Keyboard shortcuts

Your shortcuts are fully available in the editor — and smarter than ever. Use them to input notes, navigate your score, shape dynamics, and build articulations without breaking your composing stride. Press Alt + / at any time to open the interactive shortcuts reference directly inside the editor.

Shortcuts vary slightly by device, and keyboard layout. Flat auto-detects your layout on Chrome and the desktop app. If you're on Safari or Firefox, open the shortcuts modal (Alt + /) and select your keyboard layout manually.

Coming from MuseScore, Dorico, or Sibelius? A few shortcuts work differently in Flat — most notably S (slur, not staccato), T (triplet, not tie), and duration ordering (1 = whole note). The editor will surface a quick note whenever a conflict is likely. Check out the migration guide on our blog for a full comparison.

Want to customize your shortcuts? You can remap keys directly in the editor. Check out the dedicated help page.

Workflow Modes

Workflow Modes let your number keys (1–9) serve a different purpose depending on which composing pass you're in — durations, articulations, dynamics, or ornaments — all without touching the mouse.

Switch modes with a single shortcut. A toast notification confirms which mode is active.

Mode	Shortcut	What 1–9 do
Composing (default)	`Ctrl` + `1`	Note durations (whole to 64th)
Articulations	`Ctrl` + `2`	Staccato, tenuto, accent, fermata...
Dynamics	`Ctrl` + `3`	ppp to fff, sfz
Ornaments	`Ctrl` + `4`	Trills, turns, mordents...

Switch to Articulations mode, mark a passage staccato with a few keystrokes, switch back — no toolbar clicks, no mouse detours.

Audio

Action	Shortcut
Toggle Play / Stop (resumes if paused)	`Space`
Play from the beginning	`Ctrl` + `Space`

Move through your score precisely — by note, by measure, by staff, or directly to any bar number.

Action	Shortcut
Next note	`→`
Previous note	`←`
Next measure	`Ctrl` + `→`
Previous measure	`Ctrl` + `←`
Go to part beginning	`Home`
Go to part end	`End`
Jump to measure number	`Ctrl` + `G`
Go to previous staff	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `↑`
Go to next staff	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `↓`

Selection

Action	Shortcut
Add next note to selection	`Shift` + `→`
Add previous note to selection	`Shift` + `←`
Extend selection to part above	`Shift` + `↑`
Extend selection to part below	`Shift` + `↓`
Select entire current part	`Ctrl` + `A`
Select all displayed parts	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `A`
Deselect everything	`Esc`

Voices

Action	Shortcut
Toggle between voices	`V`
Switch to Voice 2	`Shift` + `V`
Next chord note head	`Alt` + `↑`
Previous chord note head	`Alt` + `↓`

Note Input

Pitch

Type the letter name to enter the note. On any keyboard layout — QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ, or others — Flat maps keys to note names, not physical positions. Press the key labeled A and you get an A.

Action	Shortcut
Enter note A–G	`A` `B` `C` `D` `E` `F` `G`
Add note A–G to previous chord	`Shift` + `A` ... `Shift` + `G`
Raise pitch by a diatonic step	`↑`
Lower pitch by a diatonic step	`↓`
Raise by an octave	`Ctrl` + `↑`
Lower by an octave	`Ctrl` + `↓`
Toggle enharmonic spelling	`J`

Intervals (add a note above or below)

Interval	Above	Below
Second	`Alt` + `2`	`Shift` + `Alt` + `2`
Third	`Alt` + `3`	`Shift` + `Alt` + `3`
Fourth	`Alt` + `4`	`Shift` + `Alt` + `4`
Fifth	`Alt` + `5`	`Shift` + `Alt` + `5`
Sixth	`Alt` + `6`	`Shift` + `Alt` + `6`
Seventh	`Alt` + `7`	`Shift` + `Alt` + `7`
Octave	`Alt` + `8`	`Shift` + `Alt` + `8`

Note Duration

In default Composing mode, your number keys control duration — from whole note to 64th.

Duration	Shortcut
Whole	`1`
Half	`2`
Quarter	`3`
Eighth	`4`
Sixteenth	`5`
Thirty-second	`6`
Sixty-fourth	`7`
Lengthen current duration	`Shift` + `Alt` + `→`
Shorten current duration	`Shift` + `Alt` + `←`
Tie	`,`
Dot (augmentation dot)	`.`

Migrating from Sibelius or MuseScore? Duration ordering is reversed: 1 is the longest value (whole note) in Flat.

Insert Mode

Action	Shortcut
Cycle between edit modes	`I`

Tuplets

Tuplet	Shortcut
Duplet	`Shift` + `2`
Triplet	`Shift` + `3` or `T`
Quadruplet	`Shift` + `4`
Quintuplet	`Shift` + `5`
Sextuplet	`Shift` + `6`
Septuplet	`Shift` + `7`
Nonuplet	`Shift` + `9`

Coming from Dorico or Finale? In those tools, T was tie. In Flat, T adds a triplet. Use , for ties.

Accidentals

Action	Shortcut
Flat (♭)	`-`
Flat the last note added	`Shift` + `-`
Sharp (♯)	`=`
Sharp the last note added	`Shift` + `=`
Natural (♮)	`0`
Set last note added natural	`Shift` + `0`
Toggle enharmonic spelling	`J`

Measures

Action	Shortcut
Remove measure	`Ctrl` + `Backspace`
Add measure	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Enter`
System break	`Ctrl` + `Enter`
Left repeat barline	`[`
Right repeat barline	`]`

Articulations

These shortcuts work in both default Composing mode and dedicated Articulations mode (Ctrl + 2). In Articulations mode, keys 1–9 map directly to the articulations below.

Articulation	Shortcut
Slur	`S`
Staccato	`1`
Staccatissimo	`2`
Tenuto	`3`
Detached Legato	`4`
Strong Accent (marcato)	`5`
Accent	`6`
Fermata	`7`

Coming from MuseScore? In MuseScore, S adds staccato. In Flat, S opens a slur. Use 1 in Articulations mode for staccato.

Playing Techniques

Technique	Shortcut
Up bow	`8`
Down bow	`9`

Dynamics

These shortcuts work in both Composing mode and dedicated Dynamics mode (Ctrl + 3). In Dynamics mode, keys 1–9 map directly to dynamic levels.

Dynamic	Shortcut
Pianississimo (ppp)	`1`
Pianissimo (pp)	`2`
Piano (p)	`3`
Mezzo-piano (mp)	`4`
Mezzo-forte (mf)	`5`
Forte (f)	`6`
Fortissimo (ff)	`7`
Fortississimo (fff)	`8`
Sforzando (sfz)	`9`
Pedal	`P`
Crescendo hairpin	`Shift` + `,`
Diminuendo hairpin	`Shift` + `.`

Ornaments & Extended Techniques

Switch to Ornaments mode (Ctrl + 4) to assign trills, turns, and mordents to your number keys without leaving the keyboard.

Action	Shortcut
Trill	`Shift` + `T`
Ottava 8va	(available in Ornaments mode)
Ottava 8vb	(available in Ornaments mode)

Remove, Undo & Edit

Action	Shortcut
Remove selected element	`Delete`
Remove element and move left	`Backspace`
Undo	`Ctrl` + `Z`
Redo	`Ctrl` + `Y`
Copy	`Ctrl` + `C`
Paste	`Ctrl` + `V`
Cut	`Ctrl` + `X`
Duplicate	`R`

Export

Action	Shortcut
Print	`Ctrl` + `P`

User Interface

Snap to any toolbar or panel without reaching for the mouse.

Action	Shortcut
Document toolbar	`Ctrl` + `Numpad 1`
Note toolbar	`Ctrl` + `Numpad 2`
Articulation toolbar	`Ctrl` + `Numpad 3`
Ornament toolbar	`Ctrl` + `Numpad 4`
Dynamic toolbar	`Ctrl` + `Numpad 5`
Measure toolbar	`Ctrl` + `Numpad 6`
Text toolbar	`Ctrl` + `Numpad 7`
Lyrics input	`Ctrl` + `L`
Annotation	`Ctrl` + `E`
Chord symbol	`Ctrl` + `K`
Figured bass	`Ctrl` + `B`
Classic chord	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `K`
Reset zoom	`Ctrl` + `0`
Zoom in	`Ctrl` + `=`
Zoom out	`Ctrl` + `-`
Toggle fullscreen	`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `F`
Display Help	`Shift` + `/`
Open shortcuts reference modal	`Alt` + `/`

Shortcuts shown use Ctrl (Windows/Linux). On Mac, use ⌘ in place of Ctrl and Option in place of Alt.