Capo Chord Symbols
Hi everyone! I do a ton of contemporary sacred composing/arranging, and I'm wondering if anyone has a solution for the following issue. I can enter capo chords in parens above non-transposed chords by using Ctrl+k on the same note/rest; however, I cannot seem to figure out how to insert a capo chord in parens above a chord symbol which isn't attached to a note/rest value without having to insert invisible notes/rests in a new voice layer. I've uploaded an example here—the F/A in question. I'd really like to permanently switch to Musescore for my engraving/scoring needs, but this is a critical issue for me. I do hope a future version will have this option built-in. Until that time, any ideas? Many thanks for any assistance!
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Chord_Symbol_Ex..mscz | 3.97 KB |
Comments
First, be aware that MuseScore can do capo chords completely automatically, just go to Format / Style / Chord Symbols. But the parenthesized chord is placed next to, rather than above, so if your house style requires it to be above, you will need to do this manually.
To do this manually, first, I'd advise you to use the Inspector to change the style of the parenthesized chords to Chord Symbol (Alternate). Then they will be positioned as desired by default. And also, when you hit Space to move to the next beat, MuseScore will allow you to enter a new chord rather than edit the existing one, which I guess is the issue you are encountering.
There are actually a number of other of ways to do this that might be easier over. One approach to consider is to enter all the regular chords first, then copy/paste them to a scratch staff, transpose that scratch staff, change the style and add parens, then copy/paste the chords back to the original staff.
In reply to First, be aware that… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks, Marc! Yes, I've always been able to add capo chords automatically, but having them alongside the non-transposed chords make things quite cluttered, so having them above the non-transposed chords is ideal for these projects. As far as entering them manually, I'm not sure I quite follow your suggestion. Typically, I enter them manually by selecting Ctrl+k and adding the desired chord in parens. Provided there's a note or rest, ctrl+k works quite well. However, when I press ctrl+k on a chord symbol which isn't attached to a note/rest, I get an error message to that end. I am also unable to select only the capo chords in parens (when entered automatically) to change the style to Alternate. Furthermore, if I select the manually inputted chords in parens and try to change the style to Alternate, I still run into the same issue when I press Space; it moves to the next non-capo chord rather than allowing my to enter one above a chord symbol not attached to a note or rest value. I hope I'm making sense. :) Perhaps I'm missing something in your suggestion?
In reply to Thanks, Marc! Yes, I've… by drbirkenstocks
I'm not quite folloiwing, You can't select a chord symbol and press Ctrl+K - you get an error. It has nothing to do with whether there is note there or not, pressing Cltr+K never works with a chord symbol selected (maybe it should, that would be an interesting new feature).
But my suggestion has nothing to do with using Ctrl+K, it's just about selecting chords, using the Inspector, hitting Space while entering them to move to the next beat, using copy/paste, etc.
If you change the style of a chord to alternate, then double click it and press Space, you'll see can enter a chord on the next beat, whether there is already a chord there or not. But that's only the slow method. The much better method is the one I mentioned involving copy/paste, so maybe don't waste too much time on the slow method.
Here's the more efficient method in more detail:
1) enter all the normal chord symbols for your song:
2) copy/paste them to a scratch staff (eg, right click one, Select / All Similar Elements in Same Staff, Ctrl+C, then click the corresponding measure in a scratch staff, then Ctrl+V)
3) optionally select all the chord symbols on that same staff (see above) then change style to Alternate
4) optionally put them in parens (no way to do that but edit them one at a time)
5) select the full contents of the staff (click first measure, Ctrl+Shift+End), then use Tools / Transpose to transpose as desired
6) copy/paste the chords back to the first staff same way you get them to the scratch staff
End result: all your chords are exactly as you want, you didn't have to enter the capo chords yourself or even do the work of thinking about the transposition. The whole process maybe a minute regardless of the length of your score. So, not worth it for just a few measures, but totally worth it for an entire song.
In reply to I'm not quite folloiwing, … by Marc Sabatella
Hi Marc, exactly—I think we're saying the same thing re: Ctrl+K; it only works if there a note/rest on which to add a stacked capo chord above. I agree; perhaps adding a new feature where one can select a chord symbol, hit Ctrl+K, and manually add/edit would be cool. Nevertheless, your way is FAR easier! Thanks so much for the suggestion. Great workaround—though I'm very hopeful they'll include an option for stacked capo chords in a future build. ::fingers crossed:: Thanks again!
In reply to Hi Marc, exactly—I think we… by drbirkenstocks
Feel free to make a formal Suggestion to the issue tracker (see Support menu, above) regarding that. But also note, In theory, it should also be the case that hitting Space after editing on Alternate chord symbol should automatically make the next chord also Alternate, and this was actually implemented for other element types (eg fingering, or staff text when hitting Alt+Right rather than Space), but apparently not for chord symbols or lyrics.
In reply to Feel free to make a formal… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks! Your workaround is fantastic. Just FYI—I tried the manual input utilizing Alternate chord symbols, and while I am able to edit MOST of them, it seems to skip several of the chords in the sequence and resorts back to regular Chord symbol entry upon hitting Space—i.e., for some chords, spacing over gives an option to manually input a capo chord above its non-transposed chord, but it skips others. Not sure why that would be. Any ideas? Anyhow, as I said, your workaround is a perfect solution.
In reply to Thanks! Your workaround is… by drbirkenstocks
Thanks, glad the method I described works. I like letting the computer do most of the work for me where possible :-). As for what happens if you change style then try navigating, it's erratic indeed. Definitely a bug and worth reporting as such to the issue tracker. To my mind, it should ignore the existing chord on the next beat since the style doesn't match. As I said we added code recently to do this for other text types, but chord symbol navigation is handled separately since there are so many additional shortcuts, and I guess we didn't catch that place.
Just to add that this is still an issue I'm facing too: https://musescore.org/en/node/367705
I've ended up using the exact same workaround that Marc detailed!