It’s been a while since I last wrote about Musique, an open-source desktop music player for Windows, macOS, and Linux (I first featured it in 2010, back when it was called MiniTunes).
Amazingly, the app is still going, and it just received its first major update in almost 3 years.
“This Musique update is the first Qt 6-based release I do. The main effort has been modernizing the look of the app: a more flat and clean style, with rounded artist pics and a nicer toolbar,” writes its developer, Flavio Tordini, on the project website.
Musique is a music player in the traditional mould: you point it at a folder full of audio files, it loads them in, and you’re able to browse albums, artists, and genres, search, and play files, adding songs/albums to a play queue.
That’s pretty much it.
The app certainly has a flatter look in the latest build, with no separation between toolbar and library areas, giving it a very clean (almost libadwaita-esque) look. Shame about the non-native window controls, but hey.
In Musique 1.12 the player’s info view has also been redesigned to place lyrics in the centre, and text within this view is now zoomable.
Additionally, the switch to Qt 6 means the app is able to respect dark mode preferences on all OSes (though on Ubuntu with GNOME this did require me to quit the app for the change to take)
Musique, written in C++ and Qt for those interested, is purpose built for speed and simplicity. It is not a “do everything” music player and is not trying to be. If you’re trying it out, do keep that in mind: it’s not missing features, rather the lack of features is a feature.
Download Musique
Download Musique for Windows, macOS, or Linux from the project website, or grab the source code from the Musique GitHub page.
Ubuntu users are able to download a DEB installer, though the latest version will only work on Ubuntu 23.04 or later due to libmpv version changes.
Minor Issues
This update isn’t without its bugs, though they’re understandable given it’s been a while since this app was last updated, lacks a dedicated Linux contributor, and it’s hauled itself over to Qt 6.0.
I haven’t had chance to run this version in a Qt-environment yet but on Ubuntu 23.10 (with GNOME) Musique 1.12 doesn’t render window shadows (making its new flat look look even flatter, heh). There’s also no MPRIS integration, and, as mentioned, dark mode requires an app restart.
Despite these surmountable and fixable flaws, Musique remains a deft music player for Linux enthusiasts. It’s simple UI and speedy performance are complemented by thoughtful touches, like the info pane that pulls in song lyrics, Last.FM scrobbling, and optional audio tag fixer.