Have you heard about the new free music notation software called MuseScore? I have heard nothing but favorable reviews about it thus far. Personally, I do not currently have a great need for it, since I use Finale software at college. But this may very well be a great resource for teachers who do not wish to invest in expensive music notation software (let me tell you, Finale costs an arm and a leg!) or, for students who have an interest in composition. I was glad to hear about MuseScore. Ever since Finale started charging ~$10 to download Finale Notepad (a simple, previously-free version of Finale), I have been on-the-lookout for something else to recommend to my students.
Mac users are unfortunately out of luck, because MuseScore is currently only available for PC’s. [Correction: MuseScore IS indeed now available for Macs. Sorry for the misinformation!] I breifly tried out this software on my husband’s PC, and it seems to be fairly user-friendly. If you are looking for an inexpensive alternative to Finale or Sibelius, MuseScore is worth a look!
[Now that MuseScore is available for Macs, I plan to download it and blog more about it soon. Check back soon!]
Joy is a pianist and teacher in Ohio with great passion for helping students experience the wonders of music making! Here at Color In My Piano, she enjoys sharing and exchanging ideas and resources for piano teaching.
2 Comments
Hi Joy,
Since the release of version 0.9.5, MuseScore is available for Mac 10.4 and above. So don’t hesitate to try it out.
@Thomas
Thanks so much for letting me know! I will correct my post and try out MuseScore on my Mac soon.