How to add cue notes

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

To instrument parts only

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

To main score and instrument parts

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

See also

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