Entering and editing tablature notation
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In , select a measure, or note/rest.
Switch to : the cursor appears as a small “blue rectangle” on the currently "active" string.
Select the (see below) of the note or rest to be entered.
Press arrow keys to navigate:
Up and Down moves the cursor between strings.
Left and Right moves through the score.
Type digits to enter fret numbers from 0 to the maximum set in the .
Fret numbers 0 to 9 can also be entered with the letter keys A to K, skipping I. This is useful when writing French-style .
Values higher than 9 must be typed as numeric digits. For example, type 1 0 for 10, which appears as l (lowercase L) in French tablature.
Press ; (semicolon) to enter a rest of the selected duration.
To enter grace notes, see .
You can enter notes in different voices if required—just as you would in a standard staff.
See also, (below).
Click on a string and MuseScore will enter a 0 (zero), which means "open string".
Fret numbers 0 to 9 can also be entered with the letter keys A to K, skipping I. This is useful when writing French tablature.
Values higher than 9 must be typed as numeric digits. For example, type 1 0 for 10, which appears as l (lowercase L) in French tablature.
You can increase/decrease the fret mark using Alt+Shift+Up or Alt+Shift+Down.
You can enter notes in different voices if required—just as you would in a standard staff.
Whether you are using a keyboard or mouse, you can set note duration using one of the following:
Press Shift+0 up to Shift+9: to set duration from a 128th note to a longa (availability of these shortcuts may depend on the platform and/or keyboard layout);
Press NumPad 0 to 9: to set duration from a 128th note to a longa (if a numeric keypad exists and NumLock is on);
Click on the desired note duration icon in the Note Input toolbar above the document window;
Press Q to decrease the selected duration and W to increase it.
MuseScore also supports tablature notation for period instruments such as the renaissance and baroque lutes, Theorbo etc. There are a number of notation systems in use (French, Italian, German, Spanish), but the most common is French.
To enter symbols below the 6th course:
In note input mode, move the cursor until it is in the space below the 6th line. Press Down to move the cursor to the next lowest course and so on. As you do so a "cue mark" appears at the left side of the cursor to show you which course is active:
no cue
7
a
/
8
/a
//
9
//a
///
10
///a
4
11
4
5
12
5
6
13
6
7
14
7
Conversely you can return to a higher course by pressing Up, and the cue mark changes accordingly. 2. If the selected course is fretted simply enter a fretmark in note input mode (as shown above). If the selected course is unstopped press any note key in note input mode and MuseScore will automatically enter the correct zero fretmark (see table above).
In note input mode:
Position the cursor over the fret mark and type the desired number.
Increment or decrement the fret mark using Alt+Shift+Up; or, Alt+Shift+Down (The fret mark automatically changes strings, if necessary, to achieve the lowest possible fret position).
In normal mode:
Select one or more fret marks.
Use any of the following commands:
To increment or decrement, without changing the string: Press Up/Down.
To increment or decrement, changing strings, when possible, to minimize the fret number: Press Alt+Shift+Up/Down.
Note: The fret mark cannot be higher than the “Number of frets” value set in the Edit String Data dialog.
To move the fret mark to an adjacent string without changing the pitch:
In note input mode:
Position the cursor over a fret mark, and press Ctrl+Up/Down (Mac: Cmd+Up/Down).
In normal mode:
Use one of the following methods:
Select one or more fret marks, and press Ctrl+Up/Down (Mac: Cmd+Up/Down).
Drag a fret mark up or down to an adjacent string.
Note: This operation can only proceed if the relevant string is free and can produce that note.
To change a fret mark to a crosshead/ghost note:
Select one or more fret marks (in normal mode).
Press Shift+X to toggles ghost noteheads on/off.
Enter and select the note or rest (see below).
For French-style , MuseScore enters an a (lowercase A) instead of 0.
Type digits to replace 0 with any fret number up to the maximum set in the .
See also, (below).
Note: This applies to note input mode only. If you want to change the duration of a selected note in normal mode see .
French tablature features 6 lines representing the top 6 courses. Instead of numbers, fretmarks are indicated by letters—as explained . Any notes on bass courses below the 6th string (fretted or unfretted) are represented by symbols in the space underneath the 6th line of tablature.
See .