Technology is supposed to make it easier and faster to accomplish tasks. And, in theory, music software applications can be worth their weight in gold. But there is an important issue to consider: the learning curve. This may challenge even the experienced among us. To counteract this, consider using suite applications. This allows different software applications to employ the same user interface, making mastery of the product much easier and more direct. Microsoft Office 97, 2000, 2002, 2003 and now the Microsoft Office 2007 suites are good examples for a business/office application. Many modules are seamlessly integrated – such as Microsoft Word, Access, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook, among others – with data compatibility and the same user-interface.

Model Suite Concept for Music Educators
In a perfect world in terms of software development, an integrated suite is the most efficient way for busy music educators to teach several different software applications. However, most software applications are modular and proprietary. This means you have to learn different keystrokes between several software applications such as notation, sequencing, film scoring, et cetera. But now there is an Australian product that is attempting to set the global standard for all music software manufacturers. This powerful product seamlessly integrates six different instructional applications together with one user interface for the music education market. It is called Mastering Music, by Datasonics (www.datasonics.com.au).

There are some unique features that help Mastering Music stand apart. In one integrated package, Mastering Music teaches lessons in composing, publishing, digital audio, music theory, ear training and film scoring. And the learning curve is refreshingly short. 430 comprehensive tutorial lessons guide the user through various musical activities, with hyperlinks in the lessons that link to a help page containing text, pictures and video tutorials that tell-and-show how to complete the activities. Using this approach, it doesn’t take an “expert” to see results. Self-paced learning lets students move at a speed suited to their level of ability and experience. A V.I.P. introduction to Mastering Music is available online (www.datasonics.com.au/mmusavideo.html). You, the music educator, can spend time with students who need more direct supervision, while the majority of students will be able to work well on their own. The latest version of Mastering Music (7) includes a student log. As each student works through the lesson material, a log is generated containing which lessons were worked on, session times, and results achieved. Each student’s log file is in XML format and can be viewed using the log viewer. The teacher can access these to prepare reports on the student’s progress, or the logs can be accumulated to produce assessment reports. 

As a bonus, a full-blown sequencing program is also included in Mastering Music, called Music Master Professional, which can be run stand-alone as well as inside the lesson environment. Music Master Professional can record unlimited MIDI and audio tracks, open and save MIDI and audio wave files, and synchronize music to video clips. All MIDI tracks include automatic transposition, automated drum notation, and full chord analysis that also change as the song is transposed. The MIDI and notation are tightly coupled so one version of the song can be played with the sequencer and printed. Once again, it’s not necessary to learn how to do all of this before starting to use the program because the lessons within Mastering Music guide the user through each activity.  The program uses keyboard shortcuts for most of the actions (such as for each editor, e.g., for Notation).

Other Integrated Music Suites
Sony Media Software (www.sonymediasoftware.com) is developing a “total workflow” suite with their digital/audio products, such as Sound Forge 8, Vegas Movie Studio, Acid Pro 6, et cetera. This software can be used to create and master music, set it to video, burn files onto media, and publish online using their entire pro-product suite with some loop libraries. Cinescore, their soundtrack creation application for ACID (digital audio recording), can also be used to arrive at much the same result, quicker and easier.

Cinescore is a brand-new video composition application that brings new levels of customization, performance and accuracy to the world of professional soundtrack creation. And for busy music educators, this software application offers some outstanding shortcut capabilities with video productions and deadlines. It automatically generates an unlimited number of musical compositions using royalty-free theme packs in a wide array of popular styles. Each theme contains multiple variations that can be adjusted to produce an unlimited number of royalty-free compositions that can be coordinated to perfectly fit the length of a video clip. Cinescore generates an unlimited number of fully orchestrated compositions that custom fit to video by precisely matching the time duration specified. Parameters such as mood, tempo, and intensity can be adjusted to create anything from complex songs to short and sweet stinger tracks. I particularly like how Cinescore software provides the tools and flexibility to create highly customizable songs with full control over the soundtrack.

Sibelius (www.sibelius.com) is in the process of developing their own musical suite from its outstanding library of music applications. Though not totally interactive, Sibelius can now send parts of files to Groovy, for example, via a new Groovy markup plug-in. Their ear training and music theory products, Auralia and Musition, both use the Sibelius interface for certain topics. In Digidesign’s Pro Tools v7.3, there’s a “send to Sibelius” feature. More integrations will be taking place in Sibelius’ other products in the future, which will eventually evolve into a totally integrated suite of music software applications.

We music educators welcome these time-saving innovations with “one-stop-shopping” for technical support, installation, and program-to-program compatibility.

Shortcuts With Music Notation Applications
The two giants of music notation software are MakeMusic, Inc.’s Finale (www.makemusic.com/finale) and Sibelius’ Sibelius 4.0 (www.sibelius.com). In my opinion, the best thing that happened to Finale since their start in 1988 was the entrance into the US market in 1996 of rival software developer Sibelius. These two giants have done the most research & development of any company in the entire music tech industry. Competition has made the update versions of these two giants truly superior to previous versions. MakeMusic, Inc. offers the most comprehensive video tutorials for music notation applications in the industry. Content is crystal clear, providing specific steps to create music notation. There are 52 Quick Start Videos in Finale 2007, 47 in Finale Allegro, 29 in PrintMusic, and 18 in SongWriter. But it’s not necessary to watch 52 videos before using Finale 2007. These videos are generally very short and specific. For new users, I suggest watching the “Getting Started” and “Basic Skills” tutorial videos and then revisiting the Quick Start Videos that apply to specific tasks – they are topically structured and very easy to use to answer questions about additional aspects of score creation. These videos are perfect for those of us who don’t want to fumble through a user manual.

My favorite shortcut for entering notes in Finale is called “Simple Entry.” While “Simple Entry” makes adding notes as easy as point-and-click, it also allows the user to efficiently add articulations, expressions, clefs, time/key signatures, and many other items with intuitive keystrokes. The “Getting Started” videos are a great way to get these tips under your fingers.

When Finale is first opened, the Launch Window appears, which can also be found at any time under the File menu. This is a good place to begin any project and the Launch Window puts users one click away from a wide variety of tasks including building a score from scratch, using a pre-designed template, scanning an existing document, creating a SmartMusic file, and more. In addition, the Launch Window offers easy access to Finale’s learning Center, which includes the QuickStart Videos previously mentioned, and PDF versions of the User Manual and Tutorial Guides. These are searchable documents which are automatically downloaded to the user’s desktop and include easy-to-follow on-screen tutorials. Should the need arise, it’s easy to print out a page or two for a challenging project.

Other helpful shortcut features include: “Setup Wizard,” which makes it easy to create a new custom template; Band-in-a-Box Auto-Harmonizing; “Exercise Wizard” (Finale and Allegro only); and the “SmartMusic Accompaniment Wizard” (Finale only), which makes creating SmartMusic files easy.

The Selection Tool in Finale is another powerful feature. Choose it by clicking its arrow icon or access it through the shortcut by hitting the Esc key. Now clicking any kind of marking – such as a lyric, slur or articulation – will select it and move, nudge, edit or delete it. For more advanced editing, double-click to switch to the appropriate tool.

When the Selection Tool is chosen, Finale’s many contextual menus can also be accessed. For example, right-click (Mac users can also Control-click) on a time signature to see a contextual menu for a wide variety of time signatures to choose from – without having to navigate to a menu or a dialog box. Commonly used tools that offer context menus include the Chord Tool, Clef tool, Key Signature Tool, Lyrics Tool, Mass Edit Tool, Measure Tool, Page Layout Tool, Repeat Tool, Resize Tool, Staff Tool, Text Tool, and more.

Also worth mentioning is the free Finale NotePad. This free download can edit, play, and save any files created by any of these other programs. It offers a real shortcut to productivity because it can be used to collaborate with anyone with a computer – even if they haven’t yet purchased any music notation software.

Sibelius has, without a doubt, the cleanest and most elegant interface in the music notation market. This is because it is not a tool-based interface. Consequently, it offers pull-down menus with fewer levels of commands to execute key strokes. This helps make the software very user-friendly – easy to learn and master. 25+ pages of outstanding Sibelius shortcuts created by Robin Hodson of Sibelius are available online (www.kuzmich.com/Sibelius_V4_Quick_Start_Guide.pdf). These clearly defined shortcuts include topics such as setting up Sibelius, on-screen icons and floating Windows, entering notes, adding text and markings, using dynamic parts, altering the layout of a score, introduction to the arrange feature, formatting for worksheets, hand-outs and tests, making the most of plug-ins, music scanning tips and hints, downloading MIDI files from the web, basic shortcuts, creating scores for the Internet using Scorch, using Kontakt to burn CDs/rehearsal versions of scores, and adding video/MP3 files into scores. In addition, Sibelius offers 19 tutorial videos, which can be found in their Help pull-down menu. There is no better way to learn an application than to view timely, concise video tutorials.

Sibelius also has two contextual menus that are outstanding shortcuts, the best in the music notation market. Simply right-click on a blank part of the manuscript paper and you have 20 different options without having to go through a series of pull-down menus. In addition to each text style, there is word menu. Just right-click once in the text entry and eight different options become available. The word menus are editable and it’s even possible to create new ones. 

Regardless of which of these two “giants” you use, you have many shortcuts to streamline the learning curve.