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 Music notation software
Author: Wayne 
Date:   2009-07-08 00:44

Has anybody tried " Songworks " by a Ars Nova ? They don't offer a downloadable demo. Thanks.

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: GuitarGirl 
Date:   2009-07-08 16:41

I haven't. What will you be using the software for? I have experience with a few different types of musical software, and I may be able to help.

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Wayne 
Date:   2009-07-08 18:54

I'm looking for a simple program to speed up my writing. I mostly try to get my melodies down on paper, then work with them and see where it goes. Most of the software looks great, but lots more than I need. I use a mac, so some basic choices aren't available. In the future, I might get a keyboard/midi to speed things up even more. Pretty basic. Clarinet melodies that come to me. I oftne get about 6 bars of something and go back later to expand it..... I've looked at all the big ones, the Songworks program actually looks great but they don't offer a demo,hence the question... Thanks in advance !

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: tictactux 2017
Date:   2009-07-08 19:05

How'bout Musescore? Seems that a Mac version is in the pipeline.
And then there's always Lilypond...

Both are free (as in 'beer').

--
Ben

Post Edited (2009-07-08 19:05)

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Trevor M 
Date:   2009-07-08 20:12

I use Finale. It's a huge mess -- like a construction site in various stages of completion -- but extremely powerful and with a big user base of people who can answer your questions. You might try the demo for their smaller versions, PrintMusic and Allegro. http://www.finalemusic.com

-Trevor



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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Lelia Loban 2017
Date:   2009-07-09 11:36

I've used Sibelius since 2002 and love it. The well-written manual makes the program intuitive and relatively easy to learn. The software works similarly to a word processor, as a powerful tool that professional musicians can use. Unfortunately, the composers' website, where composers can post and sell or give away scores, recently suffered an upgrade, still in messy progress, but the program itself is brilliant. The home site:
http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/home/home.pl

Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Pappy 
Date:   2009-07-09 12:55

I use Sibelius and love it too. But for a "simpler" program, I agree with Trevor - try PrintMusic. It's a great piece of software for the price. Not too expensive and easy to use.



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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Simon Aldrich 
Date:   2009-07-09 15:18

When my contemporary ensemble does residences with young composers I often do informal verbal surveys of what notation program they use. The result is always 50/50 Finale/Sibelius.
(That doesn't mean they know how to use the programs. Parts are always overstuffed with misprints).
------------------------------------------------------------
Simon Aldrich

Clarinet Faculty - McGill University
Principal Clarinet - Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal
Principal Clarinet - Orchestre de l'Opera de Montreal
Artistic Director - Jeffery Summer Concerts
Clarinet - Nouvel Ensemble Moderne

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: beejay 
Date:   2009-07-09 18:34

Noteworthy does everything you appear to need. It is a simple but quite flexible music writing program that's been around a long time. You jot down your ideas first and format later if you wish, rather than having to follow a fixed template as with Finale or Sibelius. . It only exists for windows, but you could probably pick up an old Windows 98 or XP laptop for a song and use it only for writing music.

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Noqu 
Date:   2009-07-10 07:38

I am quite happy with Finale PrintMusic. There is even a free version called Finale Notepad. It lacks some features but might even be enough for what you want to do. Writing, formatting and printing simple melodies is certainly possible. One of the limitations I remember was that you can't change the time or key signature within a piece, only at the beginning.

(I vaguely remember that the 2009 version of Finale Notepad is 10$ or so, but you can easily download the 2008 version, which is still free).

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: claaaaaarinet!!!! 
Date:   2009-07-14 00:48

Beware the PrintMusic equivalent from Sibelius - Sibelius Student Version. It looks a lot like the full version of Sibelius superficially, but it has a lot of annoying limitations. I bought it about a month ago and am already planning to upgrade to the full version. Sibelius Student Version is not worth the savings....

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Ed 
Date:   2009-07-14 03:13

I use Finale. I bought it back in the day when they only made one product. I would suggest that you may consider one of the lower end products that they sell unless you need to do some major work. It is kind of like getting a large publishing program to type a letter. You can save some money and you probably won't miss a thing. There will be a lot of features in the full version that will never need.



Post Edited (2009-07-14 04:06)

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: feadog79 
Date:   2009-07-14 03:17

Try Musescore, just for fun. (www.musescore.org) It's open source and free...worth a look, 'cause you're not wasting money just by trying it. Limited compared to Finale or Sibelius, but worthwhile. Better than Finale Notepad.

JW

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Barry Vincent 
Date:   2009-07-14 03:58

I just love using Finale's Print Music and it will do all the things that you would want to do. It's fairly easy to learn, unlike the full version of Finale which is like sitting in the pilots seat of a jumbo jet and figuring out all the knobs and dials . The one thing Print Music doesn't seem to be able to do is insert annacursis bars within a piece that you are doing. A real pain at times.

Skyfacer

Post Edited (2009-07-14 10:29)

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Chris_C 2017
Date:   2009-07-14 20:13

Barry,
I agree it's not trivial to insert short bars, but it is possible. You have to turn off the "fill bars with rests" options and just put in the notes you want. The bar then looks too long and you drag the bar line to make it look OK. It plays a bit strangely, of course, but can be made to look OK. The bar numbers are then one too great, but so long as you're not trying to do just one part to match a printed set it's acceptable.
Chris

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 Re: Music notation software
Author: Barry Vincent 
Date:   2009-07-21 15:32

Thanks for that little tit bit of information Chris, now that I think of it that is certainly the way to go. Fidderly perhaps and yes all one would have to do is keep the extra bar in mind as pertaining to the bar numbers.

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