Will This Change Music Notation Forever?

[@FirstLast-nr6gf]

I'm a software engineer and music is my hobby. I know how to read sheet music, but I prefer midi piano roll. It is definitely much easier for me to enter / step-input midi notes in a DAW than in a software like MuseScore or Dorico. In midi piano roll it is also easier to see the distance between notes in semitones and chord voicings.

[@franklacey5054]

I feel better about never having learned Finale very well. 😊

[@JeffHendricks]

Time to learn MuseScore....

[@colinellicott9737]

I used MuseScore several years ago, it was good then, I hope better now as I need to use it again. Any suggestions?

[@JeffHendricks]

​@@colinellicott9737Learn the keyboard shortcuts. It'll make notation a lot faster!

[@ThierryPianoSolo]

And Soundslice for web adaptative sheet music.

[@guido_piazzi]

@@colinellicott9737 MuseScore is getting big improvements lately!

[@pyrael668]

@@soulextracter I've been sticking with v3, not because I don't like 4, but because, under linux, it's a pain to connect via jackd. I don't write scores for publishing, but I find it easier to write what I want in notation (which Ardour doesn't have and rosegarden seems dead) and then patch the midi out to Ardour. Also, unlike the win (and maybe mac?) versions, there's no vsti support so that makes life a bit more challenging. Syncing MS3 to Ardour and using my Philharmonik VSTi, for example, is just nice.

[@TenorCantusFirmus]

I was a Finale user and yes, transitioning to Dorico is difficult... What I liked about Finale was I found it to be very intuitive and gave you a good view of the overall score, I can't understand why they have discontinued it.

[@gavinmacaulay5742]

It sucks when the tools and architecture of any art form make it so tedious that it almost becomes not worth it anymore...

[@ultramet]

Dorico is pretty amazing.. also use it on my iPad.

[@pierrejpiscitelli]

I've heard only good things!

[@louiscucunato115]

Thank you, Pierre. You are correct in that there is an unwillingness from many students to make the effort to read, no matter what type of music. Your idea about getting a Mac mini is a good one. I was unable to download the free trial of Dorico because my Mac OS is too old! (10.13.6). I've been getting by with a very old copy of Finale. Apparently Finale 27 is included with Dorico Pro, so maybe now is the time to switch.

[@pierrejpiscitelli]

Yes, if I were a finale user I would learn Dorico now!

[@hollylewis5302]

OMG!!!!

[@cjsavarimuthu2708]

I have Finale 27 installed. It works just fine for my needs. I'm on Windows 10. Do I need to worry?

[@pierrejpiscitelli]

I wouldn’t worry. Keep using it, but prepare to learn Dorico as it’s a current piece of software that is being supported and updated. Much more future-proof.

[@cjsavarimuthu2708]

@@pierrejpiscitelli Thanks for the response. Yes, I am indeed thinking about trying out Dorico. Hopefully, they have a trial version I could mess around a bit...😀

[@franklacey5054]

I wonder if there will be a greater demand for “scribes,” who can take the MIDI piano rolls and edit them for use by live musicians? Even though I have Finale files with my notated music, I still rely heavily on a music editor to help me clean up the notation. (Thanks, Pierre, for putting me in touch with him!)

[@pierrejpiscitelli]

Great point, who knows!

[@csikora5150]

Pierre, sorry for your trouble. I can't sight read but I understand your plight. I was a Cakewalk DAW user for 25 years when they pulled the plug in 2017 and was scrambling to figure out what i should do next. Maybe some better will come of this door closing for you.

[@pierrejpiscitelli]

Luckily I'm a Sibelius user, so I'm unaffected. But, this will be tough for Finale users.

[@csikora5150]

@@pierrejpiscitelli Well, don't I feel sheepish! I guess I skipped over the part when you said that 🤣 . Have a great day!!

[@phila2361]

Typesetting music notation is only required for reading musicians. The future, unfortunately, is AI. Grab a phone, AI some backing trax and you're all set. I still use Finale 2003. Tried later versions.... not for me. Tried Sibelius many times and totally hated it. If I were young enough to start again it would be MuseScore all the way. Recommended it to several collegues and they love it so much more than Sibelius.

[@F.O.H.]

Unfortunately I think this type of program will soon be obsolete. I would Imagine that the day you can give a music file to A.I., and it will print out the score, will be here sooner than later.

[@pierrejpiscitelli]

I was thinking the same thing...

[@acoustic61]

It's hard to lose support for a valuable tool used in any profession. Hopefully, it's been developed to the point where you won't need updates. I've wondered if there's not a better way to notate music. Something that's easier to learn. Sadly, I have zero aptitude for reading music. Maybe AI will be helpful in the future. BTW, when exporting documents to create PDF files, I always see little problems with text, spacing, margins etc. The little detail drives me crazy. Sort of like transcoding sample rates with music files. There's always some loss. Never perfect.

[@marcomarrone174]

Agreed Pierre music notation is definitely on the decline, even though there will always be a need somewhere for reading notation. Btw Thanks for properly pronouncing your last name! LOL

[@pierrejpiscitelli]

LOL I have always Americanized it for simplicity, but sometimes I don't feel like it :)