Musescore 3.x in Linux Mint
Currently running Musescore 2.1.0 with Soundfont 2.315 on Mint Mate 19.2. Unknown whether a newer version will run on this system. v 2.1 seems to have sufficient functionality for my purposes, but it's usually better to run the newest edition software for a given program.
Any Linux users have experience on this?
Comments
OS: Linux Mint 19.3, Arch.: i386, MuseScore version (32-bit): 3.2.3+dfsg1-4~ppa1804+1 (Ubuntu bionic/i386), MuseScore build number not set, revision: d2d863f
See: https://launchpad.net/~mscore-ubuntu/+archive/ubuntu/mscore-nightly
In reply to OS: Linux Mint 19.3, Arch.:… by Shoichi
Thanks for the quick response.
Our system is 64 bit. Previously used Musescore 2.x for several years in Windows 7, currently dual booted with Mate on this machine, fully satisfactory. v 2.1 in Mate also works well without incident. Looks like any newer version can wait for beta testing to run its course.
In this case I think I would not update absent a compelling reason to do so.
In reply to Thanks for the quick… by Slowpoke
You can keep the 2X and the 3X on the same machine, without conflicts.
It would be advisable to explore the new features of the latest version.
https://musescore.org/en/download/musescore-x86_64.AppImage
See: https://musescore.org/en/news
In reply to You can keep the 2X and the… by Shoichi
Actually I downloaded v.3 a while back- but, as mentioned, no need to go any further with it at this point. My interest in Musescore is for simplifying purchased non-classical scores for piano practice- I'm not composing from scratch. And for the same reason, I don't add embellishments to the sheet, I do that while playing.
In reply to Thanks for the quick… by Slowpoke
Not sure what you mean about beta testing, MuseScore 3 has been out for well over a year, the version you are using is several years old and has literally thousands of bugs that have been fixed since. Not to mention missing some features that can make entering scores go much faster and produce much better results. Plus, you would need MuseScore 3 to be open scores created by others using that version, such as the many many free piano scores on musescore.com. And when you ask for help here on the forums, you won't find nearly as many people able to help with such an old version. So, I definitely highly recommend updating.
That said, there is, as with any major improvement, some small learning curve involved in order to take advantage of it. So you do have to trade off the hours you might spend coming up to speed on what's changed against the hours you would save in the long run from all the improvements. Up to you. But "beta" has nothing to do with it. Again, MuseScore 3 is a released, stable, and well-polished product.
In reply to Not sure what you mean about… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks for your response. The difference here could be the fact that we no longer use Windows and now use Mint, new to us several months ago. We have found that programs originally coded for Windows are occasionally not updated for Mint on the same timeline, as there are many fewer users.
If there is a newer Linux-compatible version of Musescore, as long as my accumulated scores will make the upgrade unchanged, I would do it, but I don't know how to find out. Linux systems come with a wide array of software (the "repository") that users normally update regularly, but there is no newer version of Musescore in the repo. I don't think that a program written for Windows will run in Mint.
In reply to Thanks for your response… by Slowpoke
MuseScore is eveloped by a team of people who use Window, macOS and Linux almost equally. So the current version is always well-tested on each. Even if the pople who maintain the various Linux distributions are not always up to date, MuseScore itself is. Get the current version fromthis site, not from your repository, using the AppImage from the Download menu above.
In reply to MuseScore is eveloped by a… by Marc Sabatella
Again, thank you. As you can see, I'm no tech wizard, but since moving to Linux, programs we have installed have had specific variants for the three OS's, and some do not offer an option for Linux. If I understand you correctly, with Musescore there is no need to select a different version based on OS?
In reply to Again, thank you. As you… by Slowpoke
Not a different version, no - just a different build. The current version of MuseScore is 3.4.2, and like all versions of MuseScore, is available for all three operating systems we support. But you do need the specific build of 3.4.2 for your particular OS. The Windows build won’t run on Linux, or vice versa, and neither will on macOS, etc.
The problem is that the people who manage the various different Linux distributions don’t always include the most recent version in their repositories. Which I guess is understandable, they are trying to manage a lot of things, not just MuseScore. So when you install MuseScore using the commands provided by your distribution, you often get an older one. We don’t like that, so we always make the current version available directly to everyone using the AppImage method.
So instead of installing MuseScore from your Linux distributions repositories - which are very often very old - you are usually better off downloading the AppImage directly from this site, via the Download / Software link above. Then you are assured of having the latest version.
In reply to Not a different version, no … by Marc Sabatella
Much appreciated- will do.
In reply to Much appreciated- will do. by Slowpoke
This turned out to be a piece of cake! Didn't need to install the download manually- Mint has a built-in program "Software Manager" that includes a search box. Newest Musescore automatically found and installed.
Can I assume v.3.4.2 is compatible with older scores?
In reply to This turned out to be a… by Slowpoke
Yes, withh all from MuseScore 3, and it will import those from MuseScore 2 and 1 too
These won't work with the new scores though, so it is a one-way road. Way back, if needed, via MusicXML.