What is the best software for professionally notating a full orchestra?
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Best Orchestra Notation Software
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@ColinThomson said:
What is the best software for professionally notating a full orchestra?
You have to clarify "best". Sibelius is probably the most intuitive, but the best is still probably SCORE. However, I wouldn't advise using this program for anything apart from hard core engraving. [:D]
DG
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@ColinThomson said:
I am only asking for opinions. What would YOU rather use, and why? Thanks.
OK.
Sibelius, because you can get 90% good results quicker than any other software on the market, and it is the market leader as well as most innovative IMO. I've also been using it for 14 years. [:D]
DG
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I saw on their website that it was used to create the score of The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, and that is enough to make me want it really bad. [:)]
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OK, OK, I know that this is not what this thread is about, BUT . . .
I agree that most of the soundtrack is not that good, but I really like The Battle score, as well as Evacuating London. Those two tracks alone are enough to make me buy the score.
But if you are looking for thematic music, look elsewhere (like John Williams, or John Williams, or you could try out a guy named John Williams, I hear he is pretty good)
[:)]
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I use Finale exclusively. The interface is clunky, but I've found that I get better output than with Sibelius. I also need the ability to tweak the look of the notation down to the most minute detail.
Gotta say though, the first incarnation of Finale's linked parts has been quite a disappointment. I think it was rushed and released before it was fully complete. I'm going back to extracting parts into individual files because I can work more quickly.
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ACtually I think Finale is easier to use than Sibelius, and can do absolutely anything possible in notation. But that is rather a bias like DG's since I have been using it from Version 1.0
I have always heard about Score but no one except companies uses it. I don't even think many companies use it anymore, do they DG? I was attracted to it though as it was an old-style program designed to be like an engraving plate.
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@William said:
I have always heard about Score but no one except companies uses it. I don't even think many companies use it anymore, do they DG? I was attracted to it though as it was an old-style program designed to be like an engraving plate.
The traditional Publishers still use SCORE. I haven't used it in years though.
DG
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I use Finale. It is the most flexible and does not force you into as many notational errors as does Sibelius. I grant that the interface could be improved, but music notation is a compllcated business, and there is no free lunch.
Michael
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Actually I find Finale easy to use in its basics, though it can be difficult in some things. Also, I dislike the new versions. I am still using 2001d, which I think is better than the latest which I got but then uninstalled. I basically think it is no longer getting better as a piece of software. It reached its peak around then.
I especially like the speedy note entry, which is so fast that you can input huge amounts of music simply, in a very small amount of time. That aspect of Finale seems better than Sibelius, which is not as fast for raw note entry. Though Sibelius may be faster with editing, doing parts, etc. Though you have to learn it too, despite what some people seem to say. It is not instantaneous by any means.
The fact is they are the two main programs to use, and so you decide almost by a coin flip which you want to go with. After years of using Finale, I got the "competitive upgrade" to Sibelius, and was very unimpressed as it is not noticeably better in any aspect. Don't believe the hype by either company or by people who don't have both programs. They are both complex and need serious attention to do good notation. But they can both do it if you work hard enough on it.
My favorite notation program was Music Printer Plus. Anyone remember that? DOS only. [:'(]
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