Free online NWC to MSCZ converter

NoteWorthy Composer scores use the NWC format, while MuseScore saves editable scores as MSCZ. Convert when you need to continue editing an NWC score in MuseScore or share it with someone who needs a MuseScore file.

What the NWC format is

NWC is the native score format of NoteWorthy Composer, a Windows music-notation program. It stores notation and score settings for composing, arranging, and printing sheet music. You may encounter NWC files from composers or archives that use NoteWorthy Composer.

What the MSCZ format is

MSCZ is MuseScore’s compressed native score format. It is suited to editing and sharing scores in MuseScore; it retains notation as score data rather than flattening the pages into images.

How to actually convert

The conversion uses an intermediate MusicXML score, which MuseScore can open and save in its native format.

Online on 101convert.com

1. Upload the NWC file on the converter page. Multiple files can be submitted as a batch; the per-file size limit is shown there.
2. Start the conversion. The page’s converter processes the score with nwc2xml and then MuseScore.
3. Download the resulting MSCZ file.

Offline with desktop software

1. Use the Windows utility nwc2xml to export the NWC score as MusicXML. Select the NWC file in the utility and create a MusicXML output file.
2. Open the MusicXML file in MuseScore, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, using File → Open. Choose File → Save As and save it with the MSCZ format.

Quality and compatibility

MusicXML is an intermediate format, so inspect the saved score in MuseScore. NWC-specific objects or settings may not have direct MusicXML equivalents, and details such as layout, playback instructions, or unusual notation may need adjustment.