Adding Chord Symbols Should Work with Whole Bar Selected
Currently (as of MuseScore version: 4.0.0-2709268275), adding chord symbols requires you to select a note or rest; trying to add a chord symbol with a whole bar selected results in a dialog that says:
"No note or rest selected: Please select a note or rest and retry."
Having to always make sure my cursor is placed so as to select a particular note or rest is time-consuming when adding a lot of chord symbols, especially when they don't come one bar after the last (and thus it isn't practical to just press TAB).
I think it would make a lot more sense if, when you try to add a chord symbol with a whole bar selected, Musescore just added a chord symbol to the first note or rest in that bar. This would save a lot of time, as it's often easier to select a whole bar rather than one element, as well as being the behaviour most users would naturally expect.
Comments
Select a note or rest to input the first chord symbol. Press TAB in order to move to next measure.
I agree, no particular reason commands like this shouldn't work with a measure selected.
But I'm confused as to why you'd be doing this. Are you really entered chords so far apart that Tab isn't practical? I mean, how many times does one need to write "So What"? I mean that only had in jest. Plus, "So What" would only have three chords to enter. Could be there is something you are misunderstanding about the process, but I can't tell what. Maybe attach a score that shows a case where you are for whatever reason you are not using Tab or the other shortcuts for entering chords within a measure (eg, space, semicolon, Ctrl+number), and maybe we can help you find a better method.
In reply to I agree, no particular… by Marc Sabatella
Usually it's when I'm sketching out the chord progressions of a piece in broad strokes before I actually write any notes. For example, I might start out knowing that I need a tonic chord in both the first and last bar of a section, and I'd add those chord symbols. Next, I might decide bars 34 and 70 are where the tension should be highest, and I'd add some more dissonant chord symbols in those bars.
Basically, when doing an initial sketch, it can be helpful to have the option to put chord symbols in certain key places and then fill in the gaps later.
In reply to Usually it's when I'm… by Hamish Turnbull
Gotcha, I don't think I've ever composed that way so it hadn't occurred to me that was what was going on. But independently of that, I've often wished a selection of an empty bar was treated like a selection for the measure rest only. I notice it most entering the initial tempo marking via Alt+Shift+T. Seems like a no-brainer improvement since nothing but an error message happens now.
Right now the process for suggesting changes - whether bug reports or feature requestions - a little up in the air. Hopefully soon the public alpha release of MuseScore 4 happen and then it becomes more clear how to proceed.