Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Composer's Lounge Music composition software question

Please excuse me if this is the wrong forum to ask this, but it seemed like the best fit to me.

I've been using Encore for writing out parts for arrangements I've done for bands I'm in. Recently a friend of mine, who is a very novice computer user bought a copy of Finale. He knows I'm familiar with using the computer to write out parts and he wants me to help him learn Finale. My question is is there any of you that have used both programs, how similar are they? I've heard that Finale is a bear to learn. Is it that much different from Encore that I'll be floundering to learn it and explain it to him at the same time.

I don't have Encore, so I can't compare the two. But I can give you a general idea on how Finale works...

It can be a bear, especially if you're after the very specific a difficult features, which most people don't use. It has everything a composer could need, but usually only the 10% of that is being actively used.

I have provided some instructions over skype to a student of mine on Finale (we both had Finale open and I was guiding him around). He knows the features now, but still needs to learn how to use them more properly (so in a better aesthetic. He knows how to shrink a page, but doesn't do it, simply because his eyes are not used to proper page size %, etc...).

In fact I would imagine that there should be some videos on youtube about tutorials on Finale, so perhaps it's worth checking them out.

I use Finale. To produce a finished publisher level score the learning curve is long. To make a readable score with notes in a staff is easy. The challenge of Finale is that it's a powerful program with incredible capability which means there's a lot to learn. If you're doing band arrangements, my question would be what kind of band, rock band or concert band or big band or something else? Any of those will have specific things you'll need to figure out, but the good news is Finale's documentation is detailed and accurate. To give an example you can actually put in guitar chord charts that show the fingering of the chord you want. If what you're doing is concert band you'll find transposing instruments are handled with aplomb.

Good luck.

I've tried to use finale PrintMusic using HyperScribe (live recording via midi).
I only write piano pieces and was hoping it could capture my live playing via the midi keyboard (Yamaha P-80).

I notice it keeps up with simple playing just fine, but if I run arpeggios and add chords it either misses things or interprets it incorrectly.

Has anyone tried MusicScore (musicscore.org)? Just curious.

Frank,

I would imagine that the 'midi resolution' in your case might be a little low and along with perhaps some sloppy playing (meaning that you're not a computer to play everything perfectly) Finale interprets things different than what you mean. However, regardless of how it looks does it playback your playing as you did, or has it detroyed your performance as well?

I would suggest you try the following: Go to http://www.reaper.fm/ and download reaper which is free and open to try and record your piano playing there. Usually sequencers have a much higher resolution and accuracy from midi keyboards, so you can see if everything sounds ok (and looks ok on the piano roll). Then export the midi file and import it into Finale. If it offers the same limited score then it's probably your playing rather, I'm afraid rather than anything else.

Thanks Nikolas,

I'll try posting a recording of what I was playing, and a recording of how Finale interpreted it to demonstrate what I mean.

It does a good job with chords and simple melodies, but seems to get confused with arpeggios. As you say, it may be my playing, or that I'm using too much sustain pedal.

I'm new at this so it could well be me.

And I'll check out the reaper.

Best,

Frank B.

Don't forget these programs are basically tools for getting notation onto paper, not tools for transcribing a live performance! If you know what you want to see on the paper, the "live input" feature can help you get there quickly. For anything complex, particularly polyphonic keyboard music, you'll very liklely find manual entry is quicker and more accurate.

I've actually had similar experience with Encore regarding live playing. Encore has a feature that allows to select your smallest note value and you can tell the program to round to the nearest 1/8 or 1/16th note etc. This keeps you from getting 32nd or 64th notes every time you anticipate or lag the beat a little bit. I too have found that manual entry in Encore is faster than trying to play the part in live and then fix it for more complicated parts.

Your input so far does sound encouraging, and I guess I'm just going to have to jump into the Finale software and start learning.

I use Sibelius. Use a program called Boomes midi translator which turns midi signals into key shortcuts.