What Music Notation Program do You Use?

[funkcicle]

Sibelius is the only one I own, but I can't say that I use it that much. When I was teaching full time I used it a lot to transcribe parts, write out excercises, arrange charts.. but nowadays I've reverted back to using paper-and-pencil. Doesn't look as pretty, but it's a heck of a lot more convenient! I usually jot ideas down at work then play with them when I come home to see what they sound like... writing stuff for me is a several-step process that has to flow naturally. Sitting down in front of the computer and trying to do it on the screen just takes the feeling out of it for me!

For ease-of-use and pretty manuscripts, Igor engraver is great. I haven't seen the latest version but my old roommate had a version on her computer and I liked it a lot.

[finnbogi]

I use LilyPond. It is free, LaTeX based and produces beautiful output in postscript or pdf. It has a somewhat steep learning curve for those not familiar to LaTeX, but after that it's really easy to use. It also has some scripts for reading in MIDI, Finale files and more, so I can easily convert my older files to LilyPond.
At school, I have access to Sibelius but I don't use it anymore because I prefer to bring my laptop and use LilyPond. That's how easy it is!

[Rick F]

I use Finale (2001 ver.). It's a powerful program.

[Steve Marcus]

My wife bought me Finale for my birthday in 1997. It's installed on my computer, been updated--but I haven't even cracked open the tutorials. My priorities on my use of precious time have changed, including practicing tuba as much as time permits. Oh well, one of these days...

[DonShirer]

I have used five different composition programs in the past 20 years, but finally settled on Finale, which was the premier program at the time, and now have so many files in it that I dread changing to another program.

I have never found a job that it couldn't do (except update files from some of my weirder previous programs), and there are many areas that I haven't explored yet. Sometimes the series of actions you have to perform to do a job seem unnecessarily fussy, but with the online manual I have always been able to figure it out eventually.

The MIDI conversion is quite useful to check your work. In fact recently I wrote some background music for a Shakespearean play, and was able to record a production tape directly from Finale.

One thing I don't like about it is the price for updates. I am currently using the 2002 version and hope it will be sufficient for several more years.

Don S.

[tubanerd]

The little notation I've done I've used Lilypond http://lilypond.org . It's open source and is pretty decent for small jobs like taking that hand-written piece for your community band that's been copied 200x times and making something readable out of it.

[imperialbari]

Finale since 1991.

Results to be seen via the link below here. It is for you to decide, whether you consider my use of Finale living up to the reputation of Finale as being the engraving application giving you the most powerful control over most parameters.

Finale certainly needs an investment in the learning process. But then it allows for a continuing refinement of the production process as well as of the visual results.

Finale users have formed at least one huge, knowledgeable, and helpful web community. I certainly have benefited from joining it some years back.

http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale

Klaus

[imperialbari]

I find this poll cum thread most encouraging!

The numbers prove, that the majority of the engraving players of low conical brasses actually are intelligent. Which is a strong contradiction to common wisdom.

Another political posting from

Klaus

[finnbogi]

The little notation I've done I've used Lilypond ... It's open source and is pretty decent for small jobs ...

Actually, it's the large jobs that I would dread doing in any other program than LilyPond. Using includes, global configuration files and makefiles is essential when you've got lots of instruments and even more notes.

[ken k]

If you want to try out Finale, they just came out with Notepad 2004 which you can downl;oad for free from their website makemusic.com

ken k

[CJ Krause]

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[Dan Schultz]

A freebie called 'Anvil Studio'. For a small one-time charge ($19 if I remember correctly) you can buy a module to print out your music. Upgrades are free.

[imperialbari]

...but I honestly don't know how people can compose on Finale/Sibelius...

The composing and even the arranging process differs immensely from musician to musician.

While I still could hold a pencil in my hands and use it for writing, which is very long ago, I mostly wrote without testing on the piano.

The Finale notation process basically is the same, but with the benefit of a control listening over a MIDI module.

Klaus

[tjonp]

I use finale, simply because my university uses it, and I work in the music tech lab. I'm somewhat aggravated with its lack of user friendliness at times, and that they still don't have a cheaper version for Mac OS X. PrintMusic and Allegro still only run in classic, and Notepad, though it does run natively, doesn't have any extra features.

[Carroll]

I use Finale because the publisher of the composer that I do copy work for demands all files be in Finale (and the latest version) format. As long as he pays me to do the work... I will give the publisher what they want. It will, however, do ANYTHING you need in even the most contempoary score. The learning curve is admittedly steep. My advice is to choose a project and just learn what you need for that job. Then choose another...

Carroll

[tubacdk]

sibelius for me as well

[Scott Sutherland]

I use Finale, and have for 8 years. Between Sibelius and Finale, I would make a recommendation based on the amount of time one will need to use it, and how picky one is about the look of one's work. Finale is the more powerful of the two, in other words, you have more control over every minute detail of the work. Sibelius, on the other hand, is much easier to get an acceptable looking document quickly. I am a perfectionist when it comes to my arrangements and the look of the parts, coupled with the fact that I know Finale very, very well, and the choice is clear for me.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I'm still on Finale, albeit an older version (2001)...my opinion is that Finale is often wrongly maligned for ease-of-use problems. I'm not the brightest card in the deck, and I still find Finale easy to use, especially with the extensive help files included with the program for "on-line" use.

[Geotuba]

I use Noteworthy Composer for small jobs, Silbelius for larger jobs.

None of them are that good though - they don't have any means of accepting input from a Tuba. You always have to use one of those funny keyboard thingies with the black and white buttons

[lgb&dtuba]

Allegro from Finale. Much less expensive with most of the important features.