Mid-score instrument changes

Overview

When a musician is required to change from one instrument to another in the course of a piece, the instruction to switch is generally placed either after the music for the first instrument ends, or when the music for the new instrument begins. A return to the primary instrument is handled in the same manner.

In MuseScore Studio, the instruction to change to a different instrument is handled by the Instrument change text element, which is found in the Text palette. This is a special type of item, quite distinct from other text types, as it also affects the playback of the instrument, and may affect aspects of the notation such as transposition.

Adding an instrument change

To add an instrument change:

1. Click on a note or rest to select the position for the change

2. Click on the Change instr. item in the Text palette

3. Choose which instrument you wish to change to in the Select instrument dialog that appears

4. Click OK.

The instruction to change to the new instrument will appear above the selected insertion point in the score.

Removing an instrument change

To remove an instrument change:

1. Single-click an Instrument change text element to select it

2. Press Del or Backspace.

Relabelling an instrument change

To change the text of an instrument change:

1. Double-click an Instrument change text element to start editing it

2. Edit the text in whatever way you wish.

Note that this does not affect which instrument is actually changed to. If you wish to alter which instrument the instruction changes to, you must delete the element and enter a new one.

Instrument changes in the mixer

Playback sounds for instrument changes are reflected in the mixer as separate channel strips stacked to the right of the primary instrument channel strip. These instruments are labelled in parentheses. You can change the assigned playback library, apply effects, adjust the volume, and mute, solo, and pan these channel strips just as you would any other instrument channel strip. For more information, see Mixer.

Changing staff type

Changing to a different instrument may necessitate the use of different key signatures, clefs, and even staff type. See Staff type change for details.