Custom staff types
Overview
MuseScore has four staff types, each of them has different build-in templates, see Staff/Part properties.
To create a custom staff used on whole score :
Use this step common to all four staff types: find and add an instrument similar to the target staff type by Setting up your score or in the Layout panel, then change its Staff properties and Advanced style properties, notehead scheme is also customized there.
For percussion staff (type 3, see Staff/Part properties), in addition to the above, use Edit drumset window for notehead related settings, see Drumset customization.
To create a custom staff to be used on one section of score:
Use the Staff type change element.
The Change Instrument text element also change staff type by changing the instrument, see Mid-score instrument changes.
Modified Stave Notation (MSN) is a formatting common used in large print. To use MSN see MuseScore 3 tutorial page Creating Modified Stave Notation in MuseScore, it works similarly inside Musescore 4.
Customizing appearance of staff lines
[this section is a work in progress, please add missing info]
Number
Color
Visibility
Line distance
Customizing appearance of generated elements
[this section is a work in progress, please add missing info]
Clef
Key signature
Time signature
Barlines
Customizing appearance of notes
Ledger lines [ a work in progress, please add missing info]
Stems [ a work in progress, please add missing info]
Notehead schemes
\ _Download this testing score file [MS4 Noteheadschemes.mscz](https://musescore.org/sites/musescore.org/files/2023-10/ms411_noteheadschemes.mscz)_
'Notehead schemes' are used by musicians to designate notehead shape meaning. In Musescore 4.1.1, schemes for a staff is named "Notehead Scheme", same options for a note is named "Notehead System", see Noteheads.
Musescore has nine of them. Five of them are directly fully supported, notes written create correct playback. Four "shape note notations" are supported in terms of notehead engraving, users need to take advantage of 'Transposing instruments' feature to create desired playback, see Noteheads.
To create custom "shape note notations", see Noteheads.
The nine supported by Musescore are:
Normal: The default scheme used by vast majority of musicians.
4 solfege related notations:
Pitch name: Noteheads automatically and dynamically change to include the English pitch name in the notehead.
German pitch name: similar to Pitch name but B replaced with H, and B♭ with B.
Solfège Movable Do (also called Tonic Solfa): Noteheads with solfege literally written. It uses Ti and not Si.
Solfège Fixed Do: Noteheads with solfege literally written. Used in France, Italy, Spain, etc. It uses Si and not Ti.
4 shape note notations, need further config if you wish to create desired playback:
4 Shape (Walker): used in books such as William Walker’s Southern Harmony (1835).
7 Shape (Aikin): used in books such as Jesse B. Aikin’s The Christian Minstrel (1846), and books by the Ruebush & Kieffer Publishing Company. It's the most used 7-shape system.
7 Shape (Funk): used in books such as Joseph Funk’s Harmonia Sacra (1851).
7 Shape (Walker): used in books such as William Walker’s Christian Harmony (1867).
Changing staff type mid-score
See Overview
[this section is a work in progress, please add missing info]
Most of the above plus line & step offset
External links
For Notehead scheme:
staff/part properties preview window score https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/tree/master/src/notation/view/re…
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