[fotophun]

HI
is there anyone out there that can help me

I am trying to get rid of the white background in sheet music

I have been trying to use the magic wand, maybe need to change setting alittle

the lines are so small that some of it is disappearing

is this the correct way to get rid of the white background
thanks
MT

[elibar]

I struggled with this when I first started - with the exact same thing! I wanted sheet music on my layout. I never did get that layout right. But now - I've since learned about blend modes! They are wonderful. Here's a screen shot of what I'm talking about. The white sheet layer is set to normal blend mode. I've duplicated the layer and changed the blend modes - one to multiply, and the other to darken. Multiply takes away the color - but still leaves some texture. Darken leaves just the black. Experiment with different blend modes according to your background, and I'll bet you find a setting that works!

 Fullscreen capture 1142011 92331 PM_600.jpg (191.48K)
Number of downloads: 16

For a white background, there's no need to try to use that magic wand. Those are useful tools, but in this case, simply changing the blend mode of your music layer should do the trick. If there are any imperfections left, you can use your eraser tool.

Welcome to Scrap Girls! If you still have questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[fotophun]

thanks so much for responding
I belong to a theatre group and would like to change the color of the notes
do I need to delete the white and then save it as a png?
thanks
MT

[BarbaraC1977]

If I understand correctly, you'd like to have a black transparency-style overlay of the sheet music, and then you can change the black notes to another color; yes?

You might want to try an adjustment layer, levels, and tweak the image to make any "gray" at the edges of notes and the staff disappear. JPG images almost always have a little interference pattern at the edges that's problematic, since they are compressed files. It will also vary depending on the resolution at which you scanned the page.

After that, you could try the magic wand, Contiguous NOT checked, and adjust the sensitivity. If you have your image VERY enlarged, you'll be able to see the difference in what's selected.

Another trick is to select the black instead of the white. You can then click the Select menu, Refine Edge... and experiment with smoothing a little bit. Then INVERT the selection, CTRL + Shift + I, and cut the white away. You should see the checkerboard behind the image, not a solid background. If the background is still solid, you'll need to convert it to a layer and delete it.

When you're reasonably happy with it, save the result as a PNG. If it's less than 2500 pixels high and wide, you can even save it as a brush file.

Sometimes you just have to play with it. Hope this helps.

[fotophun]

again thanks for your help and reply
BUT what have I done wrong
I cut away all the white and did not end up with a transparent background
but a somewhat gray/black background??
that frustrating feeling when you are so close, but yet so far.

[JenniferZ]

You need to make sure that your sheet music is NOT the locked background layer. Just open up your sheet music document and duplicate the layer that the sheet music is on. (This can easily be done in the layers palette by dragging the background layer to the bottom of the layers palette and "dropping" it onto the icon that looks like a paper with a folded corner -- the one just the the left of the trash can icon.) Turn OFF the background layer (click the little "eye" icon next to the layer). Use your magic wand to select the white area of your duplicate layer and delete (or use the method Barbara suggested above) and THEN save it as a PNG.

I think this will solve your problem!
HTH!

[fotophun]

YEH
thanks for all your help
started at square one and just worked the jpg
and it came out awesome...
thanks for sharing all of your knowledge