New features in MuseScore 0.9.4

MuseScore 0.9.4 is available for download at http://musescore.org/en/download.

Top new features: improvements to note selection and copy-paste, automatic scrolling during playback, more languages, improvements to drum input, MIDI keyboard support on Windows (Linux version already supported this), about 30 crashes fixed.

Playback

• Automatic scrolling during playback
• Increased note length during playback so that normal notes no longer sound semi-staccato
  • MIDI excerpt from Promenade (MuseScore 0.9.4)
  • MIDI excerpt from Promenade (MuseScore 0.9.3)
• When playback reaches the end of the piece it automatically rewinds back to the beginning so that it is ready for the next time you play the piece.
• Arpeggio or "rolled chord" markings affect playback
• Support for pizzicato and tremolo on string instruments and mute for trumpet

Notation

• Support for longer note durations including double whole notes (breves) and longas
• Stem directions adjust automatically for Voices measures
• Many fixes for tuplets regarding chords, accidentals, deletion, and editable brackets
• More Accidental as need for Turkish, Arabic and other microtonal music
• Ensemble scores
  • Ability to hide empty staves
  • Preliminary support for multi-measure rests
    
  • New templates for choir SATB and hymns
  • Improvements to parts created from a full score including fixes to playback, slurs, tempo text
• Instrument specific
  • Special drum palette to allow mouse input of percussion notation
  • New instruments/voices including alto voice, recorder, cornet, and flugelhorn
  • Improved support for classical guitar notation including circled fingering numbers
  • Support for guitar slash notation
    
  • New clefs including French violin clef and baritone C clef and fixes for tenor clef
  • More options for piano pedal markings
• Layout
  • Distance between staves is adjustable for individual systems using the new staff spacer
    
  • Improvements to initial slur placement
  • Vertical position of rests adjustable
  • Multi-voice seconds and unisons no longer collide when they are not supposed to
  • Beam height and slant are editable
  • Fixed incorrect beaming in 4/4 time between the off-beat of 2 and the on-beat of 3
  • Fixed incorrect direction of fractional beams
  • Bracket can be moved left or right

Text

• Easily copy and paste lyric text into your score one word at a time. In lyrics mode MuseScore pastes only the first word, removes that word from the clipboard, and moves the text cursor to the next note.
• Lyric hyphens now display as standard length
• Automatic conversion of simple fractions and copyright symbol. For example "1/2" becomes "½" and "(C)" becomes "©"
• Flats and sharps display correctly in chord names. For example "b" becomes "♭" and "#" becomes "♯"
• When you type lyrics or chord names the score moves automatically to keep your typing area on the screen
• If the text editing covers your typing area then you can move it out of the way. In previous versions it was immovable
• Changes to text style no longer require you to close and reopen the score to see the changes

User Interface

• Copy-paste of partial measures and lasso (Shift+drag) selections
• Copying a selection of music now includes chord names, lyrics and
• Fixed font issues that stopped MuseScore from working on some Windows machines
• Icon tooltips show keyboard shortcuts in parentheses

• Undo now works for ties and pitch spell
• List of recently opened files in the File menu is more reliable
• Switch to next or previous tab using Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab
• Palette can be configured and edited by user
• New start option: start with no score
• Inverted color scheme possible (white score elements on black background)
• Images (PNG or JPG) can be added to a score and saved with the .MSCZ file. To add an image drag an image file onto the score.

Internationalization

• Version 0.9.4 adds Dutch, Galician, Turkish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Hindi translations of the interface, bring a total of [[nodetitle:features|12 languages]] to MuseScore.
• The handbook for the previous release came in three languages (English, German, and Spanish). The current release adds French, Dutch, and Galician translations of the handbook.
• Ability to change the default paper size from A4 to US Letter or another paper size. In previous versions you had to change the paper size manually for each new score.

Import and Export

• Improvements to MusicXML import include chord names, percussion clef, octave shift, elisions (lyric slurs), part names, barline span, and transposition
• Imrpovements to MusicXML export include ties, lyric extensions, correct order of chord names, and Unicode file names
• Improvements to Lilypond export include separation of voices for easier hand editing, support for ties, pickup measures, incomplete measures, triplets, octave corrections, grace note beams, simple brackets and braces
• New experimental import for Capella files
• MIDI import includes support for files without a time signature and no longer creates unnecessary staves
• PDF export now works with custom page sizes

Other

• New PDF handbooks complete with images. In previous versions the local handbook did not have images and was difficult to search.
• Approximately 30 crashes were fixed during the 0.9.4 development cycle.

For the full list of changes see the ChangeLog

Credit

Programming

• Werner Schweer: Project lead, main developer
• Seth Yastrov: Developer
• Lasconic: Windows builds, MusicXML import-export developer
• Toby Smithe: Ubuntu builds
• Olav Gundersen: LilyPond export developer
• Leon Vinken: MusicXML import-export devoloper

Localization

• Czech
  • Tomas Valusek
• Dutch
  • Jaap Plaisier
• French
  • Lasconic
  • Jean-Louis Waltener
• Galician
  • Xosé
• German
  • Werner Schweer
• Hindi
  • bvgr
• Italian
  • Angelo Contardi
  • Antonio Marchionne
• Portuguese, Brazilian
  • israel_zeu
• Russian
  • Alexandre Prokoudine
• Spanish
  • Carlos Sanchiavedraz
  • Macedonious
  • Marcos Guglielmetti
• Turkish
  • Halil Kirazlı

Other

• Thomas Bonte: Website
• David Bolton: Documentation