We have been in contact with some of you recently regarding the Figurenotes plugins for MuseScore 4. There were a few problems arising from changes within the MuseScore programme. We are delighted to announce that these issues have been fixed and an updated version of the plugin is now available.
Please download the plugin again for the updates. You can find it in our Hub or in the MuseScore Plugin Library.
We have created a wee video with some troubleshooting tips, as there are a few quirks due to the latest MuseScore design. You can use the menu below or scroll down for written instructions too.
- How to change an entire score
- How to change one bar/phrase
- How to change one note
- Tips for editing and correcting
How to change an entire score
You can change a complete score by simply going to the plugin menu along the top of your screen and selecting the plugin you want. Doing this will apply the plugin to the entire score. If already applied, you can remove the colours or shapes by doing the same action. It toggles on and off. We recommend keeping your score all black until you have completely finished your piece.
How to change a bar or phrase
If you have a score that you’ve applied the colours or shapes to, but you want to add or edit something, you’ll notice that the colours don’t apply to your edits. We recommend doing all editing with a completely plain score and applying the plugin at the end. However, it is possible to select just the bar or notes that you want to change.
- Click on the blank space in a bar to select the whole bar.
- To select a passage, click on the first note/bar of the passage, then hold shift while clicking the last note/bar of the passage. A blue box will appear around your selection.
Once selected, you can toggle the plugin on or off to match the rest of the score.
How to change a single note
A quirk of MuseScore means you can click on a note without properly selecting that note for editing using the plugin. Your note must have a blue box surrounding it before the plugin will apply to just that note. To do this is a little faffy, which is why we suggest keeping the plugin off until you’ve finished editing.
- Click on the note you want to change
- Hold down shift while you select a note or rest next to it. You can also use the shortcut shift + a sideways arrow (whichever side the note/rest is)
- Then use shift and a sideways arrow to shrink the selection box down to just one note.
It doesn’t matter which side the other note you select is. We are just trying to make MuseScore select a passage before shrinking the selection down to just the note we want. Look for the blue box surrounding the note to be sure.
Tips for Editing or Correcting
So you’ve made an entire piece, applied the plugin, and turned it Figurenotey. Then you see a C that should have been a D. When you edit that note, the colour will stay as a red C regardless of what you change it to. This then needs correcting. You could make sure you toggle off the plugins before changing anything, but we often forget about that until we’ve changed the note.
You will need to follow the advice above on how to change a single note. The only difference is, if the note is already coloured, you will need to turn off the plugin for that note and then click again to reapply. This way you’ll end up with the correct colour on your selected note.
The same applies if you add a note to a previously coloured score. All added notes will be in black and white. You will need to select the new note and apply the plugin to change it to the correct colour.