MuseScore Studio 4.5 is now available!

• Mar 14, 2025 - 11:03

We are delighted to announce the release of MuseScore Studio 4.5!

This version is packed with new features, including:

  • Speedy input of dynamics
    • New popup and shortcuts make it possible to enter and swap dynamics without ever moving away from the score
  • New percussion input panel
    • A fully accessible, modern 'drum pad' layout, with faster note input, and seamless integration with MuseSounds percussion libraries
  • New features for ex-Finale composers
    • Workflow updates that will feel familiar to Finale users, including a new ‘input by duration’ mode, the ability to move measures between systems, and copy+paste by dragging
  • New engraving features
    • Large time signatures, l.v. ties, text masking through barlines, and automatic placement of partial ties, courtesy clefs, key signatures, and time signatures at repeats and jumps (something no other notation app does)

The update also brings a fresh logo and branding for MuseScore Studio.

Watch the release video

How to get the update

I’m new to MuseScore Studio 4

Head over to the Download page to see the available options:

  • Windows & macOS
    • For now, use the option to download MuseScore Studio without MuseHub.
    • You'll need to download MuseHub separately if you want to use MuseSounds.
  • Linux
    • The main download option will just give you MuseScore Studio. Ubuntu users please note that this update requires at least Ubuntu 22.04.
    • You’ll also need to download and install MuseSounds Manager if you want to use MuseSounds.

You can find additional builds on our GitHub Releases page, including a portable Windows EXE.

I already have MuseScore Studio (version 4 onwards)

Users on Windows and macOS will soon receive a notification about the update within MuseScore Studio or within MuseHub.

If you don't want to wait, you can install the new version manually without MuseHub (see above).

Linux users must update manually. Ubuntu users, please note that this update requires at least Ubuntu 22.04.

New features in this release

This update introduces major workflow improvements, a brand new percussion input panel, and significant new engraving features.

Engraving

See Engraving improvements in MuseScore Studio 4.5. Highlights include:

  • Large time signatures
  • Laissez-vibrer (l.v.) ties
  • System locks (force measures to appear on a particular system, prevent reflow)
  • System markings: control which staves tempos and other markings appear on via the 'Layout' panel (formerly 'Instruments')
  • Automatic creation of partial ties and courtesy clefs, key, and time signatures at repeats and jumps
  • Options to extend slurs and lyric extension lines over repeats and jumps
  • Automatic masking around text and dynamics when they overlap barlines
  • More style options for multi-measure rests
  • All text items are now anchorable at any rhythmic position
  • Improved horizontal spacing and lyric spacing
  • Various fixes for local time signatures

Percussion

  • All-new percussion panel with 8 columns of input pads (now fully accessible; replaces the old drumset panel)
  • Improved percussion note input: notes are now always entered at the cursor position, and can be input at any available stave position with the mouse
  • Ability to customize the layout of the percussion panel
  • Keyboard shortcuts and MIDI pitches are displayed on the percussion pads (keyboard shortcuts can also be assigned using any key)
  • New Percussion and General MIDI Percussion instruments (replaces the generic Percussion instrument and the Percussion Synthesizer) with full mapping for Muse Percussion (MuseSounds)
  • Minor changes to various percussion instruments

Interaction

  • New 'input by duration' mode
  • General refinements to note input: improved discoverability, relocation of legacy modes, and a new option to set accidentals, augmentation dots, and articulations to apply to either the next or previous note entered
  • New rapid entry system for dynamic markings, including in-score popup, dedicated keyboard shortcut, type-to-enter dynamic markings, and option to draw hairpins from dynamic markings
  • Click and drag a range selection to move it to a different staff, measure, or beat; hold Alt/Option while dragging to copy the material
  • Copying and pasting multiple individual elements together is now more reliable and preserves the relative positions of the elements (and other improvements to copying and pasting)
  • Improved selection behaviour
  • Option to input MIDI as written or sounding pitch for transposing instruments
  • The playback speed control is now also available by clicking the tempo indicator in the playback toolbar (without needing to undock the playback toolbar)
  • New 'History' panel available in the 'View' menu

Playback

  • Improved "let ring" playback for guitar with MuseSounds
  • Support for l.v. ties for MS Basic, VST (limited) and MuseSounds (Muse Keys, and Muse Guitars Vols. 1 and 2, with other libraries coming soon)
  • Muse Percussion sounds for Mixed Percussion and General MIDI Percussion instruments
  • Numerous fixes for tied notes

Import/export

  • SVG: page size is now measured in millimetres instead of pixels
  • MEI: support for voice assignment of dynamics, staff line color, harp pedal diagrams & MuseScore element IDs
  • MusicXML: various fixes and improvements

Accessibility

  • Style files for various sizes of Modified Stave Notation (MSN) are included with the program (courtesy of RNIB)
  • Convenient shortcut to built-in styles available via Format > Load styles on Windows and macOS

General

  • New app icon and splash screen
  • Fixed various crashes and corruptions

See our GitHub Project for more details.

...and there's a new handbook!

Our new handbook on GitBook contains details of how to use the new features in MuseScore Studio 4.5.

The new handbook is currently only available in English, but we will make it available in other languages soon. Links to old handbook pages will be gradually updated to point to the new handbook.

Comments

• Mar 15, 2025 - 00:01

One way I think percussion customization could be improved is by implementing hidden drum pads for every available sound, which can be enabled to add that drum to the current kit. Customization could then be used to create additional drum pads for percussion instruments not already included in that system. This would be most practical with a drum kit utilizing full GM mapping.

This could be further improved in a future MuseScore version by allowing multiple percussion libraries in one staff, allowing this system to work with specialty instruments from other libraries.

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• Mar 15, 2025 - 13:09

Just fired up 4.5 for the first time and want to thank you for preserving user shortcuts, palettes and other personalized settings with each upgrade.

Love the upgrade and appreciate all of your hard work. The release videos were helpful and well done.

fyi, using appImage with Linux Mint.

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• Mar 17, 2025 - 09:24

I'm glad to see the update about muse. At present, my system version is mac os14.7.2. In the process of using it, it shows that there is a missing file to load the plug-in at the beginning, and the same is true for repeated operations. Finally, I choose not to use the tone plug-in section. And since version 4.3, it is impossible to search when using Chinese to create a new interface for the first score to select musical instruments, but English can be used normally. This situation has been feedback before, but no one has responded. I hope it can be solved one day.

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• Mar 17, 2025 - 11:51

Version 4.5 on my new Chromebook plus would open and I could open existing scores but it wouldn't open a new score. It would crash every time I tried to do this. Restarted a bunch of times to no avail. I have gone back to version 4.4

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• Mar 18, 2025 - 00:41

You can't yet. I checked to see if your issue had been reported in GitHub already and found it. I have submitted the fix given by the user for review but it has to be approved, tested and merged first and then you will either be able to download a nightly build to get the fix or wait for the next official release of MuseScore 4.5.1. How to get a nightly build: https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/wiki/Downloading-and-running-tes…

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• Mar 17, 2025 - 19:44

Would there be any way to switch to the old percussion input panel, or change the size of the pads on the new one? As-is, on my 1920x1080 monitor the panel makes the whole UI feel a little claustrophobic any time I have it open - I can resize it vertically, but then I need to scroll to access everything, or I could undock it and shrink it as much as I can into the corner, but it's still fairly large.

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• Mar 17, 2025 - 22:53

Is there a way to revert to the previous version of musescore? The drum system specifically is a buggy mess especially with rehearsal marks, they're unusuable. I regret updating.

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• Mar 18, 2025 - 02:10

Uninstall and re-install. You may have to do some additional cleaning up after the uninstall, but try a normal uninstall from the Control Panel first.

No, you won't lose your scores. If any of them are in the default location (Edit / Preferences / Folders / Scores), you might want to move them elsewhere, at least temporarily. You definitely want to know where they are ... because the new installation of whichever earlier version you install will not.

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• Mar 18, 2025 - 18:10

New percussion panel is something that very unuseful. It is really big torture to input notes. It covers almost half of the computer screen and screen slides to give place to this huge panel in every note input. Is it possible to use old style of percussion input without downgrading to musescore 4.4 ?

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• Mar 24, 2025 - 16:48

Except now you won't be able to use the new features that make it so much more efficient, like the single click model, direct entry onto the staff, easy customization, etc. Better to keep the new panel but just set the option to open and close it manually.

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• Mar 19, 2025 - 02:19

I dont know what happened, but with this new update I can no longer play a grace note on the same note with a tremolo, it just plays the tremolo and this is really frustrating as I arrange battery music and having the two play at the same time is essential for a ton of rudiments!

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• Mar 19, 2025 - 02:47

Now you ruined the metronome... When I don't input any note the metronome works normally, but after writing the first notes and play the music along the metronome, it reproduce an off time piano sound with the metronome woodblock sound which is so bad!! I have never had this issue with any other version. Need to work with metronome for many reasons, and this delay my work too, please help me to fix this problem, it doesn't let me attach the video i recorded

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• Mar 19, 2025 - 03:09

And now I figured out another worse stuff... Once you press escape or get out of the score, let's say you want to practice or just play your midi keyboard before entering notes, you can hear the instrument being played even if you quit it. That's so annoying and something it didn't happen in Musescore 4.4... that it only play the instrument from the software when you click on it and now even if you are not selecting it, it's still sounding with latency which is just worse... pff why do you release something before doing many tests in many areas ??? so annoying. Give me a solution please, I will have to downgrade to MS 4.4 so annoying

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• Mar 24, 2025 - 16:51

Again, if you are encountering some sort of problem that neither you nor others users found or reported during the extensive beta test period, best to open a new thread on the Support forum, attach your score, and give precise steps to reproduce the problem.

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• Mar 19, 2025 - 18:06

It has caused problems with:
1. Adding repeat bars
2. Finding the palettes
3. Finding the instrument list.
How do we revert to the previous edition?

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• Apr 20, 2025 - 20:56

The panel isn't "just" about instruments, but it is "primarily" about instruments, therefore should have "instruments" in the name. When I open it, I see 4 instruments, and a "System markings" item that does nothing, and is not clickable. Seems like all the tasks I can do on this panel are related to "instruments". Of course I can add another "System markings" item, but this new one also is greyed out and does nothing. So the only thing I can do on this panel is add, edit or remove instruments. Hence it being (logically) called the Instruments panel, as it says on multiple help pages, in many languages. Renaming it to "Layout" defies logic, is not task or user-based, and is poor for usability and findability. Is there usability testing to show that this change helps users? I would highly doubt it. Musescore is about music, produced by instruments. Amazingly, there is now absolutely no reference to the word "Instruments" in any menu, button or element of the UI anywhere. I'd challenge you to get a new user to add an instrument to a score and see how long it takes, how frustrated they get, and how many give up and go check the help (which provides incorrect information). I've been using MuseScore for years and couldn't find it now that it's the "Layout" panel, for no logical reason, and had to go looking at forum posts. As mentioned the Help pages, in multiple languages, say to use the Instruments panel, and have many lovely images and videos thereof. If you want to alienate new users and make a very simple task difficult, you've done it. The shortcut "I" is also poorly documented (does not appear on the "Working with instruments" page, mentioned in passing at the very bottom of the "Setting up your score" page, and included in no menus either. Changing the application and not updating help is going to alienate users, and you've eliminated the ability for users to update the help and at least try to correct these issues. Obfuscating basic tasks like "add or remove an instrument" in a generic option like "View > Layout" (which really has nothing to do with the mental model of adding a new instrument to your score) and then further obscuring it under a vage "Add" button, and not including the word "Instrument" in any menu or findable element of the UI, goes against usability best practices and common sense. I hope you do usability testing at some point, I'd imagine this was not tested, or the change would not have been made. Some small improvements could be made at this point at least to lessen the issue, e.g. change the panel to "Instruments/layout" if you insist and the menu option to View > Instruments/Layout, and add "Instruments" in the "Add" menu, so at least users have a change of finding either option. Some text on the "Parts" dialog that says "To add or remove instruments, use View > Layout" may help as well, but these are still just lipstick on a pig as they say. The help is as important as the application, they need to be updated in sync, otherwise you compound the user's frustration at not being able to find the "add instrument" or view > instruments feature by telling them it's in the "Instruments" panel in multiple help pages, in text and images, in many languages. There are various mentions of being able to update the help pages, and if I could, I would do that to try to help others, but that feature seems to be blocked except for translations. Nice application but the UI just seems to be cobbled together with little thought, e.g. why are there buttons for "Parts" (never used it), "Mixer" (good) but not "Instruments", a feature I use more than the other two? Why is Mixer in the View menu, but Parts isn't? Why isn't "Instrument" in the Add menu? Why is it that the only way to REMOVE an instrument is via View > Layout > Add? There is no mention of the word "remove" on the button, nor in the "Add instrument" menu option that the "Add" button opens, nor in the "gear" menu beside each instrument. Why is the I shortcut assigned to something that is not in any menu or on any button? Why does the I shortcut bring up the "Add or remove instruments" dialog, yet so does View > Layout > Add > New instrument? Why is "replace instrument" under View > Layout > instrument gear icon, but "delete instrument" is under View > Layout > Add > New instrument > find the instrument, click on the garbage can icon? Why in the View > Layout menu can I add multiple "System markings" entries, that seem to do nothing as they are greyed out, their gear icon is greyed out, and clicking or right-clicking on them does nothing? I guess these are a way to duplicate system text on multiple instruments, but it still seems to be about instruments, therefore the panel should be called "Instruments" or at least "Instrument & layout". Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

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• Apr 20, 2025 - 22:54

*LMAO* (at the "TED Talk" comment)

I have agreed with you since the announcement was made, but it was decided. It will likely take at least two versions (since the next version is supposedly coming in days/weeks) before any change to this would be made. And I suspect it will take longer than that before the developers are willing to admit that they made a mistake.

I hope I'm wrong!

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• Apr 21, 2025 - 03:12

Sadly based on another comment I checked V3 and it was perfect, Edit > Instruments. I believe it's best practice that all shortcuts and functions should be accessible from a menu, not exist solely buried under vague UI elements. Having to click View > Layout > Add > New instrument to delete an instrument seems obviously wrong. Or find somewhere that this magical "I" shorcut exists, because it's not in any menu. You either have to ask on a forum, or dig into Edit > Preferences > Shortcuts, every user's first point of reference.

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• Apr 21, 2025 - 00:58

You can add system markings above any instrument in your score, and control which system markings appear at each position. So for instance, you could have tempo repeat above the brass staves but not rehearsal marks, etc. It's definitely not true that the only things you can are add or remove instruments! Maybe if your score only has a single instrument.

As announced here, the Handbook has moved to GitBook, which is where the new features are documented.

As for testing, there was extensive public beta testing, but I guess you never got around to providing your input. Maybe next time!

If you have further questions about how to use the new features (or existing ones), just ask on the Support forum and we're happy to help!

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• Apr 21, 2025 - 03:08

So this "Layout" dialog is used to: add instruments, remove instruments (which you can only find out if you click the "add" button and choose "new instrument", which is also problematic), add staffs to instruments, remove a staff from an instrument, add system markings above instruments, control which system markings show for each instrument... Note the common word in every task is "instrument", all tasks are related to instruments, and the word "layout" is not in any of the tasks. So... let's call the panel "Layout"?

Would have been happy to beta test, I never heard about it. The thing is I shouldn't have to go looking for a forum and asking questions to get an answer to such a basic task, and neither should new users. And they didn't with V3. New versions should improve on previous ones, not make tasks more difficult and features more obfuscated.

Sadly the Gitbook documentation you reference is also wrong, it shows the Instruments panel in the example, so there is text referring to one thing and examples showing something different, just to further the confusion. V3 was good, Edit > Instruments. Intuitive, exposed in a menu, shortcut shown for learning. There was no reason to change that. Adding that menu item back, showing that it is associated with the "I" shortcut, and having it open the add/edit instruments dialog like in V3, would fix the problem. Currently there is literally no reference to "instruments" in any menu or UI element, which is a huge oversight since this is such a fundamental task.

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• Apr 21, 2025 - 03:20

The beta announcement was in this very forum - the official Announcements forum. I definitely recommend checking it regularly if you have any interest in MuseScore. Maybe next time!

Meanwhile, if you’d like to request a new menu item, feel free to open an issue on GitHub.

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• Mar 19, 2025 - 20:37

LOVE the new popups and shortcuts for dynamics! Was one of the few things i was missing from Dorico AND you did it even better with the hairpins!. I'm very happy with the original note entry and most everything else about Musescore. More popups would be great though!

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• Mar 22, 2025 - 18:13

Okay, so now I can't input polyrythms because of the overlapping of the default voice of the note and the voice that I'm actually selecting.
Thanks Musescore.

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• Mar 22, 2025 - 20:06

Use Alt+Up or Alt+Down to move up and down between voices.

If the note in question is a chord, it will move the selection up or down through the chord. When it reaches the top or bottom note in the chord, it will move to the next voice up or down. When it reaches the top or bottom voice in a staff, it will move up or down to the next staff.

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• Apr 20, 2025 - 02:02

any way to have a future option in preferences to toggle OFF the dynamics popup? i don't want it. i don't use it. it is annoying and in the way. i know some people like it. good for them. but let us choose if we want to have it displayed or not.

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• Apr 20, 2025 - 03:06

Not sure what disadvantage there is in having it even if you don't use it, but if you can write up a good case for the option, then feel free to open a feature request issue on GitHub and explain why this would be useful.

From my perspective, what would make sense is for the popup to not appear when using the palette to enter dynamics, but to show when using the shortcut Ctrl+D or when selecting a dynamic later.

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• Apr 20, 2025 - 04:10

I find that it gets in my way. When I am entering music rapidly by mouse I want to add a dynamic and so I go to the palette and select my desired dynamic or I click on an existing dynamic to modify it and kerplop I get an annoying pop-up which has nothing to do with what I want done. It's like switching on a light for a room in the house and the radio turns on also. This pop-up might be useful for some, just give the user an option to toggle it off if they don't want it. I like your idea of ctrl-d or some other shortcut for those who want the thing.

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• Apr 20, 2025 - 04:28

Ctrl+D already is the shortcut to enter dynamics. The whole point is that you don't even need the palette anymore - Ctrl+D does the job completely, by letting you type directly into the score or use the palette to select a dynamic. But for those who like to work a little slower and keep moving their mouse back and forth between the score and the palette, there is no reason to also show the popup, I would agree.

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