Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Composer's Lounge Any software for composing music in pre-staff notation?

I don't think there is but thought I would ask. I like to write music for my students but some need songs in pre-staff notation. I usually use finale and write in the letter names using the lyrics tool. But I want to do something like the EZ play books, where the letter names are in the middles of the notes.

Pre-chart or pre-staff music can be written even more simply with just finger numbers. I use this type but not the letter names in the middle of notes. The reason I use it first is because it makes the student think about which hand and which finger wants to be played. And it requires sending an impulse to that finger. Finger signals get mixed up sometimes a little bit of digit confusion. This allows getting past this problem and accessing correct finger numbers. You've set it up for their musical life that the finger will be a quick and accurate choice. I've written my own like this:

____________________2__1__
44 3 4 1 2 - 44 3 4

The line separating the LH from the RH and the notes being placed to show one beat at a time, which occurs naturally, and the 44 closer together are the quicker notes. We would not yet have talked about note values, and the position if a keyboard graphic with thumbs sharing Middle C. They start to play legato well too.

I would have given them several songs with RH only music, and Happy Birthday and BINGO would be the two hands together, we'd try at the first lesson. Works for children quite well.

Betty

Not sure if this'll really help you.
I'm in the middle of writing a midi sequencer.
It'll do printed piano roll notation with fingering capability. (With a few bugs thrown in)
Probably not what you want...
Click my profile to get to my website.
People seem to "vote me down" round here for suggesting it.
I guess maybe they're thinkin I'm spammin and I sorta am maybe, but well, it's not un-solicited, is it?

...SteveH