Community development update
Hi everyone!
Let’s check out some of the fantastic contributions we’ve had from the community, and see what tasks are available on the community project's board.
Recent contributions
We have been incredibly fortunate to receive pull requests for MEI and Jianpu, two features that have been discussed for many years but never actually implemented until now, as well as the welcome return of JACK audio support on Linux.
MEI import and export
Like MusicXML, Music Encoding Initiative (MEI) is an XML-based file format for storing musical data. Unlike MusicXML, MEI aims to be fully semantic, meaning that it not only stores information about what is in the music, but also why it's there. As such, MEI is the format of choice for musicologists. Adding MEI support enables MuseScore users to access a trove of lesser-known historic works that are only available in MEI format.
Contributors: lpugin and rettinghaus
Status: Merged and available in nightly builds. Further improvements are also merged, and continue to be submitted!
Jianpu notation
Numbered musical notation is commonly used in China (where it is known as “jiǎnpǔ”, or “simplified notation”), as well as in other countries, albeit to a lesser extent. Rather than drawing notes on a 5-line stave, this system uses the numbers 1 to 7 to represent degrees of the scale, with dots above or below the number to show the octave. The number 0 indicates a rest.
Contributor: Auase
Status: PR submitted and under review by our team.
Jack audio support
JACK is a cross-platform audio server that provides low latency audio routing between applications. It is mainly used on Linux as an alternative to PulseAudio. The low-latency aspect is particularly useful to film composers and DAW users.
Contributor: lyrra
Status: Partially merged. The ability to switch between JACK and ALSA via Preferences is still under review. Support for JACK MIDI is not implemented at this time.
Available projects
Here is a small selection of projects that are currently available:
Small
- #19509 Measure properties not in context menu for keyboard users
- #13599 Selected key signature not announced in New Score dialog
Medium
- #16799 Implement VST support for Linux
- #15321 Slurs/ties/hairpins/etc cannot be removed from selections made by shift-clicking
Large
If you're a developer (or would like to be one!) then do check out the Community Projects Board for more ideas about where you can help.
Many thanks to all of the contributors mentioned here, as well as to everyone who has submitted code recently. Your contributions help to make MuseScore more functional and enjoyable for all users!
Comments
I love it
I've wanted to add a new feature where the Chords can playback based on the Rhythm of the Slashes (like on Notion) so that I wouldn't have to repeat as many chord symbols in Guitar, Bass, or any other instrument parts. Also implementing the keys of the Piano Keyboard lighting up as the Score plays would be another cool update cause I miss that from Musescore 3 (along w/ the Countoff feature).