A character map is a chart that shows all the characters of a font, and if you are lucky, where they are all located! Character Mapsįor some of the fonts listed below, you will find character maps available to view on the website or as a pdf download. So, how do you know where the characters you need are? This is where character maps come in. To insert the Yen symbol, normally you have to go to “Insert A Symbol” in Microsoft Word because it’s deep in the font somewhere. For example, the currency symbol for Yen could be the barline. Besides, many of the characters you might need are not represented by the buttons on your keyboard. You can guess and begin to memorize where the various notes/symbols are, but that is time-consuming and somewhat impractical. If you open a new document in Microsoft Word (or whatever word processing software you use), select a music font, and press some random letters of the alphabet, you will see some of the symbols contained in the font. Once the music font is installed on your computer, it’s a little bit tricky to figure out where the various notes/symbols are located within the font. It’s pretty easy to install fonts, but you can find tutorials online that can lead you through the process if you need some help (just Google it). Then you must download and install them onto your computer. If you don’t have any music fonts on your computer, you can find them online. If you own a music engraving software like Finale or Sibelius, then guess what: You already have music fonts on your computer! Using Fontbook (on Mac computers) or “Fonts” in the Control Panel (PCs), you can view all the fonts installed on your computer. This post will attempt to demystify the process and point you to some links and resources. However, using music fonts is a little more complicated than you might think. The great thing about using music fonts is that anyone can use them, without having to buy an expensive program like Finale.

Finally, here it is! If you have been wondering how you can create your own music worksheets/resources, this guide will help you get started.įor my worksheets/materials, I use graphics exported from Finale about 30% of the time, and music fonts the other 70% of the time. I’ve been wanting to write a post about using music fonts for a long time.

Word music in different fonts