Shopping for MIDI keyboard compatible with MuseScore.

Anything which connects via MIDI should be OK.

Although I have always been keen on Yamaha's keyboards, personally I wouldn't go for the EZ-220 - it's full of meaningless gadgets, which means that the quality of components has been compromised.

Far better to go for the PSR e443 but if that's too expensive there is the PSR e353 which is a similar price to the EZ-220.

Please bear in mind, however, that these two are both entry level keyboards, designed for home keyboard enthusiasts, and if you can afford it you would be better going for one of the Motif series which are a tried and tested proper synth without auto-accompaniment and other tosh. The entry level Motif Synth is the MX61, which, if you're being serious about keyboard playing will form an excellent basis for a gigging or studio keyboard rig.

Do bear in mind though, that professional standard keyboards do not come with internal sound systems, and you would need headphones as a minimum to hear what you are playing, but there are plenty of sound systems designed for use with Desktop PCs which are inexpensive and will accept the line level output from a Yamaha synth.

You can find out more about the MX61 here....
http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical-instruments/keyboards/synthesi…

Finally, if all you want is a MIDI keyboard for note entry, and don't need it to have sounds, I would suggest one of the Samson family. I use the Graphite 49 for note input and trialling soundfonts etc.

You can find out about those here....
http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/usb-midi/keyboard-controllers/

HTH
MIchael

If it's just for note entry and you want something compact, I like the design and simplicity of the CME xKey

I bought a second hand Casio keyboard for £15 on eBay. As a musical instrument it is terrible, but for note entry with MuseScore it is perfectly adequate. It only has 4 or 5 octaves and the keys are not weighted, but neither of these matter for note entry. In fact they are actually advantageous because it fits on my desk along with my normal mouse and keyboard, and it takes less effort to press the non-weighted keys. Obviously, if you go down this route you need to check it has MIDI output before you buy it.

When I want to use MIDI input - which isn't that often, as I find the computer keyboard just as efficient - I use a very simple M-Audio keyboard, no built sounds but it plugs in via USB and gets all the power it needs from that and plays the sounds from MuseScore. Works fine in Ubuntu with no special setup required. I've even used it on a couple of gigs plugged into my iPad, playing sounds via GarageBand. I was surprised the iPad offered enough power on the USB port to power the keyboard, but it did.