Mastering MuseScore: Make beautiful sheet music with MuseScore 2.1

Music notation programs are by necessity fairly complex. MuseScore is a user supported program that directly competes with some rather expensive professional products. My needs were such that paying for and keeping a commercial product current was not a viable option. I discovered MuseScore in its earlier 1.x version and was immensely pleased with the upgrade to 2.x. The old documentation was so-so (for version 1.x) but barely adequate. (It could be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF.) Note: I did have some previous experience with a commercial notation program about a decade back... but keeping it current (as the computer OS was upgraded) was not cost effective for my needs.)Version 2 of MuseScore is a much more polished program. The online instructions/reference manual are far more polished than the 1.x version... it is accessed through a browser -- and can be downloaded as a PDF. The online reference manual is a bit terse at times, making it necessary to experiment a bit to "get" how a feature works.The book is a well thought out explanation of the program -- it's independently produced and has about double the page count of the online instructions. It has numerous screen grabs as illustrations. (Minor gripe is that they're from a Windows computer and look clunky compared to the windows on a Mac.) Each chapter had a brief chart of the functions (and related commands) covered therein. Obviously with a book, you can place sticky notes -- and even keep a couple of fingers in the book so you can flip back and forth between relevant sections as you work on a notation project. (Once you're more experienced with the program, the need to have the reference manual at had will be reduced -- but there are many features that one might not encounter frequently, and having a reference manual is a big help

This is the most complete book I've seen on the MuseScore 2.xx series to date. It even exceeds the official MuseScore documentation. I have both Sibelius First and MuseScore 2.0.2 running on my music computer (Windows 10,) and MuscScore 2.02 running on another computer that uses UbuntuStudio as an operating system so you know that I'm a MuseScore fan. Now, Sibelius First, the baby brother of Sibelius is a commercial program and is based on its big brother, Sibelius, which is considered to be an industry standard for notation and scoring. If I compare MuseScore, a free program to Sibelius first, without Marc Sbatella's book, I don't think they compare well. But, using the book, I discover that MuseScore can match Sibelius First feature-for-feature, but maybe not as conveniently. However, the book makes those minor inconveniences disappear. So, for anyone who'd like to start with notation, I recommend not only downloading MuseScore and its official documentation, but buying Mastering MuseScore as well. As an added bonus, you'd be ahead of the game money-wise as compared to purchasing something like Sibelius First, or Finale, or any other notation program.

MuseScore 2.3 isa free and open-source music notation program for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. It explores the process of note entry and editing including chord symbols, slash notation,time signatures, repeats, tablature, hidden items and more.. It is easy to read and follow, and I've always had good luck looking something up when I have come to a dead-end trying to figure out one of the more esoteric features of Musescore 2.3. Lots of illustrations are included for ease of use. MASTERING MUSESCORE is everything I needed to find out about the inner workings of using MuseScore, which is so powerful that many features may be overlooked without a good book like this. Musescore is free music notation software, but I'm so glad I bought the book, so I can master it. Literally.

This is an excellent book to get the most out of MuseScore, which is an amazing piece of music notation software. Especially with the release of version 2 of MuseScore the program took a great leap in complexity so a book like this is a great adjunct to the online help that is built-in to the program. Marc has taken great pains to lay this book out in an orderly fashion so that anybody new to MuseScore, whether brand new to computer music notation software or moving over from some other program like Finale or Sibelius. Part of the price of this book helps to underwrite the continued development of the software, which is a great thing. I've been a long-time user of both Finale and Sibelius and I love MuseScore and recommend it to all my students and anybody who asks for a recommendation. And I will start suggesting that they all buy this book, too!

"Mastering MuseScore" is not an easy book to read, let alone a "fun" read. Even those who can easily pick out a German Sixth in a platoon of Plagal Cadences will, I think, need to roll up their studious sleeves anew if they are to benefit from this book. It is not primarily about creating or performing beautiful music, but about formulating, refining and then communicating composers' and arrangers' definitive musical instructions to interpreters and performers (and discerning listeners), so that beautifully performed music may result.At the heart of this impressive enterprise is a software suite, "MuseScore 2.0". In most cases it is not very intuitive, and without the detailed guidance provided by "Mastering MuseScore" it would be useless to most people, among them me. But the book made all the difference! (And, it has a happy ending..)

Musecore is relatively easy to use and the book is absolutely invaluable. I use Musescore almost every day to create singing version of songs - in midi format - so I can practice the piano accompaniment, I do the same with cello duets - once again so I can practice the cello accompaniment. And for my Rounds & Canons group I can send out our songs in PDF format and also create MP3 files by first exporting the Musecore song in midi format and then using GarageBand to convert the midi file to an MP3 file. Love Musecore!

MuseScore is a powerful program for producing sheet music scores, complete with lyrics, chord symbols and guitar fingering diagrams. It is suitable for orchestral works, big band scores, groups and traditional music. I found that it could also be used to create chord charts.The book is clearly written, but it uses the terms in the US version of the software. One or two terms in the UK software vary. For instance, 'measures' in the US version is 'bars' in the UK version. Forearmed with that knowledge, you won't be confused by differences between the book and the program text.If you want something other than the default presentation, the book is an essential guide. It explains how to change almost every aspect of the score including fonts and font sizes, line sizes, spacing of staves etc. It is also a good guide to using palettes, the inspector, keyboard shortcuts and global menu items that can greatly speed up note and chord entry and score formatting. Even with the book, it make take a speed read of a few chapters before you find out how to achieve the desired result. Without the book, progress is a bit of a challenge.In summary, it is a well-written and comprehensive book that helps speed up work-flow and tweak the score layout and presentation to just the way you want it.

I only gave it four stars, as I don’t think this is up to date with 3.6. Nevertheless I’m sure it’s going to be very useful. It would be nice to receive any updates to 3.6 for Mac, as some of the moves don’t seem to work. However this could be down to me being new to this system. I started with C Lab Notator on an Atari, then Sibelius up to 4. This is a great software and I thank the developers for their work on this fantastic free software.

MuseScore is a free, open source application for music notation which runs on both Windows and Mac computers. It offers a huge range of facilities, rivalling the best commercial applications, and, while the basics are fairly straightforward, and good online support material is available, it helps to have a reference guide at one's side. This book is a superb guide. It is well laid out, with plenty of illustrated examples, well indexed, and straightforwardly written, and finding what you want is quick. I have had the book only a couple of days but in that time there are many things of which I have said, "I didn't know MuseScore could do that."

I am relatively new to music theory, although almost 70. I've been using MuseScore for some time to help me learn my part. I sing in a choir but could not read music or play an instrument. I only received this book yesterday and have already learnt so much. MuseScore is far more powerful than I previously realised. I find a book much easier to digest and refer to than on-line manuals. This book appears to tick all the boxes for me.

MuseScore is an astonishingly good programme for creating and playing musical scores, given that it is free of charge. However, it can be difficult for a newcomer to get to grips with the huge range of features and Marc Sabatella's book provides an excellent introduction. After reading it I was using the programme fluently. I would have given the book five stars except that the printing is not up to scratch, with several faintly printed pages throughout the book - annoying but not worth returning the book for.