Score Editing Software

[ryankmfdm]

Hi, people.

I was just wondering: does anybody have any recommendations as far as (preferably free) software goes for basic compositional purposes? I want to work on transcribing a piece for four hands and would like to be able to work away from the piano. I don't need anything fancy as far as sound goes (i.e., MIDI is fine), but ideally the scoring would be fairly flexible.

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[dcstudio]

flexible and free score software... does such a thing exist?   I have used finale and I use Sibelius now but they are not free.   Finale was glitch-ey as f@#$!  I have score editing in Cubase, too--that is a very generic program though.


I am waiting/hoping for one of our tech minded members to chime in... just responding to keep the thread going.

[timothy42b]

I use Noteworthy Composer.  It is not free though there may be a demo version, there was when I started using it.  I bought it because it was so useful, it was about $30 or so at the time.  It is intuitive, easy to learn, full featured, though of course short of a Finale or Sibelius.

I hear great things about Musescore.  I have tried hard, and found it impossible, but people I respect use it and swear by it.  It may be one of those imprinting things, I just got used to one way of doing it and can't reverse it. 

[quantum]

https://musescore.org
GUI interface. 

https://www.lilypond.org
It's goal is towards the highest quality music engraving.  It is text based - like LaTeX for math/science.


Recent versions of Finale are excellent.  The note entry options are really designed towards quick and efficient work - as long as you are okay getting out of the pen/paper mentality. 

Sibelius is a direct competitor to Finale.  The workflow between the two are different and it is often a matter of personal choice which one you prefer to use.  They are both very capable programs.  However, considering recent developments with the parent company of Sibelius, I would take some time to think about going that route.  Just do some googling on the future of Sibelius, and you'll see. 

[dcstudio]

well that sucks... good to know finale has improved looks like I will have to get that again.  It's been probably 10 years since I went Sibelius

[chopinlover01]

I use Finale 2014. Good software, but pricey as f**k!

For free software, the most intuitive thing I've found is noteflight. However, the playback on it and general limitations make it quite terrible unless you pay for it. Above that, I put Musescore.
Finale Notepad is intentionally sh*t, so that you'll buy their better products. Marketing!
I wouldn't download Notepad unless you need to read .mus files for whatever reason.

[timothy42b]

Here is Noteworthy Composer.

https://noteworthycomposer.com/

It is the most intuitive of the notation programs I've used, including Finale, Finale Notepad, Finale Songwriter, Musescore, and the most full featured of any short of the pro programs.  Of course Finale and Sibelius do much more, but they're also harder to learn. 

You can download an evaluation copy that apparently does everything but save.   There used to be a work around for that, I won't tell you what it is though. 

The full program is $49.  USD.

[rubinsteinmad]

I used Musescore a lot, and I love it a lot.

And it's free.

[lhb_]

Finale and Sibelius are both good, but I hear Sibelius has a much smaller learning curve than Finale.

[stevensk]

I use Sibelius and Encore, they are both great. Encore is cheap and easy to use. Sibelius..not so easy and.. not so cheap