MuseJazz Font
Hello MuseScore,
I've been doing some jazz work today, and I've noticed how ugly it actually looks. Would it be possible to overhaul the MuseJazz font, just like you did with Leland, because it looks a little outdated?
All the best,
Manuel
Comments
Have you tried the alternative Petaluma font?
In reply to Have you tried the… by jeetee
Yes, I have. But the Chord Symbols still use the MuseJazz Font, and it's quite tedious to always change the font. I hope you understand.
In reply to Yes, I have. But the Chord… by MRJ_MRJ
You could change those to Petaluma Text as well.
Though I understand that this only other alternative might not be satisfactory for you as well.
In reply to You could change those to… by jeetee
Hi,
Thanks for the quick reply. As you guessed correctly, this alternative won't probably be satisfactory in the long run. Still, the chord symbols are in the MuseJazz font, and it would certainly be great to have it overhauled and integrated.
In reply to Hi, Thanks for the quick… by MRJ_MRJ
As mentioned, you can change chord symbols too - all text in MsueScore can be made whatever font you like. Just set then in Format / Style / Text Styles. If you use Petaluma for your notation, then it makes sense to use Petaluma Script for your chord symbols (and to turn off the "Jazz" option under Appearance in Format / Style / Chord Symbols, which only works with MuseJazz.
Can you explain more about what changes you would like to see? Perhaps point to a font you think looks betters?
MuseJazz was designed to emulate the look of the publications from Sher Music, generally regarding as being among the best-engraved jazz charts around. I don't think of these editions as outdated; they are actually still considered state-of-the-art. but no doubt, there are other worthy publishers whose looks could be emulate as well, and existing fonts that could someday be incorporated, license permitting.
In reply to Can you explain more about… by Marc Sabatella
Hello Marc,
I'm pointing to the Real Book Style font, or the Finale Jazz Font/ Broadway Copyist. It would be great to see some rounder edges and some more inspiration to the Real Book, because most jazz musicians (me included) are more familiar with this type of font, than the Sher Music font, of which I have never heard.
Greetings
In reply to Hello Marc, I'm pointing to… by MRJ_MRJ
It's important to realize that preferences are personal. But most professional musicians I know think of the old college-student-produced Real Book as a particularly bad example, and definitely not one to emulate. But the Sher Music publications, like "The New Real Book", also the Jazz Piano Book, Jazz Theory Book, Salsa Guidebook, and tons of others, are almost universally praised for their engraving. Still, if the look of the Real Book i what you personally prefer, simply find a font that emulates that, and installs nd use that for whatever text you like - chord symbols, titles, whatever. MuseScore allows you to use whatever font you like for whatever text you like.
In reply to Can you explain more about… by Marc Sabatella
The NorPen font, from NorFonts, is better for me. (Example here: https://norfonts.ma/NorPen%20Example.pdf) Of course, it is a question of taste.) It is relatively inexpensive, but I can only use it with Finale, which in turn forces me to use Windows instead of Linux, and abandon all benefits of using MuseScore (too long to list here). Of course, my preference for MuseScore and Linux is also a question of personal choice. It would be good to make switching fonts in MuseScore as easy as it is in other applications.
I'm with you. I don't think that the MuseJazz text font looks very professional, despite its origins. Instead, I use this customized version of MuseJazz text to emulate the LilyJazz text font. It's available for download from http://johngrren007.blogspot.com/2018/12/musejazz-lilyjazz-text-font-fo…
In reply to I'm with you. I don't think… by satchmo67
Hello Satchmo67,
That's great to see, but that only applies to the texts. The Chord Symbols and the Instrument Part Names still have the MuseJazz font applied to them, and I don't know how to change that.
In reply to Hello Satchmo67, That's… by MRJ_MRJ
That doesn't match my experience. All text, including instrument names and chords, is displaying correctly. Here's an example (saved in PDF to demonstrate).
In reply to That doesn't match my… by satchmo67
Oh, that's a great improvement!
Does it also change the instrument part names? The font there usually stays the same.
In reply to Oh, that's a great… by MRJ_MRJ
I may be dumb, but how do I add the OTF file to MuseScore?
Thanks in advance
In reply to I may be dumb, but how do I… by MRJ_MRJ
You don't need to do anything special, just install the font normally - see the documentation for your computer's OS (Windows, macOS, or Linux) to learn more about how to install fonts. Usually it's something simple like double-click the file and the system guides you from there.
In reply to You don't need to do… by Marc Sabatella
My question was, if I have to place the file somewhere in a special folder, or if MuseScore is supposed to recognize the font automatically. It doesn't seem to do so.
In reply to My question was, if I have… by MRJ_MRJ
Once you install the font according to the usual way of installing fonts on your computer, then MiuseScore will recognize it automatically. At most you might need to restart MuseScore. But then you should see it available to select in all of the dropdown boxes where you can select text fonts (eg, the Inspector, or Format / Style / Text Styles).
In reply to Once you install the font… by Marc Sabatella
Hello Marc,
In the description of the font, it says that it should overwrite/override the MuseJazz font and music font. It doesn't do any of that. On the website, it says that if you click on MuseJazz, the new font should come. It doesn't do so. What could I do?
In reply to Hello Marc, In the… by MRJ_MRJ
If you install the font normally, MuseScore won't magically know you want to use it - you would need to select int normally, same as any other font, using the Inspector or style settings I have said.
If the particular font you want to use has the same name as one of the existing built-in font - a bad idea in general and will likely lead to problems in the future - then MuseScore should use it automatically instead of the built-in font. But instructions on how to do that will depend on your OS and the font itself - MuseScore itself doesn't support this kind of hack directly. Better to install and use fonts normally.
In reply to If you install the font… by Marc Sabatella
Hi Marc. Can I take you back to this comment from earlier this year? I've been using John's LilyJazz font version that carries that MuseJazz Text name in MuseScore v3 (described and linked on this page) and loving it.
But, MuseScore v4 doesn't want to play the game by the same rules. v4 only uses the built-in MuseJazz Text font and seems to ignore John's edited version even after being reinstalled. Any ideas as to how this can be overcome? Thanks.
Congrats on your contributions to v4 BTW. Was pleased to see you called out in the video.
In reply to Hi Marc. Can I take you back… by satchmo67
Hello, and thanks for your comments! I definitely don't recommend relying on any specific behaviors in terms of how your system might happen to resolve font conflicts when you have multiple fonts of the same name. much better for each font to have its own name - that's how it was designed to work. Any hacks to get around this are indeed likely to break from release to release of MuseScore and/or your OS. So rather than try to find a new hack, I recommend simply fixing the font.
In reply to Hello, and thanks for your… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks very much, Marc. I took your advice and saved the font with a new name "BadgerLilyJazzText-Regular.otf" using Glyphr Studio. The new font behaves exactly as expected in MuseScore v3 however MuseScore v4 completely ignores it. Even after restart / uninstall / reinstall it won't show the font as available for selection.
The screenshot on the left is the font selection list from v4 while the screenshot on the right (with my font highlighted) is from v3. Has v4 been built to somehow restrict the use of custom fonts, differently to v3?
In reply to Thanks very much, Marc. I… by satchmo67
Saving the file with a different name won't help - the actual font name needs to be changed. I warned about this earlier - you simply cannot depend on what will happen if two fonts with the same name are installed. it's like flipping a coin as to which will end up getting used. could be a different result in each OS, in each version of MuseScore, in each font, heck even each time you open the program. You're asking for trouble having two fonts with the same name.
So, you need to fix the error caused by whomever gave the font a name that was already taken, by using a font editor to give it a new name.
In reply to Saving the file with a… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks, Marc. I understand. That's precisely what I did... I created a new font name within the Glyphr Studio, not just a simple file rename. Screenshot attached showing the new name that I gave it. MuseScore v3 recognizes the new unique font but v4 does not.
In reply to Thanks, Marc. I understand… by satchmo67
Did you restart MuseScore? That would be needed. But it definitely should find any valid font installed on your system.
In reply to Hello Marc, In the… by MRJ_MRJ
Hello Marc
Thanks for all the help. I have solved my issue. It turns out, I hadn't really installed the font yet. I had to open the file and then click install. Now, everything is working.
In reply to Oh, that's a great… by MRJ_MRJ
Instrument and part names can be set to whatever font you like. Just make sure you set them in Format / Style / Text Styles along with everything else you want to use your preferred font. When you have a score set up the way you like, simply save it to your Templates folder and then it is available to select every time you create a new score. You can also use Format / Save Style to create a style file you can load into older scores.
In reply to Instrument and part names… by Marc Sabatella
That's great, thank you!
In reply to Oh, that's a great… by MRJ_MRJ
Hello Satchmo,
How did you get the rounded Dal Segno? For me, it's a normal square
In reply to Hello Satchmo, How did you… by MRJ_MRJ
Double-click on the Dal Segno or the Coda sign. In the bottom left-hand corner, a Text Properties toolbar appears. You can change the font type and/or you can click a bottom on the far left called "insert special characters" from which you can select all sorts of things.
The MuseJazz font (after installing the modified font version) has a pretty good Dal Segno and Coda.
Personally, I like the boxes surrounding the Sal Segno and Coda sign, so I change the font to JazzText (a font that I think appeared when I installed a trial version of Finale) and I select its version as a special character.
In reply to Double-click on the Dal… by satchmo67
Ah, thanks! That helped.I downloaded the JazzText font and now everything looks perfect.
In reply to I'm with you. I don't think… by satchmo67
If anyone is interested, I have just uploaded a more modern flavour of MuseJazz...
In reply to If anyone is interested, I… by johngreen
Sorry, forgot the link:
http://johngrren007.blogspot.com/2022/04/musejazz-komikajazz-text-font-…
In reply to Sorry, forgot the link: http… by johngreen
Looks great! Definitely and upgrade to MuseJazz
In reply to Sorry, forgot the link: http… by johngreen
Nice ! Thank you !
Regarding the Feature Request Above,
I would like to ask if it's possible to emulate the picture with MuseScore. If so, how would one go about it?
(The quality may be a bit bad, sorry)
In reply to Regarding the Feature… by MRJ_MRJ
That specialized bracket is something I know the old "Jazz" font from Sigler does, so I would simply purchase, install, and use that if you're trying to reproduce that particular look.
In reply to That specialized bracket is… by Marc Sabatella
I can't seem to find it, could you provide a link? I often see it in big band arrangements, but is it worht the money?
In reply to I can't seem to find it,… by MRJ_MRJ
Seems the website that offers this is insecure and browsers won't let you there, but if you keep looking, probably something will turn up.
As to whether it's worth it, as I said, taste in fonts is subjective. To me it's a somewhat amateurish look, and I much prefer simpler text in my jazz charts. But it definitely became popular for a while back in the 90's when it was the only handwritten font available for Finale and was provided by default just as MuseJazz is for MuseScore.
These days there are many other alternatives, just do a web search for "handwritten font" or any similar phrase. Maybe add "jazz" and/or "chord symbols" to the search. As mentioned, Petaluma Script comes with MuseScore and is also very well-regarded by professional musicians, and perhaps it would suit your tastes better than MuseJazz. But I don't think it has those special brackets.
In reply to Regarding the Feature… by MRJ_MRJ
For example the font "jazz text regular" supports this kind of brackets (maybe there exist other too), with which it's possible to insert such brackets via "special characters".
In reply to For example the font "jazz… by kuwitt
Hi Kuwitt,
What do you mean by "Special characters?".
The brackets are the same.
In reply to Hi Kuwitt, What do you mean… by MRJ_MRJ
See: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/text-editing#symbols-and-special-ch….
Once you've installed this text font you can add such brackets in this way:
![Jazzbrackets.png]( "Jazzbrackets.png")
In reply to Regarding the Feature… by MRJ_MRJ
Just added the three necessary glyphs to my new MuseJazz variation (updated, so delete the previous version from your font directory and install the new one)...
You may access the glyphs via Special Characters window (see screenshot attached).
Hope these additions meet your requirements. Happy Easter ;-)
In reply to Just added the three… by johngreen
Perfect! Does it overwrite the MuseJazz font like the last one, or does it need some tweaking for that two work? Otherwise, wonderful job.
In reply to Perfect! Does it overwrite… by MRJ_MRJ
Yes, it does.
Just delete the old one and install the updated one. If you're on Windows, it'll overwrite it automatically if you install it. On the Mac you'd need to delete the previous version before installing this one.
In reply to Yes, it does. Just delete… by johngreen
Ah, I see. That's great. Thanks!
In reply to Just added the three… by johngreen
It didn't work for me. Once installed, the font was available under the name "MuseJazz Text" in a word processor, but in MuseScore, when selected for chord symbol (and using the "Standard" style for chords), I still get the old (ugly) MuseScore Text characters. I had to change the name of the font in FontForge to make it work. Maybe a specific problem under Linux, but in any case, it doesn't seem a good idea to replace a font without changing its name. I changed the name to MuseJazz Text Komika.
Another problem is that "o" no longer works as a symbol to enter a diminished chord. I get a big O instead, which isn't even the capital O of the font
It seems that this is a lowercase "o" from another font that MuseScore displays when it doesn't find the right character at the right location, although with some fonts, it doesn't display anything. Using the lower case "o" of the MuseJazz Komika font, it should render like this:
It happens that the symbol used by MuseScore for the diminished chord isn't the western "o" but the Greek one (omicron), in location U+03BF. After copying the "o" to this position, everything seems to be working. Here are the modified versions in FontForge and OTF format.
In reply to It didn't work for me. Once… by Pierre-Yves Saumont
Thanks for pointing out the diminished problem; I have never used MuseJazz with standard style, so I missed that one...
Keeping the same name (for the OS) is intentional: I do want the standard font to be overwritten, so there are no other changes to be made to already existing scores.
In reply to Thanks for pointing out the… by johngreen
OK, but eware, though, that it won't always work and might cause problems. It didn't work for me (under Linux). The new font was usable in other programs but it wasn't replaced in MuseScore.
In reply to OK, but eware, though, that… by Pierre-Yves Saumont
Thanks for your feedback. Tested and working under MacOS and Win10...
The problem under Linux might just be the font path. Heard of similar problems when using the AppImage.