Accidentals

• Nov 17, 2015 - 15:38

Why are MuseScore not following the accidentals rule?
Regards
Nils A.

Comments

• Nov 17, 2015 - 20:19

To be clear, there are different ways of entering accidentals.

The "normal" way is to simply use the arrow keys to raise or lower the pitch after typing the note name or clicking on the staff to enter a note. If you do this, then MuseScore follows the normal rules for accidentals when deciding how to spell the note. MuseScore also follows the normal rules if you enter notes using the Piano Keybaord window or use MIDI input.

If, howeve,r you use the toolabr or the palette icons to enter an accidental, MuseScore will interpret this as a direct command to use the accidental whether required or not. This is how you enter courtesy accidentals. So you should only use these icons on notes where you actually want an accidental to appear.

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• Nov 18, 2015 - 17:00

Accepting unnecessary accidentals is necessary!

Not all music in every time and every place is written under the 19th c. (and later) Western music conventions. Even if the majority of the music engraved with MuseScore probably is (and in fact MuseScore by default follows those conventions), the user should still be able to deviate from them, if and when needed.

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• Nov 20, 2015 - 17:37

I also don't understand the problem. Is the image above from MuseScore or from some other program? Both examples can be produced easily in MsueScore and both will play correctly, although as you say, the first one looks bad. But the second is entered into MuseScore very easily. From note entry mode, type the following:

C B Down B Up B Down B

This enters the first five notes and leaves the last B - the first note in the second measure selected. Now leave note input mode, click the B, click the natural icon on the palette to force it to be displayed, then click the natural, then double click the parentheses icon in the Accidentals palette to add the parens if you like (this would actually *not* be standard use of parents; they should be omitted in this case).

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• Nov 20, 2015 - 17:39

Even more: MuseScore by default would display the first measure as in the "Normal" part; the courtesy accidental in the second measure has to be added manually, but even this is in accordance with your request, as a courtesy accidental is strictly speaking not "necessary" according to modern Western music notation conventions, but a 'bonus' for the reader convenience.

The extra, unnecessary, parentheses in the "Not Good" part have to be added by hand; if you do not want them, just do not add them.

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• Nov 21, 2015 - 15:35

I am not sure why you feel use of the Up and Down keys to be "dangerous". These keys do exactly what they are supposed to: raise or lower the pitch of the selected note or notes a half step. And it's much easier to enter notes by typing using the keybaord than needing to click. but if you prefer clicking for whatever reason, that's fine, the toolbar and palette accidentals do work fine. You can enter your second second example that way too:

type C, type B, click toolbar flat, type B, click toolbar natural, type B, click toolbar flat, type B, click toolbar natural, exit note input mode, click natural in your score, double click the palette parentheses

So I am no understanding what problem you are perceiving. If you are still having trouble, please psot the specific score you are having problems with and describe precisely - step by step - what you are doing, what you expect to see happen, and what happens instead. But if your goal is simply to create ordinary correct music notation, it is exactly as easy as we have have described.

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