composition

[liszmaninopin]

I would like to try piano composition, as I have several melodies and musical ideas in my head right now.  Can anyone suggest any good computer programs that can aid with composition?  I have tried hand-writing what I want on staff paper, but it is illegible.  Also, on a computer program I can hear what a piece sounds like-and thusly compose things that are beyond my playing ability.

[ThEmUsIcMaNBJ]

Theres many programs out there I think probably the two most popular for music like piano and orchestra is Sibelius and Finale.  I personally use and love Sibelius, it's so easy to use and you can get things written really fast any way you want it if you know what your doing.  Good thing about these two is (at least the most recent versions) play just about everything you write when you listen to the midi play, accents, dynamics etc...  But it's not THAT big of a deal becuase their midis!  haha anyways, the only problem with these is that they are both extremely expensive well depending on how rich you are I guess you could argue otherwise but a few hundred I think.  Anyways good luck in your writing!

[Stral]

They are expensive, if you decide to actually purchase a copy.  I'm sure that Kazaa, eMule, or IRC would all be useful alternatives if you are ethically flexible and on a shoestring budget.

..Not that I'd know or anything  

[88keys]

Good thing about these two is (at least the most recent versions) play just about everything you write when you listen to the midi play, accents, dynamics etc...  But it's not THAT big of a deal becuase their midis!

Exactly because it is midi, these features are so important. Accents, dynamics, rubato in the tempo... these are exactly the things essential for a good midi recording.

Whether you are a beginner or a pro, these features will greatly enhance your midi performances.

For a beginner, even the simplest things, like automatically playing all staccato notes at half their written duration, can greatly improve performence quality.

For a pro, the ability to change every attribute of every note is the key for getting high quality results. This usually takes many hours of work, and it would be quite pointless without a piece of software capable of executing these manual changes...

The good news is, that these are quite standard features. FINALE has been able to do it for at least 8 years now.