Notation software

[NorthernTenor]

....... sound of dead horse being beaten.

Not at all, Alan - just observing that incompetent, self-serving bureaucracies have much in common and attract similar support, whatever their ostensible purpose.

[alan29]

Glad you laughed.

[Nick Baty]

More on the Sibelius UK shutdown here.

[dunstan]

Has anybody used Musescore? If Sibelius is at risk of pulling down the shutters, would a move to free (libre) program under GPL be indicated? The danger with proprietary software is always "what happens to all my files if the maker disappears".

[Southern Comfort]

The danger with proprietary software is always "what happens to all my files if the maker disappears".

Now that Sibelius can export files as MusicXML, there is an escape route to Finale. Finale can import MusicXML 2.0 files (compressed and uncompressed, .mxl and .xml), MusicXML 1.1 files, and MusicXML 1.0 files.

[mcb]

...would a move to free (libre) program

Plutôt, gratuit?

[dunstan]

Plutôt, gratuit?

It's the libre characteristics which matter more IMHO.

[musicus]

Ah, software with attitude!

Back to the topic now, please

[JW]

I use MuseScore but as these were my first compositions since Uni 17 years ago, I've nothing to compare it with (though it's better than what we used then - I think it was Finale). MuseScore is certainly exportable to a wide variety of file formats. It's worth trying it out before shelling out!

I find notation software quite frustrating compared to, say, Word, but its probably just the nature of the beast!

[alan29]

A quick Sibelius question.
Is it possible to have capoed and normal guitar chords on the same score?
If so, how is it done?

[musicus]

Yes, it is possible (I know, because I have done it). I'll go away now and work out a mini-tutorial for you.

[Nick Baty]

Add the chords in concert pitch in the usual way,
highlight the entire part,
select: Plug-ins> Chord symboles> add capo chord symbols
You'll then get a dialogue box where you can choose fret for the capo etc
Worth changing the text: It defaults to "Capo fret" when "Capo N" is more usual.
And you can also choose to have the capo chords in bold, italic or parenthesis.
Hope this helps.
N

[musicus]

Sorry - I got diverted. But Nick has nailed it for you.

[alan29]

Thanks Nick I'll have a play today.

[musicus]

Users of Sibelius 7 running on Apple's OS 10.8 (Mountain Lion) may not have noticed that a free update is available here: http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcen ... language=1

Users of Finale 2012 running on Windows or Mac can download the free 2012c update here: http://www.finalemusic.com/Downloads/Default.aspx?p=2