Best Program to Compose Marching Band Music?

[SousaWarrior9]

What programs work best to compose marching band/drum corps music? (preferably a free program 'cause I'm broke, or at least on that isn't very expensive)
i.e. they have realistic-sounding instruments, include marching percussion, and can handle a large number of tracks to include an entire band. Also a program where you can control dynamics and tempo changes would be preferred.
Thanks!

[Todd S. Malicoate]

(preferably a free program 'cause I'm broke, or at least on that isn't very expensive)

None of them. You can't get "professional" features without spending some green.

[van]

You may find a copy of PrintMusic on ebay for well under list price but it will not be the latest version. I bought a 2009 version that way a couple of years ago and it worked out well. It was in a sealed box with full documentation and I was able to register it just as if I had bought it directly from MakeMusic .

Finale has a promotion through the end of May that allows upgrade from PrintMusic (if you already have it) to full Finale for $99. The rumor is that MakeMusic is selling Finale to another company and the new company is planning a major revamping of the program. They want to clear out the current inventory and hope that the new program will be such a hit that current users will be willing to shell out hundreds more to get it. We'll see about that.

[Dan Schultz]

.... Finale used to have a free version called PrintMusic....

Wade, I don't recall 'PrintMusic' as ever being free. It was/is Finale's 'middle-of-the-road' product that is the lowest level in their line that has scanning capability. I've used it for about ten years before finally upgrading to the full Finale. I think I paid about $130 for 'PrintMusic' back then but recently was offered the full version of Finale as an upgrade for $95.

Finale's free version is called 'NotePad'. It's pretty limited but it's free.

[SousaWarrior9]

thanks, guys for all the great feedback. I'll look into getting PrintMusic. Looks to be just about what I need!

[DonShirer]

Re: Sibelius

Also, it seems that Avid has dumped the product.

Well, it's still available from Avid--I just updated to version 7.

[Dan Schultz]

http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/ ... -down.html

This happened almost a year ago. I have heard no more about what will happen. There are online petitions if you would care to fight this. I cannot stand Sibelius, but a market with zero real competition would be a very bad thing for the future of my preferred product, Finale. So I have signed a couple of them, myself. Having your competition die is a quick way to let your own quality slip.

There's something going on in the industry for sure. Lord only knows what, though. Finale just offered an upgrade to full-blown finale for only $95. Some speculated that Finale is hedging to increase it's database of users. Sibelius may not be quite finished.

I'm hoping for a cheap upgrade from SmartScore Pro for their scanning software.