by Tamsyn

April 15, 2011

Tip:  Print out assignment (found here) before starting so you will have a hard copy to refer to.  You may want to print out the instructions too.

New skills in this exercise include accidentals, blocked intervals, and rests.
Finished assignment should look like this.
One more tip:  Sometimes it may be hard to select (highlight) a note.  You can do this easily by going out of note-entry-mode and then clicking on the note that you wish to select.  This way you are sure to not add any notes.  Then press “n” again to go back into note-entry-mode and your note should still be highlighted.
Step-by-step instructions for this assignment.
  1. Open Muse score.  Type shortcut “Ctrl+n” to start a new file, or click on the file menu and click “new”.
  2. Give the work the title “Assignment #2” and type your name in the composer box.  Select “Create new score from template”, and click next.
  3. Select “lead Sheet” and click next.  Use the default settings to create your new file and select “finish”.
  4. Press “n” to be in note entry mode.  Press 5 to select the quarter note and type “c”.  Ctrl+down makes it middle C.
  5. Type D, then E.  The E will be selected, now press the down button.  It becomes Eb.  When you push the down button, the default accidentals favor the flats.  Finish the first line in like manner.
  6. Beginning in measure five, start a D scale by typing D, E, F.  Now push the up button, and the F becomes F#.  The default accidental for going up are sharps.  Finish the second line in like manner.
  7. Measures 9-10 were put in this assignment to let you play with this feature a little bit.  Type “E,F,G”.  With the G selected, press down and you have Gb.  Press down again and you have F.  Press up and you have F#.  Gb and F# are called enharmonic equivalents, but they are spelled differently.  This is an easy way to change the spelling.
  8. In measure 11, type E, D, then press 6 no highlight the half note and press C.  Type “0” to create a half rest.  Press 5 to highlight the quarter note again and type “D, F”.
  9. Measure 13.  Type C.  Now hold down the “alt” key and type “3” (alt+3).  You should have a blocked third.  Type 0 for a rest.  Finish the fourth line in like manner.
  10. Measure 17.  Type C to make a half note on c.  Type alt+3 to make a third, and continue.  In measure 18 after you type “G”, press the up arrow to make it G#.  Then type alt+3 to make a B.
  11. Measure 19.  Type “G”.  Alt+3 adds a B.  Press the dawn key to make it be Bb.  When you make the second third, the measure will add a natural by default.  Finish the line.
  12. In Measure 22, you will need to add a courtesy accidental as a reminder that the F should be played natural.  First make the D and F.  Go over to the palettes on the left and find the one that says “Accidentals”.  It’s just below the middle.  Click the arrow to see the options.  Click and drag the natural symbol over to the F.  When the F is highlighted (turns red), let go.  Now go back to the accidentals palette and drag the ( ) to the natural on the F.
  13. In measure 23, build a chord by typing “C” and alt+3 twice.  Type C and bring it down an octave (ctrl + down).  Type alt+4, alt+3 to make the C,F,A chord.  Type “7” to select the whole note and build a C chord to finish.

About the author 

Tamsyn

My name is Tamsyn and I love music. I got my bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from USU. I spent many years teaching private piano lessons until I had children of my own. I have attended several children workshops on how to teach children music. I really like the Kodaly method, but have adapted a lot of different techniques for my own children.

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  1. I loved the first assignment! I'm struggling with this one, though, as not everything is in the instructions. (The link to the assignment page no longer works.) Most of the concepts and shortcuts still work in MuseScore 4: Yay!

    I assume the assignment page is different? I'd love to see it!

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