Keyboard shortcuts in MuseScore can make your workflow much faster and more efficient. In this guide, we will teach you over 50 essential shortcuts, organized by categories so you can learn them step by step and apply them to your scores.

🎹 Shortcuts for Creating a New Score

To start working on a new score, you can use the shortcut Ctrl + N, which will open the score creation wizard.

🎵 Shortcuts for Note Input

• Enter note input mode: N
• Select note duration: 1-7 (1 = 64th note, 7 = whole note)
• Enter a note: A-G (according to the Anglo-Saxon system, where A=La, B=Si, etc.)
• Insert a rest: 0
• Add a dotted note: .

🎼 Shortcuts for Octave Changes and Alterations

• Move up an octave: Ctrl + ↑
• Move down an octave: Ctrl + ↓
• Move up a semitone: ↑
• Move down a semitone: ↓
• Change enharmonic spelling (e.g., C# ↔ Db): J

🎶 Shortcuts for Creating Chords

To add notes to a chord in MuseScore, use the Shift key and then the corresponding note:

• Add a note to a chord: Shift + (A-G)
• Change the stem direction: X

🎵 Shortcuts for Triplets and Irregular Groups

• Create a triplet: Select the base duration and press Ctrl + 3
• Create a quintuplet: Ctrl + 5
• Repeat the last action: R

📜 Shortcuts for Navigation and Editing

• Move through the score note by note: ← →
• Move measure by measure: Ctrl + ← / Ctrl + →
• Select from the current note to the beginning: Shift + Home
• Select to the end: Shift + End
• Select all: Ctrl + A
• Copy: Ctrl + C
• Cut: Ctrl + X
• Paste: Ctrl + V
• Undo: Ctrl + Z
• Redo: Ctrl + Y

📌 Shortcuts for Score Structure

• Add a system break: Enter
• Make an element invisible: V
• Add a new instrument: I
• Insert a measure before the selected one: Insert
• Delete a measure: Ctrl + Del

🎤 Shortcuts for Lyrics and Chords

• Add lyrics: Ctrl + L
• Add a chord symbol: Ctrl + K
• Move through lyrics: Space (next syllable), Hyphen (-) (next syllable within a word)

🔊 Shortcuts for Playback

• Play or pause the score: Space

These keyboard shortcuts will help you work much faster and more efficiently in MuseScore. If you want to learn more shortcuts, you can check the official MuseScore documentation.