Composing and writing music has long ceased to be associated with a sheet of paper and a pen. In the era of computer technology, almost every professional composer has a music editor. As a rule, it implements the ability to record, edit, listen to and print music material of varying complexity. You can enter notes using both a mouse and a MIDI keyboard.
A program for writing scores, like any other software, must be well written, functional and practical, as well as provide users with a convenient and understandable user interface. Nevertheless, this class of programs is just one of those options where you should not chase automation, sacrificing freedom of action. First of all, the music composing software should not interfere with your recording. The main purpose of such an application should be to maintain and provide additional tools for quick operations.
Most of the music editors use the MIDI format to exchange information. However, it is worth noting here that this can lead to inaccuracies in the musical notation. Specialized formats provide better exchange. Many sheet music editors make it possible to export sheet music to PDF and sound to MP3.
Music editors MuseScore and Finale deserve special attention. They are very functional and very popular.
Although both programs are paid, it is better to opt for them, since they differ in much more functionality compared to their free counterparts. It should be said that MuseScore is a paid program only in its Pro version, and the basic version of this program continues to be free on a permanent basis.
The basic version of the music score editor MuseScore is a free alternative to paid music score editors. In this program, you can type notes using the mouse or MIDI keyboard. The program also implements the ability to export finished material to MIDI format. But professional musicians are unlikely to use the free version of this program, because it has a limited set of functions. Typically, this is an editor designed for aspiring musicians. It enables recording, editing, printing and exporting to MIDI of musical scores, chords and lyrics.
Finale is a very powerful program designed for professional sheet music typing. Finale is equipped with a large number of templates, fonts, libraries and allows you to export scores and parts in a wide variety of formats. Most contemporary composers are not indifferent to Finale: they note the particular convenience of working with large scores.
