(marching?) Percussion input does not respect the selected input voice.

[duck57]

Issue type

UX/Interaction bug (incorrect behaviour)

Description with steps to reproduce

I'm unsure whether this applies to all percussion inputs or only to the marching percussion.

Steps to reproduce

1. Enter percussion notes to the default voice 1.
2. Change to voice 2 and add other notes in the same measure.

Expected behavior

The voice 2 notes appear in the same measure as the existing notes.

Actual behavior

Voice 1 is overwritten by the new notes. None of them enter on voice 2.

Inconvenient workaround

Enter your voice 2 notes first (on voice 1), then select them and change them to voice 2. Now, enter your voice 1 notes. This workaround does not function properly when editing voice 2 after voice 1 has been added.

Supporting files, videos and screenshots

Screen.Recording.2026-07-10.at.16.52.07.mov

In which versions of MuseScore Studio is this issue present?

OS: macOS Sequoia (15.7.7), Arch.: arm64, MuseScore Studio version (64-bit): 4.7.4-260706075, revision: github-musescore-musescore-7688c00

Regression

Yes, this used to work in MuseScore 3.x and now is broken

Operating system

mac OS Sonoma

Additional context

No response

Checklist

• This report follows the guidelines for reporting bugs and issues
• I have verified that this issue has not been logged before, by searching the issue tracker for similar issues
• I have attached all requested files and information to this report
• I have attempted to identify the root problem as concisely as possible, and have used minimal reproducible examples where possible

[MarcSabatella]

This is currently by design - normally one would set up the drumset to choose the appropriate voice for each note so it goes in correctly by default with no need to mess with the voice buttons during note input. But it's true that for the cases where for whatever reason you need to override the voice assignments you have set up in your drumset, currently you need to do this after the fact (enter note then change voice). It's not ideal to be sure. But see #26579 for a some proposed improvements.

[marnen]

I think I had this happen recently in an orchestral piece, so if I’m right, it’s not just marching.

[MarcSabatella]

As explained above, it's by design, and yes, that design applies to all percussion, not just marching.

[marnen]

It would be nice to have that as a switchable option, then. I know that in drum kit notation, stem direction can mean a different instrument on the same staff position, but in most other percussion notation, it just means that the note belongs to a different voice but is otherwise played the same.

MuseScore should be able to accommodate both things in its percussion notation.

[duck57]

The design is 100% a good default for drum set and orchestral scores. The scenario where I discovered this issue is when displaying an ostinato in the right hand while the left hand plays a melody on the different drums. I can't simply pick the right hand drum to stick on a different voice because that physical drum is shared between both hands.

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A related question: is there a way to convince playback to have different dynamics for each voice?

[MarcSabatella]

Yes, the voice for dynamics can be set in the Properties panel. See the Handbook section on Dynamics for more info, or the official support forum at MuseScore.org for further questions.

[zacjansheski]

Closing as duplicate of #25416