Articulations and ornaments
A comprehensive set of symbols can be found in the Articulations and Ornaments palette in the Advanced workspace:
There is also an abbreviated version in the Basic workspace.
Articulations
Articulations are the symbols added to the score to show how a note or chord is to be played. The principal symbols in this group are:
- Fermatas
- Staccato
- Mezzo-staccato / Portato
- Staccatissimo
- Tenuto
- Sforzato
- Marcato
Specialist articulations are also included for bowed and plucked strings, wind instruments etc.
Ornaments
Ornaments include:
- Mordents, Inverted Mordents, Pralltrillers
- Trills
- Turns
- Bends
Note: Appoggiaturas and acciaccaturas can be found in the Grace Notes palette.
Add articulation/ornament
Use either of the following methods:
- Select a note or a range of notes, then double-click a symbol in a palette.
- Drag a symbol from a palette onto a notehead.
Add accidental to an ornament
To apply an accidental to an existing ornament, such as a trill:
- Select the note to which the ornament is attached;
- Open the Symbols section of the Master palette;
- Search for and apply the desired accidental to the score (small accidentals can be found using the search term "figured bass");
- Drag the accidental into position (or reposition using keyboard shortcuts or the Inspector).
Add fermata to a barline
A fermata can be applied directly to a barline by selecting the barline and double-clicking the fermata from a palette. This does not affect playback though.
Keyboard shortcuts
- Toggle Staccato: Shift+S
- Toggle Tenuto: Shift+N
- Toggle Sforzato (accent): Shift+V
- Toggle Marcato: Shift+O
- Add Acciaccatura (grace note): /
Keyboard shortcuts can be customized in MuseScore's Preferences.
Adjust position
Immediately after adding an articulation or ornament from a palette, the symbol is automatically selected: It can then be moved up or down from the keyboard as follows:
- Press up/down arrow keys for fine positioning (0.1 sp at a time);
- Press Ctrl+↑ or Ctrl+↓ (Mac: Cmd+↑ or Cmd+↓) for larger vertical adjustments (1 sp at a time).
- To flip a symbol to the other side of the note (where applicable), select it and press X.
To enable adjustments in all directions from the keyboard:
- Double click on the symbol to enter Edit mode, or click on it and press Ctrl+E (Mac: Cmd+E) , or right-click on the symbol and select "Edit element";
- Press arrow keys for fine positioning (0.1 sp at a time); or press Ctrl+Arrow (Mac: Cmd+Arrow) for larger adjustments (1 sp at a time).
You can also change the horizontal and vertical offset values in the Inspector. To position more than one symbol at a time, select the desired symbols and adjust the offset values in the Inspector.
Note: The symbol can also be repositioned by clicking and dragging, but for more precise control, use the methods above.
Articulation properties
Most properties of articulations/ornaments can be edited from the Inspector. Other properties (i.e. direction and anchor position) can also be accessed by right-clicking on the symbol and selecting Articulation Properties….
You can also make global adjustments to all existing and subsequently-applied articulations by selecting Style… → General… → Articulations, Ornaments.
See also
External links
- Ornaments at Wikipedia