Free MuseSounds: the complete guide to all 12 libraries
MuseHub has twelve free MuseSounds libraries for MuseScore Studio. Together they give you a full orchestra, a 40-voice choir, pianos and keyboards, guitars, harp, handbells, a marching drumline and a music box, 17.27 GB in all. They are complete libraries, they stay free, and you need a free MuseHub account to install them.
This guide takes the twelve one at a time, starting with Muse Keys. For each you get what it covers, how big the download is, where it stops, and which paid or MuseSounds Pro library picks up from there. You can also hear Muse Choir and Muse Strings play the opening of Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus, next to MS Basic and MuseSounds Pro.
Free MuseSounds to start with
What the free set includes
Nine of the free libraries come from Muse Group, the company behind MuseScore Studio and MuseHub. Three come from partners. Muse Drumline was recorded by The Blue Devils drum corps, Muse Music Box was made with the partner ockpii, and Free Vienna Bass Trombones comes from Vienna Symphonic Library.
Each library replaces the MS Basic soundfont for its instruments with recordings of real players, and MuseScore Studio picks the recording that matches your dynamics, slurs and articulations. What are MuseSounds? explains how that works, and how to get realistic playback in MuseScore Studio covers the markings that get the most out of it.
MuseSounds play only in MuseScore Studio. They aren’t VST, AU or AAX plugins, so a DAW (digital audio workstation) won’t load them. For free instruments that do, see the best free VST instruments.
| Library | Made by | What it covers | Download size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muse Keys | Muse Group | Pianos and keyboards | 0.38 GB |
| Muse Strings | Muse Group | Section and solo strings | 5.46 GB |
| Muse Woodwinds | Muse Group | Orchestral woodwinds | 4.77 GB |
| Muse Brass | Muse Group | Solo brass and brass ensembles | 1.80 GB |
| Muse Percussion | Muse Group | Orchestral and epic percussion | 1.83 GB |
| Muse Choir | Muse Group | A 40-voice mixed choir, sung on vowels | 0.64 GB |
| Muse Harp | Muse Group | Concert harp | 0.17 GB |
| Muse Guitars Vol. 1 | Muse Group | Acoustic, electric and bass guitars | 0.99 GB |
| Muse Handbells | Muse Group | Five octaves of handbells, three of handchimes | 0.41 GB |
| Muse Drumline | The Blue Devils | Marching snares, tenors, bass drums and cymbals | 0.78 GB |
| Muse Music Box | ockpii | Two music boxes | 0.01 GB |
| Free Vienna Bass Trombones | Vienna Symphonic Library | An ensemble of nine bass trombones | 0.04 GB |
| All twelve | 17.27 GB |
Muse Strings and Muse Woodwinds are more than half of that, so check your disk space first.
Muse Keys, the one to start with
Muse Keys is the most downloaded MuseSounds library, and piano is what MuseScore Studio is used for most. If you install only one free library, make it this one.
Muse Keys holds a Steinway grand, a celesta, an Austrian harpsichord, classic electric pianos and retro digital keys with synth tones. Each was recorded across a wide dynamic range on a scoring stage, with one consistent set of articulations. The whole collection is a 0.38 GB download.
Where it stops. Muse Keys spreads several keyboards across one small download. When the piano carries the whole piece, the paid pianos each give you one instrument’s character. Vienna Piano, in MuseSounds Pro, is a Steinway D-274 concert grand that matches the Vienna orchestra. Berlin Pianos has two Steinway grands recorded at Teldex in Berlin, and CinePiano is a 9-foot concert grand from the MGM Scoring Stage. Spitfire Audio’s Felt Piano goes the other way, with an upright recorded close for a soft, delicate tone.
A free orchestra
Four Muse Group libraries make up the orchestra, and Vienna Symphonic Library adds a fifth for the low brass. Together they are 13.90 GB, and a full orchestral score plays with nothing else installed.
The free sections cover the standard orchestra, so the reason to move on is a particular sound. When you do, move sections together where you can. Each partner recorded its orchestra in one hall so the sections blend. Vienna Symphonic Library used the Synchron Stage in Vienna, Spitfire Audio used AIR Studios in London, and Orchestral Tools used Teldex Studio in Berlin. Each of the three also sells its four sections as one bundle. You can still mix makers, because the Mixer sets a library per instrument.
Muse Strings has both section and solo strings. It plays sustains, true legato, portamento, fast runs and trills up to a perfect fifth, and its staccatos follow the speed of the music. Pizzicato (snap pizzicato too), col legno and sustains senza vibrato, sul tasto and sul ponticello are there as well. At 5.46 GB it is the largest free library.
Where it stops. The paid string libraries let you choose the size and sound of the section. Spitfire Audio recorded Chamber Strings with 16 players and Symphony Strings with 60. Vienna Strings is a set of large ensembles. All three are in MuseSounds Pro, and Berlin Strings is sold on its own.
Muse Woodwinds gives every instrument the same set of articulations, so you can copy a line from one instrument to another and hear the new color straight away. The set includes true legato (fast legato too), staccatos that adapt to the tempo, trills, flutter tongue, harmonics, mordents, falls and turns. The download is 4.77 GB.
Where it stops. The paid woodwinds are where to look for particular players and instruments. Vienna Woodwinds runs from the piccolo to the contrabassoon, played by Vienna’s soloists, and Spitfire Audio’s Symphony Woodwind includes the bass flute and the contrabass clarinet. Both are in MuseSounds Pro. Berlin Woodwinds, 12 solo instruments, is sold on its own.
Muse Brass was recorded on a scoring stage and has both ensembles and soloists. The ensembles are six horns, three trombones and four trumpets, for lines that need weight. The soloists are horn, trumpet, trombone, cimbasso, bass trombone and tuba. The download is 1.80 GB.
Where it stops. The list ends at the orchestral brass section. For a euphonium part, ebbandflow’s Euphonium is in MuseSounds Pro. For a different orchestral brass sound, Vienna Brass and Spitfire Audio’s Symphony Brass are in Pro, and Berlin Brass from Orchestral Tools is sold on its own.
Free Vienna Bass Trombones is one ensemble of nine bass trombones, recorded on Stage A of the Synchron Stage with the microphone setup Vienna Symphonic Library (VSL) uses for its scoring sessions. It plays from soft staccatos to forte-fortissimo. At 0.04 GB it is a quick way to hear VSL’s recordings.
Where it stops. It is a single low-brass ensemble. Vienna Brass, in MuseSounds Pro, blends with it and covers the rest of the section. It is also the one free library that MuseSounds Manager doesn’t install on Linux.
Muse Percussion covers the percussion section, from glockenspiel and xylophone to taiko sections, tam-tams and drum kits, each instrument recorded across a wide dynamic range. The download is 1.83 GB.
Where it stops. For percussion that matches a paid orchestra, Vienna Percussion and Spitfire Audio’s Symphony Percussion are in MuseSounds Pro. For the large drums of film and trailer music, Audio Ollie’s LA Modern Percussion, recorded and mixed by Alan Meyerson, is in Pro too.
Muse Choir
Muse Choir is a mixed symphonic choir of 40 professional singers. They sang sustains and true legato intervals on several vowels, with and without vibrato. They also recorded staccatos, staccatissimos and marcatos, from the softest pianissimo to the loudest fortissimo. The download is 0.64 GB.
Where it stops. Muse Choir sings your notes on vowels. It doesn’t sing the words written under them. When the words matter, three paid choirs read the lyrics you enter. Cantai, in MuseSounds Pro, synthesizes the voice and sings your lyrics, with solo voices as well as choirs. VOXOS Epic Choirs from Cinesamples, also in Pro, sings 30 syllables through the lyrics. Audio Imperia’s Chorus switches between syllables depending on the lyric, and it is sold on its own.
Harp and guitars
Muse Harp is a single concert harp, recorded in detail, and a 0.17 GB download.
Where it stops. When a score has two harp parts, Berlin Harps has two harps and CineHarps has three, so each part gets its own instrument. Both are sold on their own, as is Spitfire Harp, played by Skaila Kanga. Vienna Harp, in MuseSounds Pro, is played by Tina Žerdin and matches the Vienna orchestra.
Muse Guitars Vol. 1 has five instruments. There are two steel-string acoustics, one played fingerstyle and one a picked dreadnought, two electrics (a solid body with humbuckers and an S-type) and a P-bass. It was built for the guitar notation added in MuseScore 4.2, and it is a 0.99 GB download.
Where it stops. Vol. 1 is aimed at rock, folk and pop. Muse Guitars Vol. 2, in MuseSounds Pro, adds seven guitars with a country sound, among them a mandolin, a concert ukulele, a banjo, a 12-string and a pedal steel. For jazz, Sidecar Jazz Trio, also in Pro, has a hollowbody guitar alongside an upright bass and a jazz kit.
Handbells, drumline and music box
Muse Handbells covers five octaves of handbells and three octaves of handchimes, with the core articulations you need for a bell choir, a choral accompaniment or color in an orchestral score. The download is 0.41 GB.
Where it stops. There is no paid handbell library on MuseHub, so this is the one to use.
Muse Drumline was recorded by The Blue Devils. It has snares, multi-tenors, tonal bass drums and marching cymbals. Buzz rolls play from the buzz tremolo symbol, and accents are boosted to stand out from the taps. Each line switches between one player and the ensemble, and between sticks, brushes, mallets and other implements. The download is 0.78 GB.
Where it stops. Tapspace’s Virtual Drumline adds drum major commands and vocal shouts, and Tapspace’s Virtual Percussion adds the front ensemble. Neither is in MuseSounds Pro. You buy them separately or as a bundle. MuseSounds for marching band plays the same score on Muse Drumline and Virtual Drumline.
Muse Music Box has two music boxes, one made by the partner ockpii and one sampled by a MuseSounds sound designer, with the creaks and clicks of the mechanism kept in. One is soft and warm, the other bright. At 0.01 GB it is the smallest free library.
Where it stops. Nothing else on MuseHub is a music box. For a bell-like keyboard in an orchestral score, Vienna Celesta and ebbandflow’s Bell Piano, a deep-sampled celesta, are both in MuseSounds Pro.
Where each free library leads
Here is every next step from the sections above, next to the free library it continues.
| Free library | Next step | Partner | In MuseSounds Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muse Keys | Vienna Piano | Vienna Symphonic Library | Yes |
| Muse Keys | Berlin Pianos | Orchestral Tools | No |
| Muse Keys | CinePiano | Cinesamples | No |
| Muse Keys | Felt Piano | Spitfire Audio | No |
| Muse Strings | Vienna Strings | Vienna Symphonic Library | Yes |
| Muse Strings | Symphony Strings | Spitfire Audio | Yes |
| Muse Strings | Chamber Strings | Spitfire Audio | Yes |
| Muse Strings | Berlin Strings | Orchestral Tools | No |
| Muse Woodwinds | Vienna Woodwinds | Vienna Symphonic Library | Yes |
| Muse Woodwinds | Symphony Woodwind | Spitfire Audio | Yes |
| Muse Woodwinds | Berlin Woodwinds | Orchestral Tools | No |
| Muse Brass | Vienna Brass | Vienna Symphonic Library | Yes |
| Muse Brass | Symphony Brass | Spitfire Audio | Yes |
| Muse Brass | Berlin Brass | Orchestral Tools | No |
| Muse Brass | Euphonium | ebbandflow | Yes |
| Free Vienna Bass Trombones | Vienna Brass | Vienna Symphonic Library | Yes |
| Muse Percussion | Vienna Percussion | Vienna Symphonic Library | Yes |
| Muse Percussion | Symphony Percussion | Spitfire Audio | Yes |
| Muse Percussion | LA Modern Percussion | Audio Ollie | Yes |
| Muse Choir | Cantai | Turing Opera Workshop | Yes |
| Muse Choir | VOXOS Epic Choirs | Cinesamples | Yes |
| Muse Choir | Chorus | Audio Imperia | No |
| Muse Harp | Vienna Harp | Vienna Symphonic Library | Yes |
| Muse Harp | Berlin Harps | Orchestral Tools | No |
| Muse Harp | CineHarps | Cinesamples | No |
| Muse Harp | Spitfire Harp | Spitfire Audio | No |
| Muse Guitars Vol. 1 | Muse Guitars Vol. 2 | Muse Group | Yes |
| Muse Guitars Vol. 1 | Sidecar Jazz Trio | Muse Group | Yes |
| Muse Handbells | No paid handbell library | — | — |
| Muse Drumline | Virtual Drumline | Tapspace | No |
| Muse Drumline | Virtual Percussion | Tapspace | No |
| Muse Music Box | Vienna Celesta | Vienna Symphonic Library | Yes |
| Muse Music Box | Bell Piano | ebbandflow | Yes |
The libraries in Pro come with the subscription, which costs HK$148 a month or HK$1,488 a year. The others you buy once and keep. The free libraries stay free either way.
Hear two free libraries on one score
We took the first eleven bars of the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s Messiah (1741). They cover the short string introduction and the choir’s first “Hallelujah!” entries, so two free libraries play at once, one for the choir and one for the strings. Then we played the bars in MuseScore Studio three times, changing only the sounds:
- MS Basic, the soundfont that comes with MuseScore Studio.
- Free MuseSounds: Muse Choir and Muse Strings.
- MuseSounds Pro: Cantai for the choir and Vienna Strings for the strings.
The tempo, the mixer, the reverb and the export settings stayed at their defaults each time.
Look at the score before you listen. The strings play a short introduction. Then the choir enters, all four voices together, on the word “Hallelujah!” in its short, repeated rhythm. The voices move in block chords, so every syllable lands at the same moment in every part. Try to hear it in your head first, then press play.
1. MS Basic
First, the soundfont MuseScore Studio uses until you install anything else. It has a choir sound as well as strings, with only a few recordings of each. Listen to the choir’s repeated “Hallelujah!” chords and notice whether each one starts cleanly or runs into the next. Pay attention to the balance too, and notice whether the choir and the strings arrive at one level. It sounds good, but a little basic, and it is a little louder than the free render that follows.
MS Basic
2. Free MuseSounds
Now the same bars with Muse Choir and Muse Strings. Muse Choir was recorded with staccatos and marcatos as well as sustains, so listen to whether the short “Hallelujah!” chords have separate attacks. It sings on vowels, so expect the rhythm and the harmony without the word itself. This render is a little quieter than MS Basic and a bit more natural, but it still sounds pretty choppy.
Free MuseSounds
3. MuseSounds Pro
Finally, Vienna Strings, with Cantai on the four choir parts. Cantai sings the lyrics written under the notes, so listen for the word itself, the H and the L of “Hallelujah”, and notice whether the consonants land together across the four parts. Also listen to whether the choir and the strings sound as if they are in the same room. Cantai and Vienna Strings come from different makers. This render sounds much more human than the other two, with much more contrast between quiet and loud. The voices still sound like AI vocals.
MuseSounds Pro
Only the libraries changed between the three versions. A finished mock-up is made differently, because an arranger adapts the dynamics, articulations and balance to the library in use.
Install the whole set
The quickest route is MuseSounds Core, a free bundle on MuseHub. One click installs nine of the Muse Group libraries (Keys, Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, Choir, Harp, Guitars Vol. 1 and Handbells), along with MuseFX, a free set of mixing effects, and MuseScore Studio itself. Muse Drumline, Muse Music Box and Free Vienna Bass Trombones aren’t in the bundle, so add those three separately if you write for them.
- Create a free MuseHub account, then download and install MuseHub on Windows or macOS.
- Open the MuseSounds section and install MuseSounds Core. To start smaller, install Muse Keys and Muse Strings first.
- Add Muse Drumline, Muse Music Box or Free Vienna Bass Trombones if your music needs them.
- Restart MuseScore Studio if it was open during the install.
- Open a score, open the Mixer, and choose a MuseSounds sound for each instrument.
The nine libraries in MuseSounds Core come to 16.44 GB, before MuseFX and MuseScore Studio, and the three extras add 0.83 GB.
The MuseHub app is available on Windows and macOS. On Linux, download MuseScore Studio and MuseSounds Manager instead. MuseSounds Manager installs eleven of the twelve free libraries, all except Free Vienna Bass Trombones. Then follow steps 4 and 5.
How to use MuseSounds in MuseScore Studio walks through the Mixer step with screenshots and the most common mistakes.
FAQ
Next steps
Install Muse Keys and Muse Strings, then play one of your own scores with them. For how the libraries work, read What are MuseSounds?. If your playback still sounds flat, how to get realistic playback in MuseScore Studio covers the markings MuseSounds respond to. Writing for a drumline? See MuseSounds for marching band. Browse every library in MuseSounds on MuseHub, or download MuseHub free.
