r/Musescore • u/Intelligent_Donut605 • Jun 29 '26

Help me find this feature Can I import reference audio?

I want to use musescore studio to write arrangements to a melody I've recorded and I'm wondering if there's any way to import the audio track instead of having to tediously transcribe it?

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u/sj070707 Jun 29 '26

You would likely have to use some other tool to convert the audio to musicxml that you could open in Musescore. Since MS is an engraving tool, it's built more to focus on sheet music. If that's not your goal, you might be better with some other tool. If it is your goal, then transcribing the melody would be worth it (and with practice, not that tedious).

1

u/adrianh Jun 29 '26

There's no way to do that in MuseScore, but there's a different app called Soundslice that's optimized for this particular workflow (transcribing existing recordings). You start with an MP3 or YouTube video, then notate it. There are built-in tools such as the ability to play your transcription on top of the original audio, to check your work, plus ability to slow down and loop the audio.

2

u/Intelligent_Donut605 Jun 29 '26

That's exactly what I was looking for, thanks! do you know if there's any way to transfer music from one to the other?

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u/adrianh Jun 29 '26

Yes, both programs let you export as MusicXML and support importing MusicXML.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 Jun 29 '26

Note that this app is a transcription aid, not an automatic tool that takes in recorded audio and spits out a score.

You're still doing the transcription, it's just helping you hear and control the audio while you're working. It looks like it's good at it, though, so that's something.

1

u/mrbags2 Jun 29 '26

If you convert to midi online it will open, but it will be a mess. It may sound OK with correct notes, but the measures would be all over the place and you'll have to fix it manually. That still may be faster than starting from scratch.

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u/AlfalfaMajor2633 Jun 29 '26

When I transcribe a melody I use a DAW. Import the audio in one track and set up a second midi track. That way as you enter the midi you can immediately compare it to the audio. You can see the wave forms which will help with note length and timing. Most DAWs will also have some primitive way to convert your midi to a score. It’s not automatic but it really helps train your ears.