Nubium opens with a blank score ready for input. No account or setup required. The interface has a toolbar at the top, a notation canvas in the center, and collapsible sidebars on either side.
Click on the title or composer text at the top of the score to edit them inline. Use the toolbar buttons or keyboard shortcuts to enter notes, change durations, and add annotations.
Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) to search for any command by name.
Type A through G to insert notes. Press R for a rest. Delete a note with Backspace.
The cursor advances automatically when a measure is full (based on the current time signature). Click on a note to move the cursor to it. Double-click to select a note or measure.
Adjust pitch after entering a note: Alt+Up/Down moves by diatonic step, Shift+Alt+Up/Down by chromatic step, and Ctrl+Alt+Up/Down by octave.
Step entry (N) — Insert notes one at a time. The cursor advances after each note.
Insert mode (I) — New notes push existing notes forward instead of overwriting them.
Grace note mode (Shift+G) — Enter grace notes (small ornamental notes before the beat).
Pitch before duration (K) — Toggle whether you set the pitch or the duration first.
Set the note duration with the number keys before or after entering a note:
| Key | Duration |
|---|---|
| 1 | Whole note |
| 2 | Half note |
| 3 | Quarter note |
| 4 | Eighth note |
| 5 | 16th note |
| 6 | 32nd note |
| 7 | 64th note |
| . | Toggle dot (adds 50% to duration) |
Press = (or +) for sharp and - for flat. Accidentals are applied to the next note you enter or to the currently selected note.
Each measure supports up to four independent voices. Switch voices with Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+4.
Use Shift+X to toggle cross-staff notation — this renders a note on a different staff than its voice, common in piano scores.
Apply articulations to the selected note:
Shift+> — Accent
Shift+< — Staccato
Shift+T — Tenuto
Shift+U — Fermata
Shift+^ — Marcato
Additional articulations (trill, mordent, turn, up-bow, down-bow, harmonics, and more) are available via the Command Palette.
Shift+C — Chord symbols. Type any chord (e.g., "Cmaj7", "Dm7b5/A") and press Enter to commit.
Shift+L — Lyrics. Type syllables and press Enter to advance to the next note. Supports multiple verses.
Shift+D — Dynamics. Choose from pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, sfz, fp.
Ctrl+Shift+T — Tempo marking. Set BPM and optional text (Allegro, Presto, etc.).
Ctrl+T — Time signature. Change the time signature at the current measure.
Ctrl+K — Key signature. Set the key for the current measure and beyond.
Shift+R — Rehearsal mark. Add a label (A, B, Intro, Verse, etc.).
Shift+S — Slur. Press once to start, again to end.
Ctrl+M — Insert a new measure after the current one. It inherits the time and key signature.
Ctrl+Backspace — Delete the current measure (cannot delete the last remaining measure).
Shift+B — Set barline type: single, double, final, repeat start, repeat end, or repeat both.
Use the Command Palette to toggle a measure as a pickup (anacrusis).
Manage parts in the left sidebar. You can add, remove, reorder (drag), solo, mute, and hide parts.
Nubium includes 12 built-in instruments: Piano, Guitar, Bass, Violin, Viola, Cello, Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, and Drums. Each has the correct MIDI sound, transposition, and default clef.
Transposing instruments (like Clarinet in Bb or Alto Sax in Eb) are handled automatically — what you see is the written pitch, and Nubium transposes for playback and concert-pitch export.
Set repeat barlines with Shift+B: repeat start, repeat end, or both.
The score model supports navigation marks (UI for adding these is coming soon):
Volta brackets (1st/2nd endings) are also supported — set them via the Command Palette.
Transpose selected notes or the entire score via the Command Palette. Available intervals:
Space — Play or pause.
Ctrl+. — Stop and return to the beginning.
Shift+M — Toggle the metronome.
Set the tempo in the BPM field in the toolbar (20–400 BPM).
Playback uses SoundFont instruments for realistic sound. It follows repeats, D.S., D.C., codas, and volta brackets.
Set the feel via the command palette: Straight (default), Swing, Hard Swing, or Shuffle.
Connect a MIDI keyboard and Nubium will detect it automatically. Play a note to insert it at the current cursor position (step entry). On macOS, Nubium uses a native MIDI bridge for full compatibility.
Ctrl+Shift+1 — Full Score — shows all parts with all annotations.
Ctrl+Shift+2 — Tab View — shows guitar tablature for guitar parts.
You can toggle the visibility of specific annotation types (lyrics, chords, dynamics, rehearsal marks, tempo marks) in Settings.
Ctrl+B — Toggle left sidebar. Ctrl+Shift+B — Toggle right sidebar.
Ctrl+N — New score.
Ctrl+O — Open a file (MusicXML supported).
Ctrl+S — Save.
Ctrl+Shift+H — Browse file history (up to 50 snapshots of past edits).
MusicXML — compatible with MuseScore, Dorico, Sibelius, Finale, and any other notation app.
PDF — print-ready export of the full score or individual parts.
WAV — render your score to an audio file.
ABC Notation and LilyPond — copy to clipboard via the Command Palette.
Your work is auto-saved every 2 seconds. If the app closes unexpectedly, your score is recovered on next launch.
Switch to Tab View (Ctrl+Shift+2) to see fret numbers on a tablature staff. Guitar parts support Standard tuning, Drop D, and Open G.
Available via the Command Palette: bend (with semitone amount), slide up/down, hammer-on, pull-off, palm mute, and harmonics.
Left/Right — Move cursor through the score.
Up/Down — Switch between parts (in normal mode).
Enter — Jump to the beginning of the score.
Ctrl+G — Go to a specific measure number.
Shift+Left/Right — Extend selection by measure.
Shift+Alt+Left/Right — Extend selection by note.
Ctrl+A — Select all. Esc — Clear selection.
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V — Copy, cut, and paste.
You can also copy your selection as ABC notation, LilyPond, or MusicXML via the Command Palette.
Open settings with Ctrl+,. You can customize:
Nubium's features are built as plugins. Toggle them on and off with Ctrl+Shift+E. Plugins can register commands, keyboard shortcuts, toolbar panels, and sidebar panels.
Open with Ctrl+Shift+A. Describe what you want in plain language and the AI edits your score directly — notes, annotations, title, composer, tempo, parts, measures. It works by modifying the score document, so it can do almost anything you can do by hand. It cannot change app settings, cursor position, or view modes.
Supports Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, and Google Gemini. You need your own API key — get one from your chosen provider and paste it into the AI Chat settings panel. You can undo any AI edit with Ctrl+Z or the "Undo Last AI Edit" option in the chat menu.
Copy and paste notation in multiple formats. MusicXML supports full copy and paste. ABC notation supports copy to clipboard and paste from clipboard. LilyPond is export only — you can copy your score as LilyPond, but pasting LilyPond back in is not yet supported.
Export as PDF (full score or individual part) and WAV audio. Available from the command palette.
Transpose selected notes or the entire score by half step, whole step, minor 3rd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, or octave — up or down. All transposition commands are in the command palette.
Select notes and run chord analysis from the command palette. Identifies major, minor, diminished, augmented, 7th, sus4, and sus2 chords.
Step-entry from a MIDI keyboard. Connect a MIDI controller and play notes to enter them at the cursor position one at a time. Uses the Web MIDI API with a native bridge fallback in the desktop app.
Audio playback with transport controls. Set tempo from 20 to 400 BPM in the playback toolbar. Toggle the metronome with Shift+M. Play/pause with Space, stop with Ctrl+.
On Mac, use Cmd in place of Ctrl. All shortcuts can be customized in Settings → Hotkeys.
| A–G | Insert note |
| R | Insert rest |
| Backspace | Delete note |
| N | Step entry mode |
| I | Insert mode |
| K | Toggle pitch before duration |
| Shift+G | Grace note mode |
| Shift+S | Start/end slur |
| 1–7 | Whole through 64th note |
| . | Toggle dot |
| = / + | Sharp |
| - | Flat |
| Left/Right | Move cursor |
| Up/Down | Switch part |
| Alt+Up/Down | Pitch up/down (diatonic) |
| Shift+Alt+Up/Down | Pitch up/down (chromatic) |
| Ctrl+Alt+Up/Down | Octave up/down |
| Enter | Go to beginning |
| Ctrl+G | Go to measure |
| Shift+Left/Right | Extend selection |
| Shift+Alt+Left/Right | Extend note selection |
| Ctrl+A | Select all |
| Esc | Clear selection |
| Ctrl+C | Copy |
| Ctrl+X | Cut |
| Ctrl+V | Paste |
| Ctrl+1–Ctrl+4 | Switch voice |
| Shift+X | Toggle cross-staff |
| Shift+C | Chord symbol |
| Shift+L | Lyric |
| Shift+D | Dynamic |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Tempo marking |
| Ctrl+T | Time signature |
| Ctrl+K | Key signature |
| Shift+R | Rehearsal mark |
| Shift+B | Barline |
| Shift+> | Accent |
| Shift+< | Staccato |
| Shift+T | Tenuto |
| Shift+U | Fermata |
| Shift+^ | Marcato |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| Ctrl+M | Insert measure |
| Ctrl+Backspace | Delete measure |
| Space | Play/pause |
| Ctrl+. | Stop |
| Shift+M | Toggle metronome |
| Ctrl+N | New score |
| Ctrl+O | Open file |
| Ctrl+S | Save |
| Ctrl+Shift+H | File history |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Command Palette |
| Ctrl+, | Settings |
| Ctrl+B | Toggle left sidebar |
| Ctrl+Shift+B | Toggle right sidebar |
| Ctrl+Shift+E | Toggle plugins |
| Ctrl+Shift+1 | Full Score view |
| Ctrl+Shift+2 | Tab view |
| Ctrl+Shift+A | Toggle AI Chat |
Nubium is open source and welcomes contributions — from bug fixes to new plugins.