Composing on Android

• Sep 10, 2017 - 10:41

I use MuseScore on my laptop for writing music. I've just bought an Android tablet. Before I bought it, I checked and saw that MuseScore was available for it on Google Play. Now that I've installed it, I find it's something totally different - an app for accessing an online music library, not for writing music!

It does have a button for downloading a music notation app - but it's for Windows, Mac or Linux. There seems to be no version for Android, even though this Download button is present on Android.

Is there really no way I can write music on MuseScore on Android?


Comments

No, there is currently no MuseScore notation software on Android. The app description on the app store is really clear about it.

Q Can I notate music with this app?
A No, you can not. To notate music, use the free notation software available on musescore.org

We living in the 2021. The mobile apps is not an option, they re must.

You ve to develop mobile apps in 2021.
Flat.io is free option and it is working on web browser and mobile platforms.

I'm sure that others have made this particular comment previously, but I'm surprised that, in the year 2021, there is no version of Musescore for Android devices. You have given musicians a great gift, enabling us to compose/arrange music in a way considered unthinkable years ago. So I ask you, why pull up short and not provide a mobile version?
Brian Lowe

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

Oops sorry I wasn't not very explicit: I mean that my scores are in beta version (not the app) so these scores being insufficiently tested I don't upload them to the site. this said since I only need to "play" the files paying for the "pro" version is overkill. So I am still looking for a simple app to play musicxml files (for a brassband)

In reply to by bassoflauto1

I suspect that there isn't a mobile platform that can handle full-blown software. I think the program would need a complete rewrite. Of course there are some wonderful Apps for mobile. Procreate for iPad comes to mind. But as far as open source goes, I'm not sure there are any. There is no OBS Studio. There is a version of Gimp, but it has very low ratings. I don't think it makes much difference what year it is if the platform can't be made to work.

In reply to by bobjp

If you look at TablEdit's mobile offering it is almost as functional as the desktop version so I don't think that the mobile platform's limitations are a major problem. However, it is probably a lot of effort and may need to be done by musescore.com's team so that it could be offered as a paid-for app. This would mean that they would need to see it as commercially viable.

It may be possible to get TablEdit and Musescore to talk to each other via MusicXML and I am currently exploring this option.

https://tabledit.com/

In reply to by yonah_ag

There are several notation apps for Android. Many can work with several instruments at once and also export mxl. Hard to say if a mobile MuseScore would look and act the same as the desktop version. Seems to me that a paid version kind of defeats the purpose of open source.

Personally, while I have an Android tablet, I prefer my 10 inch full Windows OS Surface.

In reply to by bobjp

I have tried quite a few notation apps on Android and TablEdit is possibly the most sophisticated. Have you had any success with moving files between an app and MuseScore?

I think that Windows Surface devices can be dual-booted with Android-x86. I don't see an Android version of MS as being open source but as a commercial product although maybe there's just not enough potential revenue for the investment.

In reply to by yonah_ag

interesting... except that TablEdit does not seem fit for a brassband rehearsal ( with musescore each brass instrument can listen to its part and follow it on the score.). I use sometimes Practice Bird pro (not bad .... but there is a snag: though it can read musicxml it does not play properly instruments like euphoniums or tubas)

In reply to by sittingBugle

TefView, (the Android non-editing version of TefPad), is multi-instrument with each instrument having its own voulme setting. What makes it unsuitable for brass band?

"but there's a snag" - this is exactly what I having been finding with all Android notation/TAB software so far.

Note: The desktop version of the software is called TablEdit.

In reply to by bobjp

Indeed. It's really only a useful option for Surface owners that don't already have an Android tablet. I may take another look at Surface now that it's been around for a while. A couple of years back I had a play with one but it ran quite hot and the fan was noisy.

In reply to by yonah_ag

There are lots of different devices labeled "Surface" - the original line, the Pro line, the Laptop line, the Book line, etc. It's the Pro line that offers the most tablet-like experience - it basically is a tablet, with "optional" detachable keyboard. Optional in that you buy it separately normally, but it's tough to imagine using a Windows device much without that option. Most Pro models over the years have been fanless, and I've never experienced any heat issues - nothing compared to traditional Windows laptops I've used. Unfortunately, the latest models are not fanless anymore.

In reply to by bobjp

Mobile devices, esp tablets, have become really powerful so those can defnitely handle it.

There is a version of PreSonus Notion for iPad, which is pretty much on par with its desktop counterpart. My wife who is a classical musician uses it on her 12.9 inch iPad Pro to write sheet music for her students.

I would definitely welcome a MuseScore 4 version for Android and iPadOS.

Hello
I use musescore windows for years.
I even shared scores on musescore.org

And surprise !! to read my own files from musescore.org or from my android tablet (or my local network), I have to buy a subscription ??!!!
Very dissapointed and very angry
It is obvious that the only raison is to oblige to purchase of a subscription even if we don't want to download any scores from internet.

In reply to by jacques56

Are you sure? I do not have any sort of subscription but can download and play my own scores on the Android app. I can also do the same for any public domain scores.

You can play any score online using a web browser on Android, or even embed your own scores into a web page.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

On my Samsung phone note 20 I can go on (after asking credit card) but nothing to load external file.

On my Acer tab, impossible to go further the credit card update windows.
On this tab if I load a mscz file from a files application, musescore starts but don't load anything.
Maybe android version too old ? V 5.1

In reply to by jacques56

Here is a pic of a score playing in the Android App. You can see from the Android status icons at the top of the screen that there is no network connection, i.e. this is offline.

MuseScoreAndroid.jpg

(The terrible text rendering is due to the app being really buggy with TAB. The developers have no interest in fixing these long-standing issues).

In reply to by jacques56

You said "My free account exists since many years but only used to connect to musescore.org with windows computer." As well as loading music to .org.

Surely you mean the .com site.
You don't need an account to download MuseScore. You do need an account to post on this forum. I never had an account at first. Then I registered for an account to post here. I don't remember having to do anything to use that account on the .com site. I don't hardly use .com because I don't use MuseScore to post scores.

In reply to by jacques56

No, you can't browse/open local .mscz files but you can save scores from .com to play offline. They save to the app's private storage area. This is actually local, you just can't see them in your file explorer. Since there is no editing app for Android then this shouldn't really inconvenience you much.

Can you use an android tablet for musecore? My iPhone is to small fir me to see. I need the larger tablet. I don’t want to use a laptop computer . Is this available for just a regular Samsung tablet are a special one?

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