MuseScore, now published as MuseScore Studio, is a music notation program for writing, editing, playing back and printing sheet music. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it is free and open source with no feature limits. It handles anything from a single melody to piano, guitar, choir, band and orchestral scores.
Building a score from instruments or templates
A new score starts in a two-stage dialog. First you pick from more than 500 instruments by family or search, or start from a template that supplies a ready-made, styled ensemble. The second stage sets key and time signatures, an optional tempo marking, the number of measures, a pickup measure and the title and credits. You can change instruments later from the Layout panel.
Note entry methods
MuseScore’s default method is step-time entry. You pick a duration with the number keys 1 to 9, then a pitch with the letters A to G. The program places the note in the octave nearest the previous one. Arrow keys shift notes by a half step or an octave, and Shift plus a letter builds chords. Another mode reverses the order, pitch first.
You can also enter notes by clicking with the mouse, playing on a MIDI keyboard or picking them on an on-screen piano. Specialised modes cover other workflows:
- Rhythm enters durations only, leaving pitches to be set afterwards.
- Re-pitch keeps an existing rhythm and replaces the pitches.
- Real-time records from a MIDI keyboard, either against a fixed metronome click or by tapping a key or foot pedal on each beat at any tempo.
- Insert adds notes before the cursor and pushes the rest of the measure forward, adjusting the measure length.
Music that needs independent rhythms on one staff, such as a melody over a moving accompaniment, goes into separate voices.
Markings, text and instrument-specific notation
Most symbols come from the palettes, a sidebar of grouped items such as key signatures, articulations, dynamics, lines and repeats. You select notes or measures and click an item, or drag it onto an element; slurs and hairpins span the selected range. A master palette holds every symbol and lets you build custom key and time signatures.
Text tools cover lyrics, fingering, figured bass and rehearsal marks. You type chord symbols above notes beat by beat, and they can sound during playback. For guitarists, MuseScore offers tablature staves where you type fret numbers on a chosen string, plus fretboard diagrams, capos, alternate tunings and bends. Percussion has its own input panel.
The Transpose tool moves music chromatically to a new key or by an interval, or diatonically by scale degree. For transposing instruments such as clarinets or horns, a concert pitch toggle switches the whole score between written and sounding pitch.
Linked instrument parts
MuseScore generates a part for each instrument automatically. MuseScore links parts to the full score, so a note added or corrected in either place appears in both. Layout and style can still differ. A part can have its own page formatting. Moving an element in a part detaches it from the score until you resynchronise it. A part can also show more than one instrument or only selected voices, which suits shared parts such as two flutes on one staff. Parts export as separate files or combined into one.
Playback and the mixer
Playback uses the bundled MS Basic SoundFont by default. The separate Muse Sounds libraries provide more realistic playback. You install them through Muse Hub on Windows and macOS or a sound manager on Linux. MuseScore automatically assigns these libraries to the instruments they support, with MS Basic covering the rest. You can load other SoundFonts and VST3 instruments too.
The mixer gives each instrument a channel strip with volume, pan, mute and solo. Each strip also has slots for VST3 effects or the built-in reverb, and sends to two auxiliary effect channels. Changing a sound never alters the notation. Playback can loop a selected range and add a metronome. It can also run faster or slower without touching the tempo markings, while following notated ritardandos and fermatas.
File formats and online sharing
MuseScore saves to its own MSCZ format and opens MusicXML and MIDI files, among others, so scores can move between programs. Export options include:
- Print and graphics: PDF, SVG and PNG.
- Audio: MP3, AAC, OGG, FLAC and WAV, rendered with the sounds chosen in the mixer.
- Data: MIDI, MusicXML, MEI and Braille.
- Video: an MP4 of the score scrolling in time with the audio.
With an account on MuseScore.com, you can save a score to the cloud or publish it as public, unlisted or private. A local copy remains for offline work, and an uploaded audio rendering can make the online version sound like the desktop playback.
Plugins and keyboard access
Plugins add scripted tools. Several ship with MuseScore, such as note-name labelling, retrograde and tuning and temperaments. You can add community plugins to the plugins folder. You can customise keyboard shortcuts. The interface works with screen readers including NVDA, VoiceOver, Narrator and Orca, so you can navigate a score note by note without a mouse.
