Notation programs

Bach5G · Post by **Bach5G** » Sat Jul 21, 2018 9:40 pm

This comes up from time to time. I’m wondering if there’s anything new out there.

Musescore - free.

Finale/Sibelius- the standard, but expensive for a hobbyist.

Printmusic- Finale light, buggy and last updated in 2014.

Presonus Notion was well regarded and not too expensive.

I need enough staves for a big band arrangement.

Post by **Matt K** » Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:23 am

Dorico also seems to be gaining ground. It is developed by the team who built Sibelius prior to their acquisition by Avid. It's also fairly pricey. There really isn't anything in between free and professional. Though I will say that MuseScore released v2 sometime last year I believe and it is leaps and bounds above v1. People seem to be able to come up with some really professional looking stuff in it; I don't know if you can be a 'pro' and use it (in the sense that publishing companies might not accept it) but for your purposes it would be quite fine. LilyPond is another free alternative that some people seem to like but it doesn't seem to be nearly as robust to me as MuseScore though I also haven't used it in awhile so I don't know if its likewise improved since I last did any serious testing between the applications.

I still use Sibelius because I have a perpetual license for 7.5 and it's what I'm familiar with. I purchased that license around the time the acquisition happened... so when 7 came out I believe. Feels like at least 5 years but I could be wrong about that. I qualify for an academic license so it was like $250 or something... or $50/yr. For me, that price is worth it although I've been switching over everything to Linux recently and I'm not a full-time musician (or even part time

) and so I have been tempted to export everything I have in XML format and just go for MuseScore. Sibelius has always given me license issues that are really annoying when I just want to sit down and write.

DutchGuy · Post by **DutchGuy** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 3:24 am

I use Sibelius, because I know how it works

I honestly haven't even tried the other ones available. Not for long anyways.
The main reason I chose Sibelius was that it had (and still has) the option to easily scan sheet music (or import PDFs) and import that into Sibelius to edit. It's a paid plug-in though (photoscore). This makes it expensive to use, but worth it for me. There are student licenses and 'light' plugins available as well.

There now is a free one with up to 4 instruments, a regular one at 5 dollars a month or 109 forever, and then there's the ultimate for 20 a month or 560 forever. The plugins I mentioned is Photoscore, available in 'lite' for about 70 or 'ultimate' for 229.

I use it mostly for arranging stuff. Scanning very old archived files, and make new and up-to data versions of that. Changing small parts in existing parts, moving stuff around in the scores. Sometimes even just fitting a part onto 1 page or making it landscape instead of portrait. That kind of stuff. It's REALLY useful if you don't have to rewrite the whole score or part first.

SimmonsTrombone · Post by **SimmonsTrombone** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:06 am

I use Overture by sonic scores. It was called Encore 20+ years ago, became part of Cakewalk, and then reverted to the original coder, Don Williams. He just did a major upgrade a year or so ago so that it will do almost anything a full audio program will do. There are also less inclusive versions.
https://sonicscores.com/

SwissTbone · Post by **SwissTbone** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:04 am

I use Sibelius First. A good compromise for me and "only" 100 usd if I remember right.

Here is a comparison chart with the full blown sibelius http://www.sibelius.com/products/sibeli ... mpare.html

The major disadvantage is you can have only 16 staves. But if you write 3 voices on one stave you can still write for full orchestra.

And if you really want to have one voice per staff you can find people on fiverr who can arrange that for you.

Bassbonechandler · Post by **Bassbonechandler** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:34 am

I happen to be lucky because I'm a student and got finale for $90ish instead of $400. I know how to use finale so I don't really see any point in trying anything else.

timothy42b · Post by **timothy42b** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:39 am

I still use Noteworthy Composer. I'm on 1.75, and they're now up to 2.75, I guess I should upgrade someday.

AndrewMeronek · Post by **AndrewMeronek** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 7:52 am

I'm a Sibelius user. I used Musescore for big band last year a couple of times, mainly to check it out. It's fine for generating parts from a score, but the version I had didn't really produce good looking scores; just pragmatic. The parts looked fine. I understand that there has been a major version upgrade since then, though.

Sibelius does produce great, professional looking manuscript in parts and scores, but other programs can do this too. From what I've seen, the big advantage of the expensive software, and what makes them expensive, is the fairly high quality audio mockups you can create from scores. If you know what you're doing, MIDI playback is fine, but for people who don't know how to properly orchestrate (or for non-musicians who need to get an idea of what a piece of music will be about) those audio mockups are invaluable.

Mikebmiller · Post by **Mikebmiller** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:36 pm

There is a fairly new web site called Noteflight.com which has a free version or a paid version that is $8 a month or $50 a year. Jim Nova told us at STS that this company had been acquired by Hal Leonard and would hopefully be selling his Star Wars arrangements soon.

As far as how good it it, I have no idea.

ExZacLee · Post by **ExZacLee** » Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:09 pm

I use Finale exclusively. It is not the easiest program, it is not quick if you're not fluent with it, and frankly the MIDI mockups suck (I'm not a fan of Garritan at all). As far as making professionally engraved parts, though, I don't think it has a competitor. It is the "industry standard" for a reason - you can do anything with it. You just need to get fluent. Given the plethora of online videos (free and paid) and third party manuals, it's soooooooo much easier to learn now than it was when I started with it (Finale 2000 was my first version.) You just need to invest time, which you're going to do with any notation program. I've seen on forums where people complain that they have to use MS paint or Adobe PDF or something to edit it after they're done - that's not necessary in 99% of cases, you just have to know how to do what it is you want to do.

Sibelius is probably closest as far as available competitors that produce professional results in a reasonable user interface, but it's part of AVID now and they got rid of the original programmers and it's by subscription so I can't recommend them anymore. The MIDI mockups in sib sound a little better and it's capable of sounding great if you want to get under the hood and tweak it. Many of my colleagues use Sibelius, and most professional engravers use Finale and Sibelius (or are at least skilled enough to work in both) as those two are the most commonly used by publishers, composers and arrangers. I don't use both, and while that's only cost me work on one project, it was a project I really wanted to be involved in.

Dorico (made by the old Sib guys) has promise, but I'd wait a few more versions to see if they get everything together before I plopped down the money on it. A lot of people in the engraving community are excited about that one. I think they're working out a bunch of the requirements that jazz/commercial/studio engravers need so maybe I'll try it out in a little while, but I honestly don't see a reason to switch instead it just blows me away.

Most other pro level programs seem to involve a lot of programming and/or busy work to get them the way you want, so I don't mess with those.

As far as free stuff, MuseScore is king of the free programs. Many of my students use it and have produced pretty good results, but not quite the level I expect for professionally engraved parts (although this admittedly could be due to user error and not limitations of the program.)

Bach5G · Post by **Bach5G** » Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:45 pm

Noteflight looks interesting. Subscription means no huge initial investment. I think I’ll give it a try.

imsevimse · Post by **imsevimse** » Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:52 pm

I have had a look at Finale and tried to use it but I thought it was to difficult. It took a lot of time. Sibelius 6 was at the time a good and easy program to use. I choose Sibelius and learned it pretty well. Then Sibelius 7 came. The sounds were much better but unfortunately they changed a lot of other things too which I think was sad. It started to look much like Finale. Maybe they wanted to attract users from Finale. To me it lost the charm of being an easy tool. I still struggle with the most basic things in Sibelius 7 because most menues are changed. In the old version I knew how to solve things but in Sibelius 7 I felt like a newbe. It lead to I rarely do anything nowdays but I guess even Sibelius 7 is old by now.

/Tom

Post by **Matt K** » Thu Aug 02, 2018 7:02 pm

imsevimse wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:52 pm I have had a look at Finale and tried to use it but I thought it was to difficult. It took a lot of time. Sibelius 6 was at the time a good and easy program to use. I choose Sibelius and learned it pretty well. Then Sibelius 7 came. The sounds were much better but unfortunately they changed a lot of other things too which I think was sad. It started to look much like Finale. Maybe they wanted to attract users from Finale. To me it lost the charm of being an easy tool. I still struggle with the most basic things in Sibelius 7 because most menues are changed to look like Finale. In the old version I knew how to do most things. It lead to I rarely do anything nowdays but I guess even Sibelius 7 is old by now.

/Tom

At least you can search for stuff in the top right corner. (E.g. if you can't remember how to do slash cords, you can type chord and it'll give useful suggestions. At least.. I think they're useful

Cmillar · Post by **Cmillar** » Fri Aug 03, 2018 8:25 am

Here's a great review of Sibelius and how it's evolved since version 7.5 on 'ScoringNotes.com':

https://www.scoringnotes.com/tutorials/ ... -features/

Finetales · Post by **Finetales** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:36 pm

I'm still using Sibelius 7.1.3, which was the last version before 7.5 and (if I remember right) the last version the old developers were responsible for. I started with Sibelius 5 and didn't have any trouble adjusting to 6 and then 7. I also use NotePerformer with Sibelius, which really elevates the MIDI playback to another level. It's several orders of magnitude better than the default sounds and anything else I've ever heard from a notation software.

I have Sibelius 8 at work and there are definitely some nice improvements, but not nearly enough for me to feel the need to fork over the cash. I just checked out the Sibelius website and now they're apparently calling the full version "Sibelius | Ultimate" for some reason. I'm most certainly not willing to pay $400 to upgrade to it - I wish they sold a cheaper upgrade to 8, but I guess that ship sailed.

JasonDonnelly · Post by **JasonDonnelly** » Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:23 pm

I am by no means a "real" composer or arranger, but MuseScore does everything I need it to do.

To be fair, 90% of the stuff I notate will only ever be read by me, so it doesn't matter too much what I use. But I have managed to make some sleek looking engravings that fooled professors into thinking I use Sibelius...

mwpfoot · Post by **mwpfoot** » Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:11 pm

I've used Finale forever and make well-formatted parts with it, and it has gotten progressively better and better, but man, I just had a show due and the MIDI went sideways ... the only way i could get playback going this time was export to MusicXML, import, and fix everything that got bashed in the translation to/from "generic". There's a gremlin loose in the v25 MIDI code, I swear.

Also in the midst of figuring that out I deleted the Piccolo staff, surprisingly easy to do without much feedback in the Score Manager, but thankfully that's maybe the 2nd easiest part to recreate on the fly (Glock being #1), still ... c'mon Finale.

Also every time I do marching percussion parts with playback I feel like I'm reinventing the wheel. The new "transpose percussion" feature is a huge help sound-wise, but the notation itself is still ultimately hand cobbled into the forms preferred by the bands I'm writing for. I should probably start fixing myself by creating new templates for my various groups in v25.

So yeah, it's great stuff that is occasionally awful and I continue to pay them for the pleasure because ultimately it's the real deal and it's probably my fault.

sungfw · Post by **sungfw** » Tue Aug 14, 2018 1:18 pm

JasonDonnelly wrote: ↑Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:23 pm But I have managed to make some sleek looking engravings that fooled professors into thinking I use Sibelius...

Not a very high bar, in my experience.

Savio · Post by **Savio** » Wed Aug 15, 2018 1:50 am

I use Sibelius, the reason is I get it free at work. This Musescore looks ok. Free, and feels a little like Sibelius.

Leif

Lawrie · Post by **Lawrie** » Sun Sep 23, 2018 9:20 pm

timothy42b wrote: ↑Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:39 am I still use Noteworthy Composer. I'm on 1.75, and they're now up to 2.75, I guess I should upgrade someday.

Hey Tim,
I can thoroughly recommend the latest version of Noteworthy, even without the user created plugins and tools that are available the printed output is streets ahead of 1.75

Also, if you haven't already, join the forum and see just what useful additions are available.
https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/

robcat2075 · Post by **robcat2075** » Sun Sep 23, 2018 10:02 pm

I use MuseScore. The list of things it doesn't do is pretty short.

One shortcoming I'm surprised they haven't addressed is the absence of a hipster "manuscript" notation font for jazz purposes.

Other than that...?

harrisonreed · Post by **harrisonreed** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 10:35 am

Sibelius 6 is all you need. I guarantee music will change enough in your lifetime to need a different program, especially the newer versions of Sibelius which are not only not any better than 6, but on some weird pay as you go plan.

Post by **Matt K** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 10:55 am

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 10:35 am Sibelius 6 is all you need. I guarantee music will change enough in your lifetime to need a different program, especially the newer versions of Sibelius which are not only not any better than 6, but on some weird pay as you go plan.

7.5 isn't pay as you go either. 8 is whn that starts. My big worry with that plan would be that they'd silently remove the licensing server at some point and you'd be up a creek without a paddle so to speak. Also thy won't potentially be compatible with your OS at some point. I think 6 runs on 10 but who knows if... whatever Windows comes up with next... will continue to be supported. Or if Windows itself will not be a pay-as-you-go model!

harrisonreed · Post by **harrisonreed** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:10 am

Licensing shouldn't be an issue though. Sibelius 6 spits out PDFs or printed materials which are not "sibelius branded" and you can deny it access to the internet. I guess I'd have to read the license -- I'm assuming that it's one where it says "you bought this program, but you actually don't own it or anything that it engraves. Your life is an illusion."

Bummer...

harrisonreed · Post by **harrisonreed** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:28 am

Nevermind. That breaks the program.

Leisesturm · Post by **Leisesturm** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:46 am

Kind of a hijack ... kind of ... but I've been using MuseScore for a few days. Mainly I have .pdf's to start with, and need to transpose parts or the entire score. MuseScore offers a conversion service to its native format from .pdf but I have found it to be awful. I have yet to find the pdf that it does a decent job on. Of 5 files submitted, two were not converted at all, and the other three had such extensive variations from the original that they were also unusable. So now I am entering the entire scores by hand (mouse) and finding that the program is not terribly intuitive. I have looked at the basic video tutorial so can at least enter notes but cannot copy or edit elements which are the main keys to speed and facility. It would actually be worth paying for a commercial program that had a robust .pdf importation feature. Do any of the well known programs have this feature? Does it work well?

Post by **Matt K** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:01 pm

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:28 am Nevermind. That breaks the program.

Yeah, unfortunately. It'll work as long as its registered (up through 7.5) but if you need to do it again, it'll need to "phone" home. There are keygens out there for some of the versions but they're all also malware at the same time (also unethical from a certain viewpoint, though I think you could make a compelling argument in the case of software you've already purchased). Who knows how long they'll offer the "you can register this software over the phone too" option as well.

Leisesturm wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:46 am Kind of a hijack ... kind of ... but I've been using MuseScore for a few days. Mainly I have .pdf's to start with, and need to transpose parts or the entire score. MuseScore offers a conversion service to its native format from .pdf but I have found it to be awful. I have yet to find the pdf that it does a decent job on. Of 5 files submitted, two were not converted at all, and the other three had such extensive variations from the original that they were also unusable. So now I am entering the entire scores by hand (mouse) and finding that the program is not terribly intuitive. I have looked at the basic video tutorial so can at least enter notes but cannot copy or edit elements which are the main keys to speed and facility. It would actually be worth paying for a commercial program that had a robust .pdf importation feature. Do any of the well known programs have this feature? Does it work well?

Unfortunately, it's almost all universally not good. The best one taht I'm aware of escape me at the moment but its offered with Sibelius. It will only work for PDFs that were engraved with mostly stock fonts and that sort of thing by Finale/Sibelius and its wrong enough of the time that in my experience, you're better off doing it by hand anyway. (PhotoScore maybe?)

Mostly speed comes with experience. I get enter stuff in pretty quick with Sibelius but it took awhile to get to that point.

harrisonreed · Post by **harrisonreed** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:02 pm

Photoscore (Sibelius) works pretty well.

robcat2075 · Post by **robcat2075** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:07 pm

Several years ago I tried trial versions of pdf reading software. They do well on music that was computer-generated and absolutely square and clean. Not so well on the sort of pdfs you get off IMSLP.

Maybe they have gotten better since then

Leisesturm wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:46 am Kind of a hijack ... kind of ... but I've been using MuseScore for a few days ...

So now I am entering the entire scores by hand (mouse) and finding that the program is not terribly intuitive..

I recall back on the old TTF someone said it was too slow and difficult to do X Y and Z in MuseScore.

So I made a video that showed it was really pretty fast and easy to do X Y and Z, and his response was, "Well, that's just because you know how to use the program!"

I'll just briefly note that knowing the keyboard shortcuts will save you a lot of mouse travel time.

Post by **Matt K** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:39 pm

That's exactly right. If you're using the mouse, you're going to be slow on any of the notation programs. Sibelius and MuseScore are actually fairly similar now - though different enough that I have issues with MuseScore because enough of the shortcuts are mapped differently that I get confused! Purely a habit type of thing though.

Another trick that some people use is to get some kind of gaming mouse or game controller like a Logitec G13. I don't personally use it but if you're good with macros you can program them to do shortcuts. The mouse that I have (G600) has 18 buttons, each which have three modes. You can map one of the buttons to swap modes or you can use one of the three "clicks" to switch between them. So button 1 might do CTRL + 1 but then if you hold down the third clicky button, it'll do ALT + 1. Or you can press button 2 and it'll change all 16 keys to their third functionality. Same thing goes with the G13. It can all get very confusing an proprietary though. They standard keyboard offers so many options that I usually find it to be pretty quick and its standard so I don't have to have any special equipment with me to do work.

robcat2075 · Post by **robcat2075** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 2:17 pm

Matt K wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:39 pm ... Sibelius and MuseScore are actually fairly similar now - though different enough that I have issues with MuseScore because enough of the shortcuts are mapped differently that I get confused! Purely a habit type of thing though.

I haven't tried it but you can redefine keyboard shortcuts in MuseScore.

I would not be surprised if someone has already made a file of some sort that converts them all to mimic another program.

Post by **Matt K** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 2:22 pm

I don't know if you could totally replicate it because it isn't merely a matter of the shortcuts. In Sibelius, you have a small window that defines what current "mode" you are in and you cycle through that with the "+" key. So there are like 6 sheets of mappings. The first one is basic articulations and note lengths, then others are for things like slurs. To be honest, MuseScore's is probably more intuitive. It would be hard NOT to be the case, after all

Just a matter of learning. I haven't done any writing in quite some time but if I got back into it, I'd probably just try to learn MuseScore as I've switched off all my machines to Linux anyway.

Mikebmiller · Post by **Mikebmiller** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:00 pm

How long would it take a complete idiot (me) who has never used any notation software to become reasonably proficient in Musescore?

robcat2075 · Post by **robcat2075** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:17 pm

Mikebmiller wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:00 pm How long would it take a complete idiot (me) who has never used any notation software to become reasonably proficient in Musescore?

Get MuseScore.
Watch their quick start video(s)
Pick some modest project, like copying a four-part SATB Bach choral as written.
Don't use their template. Start it from scratch.
Grind through it as best you can. Look up answers in the manual as your first resort for help.
When you are truly stuck, ask questions.

When you are done you will know quite a bit.

Tetraphosphate · Post by **Tetraphosphate** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:44 pm

Musescore is great, but sibelius is greater (and also expensiver tho)

robcat2075 · Post by **robcat2075** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:05 pm

Tetraphosphate wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:44 pm Musescore is great, but sibelius is greater (and also expensiver tho)

I hear that often but... what is it?

Educate me. What is it that you only get with Sibelius?

harrisonreed · Post by **harrisonreed** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:11 pm

robcat2075 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:05 pm
Tetraphosphate wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:44 pm Musescore is great, but sibelius is greater (and also expensiver tho)
I hear that often but... what is it?

Educate me. What is it that you only get with Sibelius?

Polish, ease of use. I dunno, you can tell when something came from Sibelius. It also integrates well with Kontakt, so your band sounds real, and not fake.

robcat2075 · Post by **robcat2075** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:14 pm

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:11 pm Polish, ease of use. I dunno, you can tell when something came from Sibelius.

Example?

Gatt · Post by **Gatt** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:36 pm

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:11 pm
robcat2075 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:05 pm I hear that often but... what is it?

Educate me. What is it that you only get with Sibelius?
Polish, ease of use. I dunno, you can tell when something came from Sibelius. It also integrates well with Kontakt, so your band sounds real, and not fake.

It's no good to those of us that don't speak Polish!

harrisonreed · Post by **harrisonreed** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:28 am

robcat2075 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:14 pm
harrisonreed wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:11 pm Polish, ease of use. I dunno, you can tell when something came from Sibelius.
Example?

Is there an example of a Shires horn having more polish than a Jupiter horn? Not sure what you want here.

The Sibelius end user interface, especially in v. 6, is just a lot easier to use, and the key shortcuts all make sense. It isn't like this is rocket science though. By all means, use a pen and paper and you can still get the same result, and do things that are impossible in Sibelius.

robcat2075 · Post by **robcat2075** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 8:49 am

I was seriously expecting someone to show me a whole note made in Sibelius and it was going to be so obviously more whole and more note than a whole note made in Musescore that it would all be game over for MuseScore.

harrisonreed · Post by **harrisonreed** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 8:56 am

tjonz · Post by **tjonz** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 9:04 am

My needs are modest and infrequent, but FWIW I've found a workflow that works quite well for me. Perhaps others will find it useful, too.

For data entry I draw notes on a staff on my iPad using an Apple Pencil and Neuratron's NotateMe app for iOS. My early experiences using my finger to draw in NotateMe were disappointing, but since the addition of Apple Pencil support I've found its handwriting recognition highly reliable. Once all the data has been entered I export it as MusicXML and import it into MuseScore for final touch-up and engraving.

Leisesturm · Post by **Leisesturm** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:34 am

robcat2075 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 25, 2018 8:49 am I was seriously expecting someone to show me a whole note made in Sibelius and it was going to be so obviously more whole and more note than a whole note made in Musescore that it would all be game over for MuseScore.

I know, right. But I suppose I would be defensive too if I paid hundreds of dollars to have Microsoft Windowsᵀᴹ operating system on my laptop or desktop when someone using Linux asks me point blank, why?

robcat2075 · Post by **robcat2075** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 11:14 am

Leisesturm wrote: ↑Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:34 am I know, right. But I suppose I would be defensive too if I paid hundreds of dollars to have Microsoft Windowsᵀᴹ operating system on my laptop or desktop when someone using Linux asks me point blank, why?

Who is paying hundreds of dollars for Windows? I got my genuine Windows 7 for $99 from NewEgg.

I see similar prices for Windows 10 ... $99 -$199 depending on the version.

For me, that's worth it to know that my software and devices will work, something that hasn't been true when I tried linux.

The computer cost way more than $99. $99 more to use it is not a deal breaker. The fee to use the internet is about half that every month.

You may call that defensive. I call it reasons.

Leisesturm · Post by **Leisesturm** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:08 pm

robcat2075 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 25, 2018 11:14 am
Leisesturm wrote: ↑Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:34 am I know, right. But I suppose I would be defensive too if I paid hundreds of dollars to have Microsoft Windowsᵀᴹ operating system on my laptop or desktop when someone using Linux asks me point blank, why?
You may call that defensive. I call it reasons.

I meant the other guy ...

Bach5G · Post by **Bach5G** » Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:56 pm

I gave NoteFlight a quick try, but I could see it had a bit more of a learning curve than I wanted to deal with.

So I had a look at Musescore. I had a go at this a few years ago and I can see it working well enough for my purposes.

timothy42b · Post by **timothy42b** » Thu Oct 04, 2018 9:39 am

Lawrie wrote: ↑Sun Sep 23, 2018 9:20 pm
timothy42b wrote: ↑Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:39 am I still use Noteworthy Composer. I'm on 1.75, and they're now up to 2.75, I guess I should upgrade someday.
Hey Tim,
I can thoroughly recommend the latest version of Noteworthy, even without the user created plugins and tools that are available the printed output is streets ahead of 1.75

Thanks. I tried but couldn't find my proof I'd paid for 1.75, but this weekend I was cleaning out some bookshelves and found the original disc. I'm going to upgrade (especially since apparently NWC does okay with WINE.)

timothy42b · Post by **timothy42b** » Thu Oct 04, 2018 9:46 am

Mikebmiller wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:00 pm How long would it take a complete idiot (me) who has never used any notation software to become reasonably proficient in Musescore?

Less time than you think. IMO a complete newbie will do better at this, because Musescore has some nonstandard approaches to doing the same things other programs do. I found myself handicapped at Musescore by trying to do edits the way I do in NWC or Finale.

I recall back on the old TTF someone said it was too slow and difficult to do X Y and Z in MuseScore.

So I made a video that showed it was really pretty fast and easy to do X Y and Z, and his response was, "Well, that's just because you know how to use the program!"

That was probably me, and I probably phrased it awkwardly. There are ways to do what I need to do in Musescore, as your video showed, but they are quite far from the way I'm used to doing it.

robcat2075 · Post by **robcat2075** » Thu Oct 04, 2018 11:32 am

timothy42b wrote: ↑Thu Oct 04, 2018 9:46 am

That was probably me,

Indeed it was you. i looked at the video again. The question was how to put a measure of 5/4 in the midst of several 4/4 measures.

The Musescore solution is to drag a "5/4" from a palette of time signatures onto the desired measure. Done.

If that is non-standard, what is the standard?