I recommend Encore. I bought it recently and I'm extremely
pleased with it, because its interface is very intuitive and it has
loads of features and fine-tuning capability. I composed a very
short passage for horns and strings in no time, complete with ef-
fects and dynamics (trills, fortissimos, staccatos, legatos, slurs,
tuplets, etc.), and I was able to get the music to sound exactly as
I wished (within the limits of MIDI). The software is very profes-
sional, and yet quite customizable and very easy to use -- I man-
aged a lot of composition with minimal manual-consulting. (Speak-
ing of which, the manual is great, as well.) Lastly, I tried
printing out my score, and it came out beautifully. It ran me al-
most $400, and so far, it seems to be worth every cent.
--
/|_____Milo D. Cooper_____|\
\| mdco...@ix.netcom.com |/
Although I have Cakewalk (and like it), there is substantial support on
rec.music.compose for Finale. I've never tried it, but suggest you ask
this question there as well.
Laura M
For PC, if you really, really need powerful orchestra abilities,
including playback, look at Finale. I've used it for 4+ years (from the
old, hard-to-use versions to today's) and though there is a *lot* to
learn, it will give you just about everything you need for professional
orchestra work. There are other programs that will produce comparable
(and sometimes better-looking) scores, but for all-around features,
including the 32-voice polyphony (such as you can get with an MQX-32M
Midi card), Finale does the job. For touching up your final work
properly for fine demos, you'll also need a very good sequencer, and
Cakewalk will do that. I use them hand-in-hand, composing on Finale and
producing demos in Cakewalk.
You can find some of my quick Midi compositions -- not solid demos, as
these are simplified for GM -- at
http://members.aol.com/kalvos/moremidi.htm
Best to you,
Dennis
--
Dennis Báthory-Kitsz
Malted/Media: http://www.maltedmedia.com/
The Middle-Aged Hiker: http://www.maltedmedia.com/books/mah/
Kalvos & Damian's New Music Bazaar: http://www.maltedmedia.com/kalvos/
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__ __ __ __ __ ___ _____________________________________________
|__||__)/ __/ \|\ ||_ | /
| || \\__/\__/| \||__ | /...Internet access for all Acorn RISC machines
___________________________/ how...@argonet.co.uk
Yes, you may be able to knock one off in a hurry with Finale, but if you
send it to anyone they wil re-engrave it using Score.
DGP
You did read that the poster wants 32-voice polyphony? And 'anyone' sure
is a lot of 'ones', ain't it? C'mon, there are lots of tastes on this.
Loosen up a bit here. Score people come on like storm troopers
sometimes. As I said, Finale does the job, with a nice graphical
interface and competent Midi output. You want engraving? Well, heck, you
can still use a pen. Sheesh.
Didn't I just read that Hal Leonard (The world's largest music publisher) is
requiring everything to be submitted to them in Finale?
John
------------------------------------------------
Save money...make Newt and Hillary share a cell!
Maniacal Maestro
Yes, I use a combination, too. Finale for scoring, with Midi output fed
to Cakewalk to produce demo versions. Since I do compose many kinds of
music, from standard orchestral through avant-garde graphical notation,
I needed the scoring program to be flexible. I also needed the Midi
output. (I also had a composer's budget!)
Best,
Dennis
>CohenKyres wrote:
>>
>> I have looked at Freestyle, Cakewalk, Cubase, Encore and Finale. Which is
>> best for composing for symphony orchestra? Must be for PC, not Mac. Need
>> at least 32 voice polyphony.
> I recommend Encore. I bought it recently and I'm extremely
>pleased with it, because its interface is very intuitive and it has
>loads of features and fine-tuning capability. I composed a very
>short passage for horns and strings in no time, complete with ef-
>fects and dynamics (trills, fortissimos, staccatos, legatos, slurs,
>tuplets, etc.), and I was able to get the music to sound exactly as
>I wished (within the limits of MIDI). The software is very profes-
>sional, and yet quite customizable and very easy to use -- I man-
>aged a lot of composition with minimal manual-consulting. (Speak-
>ing of which, the manual is great, as well.) Lastly, I tried
>printing out my score, and it came out beautifully. It ran me al-
>most $400, and so far, it seems to be worth every cent.
>--
> /|_____Milo D. Cooper_____|\
> \| mdco...@ix.netcom.com |/
Actually, many good composers use a combination of programs, for each