Best music notation software 2022

1

PreSonus Notion

This is a serious tool, aimed at professional musicians - but it actually has a surprisingly easy-to-navigate interface, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming if you’re new to composition. Like Notion 6, this software is regularly updated and tweaked by a team of developers. But we were slightly more impressed with the instrumental sounds that are available in Notion, and we couldn’t find a ‘video’ window in Sibelius that would allow us to watch a movie and score it at the same time. So it takes second place in our guide.

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2

Sibelius

The program has great collaboration tools, too. When you finish a score or reach a good stopping point for collaboration, you can hit the share button on the toolbar to send your work to the Sibelius cloud. Avid’s MediaCentral Platform then processes it and sends you a URL that can be opened on any computer with any web browser. If you’re collaborating with another Sibelius user, you can both edit the score, and when either one of you presses the Push button, the changes will be saved without generating a new URL or exporting a file.

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3

MuseScore.org

MuseScore can import MusicXML and standard MIDI files from other popular notation software. When your score is complete, you can export it as either a graphic file, MusicXML file or audio file. The instrument samples aren’t as realistic or dynamic as those in the best notation programs we tested, but if you are interested in composing music with software, MuseScore is an easy way to learn for no investment.

#Music #Music Tools #Musician Tools 87 social mentions

4

Noteflight

There are three versions of Noteflight, including the free Noteflight Basic, which allows you to create and edit up to 10 scores. Noteflight Learn is specifically designed for educators. It syncs with Google Classroom and other popular learning management systems. Noteflight Premium is one of the cheapest premium music notation options we reviewed.

#Music Tools #Music #Musician Tools 3 social mentions

5

Finale PrintMusic

Finale PrintMusic has an intuitive workflow and an easy-to-navigate interface. It boasts an impressive set of note entry tools and editing palettes, and they are all easy to find and use.

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6

FORTE Music Notation Software

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7

FutureSculptor Maestro

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8

Notation Pad

Notation Pad (opens in new tab) Available on iOs or Android devices, this app is a useful tool for jotting down musical refrains and quick compositions. Zoom tools and a cleaner layout make it a little easier to navigate than Maestro, but intrusive ads make it a less fun experience overall. Piano playback comes free, but you’ll have to pay if you want to listen to your piece played by other instruments.

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9

Symphony Pro

Symphony Pro (opens in new tab) Exclusively available on Apple products, this app isn’t free but it is a fairly useful tool. It has handwriting recognition, but it also lets you add and edit notes by tapping on the score. You can also ‘lasso’ sections of notes, to transpose or edit them, and it comes with MIDI import options too. It doesn’t feature all the bells and whistles of the full software packages, but it offers a good middle ground.

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10

StaffPad

StaffPad (opens in new tab) This clever app turns your messy scribbles into engraved compositions. Using a smart pen and touchscreen device, you can write notes directly onto the staves and the software will turn them into a properly formatted composition. It’s not the cheapest app out there, but it probably has the most accurate handwriting interpretation tools. If you’re simply looking for an intuitive app that can replace your music manuscript paper, it could be a good option, but it doesn’t work with things like MIDI keyboards.

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11

forScore

Orpheus Sheet Music Pro (opens in new tab) If you prefer to use Android hardware, Orpheus is the best sheet music app on that OS. It doesn’t have as many organization and file import features as forScore, but the interface is easy to use and includes an annotation tool. There’s a free version that displays ads and limits chart uploads to 30 total. Orpheus has support for Bluetooth hands-free page turners, and syncs with Dropbox. This app isn’t compatible with as many import file types as forScore, but every notation software we tested exports PDF files, which is the preferred file type for Orpheus.

#Music Tools #Audio & Music #Productivity 15 social mentions

12

Orpheus App

#Music #Music Tools #Musician Tools 1 social mentions