Hi just curious as to what composing software composers use. I personally use ScoreWriter 2.0, and I think it is absolutely fantastic! I have also tried Notation Musician but that was complete rubbish. So I was just wondering if there are any others out there.

Chris

Hi Chris,

As far as I know the two professional and industry standard notation software are:
Finale 2008 and
Sibelius 5

There is also NOTION (I think it's verions 2, but not sure actually), but I think that it's right in the middle of a sequencer and a notation software and not perfect in either case.

BTW, what exactly do you mean by "composing software"? There isn't a software that composes music. You either get notation (to create score) or sequence (to create audio files, by sequencing your music). I replied due to the subject of the thread.

I use LilyPond . It's free and open source software, but it doesn't use a graphical front end. Rather, you write the notation in a special syntax and it compiles it into sheet music. The syntax is pretty easy to learn and extremely powerful, but definitely not as simple to use as a notation editor like Finale or Sibelius.

The above mentioned programs are primarily for notating scores.

Many composers who work outside classical styles use DAW packages like Pro Tools or Logic.

Yes there is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_music

Anyway, I use Score Writer 4, which I suppose is an upgrade of version 2? Anyway, it's probably not as good as Finale or Sibelius but much cheaper and so far I never needed a feature it didn't have.

Then again, I don't do much composing inside of a notation package. I also use LilyPond because it creates good-looking scores, but it's much more labor intensive.

For sequencing, you can use REAPER. It's free to try (indefinitely) and cheap to buy. It has a simple MIDI editor built in.

Sequencers:

Cubase
Sonar
Reaper
Logic
Pro-tools

are the main ones really (and yes I consider reaper a "main one" as well. I love cockos! )

I use Encore since I don't need all the bells and whistles found in Finale or Sibelius.

Ed

I use an *old* version of Finale (I'd be embarrassed to tell you how old) which does everything I need it to do (which is a fair bit!). When the *old* (to match) computer and laser printer pack it in, I'll have to get an up-to-date version, I expect. Maybe then I'll look at Sibelius, but for now, I'm quite happy .

Hi, I use Obtiv Octava Composer Octava Composer Professional. There are more
versions with and without composition tools. You will not believe... I am curious what other people say.
There are also some tutorial videos.

Leon

If you are an ordinary musician and not a professional copyist who absolutely requires the latest and greatest just to keep up with the heavy workload, I see no reason at all to pay anything for notation software when there are good free options.

Musescore is 100% free, and not disabled in the ways that the cheap "teasers" are for the expensive programs. It's not as shiny as Sibelius or Finale, but it works fine - and it's free.

Lilypond is also 100% free, makes nicer scores than Musescore (makes nicer scores than Finale for that matter), and is most likely harder to use for the average person.

I use Finale 2007. It has its share of problems, but it's been faithful to my needs for over 4 years now!