Drum kit - hit snare and tom at same time?

• May 18, 2025 - 12:02

Hi, I'm trying to add a snare drum hit at the same time as a tom. It just gives me either or. I've tried holding shift / control and also trying to use the bass drum rest to add the snare - it won't have it.

Any ideas? Thanks


Comments

In the percussion panel, click the button for the first one. Then Shift+click the second (and subsequent). Playing two drums at once is the equivalent of a chord in pitched instruments and that's how you enter a chord.

In reply to by TheHutch

Thank you. I have tried in a number of new scores. I input a snare stroke. It then moves on to the next rest for input, so I use the arrow key to go back to the note I have just made, then I shift-click the top space E for a high tom. This highlights the whole bar instead of adding a note. Is it interfering with a keyboard shortcut for 'select bar'?

I don't know where keyboard shortcuts are and I haven't changed any, as I'm new to Musescore.

I have had to go into a piano score and copy a chord in, but I'm keen to get this working

In reply to by hello385

Read my instructions carefully:
1) Click the button for one of the drums.
2) Shift+click the button for the other.
Nothing else! Specifically, no arrow key.

For the list of all default keyboard shortcuts, see https://handbook.musescore.org/appendix/all-keyboard-shortcuts. I say "default" shortcuts because they can be changed.

I recommend that every new (or "new-ish" :-) user take an hour or two and simply read the entire Handbook (https://handbook.musescore.org/). Don't try to memorize it! Just skim through it and familiarize yourself with the contents! But read it all!!! Then you'll have an idea where to find things when issues come up in the future. "Didn't I see something about that in the Handbook?"

Welcome aboard and best of luck!!!

In reply to by hello385

After you add the snare note, hover the mouse over the tom note above the snare note. A ghost note should appear. Click on it. You don't always have to put notes where the cursor is. I'm a mouser. Too many things to remember to use shortcuts.
Personally, I hate the drum palette so much that I almost stopped writing for drum kit. My drum kit needs are fairly simple. I only need 10 or so kit sounds. I saw a routine to get rid of the drum palette. Now I can input notes almost like piano music. Maybe not for everyone.

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