Instruments
Last updated September 23, 2026
An instrument in Flat is the configuration behind a part: its staves and clefs, its transposition, its tablature and tuning, its playback sound, and its name. Flat provides more than 100 instruments, lets you change them in an existing score, and lets you save your own instrument configurations.
How do I choose instruments when creating a score?
When creating a new score, you have the option to add one or multiple instruments, from our provided list or your own custom instruments. The chosen instruments are displayed on the right of the screen, they will be added to the score in the displayed order. You can drag and drop them to sort them.
If you want to create a TAB, check the displayed option Tabs mode. Tablatures can also be turned on or off later in the instruments settings (see below).
How do I change the instruments of an existing score?
Instruments can easily be modified in an existing score. To open the instruments settings, open the Instruments tab in the left panel and click Manage instruments at the bottom of the instruments list. You can also click on the name of a part on the score to open the same settings.
The instruments configuration window allows you to:
- Add, remove, or change the order of the instruments.
- Change the name of a part and the abbreviation.
- Replace an instrument with another one. This will replace all the settings of the instrument with the new one. If the original or the new instrument is a transposing instrument, this will automatically transpose the part for you to the new transposition mode.
- Add or remove staves of an instrument.
- Enable or disable TAB for an instrument and customize the tuning of an instrument.
- Add and edit custom brackets to group your parts.
Can I save my own instrument configurations?
You can use custom instruments configurations to create and save personalized instruments configurations in your account. This allows you to quickly re-use configurations without having to manually set the parameters to every score you create.
This includes:
- Pitched instruments: Staves, Clefs, Transposition, Tablature, Tuning, Sound, Part name and abbreviation.
- Unpitched instruments: Number of staves lines, the different percussion instruments, their places and heads on the staves, and custom keyboard shortcuts to input the notes.
What are instrument templates?
As shown above, you can select your instrumentation by manually choosing the instruments. Additionally, we offer a series of instrument templates that come with pre-selected instruments for various genres like jazz, pop, rock, choirs, etc. You just need to choose the template you want to use, and you're all set.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to my music when I replace an instrument?
The notes stay; the configuration changes. Replacing an instrument replaces all the settings of the old one - staves, clefs, sound, transposition - with the new one's. If either instrument is a transposing instrument, Flat transposes the part to the new transposition mode for you.
Can I change the order of the parts after creating the score?
Yes. The order you set in the instrument picker is only the starting point - parts can be added, removed, and reordered at any time from the instruments settings, and the score re-lays itself out around the change.
How do I turn a part into a tablature?
Enable TAB for the instrument in its settings, where you also choose the tuning and the capo. Because the tab is synced with the notation, enabling it on a part that already has music generates the tablature from what is written.
Do I have to configure the same instrument setup for every new score?
No. Save it once as a custom instrument and it becomes available whenever you create a score or add a part. Instrument templates cover the opposite case - a whole pre-selected instrumentation for a genre, chosen in one click.