How does mscore compare to other open source notation editors? (Why should I...)
Hello,
I am currently in search of an open source or at least free notation editor.
Is there a comparison table how musescore compares to other open software? Or in other words: why should I use it and not something else?
Have a nice day!
Comments
I'm not aware of any such comparison tables, but nor am I aware of any serious competition to compare with.
Probably the main alternative here is Denemo. My impression is that this is rather crude in comparison to MuseScore, since AFAIK it is not truly a WYSIWYG editor but is actually just a graphical front end to the LilyPond music typesetting system. LilyPond itself is for real, but it is not an editor - it is a program that takes a text file in the language it has defined, and turns it into printable notation (eg, a PDF file). It does an excellent job, but without a WYSIWYG front end like Denemo to help you create the input file, it's definitely a lot of work to learn and use. My expectation is that even with Denemo, it would feel extremely clumsy in comparison to a true WYSIWYG program like MuseScore. In MuseScore, you see your score as it will print and you work that directly. In Denemo, it appears that you edit in one window and see a very low quality rendition of your music rendered by Denemo itself, but as you edit, you can also see a preview of what the actual LilyPond results will look like in another window. But I'm just basing this assessment on what I've seen on their web site, not on actual experience. t would be interesting to hear from someone who actually knows both programs.
Similar to LilyPond is abcm2ps, which also takes a text file and compiles it into printable notation. It uses a different text format (ABC) and also produces excellent results. ABC is considerably easier to learn and use than LilyPond, but perhaps not quite as powerful. There are graphical front ends to abcmp2s, but they are *definitely* considerably more cumbersome to use than MuseScore, and there is no getting around the need to actually learn the ABC language when using them.
Back to the subject of actual WYSIWYG notation *editors* (WYSIWYG), there is also Canorus, but it seems to be in extremely limited and nowhere near ready for serious use.
Among non open source programs that currently happen to be free, there is Finale Notepad, which is again much more limited than MuseScore, but does have the advantage of being read/write compatible with the full Finale. MuseScore offers interchange with Finale via the MusicXML format, which works pretty well, but the integration between Finale and Finale Notepad is tighter, if that happens to be important. Feature-wise, though, you're giving up an awful lot. Here at least there is a comparison: http://musescore.org/en/comparing-musescore-and-finale-notepad-feature-…
if you happen to be on Linux and are at least as interested in MIDI sequencing as in notation, Rosegarden could be worth a look. It also uses LilyPond to do its actual typesetting and thus isn't truly WYSIWYG, but it has its advantages if you are interested in sequencing.
But there is a reason when you search for open source notation programs, MuseScore is the main thing you hit on.
Take the reason why I became a confirmed MuseScore user.
Back in spring last year I was contemplating upgrading my rather old copy of Finale 2003 to the latest version.
In order to gain the features I wanted, I would have had to upgrade to their top of the range version, which would have cost me £400+
While I was working out how I was going to raise this cash I decided to do a Google search to see what the Open Source world had to offer.
The first two hits Google came up with were 1. MuseScore and 2. Lilypond
I downloaded both, and was immediately impressed by the UI and features of MuseScore, to the degree that I started using it for my next project as Director of Music at St Michael's Church, Retford - to provide a sung setting of the Regina Caeli using the traditional plainsong as a base.
Once I had completed that I was a convert, and have used nothing else for my sheet music projects since.
I urge you to give it a try - although it is in its infancy this software is already giving the two main commercial notation software applications, Sibelius and Finale a run for their money.
HTH
Michael
In reply to Take the reason why I became by ChurchOrganist
My story is actually quite similar. I was a long time (15 years or so) Finale user who was getting tired of spending $100 every year so for yet another upgrade. Every year at upgrade time I would look around for a viable open source alternative, the way OpenOffice (or now LibreOffice) has proven itself a viable replacement for Microsoft Word, or any number of other open source programs have proven themselves in their respective categories. Year after year I'd look and find a smattering of free notation programs in various stages of development, from "just getting underway and showing promise" to "completely abandoned", but nothing ready for actual use.
Then a year or two ago, on the advice of a student, I checked out MuseScore, which was rising up from the crowd as being worth a serious look. Like Michael, I decided to plunge in headfirst and use MuseScore for one pilot project - in my case, an arrangement I was asked to write for a brand new eight piece hybrid jazz/classical ensemble. Upon completion a couple of weeks later, I removed the Finale icon from my Start menu. I keep Finale installed to make sure I can open my older scores, but MuseScore has *completely* replaced it for me. I am quite sure that none of the other free alternatives could do that.
This could help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_scorewriters
I like Musescore more than the other notation programs that are out there because it doesn't constantly change interface or the way it is used every version of it across the different platforms.
I have used Finale and still have to use it some, but one thing that really frustrates me about it is that each update there is something put somewhere else or the shortcut key is different, or they completely did away with a feature.
It is also not the same UI across all platforms. I have run Finale on Windows as a trial version and Mac as the full version. I ran the same years once and different years and they both look very different. It is like learning a new software all over again.
Other wise, Finale is a good software.
Musescore, however does not completely change the UI each update and the shortcut keys are somewhat customizable and are relatively the same from Mac to Windows. I can find what I need in both programs, because it is in the same place. The other plus is it is free. This is an advantage for a college student and I use Finale in the Music Lab.
In reply to Why I like Musescore better by Make_a_Joyful_Noise
Of course, there have only been a small handful of MuseScore updates, those were both just minor ones. The changes between MuseScore 1.x and 2.0 look to be about as big as the changes between makor versions of Finale. But the good part is, we get to see the nightly builds long before release, track the progress, and give feedback, so we are not blindsided by changes. Tte changes I have seen in the nightly 2.0 builds look to be very significant improvements overall.