MuseScore to LilyPond Converter

This repository contains scripts to convert MuseScore files (.mscz and .mscx) to LilyPond format (.ly).

✅ Supported Formats

• .mscz - MuseScore compressed format (fully supported ✅)
• .mscx - MuseScore uncompressed XML format (fully supported ✅)
• Output: .ly - LilyPond notation files

Quick Setup

Run the setup script to automatically configure everything:

./setup.sh

Manual Prerequisites

If you prefer manual setup, you need to install:

1. Python 3.6+ with venv support

2. MuseScore (with command-line support)

   • Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install musescore3
   • macOS: brew install musescore
   • Windows: Download from musescore.org

3. LilyPond (includes musicxml2ly)

   • Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install lilypond
   • macOS: brew install lilypond
   • Windows: Download from lilypond.org

4. Virtual Environment Setup

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt

Usage

Check Dependencies

# Activate virtual environment first
source venv/bin/activate

# Check if everything is installed
python convert_musescore_to_lilypond.py --check-deps

Convert Single File

# Convert .mscz file to same directory
python convert_musescore_to_lilypond.py song.mscz

# Convert .mscx file to specific output directory
python convert_musescore_to_lilypond.py song.mscx output_folder/

# Works with both compressed (.mscz) and uncompressed (.mscx) formats

Batch Convert Directory

# Convert all files in current directory
python convert_musescore_to_lilypond.py --batch . lilypond_output/

# Convert all files recursively
python convert_musescore_to_lilypond.py --batch --recursive . lilypond_output/

Simple Batch Convert (for this workspace)

# Convert all .mscz and .mscx files in the workspace
python batch_convert.py

This will:

• Convert all MuseScore files in the root directory
• Convert all MuseScore files in the files/ directory
• Save all LilyPond files to lilypond_output/ directory

How It Works

The conversion process involves two steps:

1. MuseScore → MusicXML: Uses MuseScore's command-line export feature
2. MusicXML → LilyPond: Uses LilyPond's built-in musicxml2ly converter

File Structure After Conversion

runoviisid/
├── 1.mscz                          # Original MuseScore files
├── 2.mscz
├── files/
│   ├── 0001-r.mscx
│   └── ...
├── lilypond_output/                # Generated LilyPond files
│   ├── 1.ly
│   ├── 2.ly
│   └── files/
│       ├── 0001-r.ly
│       └── ...
├── convert_musescore_to_lilypond.py
├── batch_convert.py
└── README.md

Features

• ✅ Batch conversion of multiple files
• ✅ Recursive directory scanning
• ✅ Automatic dependency checking
• ✅ Error handling and reporting
• ✅ Progress indicators
• ✅ Preserves directory structure
• ✅ Supports both .mscz and .mscx formats

Troubleshooting

"MuseScore not found"

• Make sure MuseScore is installed and accessible from command line
• Try running mscore --version or musescore --version

"musicxml2ly not found"

• Make sure LilyPond is installed
• Try running musicxml2ly --version

Conversion errors

• Check that the MuseScore file is not corrupted
• Ensure you have read permissions for input files
• Ensure you have write permissions for output directory

Notes

• The conversion preserves most musical information, but some MuseScore-specific formatting may be lost
• LilyPond files may need manual adjustment for optimal engraving
• Large files may take some time to convert
• The script uses temporary files which are automatically cleaned up