Learning, Composing & Compiling
There is a wide range of music notation software editors available, finding the right one might take a little time to research.
A number of the companies that provide these software packages either provide a one month free trial or a free basic version.
Here is a selection of some of the notation software editors we have identified…
Avid – Sibelius 7.5
Sibelius is the world’s best-selling music composition and notation software, offering sophisticated, yet easy-to-use tools that are proven and trusted by top composers, arrangers, publishers, educators, and students alike. With Sibelius 7.5, you can express, accelerate, and promote your creativity in more ways than ever before, enabling you to deliver beautiful, professional scores faster and share audio and video versions of your work—with stunningly realistic musical phrasing—to make your talent stand out from the crowd. It’s the fastest, smartest, easiest way to write music for live performance, film and television, media entertainment, or in the classroom.
Price: Approx $720.00 / £460.00
Avid Sibelius 7.5
Finale – Music Notation Software
To notate music is to look forward – to the performance, and beyond. Whether you’re creating a simple lead sheet, making worksheets for your students, or composing your magnum opus, Finale helps you easily capture your musical ideas, produce beautiful notation, and quickly share the results.
For 25 years, Finale’s unique ability to create anything on the printed page has remained undisputed while other music notation software has come and gone. Finale 2014 is the forward-looking choice with new innovations, making Finale’s trademark freedom and flexibility easy for everyone to use.
Price: Approx $600.00 / £380.00
Finale Notation Software
Maestro Music Software – MagicScore 7
MagicScore 7’s interface and comprehensive features make it the smart choice for musicians, composers, arrangers, teachers, students, choirs, ensembles and song writers. The MagicScore music notation software offers excellent capabilities which facilitate the creation of compositions of any complexity, including polyphonic ones. However the interface is not as intuitive or professional as some of the other music notation software but it is a fraction of the price. Some of the main features include; Quick Input a fast way to type scores, customizable layout, score your entry using a MIDI-device, the virtual guitar fingerboard or the virtual piano. Publish “live” sheet music in the Internet using built-in plug-in.
Price: Approx $60.00 / £38.00
Maestro Music Software
Forte Music Notation Software
With 4 editions of the Forte Notation Software, there is a Forte version that can fit into different budget areas and provide different requirements. The lower priced options are up gradable.
This Forte Home edition priced at $99 / £63 is an ideal choice for the music hobbyist, choir director or more advanced music student. This software package will provide immediate access to an advanced music notation program that is easy to learn and navigate. You will be creating beautiful scores in as little as 10 minutes. The full FORTE 5 HOME edition is an upgrade from the Basic edition, offering many more useful and creative features.
Prices Range From: A Free Version to Forte Premium Approx $229.00 / £145.00
Forte Notation
Guitar Pro 6
Guitar Pro is a multilingual interface available in 19 languages on the Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. It is a multitrack editor of guitar and bass tablature and musical scores, possessing a built-in MIDI-editor, a plotter of chords, a player, a metronome and other tools for guitarists and musicians. It has versions for Windows, Mac OS X (Intel processors only), and Linux and is written by the French company Arobas Music.
Edit, visualize, and share your scores. Learn to play or improve your technique. Accompany yourself by creating the instrumental tracks of your choice. Enjoy a series of essential tools: scale-validating tool, tuner, metronome, guitar fretboard…
You’ll know how to handle the interface in a matter of minutes, easily navigating over its tabs and buttons. For optimal ease in reading, you’ll be able to display your scores as you prefer — full-screen, double-page, or parchment-like –, and also display a guitar fretboard to visualize the exact positioning of your fingers on it.
Price: Approx $73.67 / £46.65
Guitar Pro 6
PreSonus Notation 5 – Progression 3
Notion 5 makes it easier than ever for you to write your ideas quickly and includes a new video window, new effects from PreSonus Studio One, an enhanced chord library, a custom rules editor, and many notation and publishing improvements.
Notation improvements make Notion 5 even faster and easier to use than previous versions, including an enharmonic spelling tool, cross-staff notation, layout and printing improvements, and new shortcut sets. You also get an enhanced chord library with more library chords, user-created chords, and recent-chord recall.
Presonus have a range of software including the Studio One DAW and Progression 3 a tab, notation, composition and songwriting software for guitars,bass and drums.
Price: Approx $192 / £125
Presonus – Notation 5
Presonus – Software
Quick Score
QuickScore Elite Level II is Sion Software’s premier software for composing music – an elegant, integrated scoring, audio and sequencing program that Electronic Magazine awarded their 1998 Editors’ Choice for notation software upon its debut and has won the Top Ten Reviews Gold Award for five years running.
Start faster right off the top with one of QuickScore’s score templates. You’ve got Piano, Piano and Solo Instrument, Organ, Choir, Band, Orchestra and a bunch more. And if you need something you don’t see, just set it up yourself and it’s there for you to use from then on.
Prices: $179.95 / £114.06
Sionsoft – QuickScore
Score Cloud
“Like Google Translate for music”
ScoreCloud instantly turns your songs into sheet music. As simple as that!
Instant Score from MIDI or Audio
Arrange and Edit your Score
Print, Export and Share
Music notation software ideal for musicians, students, teachers, choirs and bands as well as composers and arrangers.
Prices: Free
scorecloud.com
Questions to solve
There are a number of things to look for when selecting a music editor…
DAW’s & Notation Editors – Compatible / Differences…
Want a better sound more suited to the sound in your mind…can a guitar synth plug-in generate the sound?
What is the ultimate composing set-up? – DAW’s, Plug-ins &/or Notation Editors?
Are DAW’s taking over the role a Notation Editor provides…?
