I would like a recommendation for music software
piano lover 1
for the choral music I used it for at church and the
recorder/vocal stuff I used at school.
Last fall I broke down and got a Dell computer/Windows '98. What
does everyone else use? Why do you like it?
I figured for my purposes Finale, Sibelius, and Overture are just
too elaborate and expensive(like buying an $80,000 car to drive a
1/2 mile to work everyday). I want the low to medium price range
stuff.
Thanks in advance.....
Don
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piano_...@my-deja.com
piano lover 1 <dneidN...@racc2000.com.invalid> wrote:
> When I had my Apple computer I used Music Time. It worked fine
> for the choral music I used it for at church and the
> recorder/vocal stuff I used at school.
>
> Last fall I broke down and got a Dell computer/Windows '98. What
> does everyone else use? Why do you like it?
>
> I figured for my purposes Finale, Sibelius, and Overture are just
> too elaborate and expensive(like buying an $80,000 car to drive a
> 1/2 mile to work everyday). I want the low to medium price range
> stuff.
>
I use Cubasis VST. It came bundled with my SoundBlaster Live soundcard.
I use the software to record my own performances via the
MIDI input.
I also program in Jazz accompaniment tracks using the
excellent capabilities of the sound card. This is great
for improvising along with.
It's got various editors, including a notator, usual
sequencer features, including loop facility - very handy
when learning a new piece.
Not sure what this software costs stand-alone, but I'd say
it's in the upper-mid range.
Also, my PC (200 MHz with 32MB RAM) sometimes struggles.
Probably could use a bit more speed or increase in memory.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
pTooner
can be downloaded from the PG music web site.
Gerry
piano lover 1 wrote:
> When I had my Apple computer I used Music Time. It worked fine
> for the choral music I used it for at church and the
> recorder/vocal stuff I used at school.
>
> Last fall I broke down and got a Dell computer/Windows '98. What
> does everyone else use? Why do you like it?
>
> I figured for my purposes Finale, Sibelius, and Overture are just
> too elaborate and expensive(like buying an $80,000 car to drive a
> 1/2 mile to work everyday). I want the low to medium price range
> stuff.
>
Nicholas Delonas
print simple lead sheets.
For music generation/band simulation, I like Jammer. Great sounding
arrangements.
In article <021e91bd...@usw-ex0104-028.remarq.com>,
dneidN...@racc2000.com.invalid says...
> When I had my Apple computer I used Music Time. It worked fine
> for the choral music I used it for at church and the
> recorder/vocal stuff I used at school.
>
> Last fall I broke down and got a Dell computer/Windows '98. What
> does everyone else use? Why do you like it?
--
Nick Delonas
My band: http://ironia.net
My cult: http://cultv.com
My day job: http://digitalsg.com
poco' retard
Nicholas Delonas <del...@cultv.com> wrote:
> I like Cakewalk for sequencing. Easy to use and powerful. It'll
also
> print simple lead sheets.
>
> For music generation/band simulation, I like Jammer. Great sounding
> arrangements.
>
> In article <021e91bd...@usw-ex0104-028.remarq.com>,
> dneidN...@racc2000.com.invalid says...
> > When I had my Apple computer I used Music Time. It worked fine
> > for the choral music I used it for at church and the
> > recorder/vocal stuff I used at school.
> >
> > Last fall I broke down and got a Dell computer/Windows '98. What
> > does everyone else use? Why do you like it?
>
one and thats finale or finale allegro..I have also used 'music writer
plus' and its ok for the money, but it doesnt handle triplets well, and
you can't change keys with it...With finale, you change keys, either
measure by measure, or whole piece if you like..Guess that was main
thing that sold me on finale, cause I cant look at a piece in one key
and play in another...
>
> Nick Delonas
>
> My band: http://ironia.net
> My cult: http://cultv.com
> My day job: http://digitalsg.com
>
--
poco' retard
Gerry Geddings
poco' retard wrote:
> > --If youre talking about notation software, theres really only (well2)
> one and thats finale or finale allegro..I have also used 'music writer
> plus' and its ok for the money, but it doesnt handle triplets well, and
> you can't change keys with it...With finale, you change keys, either
> measure by measure, or whole piece if you like..Guess that was main
> thing that sold me on finale, cause I cant look at a piece in one key
> and play in another...
>
>
> --
> poco' retard
>
Just curious, I don't have any stock in either company, but how does it
differ from the notation functions in Power Tracks? My experience with
finale was that it was cumbersome and difficult to use. While this is true
to some degree with all the midi software I have seen, it was a bit worse
than average. Power tracks also has the option to print lead sheets, and
can be rather easily used to print different instrument parts for band use.
Gerry
Dick Hamlen
person in the world using MusicEase (MusicEase Software, P.O. Box 2511,
Grand Junction, CO 81502). Was cheap (about $50) and does the job for me
(primarily making choral arrangements, sometimes piano and instrumental
parts). Course it's a year old, maybe they've gone out of business by
now.
Dick
piano lover 1 wrote:
>
> When I had my Apple computer I used Music Time. It worked fine
> for the choral music I used it for at church and the
> recorder/vocal stuff I used at school.
>
> Last fall I broke down and got a Dell computer/Windows '98. What
> does everyone else use? Why do you like it?
>
poco' retard
cakewalk demo,and it wasnt too swift either.. Actually, my teacher used
finale and recommended it.. He is pro gospel pianist, and works at
preparing gospel&country for publishing..His source is country&gospel
musicians that dont read music,but write & have ideas that have to be
put in acceptable form for publishing and copywrighting..
jeanette
I found I wasn't crazy about a lot of the music programs available
because they're "too smart", and kept auto correcting timing exercises
I set up, or messed up my stems for 4-part closed writing, etc.
Braeburn has an interesting Music Publisher program.
http://www.braeburn.co.uk/
It runs aboutr $130USD, so it might be worth checking out. It doesn't
"play music" for you.... but perhaps that's not what you're looking
for. Most teachers I know seem to be looking for a Notation program
rather than a midi program.
Jeanette
Brian
make a change from copyright!).
Brian
Downunder
Darryl Greene
download a demo at
http://www.midisoft.com/Products/Studio_6/studio_6.html
- Darryl
>In article <021e91bd...@usw-ex0104-028.remarq.com>,
>dneidN...@racc2000.com.invalid says...
Greg Presley
I use Passport's Rhapsody. Fairly easy to use, pretty comprehensive, and cheap.
(I think it was about $59.) Like every notation software, it has its strengths
and weaknesses, but it's not too clumsy. By the way, someone else mentioned
changing key. Most programs allow you to do this, either in your MIDI input
program, or in the notation program. Greg
poco' retard
four layers in one hand,each capable of 2 independent voices. So in
theory, you could have as many as eight 'Bachs' going on at one time in
one hand!! I dont know of any other notation software that can do
this..
pTooner
poco' retard wrote:
> I
> OOH, and also a very major thing about finale is that is also supports
> four layers in one hand,each capable of 2 independent voices. So in
> theory, you could have as many as eight 'Bachs' going on at one time in
> one hand!! I dont know of any other notation software that can do
> this..
> > --
> > poco' retard
> >
>
You've really lost me now. PT can handle 48 voices at a time. More if you
mix two or more voices on one track. All the midi packages I've used could
handle at least 16. Yes, you could have 48 Bachs going at one time if you
have a synth with enough polyphony. I don't understand the reference to
hands. I really don't understand what you are talking about. Maybe I need
to find where I stashed the Finale demo and see if that tells me anything.
Gerry
poco' retard
example. Lets take 1 measure, say right hand (treble cleft), say 3/4
(waltz) time in key of 'C'..OK, Finale has what is called 'speedy
entry',which lets you select the pitch of a note(s) with a midi
keyboard, and then select the value (time) of the same note using the
computer keyboard.( 4=eighth note, 5=quarter note, 6=half note, and so
forth). This is very convenient because you are not bound to metronome,
so the work doesnt outrun you..Now, back to our example: Lets enter a C
(say an octave above middle C), and press a 6 for half note, and a dot
for dotted half. That makes 3 beats for the measure. Now into that
same measure (while the fifth finger of the right hand is playing and
holding our 'C'),we want to insert a quarter rest, and perhaps an EG
(quarter note) and EG (quarter note) like you might find in any waltz..
Most notation programs will not handle this very well. With finale, you
just press the ' key and voice 2 comes up.. Then you can enter the
quarter rest, and the EG (quarter note),EG (quarter note) in the same
measure occupying the same time frame as the C (dotted half)..
Now this situation represents just one layer, and finale has four. To
quote from the manual, pg 121.." Allegro lets you have up to eight
voices-independent lines of music, each with its own stem-per staff.
Within each of the eight voices, a chord can have up to twelve notes-a
total of 96 notes per staff on any given beat.)"
Oh, and you can also flip the stems on the notes so they dont interfere
with each other, and you can position the quarter rest downward, if you
like, so it doesnt interfere with our 'C'..Gosh,this is hard to explain
in print!! I'm musician (alleged), not a writer... I dont know much
about the MIDI capabilities. I'm interested in the notation..That is
keying the notes onto the staff, arranging the harmony, adding chords,
lyrics, etc, and printing for play on acoustic piano...
LstPuritan
example. Lets take 1 measure, say right hand (treble cleft), say 3/4
(waltz) time in key of 'C'..OK, Finale has what is called 'speedy
entry',which lets you select the pitch of a note(s) with a midi
keyboard, and then select the value (time) of the same note using the
computer keyboard.( 4=eighth note, 5=quarter note, 6=half note, and so
forth). This is very convenient because you are not bound to metronome,
so the work doesnt outrun you. >>
What you are describing is usually known as "step recording," if I understand
correctly. Most sequencers have this feature. It sounds like Freestyle might
be a better choice, as the computer automatically monitors tracks for you and
you don't have to think about layers. The step sequencing is very intuitive
also, but I can't imagine using it for anything except perhaps Bach. Can you
control velocity and sustain in step recordng mode? For notation and printing
published quality scores (but not sound!) I've always used Encore, though. I
arranged and printed my old high school's band music with Encore because it was
easy to insert dynamics and accents and ornaments, as well as space and
rearrange notes to be more legible. You can drag bar lines around and insert
repeats or multiple endings and jumps to Coda. Also, you can print the full
score and then print parts for each instrument with one click. Freestyle can't
do any of this in notation, but I only use it for the quality of sound and ease
of composition (record loops, hotkeys for everything, song arrangement windows
where you may move, duplicate, copy, or paste entire blocks of the piece at
once). I wonder how it compares to Finale.
--Justin
---------------------------------------
"Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our minds." George
Santayana
poco' retard
>
> *www.mp3.com/justin_d_scott*
>
Finale will do just about all of the operations you describe
above,including cut,copy,paste either measure-by-measure, line-by-line,
or the entire score. It can do one staff, or multiple staves..It can
also do most any kind of grace notes, including turns..And on top of
that, it can also do lyrics.. (up to 4 verses I think like on a
hymn)..It can even stretch & position the lyrics, so as to line them up
correctly with the notes.It also has 'pppp' thru 'ffff' and everything
in between for dymanics.. I cant even begin to elaborate all the things
it can do because I dont know..I use it for arranging acoustic piano
music in 'lead sheet' form mostly..And as for layering or the 2 voices,
that is used quite often in pop music, and even in hymns.. Like where,
in the right hand (key of C) where the piece ends on a C.. Holding
that C with the 5th finger of right hand, and using the other fingers,
play FA, EG, then CE to finish..(from 4th down to the root).. Some
folks call that Christian ending..Used a lot in gospel music I
think...You need two voices to notate situations like that, and Finale
does that very well..It also has templates for bands,small groups,
combos, and even full symphony..Or you can build your own and save it
as a template..Very versatile..If you are interested in reading up on
finale, there is a book, 'The Finale Primer' by Bill Purse, ISBN 0-
87930-539-8..I got it at local book store..This is 97 model, probably
new one out by now...enjoy..
pTooner
poco' retard wrote:
> .And as for layering or the 2 voices,
> that is used quite often in pop music, and even in hymns.. Like where,
> in the right hand (key of C) where the piece ends on a C.. Holding
> that C with the 5th finger of right hand, and using the other fingers,
> play FA, EG, then CE to finish..(from 4th down to the root).. Some
> folks call that Christian ending..Used a lot in gospel music I
> think...You need two voices to notate situations like that, and Finale
> does that very well..
I hate to appear dense and I'm really trying to follow this, but I can't for
the life of me understand what you mean by the last sentence. One hardly
needs two voices to play a passage that can be played by one hand on a
piano. Perhaps you mean something entirely different by "voices" but I
can't figure out what.
Gerry
Dick Hamlen
Gerry, I read it as a (for example) whole note 3rd space C, played
concurrently with half-note A+F followed by half-note G+E. On the
primitive programs I've used (Songwright and MusicEase), that would take
two notation "voices" (even though you might play them with the same
midi voice). Since I've only used my programs for notation, I don't
know how you translate from notation voices to midi voices.
There, I probably made that a lot clearer ;)
Dick
poco' retard
pTooner <ge...@geddings.net> wrote:
>
>
> poco' retard wrote:
>
> > .And as for layering or the 2 voices,
> > that is used quite often in pop music, and even in hymns.. Like
where,
> > in the right hand (key of C) where the piece ends on a C.. Holding
> > that C with the 5th finger of right hand, and using the other
fingers,
> > play FA, EG, then CE to finish..(from 4th down to the root).. Some
> > folks call that Christian ending..Used a lot in gospel music I
> > think...You need two voices to notate situations like that, and
Finale
> > does that very well..
>
> I hate to appear dense and I'm really trying to follow this, but I
can't for
> the life of me understand what you mean by the last sentence. One
hardly
> needs two voices to play a passage that can be played by one hand on a
> piano. Perhaps you mean something entirely different by "voices" but
I
> can't figure out what.
>
> Gerry
>
that once a measure is filled to the time signature value (4/4 - 4
quarter notes, 2 half notes, etc) the program will not allow you to
insert more notes into that same measure. To do so, you must switch to
another voice or layer..
As in my above example, once you put the C (whole note into the
measure) its full.. ( 4 beats)Any more entries will be put into the
next measure and I dont want to do that...In order to add any more
notes to the same measure you must switch to voice2 or another layer. I
am using these terms (voices & layers) only in the context of the
Finale manual in order to notate the above (or similiar)
situation...These are the terms used in the Finale manual, and may, or
may not be technically correct..For 'technically correct' example of
multiple vocing, have a look at some of the works of 'JSB'
Hope this makes some sense...
poco' retard
allow the layers&voices to be timed independently of each other so long
as they adhere to the original time signature
pTooner
poco' retard wrote:
>
> >
> >Well, what they (Finale) mean by two voices in notation software is
> that once a measure is filled to the time signature value (4/4 - 4
> quarter notes, 2 half notes, etc) the program will not allow you to
> insert more notes into that same measure. To do so, you must switch to
> another voice or layer..
You gotta be kidding! No wonder I didn't understand. I have never used any
software that was so limited.
>
> As in my above example, once you put the C (whole note into the
> measure) its full.. ( 4 beats)Any more entries will be put into the
> next measure and I dont want to do that...In order to add any more
> notes to the same measure you must switch to voice2 or another layer. I
> am using these terms (voices & layers) only in the context of the
> Finale manual in order to notate the above (or similiar)
> situation...These are the terms used in the Finale manual, and may, or
> may not be technically correct..For 'technically correct' example of
> multiple vocing, have a look at some of the works of 'JSB'
> Hope this makes some sense...
> --
> poco' retard
>
Now that I finally understand what you are talking about I would strongly
suggest you look at some other music software. I almost never enter music
except by midi keyboard, but in the course of this discussion I
experiemented with doing just what you were describing. I tried two
packages that happen to be on my desktop and neither of them had any such
limitations. One was Power Tracks and I don't remember what the name of the
other was. Something like MIDI workshop. (It's really old)
Gerry
poco' retard
use midi keyboard for note entry..Much faster that way!!Finale has what
they call 'speedy entry'. You select pitch with midi keyboard and then
select duration with computer keyboard..Very convenient when you get
used to it..
poco' retard
pTooner <ge...@geddings.net> wrote:
>
>
> poco' retard wrote:
>
> >
> > >
> > >Well, what they (Finale) mean by two voices in notation software is
> > that once a measure is filled to the time signature value (4/4 - 4
> > quarter notes, 2 half notes, etc) the program will not allow you to
> > insert more notes into that same measure. To do so, you must switch
to
> > another voice or layer..
>
> You gotta be kidding! No wonder I didn't understand. I have never
used any
> software that was so limited.
>
telling you 'theres too many beats in the measure', and will give you
options to retain or delete the notes, move to next measure...etc..
--
dsch_fan
company that makes Finale. It cost me about $60. I have
not gotten it yet, but I tried the free demo that is on Coda's
Website. I don't remember their URL, but it should be too hard
to find. A good place to buy it
online might be http://www.wsproductions.com
I am not employed by or connected with either of the companies
I mentioned.
In article <021e91bd...@usw-ex0104-028.remarq.com>, piano
lover 1 <dneidN...@racc2000.com.invalid> wrote:
>When I had my Apple computer I used Music Time. It worked fine
>for the choral music I used it for at church and the
>recorder/vocal stuff I used at school.
>
>Last fall I broke down and got a Dell computer/Windows '98. What
>does everyone else use? Why do you like it?
>