Moving scores from Muse 3 back to earlier version of Muse 2
I downloaded Musescore 3 and gave it a try. I don’t like it. Way too confusing and too many changes after years of working with the earlier version. Now I have two scores created and saved with the newer version but can’t upload them to the older Musescore 2. I get a “cannot read file” message. This is so frustrating because I don’t want to work with Musescore 3.
I just want to have those two scores available for editing on my older Musescore version. If I can get those scores safely back on my earlier version, I’ll delete the new version and hopefully never see that annoying blue icon again.
Do I just have to redo the scores all over again on my preferred Musescore 2?
Thanks for any help ...
Comments
File/Export as xml
In reply to File/Export as xml by Shoichi
Thank you ... Thank YOU ... you have saved me hours of frustration. I envisioned copying out both scores from scratch. Your solution worked like a charm. and your reply came within minutes of my question. 🎶👍🤗
In reply to Thank you ... Thank YOU ... … by Nikki Ty
That being said, it would have been nice to know why you say about the version 3 : "I don’t like it"
In your practice (what is this practice please: for one or more instruments, orchestra, voice, etc.?), what bothered you - just give two or three simple examples - to the point of coming to this observation?
In reply to That being said, it would… by cadiz1
I have to admit I’m a bit of a grouchy curmudgeon ... I cringe when I see the words “update” or “new version.” And I believe in the old adage ... “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
I write mainly for piano and occasionally choir ( when I can sneak some physics into a hymn 🤪). So obviously I miss out on the many features offered for a huge range of instruments and métiers. And the cornucopia of other choices does make the site somewhat bewildering for a pianist.
But I don’t like the incompatibility built into Musescore 3 which prevents opening and saving scores between versions. I resent not being able to open anything I’ve saved on Musescore 3 on an earlier version. This seems unduly manipulative. I absolutely hate the HUGE keyboard which covers the top of the screen blocking out the input banner. Okay, I can click it off by pressing the P ... but I prefer to just work with all options visible. And no interruptions.
I don’t like the automatic “placement” of elements. I’m a graphic artist as well as composer. I like the elements to be balanced visually and no program can replace the trained human eye. Yes I can move some of those elements myself, but then the staff lines jump around.
I’m sure there are wonderful new tweaks for instruments other than piano ... and probably great things for modern pop musicians. But for an old-fashioned curmudgeon sometimes stuck in the 17th Century , I just want simplicity and no distractions.
But ... the creators of MuseScore are true angels on earth. The help given on these forums and the meticulous attention given to this project are truly inspiring. Alongside the folks at Gimp and the astonishing young man who created IMSLP ... generosity shines like a beacon.
Many many thanks 👍🙏
In reply to I have to admit I’m a bit of… by Nikki Ty
Grumbles and kind words, on these pages there is room for both.
If you're comfortable with 2X, keep using it, but you can keep a new version side-by-side without any problems. Maybe on a rainy day (maybe it doesn't rain often in Honolulu) you can explore the 3X and find it interesting ;-)
In any case...Buona musica!
In reply to Grumbles and kind words, on… by Shoichi
Thanks again! You’ve answered another question I had about keeping both versions without any problems. I’ll certainly do that. And with the clever xml export trick, I don’t have to worry about losing any scores. ( Alas it does rain quite often in Honolulu. The rain devils have a mean little trick ... they wait until you get a mile from home on foot and then release a downpour). I’ll explore the 3X when I’m in a sunny mood and a bit more curious. 🤗🌺🎶
In reply to Thanks again! You’ve… by Nikki Ty
Those rainfalls never happen though if you carry an umbrella with you, only when you forgot it at home, right?
In reply to Those rainfalls never happen… by Jojo-Schmitz
I think you’ve got something there. I bought a silly prank umbrella printed to look like a palm tree and am now too embarrassed to carry it. I’ll get the plain grey freebie from my bank and solve the problem. 🌂
In reply to I have to admit I’m a bit of… by Nikki Ty
To be clear - the piano keyboard is not new for MuseScore 3. You must have accidentally displayed it by pressing "P", but indeed it is just as easily turned off, same in 2 & 3.
As for automatic palcement, it's important to realize thaere is a huge difference between graphic design and music engraving. There are quite specific rules to follow to get correct notation, and unless you've been specifically trained in that, youre almost certainly better off starting from the automatic placement defaults, which will follow the rules pretty correctly. And then if you want to tweak things, you can. Many adjustments can be performed without tunring off autoplac,e but if you have a specific need to perform an adjustment that does require it, it's just a click in the Inspector away (and in 3.1, there will be keyboard shortcut for this, and other customizations possible). Overall, it should be less, more more work, to take an already basically correct score in 3.0 and tweak it to be more beautiful, than to individually correct the many errors and collisions you'll get in MuseScore 2.
In reply to To be clear - the piano… by Marc Sabatella
Actually I like the keyboard and always have it on the top of my screen in Musescore 2. But the version in Musescore 3 is huge and it blocks off the top tool bar. Yep, I can press the “P” and click it off, but I rather not be distracted. The smaller keyboard in the earlier version is perfect for me.
I’m sure that the automatic placement is absolutely correct in terms of standard Music publications. And you caught me ... I am a graphic artist and some of that “negative/positive space” does creep into my score format. I post the pdf files on my blog and try to make them visually appealing. Schirmer’s would toss me out the door! But I’ve kept the Musescore 3 on my computers and will give it another try when I’m in a receptive rather than curmudgeonly mood.
Thanks again for all your help 🙏
In reply to Actually I like the keyboard… by Nikki Ty
Sounds good! I would definitely recommend you check out 3.1 when released, it's going to have some customizations regarding automatic placement that I think you'll appreciate.
But as for the piano keyboard, I'm not sure what you mean. Sounds like you may have accidentally undocked it, but you can easily redock it - just double-click the title bar, or drag it back down to the docking station. As for the size, it's resizable in both 2 and 3, most likely you either made it smaller in 2 long ago or accidentally made it larger in 3 at the same time you accidentally undocked it. Either way, it's completely fixable, do it once and it stays that way.
In reply to Sounds good! I would… by Marc Sabatella
The keyboard works perfectly in MuseScore 2 but in the later version, I can switch it off but can’t double click the title bar because it’s so large part of that bar is obscured by the upper margin of the page. I can work around that by lowering the Musescore main page position on my screen. Then the keyboard sits on top. But it still doesn’t show its title bar so I can move it around. Nor any indication on how to shrink it.
This problem is a microcosm of an increasingly frustrating problem. There are way too many “bells and whistles” being developed with each “upgrade”. I want ease and simplicity. I compose at the piano (as did most of the great classical piano composers) and want to work with true piano sounds. Perhaps all this electronic legerdemain is impacting contemporary composers in a negative way. Far too many composers are relying on gimmicks to “compose” and “improvise” without putting in the hard work. A frenzy of electronic glissandos masquerades as “music.” (That darned piano keyboard has plunged me back into curmudgitude ... )
In reply to The keyboard works perfectly… by Nikki Ty
I think you are misunderstanding. Again, the size and position of the piano keyboard has not changed. It is not supposed to be covering the top of the window at all. You must have accidentally moved it. Here is what the default looks like in MuseScore 2:
and here it is in MuseScore 3:
If you are seeing something different from this, it is because* you* changed it from the default, not because of any change in MuseScore itself. Again, my guess is you accidentally increased the size and uncocked it in MuseScore 3, and dragging it back to the docking station and resizing it would fix it. or, do Help / Revert to Factory Settings. If that still doesn't completely solve it for you, please attach a screenshot so we can better understand what you are seeing.
As for the changes that did occur, they are specifically designed for ease and simplicity. And what could be easier or simpler than not having to manually adjust every last symbol any more? That's the whole point of autoplace - instead of you needing to manually adjust everything to achieve correct placement and avoid collisions, everything should be placed perfectly (more or less) by default - or requiring only the barest minimum of manual adjustments. The idea is that can save hours and hours of time by letting automatic placement make your life simpler and easier.
In reply to I think you are… by Marc Sabatella
I’ve spent an interesting evening shuffling things around. My Musescore 2 worked like a charm and I’ve kept the smaller keyboard at the bottom for the last few years. But am reconsidering.
You are quite right ... I must have changed something inadvertently in Musescore 3 because when I went to Help/Revert to Factory Settings, I did indeed get a moveable keyboard. Which I moved around to various positions just to establish my authority over the darned thing. And it snapped nicely into position at the top.
But it is still too large ... I have no idea how to adjust the size ... but I’ll get used to it.
I have to plead guilty to my preference for “placement” ... the result of years working with various graphic programs and a profound affinity for minimalism and “negative space” ... hurdles which won’t dog a musician with his attention firmly on his music.
Thanks again for your very generous help ... and patience!👍
In reply to I’ve spent an interesting… by Nikki Ty
"But it is still too large ... I have no idea how to adjust the size ... but I’ll get used to it."
Hold down the Ctrl key (Cmd for Mac), place the mouse pointer over the virtual keyboard, and act with the mouse wheel, as if to zoom in or out.
In reply to Hold down the Ctrl key,… by cadiz1
Thank you SO much. This worked like a charm! And I would never have figured out this trick on my own. 🤗