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Music notation program?

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by Carpe Diem, Mar 28, 2012.

  1. Carpe Diem

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    Hey fellow ECs.

    Recently I have the urge to transcribe several pieces myself because I couldn't find them online (be it via legal nor illegal channels). :bang:

    So, I googled for free music notation programs and a few popped up on the list. I don't know which one I should use though. One of them is in the following link:

    MuseScore | Free music composition & notation software

    Questions:
    1. Which one are you using?
    2. Is it free?
    3. Any known problems with that particular software? Bugs? Software incompatibility? Malware? etc.
    4. Which ones would you recommend?
    5. Which ones would you NOT recommend?

    Thanks in advance. :grin:

    Cheerio,
    Carpe Diem
     
  2. TriCube

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    I haven't done anything with attempting to write music in several years, but way back in high school I used a program called Finale Notepad and it was actually really nice and easy to use. It was free, and I never had any problems with it, although I wasn't exactly good at composing music. I don't know if it's still free but I'm sure there's a newer version out now than the one I used.

    EDIT: I just searched it.
    Here's the link. Looks better than I remember, and it's still free. :slight_smile:
     
    #2 TriCube, Mar 28, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2012
  3. roborama

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    I use Sibelius which is kind of expensive but I know of people who have found versions for free. I think it's fantastic but I mostly work with concert/marching music and I don't know what you're doing with it though I've heard that it's good for rock and jazz as well. I've heard good things about Finale but I personally think it's more tedious to use
     
  4. Bolin

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    I've tried Sibelius, Finale Notepad, Lilypond and Musescore. Musescore is my favorite by far because of its simplicity.
     
  5. Carpe Diem

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    Thanks for replying! :grin:

    @Allegro motto and tricube
    So Musescore it is. I have just installed it. Me likey things simple :grin: It looks user friendly. LOL, I didn't even look at the tutorial and have already gotten the hang of it (though clicking to create each note seems tiring, maybe there's a better method in the tutorial).

    I don't think Musescore can actually play the pieces, right? But I'm sure Sibelius can (which was why I was leaning towards Sibelius initially).

    @roborama
    I found Sibelius (the cracked version LOL) but I'm afraid to use it. The last time I used a cracked software, I had a trojan infestation thanks to it. So, I'll put that on the side for awhile. It also looks pretty complicated (but very nifty and has a cool interface look).

    I need the software for the following purposes:

    1. Transcribe a few movie soundtracks (Alec Puro's Dora's Art Opening from the movie The Good Night (2007)) Here is a small part of the whole piece:
    short version
    Longer version but not complete

    2. Rearrange some popular pieces (my favourite genres when it comes to piano - romantic, jazz, blues, boogie, contemporary, new age ambient, furniture music, etc. basically the stuff you would normally hear at a piano bar, lounge or a restaurant). Some of the pianists love to rearrange their own work in their performances so it sounds completely different from the official sheet music (that they release themselves) which really piss me off. :bang: So, I going to transcribe those rearrangements on my own since I couldn't find them.
     
    #5 Carpe Diem, Mar 29, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2012
  6. Fiddledeedee

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    I use Lilypond, which is free. It's an opensource project that can do almost anything. Technically it's not me that uses it, though – I give my handwritten drafts to my brother and he sets them and makes suggestions. The synchroniser isn't excellent (from what I've heard, Sibelius has the best) but it works for me. The only issue my brother has had with the program was keeping < and > dynamic markings even when writing a duet. Overall, I would reccommend the software.
     
  7. Bolin

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    Playback is possible on Musescore, you just have to select an .sf2 soundfont file to use with Musescore. If you look in the PDF guide or the online guide, there's a section that talks about them and links you to download links for .sf2 files and gives you instructions on how to get them to work with Musescore. =)

    I downloaded a soundfont file and the instruments sounds slightly realistic. I don't remember which I downloaded, however....Lol. It's kinda trial and error to see which one sounds best to you.
     
  8. steel03

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    I use Finale PrintMusic and have really liked it.

    Noteflight is free online and pretty decent.
    Notion probably sounds the best, but it's sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo expensive.
     
  9. Kerze

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    When I was doing music in school I bought sibalius which I found easy to use and worked for what I needed it for. It was quite expensive but when i ordered it from their website they never charged me for it and sent me the disk anyway :S
     
  10. GlindaRose

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    I use Sibelius 6. Definitely worth the price, and has all these quirks that make scoring really easy. It especially wins out for more complicated scoring, where some of the other notation programs may not have certain features that Sibelius does. I don't know huge amounts about the other notation programs though.