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MuseScore Studio Handbook

Learn everything you need to know about using the world’s most popular music notation program, MuseScore Studio, which is available for free for Windows, macOS, and Linux-based operating systems.

Get the latest version of MuseScore Studio

Getting started

Create your first score Entering notes and rests Playback controls

About the handbook

MuseScore versions covered

This handbook is valid for MuseScore version 4.0 and above.

If you're using a different version of the program, please consult the appropriate handbook for your version:

Editing the handbook

Guidelines for writing articles

So you'd like to contribute to the MuseScore 4 handbook – great! We're so happy you're here.

This page contains brief guidelines to get you started with writing articles. Please read this page carefully before editing anything in our handbook. This information is intended to help, but if you're in doubt about anything or have any questions, please join the discussion on the Documentation forum.

Structure - General principles

Each page should explain a single topic more or less completely. If a page feels like it is getting too long, try splitting it into separate pages.

Not every page is identical, but keeping the following in mind can help you structure your page content in a way that's easy to understand for the reader:

Start with an overview

Starting your page with an overview can help introduce a topic before launching into details. Overviews don't usually need a section heading.

Establish a hierarchy

Think about what most users will be trying to achieve, and why they might be coming to the handbook to look for information. Put solutions for the most common tasks towards the top of the page; less commonly needed information can go towards the bottom.

Group information logically

Related concepts should be discussed together. This may sometimes require less-commonly-used features to be discussed alongside more-commonly used ones, but that's okay.

Focus on user tasks, not just UI components

For instance, a section about "Creating custom key signatures" is better than a section called "Using the master palette".

Headings

Headings are used to give a structure and hierarchy to the information on the page.

The first section heading you enter will always be a Heading 1. Please also don’t skip heading levels (for example, by adding a Heading 3 after a Heading 1).

Heading level

Usage

Try to start your headings with a verb, e.g. "Adding time signatures", rather than "Time signatures".

Content

The MuseScore handbook broadly contains two main types of information: descriptive material, and goal-oriented instructions.

Descriptive material

This is used to explain different areas of the program. For example:

A Palette is a folder containing musical symbols which can be applied to the score. MuseScore's default palettes contain collections of related symbols, but you can customize palettes to display almost any kind of symbol, line or text.

Descriptive material tends to be longer and more “fleshed out” than goal-oriented instructions, but we still ask that you use wherever you can.

Goal-oriented instructions

These explain how to perform a specific task. The instructions should be as short and direct as possible, generally taking the form of a numbered list. For example,

To create a new palette:
Open the Palettes tab
Click Add palettes
Click Create custom palette

Notice that we use bold text for named components of the user interface, including menus. Keyboard shortcuts, such as Ctrl+S, are rendered with GitBook's 'Keyboard' style.

When writing goal-oriented instructions, please:

Use only numbered lists (no dot points)
Begin each numbered instruction with a verb
Write only one task/direction per numbered item

For example, instead of writing this:

Open the Palettes tab and click Add palettes

Please write this:

Open the Palettes tab
Click Add palettes

Please be sure to include keyboard options for goal-oriented instructions, where such options exist. This is especially important for improving the program's accessibility.

Use of non-written media

The use of non-written media is encouraged as a supplement to written descriptions. This includes:

Animated GIFs
Screenshots of relevant parts of the user interface

Creating animated GIFs

Animated GIFs offer many advantages over screenshots and videos in that they expose in the shortest amount of time the sequence of actions required to achieve a particular task. There are lots of tools available for creating GIFs, however we recommend the following workflow to ensure crisp and clear image quality while maintaining as small as possible file size (ideally <2MB per GIF).

Use only the MuseScore Studio 4 interface, and set its appearance to dark mode with blue highlights (to achieve consistency across the entire handbook)
Plan and rehearse the mouse clicks and keyboard shortcuts you will use, aiming to demonstrate the required steps in as short as possible time (ideally <10s)
Use a free tool like to record the contents of your screen
Use a free tool like to record keystrokes (where required)

Style guide

General

Case

All text is to be written in sentence case. This includes all paragraphs, headings, and page titles.

GitBook renders some text in ALL CAPS, such as group (aka chapter) titles in the table of contents on the left of the screen. However, you should use sentence case when editing this text.

Proper nouns and abbreviations should be capitalized according to the prevailing form used on the Wikipedia page of the topic in question.

Import the MusicXML file. ✅ MusicXML is capitalized
Customize the user interface (UI). ✅ UI is capitalized and user interface is not
Available in braille and Modified Stave Notation. ✅ MSN is capitalized and braille is not

Contractions of everyday speech should not be capitalized.

A quarter note (aka crotchet) is a musical duration. ✅ aka is not capitalized

UI labels

When writing instructions for the user, text that appears in MuseScore's user interface should be copied verbatim, including any capitalization, and highlighted in bold without enclosing quotation marks.

Press the Not now button. ✅ Not now is bold and capitalized like in the application

Arrows in UI paths

Type -> to describe the path through submenus or through the hierarchy of a dialog.

GitBook will format -> as a single arrow character, though in editing mode it appears as separate characters. Since the text on either side will be styled in bold (as all text from the UI should be), keep the arrows bold too. Use a space on either side of each arrow.

Choose File -> Save other -> Save a copy... ✅
Uncheck Style -> Notes -> Shorten stems. ✅

Bullet points

Bullet points (aka unordered lists) are used for listed content that is not an ordered process.

If the contents of a group of bullet points are not complete sentences, there's no need to use periods.

Dynamics
Accidentals
Articulations ✅ No periods

When bullet points are complete sentences, use periods at the end of each sentence, even if there is only one.

This is a one-sentence bullet point, with a period at the end.
This is a bullet with two sentences. Periods are included after every sentence. ✅ Full sentences require periods

It's a common pattern to have some bolded text at the beginning of a bullet followed by a colon. In this case, the colon should be bolded too and the first character after the colon should be capitalized.

Bullet: This is a good example. ✅ The colon is bold and 'This' is capitalized
Bullet: this is a bad example. ❌ The colon is not bold and 'this' is not capitalized

Numbered lists

Numbered lists (aka ordered lists) are used for listed content that must be done in sequence. For explanations of how to execute a task, try to keep it to one sentence per number, and use periods at the end of each one.

Think of what to say.
Express each step a short sentence with a period at the end.
Finish the list. ✅

Hyperlinks

Where appropriate, hyperlinks may be added to key words or phrases in ordinary text, which should be written to make sense without the link. In general, the full URL should not be displayed.

Watch the . ✅ Text makes sense without the link
Watch the tutorial . ❌ Text wouldn't make sense if the link was removed
Watch it at . ❌ Don't show the URL

Plain domain names should be captalized like the brand name. The top-level domain (TLD, e.g. .com, .org, .co.uk, etc.) should be omitted unless there's a good reason to include it.

Find us on and . ✅ Omit .com TLDs for these popular sites
Listen on . ✅ TLD is part of the website's branding
Visit . ✅ TLD is necessary to distinguish from MuseScore.com
Download the installer from . ✅ Referring specifically to the website
Get the sounds in . ✅ Referring to the app (but linking to the website)

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts should be formatted as follows:

Press Shift+1—9. ✅ en-dash indicates range
Press Ctrl+Shift++/- (Mac: Cmd+Shift++/-). ✅ slash indicates alternatives

Modifiers should be written in this form and in this order for each platform:

Windows/Linux: Win+Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Fn+... ✅
Mac: Ctrl+Cmd+Option+Shift+Fn +... ✅

In Linux-specific instructions, the Win key should be written as Super.

Keys that type printable characters should be represented by that character.

. , ; ' [ ] / \ - = ` etc. ✅

All non-printing keys should be referenced by their (possibly abbreviated) name rather than by a symbol. This includes the cursor keys.

Space Backspace Del Ins Esc Return Up Down Left Right PgUp PgDn Home End Menu Caps Lock ✅

Typed characters

Typed sequences should usually be formatted as inline code, even if it's just a single character.

To enter a double flat, type bb. ✅ Inline code (single element)

Occasionally, it may be preferable to show the actual keys pressed, formatted as keyboard shortcuts rather than as inline code.

To enter a double flat, type B B. ✅ Keyboard keys (space between each key)

Structure

Pages

You're currently viewing the page, which is a subpage of .

Page titles

Page titles should be relatively short. Ideally the title should fit on one line in the Summary on the left of the screen, although this may not always be possible. Bear in mind that page titles may be significantly longer when translated to other languages besides English.

Tips to keep page titles short:

Avoid saying "score" (e.g. "Selecting elements", not "Selecting elements in the score")
Avoid saying "MuseScore" (e.g. "Upgrading", not "Upgrading MuseScore Studio")

Subpages

When subpages are used, only one level of subpages may be used. Never create a subsubpage.

Parent pages should have very short titles because its title appears in the URLs of all its subpages.

In general, we prefer to use rather than subpages, to avoid nesting in the Summary.

Groups

Groups are like chapters. They are displayed in ALL CAPS in the table of contents on the left of the screen (e.g. 'INTRODUCTION' and 'NAVIGATION'). The current group name is also shown, hyperlinked, above each page title in the main content area.

Group names should be written in sentence case – the ALL CAPS styling is handled by GitBook automatically.

Groups should have very short names. This is because the group name appears in the URLs of all pages within the group.

It is possible to edit the group slug to make it shorter than the actual group name. However, in general, this should not be done. Instead, the group name should be made as short as possible.

License

MuseScore Studio Handbook © MuseScore Limited and contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Except where otherwise noted, all text and images in the Handbook are copyright MuseScore Limited and contributors, and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Linked or embedded content is subject to its own licensing terms.

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Introduction

Download and installation

To download MuseScore Studio for free (no account or subscription required), please follow the instructions for your specific operating system below.

Windows

Go to

Create your first score

We’ll start by creating a new score from a template (Alternatively, you can learn about creating a score from scratch in Adding and removing instruments).

To create a score from a template:

Click New score in the Scores screen
In the New score dialog that appears, browse templates by Category, or use the search bar to look up a template directly
Click Next to enter additional score information (or skip this step and let MuseScore pre-fill your score with default information, which you can always change later)
Click Done to create your new score

Entering score information

In the Additional score information screen, you can set:

The initial key signature (the default key signature contains no sharps or flats)
The initial time signature (the default time signature is 4/4)
The initial tempo (Click Tempo, then Show tempo marking on my score for this to appear)
A (anacrusis or upbeat measure), and its duration

Entering notes

The simplest way to enter notes in MuseScore is to:

Hit N on your keyboard to enter the note entry mode
Start typing note names (A, B, C, D, E, F, G)

You’re now engraving in MuseScore! You’ll notice the blue note input highlight, which indicates that you are in note input mode. It shows you where in the measure your next note will be entered.

You can specify the duration of each note you enter in the Note input toolbar. To change note duration:

Ensure you are in note input mode (See above)
Click on the desired note duration, or
Use shortcut keys 1 through 7 to select different note values

Learn more about this topic in .

Adding items from the palettes

The Palettes panel contains almost every notational object you might need to add detail to your score. The simplest way to add palette items to your notation is to:

Select an existing object (or range of objects) in your score (e.g. a notehead, clef, measure, etc.)
In the Palettes panel, open a palette by clicking the triangular arrow button
Click once on a palette object

Learn more about this topic in

Making adjustments in Properties

The Properties panel can be revealed by clicking on the Properties tab on the left side of the screen:

(Users of MuseScore prior to version 4 will know this as the Inspector).

The properties panel will show settings that are specific to the object being selected. These settings usually affect the visual appearance of the selected object. Most of the time, changes you make in Properties will apply only to the object you have selected (e.g. you’ll change the selected hairpin, and not every hairpin in your score).

As you add details to your score, click on any object to see what settings are available.

Learn more about this topic in .

Inserting and deleting measures

To insert a single measure:

Click on a measure to select it
In the Measure section of Properties, click Insert measures
Click the + button

This Measure section contains controls that allow you to insert multiple measures at once. Simply set the number of measures you wish to insert in the text field. You can also use the dropdown menu to change the point where new measures will be inserted.

To delete a measure or group of measures:

Select the measure(s) you wish to delete
In the Measures popup, click the trash can icon

More information on this topic can be found in .

Saving your score

To save your score locally to your computer's harddrive:

Select File→Save
In the dialog that appears, select folder and fill in the required info such as file name, click Save or OK

To save your score to the cloud on musescore.com:

Select File→Save to Cloud.
You may be asked to sign in to your account on musescore.com.
Fill in the Name of your score.
Set a Visibility. Private means only you may see your score. Unlisted means anyone with the correct link may see your score. Public means anyone may see your score.

You can find all your cloud scores by going to Home > Scores > My online scores (look for the files marked with a small blue cloud symbol). Read more about this in .

Exporting your score

Export allows you to create non-MuseScore files, such as PDF, MusicXML, MIDI, and .

To export your score:

Select the Publish tab
Click Export
Select the parts you wish to export
Choose the file format for your exported file(s)

You can also on .

Upgrading from earlier versions

If you’re coming to MuseScore Studio 4 from MuseScore 3 or earlier, you’ll notice changes not only to the user interface, but also to many familiar features and ways of doing things. These changes have been designed to improve the user experience while providing much greater functionality. Here's a very quick overview of some of the major changes.

User interface

MuseScore Studio 4 comes with a sleek new interface. Nearly every part of the application has been completely redesigned to be cleaner and easier to read. You can choose between light, dark and high contrast themes, as well as pick your preferred accent color. Changes to the appearance of the app can be made in Preferences.

Instruments and parts

The new allows you to hide, rearrange and customize your instruments without having to leave the score view.

The panel integrates tightly with the process of creating , making it much easier to produce custom parts with any combination of available instruments. There’s now also a convenient button in the toolbar that allows you to quickly open any available part.

Inspector

The Inspector from earlier versions of MuseScore is now known as the . Every option in this panel has been re-organized and the entire experience has been streamlined. By default, the Properties panel displays multiple useful options, like the ability to show or hide empty staves and various other types of score markings. Whereas previously you needed to select single element types before you could make changes to them, MuseScore Studio 4 always displays relevant settings, regardless of how many different elements you have selected.

New playback and VSTi support

Playback improvements are the single largest change to MuseScore Studio 4. Apart from new sample libraries (Muse Sounds, available as a separate download), there’s now support for VSTi plugins, which can be applied to instruments using the new panel. The mixer also lets you easily switch between VSTi, and the Muse Sounds libraries, while also supporting VST effects. Sounds will now always be saved on a per-score basis, so there is no longer any need for the Synthesizer panel found in MuseScore 3 (this has been removed in MuseScore Studio 4). If you previously used SFZ files for playback in MuseScore 3, we now recommend that you use a free VST sampler, like or , both of which support SFZ playback.

Engraving improvements

MuseScore Studio 4 features many engraving improvements, some of which will have an effect on the appearance and layout of scores created in earlier versions. The most significant changes affect the placement of beams, slurs and ties, horizontal spacing, and page layout. There are far too many changes to list here, so those interested in learning more about the particularities may wish to read (link forthcoming) that explains and illustrates everything in detail.

An unavoidable consequence of having made such significant engraving improvements is that it will not be possible to open a score in MuseScore Studio 4 from an earlier version of MuseScore and have it look identical.

Cloud storage

When you save a document for the first time, you’ll now be asked whether you want to save your file locally to your computer, or to the cloud. This new option is part of an exciting expansion we are making to services on musescore.com. Learn more about this in and .

Other changes

As you use the program, you’ll find lots of other small but significant changes that have been designed to make the process of composing and notating music just that bit easier. These include:

An expanded note input toolbar, with one-click access to frequently used elements like tuplets and articulation marks. There’s also a convenient “+” menu where you can quickly add everything from notes and intervals, to frames and text elements.
Easy-access features in the that let you quickly add and remove measures, and show and hide empty staves
A beautiful new
Improvements to the dialog

More changes are listed in , including some keyboard shortcuts that are different or entirely new.

Navigation

Accessibility

Screen readers

MuseScore Studio supports NVDA on Windows and VoiceOver on macOS. JAWS is not currently supported. Support for other screen readers varies.

Speech on Windows

If speech isn't working in MuseScore, try pressing

Navigating your score

Scrolling

Mouse wheel

Use the scroll wheel to move the view up and down.
Use Shift plus the scroll wheel to move the view left and right.
Use Ctrl plus the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.

Scrollbars

Scrollbars appear at the right-hand and bottom edges of the score view. Click and drag them to quickly move the score view up and down, or left and right. Scrollbars are usually hidden from view, but can be revealed by hovering over the edge of the score view with your mouse.

Keyboard

You can also scroll the score using the PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys on your keyboard. If your keyboard lacks dedicated keys for these functions, most systems will also allow you to access these functions by holding Fn or a similar key, then pressing Up, Down, Left, or Right respectively.

By themselves, PgUp and PgDn scroll one screenful at a time. This may be less than an actual page of your score. If you hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while pressing PgUp or PgDn, it moves a full page at a time.

When a single element is selected in your score, it acts as a cursor. You can change the selection—and thus move the cursor—using common keyboard shortcuts.

The Left and Right keys will move horizontally through your score one chord or rest at a time. If you hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) while pressing Left or Right, you can navigate a full measure at a time.

To move the cursor vertically through the various notes, voices, and staves in your score, use the shortcuts Alt+Up and Alt+Down (Mac: Option+Up and Option+Down).

You can also use the shortcuts Alt+Left and Alt+Right (Mac: Option+Left and Option+Right) to select elements other than notes or rests. These commands allow you select almost any elements—including articulations, barlines, hairpins, and more—using the keyboard alone.

In addition, Ctrl+Home (Mac: Cmd+Home) will select the first element in your score, and Ctrl+End (Mac: Cmd+End) will select the last element. Again, for keyboards that lack dedicated Home and End keys, most systems provide the alternative of Fn+Left and Fn+Right respectively.

See to learn more.

Navigator

The Navigator is a panel that displays thumbnails of score pages. To view or hide the Navigator, click View → Navigator.

The blue bounding box represents the area of the score currently in focus in the score view. Click on the box and drag it to move around your score.

Timeline

A navigation aid that shows instruments and score structure. For details, see .

Views

You can switch between different views of the score using the pop-up in the right-hand side of the status bar.

Page view

The score is shown as it will appear when printed or exported as a PDF or image file: that is, page by page, with margins. MuseScore applies system (line) and page breaks automatically, according to the settings made in Page settings and Style. In addition, you can apply your own system (line), page or section breaks.

Continuous view (horizontal)

The score is shown as one unbroken system. Even if the starting point is not in view, measure numbers, instrument names, clefs, time and key signatures will always be displayed on the left of the window.

Continuous view (vertical)

The score is shown as a single page with a header but no margins, and with an infinite page height. System (line) breaks are added automatically, according to the settings made in Page settings and Style. In addition, you can apply your own system (line) or section breaks.

Zoom

There are several ways to zoom the score in or out:

Zoom in

Ctrl++ (Mac: Cmd++) or scroll up with the mouse scroll wheel while holding Ctrl (Mac: Cmd).

Zoom out

Ctrl+- (Mac: Cmd+-) or scroll down with the mouse scroll wheel while holding Ctrl (Mac: Cmd).

Status bar zoom controls

To zoom in and out of your score from the Status bar controls:

Click on the magnifying glass icons in the right-hand area of the status bar
Click the number field to the right of these icons, then type a custom zoom level
Choose from one of the preset zoom levels in the pop-up list on the extreme right

Restoring 100% zoom

This restores the zoom to the default (100%) level.

Ctrl+0 (Mac: Cmd+0)

Find/Go to

The Find/Go to panel allows you to speedily navigate to a specific measure, rehearsal mark or page number in the score.

To show the panel:

Go to Edit → Find, or
Press Ctrl+F (Mac: Cmd+F).

To hide the panel:

Click the X (close) button on the left side of the panel, or
Press Esc while the panel has focus.

Navigating to a numbered measure

Enter the measure number (counting every measure, starting with 1, irrespective of pickup measures, section breaks or manual changes to measure number offsets).

Navigating to a numbered page

Enter the page number using the format pXX (where XX is the page number).

Navigating to a numerical rehearsal mark

Enter the number using the format rXX (where XX is the number of the rehearsal mark).

Navigating to an alphabetic rehearsal mark

Enter the name of the rehearsal mark (the search is not case sensitive).

Pro tip! It is best to avoid naming rehearsal marks with the single letters “R", “r", “P”, “p", or one of these letters with an integer (e.g. “R1” or “p3”), as this can confuse the search algorithm.

Timeline

Overview

Timeline is a navigation aid that displays at the bottom of the program window, giving you an overview of the instruments and main structural elements measure-by-measure. You can easily move about the score by clicking on a measure or a structural element.

There are four parts to the timeline:

Meta labels

This is found in the top left corner of the timeline. These are the names of the meta rows.

Instrument labels

This is found in the bottom left corner of the timeline. These are the names of the rows in the main grid.

Meta rows

This is found in the top right corner of the timeline. These hold the meta values of the score.

Main grid

This is found in the bottom right corner of the timeline. This holds multiple 'cells' (a specific measure and staff in the score represented as a square)

Meta elements

Meta elements are those found in the score that are not notes, but are still important to the score—such as key signature, time signature, tempo, rehearsal marks, bar lines, and jumps and markers.

Basic interactions

Selecting a measure

To select a measure in the timeline, press the mouse button on the cell. A blue box will appear around the selected cell and the respective measure in the score will be selected. The score view will place the selected measure in view.

Selecting multiple measures

Drag selection

Holding Shift and holding the left mouse button and dragging the mouse over the main grid will create a selection box. Upon releasing the mouse button, all the cells underneath the selection box will be selected, as well as all the measures in the score.

Shift selection

If a cell is already selected, holding Shift and selecting another cell in the timeline will stretch the selection to that new cell, similar to how the score does

Ctrl selection

If no cells are currently selected, holding Ctrl and selecting a cell will select the entire measure

Clearing a selection

To clear selection, holding Ctrl and clicking anywhere on the grid or the meta rows will clear any current selection.

Meta values selection

Selecting the meta values on the timeline will attempt to select the respective meta values in the score.

Scrolling

Standard scrolling

Scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will move the grid and instrument labels down or up respectively. The meta labels and rows do not move.

Shift scrolling

Holding Shift and scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will move the grid and meta rows left or right respectively. The meta labels and instrument labels do not move.

Alt scrolling

Holding Alt and scrolling the mouse wheel up or down will move the grid and meta rows left or right respectively, faster than Shift scrolling. The meta labels and instrument labels do not move.

Dragging

To drag the contents of the timeline, hold the left mouse button and move it around.

Labels interaction

Rearranging meta labels

All meta labels besides the measures meta may be rearranged in any way. By moving the mouse cursor onto one of the meta labels, small up and down arrows will appear. Click the left mouse button on the up arrow to swap the meta label with the one above it. Click the left mouse button on the down arrow to swap the meta label with the one below it.

Collapsing the meta labels

In order to hide all the meta labels while keeping all the meta information on the timeline, click the left mouse button on the measures meta to collapse all the currently visible meta rows into one row, where the meta values are staggered in that row. Click the left mouse button again on the measures meta to expand the meta rows.

Hiding instruments

All instruments--hidden or not--will be displayed on the timeline. To start this interaction, the mouse cursor is moved over an instrument label. A small eye will appear on the right side of the label that is open if the instrument is visible on the score, and closed if the instrument is hidden. Click the left mouse button on the eye to toggle between the two options.

Zooming

To zoom in or out of the score, hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel up or down respectively (Mac: Cmd + scroll).

Basics

Setting up your score

Overview

To create a new score, use one of the following options:

In the tab, select New score, or click New (bottom right)

Notation

Instruments, staves, and systems

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:

Click on a note or rest to select the position for the change
Click on the Change instr. item in the Text palette
Choose which instrument you wish to change to in the Select instrument dialog that appears
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:

Single-click an Instrument change text element to select it
Press Del or Backspace.

Relabelling an instrument change

To change the text of an instrument change:

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

Changing staff type

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

Staff type change

Overview

The 'type' of a staff refers to its properties: number of lines, distance between the lines, what kinds of noteheads appear on it, etc. To change the type of a staff throughout an entire score, see and . However, it is also possible to change the appearance of a staff starting at any measure of the score by applying a Staff type change element and then adjusting its properties in the panel. This can be used when changing between pitched and unpitched staves or for various experimental notation effects.

Brackets

Overview

Brackets are used to visually group multiple adjacent staves together (usually instruments of the same family, e.g. woodwind or brass), and braces are used to group multiple staves of a single instrument (e.g. the grand staff of a piano) or adjacent instruments of the same or similar type.

Brackets and braces are automatically added when you create a score via the , but you can easily add, remove or change them.

Note that brackets and braces are drawn on all systems. You can add, remove or modify them on any system, but the changes will affect every system where they appear. They are added from the Brackets palette.

Rhythm, meter, and measures

Stems and flags

Stem direction

Default stem direction

MuseScore aligns the stems of 1 notes according to the conventions of music theory. By contrast, voice 2 and voice 4 stems point downwards by default, while voice 3 stems point upwards

Regroup rhythms

Overview

Standard music notation normally follows a set of conventions designed to facilitate the reading of rhythm. The basic idea is to group notes in ways that clarify which notes belong to which beat. Rules include:

sixteenth notes should be beamed in a way that clarifies each beat
eighth notes should be beamed in a way that clarifies each group of two beats
longer notes that start off the beat should be broken up with ties to clarify each beat or group of two beats

A full discussion of this topic is beyond the scope of this Handbook, but for more information, see .

Here is an example of a rhythm written incorrectly and then correctly:

MuseScore can correct many of these cases automatically.

Regrouping rhythms

To regroup rhythms according to the common conventions of standard music notation:

Select the passage you wish to regroup.
From the main menu, select Tools→Regroup rhythms.

The rhythm itself is not changed—only the notation of it.

Measure properties

Opening and using the dialog

The Measure properties dialog allows you to adjust various properties of an individual measure, such as visibility, duration, numbering and width ('stretch').

To instead change all measures on the score, use the settings in Format -> Style... under the

Pitch

Octave lines

Overview

Octave (Ottava) lines are used to indicate that a section of music is to be played one or more octaves above or below written pitch; the line may be dotted or solid:

8--------┐or 8va--------┐: Play one octave above written pitch. 8--------┘or 8va--------┘: Play one octave below written pitch.

8va alta/bassa lines are particularly common in piano scores, though they are sometimes used in other instrumental music. 15ma alta (2 octaves above) and 15ma bassa (2 octaves below) are also occasionally used.

MuseScore automatically adjusts playback of the score under the ottava to the correct pitch.

Ottava lines may be found in the

Ambitus

An ambitus indicates the range of notes included within a staff. It is used to indicate the appropriate voice for a particular part. (See Ambitus on Wikipedia.)

Adding an ambitus to your score

To create an ambitus, use either of these methods:

Select the desired start clef and click on the ambitus symbol in either the Pitch or Lines palette
Drag the ambitus symbol from either the Pitch or Lines palette and drop it onto the desired start clef.

Changing the range of an ambitus

You can change the range of an ambitus via the Properties panel.

To update manually, set the values for Top note and Bottom note as required.

To do so automatically, click the Update to match the notes on the staff button.

Ambitus properties

These properties are also available in the Properties panel (under Show more):

Direction
Notehead type and Notehead duration
Line thickness

Respell pitches

Manually changing the enharmonic spelling of notes

To change the enharmonic spelling of a note, or notes, in both written and concert pitch views:

Select a note, or group of notes
Press J
Continue pressing J to cycle through the enharmonic equivalents.

To change the enharmonic spelling in the written pitch view, without affecting the concert pitch view, or vice versa:

Select a note, or group of notes
Press Ctrl+J (Mac: Cmd+J)
Continue pressing the same combination of keys to cycle through the enharmonic equivalents.

Note: If the pitches of selected notes are not all the same, the effect may be unpredictable.

Automatically respelling all notes in a selection

Respell pitches

From the menu, select Tool -> Respell Pitches.

Expressive markings

Breaths and pauses

Breaths and pause symbols may be found in the Breaths & pauses .

These symbols also have an adjustable playback effect.

Types of pauses

Tremolos and rolls

Types of tremolos and rolls

A Tremolo is the rapid repetition of one note or chord, or a rapid alternation between two notes or chords. The placement of tremolos is handled automatically by the program.

Single-note tremolos

Other symbols

The Symbols palette is a category within the and houses all symbols and text from all built-in music fonts.

Unlike other categories in the , items in the Symbols palette are non-functional: they are for display purposes only and have no other effect on the score.

You should find most symbols and text items you need for scoring in the —use of the Symbols palette should be reserved for specialist items not available in the small palettes, or on those occasions when you really do need a non-functional element.

The Symbols palette

Repeats

Measure and multimeasure repeats

A measure repeat symbol indicates that the previous measure is to be repeated. Two-measure and four-measure repeat symbols indicate the repetition of the previous two or four measures.

Adding a measure or multimeasure repeat to your score

To apply a measure repeat symbol, select a measure in the score and click on the measure repeat icon in the Repeats & jumps , or drag the symbol on to a measure.

To apply a two-measure or four-measure repeat symbol, select the first blank measure following the section you want to be repeated, then click on the applicable measure repeat icon in the

Idiomatic notation

Keyboard

Cross-staff notation

Creating cross-staff notation

First of all, enter the notation on one staff only
Select a note in the voice that you wish to move up or down to the other staff, e.g.
Press Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down (Mac: Cmd+Shift+Up/Down), to move the voice up or down to the other staff. Alternatively, you can click on the cross-staff icon in the toolbar and choose the same options from the context menu.

Note: Currently it is not possible to move individual notes of a chord from one stave to another; if you move one note, the whole chord will move. Therefore, if you want certain notes to remain on the original staff, they should be moved to a different voice. Also, be aware that notes which are moved to a different staff in this way still belong logically to the staff of origin - they are just drawn on a different staff. This is why no rest is shown on the staff where the notes have been moved from.

Accordion notation

[work in progress, please add missing info]

See Accordion notation and playback tutorial.

accordion symbols are literally just symbol from the Symbols, but there is a dedicated palette for them
we could consider eliminating this page
we could also consider adding one for harp

Adding accordion symbols to your score

Guitar

Harp

Overview

Harps typically have seven strings per octave, with one string per pitch-class from C to B. Modern harps also have seven pedals, each of which has three positions: middle (natural), highest (flattened), and lowest (sharpened). Raising the pedal from middle position loosens the tension of one pitch-class of strings in every octave, lowering the notes by a half step, and lowering the pedal results in notes a half step higher. For example, moving the C pedal to the lowest position will make all C strings play C#.

In notated music for pedal harps, diagrams or text markings in the score indicate when to change pedal positions to change playable notes.

Percussion

Other percussion notation

Diddles

Diddles can be added by using an eighth-note tremolo:

Pedal lines

Alternative notation

Braille

Overview

MuseScore Studio's braille panel displays the current measure in braille music notation. It can also be used to enter notes and some musical symbols using Perkins-style 6-key braille input.

The content of the braille panel is similar to what you get if you export braille via the File menu, but the braille panel updates live as you navigate through the score.

Terminology: braille vs. print

On this page, we refer to braille music notation as "braille", and ordinary stave notation as "print".

Print music is simply the traditional music notation that sighted musicians use on paper and electronic devices (i.e. sheet music). Braille can also be used on paper, but it's not printed with ink. Instead, it's embossed as raised dots that blind musicians read by touch. It's common in accessibility circles to use the word "print" to mean non-braille notation.

Output to a physical braille display

The contents of the braille panel can be displayed on a braille terminal connected to your computer (e.g. via Bluetooth or USB).

The following limitations apply when using a physical braille display:

NVDA must be used as the screen reader.
MuseScore’s braille panel must have keyboard focus.
- When the score has focus, the braille terminal will just show ordinary status text from the screen reader.
Braille navigation and 6-key input must be performed with the computer keyboard.

Please let us know in the if you discover a way to bypass any of these limitations.

Viewing braille

To open or close the braille panel

Go to Preferences > Braille.
Check (or uncheck) the Show braille panel box.

The braille panel appears directly below the score in MuseScore’s main window.

To focus the braille panel

With the braille panel open, press the Tab key while the score has focus. A caret (text cursor) will appear in the braille at the position of whatever element was selected in the score. For example, if a note was selected in the score, the text caret will appear on that note in the braille.

Press Shift+Tab at any time to leave the braille panel and return to the score. The braille panel will remain open so you can navigate to it again with Tab.

Navigating the braille

While the braille panel has focus, you can move the text caret around using the arrow keys. As the caret moves through the braille, the element to the right of the caret becomes selected in the score. If that element is a note, MuseScore will play the sound of the note.

The braille panel only shows one measure at a time, but it shows that measure for all instruments in the score. Each line of braille corresponds to a staff in the print notation, so grand staff instruments like the piano get two lines of braille, and the organ gets three lines.

If a staff has lyrics, these are written on another line of braille immediately below the line corresponding to that staff. If there are multiple lines of lyrics (e.g. for multiple verses), each line of lyrics is written on a separate line in the braille.

The following keyboard shortcuts are available for navigating the braille.

Action

Windows/Linux

macOS

Writing braille

Notes and certain musical symbols can be entered in the braille panel using a 6-key method of braille input similar to that of the .

Turn braille input mode on or off

While the braille panel has focus, press N to toggle braille input mode on or off.

Constructing a braille cell

While in braille input mode, six letter keys on the computer keyboard are used to represent the six braille dots that make up a single braille cell (⠿).

The keys used are F, D, S for dots 1, 2, 3 down the first column of the cell, and J, K, L for dots 4, 5, 6 down the second column. The Space key is used to represent an empty braille cell (⠀), sometimes referred to as dot 0.

Up to six of these keys can be pressed in combination to construct any pattern of raised dots. For example, to enter a quarter note C, which in braille is ⠹ (i.e. dots 1, 4, 5, 6), press and hold F+J+K+L, then release these keys to confirm the pattern. The keys can be pressed and released in any order, providing at least one key is held at all times, until you have completed the pattern.

When the final key is released, MuseScore reads your braille pattern. If your pattern corresponds to a recognized note or musical symbol then this element is entered directly in the score, not in the braille panel, because print notation is the "ground truth" for MuseScore. Once the element is in the score, the braille panel automatically updates to reflect this change.

Sometimes in music braille, the same information can be expressed in multiple ways. For the sake of consistency, MuseScore always picks the same way regardless of how you entered the notation. Therefore, the braille that appears in the braille panel may not exactly match the pattern(s) you entered with the six keys, though it will have the same meaning.

Entering notes

Basic notes

In braille, eighth notes (quavers) and 128th notes are written as:

Note

Braille

Dots

Keys

Additional dots are added to the above sequences to create other durations:

Duration

Braille

Dots added

Keys added

Hence a quarter note C is ⠹ (dots 1, 4, 5, 6) and is entered with F+J+K+L. This pattern is also used for a 64th note C.

16th notes and smaller

As mentioned above, 16th notes and smaller use the same dot patterns as larger durations. When reading braille, you can work out whether the shorter or longer duration is being specified by looking at the time signature as well as other notes in the measure. However, when writing braille, you need to tell MuseScore which durations you want to use.

⠤

⠄

⠠

⠀

Dots to select

Keys to select

By default, MuseScore enters group 1 durations (whole, half, quarter, eighth). To switch to group 2, enter dots 0, 2 (i.e. press Space+D). Nothing will appear in the braille panel, but any notes or rests you write from now on will be in group 2 (16th, 32nd, 64th, 128th). To switch back to group 1 durations, enter dots 0, 1 (i.e. press Space+F).

It's not currently possible to enter durations of 256th and smaller, or breve (double whole) and larger, via the braille panel.

Dotted notes

Braille uses ⠄(dot 3) to represent an augmentation dot, which is added in a new braille cell immediately following a note. No other cells are allowed to come between the note and its augmentation dot.

To create a dotted note in the braille panel, first write the main note duration using the rules above, then follow it with dot 3 (i.e. press S).

For example, a dotted quarter note C is ⠹⠄, which can be stated as dot pattern 1456-3, where the dash means to start a new cell. In terms of keys, this is F+J+K+L, S.

It's not currently possible to enter multiple dot 3s to create double and triple dotted notes via the braille panel.

Octave marks

Octave marks in braille serve a similar purpose to clefs in print music. If you see a note in print, you don't know what pitch it is until you look at the preceding clef. In braille, if you see ⠙ (dots 1, 4, 5) then you know the note is a C, but it could be a C in any octave. To determine the octave, you need to look at the preceeding octave mark (and also at any notes between that octave mark and the current note).

A standard 88-key piano has 7 complete octaves. Starting on the lowest C, which is called C1 in braille as well as in scientific pitch notation, the first complete octave of white notes is C1, D1, E1, F1, G1, A1 and B1. After B1 comes C2, which is the start of the second complete octave. This scheme continues up to the final complete octave, which starts with C7 and ends with B7.

In this system, C4 is middle C, and A4 is "concert A" (i.e. the note that the orchestra tunes to at the start of a performance). Enharmonic spelling is important, so B♯3 sounds the same as C4 despite being notated in a different octave, and C♭4 sounds the same as B3.

Even standard 88-key pianos have a few notes outside the range C1 to B7. Braille refers to the C0 octave as the "sub" octave, and the C8 octave as the "super" octave. These simply double the markings used for the first and seventh octaves.

Octave

Marks

Dots

Keys

When specified, octave mark are placed immediately prior to a note. So a middle C quarter note is ⠐⠹, or dots 5-1456, which is entered as K, F+J+K+L. No other cells are allowed to go between the octave mark and the note it belongs to.

Octave marks don't have to be given before every note. Octave marks are only required for the:

First note on each line of braille.
First note after a double bar line, number sign, word indicator, and certain other markings.
Second of two notes separated by a melodic interval of a sixth or more, regardless of their octaves.
Second of two notes separated by a melodic interval of a fourth or more, only if their octave numbers are different.

Dynamics and hairpins

Overview

All dynamics symbols are to be found in the Dynamics palette:

This includes all the standard dynamics symbols (p, mf, ff, etc.) as well as gradual dynamic changes in the form of hairpins:

and in the form of cresc. and dim. text lines, which function in the same way but are more suitable for longer spans:

Unless stated otherwise, anything in this document that refers to hairpins also applies to cresc./dim. lines.

Adding dynamics and hairpins

From the palette

To add a dynamics symbol to the score, either:

Select one or more notes, and then click an item in the Dynamics palette, or
Drag an item from the Dynamics palette onto a note.

To add a hairpin to the score:

Select the note(s) to which you wish to add a hairpin, by either
1. selecting a single note; in this case, the hairpin will be drawn up to the next note, or
2. selecting a range of notes or measures
Add the hairpin by either

You can also drag a hairpin from the palette directly onto a note, in which case it will extend to the end of the measure.

The right-hand end of a hairpin is attached to the first note (or rest) after the range to which you apply it, though it will be drawn to end just before that note. Therefore, do not include the final note in the range that you select.

You can also add a dynamic via the dynamics popup:

Select a note
Type Ctrl+D (Mac: Cmd+D) to open the dynamics popup
Click on a dynamic in the popup, or type it directly (e.g. pp or mf, etc.) and then press Esc or click on a blank area of the score, whereupon the text, if valid, will convert to a dynamic symbol.

You can access more dynamics in the popup by clicking the left and right arrows.

With a dynamic selected, you can also create a hairpin directly from that dynamic by dragging the handle at the right of the dynamic out the note or anchor where you want it to end. When you let go, the dynamics popup will reappear, and you can select a new dynamic to go at the end of the hairpin. If that dynamic is of a lower level than the starting dynamic, the hairpin will switch from a crescendo to a decrescendo.

This makes it very quick and efficient to enter chains of dynamics and hairpins.

Replacing dynamics

When a dynamic is selected, you can easily replace it with another dynamic by either clicking a different dynamic in the Dynamics palette or in the dynamics popup. The new dynamic will replace the selected one.

Editing hairpins

Adjusting hairpin height

The handle at the bottom of the open end of a hairpin, here shown in gray as when selected, can be used to control its height:

To do so:

Select the hairpin
Select the height handle
Drag the handle up or down, or use the Up/Down arrow keys.

You can also adjust height via the Properties panel: see .

Drawing at an angle

By default all hairpins are drawn level. To draw one at an angle, first ensure that the Allow diagonal box is checked in the Properties panel (in the Style tab). You will then be able to move the start and end handles of the hairpin independently on the vertical plane.

Assigning dynamics to voices

By default, dynamics are assigned to all voices on the instrument when they are entered. If you would prefer all dynamics to be assigned to the voice of the note to which they are applied, this is available as an option in Preferences -> Note input -> Voice assignment:

Changing this preference will not affect the assignment of any existing dynamics.

Regardless of this setting, you can assign a dynamic directly to a specific voice when you add it:

Select a note or rest in the score
Click on a dynamic in the Dynamics palette while holding Ctrl (Mac: Cmd)
The dynamic will be assigned to the voice of the selected note or rest.

(Currently this does not work when dragging dynamics from the palette, or when using the dynamics popup. In these cases, dynamics will be assigned to all voices.)

You can change the voice assignment of an existing dynamic in multiple ways. Firstly, by selecting the dynamic and clicking one of the buttons in Properties -> Voice assignment:

For instruments with multiple staves, clicking the the All button will open a menu with distinct options for

All voices on this instrument (all voices on all staves of the instrument)
All voices on this staff only (all voices on the staff to which the dynamic is attached)

You can also either:

Click one of the voice buttons in the top toolbar to assign to voices 1–4 (you cannot select All via this method), or
Use the keyboard shortcuts:
- For voice 1–4: Ctrl+Alt+1–4 (Mac: Cmd+Opt+1

For instruments with multiple staves, this last shortcut will apply the All voices on instrument option. For All voices on this staff only, use Ctrl+Alt+- (Mac: Cmd+Opt+-.

In playback, a dynamic affects its assigned voice(s) from the point at which it appears until another dynamic in the same voice, or a dynamic that affects all voices, is reached.

See the to learn how the voice assignment feature works with different sound technologies.

Positioning dynamics and hairpins

There are three options available in Format → Style → Dynamics & hairpins → Default positions of dynamics and hairpins which control general dynamics positioning:

Position determines whether dynamics should be positioned according to their ('Based on voice', the default), or should all go 'Above' or 'Below'
Place above the staff on vocal instruments specifies whether dynamics should go above the staff on vocal staves (on by default)
Center on grand staff instruments automatically will center dynamics vertically between the staves of multi-stave instruments automatically (on by default).

Voice-based positioning

If the Based on voice position is chosen, will affect the default position of dynamics as follows:

Voice 1 dynamics go below the staff if there is only one voice at that rhythmic position, and otherwise go above
Voice 3 dynamics go above the staff
Voice 2 and 4 dynamics go below the staff
Dynamics assigned all voices go below the staff

The position of any dynamic can be explicitly overridden via Properties → Position.

If Place above the staff on vocal instruments is turned on then, on vocal staves, dynamics assigned to voice 1 will go above the staff, as will dynamics assigned to all voices on the staff. Voice 2 and 4 dynamics will still go below.

Centering dynamics between staves

Dynamics on grand staff instruments (e.g. keyboards, keyboard percussion, harp) can be centered vertically between the staves.

If the Center on grand staff staves automatically option is turned on,

By default, dynamics are automatically centered (i.e. when when:

There is a staff on the same instrument above or below the dynamic (according to its position relative to the staff to which it is attached) against which it can be centered
Properties -> Voice assignment is set to All voices on instrument
Properties -> Center between staves is set to Auto
In Format -> Style -> Dynamics & hairpins

You can also manually center dynamics by setting Center between staves to On and configuring Position based on whether the staff to which you want to center is above or below.

Avoiding barlines

Dynamics are centered under the note or rest to which they are attached. In the case of longer dynamics such as ppp this can easily mean that they would collide with a barline that precedes or follows them, when there is a barline connecting to the staff below. By default, dynamics items will be offset to the left or right to avoid these collisions. This behaviour can be turned off globally (Format -> Style -> Dynamics & hairpins -> Avoid barlines), or for a specific item via the Properties panel.

The second image shows the result if this option is turned off, but text masking is turned on (Format -> Style -> Barlines -> Mark barlines with intersecting text). If this option were also turned off, the barlines would be drawn over the top of the dynamics.

If the dynamic has additional text typed before or after it, this is also included in the barline avoidance. See for details.

Moving dynamics and hairpins

Dynamics, and the endpoints of hairpins, do not have to be attached only to notes or rests, but can be moved to rhythmic positions within longer durations. See and also .

If a dynamic has a hairpin snapped to it on either side or both, the endpoints of these hairpins will follow the dynamic as it is moved around. See .

Snapping and alignment

If a piece of Expression text is at the same position as a dynamic, and has the same voice assignment and the same position setting (above/below), the two items will snap together, with the expression positioned after the dynamic. If either item is moved, the other will follow.

To decouple a piece of Expression text from a dynamic:

Select the text
Go to the Properties panel
Under Expression, uncheck Align with preceding dynamic.

You can then move the items independently of each other.

If you want to disable this snapping behaviour entirely, uncheck Format -> Style -> Expression text -> Snap to dynamics.

If a hairpin starts and/or ends at the same position as a dynamic, and has the same voice assignment and the same position setting (above/below), the hairpin will automatically vertically align with the dynamic(s) at either end.

To disable this behaviour for a specific hairpin:

Select the hairpin
Go to the Properties panel
Under Expression, in the Position tab, uncheck Snap to previous (to disable alignment with any dynamic at the beginning of the hairpin) and/or Snap to next (to disable alignment with any dynamic at the end).

Flipping the position of a snapped or aligned item to the other side of the staff, or changing the voice assignment of either item, will automatically stop it from snapping or aligning.

Combining dynamics and text

There are two ways to combine dynamics and text together, and there are subtle but important differences between them.

Dynamics and expression text

Where a dynamic is followed by an expressive marking, for example p dolce or f espress., it is best to input the dynamic and the expression text as separate items. The two will automatically snap together (see ).

The quickest way to add expression text to a dynamic in this way is:

Enter a dynamic into the score via any method (the dynamic will be selected once it is entered)
Click the expression item in the Text palette, which adds a piece of expression text after the dynamic
Edit the expression text as necessary (assuming the text is selected, which it will be after it is entered, simply press Enter to go into editing mode).

You can also input them the other way round (expression, then dynamic), though the expression will still be placed after the dynamic.

The cresc./dim. text lines can be added to a dynamic in exactly the same way, and will snap to the dynamic, as will hairpins.

Text as part of a dynamics item

If the text is part of a dynamic phrase, for example più p or f sub., it is usually best to type these directly into the dynamic, so that it is treated as a single item. This is also the only way to put text before the dynamics symbol, as expression items are always placed after the dynamic when snapped.

Double click the dynamic, or select it and press Enter, to go into editing mode
Use the cursor keys to move to the start or end of the item (if necessary)
Type in the text.

Any text typed into a Dynamic item is styled as Expression text, and is scaled independently of the dynamics symbols.

When Avoid barlines is turned on, this applies to the entirety of a dynamics item, including any text which is typed into the item itself. It does not apply to any expression item that may be snapped to the barline. Consider the difference between these two examples:

In the former case, the barline avoidance pushes the text to the left and the dynamic appears as though it applies earlier than intended. This is one reason why it is often preferable to use separate expression text rather than adding text after a dynamic directly.

When a dynamics item includes text, you can also choose whether the dynamic should remain centered under the note with the text extending out to the left and/or right (this is the default), or whether the whole item should be centered. These options are available in the Properties panel, in the Dynamics section under Show more:

The icons illustrate the difference between the two options. This has no effect when a dynamic has an piece of expression text attached to it.

Properties

Individual dynamics and hairpins can be edited via the . To edit the score-wide settings, see .

Dynamics properties

For dynamics, the following options are available:

Scale: the size of the dynamics symbol, as a percentage relative to default
Avoid barlines: whether dynamics should automatically be offset left or right to avoid collisions with barlines (see )
Voice assignment: to which voice the selected dynamic is assigned; this can affect both its position and also ; the default is All (see )

Under Show more:

Alignment with notehead: how to align a dynamics item which has additional text in it; see for details
Border: allows you to draw a square or round border around the item. The usual additional border settings will appear if either is chosen.

If the dynamics item has additional text typed into it, there will also be a Text heading which contains the usual text properties (font, style, size, etc.) These settings will only affect the text, not any dynamics symbols.

Hairpin properties

For hairpins, the following options are available:

Position

Voice assignment: to which voice the selected dynamic is assigned; this can affect both its position and also ; the default is All (see , below)
Position: whether the dynamic should be positioned above or below the staff; the default, Auto, means that the position will be determined by voice assignment
Alignment with adjacent dynamics

Style

These options are available for hairpins specifically. For cresc./dim. lines the options are instead the same as for other text lines: see .

Niente circle: draws a small circle at the point of the hairpin to indicate niente (coming from or going to nothing)
Allow diagonal: allow the hairpin to be angled (see )
Thickness: the thickness of the line
Height: the height of the open end of the hairpin (see

Text

These settings are the same as for text lines: see .

Style

See the main chapter

Format -> Style -> Dynamics & hairpins contains options for the default positioning, spacing, and appearance of dynamics and hairpins.

You can edit the expression text style (which affects Expression text items and also any normal text typed into Dynamics items) in Format → Style → Text styles → Expression.

Default positions of dynamics and hairpins

See .

Dynamics

Override score font: dynamics are usually taken from the music font (as specified in Format -> Style -> Score -> Musical symbols font). If you want to use a different font for dynamics only, check this box, and then select your desired font from the Font dropdown
Avoid barlines: whether all dynamics should be offset to avoid barlines by default (see )
Scale: the size of dynamics symbols, as a percentage relative to default

Though dynamics look like text, and are frequently used alongside text, they are better considered as musical symbols like any other (clefs, noteheads, etc) and in any given music font are designed at a certain size appropriate to the other symbols in the font. This is why the Scale setting is not expressed in points, but as a percentage, where 100% represents 'the size at which they are designed'.

Hairpins

Offset above/below: the default vertical position of hairpins above and below the staff
Height: the default height of the open end of hairpins
Continue height: the default height of the opening of hairpins at the start of a new system, when they cross a system break
Autoplace, distance to dynamics: the distance between the end of a hairpin and a dynamic

Dynamics playback compatibility

Support for voice-specific dynamics varies depending on the sound technology chosen (e.g. SoundFont, VST, or Muse Sounds) and whether the instrument is a single-note-dynamic instrument (i.e. an instrument capable of changing its dynamic on a single note, such as the violin or flute) or a non-single-note-dynamic instrument (e.g. the piano or percussion instruments, where the instrument's dynamic properties begin to recede after a note's initial attack).

In the below table, single-note-dynamic instruments are referred to as SND instruments, while non-single-note-dynamic instruments are referred to as non-SND instruments.

Sound technnology

Support for individual voices/staves

English (US)

MuseScore Studio Handbook

Getting started

About the handbook

MuseScore versions covered

Editing the handbook

Guidelines for writing articles

Structure - General principles

Start with an overview

Establish a hierarchy

Group information logically

Focus on user tasks, not just UI components

Headings

Content

Descriptive material

Goal-oriented instructions

Use of non-written media

Creating animated GIFs

Style guide

General

Case

UI labels

Arrows in UI paths

Bullet points

Numbered lists

Hyperlinks

Keyboard shortcuts

Typed characters

Structure

Pages

Page titles

Subpages

Groups

License

Introduction

Download and installation

Windows

Create your first score

Entering score information

Entering notes

Adding items from the palettes

Making adjustments in Properties

Inserting and deleting measures

Saving your score

Exporting your score

Upgrading from earlier versions

User interface

Instruments and parts

Inspector

New playback and VSTi support

Engraving improvements

Cloud storage

Other changes

Navigation

Accessibility

Screen readers

Speech on Windows

Navigating your score

Scrolling

Mouse wheel

Scrollbars

Keyboard

Element navigation

Navigator

Timeline

Views

Page view

Continuous view (horizontal)

Continuous view (vertical)

Zoom

Zoom in

Zoom out

Status bar zoom controls

Restoring 100% zoom

Find/Go to

Navigating to a numbered measure

Navigating to a numbered page

Navigating to a numerical rehearsal mark

Navigating to an alphabetic rehearsal mark

Timeline