MuseScore 3.5 Alpha
Today we are announcing an alpha release of what will soon become MuseScore 3.5. Although MuseScore 3.5 is considered a "minor" release, it contains an unusually long list of new features, bug fixes, and other improvements, and we expect that it will set a new standard for stability and usability.
We hope many of you will download and help us test this alpha version. This is especially true of the more significant new features such as chord symbol playback. We anticipate having a beta release in a couple of weeks, and then the actual release after that. You can install the 3.5 alpha version alongside the stable 3.4.2 version.
Download MuseScore 3.5 Alpha Release
Windows 64-bit | Windows 32-bit | macOS 10.10 or higher |
Linux AppImage (64-bit only) |
Chord Symbol Playback
One of the most requested features for many years has been playback of chord symbols. Peter Hieu Vu implemented this as part of the Google Summer of Code last year, and with the help of Dmitri Ovodok and new team member Igor Korsukov, this facility is now available in MuseScore 3.5. For now, it is disabled by default. To hear playback of chord symbols, go to Edit > Preferences > Note Input and enable the Play Chord Symbols option. There is also an option there to control whether chord symbols are played while editing them, and additional style settings and properties you can set in the Inspector to control how the chord symbols are played.
Instruments
Another Google Summer of Code project that has been incorporated into MuseScore 3.5 is a series of improvements to how you work with instruments. Much of this work was originally done by Josh Wood and was then adapted by the core MuseScore team. Upon adding an instrument change text from the palette, MuseScore will automatically display the dialog to allow you to select the new instrument, and it will automatically update the instrument name accordingly. MuseScore will also add a clef and key signature change if appropriate; these will be deleted automatically if you remove the instrument change.
In addition to these improvements, we've made it easier to control the display of instrument names, with double-click automatically opening the Staff/Part Properties dialog, and provide better control over the display of instrument names and brackets when hiding empty staves. Similar instruments are also numbered automatically when creating a new score, and there are improvements to the Instruments dialog to make it easier to control the position of newly added instruments.
Voices to Parts
One of the new features in MuseScore 3 was the ability to generate parts from individual voices on a staff, allowing you to combine multiple flutes or clarinets (for example) on a single staff. Unfortunately, a number of serious bugs in this feature prevented it from actually being usable. New contributor Niek van den Berg has made it a priority to get this working, and we're happy to report that MuseScore 3.5 has much improved support for this feature. To generate parts from a single voice of a staff, go to File > Parts, press the Single Part button, select the instrument, press the "+" button, and select the voice you wish to use. Repeat this process for the other voice(s) you wish to use. For the alpha release, support for editing the part after generation is still limited, so we recommend waiting until basic score input is completed.
Simplified Editing of Lines
When you want to change the duration of a crescendo or diminuendo, most users instinctively try to drag the handles. But this never actually did what you would expect—it just altered the length of the line without changing which note it was logically attached to. You needed to use Shift plus the cursor keys to actually change the duration. Martin Keary/Tantacrul, MuseScore’s Head of Design, pushed for us to improve this, and now we have. In MuseScore 3.5, dragging the end handles of hairpins and other lines will change their actual durations. There are other improvements to the behavior of editing lines as well, but since one of the goals was to make the process more discoverable, we'd like you to try things out and see for yourself!
Tremolo Layout
New contributor Howard Chang has made some really nice improvements to the layout of tremolos, meaning you will need to do a lot less manual adjustments. However, this also means if you’ve made careful adjustments for tremolos in previous versions, they now need a reset. MuseScore 3.5 will also support the "beamed half note" style of minim-based two-note tremolo commonly used in older piano and orchestral music. You can select this style in the Inspector.
Enharmonic Transposition
Howard also implemented a long-requested feature allowing you to specify—in Staff/Part Properties for an instrument—whether transposition should prefer flats or sharps in the key signature. So saxophonists who prefer seeing Db major over C# major when transposing from B major concert will be happy!
Piano Roll Editor
Mark McKay, who implemented a bunch of piano roll improvements a few releases ago, has implemented many more for 3.5, including tools to make it easier to edit notes (adding and erasing, cut and paste, dragging groups of notes, adjusting ties), keyboard shortcuts for zooming, a way to highlight individual rows in the note area, and enhancements to the levels window to make it possible to set levels for multiple notes at a time.
Measure and Multimeasure Rest Numbers
Measure numbers now support a number of new features, including the ability to display centered under the measures. Multimeasure rests can also be customized further. The relevant settings can be found in the Inspector and in Format > Style.
Accessibility
We continue to make advances in the accessibility of MuseScore, both with respect to keyboard navigation and screenreader feedback. In MuseScore 3.5, the navigation of the palettes is improved dramatically, and screenreader feedback is improved for a number of elements. We also can now support the Orca screenreader on Linux, and improvements to MusicXML export will facilitate conversion to Braille music.
Other
- New smooth scrolling option for playback in continuous view
- Double-click a header or footer to access the dialog for editing it
- Ability to set notehead scheme (e.g., named noteheads) for individual notes
- JACK audio/MIDI support working on all platforms
- Store backup files in a separate folder
- Improvements to the wording and appearance of various UI elements
- New splash screen with progress messages
- Fixes for a variety of crashes, score corruptions, and other bugs
- There are many, many more improvements for you to explore in the Release Notes
Known issues
Alpha is a pre-release. Its purpose is to catch as many bugs as possible. The list of known issues is available here.
Comments
Thank you very much. But #304834: Settings field for multimeasure rests is too small still seems to persist in the alpha. It's fixed in the master, so I suppose, there's a missing fix here.
If anyone sees a problem with stem lengths of chords with single-note tremolo, it's probably due to this: #305007: Stems too long for chords with single-note tremolo. A pull request has already been submitted and hopefully it will be fixed in 3.5 beta.
What about Issue #289898: Cresc./dim. are ignored for tremolos? I was told it would be fixed in this version, but it is not listed in the release notes.
In reply to What about Issue #289898:… by WilsonE7
#289898: Cresc./dim. are ignored for tremolos. is in.
it was probably missed in the release notes as it was part of a big rewrite of the single note dynamics code. I've added it to the list under "playback"
There is an unusually long download time: 3 hours!
In reply to There is an unusually long… by Sunny2019
See #305052: Long download time, not for me took about a minute
Will this appimage be stable for Chrome OS? I'm afraid that it's going to glitch again.
In reply to Will this appimage be stable… by BoldAndBrass
There are a couple known issues. None specific to AppImages of Chrome OS though
In reply to Will this appimage be stable… by BoldAndBrass
ChromeOS itself has issues right now, version 81 broke some things. So far I've learned the following from my discussions with the folks at Google:
There are still other glitches due to other ChromeOS bugs, but if you do these two things, MuseScore does work.
https://mega.nz/file/bFUDgSCa#Qip9ViWULtXPVIRmrFER1keEYce3yjgHPBUpuhUur…
Download from Mega if Win 64 bit is slow.
In reply to https://mega.nz/file… by Sunny2019
Only if you can take the risk of using a non-authorized and non-verified source
In reply to Only ff you can take the… by Jojo-Schmitz
@Jojo-Schmitz
This forum needs a "like" or "upvote" feature, because if it did, I'd upvote your comment :)
Downloading from untrusted, unverified sources is a fool's game...
In reply to https://mega.nz/file… by Sunny2019
Link is broken now.
I tried Chord Symbol playback with the attched file and MS crashed as soon as I hit the space bar test.mscz
In reply to I tried Chord Symbol… by elsewhere
I'm on Windows10
In reply to I tried Chord Symbol… by elsewhere
See #305134: MS 3.5 alpha crash on chordsymbol playback
In reply to See #305134: MS 3.5 alpha… by Jojo-Schmitz
I'm on Dutch MuseScore.
In reply to I'm on Dutch MuseScore. by elsewhere
Matches the symptoms. Seems to happen on non English setups only
In reply to Matches the symptoms. Seems… by Jojo-Schmitz
I changed language to English (US) , restarted MuseScore, did not restore session, but I still get the same crash with test.mscz above.
In reply to I changed language to… by elsewhere
Try with a score created from scratch
In reply to Try with a score created… by Jojo-Schmitz
Same crash
scratch.mscz
In reply to Same crash [inline:scratch… by elsewhere
Maybe I should add: I put the cursor in the first bar and I hit the space bar.
In reply to Same crash [inline:scratch… by elsewhere
That too has translated channel names (and 2 of them), just not into German or Dutch, but into en_US or en_GB):
Needs to be "Chord symbols", and only one of them.
I took a peek at the release notes... Wow, that is a lot of fixes/improvements! A total of 273 if I counted correctly!
Thank you for all your tireless hard work!
Great release, packed with so many niceties. Very good job.
This is the best scoring software I've seen! I'm a 10 years finale user that switched to musescore with only one day using the 3.5 Alpha.
If we could have control on the thickness of the glissando lines, it would awesome.
In reply to This is the best scoring… by Gabriel Araújo 9
I think that would be a no-brainer for writing this part of code. You can submit a suggestion thread in the issue tracker and I'm sure I or some other developer will take a look into this.
In reply to This is the best scoring… by Gabriel Araújo 9
Thanks for #305387: Glissando line thickness control ;-)
Hello everyone!
I don't know if it's happening to anyone however, this version 3.5 is crashing on my computer, leaving the screen "frozen".
My S.O.is Windows 10 latest version.
In this sense, I had to migrate again to version 3.4.2.
Thank you!
In reply to Hello everyone! I don't know… by mjbartemusica1
It's an Alpha, so crashes are somewhat occupational hazards. What happened to trigger the crash though? Which steps do we need to take to make it crash in the same way?
If you could tell us, we can at least try to solve that before it is released...
In reply to It's an Alpha, so crashes… by jeetee
Good morning (in Brazil) friend Jeetee!
They were several times and on different occasions and different files. Finally, when I clicked on the shortcut "Ctrl T" to insert the degrees of the chords above the cipher and change the color of these characters.
It is finished because I used version 3.4.2.
He was preparing teaching materials.
Attached file...
Have a great day!
In reply to Good morning (in Brazil)… by mjbartemusica1
There are many odd choices in that document, but I've tried adding staff text to it in several places and none crashed the alpha..
To be able to fix a crash we need a set of actions to make it crash consistently. So far the only crash I'm aware of with the alpha is closing preferences if no score is open; and that one has been fixed in development by now.
So if you have a reliable set of instructions that we can follow on that score to make it crash, please share them.
As for the score: instead of using 1 very long, spaces aligned staff text per system for RNA; you might want to use the actual RNA feature, available since MuseScore 3.3 (https://musescore.org/en/handbook/chord-symbols#rna). It'll make entering and beat-aligning of these things much easier.
I also see that many notes are indicated as being outside of the usual basic playing area of the chosen instrument. And indeed, your instrument is set to cello, but using notes in the (very) high range for that instrument.
Consider notating for the actual instrument it should be played on. If you then wish to use the violoncello playback sound, you can still assign that using the mixer (https://musescore.org/en/handbook/mixer)
In reply to There are many odd choices… by jeetee
there have been more crashes in Alpha though, (almost) all fixed by now.. (see known issues with 3.5 Alpha)
In reply to there have been more crashes… by Jojo-Schmitz
Dear friends Jojo and Jeetee, good afternoon (in Brazil)!
Sorry for my insistence but at least on my S.O. this version is crashing and as I said earlier, it freezes the computer screen.
Attached files ...
Hug!
In reply to Dear friends Jojo and Jeetee… by mjbartemusica1
In the PDF I see a different filename, scfl9400, a typical autosave filename, like after a crash.
OS is Windows (which? Looks like 10, right?), I can't get it to crash on my Windows 7, what steps exactly are you doing?
In reply to In the PDF I see a different… by Jojo-Schmitz
Uso Windows 10.
Travou quando estava terminando as Tétrades.
In reply to Uso Windows 10. Travou… by mjbartemusica1
So on note entry of those chords?
I can't reproduce.
A clear step-by-step procedure is needed
Maybe reverting to factory settings helps.
In reply to So on note entry of those… by Jojo-Schmitz
Obrigado amigo Jojo !
Seu ensinamento é correto.
Vou reverter as configurações.
Obrigado!
Uhhhhh, where's my saxophone soundfont update?
In reply to Uhhhhh, where's my saxophone… by TG Dub Playz YT
Uhhhhh, where's your saxophone soundfont?
Thanks this substantial update. Looks great. Am not seeing instrument change dialog when adding that text on Mac? Should it pop up as soon as I add text?
In reply to Thanks this substantial… by therestisnoise
No, only via right click on it and then using its properties
In reply to No, only via right click on… by Jojo-Schmitz
Ah right. The blog post suggested it should pop up. Perhaps that would be more intuitive actually?
In reply to Ah right. The blog post… by therestisnoise
Which blog post?
In reply to Which blog post? by Jojo-Schmitz
This one. The one these comments are attached to.
In reply to This one. The one these… by therestisnoise
Ah, Upon adding an instrument change text from the palette, MuseScore will automatically display the dialog to allow you to select the new instrument
In that case I'm not sure how it is supposed to work. Maybe using the instrument change text from the text palette behaves different form Add > Text > Instrument Change
In reply to Ah, Upon adding an… by Jojo-Schmitz
Ah yes. It works from the text palette. For consistency perhaps it should show from the text menu as well. Worth reporting?
In reply to Ah yes. It works from the… by therestisnoise
Yes
In reply to Yes by Jojo-Schmitz
Done. Thanks.
In reply to Done. Thanks. by therestisnoise
Thanks for #305964: Instrument change dialog does not pop up when using Add > Text menu
Wow chord-playback! very nice!
One question though: is it possible to have the chord playback and the instrument play different sounds? I'm making lead sheets and would like the chords to play as a piano sound and the melodie as voices or a flute/sax or something else.
Very nice work!
In reply to Wow chord-playback! very… by Polbeer91
Yes it is, open Mixer, unfold the instrument and pick a different sound for the "Chord syms." channel
In reply to Yes it is, open Mixer,… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks, i normally don't use the mixer (only writing one staff lead-sheets) so i couldn't find the unfolding thing without being hinted towards it. Thanks again, great feature!
Win 10. 3.5 alpha crashed several times after fast switching between Palettes and Selection Filter.
After restart the Selection Filter was the sixth row in the column of the contextual menu.
(Default position on my machine is the seventh.) The sixth position remained after restart of MuseScore.
After another fast switching, now without crash, the row positions changed again.
The Selection Filter has also occupied the eight row. But only once and without crash.
In reply to Win 10. 3.5 alpha crashed… by MichLeon
Já evidenciei este problema em post antetior, foram apresentadas várias justificativas dizendo que estava tudo ok. E eu estaria errado.
Infelizmente migrei novamente para a versão 3.4.2
In reply to Já evidenciei este problema… by mjbartemusica1
Please, if you are seeing some sort of problem with the alpha, start a new thread and give precise steps to reproduce the issue. We can’t fix problems no one fully reports!
In reply to Win 10. 3.5 alpha crashed… by MichLeon
Best to start a new thread for discussion of particular problems. When you do so, can you please give precise steps to reproduce the problem? In particular, what do you mean by “fast switching”?
In reply to Best to start a new thread… by Marc Sabatella
Boa Marc, tudo ok?
O tópico já foi iniciado anteriormente, inclusive o amigo Jojo me ofereceu muitas orientaçôez. Estou muito grato...
One feauture I would like is to add divisi for section parts like (strings, percussion, etc.)
In reply to One feauture I would like is… by dg189149
Best to start a new thread devoted to that topic (pleas,e if you want the suggestion to be considered, don't let it get lost by continuing the discussion here), and describe in more detail what you are looking for beyond simply adding that text, which certainly is easy enough (Ctrl+T).
how hard would it be to add an "L" and a "R" in the fingering
In reply to how hard would it be to add… by Aubrianna Shields
That could be worth a feature request in the issue tracker.
Note that sticking already exist as a special text type, but I believe it indeed has no example/default palette entry: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/drum-notation#sticking
For the time being, you can enter an "L" and "R" using the sticking feature and then put those into your palette yourself.
In reply to That could be worth a… by jeetee
O que seria símbolos de aderência?
Obrigado!
In reply to O que seria símbolos de… by mjbartemusica1
Sticking indications is used in percussion to tell whether you are intended to use the left ("L") or right ("R") hand to play the note.
In reply to O que seria símbolos de… by mjbartemusica1
No caso "sticking" tem a ver com "sticks", ou seja, as baquetas. São marcações para definir com qual baqueta (R - de right - direita ou L - de left - esquerda) deve-se tocar.
In reply to how hard would it be to add… by Aubrianna Shields
Really, that’s how it is expect you enter stocking - simply type them in. Much faster than using the palette. So, Add / Text / Sticking, then type a sticking, press Space to move to the next note, press space to move to the next, etc.
All these new features are fantastic!! however, regarding the chord symbols, I've noticed that when I play my score, it sustains all the chord changes, and doesn't stop playing them when the slash(es) aren't there anymore. Is there a way to disable this?
In reply to All these new features are… by The N note
via inspector change from 'until next chord symbol' to 'until end of measure' or 'until end of current duration' (or some such)
In reply to All these new features are… by The N note
But that won't help the human musicians reading the score. If you want them to stop, you should put an explicit N.C. where you want the chords to stop.
In reply to But that won't help the… by Marc Sabatella
I've attached a picture of the chord progression. What was happening was Musescore would play the F6 chord on the first slash, and then not sustain it (without playing chords on the other slashes) until the Abo chord, where it would do the same thing. Jojo's Answer fixes the first problem, but would there be a way to have musescore play the same chord on the slashes that come after it (with no chord symbol)?
In reply to I've attached a picture of… by The N note
No, there is no automatic facility for that. But you can use the Realize Chord Symbols command in the right click menu to get the actual notes then copy/paste them as desired.