MuseScore is an excellent notation editor that is compatible with Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, and FreeBSD. It is capable of creating the notes, symbols, and lines that you'll need for almost any kind of score, from lead sheets to orchestral scores.
Our Review: MuseScore is an excellent notation editor that is compatible with Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, and FreeBSD. It is capable of creating the notes, symbols, and lines that you'll need for almost any kind of score, from lead sheets to orchestral scores. MuseScore's interface is very well laid out, and it even provides a 'Getting Started' sheet music file that walks you through basic note editing.
You'll notice that nearly every visible element on your sheet music can be right-clicked for more options, including a 'help' option, which searches the online for relevant pages. While I was able to find some elements that didn't yield help articles this way (try searching for help on 'staff text'), this is still an extremely convenient feature, and you can also find answers on the MuseScore.
MuseScore has a strong set of features. It can play back your music, using either its own soundfont file or another that you specify.
It can open MIDI, musicXML, and a few proprietary save formats. It can also export to a variety of files, including MIDI, musicXML, audio, PDF, and PNG.
In addition, the MuseScore site hosts a small library of, which automate certain tasks. I only have a small complaint about the note selection function, which is a little difficult to use. Overall, MuseScore is a great choice for any kind of job.
MuseScore was reviewed by on 2017-03-18 based on version 2.0.1. 
Maybe not the best place to be asking this but i figured you guys probably use these the most. I'm looking for music notation software. I've used musescore since it's free but it's really a pain in the ass imo, it's very strict and has a very steep learning curve. I'm looking for something that allows me to just write notes as easy as possible without the software actually caring whether i made a musical mistake (too many notes in a bar, etc) or not.
I spend more time messing around with musescore functions than i do actually writing music. I have no experience with other notation software, so if anyone could make me a recommendation, i'd appreciate it a lot! Thanks • • • • •. Without the software actually caring whether i made a musical mistake (too many notes in a bar, etc) One of the benefits of good notation software is it doesn't allow you to put too many notes (i.e. More than the time sig allows) in a bar.
The whole point of time sigs and barlines is to make the rhythms easy to read. (A lot of cheap software, while it may prevent too many notes in the bar, still allows rhythms to be written confusingly, obscuring the beats.) The better the software, the more you can manipulate how it looks, or choose odd time sigs if you want, and many other editing choices. But the basic rules are 'strict' because they have to be. The point of notation is to be legible for readers. It you were able to write a 4/4 bar with (say) 3 quarters and 3 8ths, it would be unreadable, because it wouldn't be obvious which note was a mistake.
You will certainly find more expensive programs more flexible. But the learning curve is likely to be even steeper (and very much longer) than with programs like musescore.
The irony is that you need to understand how notation works in the first place (be able to write your own by hand) in order to use notation software properly. When it holds your hand (won't let you do some things), let it - it knows more than you do. Still - once you get the hang of a good program, it's very fast and smooth. Anyway - enough lecturing!
- my recommendation would be to try first - partly because it's free and looks professional, but also it makes a good entry level to their better spec software. I use Sibelius myself.
(Mainly because my first copy, many years ago, was free - don't ask - and I got used to its interface.) I now use. I have v 7.0, and it's remarkably well featured.
It comes with the set of sounds from the full version - maybe not as good as dedicated instrument packages, but way better than standard GM sounds. However, I only use it for pretty simple tasks (vocals, gtr and tab mostly), I don't use a MIDI interface, I don't write huge orchestral scores. I input with mouse and (PC) keyboard. If you're a guitarist, you may find it annoying that you can't change the size of the (tiny) guitar chord boxes - luckily I don't need them myself.
It's also a limited in choice of alternative tunings, and whether or not you have rhythms on the tab. (All these things are infinitely editable in the hugely expensive full version.) I've also heard of a lot of folk having problems with downloading it, or getting it work with their systems. It was fine for me, but check reviews. All this is why I suggest you try Finale first.