Composing - what software do you use for standard notation?

UkeDoxie

UkeDoxie

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Hello! I have been trying to compose a bit and my bad handwriting translates to poor notation skills. Just wondering what apps/software you use to write music (not tab) on you iPad. What are the pros and cons and what is the approximate price point?

I did a quick search and I did not see what I was looking for, but if you know a good thread, feel free to link it. Thanks!
 
I use Finale - there is also Sibelius. Not sure of the exact price, but I think it was about $300 USD.

A good free option is MuseScore - it has some quirks but will do the job.

(Oops - I just noticed you said iPad. I use these on a Mac & PC. Others will have to comment on iPad apps.)
 
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I use MuseScore for both tablature and standard notation. It is free for PC and Macintosh (don't know about iPad). I find it easy enough to use, but I haven't tried the expensive options.
 
An iPad is not an ideal content creation tool.
Go to a PC and create content there. It has all the proper UI tools like a mouse and keyboard that let you have a much richer environment to create.
iPads are great for consuming.

I use Musescore. Free. Lots of online help. Very professional looking results.
I also have Musescore for the iPad to display the music I create on the PC.
 
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I know a few people who use Notion and like it. Another option is Flat.
 
Thanks for the advice so far. I have looked into the free version of notation and it is a bit difficult because some of what I am trying to do (put a key signature in) keeps popping up a notice that I need the paid version.

As for working from a PC, if I continue to write songs, I may go that route someday. Keep sending your advice. Thanks!
 
I've been using Finale for a couple decades and, while a powerful program, has a big learning curve, so it's good to start with modest projects to learn the ropes, e.g., lead sheets or piano solos. If you have a huge orchestration project due in a few days, the frustration will be great. I can play it like a piano but I use it almost weekly for ensemble arrangements, guitar and ukulele solos and lead sheets. The digital audio exports are pretty darn good if you buy the better sound samples (orchestra, World Beat, etc.) and are good enough to incorporate into a DAW as backing tracks.

Along with Sibelius, Finale is pretty much the standard for professional use and in college music departments. If you're a student, Finale can be had at a significant discount.
 
gochugogi said:
I've been using Finale for a couple decades and, while a powerful program, has a big learning curve, so it's good to start with modest projects to learn the ropes, e.g., lead sheets or piano solos.....
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have used Finale for years, although not on a steady basis. I was reluctant about bringing that up because of the cost and learning curve. That scares many off. They do have the lower version, printmusic, as well as the free notepad, which is good, but basic.

My experience with Finale has been that it is really powerful and that you can do absolutely anything, including devising your own notation if that was your thing. On the other hand it can be overwhelming as there is so much there. I agree that the best way is to take on a project and figure out what you need to do. Although, sometimes it has driven me crazy when I have known how to do something and once I upgrade to a new version I have to relearn it as they changed menus or features.

Last I checked they did not have an iPad version.
 
bobhost said:
An iPad is not an ideal content creation tool.
Go to a PC and create content there. It has all the proper UI tools like a mouse and keyboard that let you have a much richer environment to create.
iPads are great for consuming.

I use Musescore. Free. Lots of online help. Very professional looking results.
I also have Musescore for the iPad to display the music I create on the PC.
Click to expand...

I own an Ipad and want to put the uke group music on it as well as record my tracks a Bluegrass group I play with sent me for a CD we're doing. Garageband is okay but no way, that I know where I can transfer sheetmusic other than copying and pasting.

I own a PC my daughter left for me to play games on and thinking of a tablet. I can input to a PC and use on an Ipad? I thought the two were seperate to the point we couldn't. Am older and not versed in new fancy tech.
 
Perhaps you want something that is web based, which would allow you to share it between devices such as Noteflight or Flat.
 
EDW said:
I know a few people who use Notion and like it. Another option is Flat.
Click to expand...

I've been mostly happy with Notion. For ukulele, you can also do tab pretty easily, even for custom tunings.
 
Patrick Madsen said:
I own an Ipad and want to put the uke group music on it as well as record my tracks a Bluegrass group I play with sent me for a CD we're doing. Garageband is okay but no way, that I know where I can transfer sheetmusic other than copying and pasting.

I own a PC my daughter left for me to play games on and thinking of a tablet. I can input to a PC and use on an Ipad? I thought the two were seperate to the point we couldn't. Am older and not versed in new fancy tech.
Click to expand...

Musescore is free and full-featured provided you're willing to put in a little time to learn the interface. It will allow you to export to PDF which should be viewable on an iPad.
 
I use MuseScore on My laptop to create. It's a lot easier than trying to create on tablet - iPad or Android. I export to PDF and transfer to tablet. I use ForScore on iPad and Orpheus on Android for actually reading the music.
 
Thank you all for your input! I will explore MuseScore a bit and see if it is what I am looking for. Thanks again for your help!
 
bobhost said:
An iPad is not an ideal content creation tool.
Go to a PC and create content there. It has all the proper UI tools like a mouse and keyboard that let you have a much richer environment to create.
iPads are great for consuming.

I use Musescore. Free. Lots of online help. Very professional looking results.
I also have Musescore for the iPad to display the music I create on the PC.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry...I just disagree with this. For most users, Notion can do just about anything on iPad that you need it to do...and it is especially friendly with ukulele. I love that I can enter notes using a ukulele fretboard.

There's also StaffPad, which is really coming along--but it doesn't have much in terms of ukulele/guitar support right now.

I also love Notion on the Mac...and anything you do on the Mac (it has a few more tools than the iPad version) transfers to the iPad.

There are a bunch of great computer programs: Finale, Sibelius, Dorico, MuseScore, Notion, Forte (Windows only)...and the list goes on.
 
I prefer Sibelius over Finale, because it seems more user-friendly and less complicate, but overall they are the same thing.
 
Jim Hanks said:
I've been mostly happy with Notion. For ukulele, you can also do tab pretty easily, even for custom tunings.
Click to expand...

I have been looking into Notion. Was it easy or hard to get it to recognize your handwriting?
 
I used a typewriter to fill a page with lines and then took a picture of it. Then, using the “mark up,” feature on my iPad, write whatever I want in top of it.

You can’t hear it, but there’s no learning curve at all to it. ;-)
 
LukuleleStrings said:
I used a typewriter to fill a page with lines and then took a picture of it. Then, using the “mark up,” feature on my iPad, write whatever I want in top of it.

You can’t hear it, but there’s no learning curve at all to it. ;-)
Click to expand...

Haha. I'd never think anyone would use a typewriter and iPad at the same time. Now, all I can think about is a manual typewrite (non-electric) where, firstly the darkness of the lines (dashes, assuming the manual doesn't have underscore) aren't even, plus, they aren't all lined up (mechanical tolerances), and worse, there are gaps between the dashes!

But, you CAN hear it. It's just inside your head.

As for notation software, I don't do much music stuff anymore, so I can't help you too much. But, I'd like to point out that Sonar is free (has been for a few years); this is a DAW system with capabilities beyond Musescore (well, actually, I guess they are different animals, but a lot of Musescore users seems to want to use Musescore in a DAW capacity).
 
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