MuseScore Studio 4.4 is now available!

We are delighted to announce the release of MuseScore Studio 4.4.

This version includes support for the long awaited Muse Drumline, a free sound library from Muse Sounds. It also contains a wealth of new engraving features, as well as numerous performance improvements and bug fixes, making it the biggest update to the app since version 4.0.

Watch the release video

How to get MuseScore Studio 4.4 and Muse Drumline

I’m new to MuseScore Studio

Head over to the Download page to see the available options.

• Windows & macOS
  • The main download option gives you the Muse Hub utility, which you can use to install MuseScore Studio and Muse Sounds, including Muse Drumline.
  • There's also the option to download MuseScore Studio without Muse Hub if you prefer, but you'll need Muse Hub if you want to use Muse Sounds.
• Linux
  • The main download option will just give you MuseScore Studio. You’ll also need to download and install Muse Sounds Manager if you want to use Muse Sounds.
  • Please note that Muse Drumline is not yet available for Linux but we're working to address this as quickly as possible.

You can find additional builds on our GitHub Releases page, including a portable Windows EXE, as well as AppImages for 32-bit and 64-bit ARM Linux. (Muse Sounds Manager is not currently available for ARM Linux.)

I already have MuseScore Studio (version 4 onwards)

You’ll see a message about the 4.4 update next time you launch the app. If you don’t see the message, go to Help > Check for update, or download the app manually instead.

To get the latest Muse Sounds, you’ll need to install the recently refreshed Muse Hub on Windows or macOS, or Muse Sounds Manager on Linux. You can download these from musehub.com. If you already have an old version of Muse Hub installed, it's best to uninstall it first before you install the new version. Please note that Muse Drumline is not yet available for Linux but we're working to address this as quickly as possible.

New features in 4.4

Percussion

• New percussion collections: Muse Drumline, plus a Muse Sounds version of Tapspace's VDL (comprising two separate collections: Virtual Drumline and Virtual Percussion), available in the new Muse Hub
• Optional migration for scores created with the MuseScore 3 Drumline extension
• Sticking is now centered on the notehead and aligned to a common baseline across the system
• Sticking is able to trigger different samples for more nuanced playback (Muse Sounds only)

Guitar

• New style options for fretboard diagrams, including ability to add fingerings
• Improved alignment and interactions for ghost/dead notes in tablature staves

Dynamics

• More flexible anchor positioning; now you can have a crescendo start and end part way through a note!
• Proper centering between staves for grand staff instruments
• Snapping to other dynamics while dragging and resizing
• New style options to control default positioning
• Assignment to specific staves & voices for playback (depends on sound technology used) and engraving
• Expressive playback; not just volume modulation (depends on sound technology used)

Accidentals

• Layout system completely rewritten
• SMuFL cut-outs used for elegant and compact layout in chords
• New style options for further customization

Beams

• French-style!
• Better vertical spacing for cross-staff beams
• Option to set cross-staff beams above, below, or between the grand staff

Text

• Multi-line copyright text
• New options for showing/hiding instrument labels
• Increased use of SMuFL symbols within text for pedal markings, ottavas, codas/segno markings, and tuplet numbers

Explode & implode

• Dynamics and text annotations are copied with voice assignment
• Grace notes are are copied when exploding measures

Other engraving

• Frames are now scalable with staff size
• New option for separating layout of similarly-stemmed voices
• Thickness of slurs and ties can now be set independently
• Grace note slashes can now be toggled on or off in Properties
• Many other improvements, including MusicXML improvements (see detailed summary)

Mixer

• Hidden instruments can now be muted/soloed

Performance

• Reduced note-input latency when using a MIDI keyboard
• Lower minimum buffer sizes (128 samples on macOS; 512 on Windows)
• Faster audio exports

Qt 6

• Better scrolling & support for touch gestures
• Native support for Apple Silicon

Wayland display protocol (Linux)

• Resolved issue with bundled Wayland libraries in the AppImage
• Resolved positioning issue with popups, menus and tooltips
• Run with QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland to force Wayland to be used

And more!

See the release notes and completed tasks in the 4.4 project for the full list of changes.