Problems with custom key signatures
There are problems with custom key signatures in MuseScore. Perhaps, as hardly anyone will use these, they won't be generally known.
I have written some details about this at this location:
https://community.masteringmusescore.com/c/music-master-class-discussio…
There is an example file there - the issue is that the sharps and flats put into the custom key signature are not clef aware, so they stay on the same lines if the clefs are changed. This is not the way that the inbuilt key signatures work in MuseScore. Normally if the clef is changed for any of the standard key signatures in MS, then the sharps/flats in the key signature also move with the clef.
Maybe seeing the example will help - maybe not!
Comments
Actually this really is a nuisance. I discovered I can also make a matching pattern for the bass clef, but when I try to apply it to the staves in a score with the bass clef that works - but it also puts the "wrong" sharps flats in the staves with the treble clef. So it's not fully joined up behaviour - or maybe too joined up!
In reply to Actually this really is a… by dave2020X
As you know, the instructions do say that custom key signatures are not clef dependant or transposable. One way to write grand staff would be to change bass clef to treble 8va bassa.
In reply to As you know, the… by bobjp
I didn't know that. Was there any reason why I should?
I guess it's such a specialist feature that there's not too much point in doing it differently.
Having the staves linked yet not in such a way as to actually cope with different clefs is really not helpful.
It ensures that the end result is not going to satisfy any of the criteria - though as you mention for bass cleff treble 8va bassa might be a reasonable substitution. Thanks for that suggestion.
In reply to I didn't know that. Was… by dave2020X
Even better than treble 8va bassa is treble 15ma bassa. Still looks a bit odd - but kind of does the job.
I think it has to be applied to each line separately - but it's better than nothing.
In reply to Even better than treble 8va… by dave2020X
Sorry. I only thought that you might have read the manual about Custom Key Signatures before trying to use them. I only did because of your post. Otherwise I have no use for them. Though I do realize that others might. I guess it depends on if you want playback or not.
In reply to Even better than treble 8va… by dave2020X
You can just hold Ctrl while applying your key signature to have it apply only to a single staff when applying it. That is true for regular key signatures as well as custom ones.
So create one for treble, one for bass. Then apply them as required, possible one normally for all staves and then override with the other on staves using a different clef.
Yes, we're very aware of those limitations; they're even documented right from the start in the handbook.
As noted in the referenced thread, the issue is we lack the necessary AI algorithms to decide on a way to take the custom key signature and adapt it for other clefs or other transpositions, since there are no standard rules to follow. No doubt someone will at some point propose such an algorithm, and then if there is a general consensus it's a good one, it can be implemented in the future.