Showing posts with label music notation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music notation. Show all posts

Finale 2010 Review

Finale 2010
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Finale 2010 ReviewI've used Finale since 1995, producing hundreds of arrangements and compositions, engraving music for other composers and arrangers, and even creating a theory textbook. Generally speaking, Finale has been an excellent product, and I've never found anything that couldn't be notated using this program. However, recent updates have become less and less stable as the program has gotten more complex. Even with a new computer, Finale 2008 and 2009 were having trouble playing back large scores and would occasionally crash for no reason. Finale 2010 reorganizes many notational inputs and is much smoother graphically, but after a few months' use, I found a terrible problem: Finale 2010 would crash when I tried to open complex files created on earlier versions of of the program! That means I can't access some of my older work to make changes or even print out a new copy. After the crash, Finale 2010 wouldn't start again until I restarted the computer.
I contacted MakeMusic about this and sent them one of the files that wouldn't open. They agreed that Finale 2010 crashed when trying to open the file and acknowledged that the file still opens well in Finale 2008. Their advice was to identify all files with this problem, export them as XML files and import them into Finale 2010. The problem is that I have so many files (thousands!) that it would take weeks to attempt to open every single file, especially if the program keeps crashing and I have to restart the computer over and over. The other option was to keep older versions of Finale on the computer, but that would take up a lot of hard drive space and file managing could get problematic. So, at the moment, I'm considering downgrading to Finale 2009 and never updating again!
Since the Sibelius notation software has emerged as competition for Finale, my impression is that MakeMusic is releasing more and more "upgrades" that aren't thoroughly tested, and this issue is simply a deal-breaker. In concept, the program is still very good, and if you're just getting started, it's still the standard in notation software, but I cannot recommend this version of Finale to longtime users.Finale 2010 OverviewThe best tools are designed by the people who use them. Introducing Finale 2010 - theworld standard in music notation software. Compose, arrange, notate, and print engraver-qualitysheet music that plays back with world-class sounds. Finale continues to lead the way, helping you reach perfection faster. - Streamlined user interface is more efficient, intuitive, and consistent - Setup Wizard configures your score beautifully in seconds. - Enter your music into Finale using a MIDI keyboard, computer keyboard, mouse, mic, or scanner. - Scan existing sheet music directly into Finale. From there you can change the key, edit, and save as a Finale file. - Linked Parts - intelligently links your score and parts to save you time. - More than 300 customizable and printable Music Education Worksheets. - Video Support - import video, plus send and display SMPTE time code. - TempoTap' - conduct your own tempo changes. - Playback - here are just a few reasons why Finale's sound is unsurpassed: - Record or import an audio track for unprecedented realism. - More than 350 world-class Garritan instrument sounds - and more. - More than 100 sounds from the acclaimed Tapspace Virtual Drumline. - Human Playback makes your music sound like live musicians are playing it - even if you entered your notes with a mouse! - Integrated Garritan Aria player. - Full support for VST/AU instruments AND effects. - Powerful Mixer (real-time control of volume, panning, patch, and more). - Save Audio Files (including .MP3) to create CDs or save to an iPod. - Document Styles let you instantly personalize the appearance of new documents. - Colored Noteheads and integrated Boomwhackers tuned percussion tube sounds.

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Finale 2011 Academic Review

Finale 2011 Academic
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Finale 2011 Academic ReviewI got Finale 2011 Academic on Amazon for my son, a college student. He loves it. He quickly got it registered online and started using it for his music classes. I used it for writing a couple songs and found it slow going until I found the Quick Start Videos under the help Menu. Made a huge difference. Once you get going, it's pretty straightforward. My son's theory prof says he told students to get Finale because it 'does everything.' I'm looking forward to doing more with it when he berings his laptop home for Christmas.Finale 2011 Academic Overview

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Cakewalk Music Creator 5 Review

Cakewalk Music Creator 5
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Cakewalk Music Creator 5 ReviewThe people at Cakewalk indicate that you'll spend more time making music than struggling with the software its not at all true. It takes about 16 hours of work to learn enough about this to use it to make music. The company relies on the generosity of the people on the forums as their documentation and help files. The documentation and help files that ship with the product are inadequate and often inaccurate. To do something as simple as open a midi file, add an audio file, record your audio and export the mix to a mp3 or other audio format is mind boggling complicated and the help does not help. Oh and by the way they don't ship the product with an MP3 codec you have to get your own or buy it. Also they don't allow you to upgrade from music creator 4 to 5 which sucks because the new features in 5 versus 4 are not worth the roughly $40. Having said how hard this is to use and how often you do something the same way twice and get 2 different results you can get a decent recording after you invest the 16 hours of learning and struggling. Hats off to the people who post great help on the forum. Cakewalk should be ashamed of themselves for letting a group of users' who bought the product to serve as the Cakewalk volunteer support staff, this is practically criminal.Cakewalk Music Creator 5 Overview

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Sibelius 6 Student Review

Sibelius 6 Student
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Sibelius 6 Student ReviewI've taught public school music for 30 years (general and choral)at all grade levels (K-12) and finally switched from Finale's Print Music (most recent version was 2004)to this Student version of Sibelius and am VERY glad I did. Sibelius is far more intuitive and user friendly and can be used by students of all ages. I find it especially handy for part/score transposition and keyboard note input. While I was at first apprehensive that the student version would not be complex enough, I've found it to be more than adequate for my needs (basic song arranging, transcribing parts, etc.).Sibelius 6 Student Overview

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Guitar Pro 6 Review

Guitar Pro 6
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Guitar Pro 6 ReviewHey music lubbers. I wanted to write this review anyway but even more so that GP6 has received some tough criticism. Much of the dissatisfaction is from owners of previous versions of Guitar Pro. Since I'm new to the product I have a different perspective, one not colored by certain expectations. By the way, I'm also a software developer so I can add that to the equation as well.
From my "dual point-of-view" GP6 is both a great musical tool and a well-done piece of software. The slams it's gotten for being unresponsive, hard to use, buggy, etc. are a bit exaggerated. I believe those who have trouble with it don't have computers with the required firepower; it does ask for a fairly modern machine and it's not kidding! Though I've had it crash a few times, this is certainly no worse than Firefox; moreover, the program does very frequent updates that happen hemidemisemi-automatically.
It has a rich and satisfying palette of tools for painting your musical masterpiece. It has a plethora (oh yes El Guapo...a plethora!) of RSE2 instruments to fill up your canvas. Some of them sound great (fine oil paint), some are "good enough" (acrylics) and some are like throwing a crayon into the dryer (uh, don't try this!) Strangely, the best sounding ones are guitars and similar stringed instruments; oh wait, this is *Guitar* Pro, not Bassoon Hero!
I also love the effects/amps you can use to shade and enrich your tableau. They really make a dramatic difference to the sound, just as they do in the real world. You can try out effects you don't quite understand instead of "Daddy, what does a phaser do?" "Well son, it's used to kill Klingons." Yeah, dad's a trekkie, not a musician.
You probably already know that there are thousands of GP-based tab/chord downloads out there; unfortunately, it's hard to find sites that use the new .gpx format at this time. Regardless, GP6 can import all of its predecessor formats and others such as Power Tab. It also does a nice job with many ASCII tab files, which surprised me somewhat.
As nice as all of these features are, composition/playback is the heart of the package. Let's just keep it simple here. You can represent just about any musical notation and the scores are easy to manipulate. You'd likely go bonkers trying to figure out how many possible built-in scales there are, and what each term means; learn Latin and Italian if you really want to know what these are (c'mon, you really just wanna impress chicks--I know you!) The playback will let you set each track individually so you can use it for backing while you play...say...your bagpipes. And if you want to input via something other than a computer keyboard, voila, summon the useful (albeit slightly hokey) virtual fretboard/keyboard. Better yet, attach a MIDI piano/synth and do a live 'captcha'.
Anyway, you can find all of this out yourself, I'm just letting you know what I find impressive about Guitar Pro 6. Get a copy and let's all paint some great scores together!Guitar Pro 6 OverviewGuitar Pro 6, a Win/Mac hybrid, is the ultimate toolbox for the guitarist! It includes all the tools you need to improve, compose and accompany yourself on the guitar. This simple and intuitive multitrack tablature editor is specifically designed for guitar, bass or other stringed instruments.

Guitar Pro 6 features the newest in playback technology including RSE - Realistic Sound Engine. RSE gives you real time playback of your scores with realistic sound samples taken from high quality guitars and real time effects such as wah-wah. Advanced notation features add drum notation, vocal notation and tablature support for any stringed instruments with four to seven strings. The newest version, Guitar Pro 6.0, includes over 40 new features while improving on those that have made it the most popular guitar tablature editor available.

Known for its ease of use, Guitar Pro allows you to enter notes by using keyboard keys, mouse clicks on an on-screen fretboard or directly through a connected MIDI device, all in just a few minutes. This revolutionary software can handle up to 256 tracks and you can switch from tablature view to standard notation for viewing or editing scores. With automatically calculated rhythms, Guitar Pro works out the note durations for you, and when you play the score, the music scrolls along with you, rendering guitar-specific effects like bends and slides.

Also included in Guitar Pro are a digital guitar tuner, a chord diagram engine, and a scales tool. You can easily import and export MIDI and ASCII tab formats allowing Guitar Pro to be used with a limitless number of songs. Tens of thousands of Guitar Pro format files are available on the Internet. The WAVE Export allows you to convert a Guitar Pro file into an audio file which is playable without Guitar Pro and can be burned onto an audio CD.

With its ease-of-use, versatility and variety of tools, Guitar Pro will have you creating music in no time! Features:

Multitrack/monotrack display, horizontal or vertical scrolling, the screen display adjusts to your preferences and score types.
Chord Diagram editor allows you to easily add chord diagrams to your score. Ask for any chord in any tuning and Guitar Pro will show you every diagram possible.
Scales Tool allows you to view and listen to a large number of scales, from the most common to the most exotic.
Digital or MIDI Tuner allows you to tune your guitar for every tuning possible, from 4- to 7-strings.
Fretboard (or Keyboard) allows you to view and enter notes on the score. It is able to show the notes of the current beat, but also the notes for the next beat, the complete bar or the selected scale.
Metronome gives the tempo while playing a score or even without playing it.
Professional Quality Paper Printings can be monotrack or multitrack. This way you can print several views of the same score, perfect for a band.

New Features for Guitar Pro 6:

Over 50 pedal effects and numerous sound banks (guitar, bass, drums, piano, orchestral etc.)
A New MDI User Interface (including full screen mode)
Piano Grand Staff
Rhythm slash
Simile marks
Multi-rest
Concert tone
Parametric equalization on each track
Configurable tones
Tap tempo
Jazz fonts
Anacrusis

Guitarist Magazine: "Guitar Pro is an intelligent, simple, clear and precise tool … the standard of its field."

Guitar Part: "Complete and easy to use … for a very low price considering its possibilities…"

RIFF Magazine: "Guitar Pro is unquestionably the best that can be found in the field of tablature editing for the PC."


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