MuseScore in Minutes: The Basics of Score Writing

Once you have created a new project, you can
begin entering notation using the "Note Input" bar.

The simplest way to start
is to click on a duration first

and then hover over the score
and click to place it.

This enters you into "Note Input" mode.

If you want to exit this mode so you
can select other elements on the score,

you can either de-select the "Note Input"
button or simply press Escape.

You can now select notes on
the score and edit them,

changing the duration, adding accidentals,
augmenting the duration,

or adding common articulations,
like accents or staccato marks.

This "Slur" button allows you to add a slur 
over a selected range of notes.

You can also use the very handy
shortcut "S" to do this.

This "Tie" button allows you to
tie two durations together.

And you can change between voices here.

Then there's the "Tuplet" button.

To use this, you’ll need to select a duration,
and then click on the "Tuplet" button

to choose the type you want.

You can also select the duration and 
use the shortcut Ctrl 3 on Windows

(or Command 3 on a Mac). The number you 
choose determines the division of the tuplet.

This "Add" button allows you to quickly access 
multiple other kinds of elements,

like titles or lyrics.

Lastly, this "Settings" button lets you choose
the options you'd like to be displayed

in this bar by default.

For example, you can choose to display
an option for a 3rd and a 4th voice.

You can use shortcuts to quickly
specify durations as you are writing.

By default, MuseScore uses a linear system
assigned to the numbers on your keyboard.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

You can quickly specify pitches like this:

A, B, C, D, and so on.

If you hold the Shift key while
adding a new pitch,

it will stack it on an existing
note to create a chord.

You can press Up and Down
to alter the pitch of a selected note,

and if you hold Control or Command
while doing this, you can alter the octave.

There are many more
shortcuts that you can learn

by going our online handbook
or searching our forum.

If you want to change an existing shortcut,
you can do so in the preferences,

which, on a Mac can be found by clicking
on this "MuseScore" menu item.

For PC or Linux users,
you'll find it in the "Edit" menu.

The next most important interface 
in MuseScore is the palettes panel.

This is where you can find any type of element 
that you would like to add to your score.

For example, if you wanted to add a dynamic,

the best way to do this would be to select
the note where you'd like it to be placed,

then click on the dynamic to
see it appear on your score.

Alternatively, you can drag it directly 
from the palettes menu onto the score.

If you don't need a palette in this default list,

you can select it and press the
backspace or delete button to hide it.

All hidden palettes can be accessed by
clicking on the "Add palettes" button here.

Clicking on one of these "Add" buttons will 
promote a palette so it is shown in the main list.

The last core interface you'll need for
score writing is the "Properties" panel

(which used to be called the "Inspector"
in previous versions of MuseScore).

The "Properties" panel displays useful options
for anything you can place on your score.

For example, if you select a note,

you can use the "Properties" panel
to quickly alter the notehead

or the beaming properties.

If I select a hairpin, I can add a
"niente" marking quickly.

If you select a measure, there's a useful option
to quickly delete it or add new measures.

You can toggle the visibility of
any item on your score

and you quickly change notation
to be cue sized too.

If you select multiple elements
at the same time,

the "Properties" panel will
smartly package its options

so that you can still access
any setting you need.

Apart from that, the "Properties" panel
has plenty of useful default options

when nothing is selected.

You can quickly toggle the visibility
of markings that won't be printed,

like frames around text boxes
or invisible items.

You can also hide or show empty staves

and you can access your page
and style settings too.

This is a really basic overview of 
the key concepts for score writing.

For more detailed tutorials,

check out some of our later
chapters on our YouTube channel,

or look through our online handbook, 
which is linked in the description below.