Editing the Handbook
Introduction to MuseScore
New user interface
Instruments and parts
Inspector
New playback and VSTi support
Engraving improvements
Cloud storage
Other changes
Entering score information
Entering notes
Adding items from the palettes
Making adjustments in Properties
Inserting and deleting measures
Exporting your score
Saving your score
Viewing and navigation
Setup
Working with the user interface
Working with your score
Menu bar
Home tab
- My account
- Scores
- Plugins
- Learn
Score tab
Publish tab
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
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
Context menus
- Meta labels context menu
- Meta rows context menu
- Instrument context menu
Basics
Overview
Instruments
- Choose instruments
- Adding instruments
- Changing order of instruments
- Removing instruments
- Create from template
Additional score information
- Key signature
- Time signature
- Tempo
- Measures
- Title and other text
Changing instruments after score creation
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
Overview
Entering notes and rests in multiple voices
Editing notes and rests in multiple voices
- Adjusting rests
- Hiding or deleting rests
- Positioning rests
- Changing voice of existing notes
- Combining voices into chords
See also
Accessing alternative note input methods
Rhythm only
Re-pitch
Real-time
- Real-time (metronome)
- Real-time (foot pedal)
- Real-time Advance shortcut
Insert
Inserting measures
- The Properties panel
- Note input toolbar
- Menu bar
- Inserting measures with keyboard shortcuts
Deleting measures
- Remove empty trailing measures
See also
Selecting a single element
- Notes
- Chords
- Overlapping elements
Selecting a list of individual elements
- Selecting multiple elements manually
- Selecting similar elements automatically
Selecting a range of measures and staves
- Selecting a range by dragging
- Selecting a range by clicking
- Selecting a range using the keyboard
- Special range selections
Excluding elements from a range selection
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
Accessing the commands
Copying a range
Copying a single element or list of elements
Moving elements
Swapping a selection with the clipboard
Repeating a selection
Copying a selection to multiple staves
Paste half/double duration
Duplicating individual elements
See also
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
Accessing more palette items
Adding more palettes
See also
Accessing the Properties panel
Global settings
General settings
- Visible
- Auto-place
- Cue size
Playback settings
Appearance settings
- Leading space
- Measure width
- Minimum distance
- Offset
- Snap to grid
- Arrange
- Color
Saving and restoring default settings
Changing the position of elements
Changing the shape of elements
Working with lines
- Changing the range of a line
- Creating diagonal lines
- Editing line text
See also
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
Renaming, duplicating and deleting parts
Exporting and printing parts
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
Notation: Instruments, staves, and systems
Overview
- Accessing the 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 empty staves
- Hiding all empty staves
- Excluding specific staves from being hidden
Temporary staves
Cutaway staves
Ossia
Other invisible measures
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 passage of chords into constituent notes
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
Adding a staff type change
Setting staff properties
Overview
Staff properties
Advanced style properties
- Template (all staves)
- Standard and Percussion staff options only
- Tablature options only
- Fret Marks tab
- Note Values tab
Part properties
- Instrument
- Names
- Usable pitch range
- Transposition
- Strings and frets
Adding brackets
Editing brackets
- Changing bracket type
- Changing bracket span
Deleting brackets
Customizing bracket appearance
Notation: Rhythm, meter, and measures
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
Time signature properties
Time signature style
Stem direction
- Default stem direction
- Flipping stem direction
Changing stem length
Creating stemless notes
Stem and flag properties
Stem and flag style
See also
Controlling which notes are beamed
- Setting the default beaming for a time signature
- Changing the beaming for selected notes
Controlling the appearance of beams
- Changing the angle of a selected beam
- Creating a feathered beam
Beam properties
Beam style
Overview
Regrouping rhythms
See also
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
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
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 rest
Multimeasure rest
- Enabling and disabling multimeasure rests
- Breaking multimeasure rests
- Multimeasure rest properties
- Multimeasure rest style
See also
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
Opening and using the dialog
Staves
Measure duration
Other
See also
Notation: Pitch
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
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
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
Overview
Adding an octave line to your score
Octave line properties
Octave line style
Changing notehead direction
Changing notehead shape
Sharing noteheads between voices
- Notehead sharing rules
- Change offset noteheads to a shared notehead
- Shared noteheads in tablature
Alternative notehead systems
Adding pitch and velocity information to notes
Notehead properties
Adding an ambitus to your score
Changing the range of an ambitus
Ambitus properties
Manually changing the enharmonic spelling of notes
Automatically respelling all notes in a selection
Notation: Expressive markings
Adding articulations to your score
- Toolbar
- Articulations palette
- Keyboard shortcuts
Articulations playback
Articulation properties
Articulation style
Adding dynamics to your score
- Dynamics palette
- Custom dynamics
Changing playback of dynamics
Dynamics properties
Dynamics style
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
Hairpin style
Adding a slur to your score
- Adding slurs in normal mode
- Adding slurs in note input mode
Multi-voice and cross-staff slurs
Changing appearance of slurs
Slur properties
Slur style
Types of pauses
- Fermata
- Breath mark
- Caesura
Adding a pause to your score
Changing pause playback
Pause properties
Pause style
Adding an ornament to your score
- Add an ordinary ornament
- Add an ornament line
Adding accidentals to ornaments
Ornament properties
Ornament style
Arpeggios
- Adding an arpeggio/strum to your score
- Adjusting the height of an arpeggio/strum
- Creating multi-voice or cross-staff arpeggios
- Multi-voice arpeggios
- Cross-staff arpeggios
- Changing playback of arpeggios
- Arpeggio style
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
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
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
Overview
Adding a line to your score
Adjusting a line
Types of lines
- Guitar-related lines
- Tempo lines
- Staff and System Text lines
- Trill lines
- Standard lines
Line properties
Line style
The Symbols palette
Adding symbols to your score
- Add a symbol
- Add to other symbols
- Reposition symbols
Notation: Repeats
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
Adding voltas to your score
Changing appearance of voltas
Changing playback of voltas
Volta properties
Voltas style
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
Adding a measure or multi-measure repeat to your score
Measure repeat properties
Measure repeat style
Turning repeat playback on and off
Unrolling repeats
Idiomatic notation: Keyboard
Types of pedal markings
Adding pedal markings to your score
Creating pedal changes
Pedal properties
Pedal style
Creating cross-staff notation
Changing appearance of cross-staff notation
Adding accordion symbols to your score
Idiomatic notation: Guitar
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
Adding a bend symbol to your score
- Apply a bend
- Edit 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
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
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
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
Idiomatic notation: Percussion
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
Introduction
Customizing a drumset definition
- Selecting a sound
- Defining the note
- Name
- Noteheads
- Other properties
Saving and loading drumset definitions
Diddles
Pedal lines
Rolls
Sticking
Alternative notation
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
Filling a range with beat slashes
Creating rhythmic slash notation
- Accompaniment rhythms on the staff
- Accent rhythms above or below the staff
Customizing appearance of staff lines
Customizing appearance of generated elements
Customizing appearance of notes
Changing staff type mid-score
Text
Overview
Adding text to your score
- Add text from a palette
- Add text from a menu
- Add text using a shortcut
Editing text
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Special characters
Types of text
Overview—levels of formatting
- Text style
- Text object properties
- Character formatting
- Formatting hierarchy
Applying text properties
- Apply to a text object
- Apply to characters
Setting style defaults
Selecting different text styles
Position
Overview
Adding staff text to your score
Adding expression text to your score
Adding system text to your score
Repeating system text on other staves
Staff and system text properties
Staff and system text style
Overview
Adding a tempo mark to your score
- Using metronome markings
- Using text markings
Changing appearance of tempo markings
Changing playback of tempo markings
- Metronome marks
- Tempo text
- Tempo change lines
Repeating tempo markings on other staves
Tempo properties
Tempo style
Overview
Adding lyrics to your score
- Entering syllables
- Entering a melisma
- Entering multiple verses
- Entering lyrics onto rests
- Special characters within lyrics
- Escaping characters (that cannot be normally typed while entering Lyrics)
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
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
Overview
Adding chord symbols to your score
- Entering a chord symbol
- Navigation commands
- Chord symbol syntax
- Editing a chord symbol
- Entering Roman numeral analysis
- Enter RNA
- Examples of RNA
- Entering a Nashville number
Aligning chord symbols
- Using the Style menu
- Using the Properties panel
Transposition of chord symbols
- Transposing instruments
- Transpose dialog
- Capo fret position
Changing Spelling of Chord Symbols
- Chord Spelling Systems
- Automatic Capitalization
Changing appearance of chord symbols
Changing Playback of Chord Symbols
- Enabling and disabling playback
- Customizing playback
- Generating chord voicings onto a staff
Chord symbol properties
Chord symbol style
- Appearance
- Spelling
- Positioning
- Playback
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
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
Overview
Adding a header or footer to your score
Using metadata
Changing how headers and footers are displayed
Header and footer properties
Header and footer style
Overview
Adding text blocks to your score
Changing the appearance of text blocks
Text block text properties
Text block text style
Formatting
Definitions
- Staff
- Grand staff
- System
- Frame
- Margin
Default position
Auto-place
- Vertical collision avoidance
- Horizontal collision avoidance
- Vertical alignment
- Disabling auto-place
Manual adjustment
Manual alignment
Page settings
- Page and margin sizes
- Staff size
- Other settings
- Actions
Style settings
- Horizontal spacing
- Vertical spacing
- Music margins
- Distance between staves within systems
- Distance between systems
Staff/part properties
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
- Group measures
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
Adding frames between or after systems
- Text frames
- Vertical frames
- Adding text
- Adding images
- Size
- Position and alignment of content
- Spacing
Adding frames between measures
- Adding text
- Adding images
- Size
- Spacing
- Other frame properties
See also
Adding images
Image properties
Overview
- Features
- Time and key signatures
Adding section breaks
Section break properties
- Pause
- Instrument names
- Bar numbers
Sound and playback
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
- Play position and tempo
Other commands
- Enable MIDI input
- Play repeats
- Pan score automatically
- Enable count-in
Opening the mixer
Mixer controls
Audio FX and sounds
- To load a VST plugin
- To disable a VST plugin
- To remove a VST Audio FX plugin
- To replace a sound plugin
See also
Install a SoundFont
- Drag and drop installation
- File directory installation
Uninstall a SoundFont
A note on the Zerberus player and SFZs
Installation via Muse Hub
Using Muse Sounds in MuseScore
Available sounds in Muse Sounds
- Choir
- Strings
- Brass
- Percussion
- Keys
- Harp
Overview
Adding a capo marking to your score
- To a single staff
- To a staff / tablature pair
See also
Overview
Adding a swing or straight marking to your score
Changing swing playback
Introduction to VSTi Plugins
Enabling, disabling, removing and replacing VST plugins
File management
Overview
Opening a score
- File → Open
- File → Open recent
- Home tab → Scores
Import file formats
Saving a score
- Save to your computer
- Save to the cloud
- Name
- Visibility
- Never
- Always
- Every x saves
Overview
Exporting your score
File formats
- Graphical formats
- Audio formats
- MIDI format
- Score formats
- Customizing export settings
Overview
Cleaning up an imported score
Preparing a score for export
Overview
Changing score properties
Adding new properties
Accessing project properties in your score
Overview
Creating a MuseScore account
Saving only to Musescore.com
Publish locally saved scores
Visibility in score manager
Customization
Overview
Theme and Colors
Fonts
Overview
Toolbars
- Showing and hiding toolbars
- Rearranging toolbars
- The Play toolbar
- The Note input toolbar
- The Status Bar
Windows and Panels
- The Score Window
- Docking and undocking Property, Instrument and Palette panels
- Customizing contents of panels
Overview
Templates
- Saving your score as a template
- Creating a score from your template
Style files
- Saving style settings for your score to a file
- Loading style settings into your score from a file
- Setting a default style for your score
Adding palettes
Hiding and deleting palettes
Changing the order of palettes
Customizing palette contents
- Adding elements from the master palette
- Adding elements from your score
- Moving elements between palettes
- Deleting elements from palettes
- Resetting palettes
Saving and loading palettes
Palettes menu
Palette properties
Overview
Creating a new workspace
Deleting a workspace
Switching between workspaces
Changing workspace settings
Sharing workspaces
Overview
Defining a shortcut
Resetting and clearing shortcuts
Importing and exporting shortcuts
General
Appearance
Canvas
Note input
MIDI device mapping
Score
I/O
Import
Shortcuts
Update
Advanced
Overview
Managing plugins
- Installing a new plugin
- Enabling and disabling plugins
Running a plugin
Pre-installed plugins
Support
Overview
Learn
Forums
Issue tracker
GitHub
Mastering MuseScore
Overview
Reverting to factory settings from the menu
Reverting to factory settings from the command line
Installation issues
Score issues
Display issues
Sound issues
Printing issues
Appendix
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
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- External links