In this tutorial, I will guide you through creating customizable music notation pages in Affinity Publisher using a combination of Nested and Stacked Tables.

You will learn how to efficiently use Tables to design staves and clefs, and how to manage these layouts for future customization. Follow along to create your own music notation page, whether for digital or print use.

Step 1: Set up the Document

1. Create a new A4 page in Affinity Publisher
2. Set the colour format to RGB
3. Set the margins to 10 mm on all sides (left, right, top, and bottom)
4. Ensure the bleed is set to zero, as this project is for digital output
   

Step 2: Create the Stave Table

1. Select the Table tool and draw a table with 4 rows and 1 column
2. Ensure the table spans the full width between the margins
3. Select all 4 rows, and using the Table Panel, set the row height to 2 mm
4. Remove the borders on the left and right sides by selecting "Outside Vertical" in the Stroke and Fill section and turning the stroke off.
   

Step 3: Create the Layout Table

1. Draw another Table, this time with 1 column and 12 rows
2. Ensure the Table is the same width as the margins
3. Name this Table “Layout” and use it as a guide for positioning the Stave Tables
   

Step 4: Nest the Stave Table into the Layout Table

1. Copy the Stave Table
2. Click inside the first cell of the Layout Table
3. Paste the Stave Table into the first cell, nesting it inside that cell
4. Repeat this for all 12 rows in the Layout Table, so each row contains one nested Stave Table
   

Step 5: Turn off Borders for the Layout Table

1. Select the Layout Table and turn off all borders, as this Table is only used for layout purposes.
   

Step 6: Lock the Layout Table

1. Lock the layout table to prevent accidental movement during the next steps
   

Step 7: Create the Clef Table

1. Draw a new Table with 1 column and 12 rows, ensuring it is the same size as the existing Layout Table
2. Turn off all borders for this Table
   

Step 8: Add the Treble Clef Graphic

1. Open a Treble Clef graphic in Affinity Designer or any other source
2. Copy the Treble Clef graphic
3. Paste the Treble Clef into each cell of the Clef Table
4. For faster pasting, paste the Clef into the first six cells, then select and copy those six clefs, and paste them into the remaining six cells
   

Step 9: Adjust the Position of the Clef

1. Zoom in to better see the positioning of the Clefs
2. Select the Clef Table and open the Table Panel
3. In the Cell section, adjust the "Insets" to indent the Clefs from the left by 3 mm. This will ensure they are correctly positioned relative to the staves.
   

Step 10: WARNING: Avoid Nesting Tables on Master Pages

1. It’s important NOT to use Nested Tables on Master Pages in Affinity Publisher; this can cause performance issues and crashes
2. Instead, place the design directly on each standard page you need the music notation on
   

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we covered how to create a customizable music notation page in Affinity Publisher.

We utilised three types of tables:

• Nested Tables
• Stacked Tables
• Layout Tables

By nesting the stave Tables into a Layout Table and stacking a Clef Table on top, we built a versatile and easily adjustable music notation page.

Remember to avoid adding Nested Tables to Master Pages to ensure smooth performance in Affinity Publisher.

If you enjoyed this tutorial and want more tips and tricks, be sure to check out my free training at ElaineGiles.com/VIP. Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you never miss a new tutorial.

If you have any specific tutorial requests, feel free to reach out - I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading and watching, and see you next time!

FREE Downloads

• Treble Clef Vectors by Vecteezy