What music graphics software to use?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I hope there are GQ factual answers to most of my questions, but I also want subjective opinions, so let’s try this in IMHO to start.

I used to be in professional music preparation in Hollywood, writing down music (“copying”) with pen and ink for recording and performances. Although I can take credit for developing one of the first computer graphics programs that displayed and printed music, the equipment/programs I designed are way, way obsolete now and long gone. I have been out of the professional music copying business for so long that I don’t know what tools are now available.

But now I would like to get back in the biz, at least as a hobby, writing music for schools and other applications. So, what software should I use?

I have some specific desires and needs which might differ from others’. Basically, I will be entering all music symbols from either my head or a pencil sketch, so MIDI input is not needed. I will not be playing an instrument as an input device, in fact, I hope that modern programs will allow me to transfer the symbols from my head to the computer and then paper faster than is possible to play it in real time (yes, my 1976 programs were able to do that).

The music will be used for [ul][li]Children’s music and educational books, so staff size options should be available, also integration with text and music should be easy[]Marching and concert band music, so page & staff size options should make this possible[]Choir music[]Online publication, although I imagine PDF files will work just fine for this[]Piano, organ, lead sheets or piano/vocal sheets[/ul][/li]
Here’s a feature requirements & wish list:[ol][li]The program must run on a PC without bogging down the computer or hogging the CPU[]Purchase cost is a factor, or rather, cost/benefit ratio[]Speed of data entry and convenience of editing is important[]Output appearance is important; the desired goal is music with an engraved appearance, and I would like to be able to modify parameters if necessary to get that on a global or specific note basis[]It must be possible to enter music by instrument, concert or transposed, and create a score upon demand; conversely, enter a score and automatically extract parts for individual instruments, with options for grouping (ex: Clar 1 & 2 on the same line, combining 2 lines from the score)[]Shortcuts like “col (duplicate) bars 5-12 from bassoon part to flute line, up ½ step” are pretty important[]It must be possible to transpose and/or change the clef and/or key sig for any instrument or all with a single command, for a specified range (bar X to bar Y)[]Changes in clefs, keys or editing of notes must automatically handle the necessary changes in stem directions, accent and beam placement to look right.[]Stem directions, lengths, etc. should be as automatic as possible but user-configurable for special cases[]It should handle lyrics, slurs, ties and chord symbols and associate them with a specific note or beat, so a simple change of a single symbol doesn’t require the operator to adjust fifty-eleven things to compensate.[]Ability to play what is written, either thru a MIDI output or computer sound card, would be desirable[]There is no need for automatic time or pitch resolution from a sound file; that is, I will be telling it to write a quarter note at middle C; it won’t have to guess about the duration or pitch[]It would be helpful for the software to be aware that 4.5 beats are not possible and 3.5 beats is ordinarily insufficient in a 4/4 measure.[/ol][/li]So what programs are out there that fit? I would really appreciate any experience you have with anything, specs or anecdotes.

2

Certainly sounds like you’ve been out of the business for a while :wink:
The two market leaders are Sibelius and Finale. Both do what you describe, and far far more. Despite using Finale myself, I think I’d have to recommend Sibelius. Currently, the only reason to use Finale is for various intricate aspects of notation which Sibelius can’t provide, which it doesn’t sound like you’ll be worrying about! Both sites provide fully-functioning demo versions.

However, both clock in at the three-figure sums one expects of professional software, and there’s nothing on a comparable level in the shareware or GPL worlds of software. There’s certainly numerous other programs, but none have the power of these two, which means you’re either stuck with many more compromises, or you’re doing more manual work.

3

If you can easily pick up on programming-type languages, LilyPond can probably do everything you want, and it’s free.

It doesn’t have a graphical interface. Basically, once you learn the language, you type out a text file, feed it into the program and it pops out a .pdf (and a midi file, if you choose). You can modify everything extensively, though it’s a bit complex.

4

God, no, don’t bother with Lilypond!! It’s a promising project that might be useful in a decade or so, but manipulating text files is simply not practical when compared to the Windows packages available.

5

While I agree that the two are easier to use and will probably fulfill all the requirements, the cost is prohibitive for many. If one has the necessary time and aptitude to pick up the program’s language, but not the necessary money to spend on the professional programs, IMO, it could be useful.

6

Hmmm…so one could choose perhaps to spend a week’s holiday learning Lilypond, or spend a week working on the minimum wage and buying a professional package? :wink:

7

Another recommendation for Sibelius. It’s what I use right now, and I’ve found it to be nicely intuitive and easy to learn. Had a much easier time with Sibelius than Finale.

8

I checked into Lilypond some time ago. It reminded me of the software from the 60’s when mainframes were the only way to go, and the only possible data entry was thru a teletype and there was no graphic display other than a plotter. I suppose it would do the trick, but the idea of having to guess what something looks like instead of a WYSIWYG display seems old-fashioned.

I tried Finale a few years ago, so my observations may be out of date. But it has had a reputation for a long time as very hard to learn and difficult to edit, as well as being the highest priced. I could justify the price if it met all the other requirements.

I haven’t tried Sibelius. That surely warrants some investigation.

But I think there are other packages around for either free or under $100. Googling hasn’t been rewarding in this area just yet. A friend told me about one called “PC {something}” that I haven’t found online yet. And there used to be a company (in Pasadena?) called Passport that might not be around anymore.

You might think I’m quick to judge something I haven’t even seen, but many programs have passed by my desk in the last 30 years that couldn’t possibly compete with a professional’s music pen in speed of music-to-paper, and that’s discouraging. Of course, once data is in the computer, no hand copyist can compete with the computer for transposing or cut & paste operations.

9

The thing that’s nice about both Finale and Sibelius is that in terms of note entry, the number keypad can be used. It really makes entry much faster than pen/paper in the long run, because as you learn which notes/values each number key corresponds to, it becomes almost as automatic as using the keypad to input ordinary numbers.

GorillaMan mentioned the fact that both Sibelius and Finale have demo versions on their websites - you should try them out!

10

Some of your observations about Finale are probably no longer accurate. It’s not particularly difficult to learn, and not difficult to edit. However, both programs have made equal progress in becoming more user-friendly, keeping Sibelius ahead on this front.

Whether any program can compete with a skilled hand copyist for the time taken for simple score creation is doubtful. However, the automatic creation of parts is invaluable, as is the quality of the end product - without wanting to blow my own trumpet (har har), [url=]here’s an example of what I’ve produced with Finale.

11

Oh, that’s a 2.5MB PDF by the way - I hate it when people don’t warn about such things :wink:

12

Let me try that again: HERE is the sample!

13

A friend of mine who is still involved in professional notation told me a few years ago that the best around was Encore, then available from a company called Passport. This appears to be now a company called Gvox, and is available for $400. My friend was quite familiar with Finale, which he thought was hard to use in comparison. Anyone tried Encore?

I found a list of many, many notation programs:

http://ace.acadiau.ca/score/others.htm

But some seem awfully obsolete (for the Atari?), and some, like ABC, appear to be stuck in ages past even though thay have current proponents and web sites with recent dates.

Anyone for punch card input?

Jeez, GorillaMan, that’s a hell of a score! But I see some symbols that I don’t recognize – backwards flats and half-sharps. Are those meant to indicate quarter tones?

14

I’ve just had a quick play-around with the Encore demo, and I wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole, not at that price. It’s like an extremely anaemic version of Finale - some elements of the interface are clearly modelled on Finale (circa 1998), but I don’t think it’s got the versatility you require. (I also noted the ‘about’ dialogue box lists the copyright dates as up to 2003 - since when Finale’s had three updated versions and Sibelius has had two.)

One brief thing in particular that I noticed from the manual - as far as I can see, Encore only lets you used fixed sizes for staffs, whereas Finale (and I presume Sibelius) allow any measurement. This flexibility is the kind of thing that you’ll find indispensible with the work you’re looking to do.

Yes, I’d seen that list of programs before - and yes, it’s pretty much useless because of its desire to be so comprehensive! And yes, they’re quarter-tones :slight_smile: