Is there a way to write FMi7 instead of FMI7 for Chord Symbols?
For minor chords, is it possible to write the chord name with a lower case "i" instead of upper case "I"? For example, for F minor 7, write it as FMi7 instead of FMI7?
Thanks much!
Don
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Controls for this can be found under Style > General > Chord Symbols, Fretboard diagrams. What's interesting is that if you didn't touch any settings there, it should come out FMi7. Make sure all the settings look like this, and you should be good:
![chords style.png]( "chords style.png")
Edit: Is there any chance you have the caps lock key on?
As long as you are on a relatively recent version of MuseScore, it should come out pretty much however you type it. "Mi" really isn't standard or recommended (the capital "M" should be used only for major chords) but MuseScore will happily accept it.
In reply to As long as you are on a by Marc Sabatella
HI Marc,
Thanks so much for getting back to me. I've tried it several times, but I can't get it to work. I'm using the current version (2.0.3) on an iMac.
Let's say I want F minor 7, but I want it displayed as F, then small Mi, then 7.
If I type FMi7 i get F, large Mi, then 7.
If I type FMI7, I get F, then small MI, then 7.
I'm stuck needing MA for major and Mi for minor because I'm working with someone who's published a series a books using this notation and I'm helping with the next in the series. He had been using Finale, but I'm a MuseScore fan, so want to stick to MuseScore.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!!
Don
In reply to HI Marc, Thanks so much for by Dkelly
It looks like Standard font does (lower case) ma and mi only, and Jazz font does (upper case) MA and MI only.
Is there a MuseScore developer that I might hire to created a custom chord font by tweaking the jazz font like my client needs? Thinking it would be just a few minor changes.
Don
In reply to HI Marc, Thanks so much for by Dkelly
Hmm, it sounds like maybe you are saying you want capital "M" in the "Mi", but you want that capital "M" to be *smaller* than the capital "F"? That much indeed is not directly supported. You'd need to create a customized chord description file to do this. Should be easy enough, just a couple of lines tweaked from either the existing standard or jazz versions. You ant the jazz version otherwise? Just create your own copy (put it in your "Styles" folder), then search for the string "Ma", and add another line just it below, but with "Mi".
Or, simply find a font that has the capital M smaller than the capital F and use that font for your chord symbols. Probably such fonts exist. but you won't be able to use that font with the jazz style - the special formatting requires MuseJazz specifically.
In reply to Hmm, it sounds like maybe you by Marc Sabatella
Marc,
Yes, that's right, cap M in Mi is what I need. The Jazz style does everything else I need, so sounds like one minor mod will do it.
I'll see if I can figure out how to add it per your suggestions. Thanks so much, sounds like it'll work well, and hopefully I'll see learn how the style files work too!
Don
In reply to Marc, Yes, that's right, cap by Dkelly
Marc,
Where is the chords_jazz.xml file on a Mac? I founds my Styles folder, but it's not in there.
Thanks!
Don
In reply to Marc, Where is the by Dkelly
The *original* file is in MsueScore's own Styles folder, which I guess is in some sort of "application bundle" or some such. That's also where other files would be kept I think - see https://musescore.org/en/handbook/plugins#mac-os-x for some more information. You could try searching on the term "bundle" to learn more about how to work with them - I'm not a Mac person, so I'm only vaguely familar with this.
In reply to The *original* file is in by Marc Sabatella
Great, thanks Marc, found it in the program Contents folder. Very cool, thanks.
Don
In reply to Great, thanks Marc, found it by Dkelly
FWIW, I just made the change so the next version of MuseScore will do that by default. I went ahead an added Min, Aug and other capitalized abbreivations as well (in addition to M, Ma, and Maj that were already present).
In reply to FWIW, I just made the change by Marc Sabatella
Marc,
Very cool! Any chance I could try out your style file to check it out?
I'm a pretty good programmer (Matlab, C, etc), but not so good with XML. I attempted to add the lines you mentioned, but couldn't get it to work for me.
Don
In reply to Marc, Very cool! Any chance I by Dkelly
Ciao Don, try a Nightly: https://musescore.org/en/download#Nightly-versions
It should work already
In reply to Ciao Don, try a Nightly: by Shoichi
But be aware - "try" is the operative word. Nightlies are for testing purpsoes only, they are *not* to be used for real work. Scores created in nightly versions won't be openable in any current release and might well not be openiable in any future release either, plus the nightlies are quite unstable and might crash, cause corruption, etc.
In reply to Ciao Don, try a Nightly: by Shoichi
Shoichi,
The screen shot you sent shows FMi7 with the Mi the same font size as the F. I'm trying to get the Mi to be the smaller font than the F.
In reply to Marc, Very cool! Any chance I by Dkelly
It really should have been literally as simple as the one line change I mentioned - sinmply duplicating that one line but changing"Ma" to "Mi". So my guess is the problem isn't with your edit, but with how you are trying to tell MuseScore to use your edited file. Be sure to save your edited file in your own Styles folder, then go to Style / General / Chord Symbols, select "Custom" style, then click the brose button to select your edited file. After that you should be able to type "Mi" and have it render smaller. It's possible this won;t immediately affect some older scores, but it should work with new ones created from scratch.
If that doesn't work for you, pleae psot the specific score you are having problems with and a screenshot demonstrating how it renders for you. You can also post your XML file (you might need to wrap it in a ZIP) but it really is just a question of duplicating that one line but replacing "Ma" with "Mi", so I kind of doubt that is the problem.
In reply to It really should have been by Marc Sabatella
I tried the nightly build (thanks, by the way!), and maybe it's me, but still can't get the right look. Please see the attached screen shot.
I'm trying to get FMi7 and FMA7, but with the "Mi" and the "MA" in smaller font (not the same font size as the "F").
It might be me poorly explaining it, so sorry if I'm confusing everyone. Or maybe I'm not entering the chord correctly somehow.
Don
In reply to I tried the nightly build by Dkelly
You have to be using the *Jazz* style in Style / General / Chord Symbols in order to see the effect with the nightly build. With your customized XML file, you need to select your file explicitly in that same dialog.
Here's how it will look:
In reply to You have to be using the by Marc Sabatella
That's it, you guys rock! (notice the musically-themed pun...)
The author I'm working on uses a capital A in the "MA" but that's a 99.99 % solution. Looks great.
Let me make sure I know how to get it to work on my end.
P.S. Marc, I'll be glad to tell you who I'm supporting with this book if you'll send me a private email at don.kelly@mac.com. Just didn't want to post it on the forum.
Don
In reply to That's it, you guys rock! by Dkelly
Marc,
Attached is an example of what I'm trying to get the font to look like. All the books in Greg's series have used Finale, but I'm helping him on the next few books in his series, but want to use Musescore.
After a closer look at the examples you sent, the "A" in the smaller "MA" in the Musescore font is harder to read (little or no opening in the A), and Greg uses "Mi" (lower case i) as seen in the attached example.
I guess what I'll do is go ahead and help him get his next book configured, and then see if I can get the font tweaked after I have all the exercises are entered in Musescore.
Don
In reply to Marc, Attached is an example by Dkelly
Those look like lower case M's to me. I meant, the peaks are pretty sharp, sure, but they are the same size as the a's and i's. If I were you, I'd just use "ma" and "mi".
In reply to Those look like lower case by Marc Sabatella
Marc,
Good point. How do I get the Fma7 and Fmi7? When I type in Fma7, for example, what appears is FMA7 (with the "MA" in smaller font, rather than "ma").
Thx!
In reply to Marc, Good point. How do I by Dkelly
Yes, that's what I mean. It's a "small caps" font, created specially to emulate the standard way chord symbols are written in many publications (see, for instance, anything publisher by Chuck Sher). It seems the closest thing to what your book does, and it's more standard anyhow, so I'd propose simply using that.
In reply to Yes, that's what I mean. by Marc Sabatella
Marc,
What do I type in to get Fma7?
When I type "FMA7" I get FMA7 (where the "MA" is the same font size as the F). When I type in Fma7 I get FMA7 with the "MA" in uppercase but smaller font.
So can't figure out how to get the "small caps" font...
Don
In reply to Marc, What do I type in to by Dkelly
That's exactly what "small caps" is - uppercase but smaller. This is the standard way these chords are represented by most publishers, so you might as well just use it rather than try to override it.
In reply to That's exactly what "small by Marc Sabatella
ok, will leave it as is and use the "small caps" version now. Will see how it all looks once it's pulled together.
Thanks!
Don