Instrument picker

The instrument picker allows you to find and add instruments and ensembles to your project. It contains multiple versions of some instruments that have specific formatting and tuning requirements, such as French Horn, which has a version whose part layouts are always in treble clef.

You can open the instrument picker in Setup mode in any of the following ways:

  • Click the plus symbol in solo player cards in the Players panel.

  • Select a player in the Players panel and press Shift-I.

  • Right-click a player in the Players panel and choose Add Instrument to Player.

  • Add a new player or ensemble.

Figure 1. Instrument picker when adding an instrument

The instrument picker contains the following sections and options:

  1. Search field

    Allows you to enter the instrument/ensemble you are searching for directly. You can enter only part of the instrument/ensemble name, such as cello for Violoncello.

  2. Instrument family column

    Contains instrument families to help you focus your instrument/ensemble search.

  3. Instrument/Ensemble column

    Contains the instruments/ensembles available in the selected instrument family.

  4. Instrument type/Ensemble contents column

    For instruments: Contains options for multiple possible transpositions, tunings, key signature options, or different behavior in part layouts for the selected instrument. This column is not populated for instruments that do not have further options.

    For ensembles: Displays the instruments included in the selected ensemble.

  5. Create Empty Kit

    Adds an empty percussion kit to the player.

  6. Import Kit

    Imports an existing percussion kit previously exported as a library file.

  7. Add/Add Ensemble to Score

    Adds the selected instrument/ensemble to the project. Adding an ensemble adds multiple players at once.

In addition to entering the instrument or ensemble you want directly into the Search field, you can click options in the instrument picker to select them, and you can also select other items in the same column by pressing Up Arrow/Down Arrow.

You can cycle forwards through the instrument picker by pressing Tab, which navigates in the following order: Search field, Instrument, Instrument type, Instrument family. You can also cycle backwards by pressing Shift-Tab, which navigates in the opposite direction.

An enclosure line shows which instrument family, instrument, or ensemble is selected when using the keyboard to navigate.