MuseScore 2.2.1 is released

Edit: After the release of MuseScore 2.2 on March 27th 2018, we found a couple of regressions that we addressed in MuseScore 2.2.1 released on April 3rd 2018. We also updated all languages to latest translations. Check out the 2.2.1 Release Notes.

We are pleased to announce the release of MuseScore 2.2.1

Building on the foundation of 2.1 and select features from MuseScore 3 already in progress, MuseScore 2.2 offers a few new features and over 200 bug fixes and user interface improvements, making it both our most powerful and most stable version ever.

Download MuseScore 2.2.1

• Windows
• Mac OS X 10.7 or higher
• Linux

New features

Improving MuseScore's playback out of the box is an important and ongoing process. There are many aspects involved in making MuseScore more expressive, but fundamental to this are solid samples and a great default SoundFont.

Listening to the community we have identified the highest priority areas for improvement and have for the very first time with MuseScore 2.2.1, engaged a professional virtual instrument developer ( S. Christian Collins, creator of GeneralUser GS) tasked with continually improving the default soundfont during the remainder year.

Reflecting the started of this new initiative, we have re-christened the default as MuseScore_General. Highlights of improvements so far include updated sounds for piano, clarinet, and synthesizers. As MuseScore development continues, so will Chris' work on MuseScore_General. You can follow the progress and add your insights in the dedicated SoundFont forum.

Enabling MuseScore to play through a MIDI keyboard or redirect MIDI output to a DAW or VST is among the most popular questions in our forums. To date the answer has always been to connect via JACK MIDI. This solution provides a wide range possibilities, especially on Linux… when it actually works. But for Windows and Mac users it is complicated to set up and not so easy to use.

In MuseScore 2.2.1, JACK is no longer required, and MuseScore can communicate directly a MIDI device or virtual instrument - no additional installation, plugin, or setup required (thanks to Eric Fontaine). You can read more about this exciting new feature here: https://musescore.org/en/node/208986

Also included in MuseScore 2.2.1 are 200+ improvements and bug fixes, including MusicXML 3.1 import/export, improved support for various other file formats, three new localizations (Armenian, Igbo, and Kabyle), as well as updated translations for all languages.

Check out the MuseScore 2.2 Release Notes for the complete list of all new features and fixed bugs.

Though MuseScore 2.2.1 is almost fully compatible with the 2.x series in both directions, there are a few rare exceptions where scores may be rendered slightly differently in the different versions of MuseScore. Detailed description such exceptions may be found here.

Credits

On top of the long-time contributors who participated in creating MuseScore 2.1, we are very proud to welcome 15 new contributors since the release of version 2.1 last year. It brings the total number of MuseScore contributors to exactly 117.

Thanks again to all the code contributors, translators and documentation writers!

What's Next?

Even as we've been preparing the MuseScore 2.2.1 release, we're still hard at work on the next major version of MuseScore.

We're looking for more developers to join the community as part of the MuseScore development effort.

As MuseScore is free and open source, anyone can get the source and share code contributions on GitHub. And of course, non-programmer MuseScore users can also contribute—we welcome your feedback on the MuseScore forums, and you can always make a donation to support the future of MuseScore. But above all, you can help MuseScore most by spreading the word and sharing MuseScore with your friends and family!