music software

[cellio]

I use Encore to typeset (and compose and arrange) music. It doesn't do everything Finale can do, but it meets my needs -- for the most part.
I'm currently arranging a (modern) piece of music for choir and piano. I'm finding there are two software features -- easy to implement I think -- that would make me particularly happy.
(Note: I'm just

Comments

[estherchaya]

It would be nice if I'd been able to just enter the chord names and have the software fill in the multi-note blocks for me.

yes, it would be nice, but could also prove a pain as it might arrange the chord incorrectly... C-E-G-C is a C major chord, but it might be voiced C-G-G-E or something, depnding on the melodic line at a given point.

My experience with good accompanists is that reading an SATB score is pretty simple. I spent 3 years as a music major and one of the things I had to do was take 6 semesters of keyboarding. One of the skills we were required to start learning around the 3rd semester was playing from an open score, and not always SATB scores... sometimes we'd have to take a full orhestral score and boil it down.

[cellio]

yes, it would be nice, but could also prove a pain as it might arrange the chord incorrectly

Hmm, good point -- though if, as a first pass, it always put chords in standard order (no inversions) and I sometimes had to move a couple notes around, that might still be faster. But you're right; it's not completely automatic.

(In this case, the chords are just on a scratch track and I just put them all in standard voicing. As I write parts of the other lines, I'm then dropping that track out to evaluate the work. Meanwhile, though, that track helps get a harmonic structure in my head for parts I haven't written yet.)

Hmm, I thought reading SATB was more of a pain than you describe, but maybe that's just the experience of the ameteur musicians I tend to hang out with. Most of us haven't been to school for this. If the pros don't care, that's fine with me. :-)

sometimes we'd have to take a full orhestral score and boil it down.

Yikes! Not on the fly, I hope!

[patsmor]

Duncan is earning extra cash from his music teacher by transcribing hand-written scores into both full scores and part books, using Finale. I'm really proud of him.

[cellio]

Nifty! That's a great way to earn money while getting experience with a tool he may use in the future.

[patsmor]

His dad uses Finale to transcribe music for the renn wind group he's in, (Has the Imperial Pavane made it out there yet?) and Duncan has been using Finale to compose for several years (I think he was 11 opr 12?). I am awed by the range of skills he has... (I'm living my life vicariously through him -- he's trying out for drum major for 2006-2007 (He'll get training next year) next month.