My journey with MuseScore! Part 1: How I came to know and love Musescore

I always loved composing when I was very young. I played the piano since third grade and starting fifth grade, I started writing my own piano pieces. However, it took a long time to notate them on paper and I had a bad habit of taking frequent breaks when I wrote them down. Then, there would be moments where I realized that the melody would sound better with a different key. That would result in me erasing everything and then notating again. Not to mention that I was constantly needing more manuscript paper.

My piano teacher then told me about Finale. I asked him how much it cost and he told me to look it up online. When I did, I saw "$600". Being a fifth grader, I couldn't just cough up that much money, nevertheless beg my parents for it. When I brought it to their attention, they encouraged me to save up for it, which I did. I was then informed that they give discounts to students, but it would still cost $350.

Years have passed by, and I still couldn't afford it. I longed to have Finale, but that would never be. Then, there came a time where I had to search for free sheet music, and I stumbled upon MuseScore. When I saw "Free Download" I though, 'Is this too good to be true'? I decided I was going to risk it. I told my dad about it and he agreed for me to download it, which I did. After installing it, I was given a helpful tutorial on how to input notes and all that. Pretty soon, the ideas that were floating around in my head were finding their way into virtual sheet music. Being a sophomore in high school, I was glad I found this because it saved me a lot of money.

I later created sheet music for a need in my church. The music leader there asked me where I made it, and I told her, "I used MuseScore". She said that the score I made turned out really well, and that she was never able to create something like that with Finale. She told me she would be downloading it pretty soon.

MuseScore was able to rekindle the dying fire of composition inside of me, and I am thankful for that.

Next part: Pros and Cons.