Can't fix measure with "minus"
Hi, I am new to Musescore, so I could be missing something obvious, but here is my trouble:
I was playing around with different timing in measure 2. Originally it was one whole note. Then, I altered the measure so that the next notes in the melody come in on the 7th/8th of that measure. I modified the whole note to become a dotted half note, and tried to make an eighth rest, and an eighth note. Still getting used to all the commands, I swiveled a bit into dotted-eighth-land and have never recovered. Once I deleted the dotted eighth rest, it simply has not been allowing me to correct it. It's labeled with a "minus" but there is no way I can add notes or rests to make it correct. I try with the writing utensil on or off. I try using the keyboard instead of the buttons. Nothing. It's stuck.
I eventually deleted all notes from that measure just to see if I could start from scratch, and no. It still will only let me add three beats worth.
What can I do?
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Comments
Generally, attaching the actual score rather than a screenshot is necessary.
In this case, we can tell you that the minus sign indicates a measure that has fewer than the "nominal" number of beats. Right-click on the measure (not on a note or rest, but on blank space within the measure) and click on the Measure properties choice. (I believe that in the UK version it's called Bar properties?) Presumably, the "Nominal" duration will be 4/4 and the "Actual" duration will be something less. Change "Actual" duration to match "Nominal" duration. The minus sign will disappear, but you will have additional rests that you will have to figure out how to respond to.
You will explicitly choose to add that minus sign to create pickup measures and partial measures (for example, where a line of lyrics takes up a dotted half note, and the next line of lyrics appears on the next system, with a single quarter note to finish the measure.
Your example shows two measures without enough beats. Measures 2 and three. So, select measure four and go to Add>Measures>Insert before selection, and add 2 measures. Range select measures 2 and 3 and go to Tools>Remove selected range (or CTRL+Del)