Fixing Chord Symbols Mistakenly Recognized as Lyrics in ScanScore

 

One common issue when using ScanScore for sheet music recognition is that chord symbols are sometimes mistakenly detected as lyrics. This can cause problems when transposing, as lyrics are treated as standard text elements and won't be adjusted with the rest of the music. It's also really important for the export into other software, as text elements and their anchoring can belong to other staves than supposed to.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to identify and fix this issue quickly and efficiently.

---

1. Enable Chord Recognition in ScanScore

Before making any manual corrections, ensure that chord detection is properly set up in ScanScore. To do this:

1. Open ScanScore and navigate to the Preferences menu.
2. Check that the option “Show Chords” is enabled.
3. Also, make sure that “Recognize Text Outside Staves” is turned on to avoid missing important elements​.

If chords are still being detected as lyrics, you will need to manually correct them.

---

2. How to Check if a Symbol is a Chord or Lyrics?

Anchoring shows you to which staff the element is connected to. There are two other ways to determine whether a symbol has been categorized as a chord or lyrics:

Method 1: Double-Click on the Chord Symbol

• Double-click the chord symbol.
• If a text-editing box for lyrics appears, the symbol has been mistakenly recognized as lyrics.
  
  
  
• If the chord window opens, everything is correct. 

Method 2: Open the Properties Window (Alt + P)

• Select the chord symbol and press Alt + P.
• The top of the window will display the Text Type:
  • "Lyric" → It has been detected as a lyric.

If a chord has been misidentified as lyrics, you’ll need to convert it manually.

---

3. Correcting Misclassified Chord Symbols

To change a wrongly detected chord symbol into an actual chord:

1. Right-click on the chord symbol.
2. In the context menu, navigate to "Change" → "Chord Symbol".
3. The symbol is now treated as a real chord and will transpose correctly with the rest of the notation​.
   
   

---

4. Quickly Identify and Fix All Incorrect Chords

If you don’t want to check each symbol individually, you can use the Filter Function in the View Menu:

1. Open the View Menu in ScanScore.
2. Select “Select -> Text -> Lyrics”.
3. This allows you to search for lyrics or chords and identify mistakes easily.

With this method, you can quickly detect which chord symbols have been mistaken for lyrics and fix them in bulk.

---

5. Why is This Correction Important?

If chord symbols are not correctly classified as chords:
✅ They will not transpose correctly.
✅ They cannot be exported properly as MusicXML or MIDI chords.
✅ They may appear incorrectly formatted when printing.

By ensuring that chord symbols are correctly categorized, you make sure that they transpose along with the rest of the score and can be exported correctly to other notation software.

---

Conclusion: Fixing Chord Recognition in ScanScore Made Easy

To avoid chord misrecognition issues in ScanScore, follow these steps:

✔ Enable Chord Recognition in Preferences
✔ Use Double-Click or Alt + P to check text type
✔ Right-click → Change → Chord to correct misclassified chords
✔ Use the View Menu to filter and identify errors quickly

By using these simple methods, you can fix recognition errors in seconds, ensuring that your chord symbols behave as expected! 🎵😊

---

Would you like to learn more about music recognition with ScanScore? Check out our other guides or try the ScanScore free trial today! 🚀🎼