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Double Bass Scoring Software

TroyK

TroyK

Mar 14, 2003
8,127
10,484
Seattle, WA
#1
I know this comes up now and again, because I've participated in these threads before, but I have officially migrated from Sibelius to MuseScore and I really couldn't be any happier.

It does everything I need for it to. It's easy and intuitive. It's free or cheap. It's not bloated.

I spent most of a decade with Finale Printmusic and then caved to peer pressure and went to Sibelius. I was mostly happy with Finale, but never really got comfortable with Sibelius and then post-Avid it made me violently ragey. I spent a little time with Deezer, but no looking back from Musescore.

YMMV, but for my needs (jazz leadsheets and light arrangements) I'm more than happy to defend my thesis.
 
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#5
klattman said:
That’s the best, most accurate description I’ve heard.
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I've used sibelius for over 20+ years. I've loved it! Then Avid took over, and I deal "on tenterhooks" now with sibelius. I'm in too deep to escape, but anyone who has a choice might be wise to avoid Avid products. The original sibelius had the best customer relationship of any software I've been exposed to. Avid's version is the worst customer relationship I've had to dealnwith. Mileage may vary, but I doubt it.
 
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#8
I’ve used Finale for many years and I know how to make it work for what I need, which is really nothing too fancy - lead sheets with chord symbols and lyrics, parts for transposing instruments, export to midi (including usually bad chord voicings). I recently tried Dorico, but it wasn’t sufficiently more intuitive to make it worth retraining at this point. I’m sure I could make Musescore work for my needs, but I think at this point I’m sticking with the devil I know. I pay for an upgrade every few upgrade cycles, and I appreciate that they keep improving the software.
 
#9
I also have an older Mac running an older pre Avid version of Sibelius. I know it can’t last forever, but I refuse to support Avid, who are basically the devil.

Many students at the U are using Musescore, but I haven’t found the workflow on it, especially as regards formatting staves into systems. I recently was helping a student with a lead sheet for an ensemble, and formatting the chart was a nightmare. On Sibelius, it was as simple as select the measures desired, then “make into system”. I would consider Musescore if I could figure that out and could hook a midi keyboard up to it and enter rhythmic values on a computer keyboard with my left hand while entering notes with my right.

Watching this thread with interest.
 
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#10
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I also have an older Mac running an older pre Avid version of Sibelius. I know it can’t last forever, but I refuse to support Avid, who are basically the devil.

Many students at the U are using Musescore, but I haven’t found the workflow on it, especially as regards formatting staves into systems. I recently was helping a student with a lead sheet for an ensemble, and formatting the chart was a nightmare. On Sibelius, it was as simple as select the measures desired, then “make into system”. I would consider Musescore if I could figure that out and could hook a midi keyboard up to it and enter rhythmic values on a computer keyboard with my left hand while entering notes with my right.

Watching this thread with interest.
Click to expand...

Formatting systems is a piece of cake for me. I did it this morning quickly on my way out the door, I'm fact. It had gotten difficult with Sibelius.
 
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#12
That’s just the thing, though - once you invest the time in learning one of these complicated programs and get some speed and groove to your work flow, it’s kind of a commitment and switching is like switching your primary instrument… I swear, the next time I learn a new system, it’s just going to be freakin’ pencil, paper, and a piano. I have used Sibelius as a crutch for a weak, underdeveloped musical imagination for 20 years. I can do better…
 
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#14
JBarz said:
That’s just the thing, though - once you invest the time in learning one of these complicated programs and get some speed and groove to your work flow, it’s kind of a commitment and switching is like switching your primary instrument… I swear, the next time I learn a new system, it’s just going to be freakin’ pencil, paper, and a piano. I have used Sibelius as a crutch for a weak, underdeveloped musical imagination for 20 years. I can do better…
Click to expand...

I rarely use notation because I'm not good at it, but when I do I use the limited ability of the old Cakewalk Pro Audio V9 program. I won't even use Sonar because for me the point is to use tools that make it fast. The more they can do, the less I can do without having to work harder on their methods than on my own stuff! Those early programs solve more problems than they created, and they'll run on more different machines too.

A reliable general purpose tool that can be multi-purposed easily is good because one way or another we can stay familiar with how it works and not get stalled by some bit of it we rarely use except when we need it most. Sometimes all I need it to do is help me to think, or to remember something for me, which is the main point of any kind of notation.
 

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