Note Entry & Double Stops
Sibelius convert here and somewhat new to MuseScore. I have a few questions which I know have probably been answered already somewhere. 😂
1) For adding double stops where original has already been placed, Sibelius had a quick key. For instance, I would click on the note and press 3 for adding a third above. Does MS4 have a shortcut like that?
2) For the life of me, I can not get the step entry to work. I hit ‘N’ and a quarter note then try to click it in the staff. Nothing. All I want to do is click on the staff where I want a note. A little frustrating.
Again, I’m wanting to convert from Sibelius, so most of this is probably just a learning curve!
Comments
Go to the Add>Notes menu you will see that you can add intervals from unison to a 9th above or below. The "above" intervals have keyboard shortcuts assigned by default (Alt+1 => unison, Alt+2 => second, Alt+3 => third etc...). You can also define shortcuts for intervals below if you so wish from the Edit>Preferences>Shortcuts dialogue.
It is not clear what is going wrong as the steps you describe should work. Do you see a blue note when you cursor over the score?
But note that MuseScore is optimised for PC keyboard entry rather than working with the mouse. It is usually quicker and more accurate to select the note a duration with the number keys (5 for a quarter note, 4 for an eighth etc. getting shorter , 6 for a half, 7 etc for a whole getting longer) and then enter the note by typing its note name. You can then shift it up or down by a semitone with the up and down arrow keys or by an octave with the up and down arrow keys in combination with CTRL. With a bit of practice it is possible to touch type using the number pad to select duration with the right hand and the letter keys to enter the pitch with the left hand.
It is well worth spending a bit of time with the handbook. https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4
Sibelius user here.
Don't forget to select where you want to start inputting notes if you have just opened a new score. You don't always have to do that, but it never hurts. The irritating thing about note input is that you can't place a note on any beat like you can in Sibelius. This slows me down a lot. MuseScore mouse input is just fine, except for the "any beat" problem. There are those that say MuseScore works left to right because that's how music is read. True. But if I want to start adding notes on the third beat of a measure, I have to waste time setting up the rests before that. Sibelius does that automatically. It fixes the measure left to right for you.
As of yet, there is no where near the sound selection. No legato or vibrato control. The reverb is supposed to be fixed sometime.
That said, I have been using MU4 exclusively. Trying to work around the limitations. It just depends on what type of music you work with. I compose for orchestra, which seem to suit well enough. I have open some music I composed using Sibelius, in MU4 and have been pleased.
Good luck.