Mus2 User’s Guide

Introduction ................................................ 2 Ornaments.................................................... 14

Demo Mode .............................................. 2 Dynamics ...................................................... 15
Unlocking Mus2 ........................................ 2 Lyrics ............................................................ 15
Basics ..................................................... 3 Floating Text ................................................ 15
Toolstrip ................................................... 3 Changing Text Properties ............................ 15
File Operations ......................................... 3 Clefs ............................................................. 15
Exporting Files .......................................... 4 Key Signature............................................... 16
Score Information .................................... 5 Time Signature ............................................ 16
Edit Operations ........................................ 5 Bar ............................................................... 16
View Options ............................................ 5 Navigation Symbols ..................................... 17
Layout ................................................... 7 Tempo ......................................................... 17
Page Layout .............................................. 7 Eraser ........................................................... 17
Paper Size .................................................. 7 Hand ............................................................ 17
Staves & Instruments ............................... 8 Cut, copy and delete notes .................... 17
Symbols ................................................... 9 Paste notes ............................................. 17
Creating Symbols ...................................... 9 Adjust the position of notes ................... 18
Importing & Exporting .............................. 9 Cursor .......................................................... 18
Preparing Graphics for Mus2 ................... 9 Working with MIDI ..................................... 19
Tuning .................................................. 11 Setting Up MIDI Input .................................. 19
Creating Tunings ..................................... 11 Microtonal Key Mapping ............................. 19
Pitch ....................................................... 12 Recording .................................................... 19
Key Signature .......................................... 12 Editing .......................................................... 20
Importing & Exporting ............................ 12 Quantization ................................................ 20
Writing Music ....................................... 13 Exporting MIDI ............................................. 21
Notes ...................................................... 13 Keyboard Shortcuts .................................... 22
Rests ....................................................... 13 Toolstrip Shortcuts ...................................... 22
Beams...................................................... 13 Note Entry ................................................... 22
Tuplets .................................................... 13 Preferences ................................................ 24
Flipping Notes and Other Elements ........ 14 Frequently Asked Questions....................... 25
Ties .......................................................... 14
Slurs ........................................................ 14
Articulations ............................................ 14

Mus2 3.x © 2022 Data-Soft Ltd.

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Introduction
Mus2 is a music application designed for the notation of Turkish maqam music and microtonal works.
This user’s guide explains the various aspects of using Mus2.
If this is the first time you are installing Mus2, please see the following sections for basic information
on using the application.
NOTE: If you obtained Mus2 through the Mac App Store, you do not need to unlock your copy.

Demo Mode
When Mus2 is installed on your computer for the first time, it will start in demo mode. The demo
mode will let you try all of Mus2’s features without any time limitations, including all notation symbols
and playback, but there are a few things you can’t do in this mode:
• You cannot save your work.
• You can only print the first page of a score.
• You cannot export the score to certain formats, such as JPEG and AIFF.
To purchase a license for Mus2, please visit the Mus2 web site at www.mus2.com.tr.

Unlocking Mus2
Once you have purchased a license for Mus2, follow these steps to unlock your sobware:
1. If Mus2 isn’t running, launch the application.
If Mus2 is already running, click Unlock from the Help menu.
2. When the Demo screen appears, click the Unlock bukon. A text box will appear at the bokom.
3. Type or paste your serial number into the box (labeled “Enter your serial number”).
4. Click OK. Optionally, enter your registration information and click Register. A “thank you” message
will appear.

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Basics
The notation tools in Mus2 are located in the toolstrip at the leb edge of the main window. The
general workflow with these tools consists of first selecting the tool you need and then applying it by
clicking on the score paper.
Other features such as file operations, view, layout and tuning options are available through the menu
at the top of the Mus2 window. Some of these features can also be found in the toolbar just below the
menu for quick access.

The Mus2 window

In the Mac version of Mus2, the menu is located outside the Mus2 window, at the top of the screen.
Beside this minor difference, the Mac and Windows versions of Mus2 look and function the same.

Toolstrip
The toolstrip is composed of four color-coded sections. The yellow section at the top hosts the main
notation tools. The other three sections (red, green and blue) display the sub-tools and setings
available for the selected tool.
The terms “main section” and “sub‐section” in this guide refer to the sections of the toolstrip.
To access the toolstrip with keyboard shortcuts, refer to the Toolstrip Shortcuts chapter of this guide.
For more information on the notation tools, see the Writing Music chapter.

File Operations
The basic commands for working with score files are located in the File menu.

File Menu Commands

New Opens a new, blank score.

Open Opens a previously saved score.

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 Close Closes the current score.

Save Saves the current score.

Save As Saves the current score with a different file name.

Print Sends the current score to your printer.

Export See Exporting Files.

Score Information See Score Information.

Clean Up Removes all unused symbols and tunings from the score.

Quit Closes all open scores and quits Mus2.

The Save and Save As commands store your score with the “.mus2” extension in Mus2’s own score
format. This file format is generally very compact and suitable for transferring over the Internet.

Exporting Files
If you’d like to view or listen to your score on a computer without Mus2, use one of the options under
the Export command in the File menu to convert your score to a different format. See below for more
about the available file formats.

Audio

AIFF
Used for recording to CD, converting to MP3, etc.
Wave

MIDI Used for re-arranging the score in another music application. See Exporting MIDI.

Visual

Bitmap Saves the score with a white background and no compression.

Saves the score with a white background and with compression. Suitable for web
JPEG
pages.

Used for viewing the score with Adobe Reader and other PDF readers. This is a vector-
PDF
based format, suitable for printing.

Saves the score with a transparent background and with lossless compression.
PNG
Recommended for web pages.

Saves the score as a vector graphic. Recommended for exporting to page layout
SVG
and graphics applications.

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Score Information
To view and edit the metadata about your score, select Score Information from the File menu.
In addition to displaying the score title, subtitle, composer and lyricist, the Score Information window
lets you view and edit extra information for cataloguing or indexing the score file.

Edit Operations
All operations you perform on a score in Mus2 can be reverted with the Undo command (Windows:
CTRL + Z; Mac: ⌘Z) in the Edit menu. Undone actions can be repeated with the Redo command
(Windows: CTRL + Y; Mac: ⇧⌘Z).
To copy and paste notes in the same score or between scores, use the commands listed
below.

Edit Menu Commands

Undo Reverts the last action performed.

Redo Repeats the last undone action.

Cut Copies the selected notes and deletes the originals.

Copy Copies the selected notes without deleting the originals.

Pastes the copied notes and any akached slurs, dynamics and
Paste All
tuplets.

Paste Notes Pastes the copied notes without slurs, dynamics and tuplets.

Delete Deletes the selected notes.

Shib Notes Shibs the selected notes upwards or downwards.

Clears the manual position adjustments made to the selected

Reset Note Positions
notes. See Adjust the position of notes.

Select All Selects all the notes in the score.

Preferences See Preferences.

Before using the Cut and Copy commands, you must select one or more notes. To select all the notes
in the score, use the Select All command. To select a group of notes, click the Hand tool and choose
the Select notes option (see Cut, copy and delete notes).
To paste the copied notes at a specific location, use the Cursor tool (see Cursor) or right-click at the
desired location and choose the Paste command. The paste cursor is shown as an orange line.

View Options
You can find the options that govern the size and appearance of the score paper in the View menu.
The commands in the first section of the menu will automatically fit the paper to the workspace in
various ways. To go back to 100% zoom, choose the Reset Zoom command.
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You can also the use the Zoom In and Zoom Out commands to adjust the level of zoom. These
commands are available in the toolbar for quick access.
To see the hidden items such as invisible rests and bar lines in the score, make sure the Show Hidden
Items command is checked.

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Layout
To adjust the paper size, the overall size of the staves and the number of extra pages, and to show or
hide title elements, choose the Layout command from the Score menu.

Page Layout
The Page Layout tab of the Layout window contains options for the score’s title area, the overall size
of the staves and the number of extra pages at the end of the score.
The title area is located at the top of the first page and contains text elements for the score title,
subtitle, composer and lyricist. To change the height of the title area, enter a new value in the Height
box.
To show or hide the title, subtitle, composer and lyricist, check or uncheck the respective boxes. To
change any of this information, select the Text tool and use the Floating Text sub‐tool (see Floating
Text).
To change the overall size of the staves, increase or decrease the percentage value in the Scale Staves
by box. Values larger than 100% enlarge the staves, while values below fit more staves in a given area.
To show bar numbers at the start of each line, check the Show Bar Numbers box.
Mus2 determines the layout and flow of the notes, and accordingly, the number of pages, in your
score automatically. If you need extra pages at the end of your score, for example, to provide extra
information, enter the number of pages needed in the Extra Pages box.
If the "Show Page Numbers" box is checked, page numbers will be displayed.

Paper Size
To change the size of the paper and the page margins, go to the Paper Size tab. Some common
paper sizes are available in the Presets list.

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Staves & Instruments
To edit the staves and staff groups in your score, choose Staves from the Score menu.
The staves and groups in the score are listed in the leb. To add new groups and staves, use the Add
Group and Add Staff bukons, respectively. To remove a staff or group, select it and click Remove.
To re-order staves and groups, and to move a staff from one group to another, drag the item to the
desired location.
When a group or staff is selected, its properties are shown in the right. Each group and staff has a long
name and a short name. Long names are used in the first line of the score, while short names are used
for subsequent lines.
To create a grand staff from one or more staves, put the desired staves in the same group and choose
a line type from the Grouping Line list.
Each staff can be associated with an instrument independently of its group. The available instruments
are shown in the Instrument list.
The visual properties of the staves are available in the Appearance frame. The register of a staff is
determined by the values in the Levels Above and Levels Below boxes. Levels are counted beginning
from the first staff line (marked green).
These values are also used to adjust the spacing between staves. If the notation elements in one staff
collides with another staff, select the problematic staff and increase one of the Levels Above or Levels
Below values as appropriate to enlarge the space surrounding the staff.
The number of horizontal lines in a staff can be changed from the Staff Lines box. If the Thicken lines
option is checked, one staff line every given interval will be drawn thicker than the rest.

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Symbols
To import your own graphics into Mus2 for creating new accidentals, choose Symbols from the Score
menu.

Creating Symbols
Every Mus2 score maintains its own list of accidental symbols. These symbols are shown on the leb in
the Symbols window.
To create a new symbol:
1. Click Add.
2. The new accidental appears at the bokom of the list. Make sure the accidental is selected.
3. Enter the accidental’s name in the Name box.
4. Enter the accidental’s value in the Value box in cents. Positive values will raise the pitch, while
negative values will lower it. Accidentals with a value of zero function as natural
( ) signs.
5. If the symbol you want to use for this accidental is stored in an SVG file, click Acquire from SVG. If
you want to import a symbol from a font, click Acquire from Font. The symbol you selected will
appear on the preview staff.
6. To change the size of the symbol, drag it from its bokom-leb corner or enter a percentage value in
the Scale box.
7. To change the vertical position of the symbol, drag it up or down.
To duplicate a symbol, click Duplicate. To remove a symbol, select it and click Remove.
Accidentals are displayed in the blue section of the toolstrip when the Note tool is selected.

Importing & Exporting

There are two ways to exchange accidentals between scores:
1. For a single accidental:
a. Select the accidental you wish to export in the Symbols window and click Export. This will save
the accidental in a stand-alone accidental file.
b. Open the Symbols window in the target score, click Import, and select the accidental file you
exported.
2. To import multiple accidentals in one step:
Click Import in the Symbols window and select the Mus2 score file that contains the accidentals
you wish to import. All accidentals defined in the selected score are imported into the current
score.
To quickly import your favorite accidentals in one step, keep the accidentals in a single score.

Preparing Graphics for Mus2

The SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format defines graphics using mathematical formulae. Vector-
based graphics can be displayed at any size and resolution without any visual deterioration.
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Raster graphics formats such as Bitmap, JPEG and PNG may appear different from their screen
appearance when printed. To display and print notation symbols consistently in every medium, Mus2
supports loading graphics in the SVG format only.
When preparing graphics for use in Mus2, you can make use of music fonts installed in your computer.
However, to make sure your score can be displayed correctly on computers that don’t have these
fonts, you must convert any text objects to regular shapes in your graphics application (for example, in
Adobe Illustrator, use the “Create Outlines” command on text layers). For more information, consult
the help documentation that came with your graphics sobware.

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Tuning
To edit the tunings in your score, choose Tuning from the Score menu.

Creating Tunings
Every Mus2 score maintains its own list of tunings. These tunings are shown on the leb side of the
Tuning window. To create a new tuning, click the Add bukon. To duplicate a tuning, select it and click
Duplicate. To remove a tuning, click the Remove bukon.
General information about the selected tuning is shown on the Tuning tab. You can change the name,
author and description of the tuning using the respective boxes.

Harmony List

On the left side of the Tuning screen, there is a list of predefined chords. (Here, the blue line shows
the tune of the work being studied.) It can be added to the list, deleted, or duplicated and reproduced
by referencing one of the existing ones.

The above options are provided for duplicating. Of these, only the names were displayed in the
"Duplicate in Harmony" option, but it has now been changed to show as a table. Thus, the numbers in
this table can also be used when changes are required to be made on the Pitches screen.

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Pitch
To define the frequencies that correspond to each level of the staff, go to the Pitch tab. The Number
of Pitches determine how many pitch levels will be defined in the tuning. To specify how the scale will
be placed on the staff, use the Scale starts on level box. For a staff with a treble clef in the standard
position, the lowermost staff line corresponds to level zero. Consequently, Middle C in 12-TET would
correspond to level-2.
Using the value in Octave Ratio, you can specify how the pitch values will be altered when repeated
upwards and downwards.
To transpose all of the pitch values, enter a value in cents in the Transpose All box and click
Transpose.
The pitches defined in the selected tuning are shown on an expanded staff with a standard treble clef.
To edit the frequency of a pitch, select it on the staff and enter a new frequency value in Hertz in the
Frequency box.
To specify a pitch as a ratio relative to the first pitch in the scale, enter it as a fraction in the a/b format
in the As a Fraction box and click Calculate. To specify the pitch in cents relative to the first pitch,
enter a value in the In Cents box and click Calculate.

Key Signature
In Mus2, key signatures and tunings are handled as a single entity. You can define the key signature
associated with a tuning on the Key Signature tab.
To add an accidental to the key signature, select the accidental from the upper box on the Key
Signature tab and click on the preview staff below. To remove an accidental, choose the eraser tool
and click the accidental.
To use the same tuning with different key signatures, use the Duplicate bukon to make copies of the
tuning.
To apply tunings and key signatures to staves, see Key Signature.

Importing & Exporting

There are two ways to exchange tunings between scores:
1. For a single tuning:
a. Select the tuning you want to export in the Tuning window and click Export. This will save the
tuning in a stand-alone tuning file.
b. Open the Tuning window in the target score, click Import and select the tuning file you
exported.
2. To import multiple tunings in one step:
Click Import in the Tuning window and select the Mus2 score file that contains the tunings you
wish to import. All of the tunings defined in the selected score are imported into the current score.
To quickly import your favorite tunings in one step, keep the tunings in a single score.

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Writing Music
This section contains step‐by‐step instructions on how to use the notation tools in Mus2.

Notes
1. Choose the Note tool from the main section.
2. Select the note’s rhythmic value and accidental from the sub‐sections.
3. Click the location on the staff where you want to add the note.

Rests
1. Choose the Rest tool from the main section.
2. Select the rest’s rhythmic value from the red and green sub‐sections.
3. If you want to add an invisible rest, choose the Hidden Rest tool from the blue sub-section.
4. Click the location on the staff where you want to add the rest.

Beams
1. Choose the Beam tool from the main section.
2. Choose the Beam Notes tool from the red sub-section.
3. Click the note that starts the beam. The selected note will be marked blue.
4. Click the note that ends the beam.
To beam the notes automatically as you write them, make sure Auto-beam Notes is selected from the
Score menu.
To change the direction of secondary beams:
1. Choose the Change direction of secondary beams tool from the red sub‐section.
2. Click the note where the direction change will be applied.
To create a break in the secondary beams:
1. Choose the Create break in secondary beams tool from the red sub-section.
2. Click the note that will start the break.

Tuplets
1. Choose the Tuplet tool from the main section.
2. Select the dividend of the tuplet ratio from the red sub‐section.
3. Select the divisor of the tuplet ratio from the green sub-section.
4. Click the note where the tuplet will start. The selected note will be marked blue.
5. Click the note where the tuplet will end.

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Flipping Notes and Other Elements
1. Choose the Flip tool from the main section.
2. Click the element that you want to flip.
This tool can be applied to notes, beams, tuplets, slurs and dynamics.

Ties
1. Choose the Tie & Slur tool from the main section.
2. Choose the Tie notes tool from the red sub-section.
3. Click the note head that will start the tie.
To remove a tie:
1. Choose the Break note ties tool from the red sub-section.
2. Click the note head where the tie you want to remove begins.

Slurs
1. Choose the Tie & Slur tool from the main section.
2. Choose the Create slur tool from the red sub-section.
3. Click the note where the slur will start. The selected note will be marked blue.
4. Click the note where the slur will end.

Articulations
1. Choose the Articulation tool from the main section
2. Select the symbol you want to add from the red sub‐section.
3. If you want the articulation to remain inside slurs, choose the Place articulation inside slur tool
from the green sub-section.
If you want to keep the articulation outside slurs, choose the Place articulation outside slur
tool.
4. Click above or below the note where you want to add the articulation.

Ornaments
1. Choose the Ornament tool from the main section.
2. Choose the type of ornament you want to apply from the red sub-section.
3. Click the note where you want to apply the ornament.
To remove ornaments:
1. Choose the Clear ornaments tool from the red sub-section.
2. Click the note whose ornament you want to remove.

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Dynamics
1. Choose the Dynamic tool from the main section.
2. Select the type of dynamic you want to add from the red sub-section.

3. If you want to bind the dynamic to a single staff, click the Dynamic affects one staff tool from
the green sub-section.

To bind the dynamic to two adjacent staves, choose the Dynamic affects both staves tool.
4. Click the note where the dynamic will begin. The selected note will be marked blue.
5. For dynamic marks that span multiple notes, click the note where the dynamic will end.

Lyrics
1. Choose the Text tool from the main section.

2. Choose the Lyrics tool from the red sub-section.

3. Click the note where you want to add the lyrics or, to edit lyrics, click the text you want to change.

Floating Text
1. Choose the Text tool from the main section.

2. Choose the Floating Text tool from the red sub‐section.

3. Click the location on the page where you want the text to be positioned.
4. To change the position of floating text objects, choose the Move floating text tool from the
red sub‐section.
5. Drag the floating text object to its new position on the page.

Changing Text Properties

1. Choose the Text tool from the main section.
2. Choose the Change font tool from the red sub-section.
3. Click the text you want to change.

Clefs
1. Choose the Clef tool from the main section.
2. Select the type of clef you want to add from red sub‐section.
3. To snap the clef to its default position on the staff, choose the Lock clef to default line on staff
tool from the green sub-section.
To be able to place the clef on any staff level, choose the Place clef on any staff level tool.
4. Click the bar where you want to add the clef.

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Key Signature
1. Choose the Key & Rhythm tool from the main section.
2. Choose the Key Signature tool from the red sub‐section.
3. Click the bar where you want to change the key signature.
4. Select one of the tunings defined in the current score and click Change. The key signature defined
in the tuning will be akached to the bar.
To change the tuning or add new types of tuning to the current score, open the Score menu and select
Tuning.

Time Signature
1. Choose the Key & Rhythm tool from the main section.
2. Choose the Time Signature tool from the red sub‐section.
3. Click the bar where you want to add the time signature.

Bar
To change bar lines:
1. Choose the Bar tool from the main section.
2. Select the type of bar line you want to add ( / / / ).
3. Click the beginning or the end of the bar where you want to add the bar line.
To add or remove ending lines:
1. Choose the Bar tool from the main section.
2. To add an ending line, choose the Ending Number 1 or Ending Number 2 tool from the red
sub-section. To remove an ending line, choose the No Ending Line tool.
3. Click the bar where you want to add or remove the ending line.
To insert a new bar:
1. Choose the Bar tool from the main section.

2. Choose the Insert bar tool from the red sub‐section.

3. Click the point where you want to add the new bar.
To insert a line break:
1. Choose the Bar tool from the main section.

2. Choose the Line Break tool from the red sub‐section.

3. Click the bar where you want to insert the line break. All subsequent bars continue on a new line
below.
4. To remove the line break, click the same bar again.
To adjust the space between staves:
1. Choose the Bar tool from the main section.
16
2. Choose the Resize Staves tool from the red su‐section. Red circular handles will appear
at the leb of all lines on the paper.
3. Drag the red handles up or down to adjust the spaces between staves.

Navigation Symbols
1. Choose the Navigation Symbol tool from the main section.
2. Choose the Coda, Segno or one of the other navigation expression tools from the red sub-section.
3. Click the bar you want to akach the sign to.

Tempo
1. Choose the Tempo Mark tool from the main section.
2. Select the rhythmic value of the tempo mark from the sub-sections.
3. Click the bar where you want to add the tempo mark.
4. To change the value of the tempo mark, click the value and type the new value as a number.

Eraser
1. To remove any of the notation elements on paper, choose the Eraser tool from the main
section.
2. If you want to erase only a specific type of elements, select the type from the red sub‐section.
3. Click the element you want to remove.

Hand
Cut, copy and delete notes
1. Choose the Hand tool from the main section.
2. Choose the Select notes tool from the red sub-section.
3. To select notes from all voices, choose the Select all voices tool from the gray sub‐section. To
select notes from one voice only, select the number corresponding to that voice.
4. Click and hold down the mouse bukon on the first note you want to select, then drag to the last
note you want to select. The selected notes will be marked blue.
To select all the notes in the score, choose Select All from the Edit menu.
5. Choose one of the Cut, Copy or Delete commands from the Edit menu.
Paste notes
1. Choose the Cursor tool from the main section and click the location where you want to paste
the notes, or right‐click the desired location.
The location will be marked with an orange line.
If you do not choose a location, the notes will be pasted starting from the first bar in the score.
2. To paste the notes to a different voice, select the corresponding number from the gray sub‐section.

17
3. To paste the notes with slurs, dynamics and tuplets, choose Paste All from the Edit menu. To leave
out these marks when pasting, choose Paste Notes.
Adjust the position of notes
1. Choose the Hand tool from the main section.
2. To move all the notes on the same rhythmic position, choose the Adjust collective note positions
tool from the red sub‐section.
To move a single note without affecting any other notes, choose the Adjust single note position
tool from the red sub‐section.
3. If you want to work on a single voice, choose the number that corresponds to the voice from the
green sub-section.
4. Click and drag the note you want to adjust to the desired position.

Cursor
The Cursor tool is used for three purposes:
1. Keyboard note entry (see Keyboard Shortcuts / Note Entry)
2. Choosing the paste location for copied notes
3. Choosing where playback starts
In all cases, the Cursor tool is used by simply clicking the targeted location on the paper. The cursor
appears on the paper as a vertical orange line.
To clear the cursor at any time, press ESC.

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Working with MIDI
MIDI Recording windows allow you to record music with MIDI instruments and transcribe the
recorded music to a score. To open a MIDI Recording window, choose New MIDI Recording from
the File menu.
The MIDI Recording window consists of a piano roll‐style workspace and a toolbar. The toolbar
contains the controls for tempo, tuning, the recording instrument and rhythm setings, as well as
record control bukons.
The piano roll is a simplified 2‐dimensional representation of a recording, with pitch as the vertical
dimension and each MIDI key shown as a row, and time as the horizontal dimension. Recorded notes
appear as red rectangles that can be manipulated by dragging.
Before you begin, it is recommended that you set up MIDI input and create any microtonal key
mappings you may need.

Setting Up MIDI Input

1. Choose Preferences from the Edit menu (Windows) or the Mus2 menu (Mac).
2. Click the MIDI icon.
3. From the MIDI In Device drop‐down, choose the MIDI input device you want to record with.

Microtonal Key Mapping

While the MIDI standard is based on 12‐tone equal temperament, you can map the “notes” on your
MIDI device to any pitch defined in a Mus2 tuning.
1. In your score’s window, choose Tuning from the Score menu.
2. From the list on the leb side, select a tuning.
3. On the right side, go to the MIDI Key Map page.
4. Define any necessary key mappings in the key map table.
The Keyboard column shows each MIDI note. The Accidental column indicates the accidental
assigned to this note, and the Note Treble Staff Level column shows which note on the staff the
MIDI note corresponds to.
The Raise or lower note levels when changing between sharps and flats option will increase the
note level by one when switching from an accidental with a positive value to one with a negative
value. The reverse occurs when switching from a negative accidental to a positive accidental. This
ensures that notes with sharps get their frequency from the note one step below, while notes with
flats get their frequency from one step above.
You can define the key map for a scale without filling out all of the MIDI notes in every octave. The
mapping for empty MIDI notes are inferred from the defined key mappings.

Recording
1. Open a MIDI Recording window by choosing New MIDI Recording from the File menu.
2. Adjust the recording setings on the toolbar:
a. In the Tempo section, set the tempo you want to record at.
19
 b. Choose the tuning you want to use for this recording from the Tuning drop-down.
c. Select the instrument you want to record with from the Instrument drop-down.
d. Set the time signature of the recording in the Time Signature boxes.
The instrument and tempo setings only apply to the current recording window. When you
paste the recording to a score, the instrument of the staff and the tempo of the score are
used.
3. Click the bar you want to record from in the piano roll. The red recording cursor moves to the new
location.
Even though you can set a starting point, you can also begin playing at any time while recording.
Any empty bars at the beginning of a recording are ignored during transcription.
4. Click the Record bukon and start playing your MIDI instrument.
5. When finished, click the Stop bukon.
6. If you want to copy the recording to a grand staff, make sure Copy To Grand Staff is checked in the
Edit menu.
When the recording is copied while this option is active, notes above (and including) middle C will
be pasted in one staff, while notes below middle C will be pasted in a secondary staff. This allows
you to separate a two-handed passage into a grand staff more easily.
7. To copy the recording to a score, choose Copy from the Edit menu.
To copy a part of the recording, select the notes by drawing a rectangle around them. Selected
notes appear blue.
To copy the entire recording, make sure none of the notes are selected.
8. Switch to the score window and choose Paste from the edit menu.
The recording is transcribed and pasted to the first staff in the score. To paste the recording to a
different location, use the right‐click menu or the Cursor tool.

Editing
Notes in a MIDI recording appear as red rectangles on the piano roll.
• To move notes to a different time, drag the note from the middle.
• To adjust a note’s beginning time, drag from its leb edge.
• To extend a note’s ending time, drag from its right edge.
• To select a note, simply click it, or draw a selection rectangle around it and any other notes you
want to select. Selected notes appear blue.
• To cut, copy or delete the selected notes, choose the respective command from the Edit menu.
• To paste notes, click the time location where you want to paste the notes, and then choose Paste
from the edit menu.

Quantization
Before a MIDI recording can be transcribed, the notes’ beginning and ending times must be quantized
to coincide with beats or a subdivision of beats based on the time signature.
• To quantize a recording, select the notes you want to quantize and choose Quantize from the Edit
menu. If no notes are selected, all notes in the recording are quantized.
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• To work with a different quantization rhythm, choose a value from the Quantization Value
submenu in the Edit menu. This value determines the division of time for snapping notes to an
exact time location.
• If there are triplets in a recording, turn on the Allow Triplets option in the Edit menu before
quantizing.
Note that whenever you copy notes from a MIDI recording for transcription, they are automatically
quantized to the selected quantization value.

Exporting MIDI
You can export a score as a MIDI file to work on it in other music applications such as digital audio
workstations (DAWs). When exporting a microtonal score to MIDI, you must choose from a number of
export options to make sure the exported file produces the intended pitches.
The correct choice depends on the hardware and sobware on the receiving end, and may require
some experimentation before you get it right.
For more information about the export options, please see the descriptions presented in the MIDI
Export dialog.

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Keyboard Shortcuts
You can use a number of keyboard shortcuts to quickly access the notation tools in Mus2.

Toolstrip Shortcuts
Each section’s keyboard shortcuts correspond to a row of keys on your keyboard:

If a section has more tools than the row of keys on the keyboard, the extra tools can be accessed with
the SHIFT key. (E.g. SHIFT + Q, SHIFT + E, etc.)
A fibh section with the color gray will appear for some tools such as Note and Rest. This section is
used to select which voice the tool will work on. You can also use the shorcuts ALT + 1/2/3/4
(Windows) or OPTION ( ⌥ ) + 1/2/3/4 (Mac) to select the voice you want to work with.
To cancel the creation of page elements that span multiple notes, such as beams, slurs and tuplets, or
to clear note selection, either press ESC or simply select another tool.

Note Entry
Use the Cursor tool to quickly enter notes with the computer keyboard. The shortcuts used for note
entry are listed in the table below.
When entering notes with the keyboard, options such as rhythmic value and accidental are chosen
from the toolstrip. To use the toolstrip shortcuts while the Cursor tool is selected, simply add the ALT
(Windows) or CONTROL ⌃ (Mac) key to the regular shortcut.
For example, aber choosing the Cursor tool and selecting a bar, to input an 8th D note with the fourth
accidental on the toolstrip:
1. Choose the 8th rhythmic value: ALT + R (Windows); ⌃R (Mac)
2. Choose the fourth accidental: ALT + V (Windows); ⌃V (Mac)
3. Write the D note: D

Keyboard Shortcut Function

Inputs the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, respectively. When used with ⇧, the

C, D, E, F, G, A, B
new note is added as a chord.

Moves the last entered note one octave up or down. When used with ⇧,
↑, ↓
all the notes in the chord to the leb of the cursor are moved.

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 O, ⇧O Adds an octave higher or lower note of the last entered note.

K The note to the leb of the cursor is beamed with the previous note.

T Adds a tie to the last entered note.

SPACEBAR Adds a rest.

⏎
Jumps to the next bar.
(ENTER / RETURN)

←, → Jumps to the previous or next note.

⌫
Erases the note to the leb of the cursor.
(BACKSPACE)

The ⇧ symbol represents the Shib key.

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Preferences
The general setings that govern the operation of Mus2 are located under the Preferences command in
the Edit menu (Windows) or the Mus2 menu (Mac).
For sound preferences, click the Playback icon. To change the audio interface you wish to use with
Mus2, select it from the Sound Output list and adjust its volume using the Volume slider.
To change the paper color and appearance, click Appearance. The Graphics Rendering combo box
determines how the notation symbols are drawn. Fast, Sharp and Soft options are available.

Color display of notes used in different voices

In Mus2, it is possible to write notes for different voices. This can be done by selecting the voice
number from the tool located at the bottom of the tool bar.

In previous versions, when the note was placed on the stave after the voice was selected, no matter
what voice it was, they were all displayed in black. When looking at the piece, it was difficult to use,
since different sounds could not be distinguished and if the correct sound was not selected from the
above group, changes, deletions, etc. were not allowed in the relevant note. Now in this version and
optionally, sounds are displayed on the page with their own colors.
To display in color or all black option can be provided with "Note Color" on the Preferences screen.

You must exit the program and re-start it for the change to take effect.

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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the keyboard shortcuts for the toolstrip?
Every color-coded tool group in the toolstrip correponds to a row of keys on your keyboard. For
keyboard note entry, you can use the Cursor tool. For a more detailed explanation, see Keyboard
Shortcuts.
2. How do I prevent the notation elements in one staff from colliding with another staff? To
increase the space between staves, select Staves from the Score menu. Choose the staff that needs
more space, and increase either one of the Levels Above or Level Below. (see Bar)
3. How do I prevent the tempo mark or other marks on the first line from colliding with
title elements such as Lyricist and Composer?
Select Layout from the Score menu and increase the height of the Title Area. (see Layout)
4. How do I assign a tuning to a staff?
In Mus2, tunings and key signatures are handled together as a single entity. To assign a tuning and
its associated key signature to a bar, select the Key & Rhythm tool from the toolstrip and use the
Key Signature sub-tool. (see Key Signature)
5. I can enter more notes in a bar than the time signature allows. Is this a bug?
Mus2 does not enforce the rhythmic value of a time signature on bars. This is by design and allows
you to work more easily when editing your score or correcting errors.

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