Scorewriter

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A scorewriter, or music notation program, is software used for creating sheet music. A scorewriter is to music notation what a word processor is to text.

Contents 1 Functionality 1.1 Basic features 1.2 Input 1.3 Playback 1.4 Engraving 1.5 Internet publishing 1.6 File conversion 1.7 Other features 2 Scorewriters 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Functionality

[edit] Basic features

All scorewriters allow the user to input, edit and print music notation, to varying degrees of sophistication. They range from programs which can write a simple song, piano piece or guitar tab, to those that can handle the complexities of orchestral music, specialist notations (from early music to avant garde), and high-quality music engraving.

[edit] Input

Music can usually be input by using the mouse, computer keyboard, and/or a MIDI keyboard. Also a few will allow input by scanning scores using musical OCR software, or by playing or singing into a microphone.

[edit] Playback

Most scorewriters also allow the music to be played back via MIDI, or in some cases using virtual instruments. This means that scorewriters have a certain amount in common with sequencers (many of which can also write music notation up to a point), though scorewriters are used primarily for writing notation and sequencers primarily for recording and playing music.

[edit] Engraving

Some scorewriters allow the printed output to be customized and fine-tuned to a considerable degree, as is required by publishers to produce high-quality music engraving and to suit their individual house style.

[edit] Internet publishing

A few scorewriters allow users to publish scores on the Internet, where they can be (for example) played back, transposed, and printed out, perhaps for a fee.

[edit] File conversion

Due to the wide variation in features and notations supported, files created using one program usually cannot be opened by a different manufacturer's program. Hence most scorewriters can import or export in other file formats, particularly MIDI file format. However, as the MIDI file format was designed for playback rather than notation, it only produces approximate results and much notational information is lost in the process.

Consequently, various attempts to develop and establish a standard music notation file format have been made, the strongest so far being MusicXML which is now widely supported, including by Sibelius and Finale.^[1] Another format which gained some support but is now obsolete was NIFF.^[2]

[edit] Other features

Most scorewriters provide other musical functions such as transposing, or producing separate instrumental parts from a full score, or applying music transformations such as retrograde. Some can automatically create instrumental exercises and student worksheets. Some support plug-ins, often developed by users or other companies. Various features found in other types of program are also found in some scorewriters; these include version control (similar to Microsoft Word's 'track changes' feature), importing and exporting graphics, Post-It-like sticky notes, etc.

[edit] Scorewriters

Sibelius claims to be the world's best-selling scorewriter; its main rival Finale was the best-seller in the 1990s and early 2000s. Though many other scorewriters have been developed in the past, Sibelius and Finale appear to dominate the market today. Scorewriters which were once widely used but are now obsolete include Encore and SCORE.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Musical notation codes - information on most known musical notation file formats.