Marking in key signatures as accidentals?
Is there a way to put the sharps and flats of the key signature as accidentals automatically?
Like if I'm in the key of F, can musescore automatically mark all the Bbs with a flat symbol?
Thanks!
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Format->Style->Accidentals and click the radio button for your choice.
In reply to Format->Style->Accidentals… by mike320
That didn't seem to do it. Maybe I wasn't clear.
In the key of A Major, I'd like to have the key signature, but also every C# F# and G# marked with a sharp in the score. Is that possible?
In reply to That didn't seem to do it. … by sully75
Sorry for the misunderstanding. What you want is quite unconventional.
It's not automatic, but it's not difficult.
For each of your notes:
Right click a note
Choose Select>More... from the speed menu
Check the box beside the name of the note with not number. So check C# not C#5 for example
Click OK
Click the # button on the note input palette
Repeat for the other notes.
In reply to Sorry for the… by mike320
No problem. Thanks for getting back to me. I was hoping there was an automatic solution. I don't think it's actually so uncommon from a jazz perspective to have accidentals marked in the score, or to score things in C and mark in all the accidentals?
For highly chromatic but still tonal music it seems like it would be a handy option. Or to have a blank key signature but to have Musescore mark in the accidentals of a given key.
In reply to No problem. Thanks for… by sully75
When I'm writing original music and I temporarily modulate to a different key, I'll insert the key signature, write the music then delete the key signature to leave the accidentals. You can do the same thing in tonal music with no key signature. Put it in to show the nominal key signature, then delete the key signature when you're done writing.
Every musical genre has accidentals. There's not a lot you can do to make them automatic unless you are actually modulating to a different key for a while and do as I suggested.
Showing the key signature and courtesy accidentals showing every sharp or flat is unconventional. I didn't see this as a practice when I was in a jazz band.
In reply to When I'm writing original… by mike320
Just checked to refresh my memory, and yeah, it's fairly common. Here's a page from the Charlie Parker omnibook showing exactly that. It would be handy to be able to put in a key signature in a piece but have Musescore leave it in C and mark all the notes with the sharps and flats in the key signature.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/halleonard-closerlook/00004001/00004001PG02z.j…
For certain applications it would be pretty handy. I'm looking at one right now. Getting non-diatonic jazz arpeggios in an already moderately complex key signature...it would be easier to read if everything was marked in. Not always but sometimes.
In reply to Just checked to refresh my… by sully75
It's not common to have a key signature and mark all accidentals, in fact it quite defeats the purpose of having a key signature. Either have a key signature and don't use accidentals everywhere if the piece is tonal / simple, or skip the key signature (use the "Open/Atonal" key signature form the palette) and you get accidentals everywhere. The latrer is extremely common and is what your image form the Omnibook shows. But showing those accidentals in a passage tonal enough to warrant a key signature is not common at all.
That said, if you so have some unusual special reason to want this, the approach Mike describes does work. Or, install the courtesy accidental plugin from the Downloads page (see menu above) and it will happily mark all accidentals (including naturals) for you if you give it that option. Then you can delete the natural all at once two if you want.
OK, this might be a rare requirement, but it can be useful. Some people have to say the equivalent of “Sorry I missed the key signature change!” more often than others.
![ForcedAccidentals.png]( "ForcedAccidentals.png")
My nearly automatic method (a bit fiddly to set up but once in place withstands editing, transposition etc.).
1 Add a new measure at the start.
2 Select the first note of the line to be accidentalled.
3 Double click the cross symbol in the key signature palette (this inserts a null key signature for that line only).
4 Display the inspector.
5 Select the new (cancelling) key signature and set not visible.
6 Select the new barline(s) and set not visible.
7 Select all the rests in the new measure, set not visible, not automatic placement and decrease the segment leading space until everything lines up nicely.
If you need to squeeze up more, you can select the first note, set not automatic placement and decrease the segment leading space for the note
In reply to OK, this might be a rare… by TinyTrouble
Sorry
Forgot to say set "Exclude from bar count" for the new bar
Just for anybody who finds this old post, here's what worked for me->
First set the key signature to C.
Right click which note you want to change to all be flat or sharp to open the context menu
In the context menu choose select -> more.
In the Select Notes menu that pops up, choose Same Note name (B) -> ok
This will select all the Bs (or any other letter) on the staff. Then just press the plus sign (+) to add a sharp, minus sign (-) to add a flat or equal sign (=) to add a natural to all of them at once. You can also press plus, minus, or equal again to remove all the sharps, flats, or naturals
This will add a flat, sharp, or natural sign to every note with that letter in the whole song, even in the middle of measures when there is a previous note that is also flat, sharp, or natural.
So you can go one letter at a time and turn all the Bs flat, then all the Es flat, or whatever you want.