music-score/docs/musicxml-spec/elements/scaling.md

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source: https://www.w3.org/2021/06/musicxml40/musicxml-reference/elements/scaling/

downloaded: 2026-01-30T08:44:45.486Z

The element | MusicXML 4.0

MusicXML 4.0 >

MusicXML reference >
Elements >
scaling

The element

Parent element:

    <defaults>

Margins, page sizes, and distances are all measured in tenths to keep MusicXML data in a consistent coordinate system as much as possible. The translation to absolute units is done with the element, which specifies how many millimeters are equal to how many tenths. For a staff height of 7 mm, would be set to 7 while is set to 40. The ability to set a formula rather than a single scaling factor helps avoid roundoff errors.

Content

In this order

• (Required)
• (Required)

Attributes

None.

Examples

This element is used in the following examples:

and , , , Tutorial: Après un rêve, Tutorial: Chopin Prelude, Tutorial: Chord Symbols, Tutorial: Percussion, Tutorial: Tablature