a horizontal frame to your score, select a measure and then click the Insert horizontal frame icon in the Layout palette:

The frame will be inserted in front of the selected measure. If the measure is at the beginning of a system, the frame may actually appear at the end
of the previous system, if there is room.

You can also use the commands in the Add→Frames menu.

You can then change the width of the frame using the Width setting in the Properties panel, or by selecting the frame and dragging its handle or
using the Left and Right cursor keys to change the width. Keyboard adjustment occurs in steps of 0.5 sp, or 1.0 sp if you hold Ctrl (Cmd on Mac).

Insert horizontal frame: insert a horizontal frame before the selected measure
Append horizontal frame: append a horizontal frame to the end of the score

Keep measures on the same system

To keep measures together for the purpose of determining if they fit on a given system or not, you can select them and then click the Keep
measures on the same system icon on the Layout palette:

When MuseScore is deciding how measures to place on a given system, and it encounters such a group and determines that they do not all fit,
MuseScore will move the entire group to the next system.

Tasks
These features can be used in a variety of ways, but there are a handful of tasks that are especially common.

Placing fewer measures on a system

It is always possible to get fewer measures on a system than what MuseScore places by default. To end a system on a particular measure or
horizontal frame, select it and add a system break.

Placing more measures on a system

While it is not always physically possible to fit more measures onto a given system at the current page and staff size and spacing settings—there
may simply be “too many notes” to fit without overlapping—you can reduce the widths of selected measures.

To place more measures on a system:

Select and delete any system break that might be present already
Select the measures you wish to combine onto one system
Reduce stretch for the selected measures until they fit (e.g., by pressing {)

Depending on how close it was to fitting before, it might take multiple Decrease layout stretch operations before the stretch is reduced enough for
them all to fit. But it may also be the case that it just is not possible without reducing your overall page or staff size, or spacing settings. See Score
size and spacing for more information.

Changing the relative spacing of measures within a system

The default spacing is designed to make sure that all notes of a given duration on the same system take the same amount of space, unless more
space is required to make room for markings between specific notes. But there can be cases where it might make sense to increase the spacing in
one or more measures, thus correspondingly decreasing the spacing in the others (or vice versa).

To change the spacing in one or more measure, simply select them and increase or decrease the layout stretch as described above.

Creating space between measures

To create space between two measures, select the second measure, then insert and adjust a horizontal frame as described above.

Creating space at the beginning or end of a system

To create extra space at the beginning or end of an individual system, add horizontal frame. For the first system of a score, the First system indent
style setting (in Format→Style→Score) automatically creates space. See Score size and spacing for more information. You may want to create
separate sections with a "Section Break" instead, when you think of extra space at the end of an individual system, see Using sections for multiple
movements or songs chapter.
To add space at the beginning of a system, select the first measure of the system then insert and adjust a horizontal frame as described above. You
may also need to place a system break on the last measure of the previous system to ensure that the horizontal frame does not appear there
instead.

To add space at the end of a system, first make sure there is no system break on the last measure, then select the next measure and insert a
horizontal frame. Then add a system break to the horizontal frame itself if needed.

Adjusting the width of the final system

The last system of a score will normally be right-justified (stretched to fill the width of the page) if its default width exceeds the Last system fill
threshold as set in Format→Style→Page. See Score size and spacing for more information. This normally produces good results, but there may
be cases where the last system is filled but would look better if it were not, or vice versa.

For cases where the system is filled but you would prefer it not to be, you can increase the threshold. A value of 100% will mean the last system is
never filled (since its width will never exceed that threshold). Conversely, if the last system is not filled but you want it to be, then decrease the
threshold. A value of 0% will mean the last system will always stretch (because its width will always exceed that threshold).

Normally, however, you should select a threshold value that will accommodate future changes to the score that might result in more or fewer
measures ending up on the last system. For instance, if your last system currently has several measures and you force it to be filled by setting the
threshold to 0%, this might look bad if the layout changes in the future and the last system has only one measure. Or if the last system has only one
measure and you force it not to be filled by setting the threshold to 100%, this might look bad if the layout changes in the future and the last system
ends up with several measures. This is why a more middle-of-the-road value usually makes sense.

It is usually even better, however, to plan system breaks to avoid having the last system being less full than others.

Grouping measures

As discussed in Score size and spacing, MuseScore normally fits as many measures as it can on each system. This can sometimes result in two or
more musically-related measures being split across a system break, when it might be easier to read if they were kept together on the next system.
While you could add a system break to the measure before the group, this could easily turn out to be counterproductive if the layout changes later
and all the measures could have fitted on that system. What you really want is to be able to specify that a group of measures should be kept
together if possible, whether that means keeping them on the original system or moving them all together to the next.

In a word processor, a “non-breaking space” character can be used to keep two words together. If the words both fit on the current line, then the
non-breaking space acts like a regular space. But if the two words cannot both fit on a line, word wrap will move them both together to the next line
rather than split them apart at the non-breaking space.

In MuseScore, you can use the Keep measures on the same system icon in the Layout palette to group selected measures in the same way.
These measures will be treated as a single block for the purpose of deciding whether to place them on one system or the next.

Note that this will not allow you to fit more measures on a system than your current settings would normally allow. It simply tells MuseScore that it
should keep them all together if possible.

Pages and vertical spacing

Features
As described in Vertical spacing, MuseScore fills each page with as many systems as can fit given the current score settings, and then adjusts the
spacing within each page according to one of two different algorithms. You can also adjust the number of systems on a page, or the spacing
between specific staves or systems, manually.

Page breaks

A page break causes MuseScore to end a page after a given system, even if more systems would fit. To add a page break, select a measure or
frame and then either press Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on Mac) or click the Page break icon in the Layout palette:

Spacers

A spacer is a formatting element you can add to a measure to control the amount of space above or below that particular staff. Spacers can work to
either add or remove space, and they can operate either within or between systems.

To add a spacer to your score, select a measure and then click the appropriate icon in the Layout palette:

You can also drag and drop a spacer from the palette to a measure in your score.

Once you have added a spacer, you can adjust its height by selecting it and dragging its handle, or by using the Height setting in the Properties
panel. There are three different types of spacers, and the height setting affects the score differently according to the spacer type:

Staff spacer down: ensure there is at least the specified given amount of space below this staff
Staff spacer up: ensure there is at least the specified amount of space above this staff
Staff spacer fixed down: ensure there is exactly the specified amount of space below this staff

In all cases, the spacer works within a system when added between staves of a system. In addition, a Staff spacer down or Staff spacer fixed
down works between systems when added to the bottom staff of a system, and a Staff spacer up works between systems when added to the top
staff of a system.

Vertical frames

A vertical frame is a container for empty space, text, or images, that can be placed between systems in a score. Although vertical frames can be left
empty and thus function in a manner similar to spacers, the primary purpose of vertical frames is to add text or images. For more information, see
Using frames for additional content.

System dividers

In ensemble music in which multiple systems fit on a single page of music, it is common to use a pair of diagonal strokes to help clarify the division
between the systems.

MuseScore can add these automatically via the settings in Format→Style→System. You can enable Left and Right dividers independently. For
each, you can customize a number of settings:

Symbol: select between System divider, Long system divider, or Extra long system divider
Horizontal offset: distance from default position (aligned with the page margin)
Vertical offset: distance from default position (midway between systems)

Tasks
The feature listed above can be used to achieve a number of common tasks.

Placing fewer systems on a page

To place fewer systems on a page, simply add a page break to the system or frame you wish to appear last on the page.

Placing more systems on a page

As with horizontal spacing, in some cases it might not be possible to fit more systems onto a page than your current settings permit. So you may
also want to consider a smaller staff size, or reducing the minimum system distance score-wide, or other style changes. However, in some cases
you may be able to fit more systems on a page by manually reducing the distance between specific systems.

To reduce the distance between two specific systems, add a Staff spacer fixed down to the bottom staff of the upper system, then set its height as
desired. If this reduction allows another system to fit on the page, then it will happen automatically.

Adjusting the spacing on sparse pages

MuseScore normally spreads systems and staves out to fill a page (see Vertical spacing for more information). Whether you enable or disable
vertical justification, however, pages that are especially sparse may still look awkward. This is especially common for the last page of a score,
where it is possible more systems could have fit.

In many cases, the best results would be obtained by planning the system and/or page breaks throughout the score to avoid these overly sparse
pages. But in cases where this is unavoidable, you will need to decide where you want the extra space—all at the bottom of the page, equally
divided between the top and bottom, dispersed between systems, or dispersed between staves within systems as well as between systems.

To force all extra space to the bottom of the page, once solution is to add a Staff spacer down below the last system, and adjust its height as
appropriate to take the space you wish to leave below. Another is to reduce either the Maximum system distance or Maximum page fill distance
(see Vertical spacing). These settings may affect other pages as well, but in most cases, they will only be relevant for especially sparse pages.

To force some space at the top of the page, you can add a Staff spacer up above the first system.
To change the distribution of space between systems and staves within systems, be sure Enable vertical justification of staves is enabled in
Format→Style→Page, then adjust Factor for distance between systems. A value of 1.0 means that space is equally distributed within and
between systems. Larger values mean that more of the available space will be allocated between systems as opposed to within them.

Adjusting space between specific systems

To add space between two specific systems, add a Staff spacer down to the bottom staff of the upper system, or a Staff spacer up to the top staff
of the lower system.

Adjusting space between specific staves

To add space between specific staves within a single system, add a Staff spacer down to the upper staff, or a Staff spacer up to the lower staff.

To add space between specific staves across all systems—such as to separate piano accompaniment from the vocal staves in a choral score—
right-click the lower staff, select Staff/Part properties, and increase the Extra distance above staff setting.

Using frames for additional content

Overview
A frame is a rectangular space in the score into which one or more text objects or images may be inserted. In the score window the sides of the
frame are marked by dotted lines (these do not show up in the printed score).

A frame may be one of three types:

Vertical frame: A full-width rectangle inserted before the first system, after the last system, or between systems. It may contain several text
objects and/or images.
Text frame: A full-width rectangle inserted before the first system, after the last system, or between systems. It may contain one text object
only.
Horizontal frame: A rectangle between two measures which may contain several text objects and/or images.

Note: Although you can use frames to create extra space between systems, it is best to use spacers for this purpose.

Uses of frames
Frames may be used to

Display the title, subtitle, composer, arranger, lyricist etc., at the top of a score. This is done automatically for new scores if you have
completed the relevant details on page 2 of the New Score dialog.
Display details of movements within a score.
Display lyrics at the end of a song.
Create a blank space before a coda

and so on.

Adding frames between or before/after systems

Text frames

A text frame is a full-width rectangle placed either before the first system or after the last one, or between systems. One text block (only) may be
added to the frame. The height of the frame is automatically adjusted to the height of any text block contained within it.

Adding a text frame

Select a measure, or a frame

Apply one of the following methods:
From the menu bar select Add→Frames→Insert text frame
In the Layout palette click on the “Insert text frame” icon
Use an “Insert text frame” custom keyboard shortcut (you can set this up in the Preferences: Shortcuts dialog).

If the measure selected is the first one in the system, the frame will simply be inserted above the system. If the selected measure is any one but the
first, it will start a new system and the frame will appear above it.

Adding text

To add a text block to the text frame:

Double-click the frame; or right-click on the frame and choose Edit element; or select the frame and use the shortcut F2, or Alt+Shift+E.
Type the desired text.

The text has the “Frame” style by default but you can change this using “Text style” in the Text tab of the Properties panel. You can also apply
character formatting in the usual way.

Vertical frames

A vertical frame is a full-width rectangle placed either before the first system or after the last one, or between systems. Several text blocks and/or
images may be added to the frame.

Adding a vertical frame

Select a measure, or a frame

Apply one of the following methods:
From the menu bar select Add→Frames→Insert vertical frame
 In the Layout palette click on the “Insert vertical frame” icon
Use an “Insert vertical frame” custom keyboard shortcut (you can set this up in the Preferences: Shortcuts dialog).

If the measure selected is the first one in the system, the frame will simply be inserted above the system. If the selected measure is any one but the
first, it will start a new system and the frame will appear above it.

Adding text

To add a text block to the vertical frame apply one of the following methods:

Right-click on the frame, select Add, then choose one of the options (Text, Title, Subtitle, Composer, Lyricist, Part name).
Select the frame, and from the menu bar choose Add→Text. Then choose one of the first five options (Title, Subtitle, Composer, Lyricist, Part
name).
Select the frame and use keyboard shortcuts to add applicable text blocks (you can set these up in the Preferences: Shortcuts dialog).

Adding an image

Right-click on the vertical frame

Select Add→Image
Search for and add the image from the “Insert image” window.

Size

The height of the vertical frame is automatically adjusted to the height of any text block contained within it. But you can override this using “Height”
in the Vertical frame tab of the Properties toolbar.

Position and alignment of content

The position of a text object which abuts directly onto the border of a vertical/text frame can be altered by adjusting the relevant margin
(Top/Bottom/Left/Right) in the Vertical frame tab of the Properties panel.

For example, a left- and top-aligned text object will be pushed away from the respective border by increasing the “Left margin” and/or “Top margin”,
and so on.

Spacing

In the Vertical frame or Text frame tab of the Properties panel, adjust “Gap above” and “Gap below” to create extra space above/below the frame.

Adding frames between measures

Horizontal frames

A horizontal frame is used to create space between the measures of a particular system with optional text and/or image content.

Adding a horizontal frame

Select a measure.
Apply one of the following methods:
From the menu bar select Add→Frames→Insert horizontal frame
In the Layout palette click on the “Insert horizontal frame” icon
Use an “Insert horizontal frame” keyboard shortcut (you can set this up in the Preferences: Shortcuts dialog).

The frame is inserted between the selected measure and the following one.

Adding text

To add a text block to a horizontal frame, right-click on the frame and select Add→Text.

Adding an image

Right-click on the horizontal frame

Select Add→Image
Search for and add the image from the “Insert image” window.

Size

You can adjust the width of the frame in the Horizontal frame tab of the Properties panel.

Spacing

You can adjust the space on either side of the horizontal frame using “Left gap” and “Right gap” in the Horizontal frame tab of the Properties
panel.

Other horizontal frame properties

Display brackets, clefs and key signatures in the next measure

See also
Add measures to a frame

Working with images

Images may be inserted into scores by attaching them to score objects or to frames.

The supported image formats are SVG (*.svg), PNG (*.png), JPEG (*.jpg and *.jpeg).

SVG is recommended for symbols and 2D graphics because it enables you to adjust the image size without pixelation.
Transparency and gradients are supported.
Advanced SVG features such as shading, blurring, clipping and masking are not supported.
PNG also supports transparency and is preferable to JPEG for symbols and 2D graphics.
Use PNG if you can't obtain an SVG version of the graphic.
Don't try to convert PNG to SVG because this won't provide the benefits of a true SVG image.
Consider using a free tool such as TinyPNG to reduce the PNG file size without reducing quality.
JPEG is recommended for photographs and detailed 3D textures.
Use it for 2D graphics only if you have no other option.
Don't try to convert JPEG to SVG or PNG as this will increase file size without providing the benefits of those formats.

In addition, images saved in the Bitmap (*.bmp), and TIFF (*.tif and *.tiff) formats work but are not fully supported. It's best to convert these images
to PNG or JPEG before importing into MuseScore Studio.

Other formats such as GIF (*.gif), WebP (*.webp) and X PixMap (*.xpm) are not supported. These images must be converted to PNG or JPEG
before importing in MuseScore Studio.

Importing images

Add an image to a vertical or horizontal frame

This method doesn't work with Bitmap (*.bmp) or TIFF (*.tif and *.tiff) images.

Right-click on the frame

Select Add→Image
Search for and add the image from the “Insert image” window.

Attach an image to a score object

Use this method for small images associated with staves, such as musical symbols, or for image formats not supported by the above method (e.g.
Bitmap, TIFF).

Locate the image file in your operating system's file manager (i.e. outside of MuseScore Studio).
Shrink the file manager's window so it fits on the same screen as MuseScore Studio.
Drag the image file from the file manager across to MuseScore Studio.
Keep dragging until the cursor is positioned over a note, rest, measure, or a vertical or horizontal frame.

Saving images to palettes

To save an imported image to a palette, see Adding elements from the score.

Copying imported images

Once an image has been imported into the score it can be copied/cut and pasted to another location, such as a frame, note or rest, using the
standard commands and procedure (see Copy and paste).

Adjusting images

Change image height/width

Select the image and use either of the following methods:

Drag either of the image adjustment handles.

Edit the “Image height/width” in the Image section of the Properties panel.

As long as the padlock symbol is active (colored blue in Properties: Image) the aspect ratio (height/width) of the image will be maintained
throughout. If you want to adjust a side independently of the other, click on the padlock to break it (colored grey).

Scale image

To scale an image to the height of the containing frame:

Adjust the frame to the desired height

Check “Scale to frame size” in the Image section of the Properties panel.

As long as “Scale to frame size” remains checked the image size will follow the frame height.

Adjust image position

The image can be repositioned by dragging, or adjusting the horizontal/vertical offsets in the Appearance section of the Properties panel. Ctrl+R
restores the image to its default position.

Image properties

The image properties of a selected image can be adjusted in the Image section of the Properties panel.

Image height / Padock / Image width: Adjust dimensions of image. The padlock, which is active by default, ensures that the desired aspect
ratio (height/width) is maintained.
Scale to frame size: See Scale image (above).
 Use staff space units: When checked (the default setting), the image automatically scales proportionally with the Scaling setting in
Format→Page Settings, and uses the staff space unit, sp. If unchecked, the image uses mm and does not scale proportionally. See Page
layout concepts.

This symbol is 4sp in height so it fits perfectly into the space between the top and bottom line of a 5-line staff. Its "Use staff space units" option
is checked so it scales proportionally.

See also
Using the palettes for info on how apply palette items.

Using sections for multiple movements or songs

Overview
A section break is used to divide a score into separate sections, such as might be required in a musical suite, for example.

In the following score example, there is a section break at the end of the first system, followed by a text frame providing the title of the next
movement.

Features

A section break has the following features:

The measure after the point of application is forced to start a new system (like a system break)
An adjustable playback pause between movements
An option to restart measure numbering
An option to display long instrument names (as you might at the start of a piece).

These options are detailed in Section break properties (below).

Time and key signatures

If the beginning of a new section is accompanied by a change of time or key signatures, there will be no courtesy signature at the end of the
previous section.

Adding section breaks

To add a section break, select a measure, barline (or any element within the measure), then click the Section break icon in the Layout palette. You
can substitute the latter action with a custom shortcut if desired (see Preferences: Shortcuts).

Section break properties

The following properties of section breaks are adjustable from the Section break part of the Properties panel:

Pause

To adjust the playback pause after a section break: select the break and edit “Pause before new section starts”.

Instrument names

To display the long intrument names on the first system after a section break: select the break and make sure that “Start new section with long
instrument names” is checked.

Bar numbers
To restart measure numbering after a section break: select the break and make sure that “Reset bar numbers for new section” is checked.

Additional settings for measure number display are available in the Measure properties dialog.

File management
Opening and saving scores

MuseScore in Minutes: Publishing and Saving to the Cloud

Overview
You can store your files either locally on your computer, or online (“in the cloud”) to your musescore.com account. If you don’t have an account yet,
you can create one for free here .

In the case of scores saved online, MuseScore also keeps local copies on your computer, so you can work on them even without an active internet
connection. Every time you save a "Cloud Score", the online copy at musescore.com is also updated. This system protects both the integrity of your
local cloud scores while offering all the advantages of online storage, including backup, viewing and playback across multiple devices, ease of
sharing, commenting, and much more.

Please note that, if you download one of your cloud scores from musescore.com and open it in MuseScore, the file you download and open will be
a new, locally-stored file, separate from the file in the cloud.

Opening a score
There are a few ways to open a score in MuseScore 4.

File → Open

This triggers your file browser, allowing you to select and open scores stored on your computer or storage device (dialog will vary according to
operating system).
Windows/Linux: Ctrl+O. MacOS: Cmd+O

File → Open recent

This option allows you to choose from a list of recently-opened scores.

Home tab → Scores

This window displays your most recently modified scores. Double-click on any score thumbnail to open it. You can also click Open other… to
access locally-stored scores from your file browser.

Scores that have been saved to the cloud are indicated with a cloud icon. Unlike local scores, it is not possible to rename or otherwise modify a
cloud file from your computer’s file browser. You can, however, do this from the score manager on musescore.com. Go directly to your score
manager by clicking the Score manager (online) button in the Scores window.

It is possible to open multiple scores simultaneously. In this case, MuseScore opens each score in a separate window.

Import file formats

Apart from its native format files (*.mscz and *.mscx), MuseScore can also open MusicXML , compressed MusicXML and MIDI files, as
well as a variety of files in other formats . You can customize various import settings by going to Preferences → Import.

Saving a score
To save a score:

1. Go to File
2. Choose any of the following options:

Option What it does Shortcut

Saves current score to new file, or saves
Save Windows/Linux: Ctrl+S, MacOS: Cmd+S
changes to a previously saved file
Windows/Linux: Shift+Ctrl+S, MacOS:
Save As... Saves current score to new file
Shift+Cmd+S
 Option What it does Shortcut
Saves current score to new file, but allows
Save a copy... None
you to continue editing the original file
Save selection... Saves selected measures to new file None
Save to cloud... Saves score as a new file on musescore.com None

The first time you use any of the above save options, a dialog opens asking you “How would you like to save”, then offering you the options of
“Save to the cloud” or “Save to computer”.

To disable this window, click Don't show again to ensure you only see your operating system's native save dialog for future saves.

Save to computer

The Save to computer option triggers your operating system’s “Save” dialog, allowing you to save the score as a (compressed) MuseScore file,
.mscx.

There is also an option in your “Save” dialog to save files in an uncompressed format (“Uncompressed MuseScore folder”). This option creates a
new folder on your computer that contains a MuseScore (.mscx) file, as well as a thumbnail image file (.png) and any relevant .json, .mss, and .xml
files.

Save to the cloud

Scores saved online (to the cloud) appear in the program’s Home: Scores tab with a cloud symbol at the corner of the file icon. A local copy is also
automatically saved on your computer.

To save a score to the cloud, choose Save to the cloud. This triggers a dialog with the following options:

Name

This is the name under which your score will be identifiable on musescore.com

Visibility

Private allows you to save changes to your score without others seeing your work online.
Public makes your score visible to everyone on musescore.com.

When you’re ready, click Save. The first time you do this, MuseScore will ask whether you also want to upload your audio to musescore.com. You
can choose from the following options:

Never

Each time you press Save, only the score itself will be uploaded to musescore.com. Online playback will use the MS Basic soundfont.

Always

Each time you press Save, MuseScore will generate an .mp3 file to upload together with your score. Score playback on musescore.com will sound
the same as it does in your desktop app (including audio from the Muse Sounds library, if installed, or any VST instruments and effects you’ve
added)

Every x saves

MuseScore will only generate and upload an .mp3 file at a save interval you specify.

These settings only affect your private cloud scores. You will only be asked to specify this setting once, however you can change this setting at any
time by going to Preferences → Cloud. Once you click OK, MuseScore will confirm your score has been saved. Your file will be accessible from
both the Home tab as well as the score manager on musescore.com.

File export

Overview
This chapter covers the saving of MuseScore scores in formats other than the native ones (*.mscz and *.mscx), such as MusicXML, MIDI, MEI,
MP3, PDF, PNG etc.

Exporting your score

To export a score:

Select File→Export
Choose a Format from the dropdown list
Select the parts to export by checking/unchecking the appropriate boxes on the left of the dialog
If you want to combine all parts in one file click on the radio button titiled All parts combined in one file
Click Export...

File formats
Graphical formats

PDF

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a universal format for text, pictures, music and so on. Use this format when you want to generate music scores
for other musicians to read.
Virtually every computer will have a dedicated PDF reader; if not a PDF can also be opened using web browsers such as Firefox etc. PDF scores
can also be printed to hard copy if desired.

SVG

Like PDF, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) enables you to zoom in and enlarge the image without loss of quality. Use SVG when you want to
embed extracts of music inside another document or webpage.

All modern web browsers support SVG. However, many websites and apps do not support it, so if you try to use SVG somewhere and it doesn't
work, try using PDF or PNG instead.

PNG

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) is a compressed graphical format suitable for editing or embedding in all kinds of documents. However, PNGs
become pixelated if you zoom in or enlarge the image, so consider using PDF or SVG instead if your software supports it.

Audio formats

OGG

OGG files commonly contain lossy Vorbis-compressed audio, which offers higher quality than MP3 at the same file size. Use this format for
personal listening, if your device supports it.

Most Android devices support OGG audio, but Windows, macOS, and iOS devices require third-party software in order to read these files. You may
find MP3 easier to use.

MP3

MP3 is a lossy compression format that is universally supported. Use this format to share audio with other people for listening purposes (not for
editing).

FLAC

FLAC is a lossless compression format that fully preserves audio quality, but produces larger file size than the lossy compression formats. Use
FLAC when sending audio for someone else to edit, but only if you can't send them the actual MuseScore file (e.g. because they don't have the
necessary instrument sounds or audio plugins installed for it to sound the way you intended).

WAV

WAV is an uncompressed format. It offers full audio quality but its files are extremely large. Use this format for audio that you plan to edit yourself in
another program, such as Audacity.

Other audio formats

If you need audio in a format not mentioned above (e.g. Opus or AAC), this requires using an external audio conversion tool. Audacity is a free
program that can be used for this purpose. It's developed by Muse Group, the same company that makes MuseScore.

Simply export your score from MuseScore as a WAV file, then open this file in Audacity, or whichever audio program you choose to do the
conversion. Using WAV as the transition format ensures the highest quality after conversion and avoids wasting time compressing the file in
MuseScore only to decompress it immediately in the other program.

Alternatively, you could use a website to do the conversion. In this case it's better to use FLAC as the transition format, as this will reduce the size of
the upload while retaining maximum quality. Make sure you research any third-party software or web service carefully before using it. Some
websites retain files after you have uploaded them, and some will even make the files available to other users.

Once the file has been converted to the desired format, you should listen to it to ensure the quality is acceptable and the entire file was converted.

Hybrid formats

MIDI

Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is a well-established music industry standard for encoding all the notes and instruments in a score, but
none of the visual formatting. MIDI files can be played in some media players, but only if the right software (or hardware) instruments are available
to realize it. The files can be edited in a sequencer or other music notation software.

You should be aware that the sound generated by a MIDI file is dependent on the virtual instruments used to play it back, so it's likely to sound
different when played outside of MuseScore. Also MIDI does not preserve visual formatting, so the file will look very different when opened in any
notation program, including MuseScore, compared to the original score.

Score formats

MusicXML

MusicXML is a universal standard which aims to preserve as much of the original score formatting as possible. It can be opened in any modern
score writer. MuseScore 4 uses MusicXML 4.0, although some features have yet to be implemented.

Braille

Braille Ready Format (BRF) is a plain text format that can store written text or music documents intended for use by people who are blind. These
files can be opened in third-party software for reading with an electronic braille display or embossing onto paper as raised dots.

MuseScore's braille files use bar-over-bar formatting, which means there is a separate line of braille for each staff, and measures are vertically
aligned between staves like in the print music. (An alternative would be bar-by-bar or section-by-section formatting, where one or more measures
are written for the first staff, followed by those same measures for the next staff, and so on, all on a single line of braille. MuseScore does not
support these types of formatting currently.) MuseScore's braille files use ASCII rather than Unicode character encoding, so sighted users who open
these files in a text editor will just see random letters and punctuation characters; you would need to install a special braille font in order to see the
braille as dots.

MuseScore's braille conforms to the Braille Authority of North America's Music Braille Code 2015 , but many of its features have yet to be
implemented. At present, you may get better results if you export scores as MusicXML, and then use a third-party MusicXML to braille conversion
tool, such as the free web-based tool SM Music Braille .

MEI

Music Encoding Initiative (MEI) is an open XML format that represents the semantic structure of music notation documents and is developed as a
community-driven effort. The MEI support in MuseScore focuses on MEI Basic, a subset of MEI that facilitates the use of MEI for data exchange
and improves interoperability. The MEI support in MuseScore is available as of version 4.2 and is documented here .

Customizing export settings

[To be added]

MIDI import
MIDI import panel not currently implemented, making this section largely moot

Working with MusicXML files

Overview
MusicXML is a universal file format that allows music scores to be shared between different music notation programs. For example, you can
convert a MuseScore .mscz file to a MusicXML file and it will open in Sibelius, Finale, or any other compatible scorewriter; and vice versa.

MusicXML faithfully reproduces the notes and instrumentation, but, nevertheless, it is usually necessary to do some clean-up work to make the
transferred score look exactly the same as the original.

Opening a MusicXML file

When a MusicXML file is first opened in MuseScore, the positions and custom properties of text objects are preserved as far as possible. There
may also be other customizations visible in the score which you may or may not wish to keep.

MusicXML import options

These options can be found in Edit→Preferences→Import.

Import layout will import layout settings such as page size, margins and stave size, if they are in the MusicXML file
Otherwise, the defaults will apply. Turned on by default.
Import system and page breaks does exactly what it says, but note that it is still possible that the exact layout of systems and pages will not
be the same at first, since due to differences in spacing settings and fonts (etc.) it might not be possible to fit the same number of bars in a
system as in the software which produced the MusicXML. Turned on by default.
Apply default typeface (Edwin) to imported scores will set all text styles to Edwin (the MuseScore Studio default). This is turned off by
default, meaning that the fonts specified in the MusicXML file will be used. (Though if they are not available on the system you are using, a
fallback will be used instead.)
Infer text type based on content where possible will do its best to intelligently determine the type of text based on its content. In many
MusicXML files text of all sorts (tempos, fingerings, copyright lines, etc) is encoded as plain 'staff text'. With this option turned on, it will attempt
to assign items to the correct text types. It also attempts to tidy up e.g. music symbols within text using legacy encodings. While not perfect, it
often saves a huge amount of time required in manual cleanup. Turned off by default, because technically it means deviating from strict
adherence to the MusicXML specification.

Cleaning up an imported score

Restoring stems

To reset the stems of all notes to their default positions and orientations:

Right-click on a note and choose Select→Similar

Press Ctrl+R.

Restoring default leading spaces

To reset the leading space of all notes to the score default:

Right-click on a note and choose Select→Similar

Click on the Appearance button in the Properties panel
If the Leading space reset button (circular arrow) is active, click on it to reset to the score default; otherwise no further action is required.

Removing breaks

To remove all breaks—system, page and section:

1. Right-click on a break and choose Select→Similar
2. Press Delete.

To remove just system breaks (leaving section and page breaks in place):

From the main menu, select Format→Add/Remove system breaks.

Select Remove current system breaks
 Click OK to close the dialog.

Restoring default text styles

To reset all text objects in the score, and in frames, to their default styles:

From the main menu, choose Format→Style

Click on the button marked Reset all styles to default
Click OK to close the dialog.

See Format→Style→Text styles to view the list of styles, and property values.

Resetting default text positions

Frame

To reset the positions of all text objects in frames:

Right-click on a text object in a frame

Choose Select→Similar
Press Ctrl+R.

Score text

You can apply the same method for text objects in the score, as for frames. However you will need to repeat this for each individual class of object
—all tempo texts, all staff texts and so on.

Preparing a score for export

To export a score as a MusicXML file see File export.

Export settings

When exporting a score to MusicXML, you can choose from a compressed (the default option) or uncompressed format; and whether to export all
breaks or not, or to allow only manually-added breaks to appear in the file.

[To be added:

gotchas - manual adjustments, misuse of element types, images, ...

export settings]

Backup and recovered files

TBD

Project properties

Overview
The Project Properties dialog contains metadata tags, editable descriptive digital data of the file. Every score created with Musescore 4 contains
the following predefined metadata tags. Some of them are automatically assigned with information provided by user in the New Score dialog, see
Setting up your score chapter.

Property Details
Work title Assigned with "Title" provided in New Score dialog.
Subtitle Assigned with "Subtitle" provided in New Score dialog.
Composer Assigned with "Composer" provided in New Score dialog.
Arranger
Lyricist Assigned with "Lyricist" provided in New Score dialog.
Translator
Assigned with "Copyright" provided in New Score dialog. Feel free to
Copyright
copy and use this copyright symbol literally: ©
Work number
Movement title
Movement number
Date of the score creation. This could be empty, if the score was
Creation Date saved in test mode (see Command line usage). Edit manually if you
are Beethoven's ghost.
The computing platform the score was created on. This might be
Platform
empty if the score was saved in test mode.
May contain a URL if the score was downloaded from or Publish to
Source
MuseScore.com.
Audio.com URL
Musescore Version Not editable. The version of MuseScore the score was last saved with
File Path Not editable. The score file's location on the Computer.

Note:

Score created from certain template contains a top vertical frame and Musescore Text objects on the first page. These objects, such as Title,
Subtitle etc, are also automatically assigned with information provided by user in the New Score dialog, but they are not related to metadata
 tags, see Entering and editing text chapter.
The originalFormat, and poet metadata tags are automatically created in score created with previous versions of Musescore, but no longer
so in Musescore 4.
Project Properties is formerly Score properties.

Changing Project properties

To change a Project property (metadata tag),

From the menu, choose File→Project Properties...

Edit the desired tag

Adding and deleting new project properties

To add a new custom metadata tag, click on the New button. Fill in the "New tag name" field and press OK;

To delete a tag click on the trashcan symbol. Predefined metadata tags cannot be deleted.

Accessing project properties in a score

The only place to add project properties (metadata tags) on to a score is by referring them in header or footer, see Header and footer chapter.

Score comparison

not currently implemented

Publish to musescore.com

Overview
Scores can be saved online using a free or subscription account with Musescore.com. This allows you to access your scores from anywhere; you
also have the option of whether to keep them private or allow them to be shared. You can choose to save scores only online, or publish any of your
locally saved files online.

When saving online Musescore creates an MP3 file of the audio of your score which may take a long time. To modify this behaviour see Managing
publishing preferences.

Creating a MuseScore account

Go to www.musescore.com
Click "Log in" - it's at the top right of the window
On the dialog that pops up click "Create an account" - it's at the bottom right of the dialog that popped up
If your browser is already logged in to a Google, Facebook or Apple account you can sign up with any of those services by clicking on the
appropriate button
If you prefer to sign in with your email address, fill in the remaining fields, check "I'm not a robot"
Click "Create new account"

Saving only to Musescore.com

The first time you save a score you will be asked if you want to publish the score to Musescore.com.

If you are not already logged in to Musescore.com, or you do not have an account, you will need to login.

You will be asked if the score should be Public, Unlisted, or Private.

* Public scores are visible to everyone on the internet.
* Unlisted scores are visible to everyone on the internet, but do not show up in search results. Only people with the link will be able to find an
unlisted score.
* Private scores are visible only to you. You must be logged in to your musescore.com account to view.

If you’re publishing a score that you’ve already published at least once, you can choose to replace the existing online score or to publish as a new
online score.

You will be asked whether you also want to upload your audio to musescore.com. See Managing publishing preferences

Musescore will tell you when it is ready. Large scores may take some time to generate the MP3 file.

Publish locally saved scores

Scores saved on your computer can also be published at Musescore.com but are not automatically updated.
To publish a score at Musescore.com
* Click the Publish Tab (below the menu bar)
* Click Publish to Musescore.com

Visibility in score manager

Scores published only at Musescore.com are marked with a "cloud" symbol in the Musescore score manager.
MuseScore also keeps local copies on your computer (in a folder called Cloud Scores in your user “MuseScore 4” folder), so you can work on
them even without an active internet connection.

Manage generation of mp3 during upload

When saving online Musescore creates an MP3 file of the audio of your score. Depending on the score length, and number of instruments in the
score, this might take a long time. To control when this happens:

From the menu, choose Edit→Preferences...→Cloud

Under "Generate MP3 audio for private cloud scores" choose Never, Always, or Every (X saves)

Never

Each time you press Save, only the score itself will be uploaded to musescore.com. Online playback will use the MS Basic soundfont.

Always

Each time you press Save, MuseScore will generate an .mp3 file to upload together with your score. Score playback on musescore.com will
sound the same as it does in your desktop app (including audio from the Muse Sounds library, if installed, or any VST instruments and effects
you’ve added)

Every x saves

MuseScore will only generate and upload an .mp3 file at a save interval you specify.

If you chose "Every X saves" choose the number of saves

Share on Audio.com

Overview
In addition to publishing your score on MuseScore.com , you can share the MP3 audio generated by MuseScore to Audio.com , a free service
from Muse Group. On Audio.com, you can share your tracks publicly, make them available to download, and upload unlisted audio.

To share audio from your score on Audio.com:

MuseScore 4.1 and above

Open the Publish tab

Click the Share on Audio.com… button in the toolbar
If you’re not already signed in to an audio.com account, you will be prompted to do so or create an account
Enter a title, choose whether the score should be Public or Unlisted, then click Share
If you've already shared audio from the score, you can replace the existing audio or upload it as a new audio file

Audio.com will open in your browser to upload the track

From here, you can set the title, URL, category, tags, description, sharing permissions, and downloading permissions of your track

To share on Audio.com every time you publish a score:

MuseScore 4.2 and above

The first time you publish a score, you will be prompted to share on Audio.com. You can choose to be prompted every time you publish, and this
can be controlled in Preferences.

Open Preferences
Go to the Save & publish tab
Check on Always prompt to share on Audio.com after publishing to MuseScore.com

Sound and playback

Playback controls

Overview

Basic playback functions are accessed from the Play toolbar at the top right of the program window, the icons from left to right, the icons are:

Rewind to start position: Playback returns to the beginning of the score, or to the start of the loop (if one is set).
 Start or stop playback: See Start/stop playback.
Toggle loop playback: See Loop playback.
Play metronome: Toggles metronome tick sound playback ON and OFF.
Playback settings: Opens the playback settings dialog (see below).
Time elapsed from the start of score to the cursor position.
Bar number and beat at the cursor position.
Monitoring tempo, see "Playback position and monitoring tempo" section.

Undock the toolbar to reveal the Playback Panel for additional controls. See "Playback position and monitoring tempo" section.

Playback commands
Start/stop

To play back all the instrument parts

Click on a note or rest to establish the starting point.

Press the Play button, or press Space.

To play back selected instrument parts only

Select a measure that you want to start from (by clicking on a blank space within that measure);
To play back more than one instrument part, extend the selection up or down as required.
Press the Play button, or press Space.

Notes: (1) If no selection is made before activating Play, playback returns to the place it stopped at previously; or, if no previous playback, to the
start of the score. (2) The Play button changes to a "stop" icon while music is playing.

To stop playback

Press the Play button; or press Space.

Rewind

To rewind playback click on the Rewind icon on the Play toolbar. Rewind returns the playback to the beginning of the score or, if a loop is set, to
the beginning of the loop.

Loop

To loop playback over a section of music:

Stop playback (if it is on);

Ensure that the loop playback button is "off" (i.e. not colored blue);
Select a range in the score, encompassing the instrument staves you want to play back;
Click on the loop playback button in the Play toolbar. Flags will appear around the selection and the button change color.
Click on the Play button.

In the example below, playback will cycle over the selected two bars of Violin 2 and Viola, the region marked by the blue flags. Use the "Loop
playback" button to toggle the loop on or off.

Metronome

To automatically add metronome ticks sound to playback, use the metronome button.

The number of ticks added onto each measure is determined by

the beat. Number of beats per measure is dictated by the time signature only, it does not depend on the beaming style, or the note value
(duration) used on metronome markings. Both crotchet ♩ = 60 and quaver ♪ = 120 markings create identical result; and
the written tempo on the score; and
the current slider setting of Monitoring tempo, see "Playback position and monitoring tempo" section.

The following logic is used,

For simple meters, the top number of the time signature is the number of beats in each measure. 2 = duple, 3 = triple, 4 = quadruple. A tick is
added to each beat.

For compound meters (6/8, 9/8, etc), the top number of the time signature divided by three, is the number of beats in each measure. 6 =
duple, 9 = triple, 12 = quadruple. A tick is added to each beat. Two additional ticks per beat are added to passages where the resultant
Monitoring tempo of the measure is below 60 beats per minute. The 60 is not referring to Play Toolbar / Play Panel's top right corner
metronome symbol.

Shown above is a demo of compound meters metronome handling, the demo score file is available under the External links section. To a
measure using 9/8 where there is a written tempo marking dotted crotchet ♩ . = 59, and the monitoring tempo slider is at 100%, nine ticks are
added. Using a quaver ♪ = 179 marking creates identical result. Whereas, to a measure using 9/8 where there is a written tempo marking
dotted crotchet ♩ . = 60, and the monitoring tempo slider is at 100%, three ticks are added. Using a quaver ♪ = 180 marking creates identical
result. Lowering the monitoring tempo slider to 90% creates nine ticks in that measure.

The default Metronome uses MS Basic. It has two tick sound clips, a high pitched ticks (T1) and a low pitched ticks (T2). T1 is used on the very first
tick of each measure, T2 is used on all other places. Alternative sound source can be selected in the Mixer, T1 play note E5, and T2 play note F5.

These ticks are added to any exported audio files. For more control of the ticks in the audio file, or during playback, try these:
 Add a percussion staff, fill the first measure with the desired rhythm and the rest with measure repeats, then hide that staff, source ,
Metronome SoundFont (CC0) provided by mirabilos,
Add metronome part plugin by sal.vador.

Playback position and monitoring tempo

The current playback position is shown by two counters to the right of the playback controls. One shows the position in terms of time elapsed, the
other in measures and beats (see image in overview). To jump to a timestamp or measure or beat manually, click a counter and enter a number.

The item at the very right end is monitoring tempo. It shows the tempo would have been in the unit of crotchet (quarter notes) within one minute at
the current cursor position. It is not exact mirror appearance of any particular written tempo marking on the score. Its crotchet is not related to the
musical beat of the score.

To reveal additional controls, undock the toolbar. Click and hold down the "6 dots", then drag away from the top right of the MuseScore screen and
release, see Toolbars and windows:Docking and undocking panels chapter. Undocked toolbar automatically expands into a small Playback Panel
that has two sliders. The slider on top shows the current playback position . the slider below shows monitoring tempo . Monitoring tempo
overrides score tempo temporarily, the setting of each written tempo markings on the score remains unchanged. Returning the slider to default
position, 100%, restores tempo to that as written on score.

In the example screen capture shown above. The knob on the top current playback position slider is at one third from the left, suggesting it is
currently about one third of the way through the score. The knob on the lower monitoring tempo slider is adjusted slightly to the right of the default
position. It reads 130%, suggesting the tempo of playback is currently speeded up to 130% of written tempo. The written tempo is crotchet = 60, it is
designated by a Tempo marking not shown in the picture. The top right corner metronome symbol shows crotchet = 78, meaning there would have
been 78 crotchet (quarter notes) within one minute at the current cursor position.

To change the playback tempo temporarily, either:

Left click, hold and drag the monitoring tempo slider left or right. This will adjust the playback tempo in 5% increments; or

Left click on the Playback tempo percentage number. This will highlight the number

Edit the Playback tempo. It can be adjusted in 1% increments. In the image below the tempo will playback at 96% of the current metronome
speed

Other commands
Click the settings button (cogged gear) on the Play toolbar to show the following controls:

You can uncheck or check these options as desired.

Enable MIDI input

Enable MIDI input to write music to your score with a linked MIDI device (such as a keyboard or drum machine) during playback. See Working with
Midi for details.

Play repeats

Uncheck this option if you want playback to ignore any repeat indications in the score.

Play chord symbols

Uncheck this option if you want playback to ignore chord symbols in the score.

Pan score automatically

When checked, this option pans the score during playback; uncheck if you want the view to remain stationary.

External links
Metronome tick demo score file https://musescore.org/en/node/357722#comment-1220561

Mixer

Overview
The mixer allows you to

change instrument sounds (without affecting the staff notation).

load virtual instruments and effects.

adjust volume and panning, and make other adjustments to the playback for each stave.

The mixer is divided into a number of color-coded channel strips:

Instrument: Each staff instrument in the score has its own channel, with the name of the instrument, labelled blue, at the bottom. An
instrument channel is also created for each mid-score instrument change applied to a staff.
Metronome: This channel, also labelled blue, allows control of metronome volume and panning.
 Aux 1/Aux 2: These are the auxiliary channels, labelled green, and may be used to house VST effects units. Aux 1 by default contains Muse
Reverb (see below).
Master: The master fader, labelled red.

Opening the mixer

You can display/hide the mixer by:

Clicking on the Mixer button in the Note input toolbar.

Clicking View→Mixer.
Using the shortcut F10.

Note: If the instrument channel strips are not in the same order as the instruments in the score, try closing and reopening the Mixer again.

Mixer controls
A channel strip contains the following controls (from top to bottom):

Sound: See below.

Audio FX: See below.
Aux sends: See below.
Pan: Click and drag on the Pan knob to move the audio track to the left or right in the stereo sound field. Double click on the knob to return
Pan to the center position.
Volume: Click and drag the fader to increase or decrease playback volume. Double click on the fader to return it to the default level, 0 dB.
Mute and Solo: Click on the Mute button to silence the track; click again to unmute it—and so on. The Solo button silences all other tracks
allowing you to hear only the soloed track. Multiple selection of Solo and Mute buttons is possible, allowing you to conveniently isolate any
combination of instruments.
Name: Note that this name is not affected by any changes made to the instrument name in the score.

Click the three dot icon in the upper right corner of the Mixer panel to show / hide a control. For example, you can hide the Volume faders to save
up vertical screen space for score viewing.

Sound
The row labelled Sound shows the virtual instrument set used in each track. This can be either a SoundFont (.sf2,.sf3) such as MS Basic, a VST
instruments (VSTi), or a Muse Sound. If you have selected a particular sound from within that instrument set then the sound's name will be
displayed instead of the set's name.

To change an instrument's sound

Mouse over the name of the virtual instrument set (in the row marked “Sound”)
Click the dropdown button that appears
Locate and click on an item from the dropdown menu.

Note: This changes the instrument's sound, but has no effect on instrument's notation. If you want the staff to be updated as well, say, with correct
transposition and clef changes, see Choose instruments.

Starting with MuseScore 4.2, it is now possible to use this method to choose individual sound from within a SoundFont. If you're using an older
version of MuseScore 4, use the workaround detailed in SoundFonts.

SFZ files are supported but only by using a VST sampler; see SoundFonts.

Audio FX
Each row (slot) under the Audio FX allows you to add an extra VST effect or Muse Reverb (a native effect). Audio is processed through the Audio
FX from top to bottom.

Find VSTi inside Sound drop-downs, and find VST effects inside Audio FX drop-downs.
To apply Audio FX(s) to one instrument, add Audio FX to the corresponding instrument strip.
To easily apply the same Audio FX(s) to multiple instruments, use Aux sends.

To add an Audio FX plugin

Hover over an empty Audio FX slot

Click the dropdown button that appears
Locate and click on a plugin from the dropdown menu .
The plugin will load as a separate window on top of the Musescore window.
When you add one effect, a new empty row (slot) is created automatically to allow adding further effect. Repeat these steps to add more
effect.

To disable an Audio FX plugin

Hover over an Audio FX slot

Click on the power icon that appears.

This deactivates the plugin without removing it from the mixer.

To remove an Audio FX plugin

 Hover over an Audio FX slot
Click the dropdown button that appears
Click No effect.

Muse Reverb

Muse Reverb is MuseScore’s native reverb unit. A fixed amount of reverb is added by default to each instrument—you can adjust the amount for
each channel using the Aux send knobs next to the blue buttons labelled "Reverb". The effect can be toggled on/off for each channel by clicking on
the same buttons. You can also adjust the Muse Reverb output volume using the Aux 1 fader.

Aux sends
Each row (slot) under the Aux sends adjusts how much of a corresponding Aux channel effect(s) is added to the audio created for an instrument.

There are two Aux sends, corresponding to the two aux channels:

The first row adjusts how much of Aux channel 1 Aux 1 is added onto the current instrument, it is shown as Reverb by default, because Aux
1 contains Muse Reverb by default.
The second row adjusts how much of Aux channel 2 Aux 2 is added onto the current instrument, Aux 2 does not contain any Audio FX by
default.
Both of the two aux sends are enabled by default for each instrument, and can be disabled individually. Audio is processed with Aux 1 then
Aux 2.
You can also apply audio effect(s) to one instrument only by adding Audio FX.

To show/hide an Aux send row (slot)

Click the three dot icon in the upper right corner of the Mixer panel
Hover over View
Click Aux send 1 and/or Aux send 2.

To disable an Aux send row (slot)

Make sure the Aux send is visible

Click Reverb to turn off Aux send 1 OR Click Aux 2 to turn off Aux send 2.

Aux channels
Aux channels are special channels to simplify audio FX application. You can set up audio FX(s) in one Aux channel and then apply them to
multiple instruments.

There are up to two Aux channels in each score:

Aux 1: contains the Muse Reverb by default, but you can remove this and replace it with any Audio FX(s) you like.
Aux 2: is empty by default.

To show/hide Aux channels

By default, aux channels are hidden. To show/hide a aux channel:

Click the three dot icon in the upper right corner of the Mixer panel
Hover over View
Click Aux channel 1 and/or Aux channel 2.

To add Audio FX to an Aux channel

The process is the same as adding Audio FX(s) to an instrument channel, see To add an Audio FX.

If there is only one Audio FXin an Aux Channel, the channel strip and its corresponding aux send are labelled by the name of the Audio FX. If there
is more than one, they are labelled Aux 1 and Aux 2. You may need to save and reopen the score to see the labels update.

To adjust an Aux channel's level

Aux channel strips have volume faders. This changes the volume of the effect across all channel strips with the corresponding aux send turned on.
Think of this as setting the maximum volume of the effect(s) that an instrument channel can receive.

To apply the effect(s) of an Aux channel to an instrument

To adjust how much effect of an Aux channel come through on each instrument, use the knob in the corresponding Aux sends row (slot) on that
instrument channel strip, see Aux Sends.

See also
Installing Muse Sounds
SoundFonts

MuseScore uses virtual instruments to create audio for playback. SoundFont files (.sf2, .sf3) are one of the supported formats . An sf2 or sf3 file
contains all the audio data for one or more virtual instruments.

MuseScore comes packaged with its own native SoundFont, MS Basic, which contains most of the instrument sounds you need for score playback.

You can also add and use custom SoundFonts—many are available free online. See also the list in SoundFonts and SFZ files (MS3 handbook).

Install a SoundFont
Once you’ve downloaded a SoundFont to your computer, there are two ways to install a SoundFont in MuseScore 4:

Drag and drop the SoundFont file into MuseScore 4.

Place the SoundFont file in the MS4 user directory named "SoundFonts".

Drag and drop installation

Open MuseScore
Open your OS file manager (Windows: File Explorer, macOS: Finder)
Locate the SoundFont file
Left-click and hold on the SoundFont file in the file manager window
Drag the file over to MuseScore's window
If MuseScore's window isn't visible, drag the file over MuseScore's icon in the system bar to reveal MuseScore's window
Release the mouse button to "drop" the file on MuseScore

A dialog should appear offering to install the SoundFont file to the correct location.

File directory installation

It's also possible to manually install SoundFont files to the correct location. By default, this location is ~/Documents/MuseScore4/SoundFonts,
where ~ (tilde) represents your home directory. The full path to this location is:

Windows: C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\MuseScore4\SoundFonts
macOS: /Users/USERNAME/Documents/MuseScore4/SoundFonts
Linux: /home/USERNAME/Documents/MuseScore4/SoundFonts

SoundFont files placed in this folder will automatically become available for use in MuseScore.

Add or change SoundFont directory

It's also possible to specify alternate location(s) to store SoundFont files instead of—or in addition to—the default location mentioned above.
SoundFont files placed at any specified location will be available in MuseScore.

To specify an alternate SoundFont location:

Open Preferences (Mac: MuseScore > Preferences or shortcut Cmd+;. Windows: Edit > Preferences)
Select Folders (prior to MuseScore 4.2 this was under the General category)
Click the SoundFonts folder icon
Click Add directory in the dialog that appears
Choose and Open the folder location where you want MuseScore to look for SoundFont files
Repeat steps 1-5 to add further directories (optional)
Click OK to finish. The specified directory (or directories) will appear in the SoundFonts text field.
Click OK in the Preferences dialog to confirm your selection.

Using sounds from a SoundFont

Once a SoundFont is installed, here's how to use it in MuseScore:

Open the Mixer (shortcut: F10)

Locate the column for the instrument that you want to change the sound of
Mouse over this instrument's plugin slot in the row marked Sound (screen reader users: tab until you hear "sound menu")
Click the dropdown arrow that appears
Hover over SoundFonts
Select the SoundFont you wish to assign to that particular instrument

As of MuseScore 4.2, it possible to choose a specific sound within the SoundFont. The default setting Choose automatically instructs MuseScore
to use sound(s) that matches the instrument in the score.

On some instruments (such as Violin) using MS Basic, verbal articulation text items (such as legato, pizz. arco) create proper playback only if
Choose automatically is selected, see musescore at github . Therefore it is preferable to change the Musescore Instrument, see Setting up your
score : Changing instruments after score creation chapter. Choose automatically only works with SoundFonts that obey the General MIDI
standard, see Musescore 3 handbook SoundFonts and SFZ files: soundfonts chapter.

Shown below is soundfont selection in MuseScore 4.1.1.

Selecting individual sounds

As mentioned above, MuseScore 4.2 reintroduced the ability to choose individual sounds within a SoundFont.

Prior to MuseScore 4.2, you had to make do with the automatic choice, or employ a workaround where each individual sound was packaged into a
separate SoundFont file. A special version of MS Basic was created for this purpose. For other SoundFonts, you could split them into individual
sound files using a free tool such as sf2-split or SF2 Splitter . For VSTs you could use a VST sampler such as Sforzando , FluidSynthVST ,
or juicysfplugin .

Editing Soundfonts
This is possible using 3rd party software such as Polyphone . For more information, see also Soundfont, MIDI velocity and instruments.xml
(Developer’s Handbook).

Uninstall a SoundFont
To uninstall a SoundFont, simply open the folder where its file is installed and delete it.

A note on the Zerberus player and SFZs

Users of MuseScore 3.6 and earlier may be accustomed to using the Zerberus player, which supports the .sfz file format. In building a new system
that now supports VST instruments, changes were required that necessitated the removal of the Zerberus player, as well as the Synthesizer
found in previous versions of MuseScore. Consequently, some functionality has been lost in this process, including the ability to map specific
instrument sounds like pizzicato and tremolo to specific MIDI channels. Our highest priority in future releases of MuseScore 4 is to again support
this functionality for VST, SoundFont and the Muse Sounds libraries. Users who rely extensively on mapping .sfz sounds to specific performance
directions are advised to continue using earlier versions of MuseScore until we re-enable this capability in MuseScore 4. It is worth mentioning that
the new systems we are planning will be much more flexible, easy to use and powerful than those found in MuseScore 3.

For those who wish to still use SFZ sounds in MuseScore 4, good alternatives for Windows and macOs would be the open source VST samplers
Sfizz or Sforzando , both of which support SFZ playback. Currently, the use of SFZ is not possible in MuseScore4 for Linux.

See also
SoundFonts and SFZ files (MS3 handbook)

Alternatives to soundfonts:

Muse Sounds
VSTi

Installing Muse Sounds

Muse Sounds is a library of sophisticated plugins that provide realistic playback for MuseScore Studio.

MuseScore 4 - Installing Our FREE Orchestral Plugin: Muse …

Installation
Muse Hub (Windows and macOS)

On Windows and macOS, Muse Sounds are installed via the Muse Hub utility, which can also be used to install MuseScore Studio. If you don't
have Muse Hub yet you can download it for free from musehub.com .

Once installed, Muse Hub is found in the Windows system tray (shortcut Win+B to focus), or the macOS menu bar (press VO+M twice to focus while
VoiceOver is running).

When Muse Hub is open, click Get under any sound you’d like to have in your library, and it will begin downloading and installing right away.

Muse Hub also contains a range of effects plugins. Download and install these from the Effects tab.

Once a plugin is fully downloaded, it will appear in the Mixer the next time you launch MuseScore Studio.

Muse Sounds Manager (Linux only)

On Linux, Muse Sounds are installed via Muse Sounds Manager, which you can download from musescore.org as a DEB or RPM package for
64-bit Intel/AMD architectures (not ARM currently).

When Muse Sounds Manager is open, click Get under any sound you’d like to have in your library, and it will begin downloading and installing right
away.

Once a plugin is fully downloaded, it will appear in the Mixer the next time you launch MuseScore Studio.
Using Muse Sounds in MuseScore Studio
Any Muse Sounds plugins you’ve downloaded will be automatically assigned to the appropriate instruments in your score.

You can tell MuseScore Studio to always use available Muse Sounds plugins via the Playback Setup dialog.

Go to view → Playback setup

Select Muse Sounds in the Profiles section
Leave Set as default for new scores checked if you want all future scores to also use Muse Sounds
Click OK

The Muse Sounds playback profile will ensure that all Muse Sounds plugins will be assigned to every available instrument in your score. You can
also manually assign a Muse Sounds plugin to a single instrument via the Mixer. This can be helpful for scores with more than one instrument,
where you may wish to combine Muse Sounds plugins with other VSTs or Soundfonts.

Go to View → Mixer to show the Mixer (Shortcut: F10)

Hover over a plugin slot next to Sound
Click the dropdown button that appears
Navigate to Muse Sounds and select a sound from the desired library

Available sounds in Muse Sounds

Muse Sounds currently supports the following instruments:

Brass

Bass Trombone
Cimbasso
Horn in F
Horns a6
Trombone
Trombones a3
Trumpet
Trumpets a4
Tuba

Choir

Altos
Basses
Full Choir
Men
Sopranos
Tenors
Women

Drumline

Marching Bass Drums

Marching Cymbals
Marching Snares
Marching Tenors
Show Style Tenors

Guitars Vol. 1

Acoustic Nylon
Acoustic Steel Picked
Acoustic Steel Plucked
Electric Bass
Electric LP - Clean
Electric LP - Heavy
Electric LP - Lead
Electric SC - Clean
Electric SC - Heavy
Electric SC - Lead

Harp

Harp

Keys

Celesta
Dream Piano
Grand Piano
Hammond Organ
Harpsichord
Soft Piano
Suitcase Piano
Upright Piano
Wurly 200A
Percussion

Bass Drum
Bell Tree
Bongos
Cabasa
Castanets
Claves
Cowbell
Crotales
Drum Kit
Field Drum
Glockenspiel
Gong
Marimba
Mark Tree
Metronome
Piatti
Shaker
Sleigh Bells
Snare Drum
Sus.Cymbal
Taikos
Tam-tam
Tambourine
Timbales
Timpani
Toms
Triangle
Tubular Bells
Vibraphone
Wood Blocks
Xylophone

Strings

Contrabasses
Viola (Solo)
Violas
Violin 1 (Solo)
Violin 2 (Solo)
Violins 1
Violins 2
Violoncello (Solo)
Violoncellos

Woodwinds

Alto Flute
Alto Sax
Baritone Sax
Bass Clarinet
Bass Flute
Bassoon
Clarinet in Bb
Clarinet in Eb
Contrabass Flute
Contrabassoon
English Horn
Flute 1
Flute 2
Oboe
Piccolo
Soprano Sax
Tenor Sax

Any instruments not supported by Muse Sounds will remain assigned to MS Basic by default.

Sound flags

Sound flags are available starting in MuseScore Studio 4.3

Overview
Sound flags can be added to staff text to access additional sounds and playing techniques on Muse Sounds instruments. You can download all the
free Muse Sounds instruments (and soon, more sounds from the world’s best audio developers) via the Muse Hub .

When you add a sound flag (pictured below), it affects playback on the entire instrument from that point forward in the score until it reaches another
sound flag.

Using sound flags, you can:

Set string playing techniques like espressivo, sul ponticello, and bartok pizzicato
 Turn the snare on or off on the Muse Sounds Snare drum
Choose from different choral phonemes, like ooh, ahh, and mmm

Sound flag buttons that appear in the score will never be visible when exporting, printing, or publishing your score to MuseScore.com.

To add a sound flag

Make sure a Muse Sounds instrument is selected in the mixer

Add Staff text from the Text palette or using Ctrl+T (Mac: Cmd+T) to the Muse Sounds instrument's staff
Click the sound flag button next to the text field
Select any of the options to apply it to your score
Play the score to preview the new sound

To use a sound flag without showing text in the score

Sound flags must always be attached to a staff text element. If you wish to hide the text:

Select the staff text

In the Properties panel under General, uncheck Visible

To remove a sound flag

Selecting the sound flag button and pressing Del will remove it and leave the staff text in place.

Deleting the staff text will also remove the associated sound flag.

To hide sound flags in the score

With nothing in the score selected, open the Properties panel

Under General, click the eye icon next to Sound flags

The sound flag buttons will be hidden. They can still be edited by clicking the associated staff text to reveal its sound flag button.

Additional options
To reset a sound flag

The first options in the Modify sound and/or Playing techniques sections of the sound flag popup are the default sounds. If you wish to quickly
reset a sound flag to these sounds:

Select a sound flag button

Click the three-dot button in the top right and select Reset to default sound

To select multiple sounds on one sound flag

You may wish to combine more than one sound option to play at the same time. If a sound flag has the Modify sound section, you can do the
following:

Select a sound flag button

Click the three-dot button in the top right and select Allow multiple selection
Then, select more than one sound flag button to hear the sounds together in playback

To change which staves a sound flag affects

By default, sound flags affect all staves on an instrument, but this can be changed.

Select a sound flag button

Click the three-dot button in the top right and uncheck Apply selection to all staves
Repeat for sound flags on other staves

Sounds without sound flags

Not all Muse Sounds instruments have sound flag options. If we haven’t included any sound flag options yet, you’ll see this in the sound flag popup:

Keyboard navigation
To add a sound flag using the keyboard

Select a note or rest

Press Ctrl+T (Mac: Cmd+T) to add Staff text
Type anything in
Press Esc to select the text
Press Alt+Left (Mac: Opt+Left) to open the popup
Use Tab and arrow keys to navigate within the popup and Space to select
See also
Installing Muse Sounds

Capo playback (MS 4.0.2 and before)

This page shows you how to apply Capo markings in MuseScore versions prior to MuseScore 4.1. See Applying capos for the new method of
applying capos in MuseScore 4.1 and above.

Adding a capo marking to your score (before MuseScore 4.1)

MuseScore allows you to transpose the playback of a staff without changing the music notation (written pitch). This simulates the effect of a capo on
a guitar (or other stringed instrument).

Adding a capo to a single staff

Add staff text to the note/rest from which you want capo playback to start;
Open the Staff text properties dialog.
Click on the Capo Settings tab;
Check the “Capo Settings” checkbox, and set "Capo fret" to the fret number you wish to apply the capo at (each fret increases the pitch by a
semitone);
Click OK to apply your changes;
Edit the wording of the text as desired.

Adding a capo to a staff / tablature pair

Use one of the following:

If linked, add the capo to the standard staff—not the tablature.

If unlinked, add the capo to both staves.

Note: Any capo playback settings apply until overridden by a subsequent Staff text with “Capo Settings” enabled.

See also
Chord symbols: Capo fret position

Swing playback

Overview
Music in “straight” time is performed strictly as written in the score. By contrast, music in swing time interpets straight eigth and sixteenth notes as
triplet pairs, with the first of the pair being roughly twice as long as the second. This gives the rhythm a characteristic bouncy feel—often
asssociated with Jazz music. e.g.

Swung eighths:

Swung sixteenths:

Rather than notate swung music exactly as performed, it is accepted convention to write it in straight time and simply provide the written indications
“Swing and “Straight” at appropriate points in the score.

Swing markings have a playback effect on the score. The default swing ratio is 60% (3:2) but you can vary this to suit the feel of the piece if
required.

Adding a swing or straight marking to your score

To add a swing marking

Click on the destination note or rest

Click on the Swing text in the Tempo palette.

Alternatively, you can drag and drop the Swing text from the palette onto the note or rest in question.

You can, if desired, add a visual swing marking as well.

To add a straight marking

Click on the destination note or rest

Click on the Straight text in the Tempo palette.

Note that the above markings are a form of System text and therefore the playback effect is applied to all staves in the system. If you want swing to
apply to only one staff you can use Staff text instead: see below.

Changing swing playback

Adjust the type and degree of swing
 Right-click on the Swing text in the score and select System text properties.

In the Swing settings tab edit the “Swing” and “Swing ratio” as required.

Note: Swing settings are found in both system and staff text.

Apply swing to one staff only

If you want swing to apply to only one staff in the system, use staff text instead:

Select the destination note or rest.

Click on the Staff text indication in the Text palette.
Edit the text to create the desired performance indication
Right-click on the text and select Staff text properties. Alternatively select the text object and in the Properties panel, click on the Staff text
properties button.
In the Swing settings tab edit the “Swing” and “Swing ratio” as required.

Working with MIDI

This section needs to be organized / written by someone with an understanding of how to use MIDI input/output in MuseScore 4. If JACK is still
supported, it could be discussed here too, or in a new page.

Working with VST and VSTi

Introduction to VST
Virtual Studio Technology (VST) is an audio plug-in software interface licensed under Steinberg that integrates software synthesizers and effects
units into digital audio workstations. Most VST plugins are either instruments (VSTi) or effects (VSTfx); VSTi includes software simulation
emulations of well-known hardware synthesizers and samplers.

Installing VSTs
In MuseScore 4, any compatible VST plugins installed on a Windows or MacOS computer will automatically be made available in the Mixer, where
you can easily configure playback settings for all instruments in a score. Note that Linux is not yet supported (but see Linux VST3 ).

After installing new VSTs on your computer, you may have to restart Musescore 4 to make them visible in the mixer. If this doesn't work, you can
force a re-scan of VSTs by deleting previous cache settings before restarting. On Windows 10 the relevant file can be found at

C:\Users\ [your user] \AppData\Local\MuseScore\MuseScore4\known_audio_plugins.json

MuseScore 4 directly supports VST3 plugins only (not VST1 or VST2) because of licensing restrictions. If you are using VST1 or VST2, see How to
use older, non-VST3 plugins in MuseScore 4 .

Note: Sound settings in the Mixer are saved with the score, but not to the program.

Enabling, disabling, removing and replacing VST plugins

See Mixer: Sounds and Audio FX.

See also

Alternatives to VST instruments:

Muse Sounds
SoundFonts

Customization
Language

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

Change language

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

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

Update translations

To update translation(s):

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

In the General tab, click on the Check for language updates button;
A message which displayed if the version of your language is already up to date, if not then the update will be downloaded.

To complete this step, a restart of the application is required.

See also

Helping with translations

Appearance

Overview
To change the appearance of MuseScore

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

In the Appearance tab, select the desired option described below.

Theme and Colors

The following options are available to change the colors of MuseScore. The display changes immediately so options can be tested without closing
the dialog. The changes apply to all open instances of MuseScore (see Windows)

Light or Dark Theme

Select "Follow system theme" if you want MuseScore to change themes from light to dark, or dark to light, when the system theme changes
Enable high-contrast
Accent color options
Background - the color behind the score (not the color of palettes and other program items) can be changed to a solid color or a Wallpaper
image.
Paper - the color of the score itself can be changed to a solid color or a Wallpaper image.
Invert Score - swaps the color of score elements with the Paper color

Fonts
To change the font face and text size for Menu and Palette elements:

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

In the Appearance tab, select the font options.

This does not affect and text elements in the score.

Toolbars and windows

Overview
Windows, toolbars and panels within MuseScore can be repositioned, and you can choose which elements you want to see displayed in them.

The default appearance of MuseScore is shown below:

The Menu bar

Toolbars
Palette, Property and Instrument Panels
The Score Window
The Status Bar

Toolbars
Showing and hiding toolbars

To show or hide the playback controls, note input toolbar, or the status bar:

Select View→Toolbars... and check/uncheck the applicable element.

Rearranging toolbars

To change the position of either the note input or playback toolbars, click on and hold the six dots at the left of the toolbar, then drag and drop it to
the desired location. The toolbar can be left free floating, but in the case of the note input toolbar, you can also drag and drop it either to the left or
the bottom edge of the program window—a blue rectange then appears to show you that you can drop the toolbar at that location to redock it. The
playback toolbar can only be redocked in its default position.

Customizing contents of toolbars

To select the icons that you want on view in the note input or playback toolbars, click on the gear icon to the right of the toolbar:

In the case of the note input toolbar, this reveals a dropdown list from which you can hide or display the various icons by clicking on the eye symbol
to the left of each one (closed=hidden, open=displayed).
In the case of the playback toolbar, uncheck or check the various options in the gear menu to hide or display the corresponding elements.

Windows and Panels

Docking and undocking panels

To undock and move one of the side panels (Palette, Instruments, Properties, or Selection filter), click on the three dots on the tab, select the
Undock option, then drag the undocked panel to the desired position.

You can leave the panel free-standing but there are also dock positions at the top and right hand edges of the document window—a blue rectangle
appears to show that you can drop the panel to redock it at that location.

In a similar way, you can redock the free panel back to the sidebar:

To display half-length at the top of the sidebar, drag and drop the free panel to the top left of the sidebar.
To display half-length at the bottom of the sidebar, drag and drop the free panel to the bottom left of the sidebar.
To display full-length in the sidebar, drag and drop the free panel to the center left of the side.

You can also redock the free panel in its original position by clicking on the three dots on the tab, and selecting Dock.

Panels such as the Mixer or virtual Piano can be undocked if desired, by dragging them into position or clicking on the three dots icon and selecting
Undock. To redock, click on the three dots icon and select Dock.

The undocked mixer can be resized by dragging the edges inwards or outwards.

Customizing contents of panels

To choose which elements to display within the mixer or the virtual Piano, click on the three dots, select View and uncheck or check the applicable
options.

To customize the palettes area, see Customization: Palettes.

Templates and styles

Overview
Templates

A template is simply a standard MuseScore file (*.mscz) stored in a dedicated “Templates” folder.

There are two kinds of templates:

System templates. These are supplied with the installed version of MuseScore and cover a wide variety of solo instruments and ensembles
of all genres. When you open the New Score dialog, these template files appear under various categories in the Create from Template tab.

User templates. These are created by the user and stored in the folder marked Templates in the MuseScore4 folder of your Documents
directory. When you open the New score dialog, user templates are displayed in the My Templates section of the Create from template tab.

Style files

A style file is a file containing customized style settings for all musical and text objects in a score. You can save an existing set of styles or import
one using the Format menu (see below).

Templates
Saving your score as a template

Create a specimen score containing the style settings, workspace, and title text that you wish to use in the template.
Make sure that the Title text of the score describes the template accurately, as this is the wording that will appear in the My templates section
of the New score dialog.
Save the score in the "Template" folder of your MuseScore 4 user directory.

Creating a score from your template

Open the New Score dialog

Choose a template file in the “My templates” section of the Create from template tab.
Complete the rest of the New Score dialog and exit.

Style files
Saving style settings for your score to a file

Create a score with the style settings that you wish to save and reuse in future scores
Select Format→Save style, and save the Style file in the “Styles” folder of your MuseScore 4 user directory.

Loading style settings into your score from a file

Open the score to which you want to apply the saved style settings
Select Format→Load style, and select the applicable style file.

Setting a default style for your score

[to be added]

Palettes
This chapter shows you how to customize the palettes and their contents; the application of palette items is already covered in Using the palettes
(Basics).

Adding palettes
To add a preset or a custom palette, see Using the palettes: Adding more palettes.

Hiding and deleting palettes

To hide a preset palette, right click on it and select Hide palette. The palette is returned to the Add Palettes list (see above). Note that preset
palettes cannot be deleted.

To hide or delete a custom palette you have created earlier, right click on it and select Hide/Delete palette. Then follow the instructions in the
dialog.

Changing the order of palettes

To change the order of a palette simply drag it up or down and drop it onto the desired position in the palettes list.

Customizing palette contents

Palettes can be populated with items from the Master Palette (Shift+F9 or View→Master palette), or from an opened score.

Score items, when added to a palette, are saved with their custom properties.

To enable/disable editing for a particular palette:

Right-click on the palette name; or click on the ellipsis symbol (three dots) to the right of the palette name
Check/uncheck Enable editing.

Adding elements from the Master Palette window

To add a symbol from the Master Palette to a palette in the Palettes panel:

Open the desired palette, make sure editing is enabled (see Customizing palette contents).
Open the Master Palette (Shift+F9 or View→Master palette)
Drag and drop symbols from the relevant section(s) of the Master palette to the ordinary palette as required.

If you have created a custom palette, there is another way to access the Master Palette:

Open the custom palette

Click on the More button
Use the arrow buttons to navigate through the various sections of the Master Palette window
Select on a symbol
Press Add to my custom to add it to the custom palette
To exit the dialog, click once more on the More button, or press Escape, or click outside the More section.

Adding elements from the score

To add score elements to a palette:

Open the desired palette

Press Ctrl+Shift (Mac: Cmd+Shift), then drag and drop the score element to the open palette.

Moving elements between palettes

Symbols can be moved from one open palette to another simply by dragging and dropping them.

Deleting elements from palettes

To delete an element in a palette, right-click on it and select Delete. In the case of preset palettes, the element will be moved to the More section.
For custom palettes you are offered a choice of Hide (send element to the More section) or Delete permanently.

Resetting a palette

To reset a palette to its default state, right-click on the palette name, or click on the ellipsis symbol (three dots) to the right of the palette name; then
select Reset palette.

Note: A custom palette will be reset to an empty palette when this function is applied.

Saving and loading palettes

To save a palette, right-click on the palette name, or click on the ellipsis symbol (three dots) to the right of the palette name; then select Save
palette.

To load a previously-saved palette, right-click on a palette name, or click on the ellipsis symbol (three dots) to the right of the palette name; then
select Load palette and navigate to the desired palette, select it and click Open.
Palettes menu
To access display options for the palettes area, click on the ellipsis symbol (three dots) to the right of the Palettes title at the top of the palettes
area.

Single-click to open a Palette: Uncheck this if you want to open a palette by double-clicking.
Open only one Palette at a time: if this option is checked, when you open a palette other palettes automatically close.
Collapse all Palettes: Closes all open palettes.
Expand all Palettes: Opens all palettes.
Close: Palettes panel closes.
Undock: Undocks the palettes panel. See also Windows and panels.

Palette properties
To access Palette properties for individual palettes, right-click on the palette name, or click on the ellipsis symbol (three dots) to the right of the
palette name; then select Palette properties.

This allows you to rename the palette, create a visible grid to separate elements, adjust width and height of cells, and change the scale and offset of
the symbols.

See also
Using the palettes for info about how to apply palette items.
Other symbols for more info about the Symbols palette.

Workspaces

Overview
Workspace is the visual settings, also known as graphical user interface (GUI), of the Musescore program itself. An analogy to the position of the
pen, ruler etc on a composer's desk. It includes the content, docked/undocked status and positions of palettes, toolbars and assorted open panels.
Changes made to the current workspace are automatically saved, no further action is required. You can create custom workspaces to quickly
change all these settings with a mouse click.

Note that the following settings do not count as workspace. View→Show→ Show visible, Show Invisible, Show formatting, Show Frames,
Show Page Margins, Mark irregular measures, and status bar's Concert Pitch, Zoom level, and Page View/Continuous View option. These
settings, covered in The user interface chapter, are score data. They are saved to and loaded from each score file. Templates contain these settings
and will be used when you create a new score from a template, see Setting up your score.

Creating a new workspace

To create a new workspace:

Click on the current workspace name in the status bar below the document window. Alternatively, select View→Workspaces→Configure
workspace
Click on Create new workspace
Fill in the name of the workspace, choose the options it contains so that only these options are loaded and saved when the workspace is
used.
Click Select to close the dialog.

To customize the palettes display and contents, see palettes.

To customize the display of toolbars and panels, see Toolbars and panels.

Deleting a workspace
Click on the current workspace name in the status bar below the document window. Alternatively, select View→Workspaces→Configure
workspace
Select the workspace to be deleted
Click on the trash icon at the top of the dialog.

Switching between workspaces

Click on the current workspace name in the status bar below the document window.
In the resulting dialog box, click on the desired workspace
Press Select.

Alternatively

Select View→Workspaces→Configure workspace

Click on the desired workspace in the menu.

Keyboard shortcuts

Overview
MuseScore commands can be accessed via the main menus, toolbars, Properties panel or context menus, or by using keyboard shortcuts.

Pre-existing keyboard shortcut are shown alongside the commands in the main menus or context (right-click) menus, or by hovering the mouse
pointer over an icon in a toolbar.
Alternatively, you can view a list of commands and their shortcuts in Edit→Preferences→Shortcuts. This is also the place where you can create a
shortcut or change an existing one. To locate a command in the list either scroll down the alphabetical order, or enter an appropriate keyword in the
“Search shortcut” box.

Defining a shortcut
To define a new shortcut, or change an existing one:

From the menu bar, select Edit→Preferences→Shortcuts

Find the relevant command in the alphabetical list; use the Search box if needed.
Either double-click the relevant entry, or select the entry and click Define…
With the Enter shortcut sequence dialog open, press and hold the sequence of keys on your keyboard to use as the new shortcut.
Press Save (or Cancel to exit the dialog without changing anything).

Resetting and clearing shortcuts

To reset a shortcut to its default:

From the menu bar, select Edit→Preferences→Shortcuts

Find the relevant command in the alphabetical list; use the Search box if needed.
Select the entry and press Reset to default.

To clear (i.e. delete) a shortcut:

From the menu bar, select Edit→Preferences→Shortcuts

Find the relevant command in the alphabetical list; use the Search box if needed.
Select the entry and press Clear.

Note: You can select more than one shortcut if needed. Press the Shift key to establish a continuous range, or the Ctrl key for a list.

Importing and exporting shortcuts

To save the existing shortcuts or import a list of your own:

From the menu bar, select Edit→Preferences→Shortcuts

Press Export to save the list; or Import to load a new shortcut list.

Preferences

To edit Preferences (the appearance and general behavior of MuseScore), go to Edit→Preferences.

These are divided logically into sections (see below); notice also the three buttons at the bottom of the window:

Reset preferences: Click on this to reset all preferences to their default values.
Cancel: Exit preferences without changing anything.
OK: Exit preferences and apply any user changes.

General
You can specify your language, and autosave interval in “General”. See also Language.

“Program start” allow you to choose what, if any, score you want displayed in the edit window after launching.

“Folders” allows you to customize locations for any user folders (though it’s a good idea to leave them at default to start with if you are a new user).

Appearance
Choose between light and dark options, and specify the accent color; there is also a high contrast option for visually impaired users.

The system font is also the default for the MuseScore UI, but you can alter this if desired—and the font-size.

You can set the score paper/color option and the background. For visually impaired there is an “Invert score” option which inverts the score colors
(white to black and vice versa)

Canvas
Specify the default zoom level of the score, and the mouse zoom precision. Also how you want your score pages to scroll, and the degree of
precision of mouse selection.

Save & publish

Specify the autosave duration and options relating to generating and publishing audio on musescore.com and audio.com.

Note input
Here you can specify whether to advance to the next note on key release (in MIDI input), whether to color notes outside of an instrument's usable
range, whether to play notes when editing (and for how long), and customise how voice assignment for dynamics works.

Score
Customize the default order of instruments for new scores, and default styles for scores and parts.

Audio & MIDI

Specify audio device, buffer size and sample rate, MIDI input and output devices, and customize mixer behaviour.

MIDI mappings
Here you can map certain keys of your external MIDI keyboard to certain actions, for example to start or stop score playback, set note-entry
duration, and so on.

Import
Here you can specify a custom style file to use for imported files (MIDI and MusicXML), set the character set for imported binary files, customise
MusicXML import, set the shortest note value to use in imported MIDI files, and choose whether to import the layout in MEI files.

For details of the MusicXML options, see Working with MusicXML files.

Shortcuts
See Keyboard shortcuts for more information.

Update
By default MuseScore automatically checks for updates when online. You can turn this off by unchecking the box.

Folders
Specify the default folders for scores, style files, templates, plugins and soundfonts.

Advanced
A number of specialized options can be accessed here, such as voice color, and palette behavior.

Braille
Enable or disable the braille panel, and customize its behavior.

Plugins

Not to be confused with VST and VSTi.

Overview
A MuseScore plugin is a small piece of software that adds extra functionality to the program. A plugin need to be enabled first, and then executed by
using the Plugins menu. Some plugins come pre-installed, they are disabled by default. There are also plugins created and shared by other
musicians, anyone can download and use them.

Managing plugins
Installing a new plugin

Search for available plugins at, for example:

https://musescore.org/plugins [musescore.org→Download→Plugins]
Warning: Plugins can potentially contain bad or malicious code, which compromise the machine and damage the scores. All plugins
shared on musescore.org's plugin repository are unvetted. No warranty of any kind is provided. Users should download from a trusted
author or double-check the code themselves. Seek advice on the Plugins forum .
https://github.com/topics/musescore-plugin
https://github.com/topics/musescore-plugins
Make sure it is compatible with Musescore version.

Download the file:

for musescore.org hosted .qml files, sometimes a web browser open it as plain text and refuses to download it as file. In that case, right
click on a link and select Save link as...
for github.com unpackaged code, download the project as a zip file by clicking Code: Download ZIP

for github.com packaged release, click on an appropriate item under Assets

(If it is a zip file) Extract it using an archive extraction software.

Move the files to MuseScore's plugins folder, configurable at Preferences:General:Folders. The default directories are
Windows: C:\Users\[Your User Name]\Documents\MuseScore4\Plugins\
macOS: ~/Documents/MuseScore4/Plugins/
Linux: ~/Documents/MuseScore4/Plugins

Updating an existing plugins

Updating works the same way as installing, but remember to remove the files from the previous version to avoid duplicate plugins!

Enabling and disabling plugins

Click Home: Plugins or Plugins: Manage plugins...

Select a plugin and click Enable or Disable

Running a plugin
Make sure the Score tab is currently opened.
Select Plugins → [The plugin name]

To assign a keyboard shortcut a plugin, use Home: Plugins or Plugins: Manage plugins....

Pre-installed plugins
[work in progress, please provide missing info, write brief info on each]

See https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/tree/master/share/plugins

Add Courtesy Accidentals

Color Notes
Lilypond Lyrics
Mirror Intervals
Modal Temperaments
Modal Tuning
New Retrograde
Note Names
Remove Courtesy Accidentals
Tuning

Create a plugin
The plugin system of Musescore 4 is currently being redesigned and reimplemented.

As of October 2023, Musescore 4.1.1 plugin system is mostly a somewhat restricted version of the Musescore 3 plugin system. Visit Developers'
Handbook Plugins for 3.x Chapter for fundamentals, and Plugins for 4.x Chapter for info on the new parameters and porting a Musescore 3
plugin to MuseScore 4.

See also
MuseScore 3 features not implemented in MuseScore 4

Support
Getting help

Overview
The official, up-to-date support info is posted at https://musescore.org/support , visit that page and read it first.

In addition to tutorial material promoted inside Musescore, MuseGroup, the managing company of the MuseScore project maintains an online
server https://musescore.org for the musician community free of charge. The community volunteers to maintain written handbooks and a
collection of help pages collaboratively. To ask for help, use https://musescore.org/en/forum

Everyone are invited to join the community and encouraged to contribute, see https://musescore.org/en/donate and
https://musescore.org/en/contribute . Report bugs of Musescore 4 the windows, macOS and linux software at
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues

There are other really good quality third party tutorial materials, video streams and communities for different level of Musescore users online.

Learn
tutorials
classes

Forums
Go to https://musescore.org/en/forum to read news and participate in discussions.

Issue tracker
Go to https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues to post and track issues.

GitHub
The project is available at https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore .

Mastering MuseScore
There are other really good quality third party tutorial materials, video streams and communities for different level of Musescore users online, most
notably https://school.masteringmusescore.com/ created by Mr. Marc Sabatella. While Marc Sabatella has been contributing heavily to
MuseScore codebase and official tutorial materials and diligently helping the community for an extended period of time, that site is not affiliated with
Muse Group or any of its subsidiary companies.

Revert to factory settings

Overview
Resetting Musescore app preferences may be necessary if your app's preferences are corrupted. This deletes custom palettes and custom
keyboard shortcuts, and clears out links to recent scores under File menu and Home tab : Scores but will not delete any score files.

Feel free to consult volunteers at https://musescore.org/en/forum before committing. Proceed at your own discretion, Muse Group and the online
community are not responsible for any data loss.

Reverting to factory settings from the menu

Select Help→Revert to factory settings.
Select Revert to reset.
Select Restart to restart the application.

Reverting to factory settings from the command line

If MuseScore does not start, you must run this process via the Command line.

Windows

source: https://musescore.org/en/node/342982

If you have MuseScore open, you need to close it first (File→Quit)

Type ⊞ Win+R to open the Run dialog. Alternatively select "Start" using your mouse and type "run," then click the "Run" program.
Click Browse...
Look for MuseScore4.exe on your computer. The location may vary depending on your installation, but it is probably something similar to My
Computer → Local Disk → Program Files → MuseScore 4 → bin → MuseScore4.exe
Click Open to leave the Browse dialog and return to the Run dialog. The following text (or something similar) should display in the Run dialog

C:\Program Files\MuseScore 4\bin\MuseScore4.exe

or
%ProgramFiles%\MuseScore 4\bin\MuseScore4.exe

For the Windows Store version (Windows 10), it is pretty well hidden, search for it via Windows Explorer

Click after the quote and add a space followed by a hyphen and a capital F: -F
Press OK

After a few seconds, MuseScore should start and all the settings reverted to "factory settings".

For advanced users,

The main preference file is located at:

C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\MuseScore\MuseScore4.ini
or
%APPDATA%\MuseScore\MuseScore4.ini

The recent list is located at:

C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\MuseScore\MuseScore4\recent_files.json
or
%LOCALAPPDATA%\MuseScore\MuseScore4\recent_files.json

The other preferences (palettes, session, shortcuts, workspaces, logs, ...) are in:
C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\MuseScore\MuseScore4\
or
%LOCALAPPDATA%\MuseScore\MuseScore4\

For the Windows Store version (Windows 10), these are pretty well hidden, search for them via Windows Explorer

macOS

Instruction written under this section (macOS) is not tested and no Musescore 4 specific macOS test result found online yet (October 2023),
the following is adapated from Musescore 3 https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/revert-factory-settings . Please test it, correct errors, and
remove this paragraph .

If you have MuseScore open, you need to quit the application first (MuseScore→Quit)
Open Terminal (in Applications/Utilities, or via Spotlight search) and a session window should appear
Type (or copy/paste) the following command into your terminal line (include the '/' at the front):

/Applications/MuseScore\ 4.app/Contents/MacOS/mscore -F

This resets all MuseScore preferences to factory settings and immediately launches the MuseScore application. Note that you cannot quit the
Terminal without quitting MuseScore. You can safely quit MuseScore, quit the Terminal, and then reopen MuseScore in the normal fashion, ready to
continue using.
For advanced users, the main MuseScore preference file is located at ~/Library/Preferences/org.musescore.MuseScore4.plist. Often, deleting this file
has no effect: macOS stores a cached copy of the settings in some unknown location. The correct way to delete this file, is by running the following
command in the Terminal app:
defaults delete org.musescore.MuseScore4

The other preferences (palettes, session, shortcuts, workspaces, logs,...) (Those are not cached by macOS.) are in
~/Library/Application\ Support/MuseScore/MuseScore4/

Linux

source : https://musescore.org/en/node/345932

The following is true for Ubuntu, and most likely all other Linux distributions and UNIX-style operating systems.

If you have MuseScore open, you need to quit the application first (File→Quit)
From the Ubuntu main menu, choose Applications→Accessories→Terminal. A Terminal session window should appear
Type, (or copy/paste) the following command into your terminal line (Ctrl+Shift+V to paste in Terminal):

mscore -F
Or
musescore -F
Or
mscore4portable -F
Or, if you are using the AppImage version, use the cd command to change directory to wherever you saved the AppImage. For example, if you
saved it to your Desktop (and there is only one):
cd ~/Desktop
./MuseScore*.AppImage -F

This resets all MuseScore preferences to factory settings and immediately launches the MuseScore application. You can now quit Terminal, and
continue using MuseScore.

For advanced users,

the main MuseScore preference file is located at

${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/MuseScore/MuseScore4.ini

The other preferences (palettes, session, shortcuts, workspaces,logs, …) are in

${XDG_DATA_HOME:-~/.local/share}/MuseScore/MuseScore4/

Troubleshooting

Browse the How-to's first

Installation issues
"This file came from another computer ..." message see microsoft.com support
Muse Hub on Fedora (Nobara) and/or other Linux distros

Score issues
The most useful pages from How to:

How to fix MuseScore 4 corrupted files

How to fix a score that contains corruptions
How to recover a backup copy of a score

Display issues
Sound issues

Printing issues
Known incompatibilities

Appendix
Command line usage

PLEASE NOTE: This page was copied from the equivalent page in the MuseScore 3 Handbook. If you find an option that no longer works in
MuseScore 4, please report it on GitHub and add a note next to that option on this page. If the option was intentionally removed from MuseScore 4
then please delete it from this page.

MSCORE(1) — General Commands Manual Page

NAME

mscore, MuseScore4 — MuseScore 4 sheet music editor

SYNOPSIS

You can launch MuseScore from the command line by typing

 mscore [options] [filename …] (Mac and Linux/BSD/Unix)
musescore [options] [filename …] (Linux/BSD/Unix)
mscore4portable [options] [filename …] (Linux AppImage)
MuseScore4.exe [options] [filename …] (Windows)

[options] and [filename] are optional. For this to work the MuseScore executable must be in %PATH% (Windows) resp. $PATH (Mac and Linux). If it is
not, see Revert to factory settings for detailed instructions on how and where to find and execute the MuseScore executable from the command
line on the various supported platforms.

A more detailed synopsis follows:

mscore [-deFfhIiLmnOPRstvw]
[-b | --bitrate bitrate]
[-c | --config-folder pathname]
[-D | --monitor-resolution DPI]
[-d | --debug]
[-E | --install-extension extension file]
[-e | --experimental]
[-F | --factory-settings]
[-f | --force]
[-h | -? | --help]
[-I | --dump-midi-in]
[-i | --load-icons]
[-j | --job file.json]
[-L | --layout-debug]
[-M | --midi-operations file]
[-m | --no-midi]
[-n | --new-score]
[-O | --dump-midi-out]
[-o | --export-to file]
[-P | --export-score-parts]
[-p | --plugin name]
[-R | --revert-settings]
[-r | --image-resolution DPI]
[-S | --style style]
[-s | --no-synthesizer]
[-T | --trim-image margin]
[-t | --test-mode]
[-v | --version]
[-w | --no-webview]
[-x | --gui-scaling factor]
[--diff]
[--long-version]
[--no-fallback-font]
[--raw-diff]
[--run-test-script]
[--score-media]
[--score-meta]
[--highlight-config]
[--score-parts]
[--score-parts-pdf]
[--score-transpose]
[--sound-profile]
[--source-update]
[--template-mode]
[file ...]

DESCRIPTION

MuseScore is a Free and Open Source WYSIWYG cross-platform multi-lingual music composition and notation software, released under the GNU
General Public Licence (GPLv3).

Running mscore without any extra options launches the full graphical MuseScore program and opens any files specified on the command line.

The options are as follows:

-b | --bitrate bitrate

Set MP3 output bitrate in kbit/s

-c | --config-folder pathname

Override configuration and settings directory

-D | --monitor-resolution DPI

Specify monitor resolution (override autodetection)

-d | --debug

Start MuseScore in debug mode

-E | --install-extension extension file

Install an extension file; soundfonts are loaded by default unless -e is also specified

-e | --experimental
 Enable experimental features, such as layers

-F | --factory-settings

Use only the standard built-in presets (“factory settings”) and delete user preferences; compare with the -R option (see also Revert to factory
settings )

-f | --force

Ignore score corruption and version mismatch warnings in “converter mode”

-h | -? | --help

Display an overview of invocation instructions (doesn’t work on Windows)

-I | --dump-midi-in

Display all MIDI input on the console

-i | --load-icons

Load icons from the filesystem; useful if you want to edit the MuseScore icons and preview the changes

-j | --job file.json

Process a conversion job (see EXAMPLES below)

-L | --layout-debug

Start MuseScore in layout debug mode

-M | --midi-operations file

Specify MIDI import operations file (see EXAMPLES below)

-m | --no-midi

Disable MIDI input

-n | --new-score

Start with the New Score wizard regardless whether it’s enabled or disabled in the user preferences

-O | --dump-midi-out

Display all MIDI output on the console

-o | --export-to file

Export the given (or currently opened) file to the specified output file. The file type depends on the extension of the filename given. This option
switches to “converter mode” and avoids the graphical user interface.

-P | --export-score-parts

When converting to PDF with the -o option, append each part’s pages to the created PDF file. If the score has no parts, all default parts will
temporarily be generated automatically.

-p | --plugin name

Execute the named plugin

-R | --revert-settings

Use only the standard built-in presets (“factory settings”) but do not delete user preferences; compare with the -F option

-r | --image-resolution DPI

Set image resolution for conversion to PNG files. Default: 300 DPI (actually, the value of “Resolution” of the PNG option group in the Export
tab of the preferences )

-S | --style style

Load a style file first; useful for use with the -o option

-s | --no-synthesizer

Disable the integrated software synthesizer

-T | --trim-image margin

Trim exported PNG and SVG images to remove whitespace surrounding the score. The specified margin, in pixels, will be retained (use 0 for a
tightly cropped image). When exporting to SVG, this option only works with single-page scores.

-t | --test-mode

Set test mode flag for all files, includes --template-mode

-v | --version

Display the name and version of the application without starting the graphical user interface (doesn’t work on Windows)

-w | --no-webview
 Disable the web view component in the Start Center

-x | --gui-scaling factor

Scale the score display and other GUI elements by the specified factor; intended for use with high-resolution displays

--diff

Print a conditioned diff between the given scores

--long-version

Display the full name, version and git revision of the application without starting the graphical user interface (doesn’t work on Windows)

--no-fallback-font

Don’t use Bravura as fallback musical font

--raw-diff

Print a raw diff between the given scores

--run-test-script

Run script tests listed in the command line arguments

--score-media

Export all media (except MP3) for a given score as a single JSON document to stdout

--highlight-config

Set highlight to svg, generated from a given score

--score-meta

Export score metadata to JSON document and print it to stdout

--score-parts

Generate parts data for the given score and save them to separate mscz files

--score-parts-pdf

Generate parts data for the given score and export it as a single JSON document to stdout

--score-transpose

Transpose the given score and export the data to a single JSON file, print it to stdout

--sound-profile sound-profile

Use with '-o .mp3' or with '-j ', override the sound profile in the given score(s).
Possible values: "MuseScore Basic", "Muse Sounds"

--source-update

Update the source in the given score

--template-mode

Save files in template mode (e.g. without page sizes)

MuseScore also supports the automatic Qt command line options .

Batch conversion job JSON format

The argument to the -j option must be the pathname of a file comprised of a valid JSON document honoring the following specification:

The top-level element must be a JSONArray, which may be empty.

Each array element must be a JSONObject with the following keys:

in: Value is the name of the input file (score to convert), as JSONString.
plugin: Value is the filename of a plugin (with the .qml extension), which will
be read from either the global or per-user plugin path and
executed before the conversion output happens, as JSONString. Optional, but at least one of plugin and out must be given.
out: Value is the conversion output target, as defined below. Optional, but at least one of plugin and out must be given.

The conversion output target may be a filename (with extension, which decided the format to convert to), as JSONString.

The conversion output target may be a JSONArray of filenames as JSONString, as above, which will cause the score to be written to multiple
output files (in multiple output formats) sequentially, without being closed, re-opened and re-processed in between.

If the conversion output target is a JSONArray, one or more of its elements may also be, each, a JSONArray of two JSONStrings (called first
and second half in the following description). This will cause part extraction: for each such two-tuple, all extant parts of the score will be saved
individually, with filenames being composed by concatenating the first half, the name (title) of the part, and the second half. The resulting
string must be a valid filename (with extension, determining the output format). If a score has no parts (excerpts) defined, this will be silently
ignored without error.

Valid file extensions for output are:

 flac
Free Lossless Audio Codec (compressed audio)
metajson
various score metadata (JSON)
mid
standard MIDI file
midi
standard MIDI file
mlog
internal file sanity check log (JSON)
mp3
MPEG Layer III (lossy compressed audio)
mpos
measure positions (XML)
mscx
uncompressed MuseScore file
mscz
compressed MuseScore file
musicxml
uncompressed MusicXML file
mxl
compressed MusicXML file
ogg
OGG Vorbis (lossy compressed audio)
pdf
portable document file (print)
png
portable network graphics (image) — Individual files, one per score page, with a hyphen-minus followed by the page number placed
before the file extension, will be generated.
spos
segment positions (XML)
svg
scalable vector graphics (image)
wav
RIFF Waveform (uncompressed audio)
xml
uncompressed MusicXML file

See below for an example.

ENVIRONMENT

SKIP_LIBJACK
Set this (the value does not matter) to skip initialization of the JACK Audio Connection Kit library, in case it causes trouble.
XDG_CONFIG_HOME
User configuration location; defaults to ~/.config if unset.
XDG_DATA_HOME
User data location; defaults to ~/.local/share if unset.

Note that MuseScore also supports the normal Qt environment variables such as QT_QPA_GENERIC_PLUGINS, QT_QPA_PLATFORM, QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME,
QT_QPA_PLATFORM_PLUGIN_PATH, QT_STYLE_OVERRIDE, DISPLAY, etc.

FILES

/usr/share/mscore-4.0/ contains the application support data (demos, instruments, localization, system-wide plugins, soundfonts, styles, chords,
templates and wallpapers). In the Debian packages, system-wide soundfonts are installed into /usr/share/sounds/sf2/, /usr/share/sounds/sf3/ or
/usr/share/sounds/sfz/, respectively, instead.

The per-user data (extensions, plugins, soundfonts, styles, templates) and files (images, scores) are normally installed into subdirectories under
~/MuseScore4/ but may be changed in the configuration. Note that snapshot, alpha and beta versions use MuseScore4Development instead of MuseScore4
in all of these paths.

contains the user preferences, list of recently used files and their locations, window sizes and positions,
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/MuseScore/MuseScore4.ini
etc. See above for development version paths.

$XDG_DATA_HOME/data/MuseScore/MuseScore4/contains updated localization files downloaded from within the program, plugin information, cached
scores, credentials for the musescore.com community site, session information, synthesizer settings, custom key and time signatures and
shortcuts. See above for development version paths.

EXAMPLES

Convert a score to PDF from the command line

mscore -o 'My Score.pdf' 'My Score.mscz'

Run a batch job converting multiple documents

mscore -j job.json

This requires assumes a file job.json exists in the current working directory with content similar to the following:

[
{
"in": "MyScore1.mscz",
"out": "MyScore1.pdf"
},
{
"in": "MyScore2.mscz",
 "plugin": "colornotes.qml",
"out": [
"MyScore2-notecolors.pdf",
"MyScore2-notecolors.svg"
]
},
{
"in": "MyScore3.mscz",
"out": [
"MyScore3.pdf",
"MyScore3.musicxml",
"MyScore3.mid",
[
"MyScore3 (",
" part).pdf"
]
]
}
]

If MyScore3.mscz contains excerpts (instrumental parts) then the syntax above would cause files like “MyScore3 (Violin part).pdf” to be generated
alongside the conductor’s PDF and MusicXML files, as well as a MIDI file with the full orchestral sound. If MyScore3.mscz has no excerpts defined
then only the conductor’s PDF, MusicXML, and orchestral MIDI files will be generated, while the request for part PDFs is silently ignored.

MIDI import operations

The attached midi_import_options.xml is a sample MIDI import operations file for the -M option.

DIAGNOSTICS

The mscore utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.

SEE ALSO

fluidsynth(1), midicsv(1), timidity(1), qtoptions(7)

https://musescore.org/handbook

Online Handbook, full user manual

https://musescore.org/forum

Support Forum

https://musescore.org/en/node/278582

Reverting to factory settings (troubleshooting)

https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues

Project Issue Tracker — Please check first to if the bug you’re encountering has already been reported. If you just need help with something,
then please use the support forum instead.

http://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qguiapplication.html#supported-command-line-optio…

Documentation of automatic Qt command line options

STANDARDS

MuseScore attempts to implement the following standards:

MusicXML 3.1 (score interchange format)

SF2 (SoundFont 2.01)
SF3 (SoundFont with OGG Vorbis-compressed samples)
SFZ (Sforzato soundfont)
SMuFL (Standard Music Font Layout 1.20)

HISTORY

MuseScore was split off the MusE sequencer in 2002 and has since become the foremost Open Source notation software.

AUTHORS

MuseScore is developed by MuseScore BVBA and others.

This manual page was written by mirabilos <tg@debian.org >.

CAVEATS

The automatic Qt command line options are removed from the argument vector before the application has a chance at option processing; this
means that an invocation like mscore -S -reverse has no chance at working because the -reverse is removed by Qt first.

BUGS

MuseScore Studio does not honor /etc/papersize.

Probably some more; check the project’s bug tracker (cf. SEE ALSO).
All keyboard shortcuts

On macOS, make the following substitutions:

Replace Ctrl with Cmd (or ⌘)

Replace Alt with Option (or ⌥)
Replace Home with Fn+Left
Replace End with Fn+Right
Replace PgUp with Fn+Up
Replace PgDn with Fn+Down
Add Fn with function keys

Keyboard Map
Click on image for full resolution. Or use this Print Friendly PDF version

Navigation
Page navigation

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Zoom in Ctrl+= Cmd+=
Zoom out Ctrl+- Cmd+-
Zoom to 100% Ctrl+0 Cmd+0
Go to first element in score Ctrl+Home Cmd+Fn+Left
Go to last element in score Ctrl+End Cmd+Fn+Right
Jump to next screen PgUp Fn+Up
Jump to previous screen PgDn Fn+Down
Jump to top of first page Home Fn+Left
Jump to bottom of last page End Fn+Right
Jump to next page Ctrl+PgUp Cmd+Fn+Up
Jump to previous page Ctrl+PgDn Cmd+Fn+Down
Find / Go to Ctrl+F Cmd+F
Accessibility: get location Shift+L Shift+L
Show/hide timeline F12 Fn+F12

Score navigation

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Select next chord Right Right
Select previous chord Left Left
Go to next measure Ctrl+Right Cmd+Right
Go to previous measure Ctrl+Left Cmd+Left
Select next element in score Alt+Right Option+Right
Select previous element in score Alt+Left Option+Left
Select next in-staff element Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Right Cmd+Option+Shift+Right
Select previous in-staff element Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Left Cmd+Option+Shift+Left
Select note/rest above Alt+Up Option+Up
Select note/rest below Alt+Down Option+Down
Select top note in chord Ctrl+Alt+Up Cmd+Option+Up
Select bottom note in chord Ctrl+Alt+Down Cmd+Option+Down

Note input
General

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Note input: toggle note input mode N N
Note input: toggle 're-pitch existing notes'
Ctrl+Shift+I Cmd+Shift+I
mode
Note input: toggle 'insert' mode Ctrl+I Cmd+I
Show/hide piano keyboard P P
Use voice 1 Ctrl+Alt+1 Cmd+Option+1
Use voice 2 Ctrl+Alt+2 Cmd+Option+2
Use voice 3 Ctrl+Alt+3 Cmd+Option+3
Use voice 4 Ctrl+Alt+4 Cmd+Option+4

Duration

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Set duration 1 –9 1 –9
Set duration: 64th note 1 1
Set duration: 32nd note 2 2
 Action Windows/Linux macOS
Set duration: 16th note 3 3
Set duration: 8th note 4 4
Set duration: quarter note 5 5
Set duration: half note 6 6
Set duration: whole note 7 7
Set duration: double whole note 8 8
Set duration: longa 9 9
Toggle duration dot . .
Enter tuplet Ctrl+2 – Ctrl+9 Cmd+2 – Cmd+9
Enter tuplet: duplet Ctrl+2 Cmd+2
Enter tuplet: triplet Ctrl+3 Cmd+3
Enter tuplet: quadruplet Ctrl+4 Cmd+4
Enter tuplet: quintuplet Ctrl+5 Cmd+5
Enter tuplet: sextuplet Ctrl+6 Cmd+6
Enter tuplet: septuplet Ctrl+7 Cmd+7
Enter tuplet: octuplet Ctrl+8 Cmd+8
Enter tuplet: nonuplet Ctrl+9 Cmd+9
Add tied note T T
Halve selected duration Q Q
Double selected duration W W
Halve selected duration (includes dotted
Shift+Q Shift+Q
values)
Double select duration (includes dotted
Shift+W Shift+W
values)
Insert full measure rest Ctrl+Shift+Del Cmd+Shift+Del

Pitch

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Enter note A –G A –G
Enter note A A A
Enter note B B B
Enter note C C C
Enter note D D D
Enter note E E E
Enter note F F F
Enter note G G G
Add note to chord Shift+A – Shift+G Shift+A – Shift+G
Add note A to chord Shift+A Shift+A
Add note B to chord Shift+B Shift+B
Add note C to chord Shift+C Shift+C
Add note D to chord Shift+D Shift+D
Add note E to chord Shift+E Shift+E
Add note F to chord Shift+F Shift+F
Add note G to chord Shift+G Shift+G
Enter interval Alt+1 – Alt+9 Option+1 – Option+9
Enter interval: unison Alt+1 Option+1
Enter interval: second above Alt+2 Option+2
Enter interval: third above Alt+3 Option+3
Enter interval: fourth above Alt+4 Option+4
Enter interval: fifth above Alt+5 Option+5
Enter interval: sixth above Alt+6 Option+6
Enter interval: seventh above Alt+7 Option+7
Enter interval: octave above Alt+8 Option+8
Enter interval: ninth above Alt+9 Option+9
Toggle accidental: flat - -
Toggle accidental: natural = =
Toggle accidental: sharp + +
Enter rest 0 0
Add grace note: acciaccatura / /

Tablature

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Set duration (TAB) Shift+0 – Shift+9 Shift+0 – Shift+9
Set duration: 128th note (TAB) Shift+0 Shift+0
Set duration: 64th note (TAB) Shift+1 Shift+1
Set duration: 32nd note (TAB) Shift+2 Shift+2
Set duration: 16th note (TAB) Shift+3 Shift+3
Set duration: 8th note (TAB) Shift+4 Shift+4
Set duration: quarter note (TAB) Shift+5 Shift+5
 Action Windows/Linux macOS
Set duration: half note (TAB) Shift+6 Shift+6
Set duration: whole note (TAB) Shift+7 Shift+7
Enter TAB: fret 0–9 0 –9
Enter TAB: fret A–K A –K
Enter TAB: fret 0 0 0
Enter TAB: fret 1 1 1
Enter TAB: fret 2 2 2
Enter TAB: fret 3 3 3
Enter TAB: fret 4 4 4
Enter TAB: fret 5 5 5
Enter TAB: fret 6 6 6
Enter TAB: fret 7 7 7
Enter TAB: fret 8 8 8
Enter TAB: fret 9 9 9
Enter TAB: fret 0 A A
Enter TAB: fret 1 B B
Enter TAB: fret 2 C C
Enter TAB: fret 3 D D
Enter TAB: fret 4 E E
Enter TAB: fret 5 F F
Enter TAB: fret 6 G G
Enter TAB: fret 7 H H
Enter TAB: fret 8 J J
Enter TAB: fret 9 K K
Go to string above (TAB) Up Up
Go to string below (TAB) Down Down
Toggle ghost note Shift+X Shift+X

Selecting
Action Windows/Linux macOS
Select all Ctrl+A Cmd+A
Add to selection: previous note/rest Shift+Left Shift+Left
Add to selection: next note/rest Shift+Right Shift+Right
Add to selection: staff above Shift+Up Shift+Up
Add to selection: staff below Shift+Down Shift+Down
Select to beginning of measure Ctrl+Shift+Left Cmd+Shift+Left
Select to end of measure Ctrl+Shift+Right Cmd+Shift+Right
Select to beginning of line Shift+Home Shift+Fn+Left
Select to end of line Shift+End Shift+Fn+Right
Select to beginning of score Ctrl+Shift+Home Cmd+Shift+Fn+Left
Select to end of score Ctrl+Shift+End Cmd+Shift+Fn+Right

Editing
General

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Escape Esc Esc
Undo Ctrl+Z Cmd+Z
Redo Ctrl+Shift+Z Cmd+Shift+Z
Copy Ctrl+C Cmd+C
Cut Ctrl+X Cmd+X
Paste Ctrl+V Cmd+V
Copy/paste: swap with clipboard Ctrl+Shift+X Cmd+Shift+X
Repeat selection R R
Insert one measure before selection Ins Ins
Insert measures before selection Ctrl+Ins Cmd+Ins
Insert one measure at end of score Ctrl+B Cmd+B
Insert measures at end of score Alt+Shift+B Option+Shift+B
Delete Del Del
Delete selected measures Ctrl+Del Cmd+Del
Show/hide properties F8 Fn+F8
Edit element F2 Fn+F2
Move chord/rest left Shift+Left Shift+Left
Move chord/rest right Shift+Right Shift+Right

Duration

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Set duration 1 –9 1 –9
 Action Windows/Linux macOS
Enter tuplet Ctrl+2 – Ctrl+9 Cmd+2 – Cmd+9
Add tied note T T
Halve selected duration Q Q
Double select duration W W
Halve selected duration (includes dotted
Shift+Q Shift+Q
values)
Double selected duration (includes dotted
Shift+W Shift+W
values)
Cmd+Shift+Q (prior to 4.2)
Paste half duration Ctrl+Shift+Q
Ctrl+Shift+Q (as of 4.2)
Crrl+Shift+W (prior to 4.2)
Paste double duration Ctrl+Shift+W
Crrl+Shift+W (as of 4.2)
Insert full measure rest Ctrl+Shift+Del Cmd+Shift+Del

Pitch

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Toggle accidental: flat - -
Toggle accidental: natural = =
Toggle accidental: sharp + +
Move pitch/selection up Up Up
Move pitch/selection down Down Down
Move pitch up an octave Ctrl+Up Cmd+Up
Move pitch down an octave Ctrl+Down Cmd+Down
Move pitch up diatonically Alt+Shift+Up Option+Shift+Up
Move pitch down diatonically Alt+Shift+Down Option+Shift+Down
Change enharmonic spelling (concert and
J J
written pitch)
Change enharmonic spelling (current pitch
Ctrl+J Cmd+J
only)
Move note to higher string (TAB) Ctrl+Up Cmd+Up
Move note to lower string (TAB) Ctrl+Down Cmd+Down
Toggle ghost note (TAB) Shift+X Shift+X

Notation

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Flip direction X X
Mirror notehead Shift+X Shift+X
Use voice 1 Ctrl+Alt+1 Cmd+Option+1
Use voice 2 Ctrl+Alt+2 Cmd+Option+2
Use voice 3 Ctrl+Alt+3 Cmd+Option+3
Use voice 4 Ctrl+Alt+4 Cmd+Option+4
Move selected note/rest to staff above Ctrl+Shift+Up Cmd+Shift+Up
Move selected note/rest to staff below Ctrl+Shift+Down Cmd+Shift+Down
Toggle multimeasure rest (prior to 4.4) M M
Toggle multimeasure rest (as of 4.4) Ctrl+Shift+M Cmd+Shift+M

Manual adjustment

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Move text left Left Left
Move text right Right Right
Move text left quickly Ctrl+Left Cmd+Left
Move text right quickly Ctrl+Right Cmd+Right
Move selection up Up Up
Move selection down Down Down
Move selection up quickly Ctrl+Up Cmd+Up
Move selection down quickly Ctrl+Down Cmd+Down

Text
General

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Add text: staff text Ctrl+T Cmd+T
Add text: expression text Ctrl+E Cmd+E
Add text: system text Ctrl+Shift+T Cmd+Shift+T
Add text: tempo marking Alt+Shift+T Option+Shift+T
Add text: rehearsal mark Ctrl+M Cmd+M
Insert special characters Shift+F2 Shift+Fn+F2
Formatting

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Format text: bold face Ctrl+B Cmd+B
Format text: italic Ctrl+I Cmd+I
Format text: underline Ctrl+U Cmd+U
Insert flat Ctrl+Shift+B Cmd+Shift+B
Insert natural Ctrl+Shift+H Cmd+Shift+H
Insert sharp Ctrl+Shift+# Cmd+Shift+#
Insert dynamics p Ctrl+Shift+P Cmd+Shift+P
Insert dynamics m Ctrl+Shift+M Cmd+Shift+M
Insert dynamics f Ctrl+Shift+F Cmd+Shift+F
Insert dynamics n Ctrl+Shift+N Cmd+Shift+N
Insert dynamics r Ctrl+Shift+R Cmd+Shift+R
Insert dynamics s Ctrl+Shift+S Cmd+Shift+S
Insert dynamics z Ctrl+Shift+Z Cmd+Shift+Z

Lyrics

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Add text: lyrics Ctrl+L Cmd+L
Go to next syllable Space Space
Go to previous syllable Shift+Space Shift+Space
Lyrics: enter hyphen - -
Lyrics: enter melisma _ _
Add lyric verse Return Return
Go to next lyric verse Down Down
Go to previous lyric verse Up Up

Chord symbols, Roman numeral analysis, Nashville numbers, figured bass

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Add text: chord symbol Ctrl+K Cmd+K
Add text: figured bass Ctrl+G Cmd+G
Next text element Space Space
Previous text element Shift+Space Shift+Space
Advance cursor: next beat ; ;
Advance cursor: previous beat Shift+; Shift+;
Advance cursor: duration Ctrl+1 – Ctrl+9 Cmd+1 – Cmd+9

Other score elements

Action Windows/Linux macOS
Show/hide palettes F9 Fn+F9
Search palettes Ctrl+F9 Cmd+Fn+F9
Open master palette Shift+F9 Shift+Fn+F9
Add slur S S
Add articulation: accent Shift+V Shift+V
Add articulation: marcato Shift+O Shift+O
Add articulation: staccato Shift+S Shift+S
Add articulation: tenuto Shift+N Shift+N
Add hairpin: crescendo < <
Add hairpin: decrescendo > >
Add parentheses to element ( (

Score setup and formatting

Action Windows/Linux macOS
Add/remove instruments I I
Open instruments dialog F7 Fn+F7
Toggle visibility of elements V V
Decrease layout stretch { {
Increase layout stretch } }
Add/remove system break Return Return
Add/remove page break Ctrl+Return Cmd+Return
Reset shapes and positions Ctrl+R Cmd+R

File Operations
Action Windows/Linux macOS
New Ctrl+N Cmd+N
Open Ctrl+O Cmd+O
 Action Windows/Linux macOS
Close Ctrl+W Cmd+W
Save Ctrl+S Cmd+S
Save as Ctrl+Shift+S Cmd+Shift+S
Print Ctrl+P Cmd+P
Quit Ctrl+Q Cmd+Q

User interface
Playback

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Play Space Space
Show/hide mixer F10 Fn+F10

Accessibility

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Next UI group Tab Tab
Previous UI group Shift+Tab Shift+Tab
Next UI pane/window F6 Fn+F6
Previous UI pane/window Shift+F6 Shift+Fn+F6

Other

Action Windows/Linux macOS

Multiinstances Ctrl+F3 Cmd+Fn+F3
Full screen F11 Fn+F11

Known incompatibilities

Changes for MDL percussion

Muse Drumline (MDL2) is a free Muse Sounds library available for MuseScore Studio. It’s the successor to MuseScore Drumline (MDL1), an
optional extension for MuseScore 3.

If you open a MuseScore 3 score in MuseScore Studio, a dialog appears informing you about changes to the appearance of your score. Starting
in MuseScore Studio 4.4, this dialog now includes a checkbox to enable our new notation and sound mapping for MDL percussion.

This checkbox must be checked in order for marching percussion instruments from MDL1 to sound correct during playback with MS Basic and
Muse Sounds. The checkbox has no effect on other instruments besides the ones from MDL1.

Sound mapping

MDL2 and MS Basic use a particular set of MIDI pitches to represent percussion sounds. This means scores created with MDL2 are compatible
with MS Basic, and vice versa.

However, MDL1 used a different set of MIDI pitches to represent percussion sounds, so when opening a score that contains notes for MDL1
instruments, it’s necessary to convert these to the MDL2 pitches, otherwise playback would sound wrong (you might hear a rimshot instead of a
roll, for example).

Some sounds from MDL1 don’t have an exact match in MDL2. In a few cases, multiple MDL1 pitches are mapped to a single pitch in MDL2.
This means some percussion notes that looked and sounded different in MuseScore 3 might now look and sound the same as each other in
MuseScore Studio.

Conversion to the new pitch mapping is a one-way process, and it must be done when you first open the score in MuseScore 4. As always, if
you’re not ready to fully commit to the new version, we recommend that you save the score as a new file, leaving the original file from
MuseScore 3 unmodified.

Notation

In addition to some previously distinct notes now looking the same as each other, the conversion process also applies a new drumset definition
to MDL1 percussion instruments. This further alters the notation of these instruments, changing the shapes of some noteheads and making
them appear lower or higher on the staff.

Unlike the pitch mapping, which is fixed, the drumset notation changes can be freely altered via the Edit Drumset dialog after the score is
loaded.

Upgrade from MuseScore 3.x

Overview
 Important Differences Between MuseScore 3 & MuseScore 4

Keyboard Shortcuts
See All keyboard shortcuts for MuseScore 4. Here are the common ones that have changed or are entirely new:

Action MuseScore 3 MuseScore 4

Add tied note + T
Next Measure (Chord Symbol Entry) Tab Ctrl/Cmd+→
Previous Measure (Chord Symbol Entry) Shift+Tab Ctrl/Cmd+←
Toggle accidental: flat None -
Toggle accidental: natural None =
Toggle accidental: sharp None +
Edit element Alt+Shift+E F2 or Alt+Shift+E
Insert special characters... F2 Shift+F2
Jump to next UI pane None F6or ` (backtick / grave accent)
Jump to previous UI pane None Shift+F6 or Shift+`
Show / hide selection filter F6 None

Other changes
What used to be the Inspector in MuseScore 3 is the Properties tab in MuseScore 4.
The tool to switch between page view and continuous view is now at the bottom right of the MuseScore window.
Same for the Zoom control.
Same for the Concert pitch toggle.
To (temporarily) change the playback speed you now need to undock the Play Panel.
The "Toggle MIDI" button now is behind the Play Panel's cog wheel.
Fermata is now in the Breaths & Pauses palette
Hiding an instrument now mutes it by default. However, you can now hide the individual staves of the instrument, which is more flexible.
The Text tool is now in the Text Properties, partly 'hidden' behind the More botton.

Missing Features
Due to the nature of the upgrade some features previously present in MuseScore 3 have not (yet) been included. See this page in the
developers' handbook for a listing of those items.

Upgrade from MuseScore 2.x or 1.x

Handbook for MuseScore 3.x

Handbook for MuseScore 2.x

Handbook for MuseScore 1.x

Glossary

Listed below are technicial terms and musical terms, which are frequently used in MuseScore or in the Handbook. Links to relevant handbook
chapter are provided. To help musicians who are capable of reading a notation but do not know its proper name, image is provided. This chapter
does not aim to be a dictionary of all musical notations, see External links.

The differences between American English and British English are marked with "(AE)" and "(BE)", respectively. Editors and translators of this
chapter should add the individual entry for each term.

Acciaccatura
A short grace note which appears as a small note with a stroke through the stem. Musescore creates a quick playback, the playback
duration is not affected by duration of the parent note.
Accidental
An accidental is a sign appearing in front of a note that raises or lowers its pitch. See Entering notes and rests:Accidentals. chapter.
Musescore creates playback for common accidentals only, they includes sharps, flats, naturals, double sharps, double flats, and triple flats.
To create microtonal accidentals such as quarter tone, see Tuning systems, microtonal notation system, and playback Chapter.
Ambitus
Note (or vocal) range used in a staff. Used particularly in early music. See Ambitus chapter.
Anacrusis (mostly BE)
See Pickup measure.
Anchor
The point of attachment to the score of objects such as Text and Lines: When the object is dragged, the anchor appears as small brown
circle connected to the object by a dotted line. Depending on the object selected, its anchor may be attached to either (a) a note (e.g.
fingering), (b) a staff line (e.g. staff text), or (c) a barline (e.g. repeats).
Appoggiatura
A long grace note which takes value from its associated note. Musescore creates playback as such. It is acceptable to execute written
appoggiatura as acciaccatura nowadays but Musescore does not create such playback. Appoggiatura's functions include: passing tone,
anticipation, struck suspension, and escape tone.

Arpeggio
An arpeggio tells the performer to break up the chord into the constituent notes, playing them separately and one after the other. The
arrow arpeggio symbol indicates the direction in which the player should play the notes of the chord. See Arpeggios and glissandi chapter.

Articulation
A marking or symbol indicating how a note should be played, usually by altering the length of a note or shaping its attack and decay. See
Articulation chapter.

Bar (BE)
See measure.
Barline
Vertical line through a staff, staves, or a full system that separates measures. See Barline chapter.
Beam
Notes with a duration of an eighth or shorter either carry a flag or a beam. Beams are used for grouping notes. See also French Beam.
See Beam chapter.
BPM
A tempo displaying unit only used inside Musescore's Play toolbar. BPM is the amount of quarter notes would have been within one
minute. It is not the number used in metronome tempo markings on a score. See Playback controls chapter.
Breve, or Brevis
A double whole note or breve is a note that has the duration of two whole notes.

Caesura
A caesura (//) is a brief, silent pause. Time is not counted for this period, and music resumes when the director signals. See Breaths and
pauses chapter.

Capo (text)
A text to indicate the setting of the transposing device used on an instrument. See Applying capos. Not to be confused with Da capo (D.C.).
Cent
An interval equal to one hundredth of a semitone, used by Tuning property of a note. See Properties panel chapter.
Chord
1. A group of two or more notes sounding together.
2. In Musescore, only notes sounding together that have same duration inside one Musescore Voice constitute a chord. To select a chord
in MuseScore, press Shift and click on a note. See Working with multiple voices chapter.
3. In Musescore, a chord symbol. See Chord symbols chapter.
Clef
A musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a →staff. See Clefs chapter. See also
courtesy clef.
Coda
1. A passage that brings a piece (or a movement) to an end.
2. The navigation marker which resembles a set of crosshairs. It is used where the exit from a repeated section is within that section rather
than at the end. See also segno sign. See Jumps and markers chapter.

Concert pitch
1. The sounding, or real pitch of a note—as opposed to the written pitch. See Working with transposing instruments chapter.
2. A score viewing mode in Musescore, see Concert pitch box in the status bar chapter.
3. The frequency of A4.
Courtesy clef
A reduced-size clef applied to the end of a system indicating a clef change at the start of the next system. See Clefs chapter.
Cross-staff notation
A musical phrase extending across two neighboring staffs: e.g. bass staff and treble staff.

To create notation where the two stems are at opposite sides of the beam, as shown above, see Cross-staff notation chapter.

To create notation where the stems are on the same side of the beam, as shown above, see How to span a chord or stem over two
staves chapter.
Crotchet (BE)
See Quarter note.

Da capo (D.C.)
A directive to repeat the previous part of music. See Jumps and markers chapter. Not to be confused with capo (text).
Dead note
See ghost note.
Demisemiquaver (BE)
A thirty-second note.
Double Flat
A double flat (♭♭ or 𝄫) is a sign that indicates that the pitch of a note has to be lowered two semitones.
Double Sharp
A double sharp (♯♯ or 𝄪) is a sign that indicates that the pitch of a note has to be raised two semitones.
Duplet
See tuplet.
Dynamic, dynamics, dynamic symbol, dynamics symbol
A symbol indicating the relative loudness of a note or phrase of music—such as mf (mezzoforte), p (piano), f (forte) etc., starting at that
note. See Dynamic chapter.

Edit mode, text edit mode

Used to edit adjust literal layout position and content of Text, contrast with normal mode and note input mode. See Adjusting elements
directly and Entering and editing text : Editing text object content chapters.
Eighth note
A note whose duration is an eighth of a whole note (semibreve). Same as a quaver (BE).
Endecalineo

Endecalineo or endecagram, the stave for Solfège. See Solmisation (tutorial for MuseScore 3, pending update)
Endings
See volta.
Enharmonic notes
Notes that sound the same pitch but are written differently. Example: G♯ and A♭ are enharmonic notes. To quickly switch between
enharmonic spellings, press J. See Entering notes and rests chapter.
Explode

A feature that allows the user to split (or explode) the chords in a passage of music in a single staff into their constituent notes or voices.
See Implode and explode chapter. See also implode.

Flag
See beam.
Flat
Sign (♭) that indicates that the pitch of a note has to be lowered one semitone, see accidentals and key signature.
French Beam

Beams where the stems only extend to the first beam, but don't intersect all the way through. To create use the French Beams plugin.

Ghost note
In music, notably in jazz, a ghost note (or a dead, muted, silenced or false note) is a musical note with a rhythmic value, but no discernible
pitch when played. Musescore supports crosshead (cross notehead), diamond notehead(the small diamond same as musescore 3),
slash/diamond notehead (new in musescore 4), and adding brackets (parentheses) to a note, see Noteheads chapter.

Grace note
Grace notes appear as small notes in front of a normal-sized main note. See acciaccatura and appoggiatura. See Grace note chapter.
Grand Staff (AE)
Great Stave (BE)
An instrument with two or more staves, featuring treble and bass clefs, used to notate music for keyboard instruments and the harp, in
MuseScore: Any number of Staves connected by a curly brace.

Half Note
A note whose duration is half of a whole note (semibreve). Same as a minim (BE).
Hemidemisemiquaver (BE)
A sixty-fourth note.

Implode

A feature allowing the user to combine voices from separate staves onto one staff. See Implode and explode chapter. This is similar to, but
not exactly, score reduction (wikipedia ). See also explode.
Interval
The difference in pitch between two notes, expressed in terms of the scale degree (e.g. major second, minor third, perfect fifth etc.). See
Degree (Music) (Wikipedia).
Interleaved

A term used to describe two interlocking, oppositely-beamed sets of notes. To create, use the voice function and the beam palette. See
Interleaved beam directions
Instrument
1. Musescore Instrument, see Setting up your score chapter.
2. Real world instrument
Irregular measure marker

A plus sign or minus sign at the top right of a measure indicates that its duration differs from that set by the time signature. See The user
interface and Measure properties chapters.

Jump
Jump objects are notations such as "D.S. al Coda", found in the "Repeats & Jumps" palette. See Jumps and markers chapter.
K

Key Signature
Set of sharps or flats at the beginning of the staves. It gives an idea about the tonality and avoids repeating those signs all along the staff.
A key signature with B flat means F major or D minor tonality. See Key Signature chapter.

Legato
Legato is a play style which involves playing the notes in a slurred manner. Legato may be written as text or shown through the use of
slurs.
Local time signature

The time signature on a single staff when different from the overall score time signature. See Adding a local time signature for a single
staff.
Longa
A longa is a quadruple whole note.
Ledger Line (AE)
Leger Line (BE)
Line(s) that are added with and for notes above or below the staff.
Line
Musescore Lines, a type of objects capable of attaching (anchoring) to a horizontal continuous range of more than two notes or rests, or
vertical collection of notes (chord). See Other lines chapter.

Measure (AE)
A segment of time defined by a given number of beats. Dividing music into measures provides regular reference points to pinpoint
locations within a piece of music. Same as bar (BE).
Measure repeat sign
A measure repeat sign looks like a "percentage" symbol having the two circles filled, or a slash with a dot at each side. See Measure and
multi-measure repeats chapter.

Metronome mark
A kind of tempo marking. See Tempo markings.
Minim (BE)
See Half note.
Multimeasure rest
See Measure rests and multimeasure rests chapter.

Natural
A natural (♮) is a sign that cancels a previous alteration on notes of the same pitch, see →accidentals and →key signature.
Normal mode
The operating mode of MuseScore outside note input mode or edit mode: press Esc to enter it. In Normal mode you can navigate through
the score, select and move elements, adjust Inspector properties, and alter the pitches of existing notes.
Note input mode
The program mode used for entering music notation, contrast with normal mode and edit mode. Enter it by pressing N or clicking on the
pen icon in the note input toolbar. See Entering notes and rests chapter.

Operating System (OS)

Underlying software that controls and manages the hardware and other software on a computer. Popular OSes are Microsoft Windows,
macOS, and GNU/Linux.
Ossia

An alternative passage which may be played instead of the original passage (from the Italian for "alternatively", meaning "or be it"). See
Ossia chapter.

Part
1. Musescore's automatic staff extraction function, see Parts.
2. A single melody line in a polyphonic musical composition. MuseScore 4 never uses this definition, but there is a similar feature Voice.
3. Instrument(s) or their staves. MuseScore 4.1.1 uses this definition only on the window title and one subheading in "Staff/Part
Properties".
Pickup Measure (mostly AE, also known as an Anacrusis (mostly BE) or Upbeat)
Incomplete first measure of a piece or a section of a piece of music. See Measure duration, Create new score: Pickup measure, and
Measure properties:Exclude from measure count chapters. May or may not be compensated for at the end of the score or section.
Properties
1. Settings of an individual object on a score in Musescore, contrast with style (profile).
2. Musescore's panel, see Properties panel chapter.

Quadruplet
See tuplet.
Quarter note
A note whose duration is a quarter of a whole note (semibreve). Same as a crotchet (BE).
Quaver (BE)
See eighth note.
Quintuplet
See tuplet.

Respell Pitches
Change accidental used on a note but keep note's pitch. See Entering notes and rests:Accidentals chapter.
Rest
A musical symbol that indicates silence. See Entering notes and rests chapter.
Re-pitch mode
One of the note input modes. Alternative note input methods: Re-pitch mode

Score
1. In MuseScore support forums and the MuseScore Handbook, score generally refers to a computer file with the suffix .mscz - and to its
visual representation on a computer screen as well as its audio playback.
2. In some chapters of the MuseScore Handbook, score means the layout and formatting of "Full score" or one particular Musescore part.
See Musescore Part.
3. In other contexts (for example the IMSLP score-sharing website at https://imslp.org ), a score generally refers either to a PDF file of
the sheet music for a specific work or to an actual paper copy of the sheet music.
Section
In MuseScore, a region of the score between section breaks; also from the start of a score to the first section break, and from the last
section break to the end of the score.
Segno
A navigation marker. See Jumps and markers chapter.
Semibreve (BE)
A whole note (AE). It lasts a whole measure in 4/4 time.
Semiquaver (BE)
A sixteenth note.
Semihemidemisemiquaver (Quasihemidemisemiquaver) (BE)
A hundred and twenty eighth note.
Sextuplet
See tuplet.
SF2
A virtual instrument format developed by E-mu Systems and Creative Labs. See SoundFonts.
SF3
An invention of Werner Schweer, the Musescore developer (source ). This format supports sound sample compression. See
SoundFonts.
Shared note head
A single notehead with two beams—one up, one down. Especially common in guitar music, for example. See Noteheads
Sharp
Sign (♯) that indicates that the pitch of a note has to be raised one semitone , see accidentals and key signature.
Slash (slash chord, slash notehead)
Indicates strum. See Slash chord (Wikipedia).
Slash notation
A form of music notation using slash marks placed on or above/below the staff to indicate the rhythm of an accompaniment: often found in
association with chord symbols. There are two types: (1) Slash notation consists of a rhythm slash on each beat: the exact interpretation is
left to the player (see Fill with slashes); (2) Rhythmic slash notation indicates the precise rhythm for the accompaniment (see Toggle
rhythmic slash notation).
Slur
A curved line over or under two or more notes, meaning that the notes will be played smooth and connected (legato). See Slur chapter. A
slur is not a tie.
Solmisation
see Endecalineo
SoundFont
A virtual instrument format supported by MuseScore. A SoundFont is a special type of file (extension .sf2, or .sf3 if compressed)
containing sound samples of one or more musical instruments. In effect, a virtual synthesizer which acts as a sound source for MIDI files.
MuseScore 4 comes with its own native soundfont, MS Basic. See SoundFont chapter.
Spatium (plural: Spatia) / Space / Staff Space / sp. (abbr./unit)
A unit of measurement, see Page layout concepts.
Staff / Staffs
A set of lines and spaces, each representing a pitch, on which music is written. In period music notation (before 11th century) the staff may
have any number of lines.
Staff Space
See Spatium (above).
Stave / Staves (BE)
See Staff (above).
Step-time input
MuseScore's default note input mode. See Entering notes and rests chapter.
Style
The profile that contains settings in MuseScore, contrast with Properties. See Templates and styles chapter.
System
Set of staves to be read simultaneously in a score. See Page layout concepts chapter.
See also Operating System (OS).
System divider
Separates systems on the same page. Can be switched on for the score in Format→Style→System, see Formatting chapter. Also
available in master palette, see Other symbols chapter.

Text
A Musescore Text object is an object that contains individual characters that can be entered and removed by using (typing on) a computer
keyboard. See Entering and editing text chapter.
Tie
 A curved line between two adjacent notes of the same pitch to indicate a single note of combined duration. See Tie chapter. A tie is not a
slur.

Quarter note + Tie + Quarter note = Half note

Quarter note + Tie + Eighth note = Dotted Quarter note
Quarter note + Tie + Eighth note + Tie + 16th note = Double Dotted Quarter note
Transposition

The act of moving the pitches of one or more notes up or down by a constant interval. See Transposition chapter. There may be several
reasons for transposing a piece, for example:

The tune is too low or too high for a singer. In this case the whole orchestra will have to be transposed as well—easily done using
MuseScore.
The part is written for a particular instrument but needs to be played by a different one.
The score is written for an orchestra and you want to hear what the individual instruments sound like. This requires changing the
transposing instrument parts to concert pitch.
A darker or a more brilliant sound is desired.

Triplet
See tuplet.
Tuplet
A tuplet divides its next higher note value by a number of notes other than given by the time signature. See Tuplet chapter. For example a
triplet divides the next higher note value into three parts, rather than two. Tuplets may be: triplets, duplets, quintuplets, and other.

Upbeat
See pickup measure.

Velocity
A property of objects inside Musescore that controls how loudly note(s) are played, see musescore 3 handbook Loudness of a note
chapter. Velocity property of notes are edited using Properties panel: Playback tab, see Properties panel chapter.
Voice
1. In Musescore, voice is a software feature, you can use up to 4 voices per staff, see Working with multiple voices, also see staff.
2. The musical term "voice" refers to a musical line or part which can have its own rhythm. MuseScore does not have a feature to
implement the exact same idea, if the voice feature does not suit your need, try adding separate instruments instead.
Volta
In a repeated section of music, it is common for the last few measures of the section to differ. Markings called voltas are used to indicate
how the section is to be ended each time. These markings are often referred to simply as endings. See Volta chapter.

Written pitch
Transposing instruments (such as the clarinet, French horn, trumpet etc.) are notated at a different pitch (and key signature) to how they
sound. The notated pitch is called the written pitch. Contrast with concert pitch. See Staff / Part properties chapter.

External links

http://www.robertcarney.net/musical-terms-definitions.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_symbols

Full Table of Contents

About the handbook

Editing the Handbook

Guidelines for writing articles

Structure - General principles

Start with an overview

Establish a hierarchy
Group information logically
Focus on user tasks, not just UI components
Create a table of contents

Headings

Content

Descriptive material
Goal-oriented instructions

Use of non-written media

Creating animated GIFs

Linking to other pages

Use the right syntax

 Link to the page's node number, not the page's URL
Use a bookmarklet to autogenerate links

Syntax

Examples for stuff beyond MarkDown

Writing keyboard shortcuts

Leaving a revision log message

Introduction to MuseScore 4
Download and installation

Windows

macOS

Linux

AppImage
Install
Uninstall

Create your first score

Overview

Create a quick new score

Entering score information

Entering notes and rests

Adding items from the palettes

Listening to the result

Making adjustments in Properties Panel

Inserting and deleting measures

Saving your score

Exporting your score

New features in MuseScore 4

New user interface

Instruments and parts

Inspector

New playback and VSTi support

Engraving improvements

Cloud storage

Other changes

Viewing and navigation

Accessibility

Screen readers

Speech on Windows
Speech on macOS
Speech on Linux

Keyboard access

Navigating the UI
Navigating the score

Video tutorials

The user interface

Menu bar
Home tab

My account
Scores
Plugins
Learn

Score tab

Publish tab

Context menus

Element context menus

UI context menus

Navigating your score

Scrolling

Mouse wheel
Scrollbars
Keyboard

Element navigation

Navigator

Timeline

Views

Page view
Continuous view (horizontal)
Continuous view (vertical)

Zoom

Zoom in
Zoom out
Status bar zoom controls
Restoring 100% zoom

Find/Go to

Navigating to a numbered measure

Navigating to a numbered page
Navigating to a numerical rehearsal mark
Navigating to an alphabetic rehearsal mark

Timeline

Overview

Meta labels
Instrument labels
Meta rows
Main grid

Meta elements

Basic interactions

Selecting a measure
Selecting multiple measures
Drag selection
[Shift] selection
[Ctrl] selection
Clearing a selection
Meta values selection

Scrolling

Standard scrolling
[Shift] scrolling
[Alt] scrolling
Dragging

Labels interaction

Rearranging meta labels

Collapsing the meta labels
Hiding instruments
Zooming

Basics
Setting up your score

Overview

Instruments

Choose instruments
Adding instruments
Changing order of instruments by making them soloist
Changing order of instruments manually
Removing instruments
Create from template

Additional score information

Key signature
Time signature
Tempo
Measures
Title and other text

Changing instruments after score creation

Entering notes and rests

Overview

Entering notes

Selecting a start point

Entering note input mode
Selecting duration
Selecting pitch
Selecting pitch using the computer keyboard
Selecting pitch using the mouse
Selecting pitch using a MIDI keyboard
Selecting pitch using the virtual piano keyboard

Entering chords

Entering rests

Accidentals

Selecting an accidental before entering a pitch

Adding an accidental after entering a pitch
Adding courtesy/cautionary accidentals

Ties

See also

Working with multiple voices

Overview

Entering notes and rests in multiple voices

Using multiple instruments

Enter notes and rests in multiple voices in one staff

Editing notes and rests in multiple voices

Adjusting rests
Hiding or deleting rests
Positioning rests
Changing voice of existing notes
Combining voices into chords
Separate chords into Voices

See also

Alternative note input methods

Accessing alternative note input methods

Rhythm only

Re-pitch
Real-time

Real-time (metronome)
Real-time (foot pedal)
Real-time Advance shortcut

Insert

Adding and removing measures

Inserting measures

Measure context menu

The Properties panel
Note input toolbar
Menu bar
Inserting measures with keyboard shortcuts
Add measures to a frame

Deleting measures

Remove empty trailing measures

See also

Selecting elements

Selecting a single element

Overlapping elements
Selecting individual element inside a note

Different ways of selecting notes in a chord

Creating a List Selection

Selecting multiple elements manually

Selecting similar elements automatically

Creating a Range Selection

Range Selection by dragging

Range Selection by clicking
Range Selection using the keyboard
Special Range Selections

Excluding elements from a Range Selection

Editing notes and rests

Overview

Making changes in note input mode

Changing duration in note input mode

Changing pitch in note input mode
Replacing notes and rests in note input mode
Deleting notes in note input mode
Moving notes in note input mode

Making changes in normal mode

Changing duration in normal mode

Changing selected notes to a specific note value
Increasing or decreasing the duration of a selected note
Doubling or halving all note values in a range selection
Changing pitch in normal mode
Deleting notes and rests in normal mode
Removing notes and rests and their associated time
Adding ties in normal mode
Changing voice in normal mode
Moving selected notes into another voice
Exchanging the contents of two voices

See also

Copy and paste

Accessing the commands

Copying a Range Selection

Copying a single element or a List Selection

Moving elements

Swapping a selection with the clipboard

Repeating a selection

Copying a Range Selection to multiple staves

Paste half/double duration

Duplicating individual elements

See also

Using the palettes

Overview

Accessing the palettes panel

Adding palette items to your score

Items applied to individual score elements

Items applied to ranges
Items applied to full measures

Expanding and collapsing palettes

Searching and navigating the palettes

Search
Navigation

Accessing more palette items

Adding more palettes

The Master palette

See also

Properties panel

Accessing the Properties panel

Properties for the score

Properties for objects

Inside the Playback tab

Inside the Appearance tab

Properties for characters inside Text objects

Saving and restoring default values

Adjusting elements directly

Changing the position of elements

Changing the shape of elements

Working with lines

Changing the range of a line

Creating diagonal lines
Editing text of Text line objects

See also

Parts

Opening a part

Closing a part

Creating custom parts

Reveal instruments in default parts

Create a new part
Choose which voices appear in each part

Applying styles to parts

Managing synchronisation of score and parts

Excluding items from parts or score

Renaming, duplicating and deleting parts

Exporting and printing parts

Default keyboard shortcuts

Navigation

Page navigation
Score navigation

Note input

General
Duration
Pitch
Tablature

Selecting

Editing

General
Duration
Pitch
Notation
Manual adjustment

Text

General
Formatting
Lyrics
Chord symbols, Roman numeral analysis, Nashville numbers, figured bass

Other score elements

Score setup and formatting

File Operations

User interface

Playback

Notation: Instruments, staves, and systems

Working with instruments

Overview

Adding and ordering instruments

Accessing the Instruments panel

Adding instruments
Deleting instruments
Changing the order of instruments

Instrument settings

Hiding/showing instruments
Renaming instruments
Replacing instruments

Adding and configuring staves

To add a staff to an existing instrument

To add a linked staff to an existing instrument
Configuring a staff

Hiding a staff but keeping its playback

Deleting instruments and staves

Showing staves only where needed

Hiding empty staff along one system (all its measures along that system)
 Hiding all empty staves
Excluding specific staves from being hidden
Temporary staves
Choosing the staff to show when all staffs in a system are empty

Hiding empty measure

Cutaway staves
Ossia
Other invisible measures

Implode and explode

Implode

Combine notes from multiple voices in a single staff into one voice
Combine notes from multiple staves into multiple voices on a single staff

Explode

Copy passage of single notes to multiple staves

Separate a passage of chords into its constituent notes

Mid-score instrument changes

Adding an instrument change

Working with instrument changes

Removing an instrument change

Re-labelling an instrument change
Instrument changes in the mixer
Changing staff type

Staff type change

Adding a staff type change

Setting staff properties

Staff/Part properties

Overview

Staff properties

Advanced style properties

Advanced Style Properties: common to all four staff types

Advanced Style Properties: settings for standard and percussion staff (Type 1a, type 1b and type 3)
Advanced Style Properties: settings for standard staff (Type 1a, type 1b)
Advanced Style Properties: settings for tablature staff (Type 2)

Part properties

Instrument
Names
Usable pitch range
Transposition
Part Properties: settings for plucked strings only (Type 1b and type 2)

Brackets

Adding brackets

Editing brackets

Changing bracket type

Changing bracket span

Deleting brackets

Customizing bracket appearance

Notation: Rhythm, meter, and measures

Time signatures

Overview

Setting the initial time signature for your score

Adding a time signature change to your score

Deleting a time signature

Controlling the visibility of time signatures

Creating a custom time signature

Adding a local time signature for a single staff

Resizing a time signature

Time signature properties

Appearance
Beam Groups

Time signature style

Stems and flags

Stem direction

Default stem direction

Flipping stem direction

Changing stem length

Creating stemless notes

Stem and flag properties

Stem and flag style

See also

Beams

Overview

Controlling which notes are beamed

Changing the beaming setting inside a time signature

Changing the beaming for selected notes

Controlling the appearance of beams

Creating a feathered beam

Changing the angle of a selected beam

Beam properties

Beam style

Regroup rhythms

Overview

Regrouping rhythms

See also

Tuplets

Creating tuplets

Simple tuplets
In note input mode
In normal mode
Consecutive tuplets
Custom tuplets
Nested tuplets

Changing the display of tuplets

Tuplet properties

Tuplet style

Barlines

Adding double and other special barlines

 Changing barline type for all staves
Changing barline type for a single staff
Adding mid-measure barlines

Changing barline length

Extending all barlines in a staff

Extending selected barlines in a staff
Creating partial barlines
Creating barlines between staves only (Mensurstrich)

Barline properties

Barline style

See also

Measure numbering

Showing and hiding measure numbers

Showing measure numbers automatically

Showing measure numbers manually
Hiding measure numbers

Changing the measure number sequence

Excluding a measure from the count

Altering the numbering of a measure
Resetting measure numbering for a new section

Changing the position of measure numbers

Measure number properties

Measure number style

See also

Measure rests and multimeasure rests

Measure rest

To create one or more full measure rests

To create a full measure rest in a particular voice

Multimeasure rest

Enabling and disabling multimeasure rests

Breaking multimeasure rests
Multimeasure rest properties
Multimeasure rest style

See also

Pickup and non-metered measures

Creating a pickup measure

Specifying the pickup duration during score creation

Converting a measure into a pickup

Creating non-metered measures

Inserting notes and rests

Using a keyboard shortcut
Using Insert mode
Joining measures
Splitting a measure

See also

Measure properties

Opening and using the dialog

Staves

Measure duration

Other

See also
Notation: Pitch
Clefs

Setting the initial clef for a staff

Adding or changing a clef

Add/Change a start clef

Add/Change a mid-measure clef

Delete

Controlling the visibility of clefs

Standard clefs
Courtesy clefs

Clefs and transposition

Using octave clefs

Using different clefs for transposed and concert pitch

Clef properties

Clef style

Key signatures

Overview

Setting the initial key signature for your score

Adding a key signature change to your score

Adding a local key signature for a single staff

Selecting a key signature for a single staff

Replacing an existing key signature

Deleting a key signature

Controlling the visibility of key signatures

Key signatures and transposing instruments

Open/Atonal key signature

Creating a custom key signature

Key signature properties

Key signature style

Format→Style→Page
Format→Style→Accidentals
Format→Style→Measure

See also

Transposition

Overview

Transposing with keyboard shortcuts

Transpose chromatically
Transpose diatonically
Transpose by an octave

Using the transpose dialog

Transpose Chromatically
To transpose chromatically to a specific key:
To transpose chromatically by interval
Transpose Diatonically

Working with transposing instruments

Transposed and concert pitch

Setting the interval of transposition
 Controlling enharmonic spelling

Octave lines

Overview

Adding an octave line to your score

Octave line properties

Style tab
Text tab

Octave line style

Noteheads

Overview

Notehead schemes
Notehead shape
Pitch factor
Duration factor
Notehead type factor

Changing notehead shape

Adding pitch information to notes

Changing notehead direction

Notehead properties

Notehead style and font

Sharing noteheads between voices

Remove duplicate fretmarks in tablature

See also

External links

Ambitus

Adding an ambitus to your score

Changing the range of an ambitus

Ambitus properties

Respell pitches

Manually changing the enharmonic spelling of notes

Automatically respelling all notes in a selection

Respell pitches

Notation: Expressive markings

Articulations

Adding articulations to a score

Keyboard shortcuts
Toolbar
Articulations palette

Articulations playback

Articulation properties

Articulation style

Alignment options
Combined articulation options

Dynamics

Adding a dynamics symbol to a score

 Using the palette
Using a keyboard shortcuts

Changing appearance of a dynamics symbol

Adding plain characters

Adding profession glyphs
Combining dynamics with Expression Text
Snap to (An automatic layout feature)
Changing formatting of characters inside a dynamics symbol

Changing playback of a dynamics symbol

Dynamics symbols properties

Dynamics symbols style

Hairpins

Types of hairpin

Adding a hairpin to your score

Lines palette
Keyboard shortcuts

Changing appearance of hairpins

Range
Height
Set at angle
Other adjustments

Changing playback of hairpins

Hairpin properties

Style tab
Text tab

Hairpin style

Slurs

Adding a slur to your score

Adding slurs in normal mode

Method 1
Method 2
Adding slurs in note input mode

Multi-voice and cross-staff slurs

Changing appearance of slurs

Slur properties

Slur style

Breaths and pauses

Types of pauses

Fermata
Breath mark
Caesura

Adding a pause to your score

Changing pause playback

Pause properties

Pause style

Ornaments

Adding an ornament to your score

Add an ornament
Add an ornament line

Changing ornament intervals (adding accidentals)

Ornament properties

Accidental visibility
Placement
Accidental properties

Ornament style

Arpeggios and glissandi

Arpeggios

Adding an arpeggio/strum to your score

Adjusting the height of an arpeggio/strum
Creating multi-voice or cross-staff arpeggios
Changing playback of arpeggios
Arpeggio style

Portamento

Glissandi

Adding a glissando to your score

Editing range of a glissando
Changing appearance of glissandi
Changing playback of glissandi
Glissando properties

Bends

Types of bends
Adding a bend to your score
Changing appearance of bends

Grace notes

Types of grace notes

Adding a grace note to your score

Add grace note with keyboard shortcut

Add grace note from palette

Multiple grace notes

Sequential grace notes

Grace note chords

Editing grace notes

Change duration
Change pitch

Changing playback of grace notes

Grace note style

Tremolo and rolls

Types of tremolo and rolls

Single note tremolo

Tremolo between notes
Buzz roll

Adding a tremolo to a single note

Adding a tremolo between notes/chords

Changing appearance of tremolos

Other lines

Overview

Adding a line to your score

Adjusting a line

Types of lines

Standard lines
Staff and System Text lines
 Tempo lines
Guitar-related lines
Trill lines

Line properties

Style tab
Text tab

Line style

Other symbols

The Symbols palette

View
Search

Adding symbols to your score

Add a symbol
Add to other symbols
Reposition symbols
See also

Notation: Repeats
Repeat signs

Adding repeat signs to your score

Simple repeats
Multiple ending repeats

Changing playback of repeat signs

Changing appearance of repeat signs

Repeat properties

Repeat style

Voltas

Adding voltas to your score

Changing appearance of voltas

Changing playback of voltas

Example of a complex Volta setting

Volta properties

Voltas style

Jumps and markers

Types of jumps and markers

Adding a jump or marker to your score

Changing appearance of jumps and markers

Changing playback of jumps and markers

Jump and marker properties

Jump and marker style

Measure and multi-measure repeats

Adding a measure or multi-measure repeat to your score

Measure repeat properties

Measure repeat style

Repeat playback

Turning repeat playback on and off

Idiomatic notation: Keyboard
Pedal

Types of pedal markings

In terms of visual representation

In terms of function inside Musescore

Adding pedal markings to your score

Creating pedal changes

Pedal properties

Pedal style

Cross-staff notation

Creating cross-staff notation

Changing appearance of cross-staff notation

See also

Accordion notation

Adding accordion symbols to your score

Idiomatic notation: Guitar

Fretboard diagrams

Adding a fretboard diagram to your score

Chord symbols linked to fretboard diagrams

Creating a custom fretboard diagram

Finger markers
Alternative notation styles

Fretboard diagram appearance

Fretboard diagram properties

General (tab)
Settings (tab)

Fretboard diagram style

See also

Guitar techniques

Adding a bend symbol to your score

Apply a bend
Edit a bend
Adjust bend height
Reposition bend

Adding a tremolo bar symbol to your score

Adding a slide to your score

Add a slide
Edit properties
Adjust start and end points of a slide

Adding a barre line to your score

Adding hammer-on and pull-off symbols to your score

Notating harmonics

Standard staff
Tablature
Staff/Tablature pairs

Notating guitar fingering

Creating a tablature staff

Overview

Types of tablature staves

Adding a tablature staff to your score

Add tablature using the New Score dialog

Add tablature using the "Add or remove Instruments" dialog
Change an existing staff from standard to tablature

Creating paired standard and tablature staves

Create paired standard/tab staves using the New Score Wizard

Create paired standard/tab staves using the Instruments dialog

Entering and editing tablature notation

Computer keyboard entry

Mouse entry

Selecting note duration

Period tablature notation

Editing tablature notation

Changing the pitch

Moving the fretmark to a different string
Changing the duration
Crosshead/Ghost notes

Customizing a tablature staff

Changing tuning

Adding or removing strings

Add a string
Delete a string

Mark unfretted string “open”

Change number of instrument frets

Changing tablature staff type

Change staff type from Instruments panel

Change staff type from Staff/Part properties

Customizing appearance of tablature

Tablature staff properties

Tablature staff style

Applying capos

Overview

Applying a capo to your score

To apply a capo to a staff:

Adjusting capo settings

Turning capo on or off

Setting capo fret position
Specifying partial capo placement
Customizing capo text appearance
To place the capo text beneath the staff:

Changing capo setting mid-score

Alternate string tunings

Applying string tuning instructions

Specifying string tunings

Alternate tunings affect tablature fret positions

Reading transposed pitches on the standard stave

Guitar bends

Adding bends to your score

General points about bends in MuseScore

Applying a bend

Standard bends
Grace note bends
Pre-bends
Slight bends
Holds

Modifying bends

Modifying bends in the standard stave

Modifying bends in the Properties panel

Adding bends to chords

Customising bends styles

Idiomatic notation: Harp

Idiomatic notation: Percussion
Entering and editing percussion notation

Overview

Types of percussion staves

Adding a percussion staff to your score

Entering notes and rests in percussion staves

Mouse entry using the Drum input palette

Using keyboard shortcuts
Using a MIDI controller
Using the on-screen piano keyboard

Drumset customization

Introduction

Customizing a drumset definition

Selecting a sound
Defining the note
Name
Noteheads
Other properties

Saving and loading drumset definitions

Other percussion notation

Diddles

Pedal lines

Rolls

Sticking

Alternative notation
Mensural notation and Mensurstrich

Adding a mensural time signature to your score

Using mensural note symbols

Working with non-metered music

Working with Mensurstrich

Adding barlines between staves

Displaying note values across measure boundaries

See also

Slash notation

Filling a range with beat slashes

Creating rhythmic slash notation

Accompaniment rhythms on the staff

Accent rhythms above or below the staff

Custom staff types

Overview

Customizing appearance of staff lines

Customizing appearance of generated elements

Customizing appearance of notes

Notehead schemes

Changing staff type mid-score

External links

Text
Entering and editing text

Overview

Types of text

Musescore Text object

Score settings

Adding text object to a score

From a palette
From the menu
Using a keyboard shortcut

Deleting text object on a score

Editing text object content

Keyboard shortcuts available inside text edit mode

Special characters

Formatting text

Overview

Levels of formatting
Appearance and function of Text objects

Changing formatting of characters

Changing formatting of a text object

Changing which style a text object on a score uses

Position

Changing the values inside a style

Changing the values inside a User-1 to User-12 style

Staff Text, System Text and Expression Text

Overview

Similarity and difference between Staff Text and System Text

Adding Staff Text to your score

Adding expression text to your score

Adding System Text to your score

Repeating System Text on other staves

Properties

"Staff Text properties" window

"System Text properties" window

Style

Tempo markings

Overview

Using Metronome marks and Metric modulations

Using Tempo change lines
Using Verbal tempo indications

Adding tempo marks to your score

Changing appearance

Adding plain characters

Adding profession glyphs
Tempo change lines

Changing playback

Metronome mark, Metric modulation, and Verbal tempo indication

Tempo change line

Repeating tempo markings on other staves

Tempo properties

Tempo style

External links

Lyrics

Overview

Adding lyrics to your score

Entering syllables
Entering a melisma
Entering multiple verses
Entering lyrics onto rests
Special characters within lyrics
Elision slur
Entering reserved characters

Editing existing lyrics

Delete lyrics

Entering lyrics above the staff

Changing verse number of lyrics

Copying lyrics

Copying lyrics within MuseScore

Copy to the same verse
Copy to a different verse
Copying lyrics to other programs

Lyrics properties

Lyrics style

Lyrics text
Lyrics dash
Lyrics melisma

Fingering

Types of fingering

Adding fingering to your score

Adding fingering from a palette

Adding fingering using a keyboard shortcut
 Adding fingering using the menu

Adjusting position

Changing the appearance of fingering

Fingering properties

Fingering style

See also

Chord symbols

Overview

Adding chord symbols to a score

Entering a chord symbol

Chord names, accidentals and formatting
Navigation commands
Chord symbol syntax
Editing a chord symbol
Entering Roman numeral analysis
RNA accidentals and formatting
Examples of RNA
Entering a Nashville number

Appearance and function overview

Aligning chord symbols

Using the Style menu

"Style for Chord Symbols"
"Style for text inside certain object"
Using the Properties panel

Transposition of chord symbols

Transposing instruments
Transpose dialog
Enabling automatic creation of extra chord symbols (not NNS or RNA) with capo

Changing Spelling of Chord Symbols (not NNS or RNA)

Chord Spelling Systems

Automatic Capitalization

Changing appearance

Font
Rendering style of chord symbols and NNS (but not RNA)

Changing Playback of Chord Symbols

Enabling and disabling playback

Customizing playback
Generating chord voicings onto a staff

Chord symbol properties

Chord symbol style

External links

Figured bass

Overview

Adding figured bass to your score

Entering a figure
Text format
Digits
Accidentals
Combined shapes
Parentheses
Editing existing figured basses
Navigating by note, beat, or measure
Duration
Entering continuation lines

Figured bass properties

Figured bass style

Figured bass keyboard shortcuts

Rehearsal marks

Overview

Adding a rehearsal mark to your score

Manual placement and naming

Automatic placement and naming

Using measure numbers in rehearsal marks

Resequencing rehearsal marks

Finding rehearsal marks

Repeating rehearsal marks on other staves

Changing appearance of rehearsal marks

Rehearsal mark properties

Rehearsal mark style

External links

Header and footer

Overview

Adding a header or footer to your score

Entering information
Using metadata

Changing the appearance of headers and footers

Header and footer Properties

Header and footer Style

See also

Text blocks

Overview

Adding text blocks to your score

Changing the appearance of text blocks

Text block text Properties

Text block text Style

See also

Formatting
Page layout concepts

Definitions

Spatium (plural: Spatia) / Space / Staff Space / sp.

Staff
Grand staff
System
Frame
Margin

Positioning of elements

Default position

Auto-place

Vertical collision avoidance

Horizontal collision avoidance
Vertical alignment
Disabling auto-place
Manual adjustment

Manual alignment

Score size and spacing

Page settings

Page and margin sizes

Scaling
Other settings
Actions

Style settings

Horizontal spacing
Vertical spacing
Music margins
Distance between staves within systems
Distance between systems

Staff/part properties

Systems and horizontal spacing

Features

System breaks
Layout stretch
Horizontal frames
Keep measures on the same system

Tasks

Placing fewer measures on a system

Placing more measures on a system
Changing the relative spacing of measures within a system
Creating space between measures
Creating space at the beginning or end of a system
Adjusting the width of the final system
Grouping measures

Pages and vertical spacing

Features

Page breaks
Spacers
Vertical frames
System dividers

Tasks

Placing fewer systems on a page

Placing more systems on a page
Adjusting the spacing on sparse pages
Adjusting space between specific systems
Adjusting space between specific staves

Using frames for additional content

Overview

Uses of frames

Adding frames between or before/after systems

Text frames
Adding a text frame
Adding text
Vertical frames
Adding a vertical frame
Adding text
Adding an image
Size
Position and alignment of content
Spacing

Adding frames between measures

Horizontal frames
Adding a horizontal frame
Adding text
Adding an image
 Size
Spacing
Other horizontal frame properties

See also

Working with images

Importing images
Saving images to palettes
Copying imported images
Adjusting images
Change image height/width
Scale image
Adjust image position
Image properties

See also

Using sections for multiple movements or songs

Overview

Features
Time and key signatures

Adding section breaks

Section break properties

Pause
Instrument names
Bar numbers

Sound and playback

Playback controls

Overview

Playback commands

Start/stop
To play back all the instrument parts
To play back selected instrument parts only
To stop playback
Rewind
Loop
Metronome
Playback position and monitoring tempo

Other commands

Enable MIDI input

Play repeats
Play chord symbols
Pan score automatically

External links

Mixer

Overview

Opening the mixer

Mixer controls

Sound

To change an instrument's sound

Audio FX

To add an Audio FX plugin

To disable an Audio FX plugin
To remove an Audio FX plugin
Muse Reverb

Aux sends

To show/hide an Aux send row (slot)

To disable an Aux send row (slot)
Aux channels

To show/hide Aux channels

To add Audio FX to an Aux channel
To adjust an Aux channel's level
To apply the effect(s) of an Aux channel to an instrument

See also

SoundFonts

Install a SoundFont

Drag and drop installation

File directory installation
Add or change SoundFont directory

Using sounds from a SoundFont

Selecting individual sounds

Editing Soundfonts

Uninstall a SoundFont

A note on the Zerberus player and SFZs

See also

Installing Muse Sounds

Installation via Muse Hub

Using Muse Sounds in MuseScore

Available sounds in Muse Sounds

Choir
Strings
Woodwinds
Brass
Percussion
Keys
Harp
Guitars

Capo playback (MS 4.0.2 and before)

Adding a capo marking to your score (before MuseScore 4.1)

Adding a capo to a single staff

Adding a capo to a staff / tablature pair

See also

Swing playback

Overview

Adding a swing or straight marking to your score

To add a swing marking

To add a straight marking

Changing swing playback

Adjust the type and degree of swing

Apply swing to one staff only

Working with MIDI

Working with VST and VSTi

Introduction to VST

Installing VSTs

Enabling, disabling, removing and replacing VST plugins

See also

File management
Opening and saving scores

Overview

Opening a score

File → Open
File → Open recent
Home tab → Scores

Import file formats

Saving a score

Save to computer
Save to the cloud
Name
Visibility
Never
Always
Every x saves

File export

Overview

Exporting your score

File formats

Graphical formats
PDF
SVG
PNG
Audio formats
OGG
MP3
FLAC
WAV
Other audio formats
Hybrid formats
MIDI
Score formats
MusicXML
Braille
MEI
Customizing export settings

MIDI import

Working with MusicXML files

Overview

Opening a MusicXML file

Cleaning up an imported score

Restoring stems
Restoring default leading spaces
Removing breaks
Restoring default text styles
Resetting default text positions
Frame
Score text

Preparing a score for export

Export settings

Backup and recovered files

Project properties

Overview

Changing Project properties

Adding and deleting new project properties

Accessing project properties in a score

Score comparison
Publish to musescore.com

Overview

Publishing cost and profit

Publishing rights

Creating a MuseScore account

Saving only to Musescore.com

Publish locally saved scores

Visibility in score manager

Manage generation of mp3 during upload

Never
Always
Every x saves

Share on Audio.com

Overview

To share audio from your score on Audio.com:

To share on Audio.com every time you publish a score:

Customization
Language

Overview

Change language
Update translations
See also

Appearance

Overview

Theme and Colors

Fonts

Toolbars and windows

Overview

Toolbars

Showing and hiding toolbars

Rearranging toolbars
Customizing contents of toolbars

Windows and Panels

Docking and undocking panels

Customizing contents of panels

Templates and styles

Overview

Style
Layout and formatting in Musescore
Reusing Layout and formatting information

Style files

Saving settings of all styles of "Full score" or "Part" you are currently editing to a separate .mss file
Loading from .mss file into "Full score" or "Part" you are currently editing

Default "level 2 information" for new score file and Musescore Part

Templates

Save a score as a custom template

Creating a score from a custom template

Palettes
Adding palettes

Hiding and deleting palettes

Changing the order of palettes

Customizing palette contents

Adding elements from the Master Palette window

Adding elements from the score
Moving elements between palettes
Deleting elements from palettes
Resetting a palette

Saving and loading palettes

Palettes menu

Palette properties

See also

Workspaces

Overview

Creating a new workspace

Deleting a workspace

Switching between workspaces

Keyboard shortcuts

Overview

Defining a shortcut

Resetting and clearing shortcuts

To reset a shortcut to its default:

To clear (i.e. delete) a shortcut:

Importing and exporting shortcuts

Preferences

General

Appearance

Canvas

Note input

MIDI device mapping

Score

I/O

Import

Shortcuts

Update

Advanced

Plugins

Overview

Managing plugins

Installing a new plugin

Updating an existing plugins
Enabling and disabling plugins

Running a plugin

Pre-installed plugins
Create a plugin

See also

Support
Getting help

Overview

Learn

Forums

Issue tracker

GitHub

Mastering MuseScore

Revert to factory settings

Overview

Reverting to factory settings from the menu

Reverting to factory settings from the command line

Windows
macOS
Linux

Troubleshooting

Installation issues

Score issues

Display issues

Sound issues

Printing issues

Known incompatibilities

Appendix
Command line usage

NAME
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
Batch conversion job JSON format
ENVIRONMENT
FILES
EXAMPLES
Convert a score to PDF from the command line
Run a batch job converting multiple documents
MIDI import operations
DIAGNOSTICS
SEE ALSO
STANDARDS
HISTORY
AUTHORS
CAVEATS
BUGS

All keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard Map

Navigation

Page navigation
Score navigation

Note input

General
Duration
Pitch
 Tablature

Selecting

Editing

General
Duration
Pitch
Notation
Manual adjustment

Text

General
Formatting
Lyrics
Chord symbols, Roman numeral analysis, Nashville numbers, figured bass

Other score elements

Score setup and formatting

File Operations

User interface

Playback
Accessibility
Other

Known incompatibilities

Upgrade from MuseScore 3.x

Overview

Keyboard Shortcuts

Other changes

Missing Features

Upgrade from MuseScore 2.x or 1.x

Handbook for MuseScore 3.x

Handbook for MuseScore 2.x

Handbook for MuseScore 1.x

Glossary

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
External links