Klarinet Archive - Posting 000335.txt from 2001/01

From: George Kidder <gkidder@-----.org>
Subj: RE: [kl] Music Programs for PC??
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 19:09:25 -0500

I might weigh in as a Noteworthy user. In my experience (about a year,
with one upgrade [free]) it is a good deal for the money. You can enter
music by hand, through a MIDI keyboard (I haven't tried this one), or from
a MIDI file, which I have used extensively. It handles notes and rests as
short as a 64th note, makes chords and allows two voices on a stave (stems
up and stems down) with some limitations, and can review and correct bar
placements, stem directions, etc. It can transpose into any key, either
without changing the pitch (as for transposing C music for Bb instruments)
or with change in pitch, which you might use to move a song into the range
of some singer. It allows lyrics, and associates them with the notes in a
reasonable is limited manner. It will play back your work through a sound
card (with a quality which is reasonable with a good sound card, and
abysmal with a poor one), which is a good way to check your entry, or to
have an accompaniment at any speed you like, for practice purposes. You
can play or mute any line. It knows the conventions, and only plays a
repeat once after a DC or DS return (which it can do.) Etc, etc.

Limitations: While it will enter triplets from the keyboard, it converts
them into "dotted, dotted, plain" approximations when read from a MIDI
file, so you have to repair them by hand. It will not accept doublets or
any other non-standard timing. It can get confused with some MIDI files,
and produce a score which plays all right, but is a visual mess. There is
no control over placement of the ends of the system on the printed page;
that is, if there is only one measure on the last system, it either stops
there or extends that measure to the end of the line (your choice), but the
only control of measure width has to be applied to the whole score.

A demonstration version of Noteworthy can be downloaded and tested free.
It has all of the functions of the complete program except for the ability
to save your work, and it has a few messages intended to nag you into
putting up your $39 to get rid of them! I found learning the program was a
bit of a job, but this may be partly due to my complete novice status in
this regard.

I might also suggest you investigate "Sharpeye", which is a music OCR
program working with a flatbed scanner to produce a product which can be
converted into a MIDI file and then imported. It is not 100% accurate, but
it is better than the demo version of MIDIscan which I tried a few years
ago, and is much cheaper ($50). I am still trying to decide whether to
purchase it or not - probably will.

Good luck on your search.

At 16:32 1/10/01 -0500, you wrote:
>I don't personally use the program but have a friend who uses and likes
>NoteWorthy (US. $39.00). I have a link to the site from the "software"
>section of the "Retail" page of my site. (There are also links to CERL
>[Lime], Coda, Sibelius and several other software companies).
>
>I would second (or are we on third & fourth) the suggestion that you
>determine what you need in a program - then many suggestions will be
>forthcoming as to whether a particular program meets those needs.
>Best Wishes,
>Anne
>*********************************************************************
>Anne Bell bell@-----.net
>Bayside HS Orchestra Director
>ABC Index: http://www.anne-bell.sneezy.org/ MUSIC LINKS!
>*********************************************************************
>
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George Kidder
Bar Harbor, ME

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