Product review: Muse Score - free music scoring and composition software

March 12, 2013 at 5:00 AM

Many thanks to Anne-Marie Proulx for making me aware of Muse Score, which is a free music composition and scoring app available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There are templates for different types of performance pieces, or you can create your own from scratch.

You add or remove instruments, articulations, ornaments, etc. through a windows and wizards-based interface. The app is more clunky than word, and built on top of the Qt widget set, which is geek-talk for saying that the interface may not be terribly intuitive for windows users. On the plus side, the app is totally free, meaning that it is a full version, there is no cost to download and, a big plus for me, no advertising and distributed with a Creative Commons license.

Might be a good choice for a student, hobbyist, or professional working on a tight budget.

Author's note: I am not affiliated in any way with the makers of this software. :)

From Anne-Marie Proulx
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 1:01 PM

Happy that you like Musescore :)

I like it so much, it has opened so many doors to my musical hobby and passion. Before, I was totally dependant on scores and arrangments that already existed on paper and was unable to play much with my friends who play winds and brass.

My previous ear training and theory courses helped me to understand it and use it better. Even so, many things are done automatically...

I'm in no way affiliated with Musescore either :)
Anne-Marie

From Kevin Keating
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 4:38 PM

I use MuseScore also. I like it. I find it easy to use. The playback isn't very realistic, at least as far as violin goes, but it works enough to get an idea of what I'm doing. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars.

From elise stanley
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 6:48 PM

Anyone compared it to Crescendo? Another free music notation software. It is simple but effective for jotting:

http://crescendo-music-notation-editor.software.informer.com/

I'm not much of a music writer so would be interested if someone with skills could say which was best...
ee

From Charlie Gibbs
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 9:23 PM

By the same token, how does it compare with Lilypond and its graphical front-end Denemo?

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