Upcoming features in MuseScore Studio 4.3

Hi everyone,

We'll soon be entering beta period for the upcoming 4.3 release, so we thought we'd take this opportunity to highlight some of the new features coming in this release. Some of these features are already available for testing in nightly builds of the 4.3 branch.

New in 4.3

MuseScore Studio branding

4.3 will be the first version to use the new "MuseScore Studio" branding that we announced earlier this year. This new name for the desktop program will help to distinguish it from other MuseScore products, such as the MuseScore.com website and mobile apps. We know it's a big change, and we're grateful for all the messages of support that we have received.

MuseScore Studio will remain free and open source under GPL version 3.

Sound flags

Score playback is the main focus for the 4.3 release. Chief among the new playback features is 'sound flags', which are added via ordinary staff text to influence an instrument's playback from that point onwards in the score.

Sound flags appear as a 'speaker' icon to the left of selected text elements.

Clicking this icon reveals a list of playback options that depend on the instrument.

Some of the playback options for different instruments include:

• Flute & bassoon: vibrato, overblown
• Oboe: non-vibrato
• Trumpet: shake
• Percussion: sticks, mallets
• Suspended cymbal: secco, slice
• Strings: non-vibrato
• Violins & violas: bartok
• Choir: vowel sounds (ahh, ooh, mmm, etc.)

When an option is chosen, playback is adjusted accordingly, and the text in the score updates to reflect the chosen option. For example, if the user selects 'Ahh' for the choir, then the stave text will update to say 'ahh', though you can edit it to say something else if you prefer and the playback will remain as 'Ahh'.

The list of available options is produced dynamically by Muse Sounds, which means we are able to add more options in Muse Sounds without having to do any more work to support them in MuseScore. However, it also means you won't be able to test this feature until we release an updated version of Muse Sounds that supports it.

At present, the playback aspect of sound flags only works with Muse Sounds, not SoundFont or VST. However, when you share a score that contains sound flags, stave text entered via the sound flags popup will still be visible to other users even if they don't have Muse Sounds installed.

Engraving

New options in Format > Style to:

• Hide clef and key signature after the first system
• Show ties and repeat fret numbers for tied notes in tablature

Plus various other improvements.

Privacy policy

We had to update the privacy policy to reflect the name change to MuseScore Studio, so we also took this opportunity to clarify some of the wording around data collected during error reporting (e.g. if MuseScore crashes). The actual data being collected and stored on our servers has not changed; only the wording of the privacy policy has changed. Data is anonymized as soon as it is collected. We do not store any personal information.

Other fixes & improvements

See completed tasks in the 4.3 project for the full list of changes.

Look-ahead to 4.4

While we're still putting the finishing touches to 4.3, we're already hard at work on 4.4 on the master branch.

MuseScore Studio 4.4 will include an all-new system for writing percussion notation and realising that notation during playback. This system will pave the way for a Muse Sounds version of the Drumline extension (MDL) that was popular with percussionists in MuseScore 3.

4.4 will also be our first release using version 6 of the Qt framework that powers MuseScore Studio's UI on Windows, macOS and Linux. Qt 6 brings a host of improvements, including better support for scrolling and touch gestures, as well as the potential for native builds for Apple Silicon. The current plan is to release with Qt 6.2.4, which maintains compatibility with Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal), macOS 10.14 (Mojave), and Windows 10.