mcp-score

Music notation for AI assistants. Describe a piece in plain language and get a MusicXML score; with MuseScore open, read and edit the live score by conversation.

Works with any MCP client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, LM Studio, and others). Status: alpha.

Quick demo

"Create a big band chart: 32-bar AABA form, key of Bb, slow blues at 66 BPM, with rhythm changes and rehearsal marks at each section."

The assistant writes a complete music21 script, runs it, and hands you a MusicXML file ready to open in MuseScore, Dorico, or any notation app.

With the MuseScore plugin running, you can go further:

"Read the melody in bars 9-16 and arrange it as a trombone soli following the chord progression."

The assistant reads the live score, applies musical judgement, and writes the arrangement back, all through conversation.

What it does

• Generate scores. The assistant writes a music21 script that exports MusicXML, which opens in MuseScore, Dorico, or any notation app. In Claude Code this is driven by the bundled score-generate skill. In other MCP clients, the generate_score tool runs the script and score_generation_guide supplies the same instructions.
• Edit live scores. MCP tools connect to a running MuseScore and read passages, add notes, dynamics and chord symbols, set barlines, keys, time signatures and tempo, append measures, transpose, and undo.
• Render. The render_score tool exports PDF, PNG, MIDI, audio or MusicXML from a score file through the MuseScore command line; MuseScore must be installed but not running.

Supported applications

Application	Versions	Status
MuseScore Studio	4.4.2 and later	Supported; CI tests the oldest supported line, a middle release and the newest. Earlier versions lack the plugin WebSocket API.
Dorico	4 and later	Experimental. Undocumented Remote Control API, command-only, not verified against a running instance.
Any notation app	MusicXML import	Generated scores open anywhere MusicXML does.

Install

Requires Python 3.14 or later.

pip install mcp-score-server
# or
uv tool install mcp-score-server

Then:

mcp-score install-plugin   # MuseScore plugin, for live editing
mcp-score install-skill    # score-generate skill, for Claude Code

Connect your MCP client

Claude Code:

claude mcp add mcp-score -- mcp-score serve

Claude Desktop and other clients: run the command mcp-score with the argument serve, for example in claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-score": { "command": "mcp-score", "args": ["serve"] }
  }
}

Use it with MuseScore

1. Open a score in MuseScore Studio 4.4.2 or later.
2. Plugins > Manage plugins > enable MCP Score Bridge, then Plugins > MCP Score Bridge. Keep its window open.
3. Ask your assistant to connect to MuseScore.

Details and troubleshooting: MuseScore plugin.

Documentation

Document	Description
Getting started	Set up mcp-score and generate your first score
Releases	What changed in each version
Tool reference	All MCP tools and CLI commands
MuseScore plugin	Plugin installation and WebSocket protocol
Architecture	System design and key decisions

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. Built in spare time, largely with Claude Code, and reviewed by a human before merge.

Author

Thomas Skovlund Hansen — skovlund.dev · thomas@skovlund.dev

License

MIT