MuseScore composing for iPad and tablets?

• Feb 13, 2021 - 23:08

I very much enjoying composing and arranging MuseScore. Since my MacBook died, I now use my iPad as a computer replacement. How do I continue writing with MuseScore?

Comments

• Feb 14, 2021 - 11:33

Many thanks for your reply which I really appreciate. While I may (possibly) be capable of hacking an iOS or Android device to execute binaries, or using a device that can do so, I wouldn’t expect this of the vast majority of consumers.

My eight-year-old son is of the iPad generation. He’s learning music. Do we think he’s going to be forgiving that MuseScore only have a desktop application? No, he’s just going to download a music notation application from the App Store.

Your solution is clever, intelligent and makes sense for a technologically competent individual who can keep up with OS changes, security features and developments. However, I wouldn’t expect this to be the solution for parents of music students worldwide.

I understand your response and thanks again. However, beloved MuseScore need to get their act together, or else they’ll become another MBA case-study of a business that went obsolete for lack of vision and foresight.

Blessup,
Tony

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• Feb 14, 2021 - 16:38

Right on. And as you are aware, the post merely answered strictly to the specification of the question: "How do I continue writing with Musescore?" without attempting to project onto it as if extra information were desired.

As this project is open source, if you have development skills to contribute toward further cross-platforming, you might consider reading the development guide https://musescore.org/en/development to get started aiding in the process of realizing your desires (or what many people may wish to have already or at some time).

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• Feb 14, 2021 - 07:44

Many thanks for the reply. Not having MuseScore editor for the world’s most popular operating systems (iOS and Android) is a huge strategic flaw and a long-term threat for the MuseScore platform. Kodak, Polaroid and Intel were all leaders in their field until they dropped the ball and became rendered obsolete. People are increasingly moving away from desktop for day-to-day computing, thereby forcing loyal Pro users like me to use other more progressive platforms. It’s a real shame for MuseScore. I hope this team get their act together before it’s too late. I will watch with interest over the coming years and decades. All the best, Tony UrbanSmash.

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• Feb 14, 2021 - 12:45

That would be great …for every MuseScore stakeholder. It’s just dawned on me that tablets are replacing desktops in schools. When these kids (youths) grow up, tablets will also replace desktops in the workplace. Then only composers who visit antique dealers will be able to purchase a desktop to compose on MuseScore. 😄

Blessup and thanks again. Please push this common sense forward to all those who have ears, sight or vision.

One love,
Tony

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• Feb 15, 2021 - 18:51

First, while some schools may be using only tablets, many others use Chromebooks. And in general, the use of tablets is mostly limited to elementary school. High school is more laptop-driven, and college practically universally/exclusively so.

And again, every other serious notation program - and actually pretty much all serious music-producing software - is computer-based. So people who aren't trying to create music or do other things that typically require use a computer may indeed not be buying them, but the market is not going away any time soon.

Now, if you mean, 25 years from now, well sure, devices may well look very different now. It's unlikely to be iOS or Android either, at least not in anything resembling their current form. So I'm not so sure it makes that much sense to invest too much in old-school systems like those; probably makes more sense to wait to see what might eventually come along that can replace Windows/macOS/Linux.

Meanwhile, some sort of stripped-down editor for iOS and/or Android would be fine short/medium-term, but I wouldn't count on something so limited being the future.

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• Feb 14, 2021 - 19:06

…or, revolutionary, a scaled-up version to take advantage of a tablet’s strengths while innovating to overcome limitations… such as taking advantage of multi-touchscreen whilst overcoming not having a mouse… perhaps with compatibility for a stylus or pencil. Not scaled down, but onwards and upwards. Forwards ever, backwards never.

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• Feb 14, 2021 - 19:42

I won't deny it could make sense to create a mobile version of MuseScore, perhaps stripped down to live within the limitations of those platforms. And perhaps someday the platforms - and the development environments available for them - won't be so limited, and full-featured notation programs for them will become more viable. There are certainly a couple of not-half-bad programs out there. But to be clear: the competition for MsueScore is not mobile apps. It is programs like Finale, Sibelius, and Dorico - none of which are likely to produce mobile editors any time soon either. So realistically, while a mobile MuseScore editor would be nice someday, the situation is nowhere near as dire as what you seem to believe. Serious musicians do still use computers for their superior power and interface possibilities, and this really hasn't shown much sign of changing.

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