Laissez vibrer ties

Overview

Laissez vibrer ties (often abbreviated as 'l.v. ties') are short ties starting on a note and hanging into space, indicating that the sound is to be allowed to resonate. They are commonly encountered in parts for piano, harp, guitar and metal percussion, among others.

Laissez vibrer ties are per-note, rather than per-chord.

Adding l.v. ties

To add an l.v. tie:

1. Select a note or range of notes

2. Click the l.v. tie icon in the top toolbar:

If you do not see this icon in the toolbar:

1. Click the cog at the right of the toolbar

2. In the Customize toolbar popup, locate Laissez vibrer and click the eye icon to its left.

Removing l.v. ties

To remove an l.v. tie, either:

• Select it and press Del, or

• Select the note to which it is attached and click the l.v. tie icon in the top toolbar (it acts as a toggle).

Laissez vibrer properties

You can configure individual l.v. ties via the Properties panel:

Style, Position, and Placement function the same as they do for ordinary ties and slurs (see Slur properties). Minimum length allows you to override the score-wide minimum length setting for a specific tie.

Style and Minimum length will not be available if the Use SMuFL symbols option (see below) is enabled.

Laissez vibrer style

There are two settings for laissez vibrer ties in Format -> Style under Slurs & ties then Laissez vibrer:

• Minimum laissez vibrer length: specifies the minimum length of l.v. ties. In the case of a chord with multiple ties, they may start at different positions, but the ending positions are aligned; some ties may, therefore, end up longer than this value.

• Use SMuFL symbols: If this is unchecked (the default), l.v. ties are drawn as 'normal' ties, following all the same rules for placement and geometry. If this option is checked, symbols from the music font will be used instead, which have a fixed size and shape.

Laissez vibrer ties will be heard in playback when using MS Basic, VST (with limited support, depending on the VST), and MuseSounds.

As of the MuseScore Studio 4.5 release date, only the following MuseSounds libraries will support laissez vibrer playback. This list will be updated as support gets added to further libraries:

• Muse Keys

• Muse Guitars (Vols. 1 and 2)