Title page / preface

• Mar 31, 2012 - 22:14

Is there a way to add a title page and possibly a page or two of text to a score? This would b useful for example when you transcribe a manuscript of older music (18. or 19. century) and you want to use the preface to contain explanations as to the source. Or you need to add a list of corrections you found it necessary to make or of additional dynamic markings you added etc.


Comments

You can use frames. Select the measure you want the text to go before, then go to Create>Measures>Insert Vertical Frame. DOuble-click the frame, and drag the little box at the bottom to change the height. Then you can add text to the frame by right-clicking it.

If you just need one 'extra' page or two for front matter with only a few lines of text, frames can obtain the result rather quickly.

But MuseScore is not a word processor and for the foreseable future will not have text handling possibilities comparable to a word processor. For anything more complex, I suggest you use a separate file approach: typeset the front (and/or back) matters with a word processor (or a DTP program, if you are picky) and export as a PDF. Then start the score pagination after the last page of the front matter (using "Layout | Page Setting" => "First page no."). See an example here or here (for ver. 2.0) or here (oldish).

If you want to combine several files into a single PDF, export all the score pieces to PDF and use some PDF handling program; I have found PDF Split And Merge quite useful. Both PDF export in MuseScore and PDF handling in PSDSAM are scriptable, so you can automate repetitive tasks with .bat or .sh scripts (for Windows and Linux resp.; no idea if Mac has anything of the like).

The whole thing needs a little time to plan and set up, but can be very effective and flexible.

Hoping it is useful,

M.

In reply to by Miwarre

Or you can use the approach I use and prepare your text beforehand in a text editor such as TED Notepad where you can sort out font sizes and formatting, then use copy and paste to transfer that text into a text frame in MuseScore.

This is made a little simpler from 1.2 onwards as you no longer need to insert a Horizontal frame into a Vertical frame to add Frame Text, but can do so directly into the Vertical Frame.

Things will be much better in 2.0 when we can split a piece into movements more easily.

HTH
Michael

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.