Accessibility

Screen readers

MuseScore Studio supports NVDA on Windows and VoiceOver on macOS. JAWS is not currently supported. Support for other screen readers varies.

Speech on Windows

If speech isn't working in MuseScore, try pressing Alt+F to focus the File menu, then press Esc twice to return to where you were in the app, at which point the screen reader should start working again. This tends to be needed if you start the screen reader after MuseScore is already running.

As mentioned above, MuseScore's speech output with JAWS is not currently as complete as it is with Narrator or NVDA.

Screen Reader	Modifier key	On/off shortcut	Settings shortcut
Narrator (built-in)	Narrator = Caps Lock	Win+Ctrl+Enter	Win+Ctrl+N
NVDA (free)	NVDA = Ins / Caps Lock	Off: NVDA+Q Toggle: NVDA+S	NVDA+N
JAWS (paid)	JAWS = Ins / Caps Lock	Off: JAWS+F4	JAWS+J

Speech on macOS

VoiceOver's Quick Nav mode must be turned off while using MuseScore 4. You can toggle Quick Nav on or off by pressing the Left and Right arrow keys simultaneously while VoiceOver is running, or via VoiceOver Utility > Commanders.

MuseScore's interface is navigable with the tab cursor as well as with VoiceOver's own cursor. In general it's best to use the tab cursor because this matches the interface on other platforms, hence is what you will find described in most documentation and tutorials. When using the tab cursor, remember to use the arrow keys as well as Tab as described in Navigating the UI. VoiceOver's cursor can be used to reach areas of the application that are not yet accessible to the tab cursor.

Screen Reader	Modifier key	On/off shortcut	Settings shortcut
VoiceOver (built-in)	VO = Ctrl+Opt / Caps Lock	Cmd+F5	VO+F8

Speech on Linux

On Linux it's necessary to start the screen reader running before you launch MuseScore, otherwise accessibility features will be disabled to save system resources (the same is true for all Qt applications on Linux). If you forget to do this, simply exit MuseScore and launch it again, this time with the screen reader running.

Orca is the most feature-complete screen reader available for Linux. Orca is built into the GNOME desktop environment, so it's recommended that Linux users with accessibility needs use a distribution based on GNOME or one of its derivatives.

Screen Reader	Modifier key	On/off shortcut	Settings shortcut
Orca (built-in to GNOME)	Orca = Ins / Caps Lock	Super+Alt+S	Orca+Space or run orca --setup

Keyboard access

Navigating the UI

MuseScore's UI (user interface) has a hierarchical system of keyboard navigation, which is different to what you may be used to in other applications. In MuseScore's system, the Tab key skips some controls to save time. If you want to reach these controls, you need to use the arrow keys as well as Tab.

Shortcut	Action
F6 / ` / Shift+F6 / Shift+`	Move between UI sections (` is the backtick or grave accent key, found near the Tab key or left Shift on most QWERTY keyboards).
Tab / Shift+Tab	Move between control groups.
Up / Down / Left / Right	Move between controls within a group.
Esc	Stop interacting with an editable text control (so you can move away from it with the arrow keys).
Enter / Return	Activate the current control.
Spacebar	Activate the current control or select an item in a list.

Please note that UI navigation shortcuts are fixed and cannot be changed, unlike the shortcuts for score navigation, which can be customized in Preferences.

Navigating the score

The following shortcuts are of particular value to accessibility users:

Shortcut	Action
Right / Left	Move to next or previous note, chord, or rest.
Alt+Right / Alt+Left	Move to next or previous element. These shortcuts enable you to visit all kinds of notation elements, not just notes and rests.
Alt+Up / Alt+Down	Move to note above or below. These shortcuts enable you to move between individual notes in a chord, and also to reach notes and rests in other voices and in other staves.
F2 / Alt+Shift+E	Edit selected element. Equivalent to double-clicking with the mouse. Use it to edit text objects or adjust the length of hairpins, slurs, and voltas (use the Tab key to change which end of the line you are adjusting). When you have finished editing, press Esc to return to Normal mode.
Menu / Shift+F10	Open context menu for selected element(s). Equivalent to right-clicking with the mouse. It provides access to various options that depend on the element selected. Use this shortcut on a range selection to provide access to Measure properties, and Staff/Part properties.

Other aspects of keyboard navigation are described on pages throughout this handbook. All score navigation and manipulation shortcuts can be customized in Preferences.

Video tutorials

The following accessibility tutorials are designed to get you up and running with MuseScore, using your keyboard and screen reader. They don't cover every aspect of the program, but they should give you a solid foundation that will enable you can take full advantage of the rest of this Handbook.

Video	Topics covered
Installing MuseScore	Installation of MuseScore on Windows, including Muse Hub and Muse Sounds. The process is similar on macOS and Linux, although on Linux you need to install Muse Hub and MuseScore separately.
Score setup	Initial score setup, including choosing instruments, key signature, time signature, and other settings.
Entering music	Basic note input.
Adding markings	Using the palettes to add markings (e.g. dynamics) to your score.
The user interface	Main window of the program, so you can understand where all the different panels, toolbars, and controls are, and how to reach them by keyboard.