Help CenterYou can create original content in MatchMySound that includes interactive notation and backing tracks to share with your Learners. This article will cover the basics of creating these exercises.
For information on how to upload your notation files please see this article
MuseScore is the notation program MatchMySound uses to render the notation and midi in the app. Files created or edited in MuseScore will give you the best results. You can find out more about MuseScore and install this free notation program Here
MuseScore software is opensource and free. There are membership and subscription options that allow you to download scorefiles from MuseScore. Those are not needed to use the software. You do not need to pay to use the notation program needed for creating notation files for use with MatchMySound.
To get started adding an exercise with notation to MatchMySound, you will need a notation file. You can upload a musicxml file or a MuseScore file. MuseScore files use the .mscz extension.
If you use another notation program to create content, you can export from that program (Finale, Sibelius, etc.) as an uncompressed musicxml file.
In many cases the exported file will upload to MatchMySound without needing any edits. Becuase some elements may not always export properly, we do advise that you always open your files in MuseScore and check them, making any needed edits, prior to uploading them to MatchMySound.
You will want to check the following:
- Line Breaks
- Lyric Placement
- Instrument Names and Sounds
In addition to the above, you will want to look at the layout in both Page View and Continuous View in MuseScore. Continuous View is what MatchMySound uses to create our Scroll Mode. You will find that in Continuous View in Musescore, you may need to expand the width of your measures.
If your arrangement contains multiple instrument or voice parts you will want to make individual parts in MuseScore prior to uploading the file to MatchMySound. To do this:
- Open your file in MuseScore
- Click File/Parts
- In the next window click All Parts
- Click Ok
You will now have one tab for each instrument in your arrangement. In each tab you will want to check the layout, line breaks, lyric placement, instrument name and sound, etc. You will also want to look at both the Page View and Continuous Views in each part.
If you do not complete the above steps, MatchMySound will auto-generate the individual parts for you and the layout of the parts may not be optimal.
There are many online resources for MuseScore which can be very helpful if you are just getitng started with the software:
- MuseScore Handbook: Click Here
- MuseScore Help and Support: Click Here
- MuseScore Forum: Click Here
- MuseScore Community: Click Here
In addition to the above official resources, there are many Groups on social media made up of MuseScore users which can be helpful and informative.
Additional Tips
If your exercise contains repeats, multiple endings, codas or other jumps, please unroll them prior to upload. To do this in MuseScore, click Tools in the menu and then click Unroll Repeats. If you do not do this MatchMySound will do it for you and the layout of your exercise will change.
If any of your instrument or voice parts contain divisi, please separate the part into two parts.