Guide
How to import MusicXML into Dorico.
MusicXML is how a score moves between notation programs. If someone sent you a .musicxml, .xml, or .mxl file — or you converted a scan into one — here is what Dorico does with it, and what to check once the project opens.
The import, step by step
- Check what you have. MusicXML arrives as .musicxml, .xml, or compressed .mxl. Dorico reads all three in current versions. Leave the extension as it is.
- Use File › Import › MusicXML. In current versions of Dorico, MusicXML comes in through the import command in the File menu rather than by opening a Dorico project. Select the file there and Dorico creates a new project from it.
- Review the MusicXML import preferences first if this is a regular job. Dorico exposes preferences governing how much of the source formatting is honoured. If you import MusicXML often, set these once — they apply to every subsequent import.
- Check the players and layouts Dorico created. Dorico builds players, instruments, flows, and layouts from the file. Confirm each part landed on the right player, and that the opening clef, key, and time signature match the source.
- Save as a Dorico project. Save in Dorico's own format so your condensing, layout, and engraving options persist. Keep the MusicXML as the source you can re-import.
Dorico imports rather than opens: the file becomes a new project built from Dorico's own model of players, flows, and layouts. That model is why a Dorico import feels less like a copy of the source page and more like the same music re-set from scratch.
What comes across reliably
The musical content transfers well: notes and rests with correct pitches and durations, key and time signatures, clefs including mid-staff changes, multiple voices per staff, ties and slurs, dynamics and hairpins, articulations, tempo markings, repeat structure, and lyrics attached to the correct syllables. Instrument identification is generally good, and Dorico will assign a suitable player and playback sound for each part it recognises.
What does not transfer is the page. Dorico recomputes note spacing, casting off, staff spacing, and page turns using its own engraving rules — which is precisely why most people import into it. Expect a different page count from the source, and expect it to look better rather than identical.
What usually needs cleanup
- Beaming. Beam grouping is re-derived from the meter and Dorico's own notation options, so beaming that ran across beats in the source will often be regrouped. Adjust the notation options once rather than editing bar by bar.
- Tuplets. The durations are normally right; bracket visibility, number placement, and nested tuplet appearance frequently need attention.
- Layout and formatting. Manual system and page breaks from the source are not a substitute for Dorico's casting off. Re-apply frame breaks only where the music genuinely needs them.
- Text and playing techniques. Unstructured text from the source may arrive as plain text rather than as a proper playing technique or rehearsal mark, so it will not carry the behaviour you expect until converted.
- Specialised notation. Percussion mapping, custom noteheads, figured bass, and unmetered or heavily edited music deserve a direct look.
Troubleshooting
The file will not import. Check the extension first — it must be .musicxml, .xml, or .mxl. Files that travelled by email or chat often lose or gain an extension along the way. Rename it correctly and retry. A .mxl is a zip container; if a tool expanded it in transit, import the uncompressed .musicxml inside instead.
The players or staves are wrong. Music on the wrong instrument, an unexpected extra player, or a piano split oddly across staves usually reflects part assignments in the file, not the import. Compare Dorico's player list against the original score; fixing the assignments at the source is faster than moving music between players afterwards.
Bars hold the wrong number of beats. That is a defect in the file and will look the same in every program that reads it. Locate the measures and correct the durations there.
Nothing arrives. An empty project generally means an empty or truncated file. Check its size before blaming the importer.
Starting from a PDF or a scan instead
If what you have is a printed part, a PDF, or a photo of a page, you need MusicXML before any of this applies. StaveWave converts scans and PDFs into MusicXML, then walks you through a bar-by-bar check that spotlights the measures it was unsure about on your original page — so recognition errors are caught before they reach Dorico, where they are much harder to notice. It is an online service that runs in the browser, with nothing to install.
Start at PDF to MusicXML. If you already have MusicXML and want a print-ready engraved edition rather than an editable project, the engraving service computes the layout and returns PDF, MusicXML, and MIDI.