scoring software - anything cheap?

[PlugHead]

I'm looking for an alternative to Finale or Sibelius to do scoring on a Mac: I'd like multi-stave, ability for transposing instruments, as well as provision for lyric to accompany musical notation, not to mention MIDI (keyboard) entry - anyone out there know of any others, and what the cost is? A light search turned up all else (steinberg, ars nova etc.) to be discontinued, or for Windows/PC - anyone out there know any "cheap" alternatives? Preferably not Logic, and I don't know if it's even still an option with them - I think it was available on my old Logic platinum 3.5 (?) version, but was so long ago I can't recall...

Thanks,

[manning1]

plughead. i dont know how far you want to take the notation editing aspect. but powertracks that i use (works rock solid ONLY on windows) has notation editing built in plus lead sheets plus
extensive midi editing. a number of pro tools users like it for the midi editing alone.you can talk to some on the powertracks forum at pgmusic.com - where youll find the demo. BE OPEN MINDED. try the demo at pgmusic.com and be prepared for a very big surprise.
at what 49 bucks gives you. ive been a happy user for years.
it also allows lyric input as well. clefs are displayed with the notes etc for editing. just try the demo. it also does 48 track multitrack recording at 16 or 24 bit .the new version 9 just came out with tc helicon vocal harmonisation built in. try the demo THEN tell me it isnt the best product out there. in fact i'll lay down a little fun challenge for you. find me a more complete all round music software product that is so easy to use without spending hundreds more. you can read the customer reviews at the site if your sceptical from folks whove moved from more expensive solutions. peace.

[thenewyear]

Finale Notepad is free but restrictive. As with all things you get what you pay for.

I am very happy with Sibelius.

[BevvyB]

The current Logic score stuff is pretty extensive nowadays

Nothing like 3.5....

Proper page layouts and suchlike

[six_wax]

Quickscribe in DP is entirely usable --though I am not sure about lyric support; that's a feature I've never used...

Of course, this is trading in one albatross for another...

[PlugHead]

Originally posted by manning1
plughead. i dont know how far you want to take the notation editing aspect. but powertracks that i use (works rock solid ONLY on windows) has notation editing built in plus lead sheets plus
extensive midi editing. a number of pro tools users like it for the midi editing alone.you can talk to some on the powertracks forum at pgmusic.com - where youll find the demo. BE OPEN MINDED. try the demo at pgmusic.com and be prepared for a very big surprise.
at what 49 bucks gives you. ive been a happy user for years.
it also allows lyric input as well. clefs are displayed with the notes etc for editing. just try the demo. it also does 48 track multitrack recording at 16 or 24 bit .the new version 9 just came out with tc helicon vocal harmonisation built in. try the demo THEN tell me it isnt the best product out there. in fact i'll lay down a little fun challenge for you. find me a more complete all round music software product that is so easy to use without spending hundreds more. you can read the customer reviews at the site if your sceptical from folks whove moved from more expensive solutions. peace.

Manning,

I know PG music well, tho i know it from the guise of Band in the Box etc., and it's scoring is too limited for my needs, thanks tho.

PS: Peter Gannon ("the" PG of PG music) is a great jazz player, and so is his brother, Oliver, thus the in-depth tools he provides in his programs: if you ever want to study jazz, I couldn't recommend a better tool than Band in the Box, next to getting out there and doing it live...

regards,

[PlugHead]

Some good responses here: any more suggestions shy of selling the farm and buying Sibelius/Finale?

[7rojo7]

Logic 3.5 worked fine for me and anything I had to do up to 72 pieces, any special marks we would put in later with the conductor and the esecutor. As for lead sheets and such I still write alot of them by hand in a pinch. If I must have something solid for a lot of musicians I'm currently looking for a solution also as I've recently made a jump from PT4 and Logic 3.5 to PT6.7. I can say that it is easier to edit MIDI on logic 3.5 than it is on PT 6.7 except I don't have that option anymore and my scoring ability has disappeared. help.

[picksail]

Athough Sibelius isn't necessarily 'cheap software', it is a very solid investment. I am always thoroughly elated everytime I lauch the app-and this is from a guy who had grown accustomed to using a rollerball pen and manuscript paper for over a quarter century.

[catfish11]

sibelius has a program called g7 for guitar
and comes w a limited kontakt player
i am not sure how exactly what your needs are
but there is a demo and it is pretty full featured
it can at least handle 4 part probably more
and has many of the features of sibelius sr.
$100.00, looks great, cool gui, parchment, lyrics, ect...

there is a demo on their site
check it out

[PlugHead]

Originally posted by 7rojo7
Logic 3.5 worked fine for me and anything I had to do up to 72 pieces, any special marks we would put in later with the conductor and the esecutor. As for lead sheets and such I still write alot of them by hand in a pinch. If I must have something solid for a lot of musicians I'm currently looking for a solution also as I've recently made a jump from PT4 and Logic 3.5 to PT6.7. I can say that it is easier to edit MIDI on logic 3.5 than it is on PT 6.7 except I don't have that option anymore and my scoring ability has disappeared. help.

Yup,

I thought Logic 3.5 had score, but alas, it is "old", and I don't think an ADB/USB converter for the dongle will work, or otherwise I'd use it - I paid a grand for the SW at the time, and never ended up using it, as PT 4 was my calling (not a MIDI studio here...) - possibly might look into it, but I suspect that they'd never give me a USB dongle without fully upgrading to the most recent Logic, which to be honest, I haven't the time or inclination to try to re-learn at this juncture - I'm still handwriting scores out in full, which is getting tiresome...

best,

[PlugHead]

Originally posted by catfish11
sibelius has a program called g7 for guitar
and comes w a limited kontakt player
i am not sure how exactly what your needs are
but there is a demo and it is pretty full featured
it can at least handle 4 part probably more
and has many of the features of sibelius sr.
$100.00, looks great, cool gui, parchment, lyrics, ect...

there is a demo on their site
check it out

Thanks, but not interested in guitar - mainly for orchestra/choir/ensemble stuff...

keep 'em coming!

[PlugHead]

Originally posted by thenewyear
Finale Notepad is free but restrictive. As with all things you get what you pay for.

I am very happy with Sibelius.

FWIW,
I downloaded a copy of notepad, and you're right - too restrictive - sure love the layout, tho...

Seems we have 2 Sibelius users - any pref. over Finale? Is Sibelius easier (GUI, etc) and nicer quality fonts, or are they very similar? I'm eventually going to break down, so the more you have to say, the better I'll feel with dropping the cash - seems Finale is a bit cheaper, and I'll always go that way unless someone proves it's not as good as it's competition...

thanks everyone - big help to me!

[catfish11]

i would advise u check out g7
guitar is marketing
the rest is sibelius/scoring
there is a demo

[catfish11]

there are demos of all this stuff
try them

[PlugHead]

Originally posted by catfish11
there are demos of all this stuff
try them

Just DL'd G7 - looks awesome, tho I'll need to spend some more time with it - it does look "pro" enough to do a lot of what I want, I need to dig deeper - thanks for the headzup!

[thenewyear]

I think G7 might be the way to go. I have used both Sibelius and Finale and I tend to think of Sibelius as the 'Mac' of the scoring world in terms of gracefulness, ease of use etc.

Also Sibelius (and I presume G7) plays very nicely indeed with Pro Tools through something called the virtual midi patch bay or something like that (similar to what IAC was with OS9). Just launch both programmes and have Sibelius flawlessly play midi through your rtas softsynths running in Pro Tools. very slick.