musescore / musescore/MuseScore

Chant Notation

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#24,829 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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feature request
Dominant language
C++
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Description

Your idea

A feature for writing in chant notation, complete with old clef, notes, etc. For primary guidelines on chant notation, see Music Notation in the Twentieth Century by Kurt Stone, Appendix I.

Problem to be solved

Musescore cannot notate plainchant.

Prior art

No response

Additional context

Because Musescore is free with the friendliest UI, it would be an invaluable tool to authors of musical books for creating examples. Chant notation will expand its ability to help with that need.
Note that I am not now asking for unmetered music per se, but merely the engraving capabilities for plainchant symbols, most of which can be immediately integrated into Musescore's notation system. Think of clefs, notes, barlines, etc. (Although Musescore already offers a Liturgical Unmetrical template, so why not...) It seems to me that barlines are not essential for Musescore to understand a score, and really, barlines are the only thing holding this feature back. (See Liturgical Unmetrical Notation Not Working #24828) Below are two examples of what is envisioned:
image
image

Checklist
  • This request follows the guidelines for reporting issues
  • I have verified that this feature request has not been logged before, by searching the issue tracker for similar requests

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

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  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

The issue identifies MuseScore's chant-notation capability and provides two example images, but names no source files, tests, or entry points. Start by locating the existing Liturgical Unmetrical template and the work tracked in issue #24828. Done would require a defined, reviewed scope for chant clefs, notes, barlines, and related engraving behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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