MuseScore in Minutes: Dynamics, Articulations, Tempo & Text

Now I'm going to show you how to add 
various kinds of dynamic markings,

articulations and text to your score.

To place a dynamic,
you can select a note on the score

and then click on the desired
dynamic in the palettes menu.

Here I'm going to place a piano
dynamic on the first beat of the first bar

and then a forte mark on the 
third beat of this second bar.

Now if I select a note or
dynamic on the first beat,

I can apply the crescendo hairpin

and then drag it
to the forte dynamic,

or use the shortcut Shift+Ctrl+Right Arrow 
(or Shift+Command+Right Arrow on Mac).

Once a hairpin is connected to a dynamic,
you can move the dynamic itself

and the hairpin will stretch accordingly.

Many of the most common articulations
can be added using the "Note Input" bar.

For example, if you
select a range of notes,

you can quickly apply
marcato or accent marks,

as well as tenuto and staccato marks.

In addition, you can select a range of notes
and place a slur mark over all of them

using the slur button
(or with the shortcut “S”).

And you can tie durations
using this tie button

(or the handy shortcut “T”).

Now if you hover over any of
these buttons, a tooltip will appear

that describes the shortcut that
can be used to quickly access them.

It's worth mentioning that you can also select
a range of notes across multiple instruments

and apply an articulation or dynamic
to all of them at once.

All other articulations can be found in the
"Palettes" panel, including arpeggios,

tremolo marks, trills and fermatas.

There are also numerous
instrument-specific markings

that can be added from
the palettes menu,

including up and down
bow strokes for strings,

bends for the guitar

and pedal markings for piano.
They all work in the same way:

Just select the place where
you'd like the marking to be applied

and then click on the marking in question.

Some markings will have unique settings
available in the "Properties" panel.

For example, if I select
this fermata marking,

then if there are playback options available,
this "Playback" button will be active.

If I click on that, I can now specify
how long the fermata should last.

There are also multiple text-based
markings available in the palettes menu.

For example, if I select this range of
bars and open the "Tempo" palette,

I can apply this ritenuto marking.

Another key text element
in this palette is "Swing",

which alters the playback
to produce a swing feel.

I can find the tempo markings
from the "Tempo" palette

and rehearsal marks
from the "Text" palette.

Most text items can be modified 
by double-clicking on them.

If you’d like to enter a
special music character,

you can do this by selecting
the "Properties" panel

and choosing the
"Insert special characters" button,

which triggers a popup that contains
a range of commonly used symbols.

If you’d like to enter a bespoke performance
direction to appear above the stave,

select a note or bar first, followed by
the "Add" button in the top bar.

From there, navigate to the "Text" option
and choose "Staff Text"

to begin writing your text instruction.

Alternatively, you can use the shortcut
Ctrl + T (or Command + T on Mac).

Expression text can also be
added via the "Add" button,

or by using the shortcut Ctrl + E
(or Command + E on Mac).

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