MuseScore 3 features not (yet) implemented in MuseScore 4

Updated 1 week ago

    Introduction

    • This list is a work in progress. Some of these features may be implemented before 4.0 is actually released. Others are already planned for a post MuseScore 4.0 release, although there may be a new design.
    • Some might even exist but in a different form that those of us accustomed to MuseScore 3 have not discovered yet.
    • The MuseScore 4.X Github project page tracks features that will be implemented post MuseScore 4.0.
    • This list is organized by general topic area, and within each topic area, are sorted more or less by priority.

    Playback

    Playback of invisible instruments

    • Currently, setting an instrument invisible forces it to also be muted, with no way to override.
    • There is a simple solution, though - set the staff to be invisible instead of the instrument. Which is often preferable anyhow, since many use cases for invisible staves for playback have them paired with a visible staff for notation. So mostly, it will just be a matter of re-education.
    • The biggest issue will be import of existing scores that rely on this.
    • There is a closed/fixed issue on this - https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/10951
    • There is a closed/rejected PR to convert invisible instruments into invisible staves on import - https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/pull/18229

    Using custom instruments.xml

    Synthesizer (not planned)

    Sound configuration is now done via the Mixer and via Preferences. Certain advanced features have yet to be replicated in MuseScore 4, such as the ability to change the tuning standard used for the entire score away from the default A4 = 440Hz.

    Selecting sounds within SoundFonts (back in 4.2)

    It's always been possible to choose individual sounds from VSTs and Muse Sounds in MuseScore 4, but as of MuseScore 4.2 this will be possible with SF2 and SF3 SoundFonts as well, so users of MS Basic and other SoundFonts won't be stuck using the default sound for each instrument.

    Independent control of subchannels

    • To simulate articulation techniques in score playback, Musescore create multiple (sub)channels internally for some instruments. For example, the build-in Violin use 3 separate channels: arco, tremolo, and pizzicato. The 'instruments' Men and Women had separate channels for Tenor/Bass and Soprano/Alto respectively.
    • Manual adjustments on individual channels inside MuseScore is absent, previously Mixer offers such adjustment, esp annoying for rehearsing with Closed Score SATB.
    • The relative volume of channels (relative loudness of arco notes against pizzicato notes of same instrument) depends on the soundfont (for instrument using soundfont sf2/sf3 file) and the new Musescore score interpretation software (for instrument using VSTi or Musesounds).
    • It was possible to have e.g. arco in voice 1 and pizz. in voice 2, for 2 violins in one staff, it is no longer.

    Velocity controls

    • MuseScore 3 allows editing Velocity properties of dynamics symbols, hairpins, and of individual notes ( varying effect with SND setting), see Dynamics: Loudness of a note
    • MuseScore 4.2 allows editing Velocity property of individual notes, please see and help improve the Properties panel chapter. Has no effect on instruments using MuseSound. source: https://musescore.org/en/node/359743
    • Definition is now more in line with MIDI, ie. the onset loudness/timbre control, rather than overall loudness.
    • MuseScore 4.2 disallows editing of Velocity property of dynamics symbols and hairpins.
    • It is expected a more sophisticated system will replace this
    • See (the meanwhile closed/fixed) issue at https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/10990

    Range-control for dynamics-symbols

    • In MU3 you can specify area of effect of a dynamics-symbol (p, mf, f, ff...), i.e. whether it applies to the entire score, the whole instrument, or the current stave (hand) only, see Dynamics: Dynamic range
    • These options are gone and the feature will be redesigned in the future.

    Tuning controls not working

    • MuseScore 3 allows setting Tuning of individual notes, and in the synthesizer
    • MuseScore 4.2 allows setting Tuning of individual notes, please see and help improve the Properties panel chapter.
    • See plans in comments under velocity and synthesizer

    Guitar bends not working (back in 4.2)

    Play Part Only no longer in Mixer

    Independent muting of staves / voices

    • The MuseScore 3 mixer had controls to allow you to mute individual voices and individual staves of an instrument
    • These controls are missing in MU4, with no obvious workaround

    MIDI and other controls for staves in mixer

    • In the mixer, setting up the MIDI port and channel, color, and muted voices is no longer possible. The MIDI channel there also controlled assignment of channels in MIDI file export, thus right now, creating MIDI files with specific channel assignments is not possible.
    • For some details and an image of the missing controls, see forum post Musescore 4: Where have all the ...MIDI controls... gone?.

    MIDI mapping and MIDI CC

    • Musescore 3 sends MIDI CC 2 (default CC 2, also available CC1,CC4,CC11) if the SND instrument and sound is configured correctly, see Synthesizer.
    • Musescore 3.6.2's Staff and system text custom MIDI CC function is half baked, may deem counterproductive even for advanced Musescore user.
    • VST: MuseScore 4 Update: Alpha 2 is now released!: "entirely new playback events system" (meaning the MusePlaybackEvents (MPE) ) and "VST instruments and effects support: Please note that we will be building additional tools, like automation and MIDI mapping in later releases, once MS4 is out" and Tantacrul tweeted "The system translates down to MIDI perfectly. We need to now build a system for hooking up CC events and improving keyswitch capability." : It is unclear as of how musescore end users will be able to customize the message: eg by editing Text ? by editing data on a separate time lane?

    JACK

    Highlighting of note heads during playback

    Piano Roll Editor

    • This is expected to be redesigned and reimplemented for MuseScore 4.x.

    Audio device selection

    • There are some high-level controls for selecting audio devices, but lower-level controls a la MuseScore 3 are not necessarily planned. It remains to be seen how much of an issue this turns out to be in practice.

    Capo playback (back in 4.1)

    Playback for capo markings returned in MuseScore 4.1 along with a new floating widget to adjust capo properties.

    The capo marking lives in the Guitar palette. It's usage is demonstrated in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWEtevLeAmM&t=61s.

    Zerberus SFZ Synthesizer

    • Not planned; people wishing to use SFZ files will hopefully be able to use VST players.

    Metronome: Count-in

    Trill playback styles (default, baroque)

    Engraving

    Fix to line

    • MuseScore 3 had a facility to force notes of any given pitch to display on a specific staff line. This is used for a wide variety of purposes, including customizing slash notation, notating string harmonics, handling clef changes within cross-staff notation, differentiating multiple voices under ottavas, suppressing visibility of ledger lines, and other more esoteric but not completely off-the-wall use cases.
    • Currently, there is no plan to bring this functionality back - instead, the hope is to come up with native ways to handle each of the different use cases.
    • There exists a plugin to do this in MuseScore 4 if needed.
    • See https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/11855

    Hook settings (back in 4.1)

    Other functionality

    Advanced Selection (back in 4.2)

    • "Select More" is missing two options: "Same measure" and "Same beat" (added in 3.5) are no longer available in Mu4.
      Expected back in 4.2.
      "Search in selection" is missing too.

    Cursor feedback

    • In MU3 the mouse cursor changes while dragging the score with left click.
      This is no longer the case in MU4.

    Advanced workspace

    Apply current palette element command (back in 4.2)

    Zoom to page width command

    • Currently not implemented, but should not be difficult.

    Ctrl+click to select overlapping elements

    Plugin Creator

    • This is expected to be redesigned and reimplemented for a post MuseScore 4.0 release.

    Plugin API

    Plugin commandline option

    • the -p commandline option to start a plugin at the start of MuseScore is gone. But --plugin still exists and does the same.

    Score comparison tool

    • The UI would need to be updated to work with MuseScore 4 but presumably, the underlying code would still be usable.

    Split display

    MIDI import panel

    Image capture tool

    Language switch

    Shortcuts for Key Signatures, Time Signatures, Symbols

    • Shift+K, Shift+T, and Z are non-functional. You can access controls via View / Master Palette, so, Shift+F9 followed by K, T, or S.

    Shortcut for elision

    • Ctrl+Alt+- was added as the shortcut for the elision character in 3.6, relevant especially for lyrics, but this was not fully ported to MuseScore 4.

    Multiple Shortcuts

    • MuseScore 3 allows the user to set up several shortcuts for one and the same command.
      This is no longer possible in MuseScore 4 (except by manually editing the shortcuts.xml, so the functionallity is still there, but the UI for it is missing)

    Stacking order

    • MuseScore 4 provides useful controls to send forwards / backwards / to front / to back but lacks direct control over the stacking order of MuseScore 3, which allowed for precise setting of values for custom elements you want to resume in multiple places in a score.
    • Something that will be missed by advanced users mostly.

    MuseScore Drum Line (MDL) (back in 4.4)

    • Windows & macOS : MuseScore 4.4 and above as Muse Drumline (requires Muse Hub).
    • Linux: not yet available.

    Unroll repeats

    Split staff

    PortableApps (back since 4.0.1)

    Windows 32-bit version

    • Building and providing 32-bit versions for Windows has stopped and won't come back.

    Frames within frames

    Showing Keys on play in the virtual piano keyboard

    Saving parts as separate scores

    Color transparency, alpha channel

    Features not present in MuseScore 3

    These are features that were either removed prior to MuseScore 3, or implemented afterwards but never part of any official release, that are worth noting here.

    Multi-measure repeat playback (back in 4.1)

    Albums

    Chord editor

    A GSoC project never merged.

    Regressions reported on GitHub

    See https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/labels/regression_ms3 (but not all regressions are marked as such)