MuseScore 4 can write early music and slash notation: mensural time signatures, early noteheads, music without barlines, “Mensurstrich” and guitar slashes (Tools → Fill with slashes).
This MuseTube lesson covers alternative notation in MuseScore, ways of writing music beyond the standard modern system: early music (medieval, Renaissance), mensural notation, unmeasured music, the “Mensurstrich” style and chord slash notation for guitar. An essential guide for historical transcriptions or non-traditional scores.
📜 Early music notation: Medieval and Renaissance
Early music scores often lack barlines and use distinctive noteheads. MuseScore allows you to create these styles by:
- Changing the time signature style to mensural symbols via “Time Signature Properties > Others”.
- Applying ancient diamond noteheads via the notehead property menu.
- Hiding barlines in “Staff/Part Properties”.
- Allowing notes to cross barlines in “Format > Style > Score”.
This setup lets you replicate authentic unmeasured music notation.
🧱 Infinite measure and insert mode
You can also simulate free-meter music by using the Insert mode (hold the pencil icon and select “Insert”). This lets you enter as many notes as needed in a single measure.
Key tips:
- The “+” sign marks the measure as irregular (longer than expected).
- You can hide the “+” via “Mark irregular measures”.
Perfect for improvisation, cadenzas, or early music styles.
🧭 Mensurstrich notation
“Mensurstrich” is a 20th-century notation style where barlines appear between staves, not through them. It’s used to help modern performers read early music while keeping the visual flow intact. To apply it:
- Hide barlines in the bottom staff via “Staff/Part Properties”.
- Select all barlines (except the first one).
- Uncheck “Span to next staff”.
- Set “Span from” to place the line between staves.
- Click “Set as staff default” to apply across all bars.
The result: barlines appear between the staves, but not within the notation — preserving both readability and authenticity.
🎸 Slash notation for guitar
Slash notation is a common way to indicate strumming patterns. To use it:
- Select measures and go to “Tools > Fill with slashes”.
- Add chord symbols above using Ctrl+K.
You can also assign specific rhythmic values:
- Change a slash to a half note, quarter note, eighth note, etc.
- Reveal stems by unchecking “Hide stem” in Properties.
🔊 Playback of slash notation
By default, MuseScore only plays the chord symbols, not the slashes. To enable slash rhythm playback:
- Write the chords with full notation (e.g., C–E–G).
- Select the measures and go to “Tools > Toggle rhythmic slash notation”.
- Enable “Play” in the Properties panel.
This way, MuseScore will play the actual rhythm pattern along with the correct harmonies.