MuseScore Studio
Free sheet music notation program. Write a score, hear it played back and print or export it as PDF.
Our verdict
MuseScore Studio is one of the easiest switches on this whole site. It is the same free notation program you may already be using on Windows, built for Linux by the same team, with AppImage, Flatpak, Snap and distribution packages all offered on the official download page.
Your existing .mscz scores open exactly as they were. Scores from Sibelius or Finale need to be exported from those programs as MusicXML first, and expect to fix some spacing and layout afterwards.
If your goal is writing and printing sheet music, this covers it fully and costs nothing. If your goal is producing a finished recording, use it to write the parts and then take the audio into a recording program.
What's good
- The same program as the Windows version, made by the same people
- Free with no account needed to write, print or export a score
- Opens and saves MusicXML, so scores move between notation programs
- Plays your score back with built-in instrument sounds
What to know first
- Cannot open Sibelius or Finale native files, only MusicXML exported from them
- Playback sounds thinner than a dedicated music production program
- Large jobs like full orchestral parts need patience
- The Flathub listing is packaged by the community rather than by MuseScore Limited
The details
- Cost
- Free
- Open source
- Yes (GNU GPL)
- How you install it
- AppImage download, App store (Flatpak), App store (Snap), Built-in app store
Windows apps it can replace
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