MuseScore 4 is OUT NOW!

• 14 Dec 2022 - 00:17

UPDATE - March 13, 2023: MuseScore 4.0.2 has now been released.

This patch release release fixes loads of issues, and also includes some important usability improvements as well as a ton of engraving enhancements.

All the details about this version can be found here on Github.


UPDATE - January 13, 2023: MuseScore 4.0.1 has now been released (see changelog).


This announcement is available in other languages. See links to translated versions below.


Hey everyone,

Today, we are delighted to announce the release of MuseScore 4 along with our new orchestral playback library Muse Sounds!.


To install:

  1. Visit https://musescore.org/en/download
  2. Click the main Download button for your operating system
  3. This will download the Muse Hub installer, which allows you to install MuseScore 4 and Muse Sounds

Linux users need to click the "Download AppImage" button to install MuseScore, and also the text link "Muse Hub (for Muse Sounds)" directly below in order to get Muse Sounds.


For those wanting to download a Windows or Mac version of MS4 without the Muse Hub, please use the appropriate text links at https://musescore.org/en/download.


Watch our release video

YouTube video: Announcing MuseScore 4 - a gigantic overhaul!

What's new in MuseScore 4?

  • Our new orchestral plugin, Muse Sounds
  • Saving to cloud on MuseScore.com is now working
  • An improved system for publishing to MuseScore.com
  • A simple toggle for switching between playback profiles (MS Basic and MuseSounds)

An entirely new interface
- 400 new icons
- customisable colours
- A new Home tab which includes recent scores, plugins and video tutorials
- A new, friendlier onboarding process


An engraving overhaul
- New system for horizontal spacing
- New system for slurs and ties
- New system for beaming and cross-staff beaming
- New, heavily revised version of Leland and Leland text
- System objects can appear on more than one system (although this is currently only available on certain templates)
- Hundreds of other smaller fixes and optimisations for lyrics, articulation placement, tremolo marks and general positioning
- For a more comprehensive explanation of the engraving changes in MS4, please see this document. https://musescore.org/en/node/330793


Multiple workflow improvements
- The Properties panel (formerly the inspector) is now much more responsive, easier to understand and filled with lots of useful options
- The capabilities of the note input bar have been expanded and the toolbar itself is now much easier to customise
- Customisable 'Tempo Lines', (accel, rit, etc.) that work with playback
- Scrollbars on the score
- Parts are easier to discover, edit and alter (using the new 'Instruments' panel)
- The experience of setting up a new score has been simplified to be more welcoming to new users
- Improved instrument definitions
- A new tuplets toggle
- New articulation buttons
- A new toggle for cross staff beaming


A new mixer

laptop_desktop_2x.png


VST instruments and effects support
- Please note that we will be building additional tools, like automation and MIDI mapping in later releases, once MS4 is out


Accessibility improvements
- A new keyboard navigation system that follows best practices to allow users to quickly move around the interface
- Improved screen reader support (in particular, we really need people to test and provide feedback on this)
- An editable high contrast mode


Incompatible features we will re-introduce in later releases

  • There are other features that have not played nicely with our new systems at all, and which will need to be replaced in later releases, namely: the plugin creator (which we want to rewrite completely as a priority), the score comparison tool and the 'Documents side-by-side' feature.

Read this announcement in other languages

These translations have kindly been provided by members of our community:

Or you can use Google Translate to view it in other languages.


Reacties

Als antwoord op van BrunoCatt

They install side by side.
File associations for MuseScore files can only be with one of them though (so double clicking a file will always open that musescore version). Take note that once you overwrite a file with a newer major version (MS4, Save As + overwrite the same file) it can no longer be opened with an older version (in casu MS3)

Als antwoord op van jeetee

Yes, there should be a warning about the fact that file that has been saved from MS4 can no longer be opened with MS3. Even better would be to have an option of saving a file in a format that is compatible with MS3 (yes, it is clear that some of the new features would get lost in the process, but it is definitely better than losing an entire project).

I am incredibly thrilled that MuseScore 4 has been officially released! I've been following development of it everyday since October 2021 so it's nice to see it finally come out now. Anyways, I just downloaded the new Muse Hub and I keep having this issue... which I find weird since it always worked previously (I have had it installed since the Beta), I've also tried re-installing it to no avail. All of the sections don't work, plus it keeps throwing me an error that "Muse Hub helper service is not running" and when I click on Connect, nothing happens. Is anybody else getting this too?

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Als antwoord op van md4peace

Interesting sequence: I uninstalled Muse Hub although it kept telling me I couldn't delete it because it was open. No idea where to find anything open. Eventually just shut down and rebooted computer. Then reinstalled Muse Hub and all was installed OK. Then, every time I open an additional score after already having one file open (File>Open>Choose>), it doesn't add the score to the currently open MS4. IT opens another instance of MuseScore. How can I get the file/score to open in the same instance of MuseScore as the first score I opened?
(Mac OS Ventura 13.0.1)

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Have installed and it opens fine but I can't see my MuseScore 3 files even when I navigate to the correct directory. Anyone else having that problem? Using Windows 10.

I have a little question! will Muse Sounds ever be available whithout the Muse Hub?
I am currently stuck in MacOS 10.14.6 as my laptop is very very old and I have no money to buy a new one.

Just downloaded MS4 and all the Muse Sounds to go with it. Just curious, though: what directory did the Muse Sounds get put into? I've looked about and can't see where Muse Hub put them...

Olá, estou tendo um problema em relação a otimização, existe um pequeno delay na hora de escrever qualquer melodia, não sei o que aconteceu com o desempenho, baixei primeiramente pelo "Muse Hub" e depois sem ele, e ambos está do mesmo jeito, travando na hora de escrever. Poderia me ajudar?

For those having issues running the Muse HUB, if you are running on Linux you may need to run the Helper Server Service manually [ sudo ./Muse.Service ]

Als antwoord op van BemusedKDM

For my part, I just find strange that a so-called major version is released when the numeric keypad and alpha numeric keys are completely broken...
Forced to use the mouse for note duration selection... and complete failure to enter numbers for TAB. Not for me, sorry. For the record: AZERTY (French) keyboard here

EDIT: confirmed on the French forum: https://musescore.org/fr/node/337927
and https://musescore.org/fr/node/337982

V3 vs. V4, the story stutters... https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/pull/4197

Als antwoord op van cadiz1

Hmm, it was definitely known that certain systems had problems with the numeric keypad, although I am not sure how well-understood that problem is yet. Presumably it will be understood and dealt with in time. I don't think, though, that there were any reports during the beta testing of any problems with the standard numeric keys. You are saying those don't work on your system either? Definitely a very serious bug and should be reported officially. Probably best to do so directly on GitHub. Right now they are suggesting people post to the musescore.org issue tracker first so they can be be reviewed by the community before posting to GitHub, but this definitely sounds like something to post to GitHub right away.

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

"any problems with the standard numeric keys. You are saying those don't work on your system either?"

Absolutely. And even stranger. Let's say two instruments: piano (treble clef), and Guitar Tablature
With standard (piano) notation, the numeric keyboard does not respond.
On the other hand, with Guitar Tablature, the numeric keyboard works (I can select the desired durations), but the standard numeric keys are completely silent (I have to go through the letters A for 0, B for 1 etc. to get a result)
A real mess.

Als antwoord op van cadiz1

Definitely very important to open an issue on GitHub then, since as I said, I don't believe it ever was reported during beta testing. Issues with the numeric keyboard on certain systems were reported, but nothing I know of involving standard number keys.

Als antwoord op van cadiz1

I just installed Musescore 4, curious to see the new features and "look and feel" of this major release.
My first test was to create a new score, very simple and I immediately hit the problem reported by cadiz1: notes duration entered on the keypad are completely ignored.
I noticed that on the keybad, the following keys are recognised: "/", "-", "+", ".", but all the figures are ignored.
The figures work on the main keyboard, however, but this is rather tedious, especially with an Azerty keyboard (figures are in uppercase), so this is a blocking issue for me to switch to Musescore 4.

Another basic observation was that I did not hear anything when changing or entering a note.
The mixer window (F10) was completely empty, although I have selected the "Organ" instrument.
I simply restarted Musescore 4 and the playback/instrument issues were solved.

Concerning the keypad, after some investigation, I found a workaround by exporting the key shortcuts to an xml file and adding specific definitions (e.g. Num+6) for each note duration.
Here is an example:

    pad-note-2
    6
    Num+6

This solves the problem.

I have reported this solution/workaround on your post https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/15204

Als antwoord op van Flying Roger

Hello. I used the following trick: configure the shortcuts in Musescore 3 and exported the xml file. Then I copied the file to the folders found in AppData- local - Musescore . Type windows key + R. The RUN dialog box will appear. Then type %AppData%. Once it opens, go to LOCAL. The folders are: Musescore4 and Musescore4Development. Copy the SHORTCUTS.XML file to these two folders. Restart Musescore 4. My NumPad is now configured with all the notes. Then I went to the EDIT - PREFERENCES - SHORTCUTS tab and set FLAT for the "-" key, SHARP for the "+" key, NATURAL for the "*" key and TIE for the "/" key. These keys are personal and make my writing much easier. Hope this works for you. If you want, I'll send you the file. I'm sorry for my english. I'm using Google Translator.

Als antwoord op van Hadler HS

  1. Export the shortcuts : this creates an xml file.
  2. Edit the xml file to complement the definitions of 1, 2, 3,... including 0 (for silence), with double definitions, for example: "0, num+0" to cover both alphanumeric keyboard and numeric keypad shown here:
    SC>
    rest
    0, Num+0

  3. Save the file

  4. Go back to Musescore 4 to import the edited shortcuts file (.xml)

Another way (if you dare...) is to simply import my shortcuts file (see attachment) in Musescore 4.

In case Marc Sabatella reads this: I noticed that there is an inconsistency:
- in the shortcut file, Musescore 4 makes the difference between "0" and "Num+0".
- when trying to modify a shortcut in the Musescore ad hoc menu, it does not make the difference between typing 0 or using the keypad Num 0. As a result, the only way for the user to fix the problem is to export and edit the shortcuts xml file. Trying to fix the problem via the Musescore shortcuts menu does not help.

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Raccourcis Musescore 4.xml 31.9 KB

Als antwoord op van Flying Roger

Hi! I did read this, but I'm not sure what you are saying or asking here that I could help with? If there is a bug you'd like to report to the developers that is different from the ones already reported, please open a new issue on GitHub. Or if it's additional info relevant to one of the existing GitHub issues, feel free to add a comment to the existing issue.

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

I have now reported also the discrepancy in github as follows:
"I noticed that there is a discrepancy between the way detects the numeric keypad while editing a score with respect to what it does while defining shortcuts:
- while defining a shortcut, pressing 0 on the alphanumerical keyboard or pressing 0 on the numeric keypad has exactly the same effect: "0" is recorded for the shortcut.
- while editing a score, pressing 0 on the alphanumerical keyboard does what is defined as "0" in the shortcut xml file, while pressing 0 on the numeric keypath does is not detected as "0", but as "Num+0", thereby requiring a specific definition in the shortcut xml file.
This is a bug : the consequence is that it is impossible to define a shortcut on the numerical keypad via the shortcut definition menu. The workaround is to export the shortcuts in xml, edit the xml to add the Num+x definitions and reimport the xml file.

I see that this topic is noted as "fixed", but I recommend to make sure that the root cause reported here above is also fixed. "

Als antwoord op van Jojo-Schmitz

That's sad to hear. I would pay money to have the convenience of OS managed automatic updates in the background. Other OSS projects like WinSCP or LibreOffice use that model too that they sell the app in the Store even though otherwise it's free.

Als antwoord op van Jojo-Schmitz

I just want to say that having Musescore 4 on the Microsoft Store would be really helpful, because not everybody has the option to install directly from musescore.org.

I used to have a really good workflow where I synced my desktop with my laptop via OneDrive, and could work on my files from either device. Unfortunately, I can't do that anymore -- my laptop is provided by my college, and I don't have the admin privileges to install software on it. I was only able to use Musescore 3 via the Microsoft Store. I can no longer work on my music between classes (except maybe with clunky workarounds involving xml exports), because I've upgraded to Musescore 4 on my desktop and the file compatibility only goes one way. There are a lot of college students using Musescore, so I'm sure I'm not the only person stranded on version 3 as it becomes obsolete.

Als antwoord op van frfancha

The idea is that users indeed use the forum and the .org tracker to report their issues. Once it can be turned into a clear description and steps to reproduce, it will be entered into github for scheduling and further tracking.

The expectancy is that the .org tracker will at some point undergo some changes to facilitate it linking to github issues.

Als antwoord op van jeetee

"Once it can be turned into a clear description and steps to reproduce, it will be entered into github for scheduling and further tracking"

I thought that was during the dev phase only. So github is now the official repo for bugs for devs.
"It will be entered into github": that task was done by end user during beta phase, is it still the case now that it is released? Is it expected that users register the bugs in one system then another one?

Hello, I'm an user of musescore, but my musescore 4 doesn't work at all. My musescore application just turn off after it showed its starting logo screen. Is there any need for using this app? I'll be so pleased if someone help solve this problem...

Congrats, the sound is a great leap forward. I loaded some bigband arrangements and listened to the enhanced output quality. I think some tweaks are necessary from time to time when comming from version 3. Sometimes I'd like a voice beeing louder without the change of tone quality or dynamic markers for a while. That works well in the mixer. Is there any means to save such an information with the source file for a limited number of bars only?

awesome software, good job guys

1 remark for now: I tried to save a template, it saved it in the correct name in the template folder, and then when opening it in MuseScore as a template in the new score menu, it shows as untitled. when I open the untitled option as template it opens with all the selected instruments but it keeps showing me underneath the mixer loading audio samples, and it never shows any of the instruments on the mixer but the master bus

Thank you so much for this! I have been waiting for a long time for this release! (I started on MuseScore 3.5 and went on through MuseScore 3.6 and 3.6.2 and now finally MuseScore 4!)

Als antwoord op van musicarroll1

It is not yet, but the workarounds remain as they have been - either create your score in one file with section breaks, or use copy & paste to combine them, or simply export individual PDF's and combine those, or perhaps export to MusicXML and use MuseScore 2 to combine those.

Als antwoord op van Jojo-Schmitz

I totally understand the decision not to support Windows 7. However, I have yet to encounter any other apps that won't run on 7, even their latest versions. And Microsoft is still sending Windows Updates for 7 (including, annoyingly, for the Edge browser).

In my case, some of my older PCs run fine on 7 but not on 10 (mostly real-time audio stuff), so I cannot update to v4. I need to be able to open all my scores on any of my PCs.

This is just an observation, BTW, I am not campaigning for you to Support Win-7 into eternity ...

This is awesome! The interface looks really beautiful now, and things are so much easier to find. I have a couple of things I wanted to ask about:
1. On Windows 11, opening the "Styles" menu causes MuseScore to crash. Is this a known bug?
2. Are the new version of Leland and Leland Text available for download individually?

Thanks for a great piece of software, Tantacrul and the team!

Wondering if I'm the only one who finds it incredibly frustrating that Muse Hub doesn't appear on the taskbar, disappears when I go to another window requiring me to completely reopen it, has activation on startup enabled by default, and doesn't appear to have a way to quit without going to the side tray on my taskbar. Am I encountering bugs here, or is this joining the league of applications that insist on using my computer's power whether I want them to or not?

Otherwise, an incredibly beautiful and usable application so far.

Als antwoord op van aberilsummers

I have the same experience and the same reaction. For me, this would be a show-stopper. This version should never have been released if it doesn't act in this fundamental way like every other Windows application in the universe.

I couldn't even find the file to open Musescore Hub anywhere except in my default download library, which is named Temp and has all kinds of junk in it. When I dragged that file to desktop it made an icon which if I click on it, MuseScore hub opens, but only after a message which confusingly tells me that MuseScore hub will be installed. And when I went back to my Temp file, the MuseScore hub file which I downloaded there has disappeared. So where is the exe file I can use to open it now? If I delete the current icon link on my desktop, how will I be able to open MuseScore Hub?

The more I think about this and describe it, the more astonishingly it seems that this version has been released with this really, really, really bad problem. What if I were a new user coming to MuseScore for the first time with this version? Immediately encountering this behavior, I would just say forget it.

I used to work in Silicon Valley where there was a popular saying, "Never get anything ending in point 0." This is an example why.

Als antwoord op van jcorelis

Actually, quite a few Windows applications work from the system tray - mostly, those designed to work via background services, like Muse Hub is. That's not to say the design couldn't be changed in the future based on feedback from users, but plenty of other modern installation/update helper apps work the same way, so it's a pretty established model. I've got at least half a dozen similar apps on my Windows machine; I'm surprised you haven't encountered this before.

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

Well if you are a user like me who is not used to using the system tray for much, it is extremely confusing. And in my own extensive experience with Windows apps, I can't think of one which I installed which doesn't put an icon on my desktop. So I stand by my criticism that for some users at least, and not a few of them, this is a disastrous flaw. At the very least it should be documented in a clear and obvious way that the instlall will only put the link in the system tray. To increase the aggravation, I find I can open MuseHub from the icon in the system tray, but I can't find any way to get that icon on my desktop will all the rest of my apps, and since I don't know where the exe file is, I can't create an icon by dragging it from the folder to the desktop either. Chaos rampant reigns.

Als antwoord op van jcorelis

That's good feedback. I think part of the idea is to reduce clutter, since most users would never have any reason to return to the hub after the installation - it does its work silently in the background, like the sync servers for Google Drive or Dropbox, or Adobe Creative Cloud, or NVDA, or Avid Link, etc. But a desktop icon shortcut to remind you it's there sounds harmless enough to me personally. I'm not an expert on how these things work; I just have enough experience using things from the system tray to not be that surprised to see Muse Hub - which is quite similar to those others in its function - there as well. Having it constantly take up space on my taskbar would seem to be a huge disadvantage. I want it running without taking up space, like those others.

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

Hi Marc, let me reinforce this feedback. I think that any application needs a very good reason to run on startup automatically, and keep running in the background consuming resources. Dropbox and Google Drive have that reason because their core functionality is keeping a cloud synced folder up to date. In the case of, for example, Microsoft Teams, Spotify and Skype, running on startup is a user hostile antipattern, since all 3 of these applications are 1) very resource heavy and 2) their main functionality happens when the user actively opens them anyway.

Think of users with a low specced laptop. I get asked to help non tech savvy friends and relatives all the time, whose computer has gotten unbearably slow, only because so many programs have registered themselves to run on startup.

In the case of Muse Hub, even if automatic updates to Musescore are a user benefit, the low frequency with which they happen (based on experience) does not justify automatically running on startup IMO.

(And I'll include my usual refrain of: the Windows Store / Mac App Store could provide zero disruption OS managed automatic updates to MuseScore without any helper app.)

Als antwoord op van marczellm

Similarly, the core functionality of Msue Hub is to keep your sounds up to date. These are expected to happen very regularly - far more often than MuseScore updates. And that's why it could ne considered more important to keep to keep them running than you might be thinking if you didn't realize how common Muse Sounds update would be - you'd be missing out big time.

Note that I have no connection to the development of this, but I'm sure the feedback is being heard, and to the extent there is a possibility to make changes without compromising that core functionality, I think you can expect to changes made where they make sense.

Note that for reporting issues on Muse Hub, please use https://musehub.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb. That's where the developers will see them.

Meanwhile, let's try to keep this thread focused on the release itself, not on technical details of this file or that bug or whatever!

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

That's true, but presumably I only need the update right before I open musescore. That's even if I need up to date playback at that point. Most people probably aren't in Musescore so often that they need MuseHub constantly running and updating. And most update so far are not that big that a modern internet connection can't download the whole thing in a minute or two. Likewise I'm not a fan of a constantly running service running in the background on MacOS and Linux. I like to choose when I want to update. Musescore isn't so mission critical that I need the MuseSounds updated right away. But that's my feeling on it. Anyway I'll post my concerns on that link you mention

Als antwoord op van Joshua Pettus

This. A simple manual update option in MuseHub. The user updates before opening MS4, and then, when closing the MSounds app, all background services stop. The user stays in control, and decides for themselves.

If we're in the middle of a project, we don't want the sounds updating automatically as we work. That's what windows does, and I've yet to meet ANYONE who says that relentless and unstoppable, resource chewing, trust issues laden behaviour, doesn't suck.

ANY auto update process is suspect by default.

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

I think the other user above me has hit most of my concerns in a far better-phrased manner. However, the one other thing I want to restate is that it's very bizarre to have Muse Hub not consider itself a window at all. For example, say I open Muse Hub and press install on Muse Brass, go to another window for a little bit then decide I want to check on my Muse Brass download and maybe install Muse Woodwinds as well. My options are to either (1) search it from the start menu, or (2) go find it in the more section of the tray. To me, both of these are unnecessarily lengthy processes when I could just as easily have had the Muse Hub window sitting on the taskbar, ready for reactivation.

Als antwoord op van jcorelis

(I thought I posted this additional reply before, but it seems to have disappeared.)

And the misses just keep on coming. When I went to the system tray and clicked on the MuseScore Hub icon, and clicked on MuseScore under Apps, the Hub just hung with the little circle going around the little arrow forever. And I couldn't find a way to stop it. It seems that MuseScore hub doesn't even appear in my Task Manager, at least not under any name I could recognize. So when I finally figured out (with no thanks to the app) how to start it, it hung! What on earth is going on?

"since most users would never have any reason to return to the hub after the installation ..." I guess I fundamentally don't understand. If users don't return to the Hub, then how do they start MuseScore 4? The icon in my system tray is for the Hub. I have no icon for MuseScore 4 on my desktop and can't find an exe file in my folders to make one. And if I try to start MuseScore 4 from the Hub, it hangs. Did I somehow install the Hub without installing MuseScore 4, or what?

Als antwoord op van jcorelis

OK, I just reinstalled MuseScore 4 and Hub from this site, went to the system tray, clicked on MuseScore Hub and Apps and MuseScore, and it said it was installing MuseScore 4 and started MuseScore 4, so it worked, though I don't know why, since I did the installation exactly as before. Point of information: my Windows Defender interrupted the install to ask me to grant network permissions, which I assumed I should do. So it looks like I have MuseScore 4 finally. Aaand .... oh frabjous day! calloo! callay! I now do have a MuseScore 4 icon on my desktop, though how it got there this time is a mystery.

One question still I'd be grateful if someone would answer. I still have a file Muse_Hub.exe in my default download library, which I use as a temp library. Can I delete that, or should I move it elsewhere? Thanks for any enlightenment.

Is there going to be support for the iPad for this update? I’d love to be able to notate on my iPad, and I know it’s possible thanks to other notation apps, but I would honestly prefer MuseScore. Is there any word on whether we’ll be able to notate on iPads?

Where is the tuning function that used to be under Inspector? I do a lot of microtonal stuff. If I can't adjust the tunings, it's a deal breaker.

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

Yep, the Inspector panel is now the Properties panel. But with fewer options for tuning, when compared with the Inspector in MS3.6. To continue configuring the style I use when editing classical guitar scores, with the tuning I had in MS3, I had to edit the style file generated in MS4 by hand, and put there the tuning options I want, absent now in the MS4 Properties panel.

I downloaded for Linux. Installed the Hub and downloaded the sound sets. Everything works great and the sound playback is integrated amazingly well to the notation. 2 Questions:
1. Are the audio plugins not yet available for Linux in the Hub?
2. I can't seem to find the midi timecode output for Musescore 4. Please don't tell me that a setting for this feature has been removed! MTC output allowed Musescore versions in the past to utilize scoring to picture through a slave video player. This is a very basic feature on the proprietary software options and would exclude me from using the new version. Simple... just access to the midi timecode out socket in any format (Jack, Alsa... anything).

Any insight into these inquiries would be much appreciated!

Just wanted to say that even if you suggest 16GB ram for Linux, it just works great on my Chromebook with 8GB ram, amazing considering Crostini is a virtualized enviroment. I even managed to install sounds, but for large wind band scores, it's better use good old soundfonts, as I cannot ask too much to my Chromebook!
No issue at all with my Desktop Debian machine with 32GB and super duper Xeon CPU.

Als antwoord op van reblues

Yeah, I have two Chromebooks, one with only 8 GB RAM, the other with 16. The 8 GB also has limited storage space so I only have the piano, harp, & choir installed from Muse Sounds, but it runs great. The 16 GB Chromebook has plenty of storage so I have everything loaded and it all works fantastically.

Awesome update! Thank you for the hard work. However, very disappointing to see that MIDI real-time capture is not in yet! One of the main reason I am not using MuseScore full-time is the luck of real-time MIDI capture. Hopefully, this will be included soon!

Hi! I've just switched to MuseScore 4, as I was really excited for the new sound engine, MuseSounds, and there is a score I'm using with the contrabass that has a high Ab (Ab octave 3 on a piano) harmonic/note but isn't being played, is this the range of the contrabass, and if so would there be any future updates that would increase the range further (or am I being dumb and there's something I'm missing)? The specific measure using the Ab is attached.

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Downloading the Mac version of 4.0 - the HUB says "doing some internet stuff" Loading.
Now 25 minutes - Should I abort and try again?

Does one simply move all files from ~/Documents/MuseScore3/ to ~/Documents/MuseScore4/?

$ ls ~/Documents/MuseScore3/ ~/Documents/MuseScore4/
/home/.../Documents/MuseScore3/:
Extensions  Images  Plugins  Scores  SoundFonts  Styles  Templates

/home/.../Documents/MuseScore4/:
'Cloud Scores'   Plugins   Scores   SoundFonts   Styles   Templates

Als antwoord op van ubuntourist

I wouldn't just move the plugins, many won't work. Maybe sere which specifically you rely on most and test them one by one. Very little chances of extensions for MU3 still working in MU4, so don't copy those. Soundfonts, sure, if you still need them. Templates, I'd recommend opening one by one, updating as needed, and resaving in MU4. Scores you can just continue to open from their original location, but maybe better to make copied for MU4, since once saved in MU4 format, you won't be able to open in MU3 again.

I've been using MuseScore on Linux (currently Linux Mint 20.3) for several years. I just finished watching Marc's 14 hour long course on MuseScore earlier today (excellent course, btw) and installed 4.0.0 right after I finished watching the course. I was a little disappointed that some of the old features are not yet functional in version 4. I will probably continue using 3.6 until some of the missing features are implemented and more of the bugs are discovered/fixed.

I ran into a few problems.

I have a wide monitor and a 4K monitor that have different DPI. The 4K monitor is about 166 DPI and menu fonts are way too small. I got around that problem by starting the AppImage with the command line:

   QT_SCALE_FACTOR=1.5 /home/talent/Applications/MuseScore-4.0.0-x86_64.AppImage

Since I started on the command line, I see a lot of INFO, WARN, and ERROR messages sent to the console. Should I be concerned about any of those messages?

I had one issue of the close dialog box popping up transparent so there was no way to see any of the buttons. I guessed where the close box was and tried again and it was correctly rendered.

I opened a midi file using drag-and-drop and it seemed to work fine except there was no window to adjust the import settings, e.g., quantization. Is there a different way to show that window during import?

Muse Hub fails in various ways at various times. I'm on Pop! OS Linux 22.04 LTS. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling, and also starting the service manually before starting the client.

Sometimes the service drives the fans into a state of madness. Sometimes the service starts on a reboot. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes starting the client from the command line just immediately returns the Bash prompt.

Typically, it just says it cannot connect to the internet.

Muse Hub is having trouble connecting. Please check your internet
connection and ensure any firewall you have is set correctly.

I see in the console log that it wants to reach out to https://muse-webservice.azurewebsites.net/graphql

If I open that URL from the browser, it's fine.

Als antwoord op van ubuntourist

On ubuntu:

-To stop process:
sudo systemctl stop muse-hub.service
-To start
sudo systemctl start muse-hub.service
-To disable at boot
sudo systemctl disable muse-hub.service
-To enable at boot
sudo systemctl enable muse-hub.service
-To check status
sudo systemctl status muse-hub.service

Just like with any other service on Ubuntu.

I don't know Pop! linux, but it could be similar.

Als antwoord op van graffesmusic

It's exactly similar, but as I mentioned, I tried that. Right now my system is showing:

$ sudo systemctl status muse-hub.service

● muse-hub.service - Muse Hub Helper Service
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/muse-hub.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sat 2022-12-17 11:43:13 EST; 314ms ago
   Main PID: 19662 (muse-hub-servic)
      Tasks: 8 (limit: 76869)
     Memory: 11.8M
        CPU: 226ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/muse-hub.service
             ├─19662 /bin/sh /usr/bin/muse-hub-service
             └─19663 /opt/muse-hub/Muse.Service

Dec 17 11:43:13 rama systemd[1]: Started Muse Hub Helper Service.

But the client is showing:

Muse Hub helper service is not running

and:

Muse Hub is having trouble connecting. Please check your internet connection
and ensure any firewall you have is set correctly.

If I manually type

sudo muse-hub-service

without stopping or disabling the running one above, the message about Muse Hub helper service not running disappears, but the "trouble connecting" message remains.

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Als antwoord op van ubuntourist

I'm getting the same exact problems. I think this release, for what it gives up in capability and for what it lacks in reliability for Linux (so far), it seems to me that the Linux model is becoming second class. Windows and Mac is the new focus. I fear the loss of the older builds that were EXTREMELY powerful for scoring real media projects (not dabling with guitar charts or music class projects). Change my mind.
Very disappointed on Linux.

Als antwoord op van cfirwin3

I think looking at the enormous improvements to both engraving and the playback using Muse Sounds shows that the focus is still very much on scoring real projects - producing more professional looking and sounding results. no version of msueScore has ever produced scores that look or sound as good as what MsueScore 4 can do out of the box - yes, on Linux too. Definitely not just about guitar charts or music class projects, although those are real too!

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

Musescore 4 isn't producing anything for me out if the box, on Linux. The Hub won't connect, sometimes won't even start. The Linux folks seem to be the ones reporting most of the failures. As far as features, a lack of access to Midi Timecode output is a major regression that puts the capability of the program 20+ years behind the curve. Media composers will have to resort to tempo to time calculations, phrase by phrase like the old days in order to use Musescore to write any music for picture. I really don't understand the aversion to this capability at the development level. Audacity has long been reluctant to apply such capability and I fear that sentiment (for reasons unknown) has now rubbed off on Musescore development. Perplexing.

Als antwoord op van cfirwin3

I'm not sure where you got the idea that Linux people are experiencing more problems than anyone else - this is objectively false as per actual stats you could get by searching the issues. I'm on Linux and have at least some experience with debugging issues there, so if you point me to the issue you opened with the specific details on the problem you are encountering, I can try to answer as best as I can.

As for MIDI timecode, that's obviously not anything MIDI-specific, but I can't recall there are any statements from anyone on the development team about an aversion to it. Can you post link to the statements you are referring to?

Anyhow, the idea of adding features to make it easier to do film scoring is a pretty high priority actually. It's just that for the vast majority of users, needing to resort to JACK would be kind of a non-starter, since that is such a complex system that involves needing multiple third party tools and a fair amount of technical know-how. A method that works better for all users - including Linux users like myself - would make more sense IMHO.

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

The Hub won't connect and/or the backend service won't start, even with command line. I have internet connection and no firewall. So the new sound set is unavailable on my system. Tried Kubunt 22.10, Ubuntu Studio 22.4 and 22.10. All the same. In this thread, I am seeing a lot of issues with the Hub for Linux users, that's where my sentiments come from.
Regarding Midi Timecode, Musescore had always had the ability to connect to xjadeo without Jack using AlsaMTC. In the release notes and list of regressions, I see no emphasis on incorporating on-board video playback. Creating an internal video platform would be daunting and time/resource consuming and I see no evidence that this is in the future. To the contrary, the evidence (of the regression list) suggests an abandonment of this capability. If you can offer concrete help or point me to text indicating the priorities that you mentioned, I would be delighted. As for now, please tell the developers that you know that the 3.6 build is vitally important for some of us while the 4 release cannot stand up to it's capabilities.

Als antwoord op van cfirwin3

As I said, if you can post the link to the GitHub issue for this, then investigation can begin.

Thhe fact that future plans are not mentioned in the release notes doesn't mean they don't exist. All you need to do is follow the discussions on GitHub and Discord to get a better understanding of priorities.

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

FINALLY! The hub connected and I was able to get the Muse instruments downloaded. Ran an old composition through it and the sounds are magnificent. Lots of velocity and articulation variation and so long as the dynamic markings are placed properly, the interpretation is fantastic.
Demo:
https://youtu.be/fm651FJL3NM
Counting down the seconds until we can get a sync video player in there... I hope I'm not counting long.

I don't have enough space on my C: drive. How do I install MuseScore 4 to my D: drive? I can't find any settings for the App to change the install location.

So. I'm looking at the MuseScore 4 manual:

$ MuseScore-4.0.0-x86_64.AppImage man

and wondering if I can do a mass in-place conversion from 3.6 to 4.0 with something like:

$ cat > migrate.json 
[ { "in": "file-1.mscz", "out": "file-1.mscz" },
  { "in": "file-2.mscz", "out": "file-2.mscz" },
...
  { "in": "file-N.mscz", "out": "file-N.mscz" }]
^D
$ MuseScore-4.0.0-x86_64.AppImage -j migrate.json

or, barring that, not in place by specifying the 3.6 and 4.0 directories explicitly:

$ cat > migrate.json 
[ { "in": "~/Documents/MuseScore3/Scores/file-1.mscz", "out": "~/Documents/MuseScore4/Scores/file-1.mscz" },
  { "in": "~/Documents/MuseScore3/Scores/file-2.mscz", "out": "~/Documents/MuseScore4/Scores/file-2.mscz" },
...
  { "in": "~/Documents/MuseScore3/Scores/file-N.mscz", "out": "~/Documents/MuseScore4/Scores/file-N.mscz" }]
^D
$ MuseScore-4.0.0-x86_64.AppImage -j migrate.json

Als antwoord op van ubuntourist

And... I'm missing something. I attempted the above and got:

$ MuseScore-4.0.0-x86_64.AppImage -j migrate.json 
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/pipewire-0.3/jack/libjack.so.0
/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnss3.so
QEventLoop: Cannot be used without QApplication
QEventLoop: Cannot be used without QApplication

I cannot change tempo, fixed to 120 and clicking on right corner where it is given does not do anything. No problem in MS 3. I have checked several files and there seems to be no simple way of changing the tempo.
Wlodek

Als antwoord op van Wlodzislaw

The way to change the tempo is to actually add a tempo marking to your score specifying the desired tempo, same as in MU3.

But, you can also undock the play toolbar to expose a slider that allows you to temporarily override the tempo actually specified for the score. As in MU3, this is temporary only, intended for practice purposes.

Thank you very much for the great effort of MuseScore. However, us linux users do not find some features like support for vst and lv2 effects. This limits a lot because we cannot load virtual instruments or sound effects. Also, when loading SF2, it doesn't display the list of instruments that the sf2 contains, it only loads the first one it finds and that's not good, since we have sf2 with several instruments integrated in the same package. I also didn't see the way to select Jack as the audio engine. Hopefully Linux users will soon be able to enjoy all those features so necessary for today's musician.

Thank you for the wonderful effort in releasing MuseScore 4 in partnership with SaoMai.
Very excited to try the braille export, so convenient now from within MuseScore. However, I have not yet had success achieving bar-over-bar braille format with the exported brf from a piano score. Is there a manual, tutorial, or setting for format options (e.g. single line, bar-over-bar, octave mark every bar, simple slurs only, etc.)?
With thanks
Moya

Als antwoord op van Marc Sabatella

Thank you Marc.
The simple Braille export is going to be an amazing tool for both transcribers and non-sighted users, cutting out all the saving and opening in other programs.
Still a long way to go no doubt, but the notation is universal, and can be read by all, even if the format, layout, and chord reading direction etc. is not yet what everyone is accustomed to.
A great initiative.
Moya

MuseSounds are awesome! I generally find myself turning the brass and vocals up, saxophones and piano down to achieve a balance similar to what I had in MuseScore 3. Also dynamics seem to be inconsistent (e.g. trombones will randomly jump velocity from quiet to loud, and I can tell it's velocity not just volume cause the attack changes). Playback seems to be very scratchy in the live tool (not in exported audio), does MuseScore 4 have that much higher performance demands than MS 3? though that seems to improve each time I play back a piece. The new Parts functionality threw me for a loop, the video above is tremendously helpful. Also +1 on the concern noted above about not being able to go back to MS3 once you open a score in MS4: the engraving conversion is not perfect, MS4 threw off the page breaks I had in MS3 on part, and with the instrument balance so different between versions, that is an unpleasant surprise to not be able to go back to safety until we can rebalance for MS4.

It all looks really nice, but...

On Mac OS 12.6, every time I open a new score, MS4 opens a new app iteration! So three scores = 3 MuseScore iterations. I am hoping this is a bug, not a feature. Please explain ASAP before I run back to MS3 in a hurry.

I downloaded for Windows 10, ran the file "Muse_Hub". A pop-up opened shortly saying that MuseHub is being made ready, then the pop-up closed and nothing happened... Will there be a working version soon or am I doing something wrong?

First. Musescore is awesome, thank's a lot.
Very impresive improvements.

My only complaint is when I have an offline score. In previous versions I can set in properties the link to an online score and update it from the Musescore app.

Now I can save to the cloud, that works. But it creates a new cloud score instead of update the previous one. And when I work in a cloud score, every time I save it, is saved to cloud, and that's slow. I don't find a way to save offline to prevent accidents and save online when is ready.

I started using musescore 4 today on pc windows. Very nice notation software. But I am having a very big problem. All the music that I a tried to compose became corrupted without no reason and I couldn’t recover anything. All my files became corrupted. Could someone help me please?

Will any optimization be introduced for those who want access to the high quality muse sounds but don't have a powerful laptop/set up?
I currently am running an intel i3 with an ssd and 12gb ram. My score playback constantly lags (understandable considering my setup), but perhaps the playback can include an option to buffer the score before playing for a smoother experience? I have already set my audio buffer size to 4096 but it seems that my hardware cant keep up.

Couple of questions -
(1) MS4 has no way to save as an MS3 compatible file ? (other than via MusicXML which is imperfect)
(2) The ABC ImpEx plugin is not available in v4 ?
Many thanks !

Als antwoord op van BanjoJake

Any attempt to implement a backward-compatible save would suffer imperfections as well, too much changes from major release to major release (which is part of which these get designated as major releases). So, no version of MuseScore can save files in the previous major version's format.

I'm not sure the status of the ABC plugin, but in general, plugins are being ported by their authors gradually as time permits. Some of them are also waiting for some aspects fo the plugin API to be completed.

I just downloaded it today and already got some issues and bugs in my 1st 30mins of playing around the app.

  1. Sound FM Electric Piano (my favorite sound) is nowhere, not even in Muse Hub. Suitcase Piao is not as satisfying.
  2. Changing the instrument sound (e.g. Piano) using Mixer while playback makes that part start from the top, while (e.g. SATB) others continue.
  3. Volume values have been changed from 0 - 127 to -60 - +12. (-60 doesn't really makes sense to me).
  4. I downloaded the Choir voices in Muse Hub and replaced it in my vocals, and its a significant downgrade vs the default ones. Volume is too weak even in max.
  5. Switching page views (Single page, continuous) is also removed in its normal position. tbh I still can't find it.

Als antwoord op van RobsQue

  1. Where should you expect to find it, where did you find it previously?
  2. That is indeed a bug and being on the radar
  3. 0-127 was the MIDI range for velocity, since we no longer depend on MIDI it made more sense to show mixer values that have more relation to real mixer. The values are in dB.
  4. Choir sounds will be rebalanced in a Muse Sounds update; many users have already reported them to be too quiet
  5. It moved to live together with all other view controls (such as zoom level) to the bottom right of the main window.

Als antwoord op van jeetee

  1. Musescore 3 > Mixer > Click on the 'per part' volume slider or Solo/Mute options (idk what's that called) > Sound > You should see the sound 'FM Electric Piano'. See screenshot. Is this something we can export/import?
  2. I found it! Yay!

You're a godsent! Thanks for helping me thru all of them!

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Als antwoord op van RobsQue

The sound patch is still available in the soundfont, but currently MuseScore4 is lacking the UI to select it.
A possible workaround is to load in the free Sforzando or Sfizz VST which in turn can load up a specific patch from a soundfont.

will the musescore website ever change its playback? I'm starting to notice that scores I arrange with the VST sounds in musescore 4 sound horrifically distorted when I upload because it's still using the musescore 3 sounds.

After I downloaded version 4.0, I kept running into a playback issue. When using the new Muse Sounds, some notes do not have playback. This is mainly apparent in the higher and lower range of the instrument. Is anyone else having this issue? If so how did you fix it?

Als antwoord op van Grey K

Could be the notes are just outside the range that was sampled. Best to start a new thread on the Support forum and attach your score so people can take a look and see if it is just that known issue or if it is something else that would need to be reported more formally.

I am loving the release, the only thing thats really bugging me is how- well- buggy the release is. I am very happy with everything, but nearly every 6 or 7 minutes I encounter a new bug and its very frustrating, I trust though with time these will be weeded out. Great Work!

I'm so glad MuseScore 4 is finally released!
But as I checked it I noticed a few problems for me.
1. The guitar sounds are gone. There's but one sound for an electric guitar and tge rest that were on MS basic are gone. I hoped the new MuseSounds would contain new improved sounds for guitars, but there are none. Will there be in the near future more guitar sounds in the MuseSounds?
2. Also, I found out most MS3 instrumets don't have a corresponding sound in the MuseSounds. Will this library extend soon? It's hard for me to listen to pieces I write without the proper sounds. You have begun a wonderfull way towards the future of sounds and I hope it will get better and better.
3. Unfortunately, it was very difficult for me to find the percentage bar in the playback toolbar. It was something I used a lot in MS3 and MS2. I don't know if you should, but I hope to have this bar in a more useable place on the screen.
4. Plus, on the Hebrew version, where we write from right to left, the opening screen of the app does not show the full text. I do what I can to translate MS4 properly to Hebrew, but I need it to be compatible for it. For now, it's just the opening screen, but I'm afraid it could happen in more important screens in the future.

Hope to see what MuseScore future holds when you improve it oh so much,
Hope to see such amazing improvements and UI changes in Audacity, now that I've learned you're in charge of that as well,

Kfir,
A MS user and a wannabe composer.

Als antwoord op van Kurpaph

The guitar sounds are not gone! You just access them differently now. Either choose the correct instrument when you create your score (eg, electric vs acoustic), or add the appropriate text from the palette to set the specific sound.

It's true that Muse Sounds is currently focused on orchestral sounds. More will come later - including guitars! Meanwhile, though, it totally works to mix & match - use Muse Sounds for the orchestral instruments, MS Basic (or another soundfont, or a VST) for other instruments.

I think you should have a Musescore 4 plus (with the things that are using all the RAM and forcing more powerful computers to be needed) and a Musescore 4 basic (with all those things taken out)

An enormous part of your audience is people with 'crappy' computers. I am not actually not one of them, however, I would still like a stripped down version since I only need the barebones of the program.

Als antwoord op van Unknown Prodigy

Indeed, if you don't install Muse Sounds, resource requirements should be no greater than MU3. If you find more RAM by some specific operation, that's most likely a bug and should be reported as such, with details on how to reproduce. I know a few memory leaks were already reported and fixed in the beta, but doubtless some remain waiting to be discovered and reported (just as was the case in MU3).

Hi guys!
Congratulations on the new version of MuseScore!
It's very fine!
And the new sound pack is fantastic!
I really want to help with the accessibility of the editor for blind musicians: testing, reporting about problems, and suggest improvements.
Please tell me where I can write about all this?

p.s. Sorry for my poor english.

Als antwoord op van vlad-mus

Hello, and thanks for your comments!

Probably the best place to discuss accessibility in general is the Support forum here on this site. We can help answer questions, troubleshoot problems, and if then there are specific bugs or feature requests that arise from those discussions, we can submit them on GitHub.

Als antwoord op van vlad-mus

There are older ones relating to issues that arose during the beta, but most of those are already resolved. So just start a new thread, or multiple threads if you've got a lot of questions (maybe group them into related posts if so).

There is work being done on accessibility tutorials, as well as an accessibility section for the Handbook. Hopefully those will be ready before too long!

Do you still have an unanswered question? Log eerst in om je vraag te plaatsen.