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Different scorewriters | |||||
Ascorewriter, ormusic notation program issoftware for creating, editing and printingsheet music. A scorewriter is tomusic notation what aword processor is to text, in that they typically provide flexible editing and automatic layout, and produce high-quality printed results.
The first modern score manipulation program was Mockingbird, written by John Maxwell andSevero Ornstein atXerox PARC in 1980 on aDorado computer. It precededMIDI so an electronic keyboard had to be modified to enable interaction (input and playback) with the program. TheWYSIWYG program was envisioned as a composer'samanuensis, but as it was an experimental program it never reached beyond PARC, though it influenced commercial programs which soon followed.[1][2][3][4]
Most scorewriters, especially those from the 2000s, can record notes played on aMIDI keyboard (or other MIDI instruments), and play music back via MIDI orvirtual instruments. Playback is especially useful for novicecomposers and music students, and whenmusicians are not available or affordable. Several free programs are widely used, such asMuseScore. The three main professional-level programs areFinale,Sibelius andDorico.[5]
Multitrack sequencer software and scorewriters typically employ different methods for notation input and display.
Scorewriters are based on traditional music notation, usingstaff lines and roundnote heads, which originates from Europeanclassical music. They use symbols representing durations insound andsilence,dynamics,articulations andtempo. Some also allow users to import and/or create their own symbols. Multitrack sequencer software typically uses a multitrack recorder metaphor as the main interface, with multiple tracks and track segments. Individual tracks can be edited usinggraphic notation in the form of a "piano roll"-guided input for the control ofMIDI-based hardware and software instruments.
A third approach has also emerged that combines the first two input methods into adigital audio workstation, allowing users to score parts using traditional notation, the graphic notation of the piano roll, and recordingacoustic orelectronic instruments inreal time alongside the existing scores. With all three methods, thecomputer keyboard,mouse, and aMIDImusical keyboard can be used to enter music that can then be edited with traditional or piano-roll-based notation.
The rapid growth ofdesktop computers in the 1980s saw the creation of dozens of early scorewriters (seelist of scorewriters). They were a boon to young composers, music educators and composition students, providing a much less expensive way to create scores and parts for orchestral music and other works. However, they were hard to use; and while scores were readable, they did not look like professionally engraved scores or parts. An exception wasSCORE notation software. Developed in the late '80s, it was used mostly by commercial publishers, as its price put it out of the reach of most non-professional composers/copyists.[6] During the 1990s, many of these early programs, such as theMosaic notation program, fell into disuse, as newer programs surpassed them in ease of use and output quality.Finale andSibelius were released, with high-quality output and a wide range of sophisticated features that made them suitable for almost all kinds of music applications.
By 2000, the market was dominated by Finale (particularly in the US) and Sibelius (which had dominated the UK since 1993, and expanded worldwide after itsWindows release in 1998). Inexpensive programs such ascapella gained a significant share of the market in some countries. Sibelius and Finale still dominated the market as of 2012.[7]
In 2006, Sibelius was purchased byAvid. In a 2012 restructuring, Sibelius's London office was closed and the development team dismissed. In February 2013,Steinberg announced it had hired the former Sibelius team to create a new scorewriter,[8]Dorico, which was released in October 2016.[9] The trio ofFinale,Sibelius andDorico are today's leading professional-level programs.
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All scorewriters allow the user to input, edit and printmusic notation to varying degrees of sophistication. They range from programs which can write a simple song, piano piece orguitar tab, to those that can handle the complexities oforchestral music, specialist notations (fromearly music toavant-garde), and high-qualitymusic engraving.
Music can usually be input using the mouse, computer keyboard, or aMIDI keyboard. A few allow input by scanning scores usingmusical OCR; by playing or singing into a microphone; or by using a touch screen.
Most scorewriters also allow users to play the music back, using MIDI or virtual instruments such asVST instruments. The screen can show at one time both the score and, by changing the colour of keys on avirtual piano's keyboard, the notes being played. Althoughsequencers can also write some musical notation, they are primarily for recording and playing music. Scorewriters can typically write more complex and sophisticated notation than sequencers can.
Some scorewriters allow users to customize and fine-tune the printed output to a considerable degree, as is required by publishers to produce high-quality music engraving and to suit their individual house style.
A few scorewriters allow users to publish scores on theInternet, where they can be (for example) played back, transposed, and printed out, perhaps for a fee.
Most scorewriters provide other musical functions such as transposing; producing separate instrumental parts from a full score; or applying musical transformations such asretrograde. Some can automatically create instrumental exercises and student worksheets. Some supportplug-ins, often developed by users or other companies. Other features may include version control, change tracking, graphics import and export, Post-It-like sticky notes, etc.
Almost all scorewriters use their own file formats for saving files. Hence, in order to move notation between different scorewriters (or to/from other kinds of music software such assequencers), most scorewriters can also import or export one or more standard interchange file formats, such as:
ThisComparison of scorewriters details which score writers can import and export toPDF, text (ASCII), picture (PNG,SVG, EMF) and sound (Vorbis OGG) file formats.
There are also human-readable text-based formats such asABC notation,LilyPond,ASCII tab andNoteWorthy Composer text files. These are easily rendered as speech by screen reading software. TheScore extension toMediaWiki can render, and generate an audio preview of, the first two formats.
Niff has now been superseded by MusicXML.
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| Proprietary | |
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