Adding Ledger Lines

• Jan 31, 2014 - 20:41

Hi All --

I'm new to MuseScore and have a simple question for which I've been unable to find an answer.

I'm writing trombone parts in bass clef and find that I cannot enter notes above B, which is the fourth ledger line above the staff. It is not uncommon for trombone parts to go higher than that, so I would like to be able have a fifth or even sixth ledger line and be able to enter notes all the way up.

Is there any setting anywhere that allows me to do this? I have looked but not found anything.

Thanks,
Bob


Comments

In reply to by Shoichi

Hi Shoichi --

Thanks for the suggestion, but that didn't quite fix it.

Changing the number of lines on the staff, as in your included graphic, actually changes the size of the staff itself, to whatever number of lines one specifies.

Changing the usable pitch range, on the same screen, doesn't change the number of ledger lines available.

I understand that the ledger lines are automatic. But they just don't go any higher than four lines above the staff, even if I keep moving the mouse upward.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Bob

You should be able to enter the notes but they may appear coloured (brown/red by default) if they are outside the "playable" range. You can change the range by right-clicking on a blank part of a measure, choosing Stave Properties and altering the figures for amateur and professional range.

In reply to by underquark

Are you trying to use the mouse to enter notes and finding that you enter low notes on the stave above instead of high notes on the current stave? If so, then you need to have the staves further apart or use the keyboard to enter notes (much better anyway IMHO).

Replay and attach a copy of your score for a better chance of help.

I seem to have solved the problem. I was entering notes in "Note Input" mode, and that mode apparently only allows entry up to four ledge lines above the staff. However, if you switch out of Note Input mode, you can then drag the note up higher, with more ledger lines, without a problem.

So although it would be more convenient to simply enter the notes directly in Note Input mode, this is an easy work-around that at least gets the notes on paper.

Thanks your your responses.

Bob

In reply to by bobroden

No, you can and should enter the notes in Note Input mode. You just can't do it directly using the mouse, because notes that far from the staff will seem to be part of a different staff and will be entered there instead. Using the mouse is not the recommended way of entering notes anyhow - the better way is by typing. If you want a C, simply type "C". See Note Entry in the handbook and/or watch the tutorial videos on the main page for more on the basics of using MuseScore.

But while you can't do it *directly* using the mouse, you can do it indirectly: enter the C an octave lower and use the same Ctrl+Up shortcut you would use while typing to change the octave.

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