Free sheet music scanner: PDF or photo to MuseScore
Upload a PDF or a photo of a lead sheet or a single-line part and get it back as MusicXML, a MuseScore file and a freshly engraved PDF. Edit it, transpose it, play it back.
New: edit scores by just asking, inside MuseScore. Get the free Scorehand plugin · watch the 70-second demo
5 free charts a month with a free account. Sign in
Edit scores by just asking, inside MuseScore
Tell it “add a string pad under bars 1–32” and it writes the notes into your open score. Walking bass lines, horn voicings, easier parts, chord symbols. One Ctrl+Z undoes it.
Next step after the free tools: change the music itself. Works in MuseScore 4 on Windows, Mac and Linux. 100 free edits to start, then 10 free every month, no card needed.
Get the free MuseScore pluginHow do I convert a PDF or photo of sheet music to MuseScore?
Upload the PDF or photo here. Clean engraved PDFs are read with optical music recognition (Audiveris); phone photos and charts OMR cannot read are transcribed by an AI vision model. You get MusicXML, a .mscz file that opens directly in MuseScore Studio, and a re-engraved PDF, with any bars we were unsure about listed so you can check them against the original.
What is free
- 5 charts a month with a free account: an email address and a confirmation link, no password and no payment.
- Shared across the Chart Transposer and Sheet Music to MuseScore. Failed runs and refused photos do not count.
- One chart is up to 3 pages or 150 bars. Longer scores get a fixed price first.
- Need more? Scorehand Charts: 20 charts a month for $12/month, cancel any time. Scorehand Pro and Composer subscribers get 20 charts a month included.
- No watermark over the music: only a small credit line under the title.
- If a photo is too blurry to read we ask for a clearer one; that costs nothing. Uploads are deleted after reading; results after 24 hours. Uploads waiting for email confirmation or an unpaid quote are kept up to 24 hours, then deleted.
What you get
- Engraved PDF, ready to print
- MusicXML for MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale, Dorico
- MuseScore file (.mscz)
- Your original page next to the result, with any unclear bars listed
Honest limits
- Full scores: every part is converted (full score + a PDF per part); you can choose to convert only the top or bottom staff.
- A clean PDF or MusicXML file gives the most accurate result. Phone photos must be flat, bright and in focus; if a photo is too blurry or low-resolution to read we ask for a clearer one (free).
- Every chart is read twice independently and the readings are compared bar by bar. Bars where they disagree, or where the beats do not add up, are marked in red ("check this bar") so you can check them against your original.
- Repeats, codas and first/second endings are transcribed as plain bars; check them in MuseScore.
Questions
How do I convert a PDF or photo of sheet music to MuseScore?
Upload the PDF or photo here. Clean engraved PDFs are read with optical music recognition (Audiveris); phone photos and charts OMR cannot read are transcribed by an AI vision model. You get MusicXML, a .mscz file that opens directly in MuseScore Studio, and a re-engraved PDF, with any bars we were unsure about listed so you can check them against the original.
How do I convert a sheet music PDF to MusicXML for free?
Upload the PDF here (up to 15 MB). You get a MusicXML file, a MuseScore .mscz file and a re-engraved PDF. 5 charts a month are free with a free account; scores over 3 pages or 150 bars get a fixed price first.
Can I turn a phone photo of sheet music into a MuseScore file?
Yes. Multi-staff scores are converted with all their parts (full score plus a PDF per part). Photograph one page flat, bright and filling the frame. If a photo is too small or blurry to read, we ask for a clearer one, free.
Is this a free online sheet music scanner?
Yes, it works in the browser with no install, and a free account is just an email address. It handles lead sheets, single-line parts and full multi-part scores (every part is converted).
What should I check after converting?
Bars marked in red (the two independent readings disagreed), repeats, first and second endings and codas, which come through as plain bars.
Which files can I upload?
PDF (most accurate) or JPG/PNG photos, up to 15 MB. One chart is up to 3 pages or 150 bars; longer scores get a fixed price before anything is read. For MusicXML files use the Chart Transposer.
What music works best?
Lead sheets, melody parts and fake-book pages (with chord symbols and lyrics), and full scores: a string quartet, choir or ensemble score is converted with ALL its parts, each with its own instrument and clef, plus a PDF per part. You can still choose to convert only the top or bottom staff.
Is the result exact?
MusicXML uploads are exact. PDFs and photos are read twice independently and compared bar by bar; any bar where the readings disagree or the beats do not add up is marked in red on the result and in the PDF. You always get the files; the red bars are the ones to check against your original.
Is it free?
Yes: 5 charts a month with a free account (just an email address, no password), shared with the Chart Transposer. One chart is up to 3 pages or 150 bars. Scorehand Charts is $12 a month for 20 charts. Longer scores get a fixed price first (from $3, paid by PayPal); nothing is charged unless you accept it.
Do you keep my files?
No. The upload is deleted right after it has been read, and the results are deleted after 24 hours. Uploads waiting for email confirmation or an unpaid quote are kept up to 24 hours, then deleted.
Step-by-step guides
Need more than one part?
Scorehand writes a full arrangement of your chart for the exact instruments you have: score, transposed parts, MuseScore file and audio. Free 16-bar preview.
Arrange this chart Chart Transposer