MuseScore Studio 4.5 introduces a new way to enter unpitched percussion notation, making the process faster and more intuitive. This update includes a dedicated percussion panel that appears whenever you select a stave with an unpitched percussion instrument. Whether you're using a mouse, keyboard, or MIDI input, this tool helps streamline note entry and playback accuracy.
This guide walks through the key features of the new percussion input panel and explains how to use it in your scoring workflow.
In MuseScore Studio 4.5, the percussion panel automatically appears at the bottom of the screen when you click on a stave with an unpitched percussion instrument. The panel displays labeled drum pads for each instrument or variation in your selected kit.
You can toggle between pad names and notation previews by clicking the layout button in the panel header. To enter a note, select a note duration from the note input toolbar and click on the desired drum pad.
For example, you might choose an eighth note and click repeatedly on the closed hi-hat pad to input a string of eighth notes, then switch to the ride cymbal or bass drum as needed. Instruments played with the feet, such as the bass drum, are automatically assigned to voice 2.
Keyboard users can access the percussion panel by pressing the Tab key and then navigating between drum pads using arrow keys. Press the spacebar or Enter key to input notation.
Each pad shows the corresponding keyboard shortcut and MIDI note, making it easy to use either input method. By default, the first row of pads is assigned to keys A through H, but you can customize these by right-clicking a pad and selecting "Define keyboard shortcut."
If you're using a MIDI keyboard, the panel displays the MIDI note values, so you can quickly match sounds to keys without trial and error.
MuseScore Studio offers two main methods for entering percussion notation:
Input by duration can feel more natural when composing or arranging percussion parts. A separate tutorial covers this method in more detail, and you can find it in the Learn tab or linked in the video description.
You can also use your mouse to enter percussion notation. After enabling note input mode, hover your cursor over the stave to preview note positions. Pressing Shift reveals a tooltip that identifies the instrument or variant assigned to each line or space.
Some stave positions include multiple variants, which you can cycle through using arrows in the popup. Once you've found the right one, click to input the note.
The percussion input panel is tailored to the sound library selected for each instrument. This affects not only playback, but also default voices, stem directions, noteheads, and stave positions.
If you change the sound library mid-project, previously entered notation may adjust automatically to match the new layout. It's best to select your preferred sound library early on to ensure consistency.
To explore the full range of MuseSounds percussion libraries, visit MuseHub. Additional tutorials on customizing notation and drum pad layouts are available in the Learn tab.