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Mac Forum / Applications / Mac Applications / March 2008Music composition app?
I'm looking for a simple music composition app for my Mac but can't find one that doesn't do way more than I need and cost way more than I can afford! Any ideas? Background: I have an old Acorn RiscPC that I've used for years to do simple music writing using the built-in/free Maestro application. My RiscPC (being 20 years old!) is getting unreliable and I'd like to retire it and use my core-duo macbook instead, but GarageBand doesn't do what I want and I can't find anything else that does either. I just want to be able to write the dots, play them to check it sounds OK, and then print the music... Any pointers *very* gratefully received! > I'm looking for a simple music composition app for my Mac but can't find one > that doesn't do way more than I need and cost way more than I can afford! [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Any pointers *very* gratefully received! What about Garage Band that comes with iLife '08? You can buy the entire iLife '08 suite for under $100, or even less if you are a student or educator. > What about Garage Band that comes with iLife '08? You can buy the entire > iLife '08 suite for under $100, or even less if you are a student or > educator. I've tried GarageBand under iLife '06 and I couldn't get it to do what I wanted. I've not tried under iLife '08 but if it works I'll happily upgrade. Does it let you do simple music-notation entry and then print in manuscript form? Thanks. >> What about Garage Band that comes with iLife '08? You can buy the entire >> iLife '08 suite for under $100, or even less if you are a student or [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > upgrade. Does it let you do simple music-notation entry and then print in > manuscript form? I'll bite on the obvious question: Was is it you want the computer to do? Simple notation and printing? That's it?  SignatureThank you and have a nice day. > I'll bite on the obvious question: Was is it you want the computer to do? > Simple notation and printing? That's it? Basically, yes, although being able to play back the written music would probably be essential too. All the music apps I've seen would be complete overkill for this. Sibelius would do it, but again that's too expensive. If GarageBand in iLife '08 can do it, that'll be fine, but I couldn't seem to get the iLife '06 version to work how I wanted. > I've tried GarageBand under iLife '06 and I couldn't get it to do what I > wanted. I've not tried under iLife '08 but if it works I'll happily > upgrade. Does it let you do simple music-notation entry and then print in > manuscript form? I believe so. I saw a demo of GarageBand in which I saw some music notation manipulation, so I suppose it does entry. If you want some really fine notation entry and printing (but it's not WYSIWYG entry) look at Lilypond. It's free. But that is all it does (though it does it extremely well). -j SignatureJeffrey Goldberg http://www.goldmark.org/jeff/ I rarely read top-posted, over-quoting or HTML postings. http://improve-usenet.org/ > I'm looking for a simple music composition app for my Mac but can't find one > that doesn't do way more than I need and cost way more than I can afford! [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Any pointers *very* gratefully received! <URL:http://www.macmusic.org/software/cat.php/lang/en/id/7036/> may be a useful starting point but it is likely that many alternatives will require a different workflow to that which applied in Maestro. Some appear to require export as MIDI files which could then be played to check the output. Finale Notepad appears to be available at no cost which may be sufficient or Lilypond (which would require entering the score in a 'TeX-like' manner. <URL:http://www.musicbyandrew.ca/finale-lilypond-1.html> compares Finale and Lilypond. You also have the option of running RISC OS within an emulator like RPCEmu <http://www.g7jjf.com/rpcemu.htm> (for which you would need to transfer the ROM images etc. from your Risc PC) or Virtual RiscPC <http://www.virtualacorn.co.uk/products/vrpcadsamac.htm>. SignatureAndy Wingate <URL:http://www.sparse.net> I'm not nearly as think as you confused I am. > <URL:http://www.macmusic.org/software/cat.php/lang/en/id/7036/> may be a > useful starting point but it is likely that many alternatives will > require a different workflow to that which applied in Maestro. I don't mind changing workflow as long as I get to roughly the same end result. There's lots in that link that look possibles - I'll check some out. > You also have the option of running RISC OS within an emulator like > RPCEmu <http://www.g7jjf.com/rpcemu.htm> (for which you would need to > transfer the ROM images etc. from your Risc PC) or Virtual RiscPC > <http://www.virtualacorn.co.uk/products/vrpcadsamac.htm>. True, that would be an option. I'd prefer a native Mac app though, and I'd be happy to get away from some of the restrictions and bugs of Maestro :-) Thanks very much for your help! Hopefully I can find something from the links you provided :-) >> <URL:http://www.macmusic.org/software/cat.php/lang/en/id/7036/> may be a >> useful starting point but it is likely that many alternatives will [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks very much for your help! Hopefully I can find something from the > links you provided :-) I'm downloading Finale Notepad now to see how that works. I use Logic Express 8 for scoring and notation. It may be "overkill" too, but it is a marvelous piece of software. As is Sibelius, of course. Neither are cheap. Seems I remember Metro SE (at $70) did scoring pretty well, but have not been able to verify. SignatureThank you and have a nice day. > I'm looking for a simple music composition app for my Mac but can't find one > that doesn't do way more than I need and cost way more than I can afford! [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Any pointers *very* gratefully received! I use MelodyAssistant. It is cheap and gets the job done (for me that mainly involves playing music for singing practice). However, the note spacing is mediocre (they want you to upgrade to HarmonyAssistant to get better spacing) and the user interface is cluttered. I'd rather use something better designed but am too cheap to pay for Sibelius or Finale (or its many cheaper cousins by the same company). -- Russell >> I'm looking for a simple music composition app for my Mac but can't find >> one that doesn't do way more than I need and cost way more than I can [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > something better designed but am too cheap to pay for Sibelius or Finale > (or its many cheaper cousins by the same company). I'll second the vote for Melody Assistant. For what it does for you, it's gotta be the best shareware deal ever. I take my Melody Assistant compositions and import them into Garage Band for final tweaking and sweetening. Signatureschram@webenet.net is a filtered spam magnet. Email replies may get lost. Try <http://public.xdi.org/=chris.schram> instead. >> I use MelodyAssistant. It is cheap and gets the job done (for me that >> mainly involves playing music for singing practice). However, the note [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > compositions and import them into Garage Band for final tweaking and > sweetening. I'll have a look at that and Lilypond. I downloaded and installed the free version of Finale Notepad last night, and it looks like it will do everything I need. The workflow is definitely going to take some getting used to, but that's not a big hurdle. I'll still check out the others, but one way or another it looks like I'm sorted! Thanks for all the help guys. :-) >>> I use MelodyAssistant. It is cheap and gets the job done (for me that >>> mainly involves playing music for singing practice). However, the note [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > everything I need. The workflow is definitely going to take some getting > used to, but that's not a big hurdle. I think that's their rationale in giving out free copies: acclimating to the environment is no easy deal, so hopefully, one day, you'll upgrade to the package you know (Finale) rather than the one you don't need to take a college-level course in (Sibelius). But, in fairness, scoring isn't child's play anyway. > I'll still check out the others, but > one way or another it looks like I'm sorted! Thanks for all the help guys. > :-) I opened GarageBand and tried to figure out a notation display but could not find one. If anybody knows of one, please realy. SignatureThank you and have a nice day. > I opened GarageBand and tried to figure out a notation display but could not > find one. If anybody knows of one, please realy. Where I saw it was with a midi track. The midi data could be viewed (and manipulated) as music notation. I was in the bottom pane. -j SignatureJeffrey Goldberg http://www.goldmark.org/jeff/ I rarely read top-posted, over-quoting or HTML postings. http://improve-usenet.org/ >> I opened GarageBand and tried to figure out a notation display but >> could not find one. If anybody knows of one, please realy. > > Where I saw it was with a midi track. The midi data could be viewed > (and manipulated) as music notation. I was in the bottom pane. That's just where I went. How the heck do you turn it on? SignatureThank you and have a nice day. >> Where I saw it was with a midi track. The midi data could be viewed (and >> manipulated) as music notation. I was in the bottom pane. > > That's just where I went. How the heck do you turn it on? Nag me, and I might try to find it again. I'll have better luck on my daughter's machine where someone actually plays with GarageBand (and we've got a midi music keyboard) Even if I do get it, I don't know about printing. I really just saw this when I took my daughter to an iLife Workshop at an Apple Store. Cheers, -j SignatureJeffrey Goldberg http://www.goldmark.org/jeff/ I rarely read top-posted, over-quoting or HTML postings. http://improve-usenet.org/ >> That's just where I went. How the heck do you turn it on? > > Nag me, and I might try to find it again. I nagged me instead: 1) Record a midi/software instrument track 2) Double click the newly recorded region. A disply for editing will open at the bottom of the display. It defaults to "piano roll". 3) The far left panel of the edit display is titled Region. At the bottom of this panel is a two-element radio button. The right side of it is the score display. Select and you're looking at the score. 4) The second panel is called "advanced". The base time element is indicated at the top. You can toggle this to better indicate, the base unit you're working with, 8ths, 16th's etc. The lowest element in the panel allows for quantiziation it seems. You can do this partially by selecting the notes on the right before quanitizing. 5) If you select an element on the right a green bar is displayed moving to the right of that note. You can modify the length of this note by jerking with it. And so on... by a manual if you're serious. It prints real purty. SignatureThank you and have a nice day. >>> That's just where I went. How the heck do you turn it on? >> >> Nag me, and I might try to find it again. > > I nagged me instead: [...] I'm glad you found it. It should be sufficient for simple things. I wonder if there is a way to get to it that doesn't require that you record a midi track. I've worked with lilypond in the past, but lilypond requires that you really understand music description. I can barely read music at all. Cheers, -j SignatureJeffrey Goldberg http://www.goldmark.org/jeff/ I rarely read top-posted, over-quoting or HTML postings. http://improve-usenet.org/ >>>> That's just where I went. How the heck do you turn it on? >>> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > wonder if there is a way to get to it that doesn't require that you > record a midi track. No, it has to live inside a track's "region". But you can enter it in on a little display keyboard. So you don't have to go through a midi interface proper. SignatureThank you and have a nice day. > I'm looking for a simple music composition app for my Mac but can't > find one that doesn't do way more than I need and cost way more than [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Any pointers *very* gratefully received! If you can still run OS9, you can use: http://www.virtualcomposer2000.com/ The Classic version (VC) is now freeware and the files between the Classic and OSX version are interchangeable, so you can edit with VC and use VCX to playback, although some of the playback features in OSX are not as good as in OS9. Custom instrumentation does not work for example in OSX. There are contact links on that page to email the author for a serial number for VC. Note that VC/VCX is NOT a notator. It is a graphical sequencer. SignatureI.N. Galidakis |
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