I'm finding it a little difficult to use.

I will preface this post by first addressing that this post WILL be unhelpful and WILL be a way to vent about my experience with Musescore 4. I will do my best to be as light hearted as possible. I really don't mean to be rude or difficult when I write any of this.

I've used Musescore for as long as I've studied music and composition, since I was a kid! I grew up using Musescore to learn how to read sheet music, create my own pieces, arrangements, etc. I've been through everything with this software and I've loved it the entire way.

I remember being so siked for Musescore 4 to come out, the beginning of this year sometime in January 2023. I kept up to date with the new features, the new sounds and sound demos, etc., everything I could search for about Musescore 4. Unfortunately, I immediately noticed the *huge* amount of bugs this software has once I tried it myself.

If you google "Musescore 4 Bugs" right now, you will find numerous forums and conversations about the bugs, issues, and complaints about Musescore 4. I've gone through almost every forum trying to find sympathy with the many other users who expected better from Musescore 4, and the disappointment set in every month, every patch, every session, until today where I find this "new and improved" software I've grown up with is hindering my progress with my works.

I compose as a hobby nowadays. I create simple arrangements and transcriptions for covers, for fun, for friends, etc., but I noticed I simply hadn't done any of that because the software is impossible to use.

I've tried to be as supportive of Musescore 4 as I can. But, today I've reached my limit.

It's been about an *entire year* after the first release of Musescore 4 and in my most blunt opinion, I see absolutely no improvement on the system that pertains to my needs and wants from the software. Not through this entire year have I felt true improvement from the software for me to go back to using it daily, not even weekly or monthly. Not even for hobbies and musical ideas I really wanted to pursue.

Which, I feel like my needs and wants are very basic: having the software play the notes I put down, having the software not crash every 30 minutes hoping my progress was saved/picked back up, having predictable outcomes whenever I repeat/tie/slur anything, etc.

So, needless to say, I'm disappointed at the state of Musescore 4. I gave it a full year trying my best to be tenacious through the bugs, looking at the bright side, and trying alternative ways of using the software, but I think enough is enough. The new sounds and features are worth nothing in my eyes if the basic needs the software *should* provide cannot be fulfilled. I'll only hope in 2024 the software is useable. I think I'm just going back to using Musescore 3, or, at this point, find another sheet music to midi software.

To address the possible "Have you contributed to reporting bugs?" question...Frankly, no. I have checked out the Musescore GitHub this year to see issues being addressed, but I eventually stopped because I felt it was useless and morally exhausting trying to keep up. Objectively, I understand that reporting the bugs you find in the software you use helps a bunch for the creators, and I will take fault in not doing so. But, I still believe I can have an opinion on the software as a user.

To optimistically conclude, I have always loved Musescore and I think I always will as it's been a huge part of my musical progression and love for music. Even past all of my blunders and criticisms, I'm still going to look for patches and look forward to ***ANY*** bugs to be fixed. I will hope for the best.

To the developers who are reading this, I'm sorry if this post makes you feel negative in anyway. But, I think for the morality of the Musescore users/community looking forward to the new technology and changes the software will provide, addressing the feelings and opinions in detail is priceless. Rock on developers, I know it isn't easy.

One last opinion: I don't care about the new sounds at this point, I just want it to work.

Understand that me writing this out of the ordinary for me, this is my first ever real post on Reddit! May this post show just how much I care.

Thank you for reading.