 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: gary joiner
Date: 1999-05-04 17:16
I am looking for a good computer software program that would be easy to use for composing / transposing music. I think there are programs out there that use some type of piano keyboard input that would give you the correct notes and would discriminate between whole notes, quarter notes, etc. Then, once in place, it could be quickly changed to various key signatures. I tried out the Mozart 32 program and it worked fairly well, but it was a slow process using the on screen keyboard. I would appreciate any advice and some ballpark idea on costs. Thanks! gary
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Author: Jim Carabetta
Date: 1999-05-04 20:30
There was an old DOS based shareware program, Music Transcription System II, that worked great, but it doesn't "do windows", and is too ancient to have compatible Laser printer drivers. If you can get it to run, it was great - it actually showed on a "keyboard" which key you'd pressed, as if you were playing a piano. See if there's an updated version, by searching on "shareware" with your browser.
Also, search on "noteworthy", and find the site for "Noteworthy Arts".. they have an evaluation version of their Noteworthy Composer that has the same "touch and feel" as Microsoft Word, with the tool bars across the top.
I've also tried Mozart and deleted the evaluation copy - I found it too cumbersome to work with and took too much space on my drive.
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Author: Contragirl
Date: 1999-05-04 21:38
I use Mozart 32 and I love it! You don't have to use that little keyboard on the screen (thank goodness!). You can click on the staff and move the curser up and down.
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Author: Meri
Date: 1999-05-04 22:04
Funny how Finale has not been mentioned. Or, if you have a MacIntosh, try Overture.
For a demo copy of Finale, click on the link below (won't let you save your files, though)
http://www.codamusic.com
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-05-04 22:06
What is the quality of the laser printed music format for the MS Word equivalent program? I'm still looking for a cheap program that will produce very high quality (very close to publishable format) music output for both the screen and the printer. What kinds of price ranges are these software packages and where can I get the software? I use a Win 95/98/NT P/266 machine with plenty of drive space and memory, with an HP LJ 4 series laser printer.
Thanks in advance.
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Author: Contragirl
Date: 1999-05-04 22:09
Finale!! That's it! I couldn't remember the name of that one, but that one's really good too.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-05-04 22:35
paul wrote:
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What is the quality of the laser printed music format for the MS Word equivalent program? I'm still looking for a cheap program that will produce very high quality (very close to publishable format) music output for both the screen and the printer.
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Paul,
Screen and printer fonts are very different - and unless you've got a very, very expensive monitor (100 dpi, 2000x1600 or greater resolution), the screen based fonts aren't going to be horribly good at reproducing musical notation, even when anti-aliased. Music typesetting is an art.
The fonts used by Finale are PostScript and TrueType; the PostScript are bezier outlines with hints, so they look reasonably good on a 600x600 printer, and production quality at 1200x1200 (laser, not inkjet resolution - inkjets tend to not look as nice as lasers at high resolution) if you really know how to do layout.
I use Finale if I want something to look <b>really</b> good - it's a production tool. However, the menus (at least on my older version) are confusing.
I use Lime for "fast" stuff - it's reasonably good.
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-05-04 23:26
Finale hasn't been mentioned probably due to its price. It's a good program but more than what most people need or care to spend.
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Author: Rich C
Date: 1999-05-04 23:40
One really good program is out there is "Sibelius"...this program pretty much does everythig you could ever possibly need, includig transpositions...there's a really spiffy demo out at www.sibelius.com, but be warned, it's REALLY expensive...I believe the price is $300, with a student discount of $150...
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-05-04 23:50
Rich C wrote:
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I believe the price is $300, with a student discount of $150...
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'Scuse me - that <i>ain't</i> expensive for a music publishing program. Finale is far more expensive. It may be more than you want to spend - but most professional packages are really, really expensive! This stuff (Sibelius, Finale, et al.) are pretty cheap.
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-05-04 23:59
Mark Charette wrote:
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Rich C wrote:
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I believe the price is $300, with a student discount of $150...
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'Scuse me - that <i>ain't</i> expensive for a music publishing program. Finale is far more expensive. It may be more than you want to spend - but most professional packages are really, really expensive! This stuff (Sibelius, Finale, et al.) are pretty cheap.
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I just wish that the company that bought out Passport Designs (Encore, Rhapsody, MusicTime) would get its act together and re-issue these as they have stated that they play to do. I think Encore is out and perhaps Rhapsody but not the third program. MusicTime was a great program that was under $100 and does everything that I want it to do. Although it doesn't have the ability to score a full orchestra (it's limited to a total of 16 staves per system for example), I can score just about anything else. It also had midi I/O and was very intuitive to learn.
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Author: Rick2
Date: 1999-05-05 00:26
I think Noteworthy Composer is a great program for the price. If I recall, it was something like $60.00 for the registered version. I've done a lot of composing in it and it seems to be able to do most everything you would need. The link was given in the first response so I wont repeat it, but I will mention that there is a large user forum where people discuss solutions to different problems.
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Author: J. Butler
Date: 1999-05-05 03:04
I have the Coda (Home Studio) software and it does pretty good for me. I also have an old version of Music Writer Plus (Pyware) that was given to me. It works well for those little quick needs because it is so simple to use. I'm going to a 3 day workshop on the Sibelius this summer. I have no clue to how it works, but I guess I'll find out.
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Author: Clarence Wilkinson
Date: 1999-05-05 17:05
5/5/99
Several years ago I purchased Music Time from The Woodwind and Brasswind, later upgrading to Rhapsody. I still use Rhapsody with my HP8260 computer and HP694C printer. I use a Yamaha keyboard to enter the music into the computer. Last year a friend of mine bought the latest version of Music Time from G-VOX, who bought out Passport Designs. It seems to be about the same as Rhapsody. G-VOX has a web site at:
http://www.gvox.com/
You can get information about Music Time from Lucille Wurtz by email at lucille@gvox.com, according to a page on their web site. Music Time is easy to use and a good value for the price.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-05-05 17:40
I understand that you can attach a keyboard and have the music get printed out for you, so to speak. Could the Yamaha synthetic woodwind horn also work like this? If so, could someone play a sax, flute, clarinet, etc. by ear and let the computer do all of the hard work on paper? Is this really possible?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-05-05 18:35
paul wrote:
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I understand that you can attach a keyboard and have the music get printed out for you, so to speak. Could the Yamaha synthetic woodwind horn also work like this?
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Works just fine. It's a breath/finger operated MIDI instrument, and isn't _quite_ the same as a clarinet ...
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If so, could someone play a sax, flute, clarinet, etc. by ear and let the computer do all of the hard work on paper? Is this really possible?
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Using a breath/finger MIDI instrument - no problem. To the MIDI electronics there's no difference. There are programs available which can create MIDI right from a mike placed in front of a solo instrument, too. It's easier (in a noise-free environment) than voice recognition.
Creating a score from an orchestra isn't possible.
Yet.
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Author: dave
Date: 1999-05-05 20:06
I've tried several programs and for the price you can't beat Noteworthy Composer. It's user friendly, has a great support group and is inexpensive - I payed $40 about two years ago. I recently connected a midi keyboard and find this is a quick way to input. Transposition is a simple procedure; just indicate the number of half steps to raise or lower. You can download a demo version from their website to try it out!
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Author: Margaret Copeland
Date: 1999-05-06 12:44
I've been using "Noteworthy" for quite a while but it does have some pretty serious limitations. You can't enter long rests properly so that they print with the number of bars you are resting and it doesn't print the notation for trills or grupettos properly. You can't control the printing for spacing very well. It is great for grabbing midi files and getting something quick together.
I have a composer friend who migrated from "Finale", which was very cumbersome for him to use, to "Sibelius" and he is delighted. He is a pianist and gets all of his notes in "Sibelius" from a midi keyboard. He enters his compositions in contests and needs professional-looking output. "Sibelius "does this for him.
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Author: Jerry Knoch
Date: 1999-05-06 20:52
Clarence Wilkinson mentioned the Rhapsody software which I, too, use and love. It is easy to use and produces publication quality output to a laser or inkjet printer. Input can be via mouse or MIDI, you can have up to 64 staves and voices for full scores, you can transpose, change key signatures on a voice-by-voice or entire score basis, you can reduce the print size on an incremental percentage to get the best fit of your music, and instantly hear through the computer's sound system what it sounds like. It also imports MIDI files, exports one or more staves from a score to an individual part, etc., etc. The price is much less than Finale and the software is much easier to use. Passport Designs originally designed the software, and they have been involved with MIDI and computers for ages. I've evaluated almost every software available and found that Rhapsody/Music Time win hands down every time. Their website is at:
http://www.gvox.com/
Good Luck!
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