How to install MuseScore 3 in Ubuntu 20.04

Learn how to install MuseScore 3 in Ubuntu 20.04 for both versions Desktop and Server.

MuseScore is the world's leading free and open-source software for writing music, with a user-friendly interface and immensely powerful features. This application is available to install in Windows, macOS, and Linux. This includes of course our beloved Ubuntu in both of its versions, Desktop and Server. The official PPA for MuseScore 3 is available for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, and higher versions.

In this article, I will explain to you how to easily install MuseScore 3 in Ubuntu 20.04.

1. Register MuseScore Repository

As the first step in order to use the latest version of MuseScore 3, is to add the official repository to your system. Update the repositories of your system with the following command:

sudo apt-get update

Then with the following command, add the repository to your system:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mscore-ubuntu/mscore3-stable

This will generate the following output in the terminal:

~~~~~~~~~ MUSESCORE 3 RELEASES FOR UBUNTU 18.04 AND LATER ~~~~~~~~~
INSTALLING: (run these commands from the terminal)
  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mscore-ubuntu/mscore3-stable
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get install musescore3

DO *NOT* USE THESE PPAs on Debian, only on Ubuntu!

‣‣‣ These packages are NOT suitable for ”KDE neon”!
‣ Use https://build.opensuse.org/project/show/home:mirabile:mscore instead.

See https://launchpad.net/~mscore-ubuntu/+archive/ubuntu/mscore-stable
if you need to install MuseScore 2 (the older version) for some reason.

Note: MuseScore 3 cannot be made available for releases older than
Ubuntu 18.04 (“bionic”) LTS.

                                GETTING HELP:
 * Have a look at the Online Handbook: https://musescore.org/handbook
 * Try Google. Search for "musescore" and the problem you are having.
 * If those options fail you can try asking on the forum (see below).

                           CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS:
     * Forums: https://musescore.org/forum (for discussion and help)
     * Issue tracker: https://musescore.org/project/issues (report bugs)
         Feel free to discuss MuseScore and request new features in the
          forums. Please only use the issue tracker for reporting bugs.

Please do not contact members of the MuseScore Maintainers team here on
Launchpad unless you are absolutely certain that your problem is unique to
MuseScore on Ubuntu, and affects no other operating system. It is always
best to get in touch via musescore.org where you are likely to get a reply
sooner, and others are able to read it and benefit too. Enjoy MuseScore!
~~~~~~~~~ MUSESCORE 3 RELEASES FOR UBUNTU 18.04 AND LATER ~~~~~~~~~
 More info: https://launchpad.net/~mscore-ubuntu/+archive/ubuntu/mscore3-stable
Press [ENTER] to continue or Ctrl-c to cancel adding it.

You may need to provide the password of the system if you are not the admin.

2. Install MuseScore 3

After registering the repository, you only need to install MuseScore 3 with the following command:

sudo apt-get install musescore3

The application will take about 170MB of space on your disk. Once the download and installation finishes, you will only need to search for the application:

Launch it and that's it! Now you can use MuseScore 3 on your Ubuntu desktop.

Using MuseScore 3 in Ubuntu Server

In the server version of Ubuntu, you won't be able to use the graphic version. Instead, you should use the binary from the terminal, however, you will need to follow this extra tutorial to know how to make it work on the server.