To sustain a note across a barline in MuseScore Studio on Mac, use a tie: select the first of two existing same-pitch notes and press T. During note input, choose the continuation’s duration and press T to create it. Entering and editing ties.

This guide covers ordinary pitched notation on a Mac desktop. It follows the current Studio handbook; the official release page identifies version 4.7.6 as the latest release. The workflow below separates existing notation from new note entry so you can choose the appropriate operation before changing your score. MuseScore Studio 4.7.6 Release.

Why a tie sustains the note and a slur does something else

A tie connects notes of the same pitch and combines their durations into one sustained note. A slur indicates legato articulation across a passage. Their similar curves can make them easy to confuse, but the commands create different notation: T adds a tie, while S adds a slur. Slurs and ties.

For an illustrative rhythm in 4/4, suppose a quarter-note C occupies beat four and another quarter-note C starts the following measure, in the same octave. Connecting them with a tie gives a duration of two quarter-note beats across the barline. The second notehead represents the continuation of that sound. This calculation follows the handbook’s definition of combined tied durations. Glossary.

Use this decision aid before editing:

Your score’s current state Appropriate workflow
Both notes already exist Leave note input, select the first note, and press T.
You have just entered the first note Stay in note input, choose the next duration, and press T.
A curved line was added with S Correct the slur, then create a tie using the appropriate workflow.

These choices follow the handbook’s separate instructions for note entry, existing notes, and slurs.

How to tie two notes that already exist

Use normal mode when the rhythm is already written on both sides of the barline. In this mode, the tie operation requires both endpoint notes to exist. Editing notes and rests.

  1. Press Esc to leave note input.
  2. Click the first notehead—the note before the barline.
  3. Press T, or click the tie button in the toolbar.
  4. Inspect the connection to the following same-pitch note.

For an ordinary adjacent pair, select only the starting note. These steps combine the documented exit from note input with the normal-mode tie command.

For a chord, select the starting noteheads you want tied. On Mac, hold Cmd while adding notes to your selection, then press T. MuseScore starts a tie from each selected note, allowing you to connect the matching pitches of existing chords. Selecting only the required starting notes is useful when some chord tones continue and others change. Editing notes and rests, Default keyboard shortcuts.

How to create the continuation during note input

When entering new music, you can create the next note and its tie together. The following procedure assumes the default Input by note name mode, where you choose a duration before entering a pitch. Entering notes and rests.

  1. Select the intended starting location and press N to enter note input.
  2. Enter the first note with its required pitch and duration.
  3. Choose the continuation’s duration from the toolbar.
  4. Press T or click the tie button. MuseScore creates the second note and connects it to the first.
  5. Press Esc when finished.

You do not need to type the second pitch. If the starting note belongs to a chord, this operation creates a second chord with the same pitches and ties all its notes. Entering ties.

For the illustrative beat-four example, enter the first quarter note at beat four, choose a quarter-note continuation, then press T. Check that the resulting endpoint is at the beginning of the next measure. If you accidentally entered an extra note, Cmd + Z is the documented Mac undo shortcut. Default keyboard shortcuts.

How to preserve written and sounding pitch

For a transposing instrument, written pitch is the notation the player reads; sounding, or concert, pitch is what actually sounds. MuseScore displays written pitch by default. The Concert pitch checkbox in the status bar switches the score’s pitch display. Check which view you are using before comparing note names between a score and a part. Transposition.

A useful working rule is to inspect both endpoints in the same pitch view and preserve the intended octave and spelling. Do not transpose a note merely because the full score and instrumental part display different written names: the documented written-versus-sounding distinction can explain that difference. A tie still requires matching pitch. Transposition, Slurs and ties.

If the problem is enharmonic spelling, use the documented spelling controls deliberately: J cycles spelling in both written and concert views; Cmd + J changes the current view’s spelling independently. The handbook cautions that these commands are intended for a single note or a selection of notes sharing the same pitch. Treat respelling as a separate editorial decision from adding the tie. Respell pitches.

What changes in linked parts

Adding or deleting musical content, or changing note pitches and durations, propagates between the score and its linked parts in both directions. Consequently, making the correction while viewing a part still changes shared musical content. Open the relevant part through Parts, select it, and click Open selected to inspect the result. Parts.

Appearance has separate synchronization rules. Changing an item’s properties in a part desynchronizes those properties from the score; changes made in the score propagate unless the item is already desynchronized. The handbook identifies this synchronization system as new or substantially enhanced in version 4.2. Check the Score and part synchronisation controls in Properties when score and part appearances differ. Parts.

The practical sequence is to correct the musical connection first, inspect the linked part, and then adjust its appearance if needed. The documented Exclude from parts feature applies to specified item types; ties are not among those listed. Do not assume it provides a way to make a tie exist only in one part. Parts.

How to diagnose a missing or incorrect tie

Work through these checks in order, beginning with the command and endpoints before changing the curve’s shape.

  1. Check the command. S creates a slur. If you just added the wrong marking, undo with Cmd + Z, then use T. Slurs and ties, Default keyboard shortcuts.
  2. Check entry mode. Normal mode requires an existing destination; note input creates the continuation. Editing notes and rests.
  3. Check endpoint selection. The handbook supports ties into another voice. For non-adjacent notes or notes on different staves, explicitly select both endpoints: click the first, Cmd-click the second, then press T. Editing notes and rests.

If the connection is correct but its placement needs adjustment, select the tie and inspect Properties. Documented controls include Position and Tie placement. Score-wide defaults are available through Format → Style → Slurs & ties. These settings control appearance; establish the correct musical endpoints before using them. Slurs and ties.

What changes at repeats and jumps

A repeat or jump requires checking the playback route as well as the visual barline. The current handbook says to select the starting note and press T; MuseScore can draw tie segments to multiple valid same-pitch destinations. Selecting the tie opens a destination list where individual connections can be enabled or disabled. Items across repeats and jumps.

Version matters here: playback support for partial ties at repeats and jumps was introduced in 4.5.2. That release also fixed a regression affecting ties between non-consecutive notes. These are specific historical limits, so an older installation may behave differently from the current handbook. MuseScore Studio 4.5.2 patch now available.

For a straightforward sustain across an ordinary barline, finish by checking the two durations, matching pitch, tie connection, and linked part. That gives you a repeatable workflow: choose the correct entry mode, create the musical tie with T, then refine its placement only where the notation needs it.

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