MuseScore 3 features not implemented in MuseScore 4

更新於1日前

    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 an open issue on this - https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/10951
    • There is an open PR to convert invisible instruments into invisible staves on import - https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/pull/13293

    Using custom soundfonts and instruments.xml

    • The Synthesizer (the configuration window) is absent, set up soundfonts in Preferences window instead, see SoundFonts (The synthesizer software itself is not removed, musescore 4 still offers score playback).
    • Custom instruments.xml workaround see this post and this post.

    Selecting sounds within SoundFonts

    • The ability to select sound used for each instrument in the Mixer is absent, meaning if your custom .sf2/.sf3 file contains 12 different piano sounds, you can no longer select which one to use manually inside Musescore. For workarounds, see SoundFonts: workarounds.
    • Instrument sound is selected automatically according to the instrument and the General MIDI program scheme.
    • At one point there was a proposed design (on Discord?) for how this selection might work- a multilevel selection scheme when selecting the SoundFont within the Mixer, kind of like how submenus work. Seemed very clean and could be implemented with no real changes to anything else in the UI.
    • This regression is issued on github and labeled with "P2", see:
      https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/issues/15190

    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.
    • Manual adjustments on individual channels inside MuseScore is absent, previously Mixer offers such adjustment.
    • 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).

    Velocity controls

    • MuseScore 3 allowed you to set Velocity properties of dynamics symbols, hairpins, and of individual notes ( depending on SND setting), see Dynamics: Loudness of a note
    • These controls are present in MuseScore 4.0.2,
      • affecting loudness of notes if the instrument uses soundfonts (sf2/sf3),
      • but has no effect on notes (yet) if the instrument uses Muse Sounds.
      • [please edit] on notes if the instrument uses VSTi
    • It is expected a more sophisticated system will replace this
    • See 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 allowed you to set tuning of individual notes
    • See comments on velocity above

    Guitar bends not working

    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.
    • MuseScore 4 Update: Alpha 2 is now released!: "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"
    • Expected to mean: ways to send message to VST.
    • Unclear as of HOW: eg by noteOn event? by messages stored in Text ? by messages stored on a separate time lane? or WHAT: MIDI CC (Continuous Controller / Control Change ) messages? VSTi vendor dependent messages?

    JACK

    Highlighting of note heads during playback.

    • MU3 highlights the heads of notes which are currently played.
      This is no longer the case in MU4.

    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

    Zerberus SFZ Synthesizer

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

    Metronome: Count-in

    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

    Other functionality

    Advanced Selection

    • "Select More" is missing two options: "Same measure" and "Same beat" are no longer available in MU4.

    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

    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

    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)

    • Will not be available for MuseScore 4.0 since MDL depends on the Zerberus player.
    • The plan is to add a much nicer sounding version of drumline in a post MuseScore 4.0 release.

    Unroll repeats

    PortableApps

    Windows 32-bit version

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

    Frames within frames

    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

    Albums

    • Feature was removed during the transition from MuseScore 2 to MuseScore 3.
    • It was mostly reimplemented for MuseScore 4 as a GSoC project that was never merged.
    • It is expected to be redesigned and reimplemented for a post MuseScore 4.0 release.
    • See #289326: Re-implement the Album feature for Musecore 3/4

    Chord editor

    A GSoC project never merged.