What version?
Hello. I am new to this forum and pretty much a 'know-nothing' when it comes to music and writing music.
In fact, I am just beginning to learn to play banjo (although I played self-taught clarinet years ago and wrote out my own versions of tunes, by hand, on staved paper).
What I want is to set down on paper some songs that I like and then write tablature for those songs ) in another piece of software) without all the tedium of hand writing and the torn or erased paper.
So my needs are simple. I saw a tutorial of the latest version of Musescore and immediately thought it would be too much for me. Then i saw a tutorial on the Musescore 2.0 version and got more interested.
So, my question is: of all the versions still available for Win 10x64, which would be the best for stability for simplicity and yet a full range of basic tools? And maybe the ability to automatically transcribe a piece from, for instance, C to G, etc..
thanks for your time...
Comments
MuseScore 1.3, 2.3.2 and 3.6.2 are the latest version of their series, and all are still available and working on Windows up to 11. If you're new to MuseScore, don't bother with 1.3 or 2.3.2, just take and use 3.6.2. The only reason to use the older versions is if you have older scores you're too lazy to adjust to the newest version.
Only the 3.x series is available in a 64-bit versions BTW (but the 32-bit version work on 64-bit Windows too)
Transposing (I guess that's what you mean by transcribing from C to G) is a feature they all provide
In reply to MuseWScore 1.3, 2.3.2 and 3… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thank you for the reply. I appreciate your input and that you took the time.
Yes, I think "transposing" is what I mean. That Musescore will do that is encouraging. I guess I will give it a try... it's the right price and I've nothing to lose.
I do worry that I will be so overwhelmed that i will not be able to work through the learning curve.
As I said, all i want is to produce the occasional sheet of music in a clean and professional format. Being a banjo player (an aspiring one, at any rate) you will no doubt appreciate how rudimentary my need s really are.
xD
Other considerations for using the most recent version:
It will contain the latest features and bug fixes.
If you need help on these forums, any advice provided here, including things like step-by-step procedures, attached score samples, and screen shots will be consistent and compatible.
Welcome aboard.
Can you explain what you thought would be too much about MuseScore 3 or easier about MuseScore 2? They are actually almost identical, except that MuseScore 2 makes you work much harder to get good layout, with tons of manual adjustments needed for things MuseScore does automatically. Aside from that, they are virtually identical in usage. Unless the goal is to take much longer to typeset the same music, I can't imagine any possible benefit in using anything but the current version (3.6.2).
Give yourself some credit. Since you've worked with staff paper in the past, you are already a step ahead. Take small steps. Figure out how to enter some notes just for practice. Then find in the manual how to add how to add a tab staff and transfer the notes to it. Some one is always willing to help you. Learning new software never easy. But it is a good brain workout.
In reply to Give yourself some credit… by bobjp
Well, thanks for that. I have been fooling with it.
And your response brings up a number of questions but the first one is: Is there a downloadable manual so that I can follow along with the tutorial without being online?
I did a test score...worked good until I got about three measures in. Fourth measure contained a quarter note and a half note (3/4 time) tied to a dotted half note in the next measure. But I couldn't get that to work. the minute i tried to go the next measure the tie/slur extended to the third measure which was a two beat rest and two eighth notes. After that, everything went haywire.
The other question is that I don't know how to set up so that as I enter notes i also get entries for banjo tablature. Is that even possible? Would be very helpful if it was.
I have lots more questions, some of which may be resolved as I fool with the program but those three are bugging me most right now.
Any advice/answers to any or all of these questions will be appreciated.
In reply to Well, thanks for that. I… by DWFII
At the top of any forum page select Support/Hanbook. You can download it as a pdf
In reply to At the top of any forum page… by bobjp
Got it. Thanks, that's helpful.
In reply to Got it. Thanks, that's… by DWFII
Write out your melody. Hit "I" on your keyboard. The instruments window opens. Find and select "Banjo Tablature", to add to score. Select the first measure of your melody line. SHIFT select the last measure. CTRL+C. Select the first measure of the new tab line. CTRL+V.
In reply to Well, thanks for that. I… by DWFII
We're happy to help with your tie issue, but in order to do so, we'd need to understand better. Best to start a new thread and attach your score, then describe precisely -= step by step - what you did, what you expected to see happen, and what happened instead. I'm kind of guessing you might have used a slur where you meant to use a tie - totally different things that only happen to look the same, Tie button is on the toolbar with shortcut "+"; slur icon is in the Lines palette with shortcut "S".
Here's my "getting started" tutorial that shows how to use most basic features you'd need for creating scores:
https://school.masteringmusescore.com/courses/complete/lectures/31890621
In reply to We're happy to help with… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks. I watched your basic video and thought it was great.
I don't remember what I did exactly and after watching the video I will have to try it again.
But I was trying to tie two notes over two measures. That's when things started to go haywire.
In reply to Well, thanks for that. I… by DWFII
For ties (which are not the same as slurs) see the Handbook: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/ties
For setting up a linked banjo tab/staff pair, use the New Score Wizard. See the Handbook for step-by-step instructions: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/tablature#staff-tab-new-score (also posted on your other thread).
Like any unfamiliar program, Musescore may seem a bit daunting at first, but once you get used to it you will discover just how capable and relatively easy to use it is. Documentation aka the handbook is pretty good and you can always get help here.
In reply to Use the New Score Wizard -… by Brer Fox
I know and I appreciate it. I have been trying to rekindle my skills writing notation by hand for a little while now. And trying to add writing tablature by hand at the same time.
I just ran across Musescore the other day and have been reading the hand book. but truth to tell my basic needs are very simple and I suppose I am trying to jump ahead just to get a reasonable score and tab as quickly and a painlessly as possible.
My apologies if I seem to be wanting my hand to be held.
In reply to I know and I appreciate it… by DWFII
Coming from being a Guitar Pro user, I found that there was quite a learning curve with MuseScore but I can honestly say that it's worth persevering as the software is so flexible regarding how you want your score to be styled. So, if you stick with it, I reckon you'll soon find that it's a worthwhile time investment.
Hand-holding is ok: I've had plenty of it myself in this forum. 🙂