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MuseScore 4 has transformed my workflow

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Arbee

Senior Member
Just sharing my experience with Musescore 4 (first version I've used so no prior experience with it) in case it resonates with anyone. I've been a long time Sibelius/Pro Tools user and have recently transitioned to MuseScore/Reaper.

For quite some time I've struggled to settle into a composing workflow that straddles "compose in the head/at an instrument", "compose in the DAW" and "compose on paper". Since each approach seems to produce rather different results, I've been keen to integrate all of these elements. I see it as especially important these days given music now generally needs to well-composed and well-arranged and well-programmed (samples and synths alike) and well-produced just to get to first base.

While Sibelius has much more finesse and options for a more classical approach, I've found MuseScore to be so much more intuitive and quick for more contemporary crossover compositions that involve some traditional, some synth, some percussion/drums. And the new soundset is very adequate for the purpose.

My workflow now is to start with an idea either in the DAW, in the head or on the instrument then GET OUT OF THE STUDIO and into MuseScore notation to draft a short score and build it into a full composition before I'm allowed back in to play.

Anyway, just thought I'd share - it's really surprised me after struggling with this for so many years.
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I found this same sort of solace with StaffPad. Writing in a DAW is a disaster for me. I spend all of my time futzing with the sounds when what I need to be doing is putting notes on paper. I had completely returned to writing on paper and in Finale when StaffPad came out. I have Musescore loaded on my Mac, but since StaffPad meets my needs, I haven’t really tried it.
 
Same here, but with a twist. I write in DAW because I'm a keyboardist and I write/harmonize very intuitionally and fast. Fiddling with notation software would be poison for that approach. I completely ignore sounds and articulations though, and only make a passable shitty demo using whatever libraries that first pop into my mind for that certain palette.

When I'm done with that intuitional composition phase, I clean up and quantize the midi rhythms and continue working in Dorico with a proper thought. After when it's done and sounds good for me in Dorico I import the midi back to Cubase and start to do the final version with sample libraries- usually from scratch, using the imported midi and PDF notation as my guideline.
 
Henu said:
Same here, but with a twist. I write in DAW because I'm a keyboardist and I write/harmonize very intuitionally and fast. Fiddling with notation software would be poison for that approach. I completely ignore sounds and articulations though, and only make a passable shitty demo using whatever libraries that first pop into my mind for that certain palette.

When I'm done with that intuitional composition phase, I clean up and quantize the midi rhythms and continue working in Dorico with a proper thought. After when it's done and sounds good for me in Dorico I import the midi back to Cubase and start to do the final version with sample libraries- usually from scratch, using the imported midi and PDF notation as my guideline.
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Interesting to hear others' take on this. I'm a decent pianist and guitarist but, unfortunately, I don't seem to have the discipline to break a lifetime of melodic and harmonic habits when I work fast and intuitively on an instrument.
 
Love MuseScore 4...so intuitive after learning a few basics, started a month or two ago.
I've only used it to make chord charts and band arrangements, nothing major yet, but the ease of entering and editing, esp text, lyrics, etc is far and above amazing for a piece of freeware.
 
I don't know about you guys, but after a while of not using them, I think musesounds have improved lately. Although now the last note a clarinet makes sounds too accented, is fixed by adding tenuto by the way... except for that, there is a noticeable improvement, I think. I think they also improved the brass a bit, I don't know, maybe it's my imagination, I don't know what you guys think, but it looks promising. The woodwinds have something I don't know, I like them, they sound realistic to me, with their problems but even so they sound less robotic than some famous libraries out there. I hope they keep improving because it sounds pretty good.
 
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radamantissenior said:
I don't know about you guys, but after a while of not using them, I think musesounds have improved lately, in terms of balance. Although now the last note a clarinet makes sounds too accented, is fixed by adding tenuto by the way... except for that, there is a noticeable improvement, I think. I think they also improved the brass a bit, I don't know, maybe it's my imagination, I don't know what you guys think, but it looks promising. The woodwinds have something I don't know, I like them, they sound realistic to me, with their problems but even so they sound less robotic than some famous libraries out there. I hope they keep improving because it sounds pretty good.
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StaffPad has this problem sometimes. Usually what is happening is it is looking ahead and applying the future louder dynamic marking to the end of the note for some strange reason. I can usually alleviate the problem by placing an extraneous dynamic marking equal to or less than the dynamic level of the problematic note somewhere between the end of the note and before the future louder marking. Sometimes just applying a decrescendo to the last note works, too. It’s a quirky thing.
 
Arbee said:
I don't seem to have the discipline to break a lifetime of melodic and harmonic habits when I work fast and intuitively on an instrument.
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I recognize the "problem" as well (it has both good and bad sides IMO), but I've found that when the initial habits have been laid down, it's easy to then start changing things later. I rarely build thought-out and "proper" four part harmonies on the fly but only counterpoints, stems, etc so those are relatively easy to break and change in the later stage. For me, that's also a part of the workflow.
 
kitekrazy said:
Does anyone ever get that subscription where you can access scores?
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I have it, but I got if for a pretty cheap price, I pay £12 a year for it as I bought it via the iOS app. It is cheap enough for me to renew even if I don't use it that much.
 
dcoscina said:
Musescore is quite exceptional, especially given it's FREE. Decent sounds and good support. I wrote a ton of material on it last year. I still don't think the workflow matches Dorico but when you factor in the price to return, it cannot be beat in that regard.
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100%. I grew up using Finale, then migrated to Dorico which is my main notation program still. However, I used MuseScore for a class I was teaching so the students could use it for free and was delighted to get my high-school students using it. It is really amazing for a free program.
 
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