Fingering

What Auto-fingering does

Auto-fingering computes a fingering for a passage and engraves the numbers directly on the score. The computation takes your hand size into account, so jumps and stretches respect what your hand can actually reach. Each run lands as a separate layer you can show, hide, recolor, revise, or delete.

Limit — Auto-fingering needs a Smart Score (MusicXML or MEI) version of the piece. On a plain PDF the row is greyed out with the hint Convert or find a MusicXML/MEI score to use this. — convert the piece first (see Prepare a piece for Follow, Step 1).

Limit — Generation runs on the server, so it needs an internet connection. A passage you already generated reloads from the local cache (Loaded from local cache).

Open the panel

1. With the score open, tap the wrench button in the top bar (Tool chest).
2. In the Tools tab, under Practice, tap Auto-fingering.

The panel is a form that scrolls; the Generate fingerings button stays pinned at the bottom the whole time.

Pick the range

Range to compute is the first section of the panel. Choose one scope — the selected row carries a green check, and Generate fingerings executes it:

• Measure range — set Start at measure and End at measure with the arrows, or tap the number to type it.
• Whole page — fingers every measure currently visible on screen. The engraved score must be the one on screen; otherwise the run stops with Couldn't read the visible page — open the engraved score first.
• Select a passage — the bottom button changes to Select the passage; tapping it returns you to the score, where you drag a box around the passage to finger.

Important — The algorithm is exponential in depth: a tighter range returns faster. Run the passage you are actually working on rather than the whole piece — though the whole piece is always available.

Describe your hand — once

The Your hand section comes right after the range and feeds the algorithm. Until you calibrate, it reads Using default preset (M) — calibrate for a personalised fit. Calibration is a one-time step:

• Pick by interval — at the piano (recommended) — sit at the keyboard and pick the widest interval you can reach, thumb on a key. This is deterministic and maps straight to your size bucket.
• Scan with camera (approximate) — estimates your hand span from a camera view of your hand. It can misjudge the size, so check the result against your real reach.

The measured span maps onto seven presets, XXS through XXL (reference: a comfortable 10th ≈ preset M). The Hand size preset picker overrides the measurement manually; switch it back to Auto (from scan) to follow the calibration again. Remove calibration drops back to the default preset. Optionally, Measure finger independence adds a second measurement the algorithm can use.

Set the objective

The Objective section sets the priority for this pass: economy, stability, legato, or hand-safety. Each chip — Economy of motion, Repeated-cell persistence, Legato priority, Thumb routing, Hand safety, Voice continuity, Conservative redistribution — cycles through Off / Low / Med / High as you tap it. Leave them all off for the default balance.

Note — You can generate without calibrating: this section warns Hand profile not calibrated — generating with the preset/span fallback. Result will be marked uncalibrated. and the run uses the M preset.

Choose where the numbers go

The Rendering section has a Placement switch for computed fingerings: Above staff draws the digits above the staff; In staff uses the engraved in-staff fingering so the numbers follow the note curve.

Generate

Tap Generate fingerings. The button shows Computing… while the server works, then the numbers appear on the score and the run is listed under Generated fingerings in the panel. Each layer row has:

• an eye — show or hide that layer on the score;
• a color swatch — recolor its numbers;
• a trash button — delete the layer;
• Revise — see below;
• a share button — export the layer as a .sheetturner file another Page Turner user can attach to the same piece.

Revise a result

When a fingering is playable but not right — a stretch that hurts, a thumb in the wrong place — don't delete it; revise it:

1. In Generated fingerings, tap Revise on the layer.
2. The panel scrolls to a Revising: card. In Describe what should change, type the correction — or dictate it with the mic button.
3. Re-select the passage if you want a different span, then tap Generate fingerings again. The new pass runs with your instruction and lands as a fresh layer, so you can compare the two.

Ask the fingering expert

The Ask the fingering expert section at the bottom of the panel is a chat about the current fingering — for example "use 4 on the F#" or "this stretch hurts", typed or dictated. The expert sees the score and your hand size; it explains its choices and proposes per-note changes, shown as a Proposed changes diff (old number struck through, new number highlighted). Nothing touches the score until you act:

• Re-generate with this advice — reruns generation with the proposal folded in;
• Approve — records the current fingering as good.

Write fingerings by hand

The pencil button at the top of the panel (Edit fingerings) opens the fingering annotation widget on the score. It has three input modes:

• Detect — write digits 1–5 on the score with Apple Pencil; they're recognized and applied directly.
• Tap — pick a number from the 1–5 buttons, then tap the score to place it. The Loupe chip toggles a placement magnifier; leave it off to pinch-zoom freely while annotating.
• Scan ink — for digits you've already handwritten (in an earlier session, or on a scanned score): draw a blue box around them and the recognized fingerings are engraved as real score fingerings.

Handwritten and generated fingerings coexist. Marks you write on empty spots live in the annotation layer. Editing a generated fingering works differently: the correction creates or updates a layer named My Fingering — a copy of that generated layer with your edits applied — so the untouched generated result stays available for comparison.