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-generateskill. In other MCP clients, thegenerate_scoretool runs the script andscore_generation_guidesupplies 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_scoretool 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
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
- Open a score in MuseScore Studio 4.4.2 or later.
- Plugins > Manage plugins > enable MCP Score Bridge, then Plugins > MCP Score Bridge. Keep its window open.
- Ask your assistant to connect to MuseScore.
Details and troubleshooting: MuseScore plugin.
Documentation
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 · [email protected]
