How to open multiple instances of Musescore?
Hey, I'd like to have two Musescore windows open at once. Is this possible? Thanks
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Hey, I'd like to have two Musescore windows open at once. Is this possible? Thanks
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No, but you may find a split view useful: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/view-modes#more
In reply to No, but you may find a split by Isaac Weiss
Thanks! I'm already doing that, but it doesn't split the pallettes, navigator, etc. Maybe I should put in a feature request?
In reply to Thanks! I'm already doing by joseph.branden…
You can download a Nightly and open it and 2.0.2, if you believe helpful
Super late, but on Linux, you can do
rm /tmp/qtsingleapp-mscore-xxxx-xxxand it'll start a new instance. There's probably something similar on Windows.In reply to Super late, but on Linux,… by Caagr98
Windows does not have this feature, but you can run portable versions as long as the installed version is not running, then after portable versions start, you can run the installed version. Unfortunately there are no portable versions for version 3 yet. There are problems creating them that the developers are working on.
In reply to Super late, but on Linux,… by Caagr98
Lifesaver @Caagr98. I have a split-screen setup, and wanted to have a full score open on one screen, and a separate instance of MuseScore open on a second screen (to arrange into). Your suggestion worked to perfection. (I will note that the "RM" command will not itself start a second instance--rather, it will ALLOW you to start a second instance of MuseScore.)
You can also just navigate to /tmp and delete the "qtsingleapp-mscore" files, and then start a second instance of MuseScore. They're all empty, and appear to have no value except to prevent a second instance of MuseScore. (For shame on them--it's such a good program, why am I limited to just one on my screen??)
In reply to Super late, but on Linux,… by Caagr98
very clever and good suggestion: thanks !
I found two ways to do this in Windows 7, neither particularly elegant:
(1) I navigate to my shortcut, then hit 'Enter' repeatedly as fast as I can; I get a whole bunch of MS instances. There may be a race condition unique to my environment with this; the advantage is it does not keep asking "restore session ?"
(2) Start MS, then terminate it in Task Manager. Now I can start as many instances as I like, as long as keep responding "no" to "restore session ?"
In reply to I found two ways to do this… by BanjoJake
I tried this and was offered the restore option. I chose "no", but then launching again simply activated the current instance.
Multiple instances are not necessary, only multiple windows as in certain browsers and in Office (although the latter seems a bit inconsistent!)
In reply to I tried this and was offered… by CaptSteve
I should explain that my need is to see an SATB part whilst scoring for brass band. Specifically, I'm trying to write a Glock part, and don't really want to set everything to Concert Pitch in order to check the chords.
In reply to I should explain that my… by CaptSteve
Easiest way to do things like that is to use the side-by-side or stacked option in the View menu.
In reply to I tried this and was offered… by CaptSteve
Yeah, the first technique no longer works for me either, so it must have been unique to some particular hardware.
Terminating MuseScore.exe in Task Manager still works for me, but now only if I answer 'yes' to the "Restore ?" prompt on subsequent launches !! This is on Windows 7 Pro.
Where I find this most useful is to have MS play the audio from a score in one instance, while reading from a clean transposed version in a second instance, without the blue markers that the Play Panel uses.
Found a new way that seems to work consistently - Save-As in current Musescore session, leave it hanging, then invoke Musescore .exe again. Answer "No" to "Restore Previous Session". Switch back to the first Musescore session and escape out of the Save as dialog. Now you have two independent instances of Musescore.
Musescore v3.6.2 on Win 7 Pro.
In reply to Found a new way that seems… by BanjoJake
It's not clear why exactly you are wanting multiple instances, but for the record, that's what MuseScore 4 will do always.
In reply to It's not clear why exactly… by Marc Sabatella
In my case, it's so I can have MS play audio of one version of a tune, while I'm working on a transposed or otherwise arranged version in another instance. But I'm puzzled - if you guys don't get why it's desirable to be able to have multiple instances, why was v4 designed to work that way ? I actually saw that as a defect in v4 beta, since most of the time I do want a single instance, and re-launching the app for each file is slow.
In reply to In my case, it's so I can… by BanjoJake
Hmm, you mean you ant to listen to play in one while editing in another? i guess i normally just listen to plain audio or video files rather than MuseScore audio if I'm transcribing - not sure why I'd need to hear the audio from MuseScore just to transcribe something, since I can just copy & paste? More information about your unique use case would be helpful.
Anyhow, the reason MuseScore 4 will use multiple instance is purely an internal architecture thing - to support the ability to use different sounds for different scores. If there were an easy way to do that without resorting to multiple instances, I would fully expect MuseScore 4 to move to that as soon as possible. And I think it's being worked on, because no one really likes the multiple instance hack.
In reply to Hmm, you mean you ant to… by Marc Sabatella
I'm not transcribing. But first it's probably relevant to mention that I'm not a trained nor professional musician, so all this is hack-work. But here's what I've been doing - I prepare standard scores for the band. For myself, I play the concert C version in one MS, while I practice my unique transposed/arranged version in another. As I play, I find I often need to make tweaks for ease in playing, grace notes, etc, sometimes just staff text/instructions. Another thing I struggle with are unusual rhythms, for which I place the chord symbols on different notes (rests). Sometimes I have the the sounding MS play the chords while I practice melody, sometimes just the melody while I practice the rhythm from the working MS. etc, etc. Happy to provide more detail if desired. For v4, once you eliminate the need for multiple instances, I would love to have the option to launch a new instance without resorting to all these hacks, eg, for Excel, it's a simple command-line switch:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.EXE" /X
In reply to I'm not transcribing. But… by BanjoJake
Hmm, somehow that's still not really making sense to me - if it's the same score, why not just listen in the same instance? Sounds like maybe you're using it as a practice tool in the background while doing other things? As I said, I'd just play the audio file for that personally. But, I seldom listen to background music while I'm working on other music, it's too distracting to me.
Anyhow, I don't really have any insight into specific plans or implementations for MuseScore 4 -I just know what I've heard, which is that ways of eliminating the need for multiple instances are being considered.
In reply to Hmm, somehow that's still… by Marc Sabatella
Sorry for not being clear -
(1) The score being played is the official concert C score that gets distributed to the band (some get Bb or bass clef, but never mind) and that remains unchanged. The score I am viewing and practicing from (and modifying) is usually in a different key (I usually play the banjo with a capo). It depends on the range of each tune.
(2) Sometimes I want only the melody to play so I can practice chords/backup, sometimes I want only the chords to play (I believe v4 will have this capability) so I can practice melody , sometimes both, sometimes I want to hear the melody down an octave to differentiate my playing, etc. I suppose I could generate audio files for each scenario for each of the tunes in our repertoire, but that seems cumbersome. So basically I can change the sounding MS independently of what I'm reading. And I can change the score I'm reading without affecting what I'm hearing.
I hope this is clearer. If this is an unanticipated use case that you're interested in, I'd be happy to set up a demo at your convenience
In reply to Sorry for not being clear - … by BanjoJake
MuseScore can handle multiple differently transposed instruments in the same score without issue; just add yours with the transposition you want to see right into the existing score.
Check out the handbook page for the mixer (https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/mixer). It allows you to mute or solo instruments and when expanding a track to influence the chord symbols playback from it as well.
In reply to MuseScore can handle… by jeetee
It's not always a 'standard' transposition ... the nature of my instrument and style makes certain idiosyncratic notation convenient for the score I'm reading.
I see a chords playback option in the v4 mixer, but not in v3.6.2. Thanks, will re-visit after our big Dec 18th performance.
In reply to It's not always a 'standard'… by BanjoJake
MuseScore can transpose by any interval at all that you specify in the staff properties - minor third, diminished fifth, etc. Unless you mean, for tablature, which could indeed complicate things a little and be worth a separate discussion.
In 3.6.2, chord symbol playback is a style setting, so you can access it from the Properties panel. But you can also enable/disable it for individual instrument in the mixer by first expanding the appropriate channel strip using the arrow button at the top.
In reply to Sorry for not being clear - … by BanjoJake
It's probably one of those things that just doesn't translate well into words. You say you are "practicing from" a score - does that mean you are talking about using MsueScore solely for playback in this situation, listening to one score, looking at another, but not actually editing either? If so, and your reason for doing this is simply to hear the playback in another key, then as mentioned, MuseScore can do that automatically via its transposition feature, and control which sounds play the mixer. So it still seems that what you are doing is accomplished very simply within a single score - it still isn't clear what benefit you are receiving by separating everything into two different scores of the same music and then forcing them to two separate instances.
In reply to It's probably one of those… by Marc Sabatella
I will try a split single instance again after our big Dec 18th performance, and if I still cannot do it, will detail the reasons why. Thanks !
In reply to It's probably one of those… by Marc Sabatella
So it's not impossible to accomplish with a side-by-side documents in a single instance, just inconvenient. eg, if I make a small edit in the score I'm reading, the playback from the other panel stops. When I click play again, it plays from the score I'm reading/editing, so I have to remember to first switch back to the playback panel after any edit to the reading score before resuming playback. So admittedly not that big a deal, just a lot smoother with two separate app instances.
And it's easy enough to start a new instance, but sometimes I'll use two separate PCs.