Katy
Music Music Notation Programs Overview
Overview
Music Notation programs are the word processors of sheet music, used to compose and
arrange music for the performer. I'm considering the purchase of such a program so I can
clean up some handwritten parts -- maybe even compose some of my own.
There are many programs out there; this is a collection of links and short reviews.
What I'm looking for
I'm considering the following factors when I look at notation programs.
- Cost -- I'm not a professional musician; if I had hundreds of dollars to spend, I'd
probably buy a new instrument rather than software I'll only use occasionally.
- Support -- If I get stuck, I want an active, accessible user community.
- MIDI playback -- Does the program have MIDI playback? Can I give the playback some
interpretation? (e.g. indicate how I want trills to sound, make a guitar chord sound like
a guitar, with each note struck in sequence, etc.) How difficult is it to add
interpretation?
- MIDI import -- can I import a MIDI or WAV file into the program and have it come up with
something useful?
- Ease-of-use -- This will be a program that I use occasionally. I'll be unhappy if I have
to relearn the interface every time I start it up.
- A useful demo -- I want a program that I can really put through its paces before I
purchase it. There are enough programs out there that I won't be too upset if I have to
eliminate one because it has no demo.
- Notational flexibility -- Some things I'll be trying are barless music,
ficta (e.g. editorial indication of a flat or a sharp above the
note), modern
notation, guitar chord symbols, recorder fingering charts, lyrics. I expect more luck with
some of these than others. (I'm more interested in some of these than others!) I'm not
aware of any program that does modern notation, for example. Tell me if you know of one. (By modern notation I mean the sort of
free-form squigglies you sometimes get instead of standard music on a
staff).
- Scores and parts -- How easy is it to enter music on a score, but still be able to print
individual lines as well as the full score.
- Fine control over layout -- how do I indicate the best spot for a page break? Can I
squeeze two more measures onto a page? Print two copies of a short piece on a single page?
Easily show multi-measure rests in a compressed form when printing parts, and expanded
when printing scores?
- Ease-of-use: how difficult is it to enter music? Must each note be placed
with fine mouse control? Can input be done with the computer keyboard or a
MIDI device?
- How difficult is it to modify previously entered songs? Is it a hassle to
change a misplaced note?
Notes
All quoted prices are in US dollars, and were taken from the company
web page at the date indicated at the top of the review page.
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