# Software for scoring music **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2002, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-for-scoring-music/121193 "2002-07-28T01:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-for-scoring-music/121193/1 "2002-07-28T01:54:38Z")
I know a similar question was asked a few months ago, but I was unable to find it. What software can anyone recommend for scoring music? Idealy this software would have the ability to scan existing scores. I know that _Sibelius_ with the _Neuratron PhotoScore_ add-on was recommended in the earlier thread, but I’ve tried that approach and I didn’t like it too much. I found the interface much too difficult to work with and the OCR capabilities inaccurate. I’ll be happy with something less powerful but easier to use. ---
**Author:** ![bhb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bhb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bhb)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-for-scoring-music/121193/2 "2002-07-28T02:04:19Z")
_Finale_ is a good program, I have the 2001 version. It was highly recommended by my music theory teacher. I haven’t played around with it much, but I’m pretty sure there is some way to scan music in to it and there’s a whole other load of features on it. You can find more on their website below. [http://www.codamusic.com/coda/](http://www.codamusic.com/coda/) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-for-scoring-music/121193/3 "2002-07-29T16:00:20Z")
The Lime notation editor is what I’ve been using successfully, it is supposed to handle scanned music, though I haven’t used it for that. There is a fully functional free download [here](http://www.cerlsoundgroup.org/). You are expected to pay ($65 US I think) if you like it and intend to continue using it. It comes with a fairly good manual as a PDF file. Took me a while to get used to its quirks, but I really like it now - I guess I should pay!! ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-for-scoring-music/121193/4 "2002-07-29T16:21:41Z")
The Lime notation editor is what I’ve been using successfully, it is supposed to handle scanned music, though I haven’t used it for that. There is a fully functional free download [here](http://www.cerlsoundgroup.org/). You are expected to pay ($65 US I think) if you like it and intend to continue using it. It comes with a fairly good manual as a PDF file. Took me a while to get used to its quirks, but I really like it now - I guess I should pay!! ---
**Author:** ![Sivalensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Sivalensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sivalensis)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-for-scoring-music/121193/5 "2002-07-29T16:23:04Z")
I have Encore, and while I haven’t used it much, when i did fiddle with it, I was impressed with it. might want to look into that.