How to use WikiMusic.org

These short instructions describe common WikiMusic.org tasks. Personal scores and settings stay in this browser unless you explicitly export them. Browser storage is convenient, but it is not a permanent backup.

Tasks

Find and open a public score

  1. Select Composers.
  2. Choose a composer.
  3. Select a title from that composer's score list.

To search the complete catalog, select All composers and enter any part of a title, composer name, tune title, catalog number, or score ID. Capitalization, accents, spaces, punctuation, and hyphens do not affect the search, so searches such as “BWV545” and “BWV 545” are equivalent.

Public catalog scores are read-only. Use Edit if you want to create a personal version.

Read in scrolling or two-page view

A score opens in the normal continuous-scrolling view. Browser zoom remains available in both reading modes.

  1. Select 2 between Edit and Print to open the two-page view.
  2. Press the Left or Right arrow key, or touch the corresponding half of the score, to turn one page. One page remains in place while the other is replaced.
  3. Select 1 to return to continuous scrolling.

Settings controls virtual page height and the space between complete systems. Some ABC files may provide their own recommended values; these apply only to that score and do not change your saved settings. The syntax is documented under Advanced techniques in ABC Help.

Open a local ABC file

  1. Select Open in the upper navigation.
  2. Choose an .abc file with the device's file picker.
  3. The file opens in the editor and is stored in this browser's local score library.

The file is not uploaded to WikiMusic.org. If another local score has the same filename identity, WikiMusic.org asks before replacing it.

Edit ABC

  1. Open a personal file, or select Edit while viewing a catalog score.
  2. Change the ABC text in the editor.
  3. Select Preview to update the notation without saving.
  4. Select Save to retain the personal version in this browser.
  5. Select View & Save to save it and open the full score view.

Preview does not save, and the editor does not autosave. ABC Help opens the concise notation reference in a separate tab. Editing a catalog score never changes the public catalog copy.

To work with a complete measure, right-click its rendered notation. The measure menu lists its active voices; selecting one highlights that voice's measure in the ABC text. The same menu can insert a measure before it or, after confirmation, delete the measure across all voices. Inserted measures use a lowercase visible (z) or invisible (x) rest of the required duration and respect meter changes. Use Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z immediately afterward to undo an operation.

Play music

  1. Open a score and select Play.
  2. Select Stop—or tap anywhere in the score—to stop playback.
  3. Use |<, <<, <, >, and >> to move through written measures.
  4. Select the measure number in brackets to enter another measure.
  5. Select the left or right speed bracket to play slower or faster.

In scrolling view, Space starts or stops playback, Left and Right move one measure, Shift+Left and Shift+Right move ten measures, and Home returns to the beginning. In two-page view, Left and Right turn pages; use the visible playback buttons to move between measures. The first playback may pause while the SoundFont initializes, but later restarts should be much faster.

Move personal work to another device

To move one score:

  1. Save the score, then return to the WikiMusic.org home page.
  2. In Local Scores, select the download button beside the score to save its .abc file.
  3. Transfer that file with the device's share function, USB, a local- network transfer tool, or a synchronized folder.
  4. On the other device, open WikiMusic.org and select Open.

For the complete local score library and exportable settings, use the backup procedure below instead. WikiMusic.org does not connect directly to a cloud-storage account or synchronize changes automatically.

Print or create a PDF

  1. Open the full score view.
  2. Select Print.
  3. Use the browser's print dialog to choose a printer or save a PDF.

Back up local WikiMusic.org data

  1. On the home page, find Backup above Local Scores and select Export.
  2. Keep or transfer the downloaded wikimusic-backup.json file.
  3. On the destination device, select Import and choose that file.
  4. Review the warning before updating that browser's local data.

The backup includes local scores and exportable settings. It does not include local SoundFont files or the local SoundFont selection.

A red Not backed up indicator appears after local score data changes and clears after a successful export or import. Browser cleanup, private-browsing behavior, storage pressure, or device loss can remove local data, so keep exported files somewhere outside the browser.

Change settings or the SoundFont

  1. Select Settings in the upper navigation.
  2. Choose accidental colors and whether to highlight written or key-signature accidentals; adjust two-page height and system spacing; or choose a local .sf2 SoundFont and preset.
  3. Select Save settings.

Selected local SoundFont files remain on this device. Reset defaults restores the application defaults but does not delete personal scores.

Report a musical error

Musical errors can be reported through the WikiMusic.org Patreon page. Include the score title or filename, the measure number, and what you believe should change. Copyright or publication-rights concerns belong in the separate takedown process.