Considering Software for Music Notation? Do not overlook Musescore

Why Musecore is becoming a top music notation software.

MuseScore Interface

Oftentimes, I’ve heard many of my peers who are musicians say to me, “I don’t like Musescore. It’s not real notation software.” Most times, I’m amazed by this statement. I do wonder, “What is a real notation software?”

Over the years, musicians have become used to Sibelius, a very good notation, I believe, although it has its flaws. Sibelius took us from the era of writing with pencil and paper (imagine writing Symphony No. 5 with pencil and paper) into the golden age of technology by writing with the computer.

The manuscript of a string quartet by Beethoven failed to sell at Sotheby’s last month after a scholar publicly questioned the assertion by Sotheby’s and its experts that the work was written in Beethoven’s hand. Source: New York Times

I can assure you that writing with pencil and paper has its pros. I used to write with pencil and paper myself—I wrote a two-part invention with pencil and paper a few years ago. However, it’s a rather painful and enduring endeavor.

There are many notation software programs out there, for example, Sibelius, Finale, Dorico, etc. And you can always choose what you want, after all. But I want to talk about Musescore, a software that I’ve used to write some of my works (mind you, I have no financial gain in writing this article, nor am I writing for Musescore), and why Musescore is a software you shouldn’t overlook.

• Musescore is an open-source music notation software. Hence, its rapid growth and update. Hundreds of developers are contributing to its codebase daily, making sure there are timely updates and bug fixes. So, rest assured that bugs will be quickly fixed. And you can also contribute to its codebase, provided you know a thing or two about computer programs.

Photo by Nathan McBride on Unsplash

• Ease of use. I’ve used other notation software in my composition writing, like Sibelius and Finale, but I can assure you that they’re not as easy as MuseScore. Musescore is completely easy to navigate and understand. I learned the basics of Musescore from its in-app guide and within two months, I was already on my way to writing neoclassical piano pieces. You can check out some of my compositions below, written with Musescore, of course.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

• Musescore cloud and audio.com integration. If anything at all, you should be certain you aren’t going to lose your work. I knew the importance of pushing my works to the cloud when I lost my PC and couldn’t get access to my compositions 😪. It was disappointing. I had some nice compositions that got lost just because I didn’t save them to the cloud. Now, Musescore has integrated audio.com, a web-based platform for posting and sharing your audio. You can easily save your work to audio.com and then share it with your loved ones and fans. You can also save your composition to the cloud (musescore.com), the Musecore online score-sharing platform.
• Muse Sounds. Muse Sounds is an almost-perfect pack of high-quality playback instruments for MuseScore 4. To be candid, I felt like a cheat when I got Muse Sounds for zero dollars. I couldn’t believe I could get something as close to the Vienna Symphony Orchestra on my Lenovo laptop for zero cents. The newly introduced Muse Sound is like the icing on the cake—it’s what makes Musescore quite a force to reckon with lately. Imagine having a virtual London Symphony Orchestra on your laptop! This software plays your sheet music with incredibly realistic instrument sounds, making it sound like the piece is performed by a professional orchestra. You can get all the instruments of the orchestra, the band, the choir, the contemporary band, and even your jazz quintet. You can also mix your works with Muse Sound, thanks to MuseFX, which comes with compressors, EQs, de-essers, pitch correctors, choruses, reverbs, mastering plugins, harmonizers, etc. You can listen to Muse Sounds’ output below.

• It’s free. I know you must be wondering, “How much do I get to pay for all these?” You don't need to pay anything. Musescore is free forever. You can download it within a few seconds, set it up, and start writing right away. You do not have to worry about monthly or annual subscriptions. I guess Musescore is only concerned about you becoming a better composer, arranger, podcaster, and “whateverer” (sorry about that 😊).

You can download Musecore today, and let’s feast and bask in the wonders and gifts of technology to the music world.

Less, I forgot; I promised to share with you some of my written compositions. For some of them, I’ve converted to video with a cover photo—so, no visible sheet music. I am a music student, and I compose music, of course. You can check out some of my written works. Though my frequency on YouTube hasn't been that high, forgive me.