Collaborative music composition presents unique challenges in version control, requiring specialized tools capable of detecting and merging differences while preserving musical semantics. This project ad- dresses the limitations of existing notation comparison tools by developing a Python-based MusicXML diff and merge application. The tool integrates a weighted difference algorithm, analyzing pitch, duration, articulation, and stem direction at the note, measure, and part levels to provide intuitive visual feedback.

Leveraging Music21 for parsing and representation, the system detects discrepancies between musical scores and facilitates interactive merging through a graphical user interface (GUI). The program inte- grates with MuseScore to render highlighted notation differences, aiding user decision-making. Through iterative testing, the system demonstrated accurate score loading, reliable merging, and meaningful dif- ference visualization, though limitations were noted in handling structural changes such as added mea- sures and parts.

Future enhancements may include AI-driven context-aware merging, full-stack real-time collaboration, and feature-based versioning to refine adaptability. By bridging the gap between music notation seman- tics and software versioning practices, this project contributes to more efficient workflows for composers, educators, and musicologists working with digital scores.