Notation Software

[Arnak]

Hi,

Could I please have some advice on the simplest Music Notation software?

I have Musescore 3 and find it very difficult to use as it persists in adding rests etc to the music that I am attempting to input from a score.

What I often do is take a piece of sheet music that has parts that are repeated and codas that make the music require a lot of page turning.

As I play with just the melody and the chords I don't need the bass line showing so I type the score into a notation program without the bass line and with the repeated sections put down sequentially, thus avoiding page-turning.

Programs such as Musescore always insist on doing things their way and making a mess of the notation.

I am looking for software that is very simple and does not attempt to correct what I put in, so it would just accept my input as it is as I know what I want.

Does such a piece of software even exist?

Thanks,

Martin

[Fred Smith]

I use Finale, and it can do what you want. Not sure I'd call it simple, though.

Cheers,
Fred

[Arnak]

Hi Fred,

Thanks for the reply, I'll have a look at that.

Martin

[Oldden]

I think that Sibelius First is free.

[Roger Brenizer]

Hi,

Could I please have some advice on the simplest Music Notation software?

I have Musescore 3 and find it very difficult to use as it persists in adding rests etc to the music that I am attempting to input from a score.

What I often do is take a piece of sheet music that has parts that are repeated and codas that make the music require a lot of page turning.

As I play with just the melody and the chords I don't need the bass line showing so I type the score into a notation program without the bass line and with the repeated sections put down sequentially, thus avoiding page-turning.

Programs such as Musescore always insist on doing things their way and making a mess of the notation.

I am looking for software that is very simple and does not attempt to correct what I put in, so it would just accept my input as it is as I know what I want.

Does such a piece of software even exist?

Thanks,

Martin

I use MuseScore 3 and you can turn off the bass clef or any other part of the sheet you choose to disable.  You can also even remove staff lines and instrument parts, Martin.

[mikf]

Readiing this thread prompted me to take a look at some of this notation software, and I have to say I thought Sibelius was impressive. Looking at some of the on-line videos it seemed pretty easy to make lead sheets or more complex scores either by typing, using the mouse or even by direct playing a small midi keyboard attached to the computer. Seemed fairly simple to use and I think I might download and try the free version.
Mike

[Roger Brenizer]

It probably boils down to what notation software you're most familiar with.  MuseScore has all those features, Mike, and they also have a sheet scanning tool that has come a long way, since first being released several years ago.

I've tried several different notation programs over the years and have purchased many of them, including Sibelius, but I've always come back to MuseScore.

[Arnak]

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestions.

I found that Musescore can delete the bass stave with no problem but inputting the notes and making changes is a nightmare!

I'll have a loo at Sibelius First, hopefully, that will be more straightforward.

Martin

[mikf]

You are probably right Roger, because I took a look at Musescore 3.6 and it also seemed pretty good- and it is free. Both Musescore and Sibelius seem to be easily used for a lead sheet format , treble clef and chords. You didn't seem to need to delete the bass clef on either because you can just select the treble in the initial format choice.

Mike

[Roger Brenizer]

You are probably right Roger, because I took a look at Musescore 3.6 and it also seemed pretty good- and it is free. Both Musescore and Sibelius seem to be easily used for a lead sheet format , treble clef and chords. You didn't seem to need to delete the bass clef on either because you can just select the treble in the initial format choice.

Mike

The only reason you would need to delete the bass clef, Mike, is if you first imported a scanned piano sheet that contained both the bass and treble clefs.  You're correct, that if you were creating a new sheet you would just select the treble clef format.

[JohnS]

I've used Finale for 20 years now, and it does a great job for me.

All my music is now Finale'd.

I can easily get two A4 sheets onto a 23" monitor, which makes it so comfortable to use.

How people can use an iPad, I don't know. My sight is certainly not good enough for that.

I recommend it.

John.

[Fred Smith]

How people can use an iPad, I don't know. My sight is certainly not good enough for that.

Easy. Put one page on an 11" iPad, so it's now the same size. Have your registrations change the page as needed.

As you can have an unlimited number of pages on an iPad, you can increase the font size to whatever level you need.

Cheers,
Fred

[andyg]

Musescore will do exactly what you need it to do and I can assure you it's better than Sibelius First, which is so stripped down from the true Sibelius (now known as Sibelius Ultimate) as to make it almost worthless. I get all my students to start with Musescore and then, if they can justify the steep costs, to go to Sibelius Ultimate. Many of Musescore's key strokes and shortcuts are mirrors of how Sibelius works so the leap isn't that hard.

But it shouldn't be difficult to input notes etc in any notation app, especially if it's a simple lead sheet. BUT, you do have to learn how your chosen app expects you to do things. If not, you'll end up fighting it and the comments you make suggest that it's fighting you back!

I can get someone from zero to creating an acceptable piece of music on the page in an hour or so in Sibelius or Musescore, I've done it many, many times over many years. If you haven't gone through the built in tutorial that comes with Musescore, I'd recommend doing so a couple of times before going much further. I've sometimes had to take people back a few steps to find out something that they've missed before moving them forward again.

[daikatana]

Most of the time I use MuseScore3 to.
Sometimes I use LilyPond for my sheets http://lilypond.org
LilyPond is a free music notation software based on text input.
See some examples here http://lilypond.org/text-input.html
What I like the most is the very good documentation wilt loads of examples.
Just click on an example bar and it will show the text input needed for that example.
To make life a little easier, you can install Frescobaldi found here https://frescobaldi.org/
This is a graphical interface around LilyPond and wil alsol install a version of LilyPond.
As for all software there is a learning curve and some will dislike the text input and like the graphical interface of
MuseScore3 and a-likes. I like both 

Aad

[Arnak]

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice.

You are correct in that the app fights back and it's winning.

The learning curve is obviously a bit steep for me so I'll just have to persevere.

Martin

[JohnS]

Easy. Put one page on an 11" iPad, so it's now the same size. Have your registrations change the page as needed.

As you can have an unlimited number of pages on an iPad, you can increase the font size to whatever level you need.

Cheers,
Fred

Yes Fred, but the extortionate cost of an iPad is ridiculous.
I won't pay for Apple products.

John.

[Fred Smith]

Yes Fred, but the extortionate cost of an iPad is ridiculous.
I won't pay for Apple products.

John.

The system works on any tablet. You don't have to strain your eyes just because you hate apple.

Cheers,
Fred

[JohnS]

No eye strain Fred,
With a 23" screen and two or three sheets side by side, it's really comfortable.

John.

[tyros2009]

I use MuseScore3 too, and as with any score editing software, there is a learning curve. After more than 10 years using it (starting from older versions), I can do almost anything I like to.
Some things that I don't know yet:
1) how to add more texts , the length of the texts are limited, got chopped off after so many characters (work around: edit the final PDF to add more texts)
2) how to put down many single 1/8 notes consecutively, each with its own stem

In order to avoid "repeats", "coda" , I simply copy the repeated section and paste it at the right place (before adding lyric for the repeat part). the same can be done for CODA. This way, the music sheet just go from start to end the way it will be played or sung.

For personal use, MuseScore3 is good and FREE.