Notation software for transcriptions?

[simonlewin]

Hello,

Firstly, I hope this isn't an inappropriate place for this post.

I want to start putting some transcriptions together, and wondered if there was any basic Mac software that will allow me to put together something a bit neater than my handwritten attempts?

I like the way these transcriptions are done:

http://www.olafmeijer.nl/transcripties.html

Any advice would be appreciated!

Many thanks,

Simon

[bardlute]

Finale is a very good and easy to use software. You can download Finale Notepad from its official website for free.

[nathanmcnathan]

Yeah, finale's a great program. Notepad, not so much. You can't notate a swing rhythm, use complex time signatures, or otherwise use any features that would be useful.

[Basseroni]

I found Finale to be cumbersome but you may not. I would also check out Sibelius.

[Kevin Hsieh]

I've had both Finale and Sibelius. Sibelius wins for being the most user friendly. The learning curve is much lower and I find the interface more intuitive.

Pen and paper always works quite well. It's always good practice for the moments if you are ever away from your computer and you need to write an idea down.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I used Finale for 15 years, and was more fluent with Sibelius in about 2 weeks. I think using a notation program is great for transcriptions - you get to hear back what you notated immediately if you wish, which is not only a great way to proofhear your lift, but also very educational when you haven't got it quite right yet... especially rhythmically.

The other wonderful thing about notation programs is being able to play back the lift when you've finally got it done and notated correctly, and then marvelling at how lame this beautiful solo you love so much sounds when it is reduced to mere pitches and rhythms. I never cease to marvel at this.

[christ andronis]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

I used Finale for 15 years, and was more fluent with Sibelius in about 2 weeks. I think using a notation program is great for transcriptions - you get to hear back what you notated immediately if you wish, which is not only a great way to proofhear your lift, but also very educational when you haven't got it quite right yet... especially rhythmically.

The other wonderful thing about notation programs is being able to play back the lift when you've finally got it done and notated correctly, and then marvelling at how lame this beautiful solo you love so much sounds when it is reduced to mere pitches and rhythms. I never cease to marvel at this.

Chris..I've heard you rave about Sibelius for awhile on this site. Having had Finale for awhile (and really never digging the learning curve necessary to produce anything) I think I'm going to bite the bullet and invest in Sibelius 5. You're a good salesman.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by christ andronis

Chris..I've heard you rave about Sibelius for awhile on this site. Having had Finale for awhile (and really never digging the learning curve necessary to produce anything) I think I'm going to bite the bullet and invest in Sibelius 5. You're a good salesman.

Never intended to be a salesman, just relaying my own experience. To me, Sibelius is just a lot more intuitive, and their online help site is second to none - if you get stuck, post a question, and they can usually iron it out the same day.

[j.a.e.r.i.p]

Sibelius

[Phil Smith]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

Never intended to be a salesman, just relaying my own experience. To me, Sibelius is just a lot more intuitive, and their online help site is second to none - if you get stuck, post a question, and they can usually iron it out the same day.

My expereience is the opposite of yours...I find for me Finale is easier to use than Sibelius.

[bass349]

I've used sibelius for the last 4 years or so and and you get your head around a few things, like knowing the important keyboard commands, it's very user friendly. I used finale on a recommendation from a friend for one arrangement i did at uni and i regretted it! Maybe i'm used to sibelius.. but i just found finale just wasn't as intuitive as sibelius, none of the commands where where i expected. I haven't checked out the online help (sounds good though) but even the normal help file that comes with the program i found very comprehensive.

Having said all that.. i usually hand write transcriptions. I probably should start using sibelius, i like the idea of hearing it back! also, having a midi keyboard hooked is a good idea and will speed things up if you don't have one already.

[synaesthesia]

I use Finale printmusic. It is about 55 USD. It will transpose, do odd time etc. It has the jazz fonts. It's not full blown Finale, but it works for me to scribe parts for everyone.

[antdedyet]

simonlewin,

You might also want to look at Lilypond:

http://lilypond.org/web/

It is free, among other benefits.