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Music notation software is perhaps the most ubiquitous creative tool used by music educators. Unfortunately, outdated versions probably grace many most school computers, while today's products are vastly superior and more powerful. Here are ten reasons why now is the perfect time to upgrade or purchase the latest version of a notation program:
- Today's products are more user-friendly with fewer keystrokes to learn, simpler interface and have great tutorials.
- They have more power and features.
- Prices are very competitive, especially for educators.
- There are more quality products to select from than ever before.
- Playback options are vastly improved with virtual instrument technology.
- There are significant editing capabilities with multimedia options.
- Sharing musical compositions via MusicXML is revolutionary.
- Printing technology has never been more affordable.
- Music scanning is fast and economical.
- Posting musical scores on the Internet has never been easier.
Is it important that each notation product featured in this article contain every feature? No! Everyone has his or her own preferences and needs, and many teachers may not require all the whistles and bells available. In some cases, simplicity and user-friendliness may be more appropriate than complex notation capabilities. This article focuses on several excellent products designed for all levels of music education.
Music Notation Products
Datasonics' Mastering Music, (www.datasonics.com.au) is a unique product combining both a professional notation product and a MIDI/digital audio sequencing program in one easy-to-use interface. Best of all, it works with seven different editors to customize even the most difficult score. These include notation, global track, keyboard, event, mixer, drum, piano, and tempo editors, giving users detailed composing/arranging/editing capabilities. Not only does it have film scoring capabilities, but also music theory and aura training components. What clearly sets this product apart is that this student-friendly, curriculum-based product is classroom-ready "out of the box" with more than 400 tutorials and 75 videos.
Musitek's SmartScore X (www.smartscore.com) is a slick upgrade from previous versions. Although primarily designed as a music scanning product, it is has rather sophisticated music notation editing along with a powerful sequencer to playback scores, making it an attractive music notation product with unbeatable music scanning capabilities. Its playback system supports both VST (Windows) and AU (Mac) digital plug-ins, including the Garritan and Motu libraries. Available are five different versions ranging from guitar (1 music staff), piano (2 staves), MIDI (4 staves), songbook editing (3 staves) and pro edition with 36 staves per system. The price is a bargain considering its extensive music notation features along with a primo professional music-scanning product with nearly 100 percent accuracy on well-printed scores included, not to mention its MusicXMl capabilities to Finale, Sibelius and others.
Notation Composer by Notation Composer (www.notation.com) is a delightful notation program with numerous innovations. It is quick and easy to set up the staves, meter, and key signature for a new song. Its notation editing tools are uniformly presented in the user interface. Most are also accessible via palette buttons, menus, and keyboard shortcuts. It offers a great combination of integrated tools for editing notation and sound. Some of these include accent marks, dynamic marks, grace notes, trills, tremolos, phrase marks and MIDI. It can also export to MusicXML. With many new features forthcoming later this year, Notation Composer is a solid product for most music educators.
ScoreWriter (www.geniesoft.com) is a good entry-level notation product, similar to MakeMusic's Print Music 2008. It allows users to utilize up to two VST instruments, such as BandStand by Native-Instruments, for realistic playback. Notes can quickly be entered on-screen with a mouse or a computer keyboard and recorded for a MIDI performance. Scores can sound studio recorded through VST technology, and this is the least expensive notation product on the market offering VST capabilities.
Overture is a more advanced version of ScoreWriter by GenieSoft. Users can quickly enter notes on-screen with an intuitive interface and powerful editing tools and symbol palettes. It offers a wide variety of jazz articulations including lift, rip, wah-wah, fall off, wow-wow and shake with seven selection line types. Playback capabilities are significant and can load up to 256 VST instruments and 4 effects, resulting in studio-quality playback. There's an excellent web site comparing the features of ScoreWriter 4 and Overture at www.geniesoft.com/products/comparison.htm.
Encore by Gvox (www.gvox.com) has just made its most significant update in ten years, offering many new features that make this product user-friendly for simple lead sheets or symphonies in less time and with more control than ever before. I like its powerful editing capabilities along with how it graphically displays and plays back dynamic marks, repeats, multiple endings and pedal marks, with any MIDI controller. It is Garritan Personal Studio-ready for more authentic playback options. Users can choose between engraver spacing and mathematically aligned notes depending on his or her own layout preferences. Encore now offers Music XML import and export, and has Soundfont support with handwritten music style options. This is a versatile notation product for creating motion picture scores, orchestral arrangements, and choir songbooks, as well as teaching music.
Notion and Protégé by Notion Music (www.notionmusic.com) are the ultimate music notation applications for the most realistic playback performance directly from a score with 1,000-voice polyphony and an audio mixer with variable decay. The only difference between Notion and Protégé is that Protégé can write for only eight staves and save files as Protégé or .WAV file formats. All other features are identical to Notion. Articulations, 33-level dynamic resolution, performance techniques, tempo, and other score elements are rendered by a proprietary playback engine that uses samplings from the London Symphony Orchestra, featuring 33 instruments bundled with the software. Instruments can be added from an ever-expanding sound library. These programs feature complete real-time tempo and performance control utilizing their NTempo, including fermatas and breath marks. This ultra-control is great for customizing play-along accompaniments. It offers extensive editing, as well as MusicXML importing/exporting.
Play Music (www.notationware.com) is a great entry-level music notation product built especially for music educators who are not into music technology but would like to create music compositions arrangements and teach their students. The product is very affordable and yet powerful (up to 24 staves, MIDI recording, lyrics and more) and very user-friendly with 31 templates. Site licenses can bring down the price even more. One can easily create a composition, save, and print it in 30 minutes or less. And best of all, the manual is only 17 pages long.
Looking for a more innovative music hardware/combination to create and share musical compositions? Investigate the MusicPad Pro Plus by FreeHand Systems (www.freehandsystems.com). This tablet-like device for viewing and editing music and other documents enables convenient usage and storage of sheet music in digital format on the unit itself or on a USB memory stick inserted into the product. It can store thousands of pages of music with easy access, from home or from school. It turns pages automatically. Users can zoom in to edit more precisely and scores can be annotated in color. Quick revisions to existing sheet music, guitar tab or lyrics can be made using the Pad's editing features. Touch the screen to erase notes/markings; then use the a point-and-click notation palette to insert notes, rests, accidentals, dynamics markings, bowings, performance instructions and more. Import blank staves and do simple music composition using the same features. A future update will provide "scratch pad" notation functions, where if the user hand-draws staff lines, printed ones appear.
No More Hide-and-Go-Seek
Unfortunately, there are few sources for purchasing music notation products these days. However, here are three very knowledgeable and reliable sources to shop for music notation software: Kelly's Music & Computers (www.kellysmusicandcomputers.com); Romeo Music (www.romeomusic.net); and Mike Klinger (www.midiworkshop.com). Kellys Music offers a Web database wizard that can compare several music notation products side-by-side.
In September's issue of SBO, look for a run-down on the complete family of music notation products by Sibelius and MakeMusic (Finale), completing the spectrum of quality music notation products. One last note: most of these products offer demos, so try several demos before considering a purchase. |
