How to make... (my own piano sheet music)

[leigh anne]

Hi guys, it's me again and I d o t know if i am posting on the right place but it doesn't really matter. Does anybody know how I can create my own piano sheet music? I have made my own areglos of some songs and I wrote them down on a blank piano sheet and I wrote the notes with a pencil. Well the problem is I don't want that sheet to be written in pencil only. I want the etited one. The one they sell online and things. Does anybody know what software (or app) I can use to edit piano sheets so they look like a normal piano sheet and not the one written by hand? Thanks.

- Leigh

[lelle]

There is a free, open source program called MuseScore which you can use and is fairly beginner friendly: https://musescore.org

There is more professional software out there such as Sibelius or Dorico but they cost a bunch of money, and software of that caliber is a waste of money when you are just starting out.

I own a copy of Sibelius but prefer using MuseScore to write in these days. I'm waiting for their new version where the program will improve how good the scores look out of the box.

[brogers70]

I like MuseScore, but I've found you need to figure out some tricks to make piano music look like you want it to. You have to pay attention to having multiple voices in one staff and fiddling with the orientation of the notes manually. It works pretty intuitively for simple textures, Alberti bass with a tune on top, or a simple waltz accompaniment, but if you pick some complex piece of late Brahms, even, and try to enter it in MuseScore yourself, it is pretty tricky to make it look like a published edition. Not that it can't be done, but you have to be prepared for a learning curve when you start playing around with it.

[quantum]

There is more professional software out there such as Sibelius or Dorico but they cost a bunch of money, and software of that caliber is a waste of money when you are just starting out.

I think the professional programs, Finale, Dorico, and Sibelius are good value if you have access to the educational discount.  Leigh, if you are a student you might want to look into that.

Otherwise, agree with the those above.  Start with MuseScore, if you need more then look into the pro software packages.

There is also LilyPond, free and open source.  It has a very different approach to data entry, as it is text based.  Think similar to how HTML or LaTeX works.  There are some GUI frontends for it. 

[lelle]

I think the professional programs, Finale, Dorico, and Sibelius are good value if you have access to the educational discount.  Leigh, if you are a student you might want to look into that.

Otherwise, agree with the those above.  Start with MuseScore, if you need more then look into the pro software packages.

There is also LilyPond, free and open source.  It has a very different approach to data entry, as it is text based.  Think similar to how HTML or LaTeX works.  There are some GUI frontends for it.

I would honestly avoid Finale at this point. I own an old licence of Finale 2006 so I have experience using it. Sadly the program has a huge tech debt from having been developed in the 90's, so it feels old and clunky by todays standards. Of course, there have been some upgrades since Finale 2006, but no fundamental overhaul of the program. It's powerful if you learn it, but I wouldn't start out with Finale as my first notation software in 2022.

I also own a Sibelius licence since 2014, and I think it's easier to use than Finale but it has a learning curve. I would not spend the kind of money needed unless I knew I was going to notate a lot of stuff down the line.

I have not used Dorico but watched videos showcasing the program. It's cool but in some ways more unintuitive than Sibelius in terms of some aspects of the work flow.

I think MuseScore is the best program to start out with, to get introduced to how notation programs work. It's free and fairly intuitive if you just want to start getting some basic notes on the page.

[quantum]

I would honestly avoid Finale at this point. I own an old licence of Finale 2006 so I have experience using it. Sadly the program has a huge tech debt from having been developed in the 90's, so it feels old and clunky by todays standards. Of course, there have been some upgrades since Finale 2006, but no fundamental overhaul of the program. It's powerful if you learn it, but I wouldn't start out with Finale as my first notation software in 2022.

I also own a Sibelius licence since 2014, and I think it's easier to use than Finale but it has a learning curve. I would not spend the kind of money needed unless I knew I was going to notate a lot of stuff down the line.

I have not used Dorico but watched videos showcasing the program. It's cool but in some ways more unintuitive than Sibelius in terms of some aspects of the work flow.

I think MuseScore is the best program to start out with, to get introduced to how notation programs work. It's free and fairly intuitive if you just want to start getting some basic notes on the page.

I personally appreciate the Finale workflow.  When I was deciding between Finale or Sibelius many years ago (this was before MuseScore and Dorico), I found Sibelius was trying to emulate the pencil-and-paper workflow too closely.  Personally I found working with physical paper a very inefficient workflow, and was looking for a model that would better utilize the strengths of computing power, even if it meant learning a completely different way of entering music.  I realize that Finale does cater to a rather technical mindset, and I admittedly enjoy that aspect of their workflow model.  IMO it was very rewarding to persist through the steep learning curve. 

I do know some composers that enjoy using pencils on paper, and get along with Sibelius much more.

[ted]

MuseScore works well in conjunction with AnthemScore for transcription provided the recording is clearly articulated. I don't use scores that much but occasionally I forget what I improvised and can't be bothered picking it up. I have also used the combination to print hard to find scores from recordings. Not exactly what you were asking but I thought I would mention it. Not sure if the expensive programs do those things.

[carsomark]

Using Lilypond (freeware) I have edited, transcribed, and saved to PDF files more than 75 piano pieces. The advantage to Lilypond, other than being free, is there is an online tutorial and learning documentation. In addition an online user's group is available to assist in the "learning curve".
Once saved as PDF  the scores are displayed on my tablet using MusicReader 4.0.
I can provide send files upon request: carsonmakr@ca.rr.com.