Topic #28: Clefs and ranges in MuseScore

In this MuseTube lesson, you’ll learn how to work with clefs in MuseScore: how to add, change, or delete clefs, use courtesy clefs, apply octave clefs, and even indicate an instrument’s vocal range. It’s a simple yet essential topic for reading and writing scores accurately.

🎼 Which clef does MuseScore assign by default?

When creating a new score, MuseScore automatically assigns the clef that best suits the instrument: treble clef for guitar, bass clef for tuba, alto clef for viola, and both treble and bass clefs for piano. You can change any of these manually later.

🖱️ How to change or delete a clef

From the “Clefs” palette, you can:

• Drag a new clef over an existing one
• Click on an existing clef and then click the new one in the palette
• Insert a clef change in the middle of the score

Initial clefs cannot be deleted but can be hidden via “Staff/Part Properties” by unchecking “Show clef”.

📘 Courtesy clefs

Courtesy clefs are small clefs that appear at the end of a system when a clef change is coming in the next one. They help performers anticipate the change. Enable or disable them globally from “Format > Style > Page”, or individually from the “Properties” of a specific clef.

🎚️ Octave clefs

Clefs with a small “8” or “15” above or below indicate that notes are transposed visually by one or two octaves, without changing how they sound. For instance, the guitar uses a treble clef with a downward 8 to simplify reading low notes. This also helps instruments like the tuba read music in a higher position while maintaining correct pitch playback.

📏 Range indication

From the “Range” palette, you can add a visual indication of an instrument’s tessitura (range) above the clef. This is fully customizable in terms of pitch, octave, and visual appearance. While not a clef itself, it sits above one and is useful in educational or editorial scores.