This handbook is for MuseScore version 0.9.4 and above. In order to help improve or translate the handbook, leave a post in the MuseScore Documentation resp. Translation Forum and apply to become a handbook contributor/translator.
This chapter helps you install and run MuseScore for the first time. The chapter will also show you how to create a new score.
MuseScore works on many different computer systems including, Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
You can get the Windows installer from the Download page of the MuseScore website. Click on the link to start the download. Your Internet browser will confirm that you want to download this file. Click "Save File".
When the download finishes double click on the file to start the installation. Windows may open a security window and ask you to confirm before running the software. Click "Run" to continue.
The installer recommends that you close all other applications before continuing. After you close the other applications click "Next" to continue.
The setup wizard displays the terms of the free software license which you may review. Click "I Agree" to continue.
Next it confirms the location for installing MuseScore. If you are installing a newer version of MuseScore but still want to keep the old version on your computer then you should change the folder. Otherwise click "Next" to continue.
Next it confirms the name for the MuseScore folder that appears in the Windows Start menu list of programs. Click "Install" to continue.
Give the setup wizard a few minutes to install the necessary files and configurations. When it is done click "Finish" to exit the installer. If you wish, you may now delete the installer file you downloaded.
To start MuseScore choose Start → All Programs → MuseScore → MuseScore.
After several seconds MuseScore will open up to the demo score. Feel free to experiment with the demo score and get the feel of the program. Next you may want to create your own score.
You can install MuseScore silently with the following command
MuseScore-X.Y.exe /S /D=C:\Program Files\MuseScore
You can uninstall with
cd C:\Program Files\MuseScore
Uninstall.exe /S
You will find the Mac dmg file on the Download page of the MuseScore website. Click on the link to start the download. When download is finished, the dmg file is automatically mounted on your desktop as "MuseScore-X.Y" and the installer appears.
Drag the MuseScore icon and drop it to the Applications folder icon. If you are not logged in as an administrator, Mac OS X will ask for a password: click "Authenticate" and enter your password to let Mac OS X copy MuseScore into your Application folder.
You can now launch MuseScore from Applications or SpotLight.
Just delete MuseScore from Applications folder.
Please see the Download page for instructions pertaining to MuseScore on Linux. Packages are provided for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and PCLinuxOS. Other distributions will require you to build the application from source. For instructions specific to Fedora see below.
su rpm --import http://prereleases.musescore.org/linux/Fedora/RPM-GPG-KEY-Seve
su yum localinstall musescore-X.Y-1.fc10.i386.rpm
su yum localinstall musescore-X.Y-1.fc10.x86_64.rpm
If you have difficulty with sound, see Fedora 11 and sound.
From the main menu choose File → New.... This opens the new score wizard.
Enter the title, composer, or any other information as shown above. Notice the two options at the bottom:
The first option offers a list of ready-made scores in the next screen. The second option gives you the full choice of instruments in the next screen. Templates are discussed in more detail below, but for now, choose "Create new score from scratch."
Click "Next" to continue.
The instrument window is divided into two columns. The first column lists instruments or voice parts to choose from. The second column is initially empty, but will soon contain a list of the instruments for your new score.
The instrument list in the first column is categorized into instrument families. Double click a category to show the full list of instruments in each family. Select an instrument and click "Add". The instrument you selected now appears in the second column. You can add more instruments or voice parts, if needed.
The order of the instruments in the second column determines the order they appear in the score. To change the order, click on an instrument name and use the "Up" or "Down" buttons to move it higher or lower. When you are done, click "Next".
The wizard asks for a key signature. Select the key signature you need and click "Next" to continue.
Set the time signature to the numbers you want. If your piece begins with a pickup, then mark the "Pickup measure" checkbox and adjust pickup time signature to indicate the actual duration of the first measure.
If you know approximately how many measures you need, you can specify that here. Otherwise, you can add, or delete measures later.
Click "Finish" to create your new score.
You can change any settings specified during the new score wizard, even after you start working on the score.
See also: Key signature, time signature, clef.
The first screen of the new score wizard has an option to "Create new score from template" (see Title and other text above for details). To create a score using this method, select the template option and click "Next" to continue.
The next screen shows a list of templates. Select a template and click "Next". Continue and finish the new score wizard as usual.
The template files are normal MuseScore files stored in the template folder. You can create your own templates by saving MuseScore files to the template folder. On Windows, the template folder is usually located at C:\Program Files\MuseScore\templates. On Linux, look under /usr/share/mscore-xxx if you installed from the package manager. If you compiled mscore on Linux, then look under /usr/local/share/mscore-xxx. On Mac, look under /Applications/MuseScore.app/Contents/Resources/templates
The "Getting started" chapter above guides you through the Installation and process for creating a new score. The "Basics" chapter gives an overview of MuseScore and describes the general methods for interacting with the score.
Adding notes and rests to a staff requires four basic steps:
To add notes that overlap in time, but start or end at different times, see Voices. For chords, continue reading here.
First, select a note, or rest on the score as your starting position for note entry. Note entry in MuseScore replaces the existing notes or rests in a measure with your new notes (i.e. overwrites rather than inserts). However, you can insert new measures at any point (see measure operations, "Insert"), or use copy and paste to move a passage of notes.
The "N" button on the Note Entry toolbar indicates whether you are in note entry mode or not. Besides clicking the button, you can also use the following keyboard shortcuts:
After entering Note entry mode, select the duration of the note you need from the Note Entry toolbar, or use the corresponding keyboard shortcut.
The keyboard shortcuts for selecting the note duration are:
For all instruments (except unpitched percussion), you can add note pitches using the mouse by clicking directly on the staff. (For instructions specific to percussion see Drum notation). However, you may find it quicker to use a MIDI keyboard (see below), or your alphabetical keyboard. The following examples use a standard computer keyboard.
Enter pitches by typing the corresponding letter on your keyboard:
C D E F G A B C
0 (Zero) creates a rest: for example C D 0 E. Notice that the duration you select for the notes (quarter/crotchet notes in this example) also determines the duration of the rest (quarter/crotchet rest).
During note entry, MuseScore automatically advances in the score. If you want to add a chord note to your previous entry, hold Shift and enter a note name: C D Shift+F Shift+A E F
To create chords with notes of different durations, see voices.
If you want to create a dotted note, press .. For example 5 . C 4 D E F G A
When you type a note on the keyboard, MuseScore chooses the octave closest to the previous note entered. To shift your note up or down by an octave, use the following keyboard shortcuts:
Other useful editing keyboard shortcuts available in Note Entry Mode:
You can also insert pitches using a MIDI keyboard.
Note: The MIDI keyboard enters one note or chord at a time. This mode of note entry (often called "step-time entry") is fast and reliable. Some notation software try to interpret "real-time entry", where the musician plays a passage and the software tries to create the notation. However, the results are frequently unreliable, even when played by a skilled musician using expensive software. MuseScore's focus is on more reliable forms of note entry.
If you have multiple MIDI devices connected to your computer, you may need to tell MuseScore which one is the MIDI keyboard. Go to Edit → Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore → Preferences...). In the preferences dialog, click on the I/O tab and select your device under the section labeled "Choose PortMidi input device".
Notes within the playable range of an instrument or voice part appear appear black, whilst notes extending beyond the normal range of an instrument, are marked red. For some instruments, the range depends on the skills of the musician (such as string, wind, or voice). For these instruments, notes outside the range of an early amateur appear dark yellow, and notes outside the typical range of a professional appear red.
The colors are informational and appear on the computer screen but do not appear on printed copies of your scores. To disable note colors, choose Edit → Preferences... (Mac: MuseScore → Preferences...), click on the Note Entry tab, and unmark "Color notes outside of usable pitch range".
Copy and paste is useful tool for repetitious music, or for shifting a section of music by a beat or two.
Many elements in the score can be edited in Edit Mode :
Some elements show handles in edit mode, which can be moved by mouse dragging or keyboard commands.
Slur in Edit Mode:
Available keyboard commands:
If you need to move score elements manually, double-click it and use the directional keys.
See also: Text editing, Slur, Bracket, Line
To add a measure to the end of the piece, press Ctrl+B (Mac: ⌘+B), or from the menu choose Create → Measures → Append Measure. To add multiple measures, press Ctrl+Shift+B (Mac: ⌘+Shift+B) or use the menu Create → Measures → Append Measures....
Select a measure, then press Ins or use the menu Create → Measures → Insert Measure to insert a new empty measure before the selected one. To insert multiple measures, press Ctrl+Ins (Mac: ⌘+Ins) or use the menu Create → Measures → Insert Measures....
,
Select the measure, then press Ctrl+Del (Mac: ⌘+Fn+Backspace).
To edit the properties of a measure, right-click on an empty part of the measure and select Measure Properties....
The Visible property allows you to show or hide the notes and staff lines for the current measure. The Stemless property allows you to show or hide all note stems for the current measure. Notes that normally have a stem such as half notes (minums) and quarter notes (crotchets) only show the note head when marked as stemless.
The Nominal duration is the time signature that is displayed on the score. You can change the Actual duration of a measure to anything regardless of the time signature displayed on the score. Normally, the nominal and actual duration of a measure is identical. However, a measure (e.g. pickup) can have an actual duration that is shorter.
In the figure below, the quarter note (crotchet) pickup has a nominal measure duration of 4/4, but an actual duration of 1/4. The measures in the middle have both nominal and actual durations of 4/4. The complimentary measure with only a dotted half note (dotted minim) at the end has an actual duration of 3/4.
An "irregular" measure is not counted in the measure numbering. Normally a pickup measure is marked as "irregular".
You can also use the "add to measure no." option to influence the measure numbering. You can enter positive or negative numbers here. Please note that this affects subsequent measures. A value of "-1" has the same effect as marking a measure irregular.
You can increase, or decrease horizontal space between notes with this option.
If the measure is the end of a repeat, you can define how often it is played.
This property separates a multi-measure rest at the current measure. This option should be checked before you turn on the "Create multi-measure rests" option in Style → Edit General Style.
Multi-measures are automatically broken at important breaks, such as rehearsal marks, time changes, double bar lines, etc.
MuseScore automatically numbers the first measure of each system, but more numbering options are possible. From the main menu, choose Style → Edit Style. In the left pane, choose "Numbers". In the bottom half of the right pane is the "Measure Numbers" ("Bar Numbers") section.
Mark the checkbox next to the "Measure Numbers" ("Bar Numbers") to turn on automatic measure numbers.
Mark "show first" if you want the first measure numbered.
Mark "all staffs" if you want numbers on all staffs. Otherwise, only the top staff of each system shows measure numbers.
Choose to show numbers on "every system" which numbers the first measure of each line, or show numbers by "interval" and specify the size of the interval. For example, an interval of 1 numbers every measure; an interval of 5 numbers every fifth measure.
You can show, or hide the palette using the menu Display → Palette.
You can drag-and-drop palette symbols onto score elements.
Double clicking a palette symbol is equivalent to drag-and-dropping it to each of the selected elements on the score.
For example, you can quickly add tenuto marks to a group of notes:
MuseScore has unlimited undo/redo functions.
The standard shortcuts are:
Or use the toolbar buttons:
MuseScore supports a wide variety of file formats, which allows you to share and publish scores in the format that best meets your needs. You can import files via File → Open... and export via File → Save As.... In addition to the formats detailed below, you can save and share your scores on the web at MuseScore.com File → Save Online....
*.mscz).mscx files and includes images.*.mscx)Note about fonts: MuseScore does not embed fonts in the file. If you want to share a MuseScore file with other parties, choose a font for your text that the other parties have installed. When a computer does not have the fonts specified in the file, MuseScore uses a fallback font instead. Of course, the fallback font will look different.
.*.mscz, or .*.mscx,)untitled.mscz", then the backup copy is called ".untitled.mscz,"). The backup copy contains the previously saved version of the MuseScore file and can be important if your normal copy becomes corrupted, or you need to look at an older version of your score. To open a MuseScore backup file, you need to rename the file by removing the period and comma. Since it is stored in the same folder as your normal MuseScore file, you also need to give it a unique name (for example, you might change the file name ".untitled.mscz," to "untitled-backup1.mscz").
If you are using Linux, then you will need to change your view settings to "show hidden files" in order to see the MuseScore backup files.
*.pdf)*.ps)*.png)*.svg)*.wav)*.flac)*.ogg)*.xml)*.mxl)*.mid, *.midi, *.kar)*.ly) (Export only)*.md) (Import only)*.cap) (Import only)*.bww) (Import only)*.mgu, *.sgu) (Import only)*.ove) (Import only)Go to http://musescore.com/sheetmusic to view other scores from MuseScore.
You can save and share your scores online at MuseScore.com. You can choose to save a score privately for personal access from any computer, or choose to share the score publicly for friends and band members to view, or download. MuseScore.com lets you view and playback scores in your web browser, and even lets you synchronize your score with a YouTube video. For use outside of a web browser, you can download the score in a variety of formats (including PDF, MIDI, MP3, MusicXML, and the original MuseScore file).
You can directly save a score online from File → Save Online.... If it's the first time you are using this feature, you'll have to authenticate.
After your first authentication, or when you go to File → Save Online..., MuseScore asks you some information about your scores
You can also upload a score directly on MuseScore.com.
Note: In case you hit the 5 score upload limit, you can still upload score directly from MuseScore. If you wish to continue uploading via the web, upgrade to a Pro Account first.
If you want to make changes to one of your scores on MuseScore.com, edit the MuseScore file on your own computer and follow the steps below.
In the previous "Basics" chapter you learn how to enter notes and interact with the palette. The "Notation" chapter describes the different types of notation in more detail including more advanced music notation.
Accidentals can be set, or changed by dragging an accidental symbol from the accidental palette to a note in the score.
If you only want to change the pitch of a note, you can also select the note and press:
You can change an existing accidental into a cautionary accidental (enclosed in parentheses), drag the parentheses from the accidental palette onto to the existing accidental (not the note head). To remove parentheses, select the accidental and press Delete.
If you later change the pitch with cursor keys, manual settings to the accidental are removed.
The menu function Notes → Pitch spell tries to guess the right accidentals for the whole score.
Arpeggios are set by dragging an arpeggio symbol from the Arpeggio & Glissando palette to a note of a chord.
To change the length of the arpeggio, double-click the arpeggio and drag the handle up or down.
Glissandi are set by dragging a glissando symbol from the Arpeggio & Glissando palette to the first of two consecutive notes on the same staff.
Edit or delete the text of a glissando by right-clicking it and select "Glissando Properties" in menu. If there isn't enough room between two notes, MuseScore will not display the text.
Bar lines are changed by dragging a bar line symbol from the bar line palette to a bar line in the score.
To hide a bar line entirely, right-click on the line and choose Set Invisible.
To extend bar lines over multiple staves, double-click on a bar line to edit it (see Edit mode).
Click and drag the blue square down to the next staff.
Staff bar lines updates appear when you leave edit mode.
See also: Measure operations
Beams are set automatically, but the automatic setting can be overridden manually. Drag a beam symbol from the beam palette to a note in order to change its beam behavior.
You can also first select a note, and then double-click the appropriate symbol in the beam palette.
Start a beam at this note.
Do not end a beam at this note.
Do not beam this note.
Start a second level beam at this note (not yet implemented in current versions of MuseScore).
Select the bracket and press Del
Drag a bracket symbol from the bracket palette to an empty space in the first measure of a system.
Drag a bracket symbol from the bracket palette to an bracket in the score.
Double-click on a bracket to enter edit mode. In edit mode, you can drag the height of a bracket to span arbitrary staves of a system.
If you need to move a bracket further left or right, then double-click the bracket to enter edit mode, and press Shift+Left or Shift+Right.
To place a breath symbol, drag it from the breath palette to a note in the score. The breath symbol is placed after the note.
Breath symbol in score:
Caesura (informally called tram lines or railroad tracks) work the same way.
Clefs are created, or changed by dragging a clef symbol from the clef palette to a measure or another clef. Use F9 (Mac: ⌥+⌘+K) to show or hide the palette sidebar.
Drag a clef from the palette onto an empty part of a measure. This creates a clef at the beginning of the measure. Drag a clef to a particular note to create a mid-measure clef. If the measure is not the first measure in the staff, it is drawn smaller.
Select a clef and press Del.
Note: Changing a clef does not change the pitch of any note. Instead, the notes move to preserve pitch.
Example drum notation:
Notation for drumsets often include simultaneous upstem and downstem notes. If you are unfamiliar with editing multiple voices in a single staff, see voices for an overview. See below for instructions specific to percussion notation.
The easiest way to add drum notation to your score is via MIDI keyboard. Most MIDI keyboard have percussion markings above each key. If you press the key for high hat, then MuseScore will add the correct notation to the score. MuseScore automatically takes care of the stem direction and type of note head.
Only a few drum-instruments are mapped to shortcut by default. You can add more with right click on the staff → Edit drumset...
Note entry for unpitched percussion works differently than for other instruments, so here are the special steps:
Short grace notes (Acciaccatura) appear as small notes with a stroke through the stem. Long grace notes (Appoggiatura) have no stroke. Both are placed before the normal-sized main note.
Create a grace note by dragging a grace note symbol from the Grace Notes palette to a regular note on the score. It's also possible to create a grace note by selecting a notehead and double-clicking a grace note symbol from the Grace Notes palette.
To add more than one grace note, drag successive grace notes on the notehead.
To add a chord of grace notes, enter the first one and select it, then use Shift+ note names (C, D, E etc...)
If you want to change the duration of a previously created grace note, select it and choose a duration from the toolbar or enter with one of the keys 1 ... 9 (see Note Entry).
Hairpins are line objects. To create a hairpin, select a note to mark the start point.
You can also create hairpins by dragging a hairpin symbol from the line palette to a note head.
Key signatures are created, or changed by dragging a key symbol from the key palette to a measure, or existing key signature.
F9 (Mac: ⌥+⌘+K) toggles the palette window.
Drag a key from the palette onto a key in the score.
Drag a key from the palette onto an empty part of a measure. This creates a key at the beginning of the measure.
Select a key and press Del.
The lines palette like other palettes, works via "drag-and-drop". Use the mouse to drag the item from the palette and drop it onto the score.
If you change the length of a line using the mouse, the anchor positions (the notes or measures they apply to) do not change. Therefore, the following method is recommended for adjusting the start or end points of a line.
See also: Hairpin, Volta (1st and 2nd endings)
When an entire measure is devoid of notes, a full-measure (full-bar) rest is used.
To create a one-bar rest, select a measure and press Del. All notes and rests on this measure are then replaced by a one-bar rest.
Multi-measure (multi-bar) rests indicate a long duration of silence for an instrument and are frequently used in ensemble sheet music.
The style option automatically creates multi-measure rests throughout the score. Therefore, it is recommended that you enter all your notes first, and then turn on multi-measure rests afterwards.
The start and end of simple repeats can be defined by setting appropriate bar lines. For instructions on first and second ending measures, see volta.
To hear repeats during playback, make sure the "Play Repeats" 
button on the toolbar is selected. Likewise, you can turn off repeats during playback by deselecting the button.
In the last measure of a repeat, you can set the property "Repeat Count" to define the number of played repeats.
Text and symbols related to repeats are located in the Repeats palette:
To add an object from the Repeats palette, drag it onto (not above) the measure where you want it to occur. The object then appears above that measure in your score.
A slur is a curved line between two or more notes that indicates they are to be played without separation. If you mean to join two notes of the same pitch, see Tie
The boxes or handles (displayed in the images for steps 2-4 above) can be adjusted with the mouse. The two outer handles adjust the start and end of the slur. The two inner handles adjust the contour of the slur.
A slur can span several systems and pages. The start and end of a slur is anchored to a note/chord or rest. If the notes are repositioned due to changes in the layout, stretch or style, the slur also moves and adjusts in size.
This example shows a slur that spans from the bass to the treble clef. Using the mouse, select the first note of the slur, hold down the Ctrl key and select the last note for the slur, and press S to add the slur.
Note: It is not possible to change the start and end anchor notes using the mouse. Use Shift + left or right arrow keys to adjust the start and end points of a slur.
Dotted slurs are sometimes used in songs where the presence of a slur varies between stanzas. Dotted slurs are also used to indicate an editor's suggestion (as opposed to the composers original markings). To change an existing slur into a dotted slur, right-click on it and choose Slur Properties.... From the Slur Properties dialog, you can choose whether you want a solid or a dotted slur.
A tie is a curved line between two notes of the same pitch. If you want a curved line that spans multiple pitches, see Slur.
Select first note:
+ creates a tie:
To create ties during note entry, press + after the first note of the tie.
To add ties between two chords, select the stem of the first chord, or Shift + click on the first chord and press +. Note entry mode must not be enabled.
Time signatures are available in the main palette sidebar. You can drag and drop the time signatures onto the score (see palette for general information on working with palettes in MuseScore).
If you need a time signature not found in the sidebar palette, go to Create → Time... to create your own. You can edit the upper and lower numbers in the Create Time Signature pane. Once added, just drag and drop the time signature to the score.
In most cases, you'll only need to edit the first of the upper numbers. The additional upper numbers are for additive meters, which contain multiple upper numbers separated by a plus sign.
There are occasions when the actual duration of a measure is different from the duration specified by the time signature. Pickup measures are a common example. To change the actual duration of a measure without displaying a different time signature, see the Properties section of measure operations.
Tremolo is the rapid repetition of one note, or a rapid alternation between two or more notes. It is indicated by strokes through the stems of the notes. If the tremolo is between two or more notes, the bars are drawn between them. Tremolo symbols are also used to notate drum rolls.
The tremolo palette contains separate symbols for one note tremolos (shown with stems below) and for two note tremolos (shown with no stem below).
In a two note tremolo, every note has the value of the whole tremolo duration. To enter a tremolo with the duration of a half note (minim), first enter two normal quarter notes (crotchets). After dragging a tremolo symbol to the first note, the note values automatically double to half notes.
Tuplets are used to write rhythms beyond the beat divisions usually permitted by the time signature. For example, triplet eighth notes (quavers) in a 4-4 time signature divide the quarter note (crotchet) beat into three instead of two.
To create a triplet, first select a note on the score that specifies the full duration of the triplet group. For example, a group of triplet eighth notes (quavers) has a "full duration" of one quarter note (crotchet).
From the main menu, choose Notes → Tuplets → Triplet. This creates a triplet by dividing the full duration into three equal parts.
They can be further edited.
Tuplet entry works slightly differently in note entry mode, than the method outlined above. You must select the duration first, and enter the pitches afterwards. Below are step-by-step instructions for making triplet eighth notes.
To change the display properties of a tuplet, right-click on the tuplet number and choose Tuplet Properties....
The number section of the properties dialog allows you to show one integer, a ratio of two integers, or no number at all.
In the bracket section, the "bracket" and "nothing" allow you to explicitly show, or hide the bracket. The "auto bracket" option hides the bracket for beamed notes and shows the bracket - if the tuplet includes unbeamed notes or rests.
Voices allow you to have notes on a single staff which start at the same time, yet have different durations. Voices are sometimes called 'layers' in other notation software.
To hide a rest, right-click on the rest and select Set Invisible. If you have Display → Show Invisible marked, the rest still shows in gray on your screen. The hidden rest will not appear if you print.
Volta brackets, or first and second ending brackets are used to mark different endings for a repeat.
To place a volta bracket on the score, drag-and-drop the item from the lines palette.
The brackets can span more than one measure. Double-click the volta to enter edit mode, and move the handles with:
These commands move the "logical" start or end of the volta bracket, which determines playback in MuseScore and layout over multiple systems. Moving the handles using the left or right arrows keys only, or using the mouse allows finer adjustments, but does not change how the repeat is played.
If you move the handles, a dashed line from the logical position to the actual position is shown
You can change the text and many other properties of a volta bracket using the Line Properties dialog. Right-click on a volta bracket and choose Line Properties.... The figure below shows the volta text as "1.-5."
You can also right-click on the Volta and bring up the Volta Properties dialog. From here, you can change both the displayed Volta text (the same from the Line Properties above) and the Repeat List. If you want one volta to be played only on certain repeats and another volta on other repeats, enter the repeat times in a comma separated list. In the example below, this volta will be played during repeat 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7. Another volta will have the other ending, like 3, 6 and possibly other higher numbers like 8, 9, etc.
Sometimes a repeat plays for more than two times. In the figure above, the volta text indicates that it should play five times before it continues. If you want to change the number of times MuseScore plays a repeat, go to the measure containing the repeat bar line and change its Repeat Count (see Measure operations for details).
MuseScore has "Sound and playback" capabilities built in. This chapter covers the playback controls and ways to extend the instrument sounds beyond the built-in piano sound.
MuseScore has an integrated sequencer and synthesizer to play your score.
By pressing the Play 
button, you enter Play mode. In Play mode, the following commands are available:
Press the play button again to stop and exit Play mode.
MuseScore starts playback from the place it last left off. If you select a note, MuseScore plays from there instead. The toolbar also has a rewind button to quickly return to the beginning of the score for playback.
The Play Panel offers more controls over playback, including tempo, starting position, and general volume. From the main menu, choose Display → Play Panel to open the Play Panel.
MuseScore comes with a special type of file called a SoundFont that tells MuseScore how to play each instrument sound. Some SoundFonts are custom designed for classical music others for jazz or pop, others are large and take up a lot of memory, still others are very small and light-weight. MuseScore features a relatively light-weight, general-purpose SoundFont called, "TimGM6mb.sf2".
A SoundFont file can store any number of instrument sounds. Many SoundFonts are available on the web. Look for one that covers the 128 sounds of General MIDI (GM). If you use a SoundFont that does not conform to the General MIDI standard, then others may not hear the correct instruments when you share the score, or save as MIDI.
The file size and sound quality of SoundFonts available on the web varies. Larger SoundFonts often sound better, but may be too large to run on your computer. If you find MuseScore runs slowly after installing a large SoundFont, or your computer can't keep up during playback, then look for a smaller SoundFont. Below are three popular GM SoundFonts of different sizes.
FluidR3_GM.sf2 (141 MB uncompressed)GeneralUser_GS_1.44-MuseScore.sf2 (29.8 MB uncompressed)TimGM6mb.sf2 (5.7 MB uncompressed)Since SoundFont files are large, they often are compressed into a variety of formats, including .zip, .sfArk, and .tar.gz. You need to decompress these files before they can be used.
After finding and decompressing a SoundFont, do not double-click to open it, since this does not set up MuseScore. Instead, move the file to a folder of your choosing, start MuseScore, and follow the instructions below.
Go to Display → Synthesizer. The initial SoundFont setting depends on which operating system you are using.
Click on the Open icon next to the SoundFont location and browse for your new SoundFont (.sf2) file. In the open dialog, browse and select your file; then press Open.
The initial SoundFont setting is :/data/piano1.sf2. Replace this with the location of your new SoundFont (.sf2) file. Click on the Open icon to browse for the file and open it .
Click OK to apply changes and exit the preferences panel. Quit and reopen MuseScore for the changes to take affect.
If the toolbar play panel is greyed out, or not visible, follow the instructions below to get your sound working again:
If you are setting up a SoundFont for the first time, please use one of the recommended SoundFonts listed above.
If playback stutters, then your computer is not able to handle the SoundFont you are using. Two solutions:
Playback tempo can be changed via the play panel, or via tempo text in the score.
Existing tempo text can be changed by double-clicking the text to enter edit mode. You can use Text Symbols to add a quarter note or another duration for a metronome mark in the tempo text.
Beats per minute (BPM) on existing tempo text can be adjusted by right-clicking on the text and selecting Tempo Properties...
Note: Playback of tempo text may be faster or slower than the specified BPM if the tempo setting in the play panel is not set to 100 percent.
The mixer allows you to change instrument sounds and adjust the volume, panning, reverberation, and chorus for each staff. From the main menu, choose Display → Mixer to show the mixer.
Use the Mute check box to quickly silence certain staves. Alternatively, use the Solo check box to silence all staves, except the staff you mark as "solo".
To turn a dial clockwise, click and drag upwards. To turn a dial counter-clockwise, click and drag downwards.
The sound drop-down menu lists every instrument supported by your current SoundFont.
You can change a staff to be an different instrument. The following method updates instrument sound, staff name, and staff transposition all at once.
Some instruments can change sounds midway in a score. For example, strings can switch to pizzicato or tremolo and trumpet can switch to muted trumpet. The following instructions use muted trumpet as an example, but the same principles apply to pizzicato or tremolo strings.
Every note after the staff text you added now sounds muted. To return to an unmuted sound later in the piece, follow the same guidelines as above except type Open in step 3 and select normal in step 6.
Playback volume can be changed for the entire piece by the play panel, or locally by Dynamics text in the score.
From the Dynamics palette, click and drag a Dynamics text to a measure in the score.
The previous chapter covers text that affects playback tempo, but there are many other types of text available in MuseScore: lyrics, chord names, dynamic markings, fingering, headings, plus many more. These are all accessible from the main menu via Create → Text.
For short generic text use staff or system text. The difference between these two texts is whether you want it to apply to a single staff or apply to the whole system.
Double-click on text to enter edit mode:
In text edit mode, the following commands are available:
You can use Text Symbols to insert quarter notes, fractions, and other special symbols or characters into your text. In the text toolbar, click on the keyboard icon 
to open the Text Symbols palette
See also: Chord name, Lyrics, Frame, Edit mode
Each text type has a basic style. For example, title text is centered and uses a large font size, Composer text is smaller and aligned to the right. To edit text styles, go to Style → Edit Text Style....
During text editing, you can make changes that depart from basic style. For details, see "Formatting existing text" below.
* The distinction between System and Staff text matters for ensemble scores. System text will extract to all parts. Staff text will only extract to the part to which it is anchored.
Chord names can be entered by first selecting a note and then pressing Ctrl+K (Mac: ⌘+K). This creates a chord name text object for the selected chord.
Chord names can be edited as normal text. To add a sharp, type #. To add a flat, type b. These characters will automatically turn into proper sharp or flat signs when you move to the next chord.
If you prefer a more handwritten appearance to the chord names in your score, there is a font option called "MuseJazz".
To use this font:
This will set up your score to use "MuseJazz" for most text, including chord names. If you prefer to use "MuseJazz" for chord names only, use the following procedure:
MuseScore provides several new alternatives for chord name style in addition to jazzchords.xml that can be selected using the above procedure. Here are the available styles:
Fingering can be added to notes by dragging a fingering character from the fingering palette to a note head in the score. When a note head is selected first, the fingering character can be added using a double-click. Fingerings are normal text, which can be edited like any other text.
Syllables can be extended by an underline:
Entered with: soul, _ _ _ To Esc.
Lyrics can be edited as normal text with the exception of a few characters. If you want to add a space, hyphen, or underscore to a single syllable, use the following shortcuts:
See also: Text, Chord name.
Page breaks or line breaks (system breaks) are applied by dragging the corresponding symbol from the breaks palette to an empty space of a measure in the score. The break happens after the marked measure. The green break symbols are visible on the screen, but do not appear on printouts.
Mid-measure system breaks are sometimes needed (especially for strophic hymns or lieder). For example, if you want three beats on one system and a one beat pickup on the next system, then you need to create two measures with a shortened duration. For details, see Measure operations, "Duration" and "Irregular" sections.
Spacers are used to increase the space between two adjacent staves. Drag and drop a spacer to a measure above the area that needs more vertical space. Double-click on the spacer and drag the handle using the mouse to adjust the height of the spacer.
If you want to adjust the space between staves score-wide, use the style settings. Spacers are designed for local adjustments.
Frames provide empty space outside of normal measures. They can also contain text or pictures. MuseScore has two kinds of frames:
Select a measure. The command to insert a frame is found in the menu Create → Measures . The frame is inserted before the selected measure.
Select the frame and press Del.
Double click the frame to enter edit mode. A handle appears which can be used to drag the size of the frame.
Title frame in edit mode:
You can use images to illustrate scores, or add symbols that are not included in the standard palettes.
To add an image, drag-and-drop an image file onto the score. MuseScore supports PNG and JPEG files and simple SVG files. MuseScore does not support SVG shading, blurring, clipping or masking.
You've finished your score and you want to print it out. However, you want improve how it looks. This handbook page describes many different ways, and how they work together.
Scaling / Space - This is the size of the space between 2 lines of a staff. Since notes fit in that space, it also controls the size of note heads. Since music is proportional to notes, this also affects note stems, accidentals, clefs, all kinds of things. It also shows up as sp in many other settings (example: system distance "9.2sp"). So, as you change the "Space" parameter, many other settings change proportionally. For this reason, it is also sometimes called "scaling."
Changing the scaling may not change the number of systems per page because of the "page fill threshold" (see below). To see the effects of changes to scaling without interference, set the "page fill threshold" to 100%.
Note: there is also a scaling parameter in Edit → Preferences → Score → Scaling. That sets the global preference for new documents, but does not change the current score.
You can select measures, then widen them so fewer are on a line ("Add More Stretch"), or squash them to fit more on a line ("Add Less Stretch").
Percentages in a threshold are percentages of the full page height or width. So a page fill threshold of 70% means stretch of things to fill the page, if it is more than 70% full.
TODO
Here, you can cause the creation of multi-measure rests and hide empty staves. This can affect score size greatly.
Set measure spacing as well as margins. The measure spacing is key to controlling number of measures per line. Changing the other settings would be unusual.
Using this palette, you can choose where you want page breaks or line breaks. Some people do this first, and some save it until the end, after modifying the global settings.
To put a page break, drag and drop the page break symbol to a measure. To put a line break, drag and drop the line break symbol to the last measure you want on a line. If you want the same number of measures for several systems, select them and use Plugins → Break every X measures. If some measures end up alone on the line, reduce the scaling, or use Layout → Add More Stretch, Add Less Stretch.
See also Break or spacer.
Set the proportional size of "small" and grace notes. Changing this would be unusual.
In piano scores, it is common to use both staves (bass and treble clef) to write a musical phrase.
This can be entered in MuseScore as follows:
Enter all notes in one staff:
Ctrl+Shift+Down moves the selected note or chord to the next staff (Mac: ⌘+Shift+Down.)
See also: Bar line for cross-staff bar lines (i.e. grand staff).
If you have written a full ensemble score, MuseScore can create sheet music that shows only the individual part for each musician in the ensemble.
In the current version of MuseScore, the process of extracting parts from a full score involves two main steps:
You can define the parts at any point after creating a new score. You only need to define the parts once for each score, but you can make changes if needed. The following instructions use a string quartet as an example, but the same principles apply for any other ensemble.
You have now finished defining the parts. You do not need to do this again, unless you add or remove an instrument from your full score. In the current version of MuseScore, it is not possible to split a single staff (that contains two or more voices) into separate parts. So, any instrument that you want to print out a separate part for also needs to have its own staff in the full score.
You can create your parts at any time to see how they look, but it is only necessary to do it after you have finished the full score and want to print out the individual parts:
Repeat steps two and three for each part that you want to view or print. If you make any changes to the full score, you can re-create a part at any time in order to show the new changes in the part.
In the current version of MuseScore, changes on a score are not linked to parts that have already been created, so any change you make on the score will also need to be made on the individual part either manually, or by recreating the part from the steps above. Also, parts are created as not-yet-saved files, so each part you just created needs to be saved as an individual file (via File → Save...) or it will be lost when closing the tab. You may wish to review it before saving to check for proper formatting.
Plugins are small piece of code that add a particular feature to MuseScore. By adding a plugin, a new menu will be appended to the Plugins menu in MuseScore to accomplish a given action on the score or a part of it. Plugins are a way to let users with minimal programming skills add features to the software. To develop plugins, checkout the documentation.
Some plugins are already delivered with MuseScore. You can find more plugins in the plugin repository.
Note that some plugins may require the installation of other components (e.g. fonts...) to work. Read the plugin documentation for more information.
Most plugins are provides as zip files, so download the plugin .zip file and uncompress it to one of the directories mentioned below.
Some are provided as a .js file, download and place into one of these directories.
Some are provided as a .txt file, download, place in one of these directories and rename it, so it ends with .js
MuseScore looks for plugins in %ProgramFiles%\MuseScore\Plugins (resp. %ProgramFiles(x86)%\MuseScore\Plugins for the 64-bit versions) and in %LOCALAPPDATA%\MusE\MuseScore\plugins on Vista and Seven or C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\MusE\MuseScore\plugins (adjusted to your language version) on XP.
On MacOS X, MuseScore looks for plugins in the MuseScore bundle in /Applications/MuseScore.app/Contents/Resources/plugins and in ~/Library/Application Support/MusE/MuseScore/plugins. To be able to move files in the app bundle, right click on MuseScore.app and choose "Show package contents" to reveal the Contents directory.
In Linux, MuseScore looks for plugins in /usr/local/share/mscore-1.0/plugins or in ~/.local/share/data/MusE/MuseScore/plugins.
In any of the above cases, restart MuseScore to allow the new plugin(s) to load.
This plugin used a webservice (http://abc2xml.appspot.com/) to open an ABC file in MuseScore. It supports ABC 1.6. The ABC file is sent to the webservice, and a MusicXML file is returned. The plugin then display the score as a new score.
This plugin creates a new score with all the chordnames supported by MuseScore in Jazz style.
This plugin colors the notehead of all notes in all staves and voices, according to the BoomWhackers convention. Each pitch has a different color. C and C# have a different color. C# and Db have the same color.
To color all the notes in black, right click on a notehead -> Select -> All similar elements. Right-click again on the notehead -> Color -> Pick black.
This plugin creates a new piano score with 4 quarters C D E F. It's a good start to learn how to make a new score and add notes from a plugin.
This plugin displays the English name of each note of voice 1 close to the notehead.
This plugin is just a test and display a dialog box "Hello MuseScore". It's a good base to start learning plugin development.
This chapter describes how to find help using MuseScore: the best places to look, the best way to ask a question on the forums, and tips for reporting a bug.
Before posting your support request in the forum:
When posting your request for support or bug report, please include as much of the following information as you know:
The following software is known to crash MuseScore on startup :
MuseScore requires access to your internet connection with AVG. MuseScore doesn't need an internet connection to function, but if AVG blocks it, MuseScore hangs.
If AVG prompts you, Allow MuseScore and check "Save my answer as a permanent rule and do not ask me next time."
If it doesn't prompt you anymore,
MuseScore is known to display notes as square when some fonts are damaged on MacOS X.
To troubleshoot this issue :
In this forum article, a user believes to have found the font "Adobe Jenson Pro (ajenson)" to be the culprit, regardless of not being reported as broken or problematic as per the above validation, and solved the problem by deleting that font, so this is worth checking too.
If the default desktop environment application font is set to bold, MuseScore will not display the notes properly.
To troubleshoot this issue (gnome 2.*/MATE users):
For GNOME 3/SHELL users
Some users reported that the Save As dialog is empty on Debian 6.0 and Lubuntu 10.10.
To troubleshoot this issue :
which mscoreexport QT_NO_GLIB=1Launch MuseScore and the problem should be solved.
Recent versions of MuseScore have the option to revert back to the standard built-in presets or "factory-settings". This can be helpful if your settings are corrupted. This is not a normal occurrence, so it is best to consult the forums first, as there maybe a way to solve your problem without resetting everything.
Warning: reverting to "factory settings" removes any changes you have made to the preferences, palettes, or window settings.
"C:\Program Files\MuseScore\bin\mscore.exe". (For 64-bit Windows, the location is "C:\Program Files (x86)\MuseScore\bin\mscore.exe" ).After a few seconds, MuseScore should start and all the settings reverted to "factory settings".
For advanced users, the main preference file is located at:
C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\MusE\MuseScore.iniC:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\MusE\MuseScore.iniThe other preferences (palette, session...) are in:
C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\MusE\MuseScore\C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\MusE\/Applications/MuseScore.app/Contents/MacOS/mscore -F
This resets all MuseScore preferences to factory settings and immediately launches the MuseScore application. You can now quit Terminal, and continue using MuseScore.
For advanced users, the main preference file is located in ~/.config/muse.org/MuseScore.ini.
The other preferences (palette, session...) are in ~/Library/Application Support/MusE/MuseScore/
mscore -F
This resets all MuseScore preferences to factory settings and immediately launches the MuseScore application. You can now quit Terminal, and continue using MuseScore.
For advanced users, the main MuseScore preference file is located at ~/.config/MusE/MuseScore.ini
The other preferences (palette, session...) are in ~/.local/share/data/MusE/MuseScore/
The glossary is a work in progress, please help if you can. You can discuss about this page on the documentation forum
The list below is a glossary of frequently used terms in MuseScore as well as their meaning. Translators of this page, should be adding the translation for each term.
Keyboard shortcuts can be customized via Edit → Preferences... → Shortcuts tab (Mac: MuseScore → Preferences... → Shortcuts tab). Below is a list of of the initial shortcut settings.
Beginning of score: Home
Last page of score: End
Next page: Pg Dn
Previous page: Pg Up
Next measure: Ctrl+Right (Mac: ⌘+Right)
Previous measure: Ctrl+Left (Mac: ⌘+Left)
Next note: Right
Previous note: Left
Note below (within a chord or on lower staff): Alt+Down
Note above (within a chord or on higher staff): Alt+Up
Top note in chord: Ctrl+Alt+Up (Ubuntu uses this shortcut for Workspaces instead)
Bottom note in chord: Ctrl+Alt+Down (Ubuntu uses this shortcut for Workspaces instead)
Begin note entry mode: N
Leave note entry mode: N or Esc
For a list of shortcuts for each duration (such as quarter note, eighth note, etc), see note entry.
Half duration of previous note: Q
Double duration of previous note: W
Voice 1: Ctrl+I Ctrl+1 (Mac: TBC)
Voice 2: Ctrl+I Ctrl+2 (Mac: TBC)
Voice 3: Ctrl+I Ctrl+3 (Mac: TBC)
Voice 4: Ctrl+I Ctrl+4 (Mac: TBC)
Pitches can be entered by letter name, or MIDI keyboard. See note entry for full details.
Repeat previous note: R
Raise pitch by octave: Ctrl+Up (Mac: ⌘+Up)
Lower pitch by octave: Ctrl+Down (Mac: ⌘+Down)
Raise pitch by semi-tone: Up
Lower pitch by semi-tone: Down
Add sharp to note: (undefined due to conflicts with zooming)
Add flat to note: -
Rest: 0 (zero)
Add interval above current note: Alt+[Number]
Add interval below current note: Shift+[Number]
Flip direction (stem, slur, tie, tuplet bracket, etc): X
Mirror note head: Shift+X
Tie: +
Slur: S
Staccato: Shift+.
Crescendo: H
Decrescendo: Shift+H
Previous lyric syllable: Ctrl+Left
Next lyric syllable: Ctrl+Right
Up to previous stanza: Ctrl+Up (Mac: ⌘+Up)
Down to next stanza: Ctrl+Down (Mac: ⌘+Down)
For more lyric shortcuts, see lyrics
Navigator: F12 (Mac: ⌥+⌘+N)
Play Panel: F11 (Mac: ⌥+⌘+P)
Palette: F9 (Mac: ⌥+⌘+K)
Mixer: F10 (Mac: M)