.MUS File Extension

Finale Notation File (Legacy)

Developer MakeMusic
Popularity
3.6  |  110 Votes
 

What is a MUS file?

A MUS file is a musical score created by MakeMusic Finale, a popular music notation program. It contains measures, notes, tempos, time signatures, and clefs. MUS files also contain MIDI data that Finale uses to play back the score.

More Information

Screenshot of a .mus file in MakeMusic Finale
MUS file open in MakeMusic Finale

MakeMusic Finale is a scorewriting program that composers use to create, edit, and listen to musical scores. For example, a composer might create an original composition, add lyrics to the song, and then play the song back via their computer's speakers to hear how it sounds.

Finale 2012 and earlier versions save composers' scores as MUS files. In addition to the score and data used to play it back, MUS files typically contain title, composer, and copyright information.

NOTE: Finale 2014 and later versions save scores as .MUSX files.

How to open a MUS file

You can open a MUS file with MakeMusic Finale (Windows, Mac). To do so, select File → Open... from the program's menu bar. Then, navigate to and open your MUS file.

How to convert a MUS file

You can use MakeMusic Finale to export the score a MUS file contains in a variety of formats, including:

  • .MUSX - Finale Notation
  • .AIFF - Audio Interchange File Format
  • .WAV - WAVE Audio
  • .EPUB - Open eBook
  • .MIDI - MIDI Music Data
  • .MXL - Compressed MusicXML
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Programs that open MUS files

Windows
Mac

Minecraft Music File

Developer Mojang
Popularity
3.5  |  24 Votes
 

Audio file used by Minecraft, a 3D open-ended sandbox construction game; saves background music played during the game; may also store music played by in-game Music Discs (i.e., virtual CDs).

More Information

MUS files may be plain audio stored in the Ogg Vorbis (.OGG) format, or they may use encryption that cannot be read by standard audio players. A Java tool called muscode.jar can be used to convert Minecraft MUS files to the OGG format.

Programs that open MUS files

Windows
Linux

Electronic Arts Game Music File

Developer Electronic Arts
Popularity
3.4  |  20 Votes
 

Audio file used by Electronic Arts games for the PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation 3 (PS3), and PC; saves audio data for the game soundtrack and used for playing background music; often used by the Need For Speed series games.

More Information

Examples of Need for Speed games that use MUS files include Need for Speed: Most Wanted (NFS: MW), Need for Speed: Underground (NFSU), and Need for Speed: Carbon (NFSC). For the PC, NFS: MW stores MUS files in the \​SOUND\​PFDATA\​ game installation directory.

NOTE: The NFSMW Music Extractor program can convert MUS files from NFSMW into many different .WAV files.

Programs that open or reference MUS files

Doom Music File

Developer id Software
Popularity
2.9  |  18 Votes
 

Audio file used by Doom and other games written with the original Doom engine; similar to a MIDI file but is limited by 9 channels and a file size of 65KB; used as a compact format for playing simple sound tracks during the game.

Programs that open or reference MUS files

Windows
Free
Free
Free
XMPlay with MIDI plug-in
Free

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