Cubase 14 introduces a completely revamped Score Editor powered by Dorico, our renowned music notation and composition software. This new Dorico-based Score Editor replaces the previous version, bringing numerous enhancements and a refined focus.

Still, there are some limitations you should be aware of, mainly:

• MusicXML import is not supported yet, but it will be implemented in the future.
• Some score symbols, such as Arpeggio, Glissandi, or Octave lines, are not available yet.
• Since the technology behind the new Score Editor is completely new, importing scores from projects created with the previous Score Editor is only partially possible but is expected to improve over time.

Detailed comparison to the Legacy Score Editor

Layouts

• Layout Management is more prominent now, it is accessible in the left zone Visibility panel. This does contain a list of "Layouts".
• The "Sync Layout" shows any track selected in the project browser, and will follow that selection if the "Keep Editor Contents" button is unchecked.
• Further layouts can be added with the plus button. They store the enabled tracks, and Settings associated with this Layout.

Edit mode vs Page mode

• The new Score Editor can show the score in various display modes.
• It does have a page mode, showing as it would print, it is however now possible to edit the score in this mode.
• We also have a new mode called "Fill View", which behaves like the edit mode of the legacy Score Editor.

Staff Settings

• Most of the functionality that used to be in Staff Settings can now be access via the Instrument tab inside "Layout Settings", or the separate "Instrument Settings" menu entry.
• Notably: "Polyphonic" voice handling, and Display Quantize.
• The choice of clef is an inherent property of the instrument type.

Manual fine-tuning

• There are many other things that are different, like insert layers, handles for dragging bar lines, buttons to call auto layout and many more.
• These are largely not needed anymore, since the Dorico engine will automatically handle the situations that previously required manual intervention.
• We will evaluate the need for fine-grained engraving tools in the future. 

Backward Compatibility

Projects created with the old Score Editor will not look the same in the new Score Editor. Some items may not appear. We aim to improve the import of data from the old Score Editor in future releases. Scores created in this new Score editor will be ignored if opened in an earlier version of Cubase.

• Notes
  • Position, pitch, spelling, basic articulations are preserved. 
  • Note durations may appear different because the new score editor has different rules to resolve overlaps and fill gaps to produce clean notation from MIDI.
  • Voice information isn't converted.  On grand staff instruments, notes are assigned to voices using the default voicing algorithm.
  • Hidden note flags aren't read.
• Tuplets
  • Tuplets are inferred from note positions or ones that were added in the new score editor.
  • Tuplets added in the old score editor may only be inferred from the note positions and not explicitly converted.
• Dynamics
  • Common dynamic objects are converted.
• Time Signatures
  • Time signatures follow the Time Track in the Project Window. Beat groups set in the Score Editor Time Signatures are not converted.
• Layouts
  • Layouts that were defined in the old score editor are not converted.
• Expression maps
  • Playing Techniques and Text do not currently affect playback with Expression Maps.
• Elements that do convert:
  • Clef changes
• Elements that do not convert:
  • Text and Lyrics
  • Slurs
  • Key signatures
  • Staff names