Scoring Notes (Scoring Notes)

If you have trouble keeping up with all of your computer operating software updates, new hardware, and naming conventions, you’re not alone. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald will walk you through tips and best practices when it comes time to click that big button, whether it’s the one that says upgrade your operating system or the one that debits your bank account and results in a brand-new computer, and the steps you should take to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. We talk about the newest macOS Big Sur and the change to their new M1 chip machines, but our advice extends to all our listeners — both those that have imbibed the Apple juice and those that are opening Microsoft Windows.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Music notation software, macOS Big Sur, and Apple Silicon M1 Macs
• Backup with Backblaze and get a free month

Whether you’re looking to score some notes or score some deals, we’ve got the podcast episode for you. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald kick off Black Friday, which has gone from being just one day to now encompassing Cyber Monday and many more days on either side of the calendar. We’ll share some of the items on each of our wish lists in the music notation and tech universe and which products we’ve already stocked up on. More broadly, we’ll discuss why this time of year is a good time to think about upping your game when it comes to the tools you use, and how you can get the most out of the offers that are out there without breaking your budget.

More on Scoring Notes: Black Friday 2020 deals for music notation software and related tech

Sam Solomon joins David MacDonald and Philip Rothman to talk all about how to write for percussion. It’s a good thing, too, because Sam’s got a book with that same name: How to Write for Percussion: A Comprehensive Guide to Percussion Composition, published by Oxford University Press. Sam’s got a ton of experience as an active percussionist and collaborator with some of today’s top composers, and fortunately he decided to share his incredible knowledge in the form of this 300-page book and hours of accompanying videos. Composers and music preparers alike will enjoy what Sam has to say about percussion-centric topics like multi-stave parts, improvisation, unpitched music, instrument keys, and more — and because this is Scoring Notes, we explore the role the software has in achieving the results that he recommends.

More on Scoring Notes: Sam Solomon on writing for percussion

Noteflight is the web-based music notation software that allows musicians to create, share, teach, sell, and purchase music. John Mlynczak is Noteflight’s managing director, and on today’s show, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk with John about how Noteflight is used by musicians across the professional and education spectrum. If you see interactive music online that you can click and transpose, there’s a good chance it’s using Noteflight technology, thanks to its integration with the Hal Leonard catalog and wide acceptance on practically any desktop browser or mobile device. We discuss Noteflight’s other offerings, which encompass an arranging feature, allowing anyone to legally arrange and sell music through their platform, and we’ll also learn more about their new assessment tool called SoundCheck, where students can get instant feedback by directly playing along with any Noteflight score.

More on Scoring Notes: Noteflight, education, innovation, and inspiration

We review the latest Sibelius update, 2020.12. This final Sibelius update of the year rounds out the importing feature with the ability to bring Sibelius files directly into a template. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk about why you would want to that, what the differences and similarities are to importing a MIDI or MusicXML file, and what it all means for scoring and arranging workflows. I also talk with David about a brand-new product we’ve launched at NYC Music Services called Scoring Express. Scoring Express is a suite of templates, manuscript papers, fonts, and house styles, all designed with an eye towards getting professional-looking music quickly on the page, and optimized to take advantage of the latest Sibelius features.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Direct Sibelius file import headlines 2020.12 release
• Scoring Express templates for Sibelius

From Notation Central:

Scoring Express — Chamber

Scoring Express — Jazz

Daniel Spreadbury returns to Scoring Notes for the final episode of the year. As one of the co-chairs of the W3C Music Notation Community Group, Daniel is responsible for maintaining and developing the Standard Music Font Layout, or SMuFL, an open-source common set of font specifications which he created. On today’s episode, Daniel talks with David MacDonald and Philip Rothman about the forthcoming updates to that standard, which in less than a decade has been adopted by many diverse and robust music applications. Daniel takes us through a bit of music font history, from the early days of Adobe’s Sonata Font, first-generation implementations in Finale and Sibelius, and the sequence of events that ultimately led to the development of the SMuFL standard and the creation of its reference font, Bravura, for use in Steinberg’s scoring application, Dorico. We also get a look ahead to technical improvements in Dorico that will soon allow it to run on Apple’s newest M1-based computers.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Daniel Spreadbury on music fonts: past, present, and future
• MakeMusic and Steinberg transfer development of MusicXML and SMuFL to web community group
• An interview with Robert Piéchaud about the November font
• An interview with Nor Eddine Bahha, musician and font designer
• A fount of fonts at Notation Central

Music fonts on Notation Central

For decades, Emily Grishman has been one of Broadway’s most sought-after copyists, and her list of credits includes the most acclaimed music and theatrical productions. Philip Rothman talks with Emily about her career and how the means and manner of producing music has changed along with advancements in the music notation software she uses every day. Learn what Emily has to say about the world of music copying, the process of getting the music from the composer’s pen to the player’s stands, and the tools she uses to achieve superior results.

Plus: the secret to being an expert in your music notation software of choice, everything you ever wanted to know about bar numbering schemes… and what not to do when working on a horror film score.

Further reading: Women Who Wow Us: Emily Grishman

Emily Grishman profile on Maestra Music

On Scoring Notes: Scoring Express templates for Sibelius

Scoring Express Theatre & Studio templates at Notation Central

Photo credit: Jamie Maletz

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss the essential elements of score preparation and production that make a difference in not only the perception of your music, but how it gets rehearsed and, ultimately, performed. Everything from rehearsal marks, placing cues, laying out your music, and page layout can be expertly fine-tuned by music notation software — but only if you know what results you’re looking to achieve in the first place.

Learn more on the Scoring Notes blog:

• Score preparation and production notes
• Cues in Dorico
• Check Redundancies plug-in in Sibelius
• Going keyless in your score
• Keyless instruments in a keyed score
• Don’t extract parts
• A few brief thoughts about the size of music paper

Jason Loffredo is a composer, arranger, orchestrator, copyist, keyboard player, and music director. He’s an expert in all things musical theatre and has worked on some of Broadway’s top productions. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk with Jason about the ins and outs of the musical theatre world as it pertains to preparing music for those shows and the special circumstances that arise when he turns to music notation software. And speaking of software, Jason tells us all about his extensive video tutorial series called Conquering Finale, which we’ve started to cross-publish on the Scoring Notes blog. We discuss how Finale and how Jason’s video series is organized, what led to him creating it in the first place, and what you can expect to learn from it, whether you’re new to the program or you’re a long-time user.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Nailing navigation in Finale
• The Conquering Finale series on Scoring Notes

Conquering Finale tutorials:

• Conquering Finale web site
• Conquering Finale YouTube channel

We’re talking all about optical music recognition software, or what you might call “music scanning apps”. John Hinchey is back on the show, and he has written a review for the Scoring Notes blog that covers four of these leading apps: PlayScore 2, ScanScore, PhotoScore Ultimate, and SmartScore 64 Pro. On the podcast, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk with John about his approach to working with these apps and how he evaluated them. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each program, and how you can incorporate them into your own work. John’s also prepared a step-by-step checklist of the items to look for once you bring your music into the scanning software, and he tells us what to do to get the music in top shape, whether you’re preparing the music for playback or exporting it to MusicXML for use in your favorite music notation software.

More on Scoring Notes: A review of optical music recognition software

Doug Gibson joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to discuss guitar notation. Doug is a Scoring Notes contributor who has reviewed the guitar features of Sibelius, Dorico and Guitar Pro, and he has a special perspective on this particular aspect of music notation software. As a guitarist, educator, composer, orchestrator, and music preparer, Doug has been on every side of the process of creating guitar music. He shares his process of transcribing and notating music, gives us his opinions on what the various software platforms get right, and tells us his wishes for what could be improved. If you’ve ever wondered what TAB notation really is or how to voice a 13th chord, you’ll get tuned up by hearing what Doug has to say.

More on Scoring Notes:

Dorico 3, 3.1, and 3.5: Guitar notation

Guitar Pro 7.5 review

Teaching paperless composition lessons using the iPad, Apple Pencil, and several apps like GoodNotes and PDF Expert is here to stay. We can all wax nostalgic for the days of pencil and paper or even printing out your entire composition each week. But with today’s technology and a little bit of planning, David MacDonald shows Philip Rothman how to create a process that works seamlessly for student and teacher alike. Even if you’re not an educator, you’ll still want to take advantage of this lesson plan, as it’s easily adaptable to any collaborative environment, like a composer giving notes to an orchestrator, or a conductor sharing markings with a performer. Whether the apple in your hand is a shiny electronic device or it’s the organic kind you give to your teacher, you’ll walk away with A-plus knowledge.

More on Scoring Notes: Paperless composition lessons with iPad Pro and Apple Pencil

Stephen Taylor is here to talk all about his adventure entering the entire score of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring into Dorico. Steve is a professor of composition and theory at University of Illinois School of Music and co-director of its modern ensemble. He’s had a long and varied history composing music and studying scores, and an almost equally long history using music notation software — starting first with early versions of Finale and Sibelius before moving on to Dorico. Not only has he copied The Rite of Spring, but he’s done the same with other masterworks of Shostakovich, Schubert, Mahler, and other composers. He tells Philip Rothman and David MacDonald how copying scores into programs like Dorico can be an effective way of both learning the music and the notation technology. That’s what we’re all about on Scoring Notes, so the only sacrifice you’ll need to make is a little bit of your time to hear what Steve has to say.

More on Scoring Notes: Dorico and The Rite of Spring

Nicole Jordan, the principal librarian of the Philadelphia Orchestra, makes sure that the right piece of music is with the right person at the right time, in the right place — a crucial function in the fast-paced world of concert production. Nicole tells David MacDonald and Philip Rothman about how she got started as an orchestral librarian, from her early days as an intern to her current position at one of the world’s leading orchestras. We discuss the role that music notation software has in her work, and how it was essential in helping her nail the biggest audition of her career.

Then, Nicole reverses roles on the podcast and asks us about our software recommendations and gets our advice for people who are just beginning their technological journey.

More on Scoring Notes:

• An interview with librarian Lisa Dempsey Kane
• The best iPad score reader for most people
• Score preparation and production notes

When preparing music, you always make sure what goes on the page is pitch-perfect. How about what goes on the bill? Should you charge hourly? By the bar? Some other way? Philip Rothman and David MacDonald break down the all the elements of a successful music preparation gig, from the initial conversations with the client, how to formulate the best approach to pricing the job, and finally, making sure everybody is happy with the end result.

It’s not always easy having that money talk, but we’re here to make some sense of it all — and hopefully a few dollars, euros, and pounds, as well.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Calculate Statistics in a Sibelius score
• Sibelius plug-ins to help with proof-reading

We nerd out about the latest updates to Dorico and Sibelius. On the Dorico side, we see support for M1 Apple Silicon Macs for the first time. On the Sibelius side, we get an improved task bar called Command Search, along with new scripting and plug-in features that make it easier to automate hundreds of items with a single keystroke. These updates may be technical in nature, but never fear — that’s our sweet spot here on Scoring Notes. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald will do their best to explain what’s in it for you, and have some fun doing it, besides.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Dorico 3.5.12 update supports M1 Macs via Rosetta
• Your search is a command in the Sibelius 2021.2 update
• Music notation software, macOS Big Sur, and Apple Silicon M1 Macs
• Scoring Notes Product Guide

Millions of people sing from church hymnals each week, and that means millions of people are looking at music notation all the time. Getting those notes onto the page in a form that is both flexible enough to suit the needs of a particular congregation, and yet have lasting permanence for generations of churchgoers is the job of our guest, Dan Kreider.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk with Dan about his role as the founder of Hymnworks, a service that has produced tens of thousands of copies of custom hymnals. Not only is Dan an expert engraver, he’s also one of the top music notation software specialists, having worked extensively in Finale and Dorico. Just like the members of a choir singing together, the particularities of font choices, page sizes, stem direction, paper weights and software settings have to all work together in harmony. Dan has thought about it all in his decades of experience.

More: Hymnworks, Dan Kreider’s custom hymnal preparation service

If you’ve ever needed to open a Finale file in Sibelius, or a scan music in SmartScore and bring it into Dorico, or write something in StaffPad and upload it to MuseScore.com, you’ve relied on MusicXML to make it happen. MusicXML is the standard interchange format for music notation applications, and it’s what makes such robust interoperability possible between hundreds of programs. We might take it for granted now, but that doesn’t mean we should.

MusicXML was invented by Michael Good, and on this episode, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk with Michael about how he came to create such important technology more than two decades ago. He tells us the inside story of what it took to get it off the ground, and puts us in the room at pivotal moments in its development, from its humble origins all the way through to its current incarnation as part of a thriving worldwide community. We also learn what to expect in the next version, MusicXML 4.0, and how this now-ubiquitous established format is keeping pace with the newest technological changes.

More on Scoring Notes:

• NAMM 2017: Talking MusicXML and more with Michael Good
• MakeMusic and Steinberg transfer development of MusicXML and SMuFL to web community group
• NAMM 2018: W3C Music Notation Community Group meets; MNX is next
• NAMM 2019: W3C Music Notation Community Group meeting
• W3C Music Notation Community Group meeting at Musikmesse 2019

Steinberg product marketing manager Daniel Spreadbury talks with Scoring Notes about the Dorico 3.5 release. We learn about pitch-before-duration input (a.k.a “Speedy Entry”), semantic figured bass notation, VST expression maps, and what a “graphic slice” is. Also: Daniel talks about what it’s like creating music notation software in the middle of a pandemic, and we find out his personal favorite feature in this release — even if it’s obscure.

Read more: Scoring Notes review of Dorico 3.5

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald officially inaugurate the Scoring Notes podcast. They reminisce about how they first got hooked on writing music with notation software, how they eventually became fascinated by the ever-changing developments in the programs and in the field, and why so many student compositions have a tempo of quarter note = 100 bpm. Also: The brief history of the Scoring Notes blog.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss the essential elements of score preparation and production that make a difference in not only the perception of your music, but how it gets rehearsed and, ultimately, performed. Everything from rehearsal marks, placing cues, laying out your music, and page layout can be expertly fine-tuned by music notation software — but only if you know what results you’re looking to achieve in the first place.

Learn more: Score preparation and production blog post on Scoring Notes, with lots of links to other posts about how to achieve results in notation software.

We explore the latest updates to Dorico and Sibelius. Dorico 3.5 introduces pitch-before-duration input, figured bass, a line style editor, graphic slices, and much more, while Sibelius 2020.6 brings a more advanced MusicXML import method and a number of accessibility enhancements. Plus, an answer to the age-old question: When should you take the plunge and update your software? Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss.

Read more on Scoring Notes:

Dorico 3.5 review

Sibelius 2020.6 review

Scoring Notes Product Guide

For decades, Emily Grishman has been one of Broadway’s most sought-after copyists, and her list of credits includes the most acclaimed music and theatrical productions. We talk about her career and how the means and manner of producing music has changed along with advancements in the music notation software she uses every day. Come along with us as we learn what Emily has to say about the world of music copying, the process of getting the music from the composer’s pen to the player’s stands, and the tools she uses to achieve superior results.

Plus: the secret to being an expert in your music notation software of choice, everything you ever wanted to know about bar numbering schemes… and what not to do when working on a horror film score.

Further reading: Emily Grishman on Maestra Music

Photo credit: Jamie Maletz

Newzik started in 2015 as a music reader solution for iPad, and since then it has grown into a complete digital solution that serves musicians, publishers, orchestras and opera companies. CEO Raphaël Schumann discusses its recent developments and its bright future after raising €3 million in private investment.

How do you technologically revolutionize the long-established custom and practice of working with printed music that has been evolving for centuries? Cloud sharing, collaboration, and licensing are just some of the areas that Newzik must navigate as it continually innovates, aiming to make a seamless transition for customers to read, share, rent, purchase, and sell sheet music on digital devices.

Nicholas Buc is a composer, conductor, and arranger whose recent conducting engagements have taken him around the globe conducting live-to-picture concerts featuring the most beloved movie scores of our time. We discuss his career and the many ways that music preparation and technology can provide the score with the Midas touch in those high-stakes performances. Nick helps us avoid the phantom menace of notation pitfalls, giving us all a new hope in our quest for the holy grail of music engraving perfection. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald join Nick as we learn what it’s like to be part of his world.

Read more on Scoring Notes: Preparing David Newman’s Matilda score for live orchestra

Nick’s podcast: Art of the Score

Sam Butler is the senior principal product manager for Sibelius. We talk with Sam about the challenges and opportunities of keeping Sibelius running through the pandemic and what it means for both professional and educational users. Sam tells us about the strategy of releasing more frequent Sibelius updates, what some of his favorite features are, and what they’ve got cooking up for the future. We discuss the new MIDI and MusicXML importing features and the ongoing partnership with Berklee College of Music to make Sibelius more accessible to sight-impaired users, and how this initiative benefits everyone using the software.

Plus: Sam does Dad duty live on the show.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald host.

More on Scoring Notes: Sibelius development and accessibility, from the 2020 NAMM Show

Daniel Ray and Martin Keary from Musescore join the podcast. Martin tells us about making his popular Tantacrul videos and how those critiques of software programs eventually took him from Microsoft to being the head of design at Musescore. Daniel talks to us in his capacity as director of product strategy about the open-source community powering the product and the way Musescore aligns with the goals of Ultimate Guitar, which has acquired the software. Together we all have a collective nerd-out about the user experience, and find out the plan for what’s to come in Musescore 4.

Whether or not you’re a Musescore user, you’ll find this episode to be chock-full of discussion and opinions about how music notation software is designed, the quality of its output, and the trends in the industry.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald host.

More on Scoring Notes: NAMM 2020: An interview with Musescore’s Daniel Ray

Justin Tokke joins us on the show. Justin is the technical lead at the music publisher Carl Fischer, and you may also know him as the founder and admin of Music Engraving Tips, a web site and Facebook group with more than 20,000 members. Justin talks to us about his work in publishing, including everything from learning the ropes printing scores to the intricacies of digital distribution. We uncover the publishing mysteries of licenses, rights, and promotion, and what you should consider when publishing your music. We also learn about the origin of the Music Engraving Tips group and get Justin’s thoughts on where music notation software is headed.

David William Hearn is the founder and lead designer of StaffPad, the revolutionary music composition app for pen-and-touch devices like Windows Surface and iPad. StaffPad automatically detects your musical handwriting and instantly converts it into music notation and plays it back using high-quality sound libraries. There’s a lot more to StaffPad, and David tells us all about it, including the StaffPad Reader, which instantly syncs tablets containing the parts to the score, allowing players to view and play changes in real-time. Many more advancements are on the way, and David gives us a few clues about what we can hope to see as StaffPad evolves on the cutting edge of music notation technology.

More on Scoring Notes: StaffPad wows with long-awaited iPad release and new free StaffPad Reader

StaffPad and Reader for iPad video review

An interview with David William Hearn, creator of StaffPad (from 2015)

Katie Wardrobe is the founder and director of Midnight Music, a thriving service which helps music educators integrate technology into their teaching. Katie provides workshops, presentations, online training courses and ebooks for her community, and on our show she tells us all about how she uses notation software and many other tools to achieve results. Katie shares with us her surprisingly low-tech but effective tips for staying organized, and we learn how she got started doing this important work, and how her business has changed over the years.

Adrian Holovaty is the founder of Soundslice, a service that syncs audio, video and music notation into a beautiful browser-based player. Adrian started Soundslice as a way to transcribe guitar excerpts for himself, and in the past decade it’s grown into a robust platform for music professionals, teachers, and students to learn any kind of music in a unique way. Adrian talks to us about their philosophy of music notation and how it intersects with both the challenges and opportunities presented by being a web-based service, including what it takes to make music notation interactive and foster an enthusiastic community of users to share and market their creations.

More on Scoring Notes:

NAMM 2018: Soundslice adds an editor, channels, and other new features

NAMM 2017: Soundslice, a web-based music education tool and player

Christopher Willis joins us for the first of two episodes. Chris is the composer of the score to the film ”The Personal History of David Copperfield.” On this episode, we talk with Chris about that score and its fresh take on familiar musical ideas to match the aesthetics of the picture. We learn about juxtaposing traditionally notated music with the world of audio samples and the technology that’s used to achieve satisfying results. Chris traces his career with us from his days a pianist, doctoral student, and arrival in Los Angeles to his latest work scoring top movies and television shows. We’ll hear excerpts of the David Copperfield score and go behind the scenes to find out more.

Join us on our next episode for the second part of our discussion as we break down Chris’s music preparation process on a film, from orchestration to copying. Chris even turns the tables, interviewing host Philip Rothman about music engraving and asks him thoughts on the latest developments in the world of music notation software.

More on Scoring Notes: Christopher Willis on scoring “The Personal History of David Copperfield”

Christopher Willis joins us for the second of two episodes. Chris is the composer of the score to the film “The Personal History of David Copperfield.” If you haven’t yet heard the first part of our conversation, check it out as we talk about the score and its fresh take on familiar musical ideas to match the aesthetics of the picture, and hear excerpts of the music.

On this episode, we break down Chris’s music preparation process on a film, from orchestration to copying. Chris even turns the tables, interviewing host Philip Rothman about the history of music engraving and asks his thoughts on the latest developments in the world of music notation software. We cover established products like Sibelius, iPad readers like forScore and Newzik, and newer entries on the scene like Dorico and StaffPad, and discuss how we can expect to use them on the scoring stage in the future.

More on Scoring Notes: Christopher Willis on scoring “The Personal History of David Copperfield”

David MacDonald and Philip Rothman talk about Zoom, and how this popular videoconferencing software that was originally intended for spoken word meetings has received some major updates that improves its audio quality in ways that make the platform work much better for musicians and for music educators — just in time for the start of the school year. David explains how data and audio compression work and what you need to do to get the most out of the new updates, whether you’re using Zoom to teach lessons, learn music, or share audio demos of scores that you create using music notation and scoring software.

More on Scoring Notes:

Better music experiences come to Zoom with high fidelity audio

Share video and audio of music notation software via Zoom

Stream Deck profile for Zoom

Cellist and arranger Samara Ginsberg visits the Scoring Notes podcast to talk about her multi-part cello arrangements of TV and movie themes that have taken over social media in the past few months, and how her experience as a working instrumentalist informs her approach to arranging. To that end, she divulges the secrets of how to succeed when writing for cello and the practical nature of getting music ready for a session. More broadly, we discuss Samara’s perspective on using music notation software and other tools to create her arrangements and videos and even listen in a bit on the music that’s caused such an internet sensation.

More from Scoring Notes: The multi-cello universe of Samara Ginsberg

Baby Shark for orchestra

Samara Ginsberg on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram

Hosts Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss the Sibelius 2020.9 update — specifically the improvements to the Focus on Staves feature, which has the potential to unlock new workflow and layout capabilities for many users. We trace the history of the feature and cover the different ways of formatting your score to include or exclude staves. We also compare the similarities and differences of Sibelius’s approach to the way Dorico deals with this important element of score preparation, so join us as we bring this topic into “focus”.

More on Scoring Notes: The focus is on staves with the Sibelius 2020.9 update

We have a special treat for podcast listeners. If you’ve listened to our podcast before, you’ll remember our interview with music education technology expert Katie Wardrobe. Well, Katie also interviewed Philip Rothman for her show called the Music Tech Teacher Podcast, and we’re including a version of that interview in the Scoring Notes feed. In our discussion, Philip talks with Katie about his work as a music preparer and opines on the state of the industry, including everything from desktop applications to tablet apps, the improvements in playback tools such as NotePerformer, and what it all means for teachers, students, and anyone using this technology. Thanks to Katie and Midnight Music for permission to include this special conversation here.

More on Scoring Notes: Katie Wardrobe on music tech in education

Music Tech Teacher podcast episode 115: Music Preparation with Philip Rothman

More show links:

• Scoring Notes Product Guide — all the latest information and updates about the “big” notation software programs
• Philip’s business: NYC Music Services
• Katie’s business: Midnight Music
• Philip’s video review of StaffPad 2020
• Philip’s Get Started Fast with Sibelius YouTube series
• Katie’s Get Started Fast with Sibelius for Educators YouTube series
• NotePerformer

Many of us study and perform scores from our iPads on a regular basis and have prepared scores to be read from screens. Scoring Notes readers and listeners often ask us to provide recommendations for best practices when preparing a score with the expectation that it will be read from a screen and not paper. This is an excellent question, and one whose answer today may likely change in the coming years. David MacDonald and Philip Rothman discuss the pros, cons, challenges, and opportunities in reading and preparing music on a screen, and delve into the benefits, pitfalls, and technical considerations you should know about if you want to make your music pixel-perfect.

More on Scoring Notes: Preparing music scores for screens — the challenges and opportunities

John Hinchey is one of the most experienced arrangers, orchestrators and professional music preparers working today. He’s created thousands of charts and shows for musicians, touring companies, theme parks and everything in between. On this episode, John relays his experience producing shows for cruise ships to Scoring Notes hosts Philip Rothman and David MacDonald. We’re expecting you to learn from John how to prepare your charts so that what you put on the page ensures smooth sailing for the musicians. John also lets it flow with a boatload of tech tips and product recommendations, so you’ll want to come aboard – there’s something for everyone on this friendly shore.

More links:

• John Hinchey’s web site
• John Hinchey on Avid Blogs

In music scores, a house style is the collection of dozens or hundreds of rules and preferences governing the look of the music — everything from note spacing algorithms, to font choices, to the thickness of lines, and lots more. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss why these elements matter in the course of preparing a piece of music and talk about which types of text fonts pair well with music notation. We also explore the “tyranny of the default” settings in scoring software programs and get specific about how to manage house styles in Sibelius, Dorico, and Finale.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Horizontal note spacing in Sibelius
• Spaces and the units of measurement for music notation
• House style fonts and families in Sibelius
• Importing only certain elements of house styles in Sibelius

Learn about several simple but incredibly useful applications that will help you be more productive with tasks related to managing music files on the computer. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss file renaming apps such as Renamer and Name Mangler, which perform the important function of quickly changing the filenames of many documents at once using various settings, saving you the tedium of manually renaming them and helping keep you organized. Then, we explore the suite of PDF batch processing apps available from Notation Central, including PDF Batch Scale, Batch Stitch, Batch Booklet, and Music Binder. These tools do just as their names would suggest, making quick work of manipulating PDF files so that you can make sure that your music is distributed and printed exactly as you expect.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Name Mangler and Moom productivity apps
• Quickly scale many PDFs with PDF-BatchScale
• Make booklets and 2-ups with PDF-BatchBooklet
• PDF-MusicBinder and PDF-BatchStitch utilities for music printing

Product links:

• Renamer
• Name Mangler
• PDF-BatchScale
• PDF-BatchStitch
• PDF-BatchBooklet
• PDF-MusicBinder

To celebrate Halloween, we’re looking at scary things we see in the music notation software and score preparation process, and see if we can sweeten the experience with some tricks and treats. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss the spookiness of using the mouse and how you can better become a jack-o-lantern of all trades by focusing more on keyboard commands and other shortcuts in Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico. We also look at a frightening situation that happens when laying out your music and investigate how to fix it. So don’t be afraid — we won’t ghost you as we lead you unscathed out of the haunted house of software skeletons and onto the pumpkin patch to score some tricks and treats.

More on Scoring Notes:

Finale:

• Quick tip: Dismiss all open dialog boxes in Finale
• Supercharge your Finale workflow on Mac with Keyboard Maestro
• FinaleScripts for faster scoring in Finale
• Articulation metatools in Finale

Sibelius:

• Use keyboard shortcuts to apply text expressions in Sibelius
• Quick keyboard access to your Sibelius plug-ins
• Add custom shortcuts for Keypad features in Sibelius

Dorico:

• Customize keyboard shortcuts in Sibelius and Dorico
• Assigning MIDI commands

Notation Express:

• Stream Deck profile for Zoom; Notation Express updated for Dorico 3.5
• Notation Express released for Musescore; updates to Sibelius and Dorico
• Notation Express for Dorico 3
• Notation Express XL is available for Sibelius and Dorico
• Notation Express demo available
• Notation Express is now on iOS with Stream Deck Mobile

Whether it’s a squiggly line, a complex curve, or something that totally defies description, sometimes your music requires notation that’s more creative than the ordinary music symbols we’re accustomed to seeing. That’s when it comes time to dive into the use of graphics in music notation, and how to work with graphical files in the software. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk about how to create those graphical symbols and bring them into your notation software without sacrificing quality, as well as how to create complex graphics by just using the notation tools. We also cover exporting graphics out of notation software and into other programs, and discuss the “slices” feature in Dorico, which allows you to retain persistent score excerpts that you can export as graphics over and over again, changing them along the way.

More from Scoring Notes:

• Graphic notation workflow with Sibelius and Adobe Illustrator
• Creating custom line ends in Sibelius with SVG files and Illustrator
• Use graphics as symbols in Sibelius, and define them as custom articulations
• Using tone clusters in Sibelius
• Lines and line style editors in Dorico
• David MacDonald video — Graphic Notation Workflow with Sibelius and Adobe Illustrator

When you work with music notation software, sometimes the greatest challenge is knowing what a task is actually called and where to find it. Plus, if you use more than one program, the same item might be implemented in different ways.

In this episode, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald go on a scavenger hunt to find useful features in Finale, Sibelius, and Dorico. We’ll uncover some hidden and not-so-hidden treasures on our journey, like repitching, exploding and reducing music, multi-edit workflows, and filters. We’ll also review how to reset it all when everything goes awry, so you can feel confident experimenting with new ways to make the software work for you, and not the other way around.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Re-input pitches in homophonic music
• The Sibelius 2018.1 release is smarter with multi-edit workflow improvements
• Sibelius 2018.4 released with multi-edits for text
• Dorico 3.5 review

If you use Sibelius or Finale, you’ve likely encountered plug-ins, maybe without even realizing it. Plug-ins are small computer programs that run within the software that can look at the score and transform it nearly instantly. Plug-ins have access to a wide variety of settings, and they make it possible to automate tedious tasks correctly and consistently. Sibelius ships with dozens of plug-ins, and many more are freely available to download.

Most of those nuggets were written by Bob Zawalich, who for decades has amassed an output of 500 public plug-ins for Sibelius. You might already know Bob’s work from his helpful presence on Sibelius forums, or from his many Scoring Notes blog posts, or even from hearing about him on this podcast. But do you know the man behind the code?

On this episode, Bob Zawalich joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to talk all about his fascinating life and early career, and the key moments that led to him being one of the most important contributors to our  community of music notation software users.

More from Scoring Notes and NYC Music Services:

• Bob Zawalich’s posts on Scoring Notes
• Sibelius Plug-ins and Feed, maintained by NYC Music Services, originally assembled by Bob Zawalich

Justin Tokke joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to introduce the Well-Tempered Consort, a fully flexible and customizable way of configuring Bach’s masterpiece for any ensemble. Justin arranged the entire project, edited all of the parts, and is the Technical Lead for Carl Fischer Music, which is publishing the entire collection for anyone to configure and download to suit a wide variety of instrumental combinations.

Justin first talks to us about the developments in the music publishing industry over the past year, and then gets into the details of the multi-year process of creating the arrangements. We discuss how to organize large music preparation projects such as this one, which encompasses more than 1500 Sibelius files, and Justin shares the technical and music engraving tips he learned over the course of getting the Well-Tempered Consort ready for publication.

Well-Tempered Consort from Carl Fischer Music

More on Scoring Notes: Measure twice, cut once

If you’re a longtime user of music notation software, perhaps you’ve waxed nostalgic for the old Finale manuals, which came as a set of three bound books, or maybe you have a soft spot for the legendary Sibelius Reference, with its inimitable mix of wit and wisdom. Whether you give it a fleeting glance or you’ve eagerly read every last word, documentation is a vital component of music notation software.

On this episode, Lillie Harris joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to talk about this important topic. Lillie is the documentation writer for Dorico, and is responsible for authoring the many pages of text and images that chronicle every detail of the program. That’s a hefty enough task, but in today’s landscape, Lillie must also keep ahead of other ways to access Dorico resources, such as web-based search, official and social media forums, video tutorials, and much more. Lillie tells us all about how she manages to do it all and keep the customer in mind, besides.

That’s because she’s also a composer and music copyist, and relies on the software just like the rest of its users. To that end, she relays her advice for young composers like herself just starting out on their professional journey. Finally, no discussion of software documentation would be complete without a hunt for some Easter eggs, and Lillie serves up one that’s a lot more nourishing than you might expect.

More:

• Dorico manuals on Steinberg’s web site
• Lillie Harris personal web site
• Music from the Dorico Manual: a Spotify playlist of music by women composers

Photo credit: Sarah Spreadbury/Steinberg

Dave Metzger joins Scoring Notes for the first of a two-part interview. Dave is one of Hollywood and Broadway’s most accomplished orchestrators and arrangers, having worked on hundreds of top projects that anyone will instantly recognize, including smash Disney hits like Frozen and The Lion King. Fortunately for us, Dave has always had a deep interest in music technology, and his state-of-the-art studio consists of many of the notation software and products we talk about on a regular basis.

Dave was very happy to share his deep expertise with Philip Rothman and David MacDonald, and on this first part of our interview, he relays his career path, starting from an early interest in choral and big band arranging up to his work scoring big-budget movies and theatrical productions. We discuss his philosophy and approach to orchestration and its fundamental relationship to notation, and break down his process of getting the music from the MIDI mockup into a score that’s read by studio musicians.

Also: we cover Avid’s announcement that Sibelius is now officially supported on M1 Macs under Rosetta 2.

More: Dave Metzger, part 2: Workflow and tech

Dave Metzger joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald for the second part of a two-part interview. Dave is one of Hollywood and Broadway’s most accomplished orchestrators and arrangers, and if you haven’t heard the first part of our conversation, definitely check it out to learn more about his career path and approach to orchestration.

In today’s discussion, we learn more about Dave’s work on Frozen, and discover how a split second decision he made ended up setting the course for one of the show’s hit songs. Then, we cover how to get from a MIDI mockup in a sequencer like Cubase to a fully notated score in Sibelius via MusicXML, and get Dave’s thoughts on the state of the field and where the programs are headed. We also talk tech and get a tour of Dave’s setup, and explore everything from his hardware choices to software tricks he’s picked up over the years that help him work as effectively as possible.

More: Dave Metzger, part 1: Arranging and orchestrating

Subscriptions are a fact of life. In return for making an ongoing, regular payment, we get something of value. But that’s also true when we make a one-time payment.

Software is sold both ways. So when we pay for music notation software, which method is better for the people that use it, and which method is better for the people that make it? Can there be a way to provide software so that works for everyone?

On this podcast episode, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald ask that very question. We take a look back to how notation software used to be sold and trace the recent history that led up to the current situation, and then offer our suggestions on how to change the business models that might make more people like — and subscribe — to future notation software upgrades.

Also: We announce “Scoring Notes Live”, a video presentation in partnership with our good friends at MOLA, the Association of Music Performance Librarians, for their 2021 conference. Join us on Monday, May 17, and register at the MOLA Conference web site.

You gotta get organized… with music notation files. To help, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald first cover the various types of backup options, how each method works, and why you would need more than one type of file backup system. Then, we discuss how to manage files when the music changes, how to keep consistency in the file naming process, and to indicate the presence of a new version within the score itself. This is especially important when collaborating with others. We also explore the different formats in which you can archive and share your files, to ensure they appear as you’d expect on another device, now or in the future.

You always want the right version of your music on the stands with the right players at the right time, and these are the steps to help make it happen.

Daniel Ray returns to Scoring Notes to talk with Philip Rothman and David MacDonald about Muse Group. Daniel is the head of strategy for Muse Group, the company that originally started with Ultimate Guitar and later acquired MuseScore, the free and open source music notation software. Most recently, Muse Group acquired two more products: the widely-used audio editing software Audacity, and StaffPad, the pen-and-touch tablet-based composition app well-known to many Scoring Notes listeners already.

Daniel talks to us about these recent moves, and what they mean for his company, for users, and for the entire industry. We discuss how software can be free or open-source, and still be part of a viable business strategy for companies like Muse Group, and Daniel shares some plans they have to integrate aspects of its various products into each other in new ways. We also cover StaffPad’s recent announcement about audio staves and transcription, and what the future of that application looks like as part of the Muse Group portfolio.

Also: Last chance to register for the 2021 MOLA Conference, featuring the “Scoring Notes Live” presentation comparing the major music notation programs, on Monday, May 17, at 2:00 pm.

More on Scoring Notes:

• StaffPad acquired by Muse Group; audio support planned
• Muse Group formed to support MuseScore, Ultimate Guitar; acquires Audacity
• David William Hearn and StaffPad
• Daniel Ray, Martin Keary, and MuseScore

Sponsored by Newzik

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk all about the developments in MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius, and Dorico that have taken place over the past year, and compare each of them in a special presentation that was recorded live at the 2021 MOLA Conference.

MOLA, formerly known as the Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association, and now known as An Association of Music Performance Librarians, kicked off their annual conference with our discussion, and we are so pleased to partner with them and to have answered questions as part of our interactive session. We take a particular angle on how orchestra librarians would best make use of the features in each of the music notation software programs, and we share our thoughts on where things are headed in the future.

More:

• “Scoring Notes Live” on the schedule at the 2021 MOLA Conference
• Comparing the major music notation software applications — recording of video live stream

Sponsored by Newzik

Have you ever wanted to export audio from your favorite music notation software, seen the terms “sample rate”, “bit depth”, and “bit rate”, and wondered what each of them really mean? David MacDonald and Philip Rothman sort out each of those terms to help us understand why they’re important, how they came about in the first place, and, most importantly, how they affect the quality of the audio we listen to and produce.

We dive into this aspect of music production that many of us will encounter at some point while working with notation software, and we uncover where to find these options in the various programs. Whether you sample this entire discussion or prefer to go bit-by-bit, you’ll feel more confident the next time you need to create the best-sounding demo in the right format.

More: “Sample rate, bit depth, bit rate, and you(r ears)” video by David MacDonald

You want it when? That’s often the first question to ask when taking on a new assignment — and depending on how it’s asked and answered, it could make or break a project. Today, John Hinchey joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to help us take the stress out of working on a deadline, and make the end result better for everyone.

We discuss strategies for breaking a project into its component parts, organizing them and figuring out timelines for deliverables, all with the end goal of getting successful results. And when that deadline is looming and you think you might not make it, we’ve got some pointers for how to handle that, as well.

More:

• How to charge for music preparation – podcast episode
• How to charge for music preparation – podcast transcript
• Get organized with music notation files

Jason Wick joins David MacDonald and Philip Rothman to talk all about the upcoming release of Finale version 27. Jason is MakeMusic’s senior manager for Finale, and he gives us an inside look into its development, the planning process, how new features are considered, and how they’re eventually incorporated into the software that we use. We hear about the brand-new support for the Standard Music Font Layout, or SMuFL, that’s included in Finale version 27, and how that will make it easier for users to switch between music fonts in their document.

Jason also talks about some of the other new features in Finale, like project sharing and MusicXML 4.0 support, which improve how people work with other tools in conjunction with Finale, and we learn what’s in store for future updates beyond this latest release.

More from Scoring Notes:

• Finale v27 and the SMuFL shuffle
• Michael Good, the inventor of MusicXML
• Music fonts and open standards with Daniel Spreadbury
• Daniel Spreadbury on music fonts: past, present, and future

Jason Loffredo returns to Scoring Notes to talk to Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to review Finale version 27, the latest release of MakeMusic’s flagship music notation software. Headlining the new features in v27 are deep support for the two open standards championed by the W3C Music Notation Community Group: Standard Music Font Layout (SMuFL), and MusicXML. Tighter SmartMusic integration, playback improvements, and user interface enhancements round out what’s new.

We cover it all, along with our take on what these new features mean for the future of Finale. We also offer our suggestions on what could be improved as Finale enters its fourth decade, and if you listen closely, you’ll get Jason’s step-by-step instructions on the “SMuFL shuffle” you’ll need to do to make the most of the new version.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Finale version 27 review: SMuFL and MusicXML 4.0 support
• Jason Wick on Finale development

When preparing music, you always make sure what goes on the page is pitch-perfect. How about what goes on the bill? Should you charge hourly? By the bar? Some other way? Philip Rothman and David MacDonald break down the all the elements of a successful music preparation gig, from the initial conversations with the client, how to formulate the best approach to pricing the job, and finally, making sure everybody is happy with the end result.

It’s not always easy having that money talk, but we’re here to make some sense of it all — and hopefully a few dollars, euros, and pounds, as well.

An encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes, with an update at the end.

More on Scoring Notes:

• How to charge for music preparation – transcript
• Get organized with music notation files
• On deadline
• Calculate Statistics in a Sibelius score
• Sibelius plug-ins to help with proof-reading

It’s fair to say that the concept of music notation software is easy to understand. You write music on a computer, it shows up on your display, and you print it out. What could be so difficult about that? Well, as we all know, plenty.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald remember beginning with zero knowledge about programs like Finale, Sibelius, and Dorico, and eventually progressing to the point where we can actually teach those programs to others trying to learn them. Along the way, we’ve discovered and refined approaches to learning that we share with each other, and with you, in the course of our discussion.

No, we won’t be reciting all 892 pages of the Sibelius reference or 1,605 pages of the Dorico manual, but we will relay some key philosophies so that you have more confidence when you work with the software you use to create music.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Sibelius summer school sale
• Documenting the documenter: Lillie Harris
• Conquering Finale with Jason Loffredo
• An interview with Sibelius expert Robin Walker
• Read the friendly manual

We talk all about that fundamental task that is essential to using music notation software: getting the notes into the program in the first place! There are actually lots of ways in, and it’s worth knowing about them all so that you can use the best method depending on the situation.

If you like to point-and-click your way around a staff, try the keyboard — and we mean both the computer and musical varieties. Step-time? Flexi-time? HyperScribe? Simple? Speedy? Pitch-before-duration? Duration-before pitch? What about importing MIDI and MusicXML files into your score? Even if you think you’ve mastered this basic element of working in notation software, we’re sure you’ll learn something from what we discuss, or at least “take note” of the many ways to fill your page with music.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Where in the world is…?
• Pitch before duration note input in Dorico
• Re-input pitches in homophonic music
• Simplifying Simple Entry in Finale
• Speeding up Speedy Entry in Finale
• Getting the hang of HyperScribe in Finale
• Use the semicolon to input grace notes in Sibelius; save time
• Stick to it with sticky tuplets, slurs and lines
• A quick guide to note entry methods in Sibelius
• Tips for quicker and easier note editing

In music scores, a house style is the collection of dozens or hundreds of rules and preferences governing the look of the music — everything from note spacing algorithms, to font choices, to the thickness of lines, and lots more.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss why these elements matter in the course of preparing a piece of music and talk about which types of text fonts pair well with music notation. We also explore the “tyranny of the default” settings in scoring software programs and get specific about how to manage house styles in Sibelius, Dorico, and Finale.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Horizontal note spacing in Sibelius
• Spaces and the units of measurement for music notation
• House style fonts and families in Sibelius
• Importing only certain elements of house styles in Sibelius

Katie Wardrobe is the founder and director of Midnight Music, a thriving service which helps music educators integrate technology into their teaching. Katie provides workshops, presentations, online training courses and ebooks for her community, and on our show she tells us all about how she uses music notation software and many other tools to achieve results. Katie shares with us her surprisingly low-tech but effective tips for staying organized, and we learn how she got started doing this important work, and how her business has changed over the years.

We recap the wild and exciting week we’ve just had in the world of music notation software, with not one, but two major products debuting on iPad. Within the span of 24 hours, both Steinberg and Avid released versions of Dorico and Sibelius, respectively, for Apple’s tablet platform, taking many users by surprise and reimagining what it means to use these powerful music tools.

First, Dorico expert Leo Nicholson joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to discuss the how Dorico made it from the desktop to iPad, not only largely intact, but with some new features as well. The familiar and beautiful Dorico interface gets updated to make the most of the touch surface, and its tools are enhanced to optimize the tablet platform. Dorico also gains a Key Editor in Write mode along with a histogram for showing the distribution of note velocities.

Then, we explore Sibelius on iPad and the departure that app needed to make away from the Ribbon and towards a user experience that is much more in line with Apple’s iPadOS recommendations. Apple Pencil support is integrated with Sibelius on iPad, and the new ways of inputting music offer new possibilities that might eventually make their way back to the desktop. Most encouraging is that the iPad app is included for current Sibelius subscribers and license-holders with current support plans.

Finally, we compare both applications and offer our kudos for their early success as well as suggestions for what we’d like to see improved in the future.

More:

• Dorico arrives on iPad
• Sibelius arrives on iPad
• Dorico video tutorial series serves up tools and techniques
• Dorico Basics: Notation Tools and Techniques on Notation Central

Daniel Spreadbury returns to the podcast to go behind the scenes into the making of Dorico for iPad. Daniel is the product’s marketing manager at Steinberg, and he takes Philip Rothman and David MacDonald through the process of developing this new version of Dorico. We go through everything from the technical details all the way up to the user experience, and Daniel recalls the crucial decisions and pivotal moments that culminated in Dorico’s release for iPad.

We get Daniel’s take on what’s currently available for iPad-based music apps, and explore how Dorico both compares to and works alongside those products. He shares his “a-ha” moment when he knew that Dorico for iPad would be a success, and he also explains the rationale for the subscription-based pricing that unlocks its full set of features. And speaking of features, Daniel reveals a forthcoming update to the app that will make Dorico for iPad a lot more valuable for many people.

More from Scoring Notes:

• Dorico arrives on iPad
• Dorico and Sibelius come to the iPad

Sam Butler and Joe Plazak join Philip Rothman and David MacDonald on the podcast. Sam is Avid’s director of product management for audio software, and Joe is the product owner and principal software engineer for Sibelius. Together, they led the team that brought Sibelius to the iPad for the first time, and we hear all about their journey that began nearly a decade ago with the goal of making Sibelius available on as many platforms as possible.

We talk about the key concepts, keypads, and key signature tools in Sibelius on iPad — all of which unlocked the doors to making the software work on a tablet device. As you can tell, we have some fun, but also get serious about the technical and design challenges that arose during this project, and we  learn how they found solutions that, in time, will benefit the desktop and other devices like touch-enabled Windows computers.

Sam and Joe tell us what we can expect from Sibelius in the near future as its iPad features appear in forthcoming desktop updates. They also give us a glimpse into the years ahead as they ramp up their team and look to improve the user experience across all areas of the program — from licensing and activation, to entering some notes on a staff, all the way to creating full scores that you can share with anyone.

More from Scoring Notes:

• Sibelius arrives on iPad
• Dorico and Sibelius come to the iPad

Darcy James Argue joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald for the first of a two-part interview. Darcy is a critically acclaimed jazz composer, educator, and bandleader of the 18-piece Secret Society, with whom he’s recorded multiple albums and led around the world performing his original compositions. Darcy’s also a top-flight music preparation expert, and in this first part of our discussion, we talk with him about how he learned to prepare music to such a high standard and why he believes it’s so important to obtaining quality performances.

Darcy recalls his early days in school and learning Finale at a time when almost all of his colleagues were still copying by hand, and how that early adoption of technology set the course for his future in the music business. We hear about his first professional copying jobs that might surprise you, and he tells us his stories about breaking into the jazz music scene in New York City, making connections and assembling a stellar group of colleagues that eventually became the Secret Society. That group premiered Darcy’s multimedia creations Brooklyn Babylon and Real Enemies, and we talk about how music preparation and technology helped overcome the unique challenges that those works presented.

Join us on our next episode for the second part of our discussion with Darcy James Argue. Darcy gives us his expert advice on preparing music based on real-world experience, and shares his tips for prioritizing his time when working on a deadline. We’ll also talk more tech when it comes to the software and the tools Darcy uses to create his charts.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Darcy James Argue, part 2
• DJA’s Notes: Group instruments correctly
• DJA’s Notes: Left-align chord symbols
• DJA’s Notes: Do not abuse one-bar and two-bar repeats
• DJA’s Notes: Music preparation basics

Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein

We’re back with Darcy James Argue, the acclaimed jazz composer, educator, and bandleader of the 18-piece Secret Society. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald pick up with Darcy for the second part of our interview, and if you missed the first part where Darcy talked all about breaking into the jazz music scene and getting his first professional copying jobs, go back and have a listen.

In this part we speak with Darcy about his philosophy of music preparation, and we go into detail with him about his approach to creating quality scores and parts using music notation software. He lays out his Finale setup along with the plug-ins and resources he relies on to speed up his work, and he also expresses his opinions about what could be improved in all software platforms with respect to jazz music. Finally, Darcy explains the roles that developers, publishers, and music preparers must all play in order to elevate the quality of music notation that gets produced for the next generation of musicians.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Darcy James Argue, part 1
• DJA’s Notes: Group instruments correctly
• DJA’s Notes: Left-align chord symbols
• DJA’s Notes: Do not abuse one-bar and two-bar repeats
• DJA’s Notes: Music preparation basics

Photos: Lindsay Beyerstein, James Matthew Daniel

You might remember our podcast episode where David MacDonald and Philip Rothman discussed the terms “sample rate”, “bit depth”, and “bit rate”, and what to make of them when you see them appear in your favorite music notation program.

In this episode, we explore those concepts even further thanks to our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that tells the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.

Join us on a musical journey from the Golden Age of analog mastering to the digital methods of today. We’ll find out why the music industry became obsessed with loudness, and learn how the digital era transformed the way that music sounds. Along the way, you’ll hear from experts in the subtle but critical art of mastering, and you’ll hear examples of these technical concepts as they make their way into the music you already know, and might create yourself in the future.

Part 2 from Twenty Thousand Hertz: The Loudness Wars

More from Scoring Notes: Sample rate, bit depth, bit rate, and you(r ears)

Video: “Sample rate, bit depth, bit rate, and you(r ears)” video by David MacDonald

The Twenty Thousand Hertz portion of this episode was written and produced by Casey Emmerling.

Artwork provided by Michael Zhang.

Music featured in this episode

Isn’t it Strange by Spirit City Stand Up by Soldier Story Lonely Light Instrumental by Andrew Judah Who We Are by Chad Lawson No Limits Instrumental by Royal Deluxe Crush by Makeup and Vanity Set Rocket Instrumental by Royal Deluxe Light Blue by UTAH Love is Ours Instrumental by Dansu Shake This Feeling Instrumental by Kaptan Wrongthink by Watermark High Rocket Instrumental by Johnny Stimson Lola Instrumental by Riley and the Roxies Quail and Robot Convo by Sound of Picture

Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by Dallas Taylor.

Check out Ian Shepherd’s podcast The Mastering Show.

Check out Greg Milner’s book, Perfecting Sound Forever.

We’re headed back to school. Today professor David MacDonald and Philip Rothman work on worksheets, that quintessential element of music instruction that appears in everything from homework assignments and classroom activities to quizzes and final exams. Unlike the more conventional scores and parts you might create with music notation software, worksheets often encompass a combination of short music examples, text, and graphics, all of which might need to fit on just a sheet or two of paper.

We talk about the ways you can bend music notation software to your will to help create A-plus worksheets and we’ll help you avoid failing when it comes to concepts like bar numbering, music spacing, applying text blocks, and hiding cautionary time and key signatures. These strategies aren’t just helpful for the classroom, and we explore other uses for these techniques, as well as ways to help keep everything organized when you need to rely on them in the future.

We’ll also dive into the ABC’s of graphic formats like SVG, PNG, and JPG, and how to export or import those formats between music notation programs and other software like word processors or page layout programs to create a document worthy of top marks.

More from Scoring Notes:

• Completing teaching assignments within music notation software
• Preparing teaching materials in music notation software

Creating music assignments for students to complete directly in notation software can help students both learn about theoretical concepts like suspensions and appoggiaturas as well as the practical skills of manipulating music notation on the screen.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald start this discussion by identifying the outcomes to be achieved by this method. We then talk about some approaches for organizing these assignments and where to source them from, some tips that make the files easier to work with, and, what to avoid as a technical matter when using the software as a kind of learning tool in this way.

We’ll also touch on web-based applications and the types of platforms that are common to different education levels. Finally, we’ll sum it all up, and, in the spirit of education, apply what we’ve learned to all types of collaborative situations, whether they be student-to-teacher or peer-to-peer, regardless of what software you find yourself working in.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Creating worksheets that score top marks
• Preparing teaching materials in music notation software

Jonathan Newman joins Philip Rothman for the first of a wide-ranging two-part conversation where we discuss everything from the profession of music copying to the importance of education. In this part, Jonathan, whose versatility and originality as a composer appeals to school wind ensembles and foremost professional ensembles alike, recalls his early days coming out of school and making ends meet as a copyist. He refined his craft for more than a decade, composing all along the way and becoming an expert in music notation software.

We talk about his use of the venerable DOS-based SCORE application and why Jonathan still has a soft spot for it, even as he’s gone on to use Finale, Sibelius, and now Dorico to create his compositions. He tells us why he eventually set aside copying professionally to focus on composing, and how those years spent on music preparation paid off in getting top quality performances of his music. Jonathan and I also talk through some watershed moments in the evolution of the software we use, like the introduction of linked parts, magnetic layout, and automatic cueing, and how to marry the best of technological progress with a fundamental understanding of how music needs to be correctly notated on the page.

Photo: Tina Krohn

Jonathan Newman is back for the second part of his two-part conversation with Philip Rothman, discussing everything from the profession of music copying to the importance of education. If you didn’t hear the first part, have a listen as Jonathan recalls his early days coming out of school and making ends meet as a copyist, becoming an expert in music notation software.

In this part, Jonathan emerges from the copyist wilderness and gets back to composing. He tells us about his decision to self-publish his music, what it means to be self-published, and how to do it. From there, we talk about the inception of BCM International, a collective of like-minded but stylistically different composers who had a mission to write wind band music that was different than anything anyone had ever heard before. We discuss the educational importance of introducing young instrumentalists to both the repertoire and the composers that write the music, and Jonathan’s days touring the globe working with student ensembles at all levels.

Finally, he parlays that into his current role as an educator himself, bringing both his academic and practical knowledge to bear in working with the next generation of students. We bring it all home to Scoring Notes and how — and how not — to work with music notation software as young composers find their own compositional voice.

Photo: Tina Krohn

More from Scoring Notes: Jonathan Newman, part 1 of 2

If you have trouble keeping up with all of your computer operating software updates, new hardware, and naming conventions, you’re not alone. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald will walk you through tips and best practices when it comes time to click that big button, whether it’s the one that says upgrade your operating system or the one that debits your bank account and results in a brand-new computer, and the steps you should take to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Our advice extends to all our listeners — both those that have imbibed the Apple juice and those that are opening Microsoft Windows. While this episode is mostly an encore presentation from when the Big Sur macOS operating system was released, we begin the program with a few thoughts about Windows 11.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Music notation software and Windows 11
• Music notation software, macOS Big Sur, and Apple Silicon M1 Macs
• Backup with Backblaze and get a free month

The applications we talk about on Scoring Notes have had playback capabilities since their earliest days. But because these programs are so attuned to the visual elements of music notation, layout, and page formatting, their audio components can often be overlooked. Philip Rothman, and David MacDonald have the first of a two-part conversation about playback and music notation software.

We first discuss why it’s important for programs like Finale, Sibelius, and Dorico to have good playback features in the first place, and how you can make use of playback when you work in the software as a composer, teacher, or music preparer. Then, we review the different types of sound options available in the software — everything from basic MIDI sounds to the most expensive studio libraries. Then, we conclude this part by talking about what you need to do when setting up your mix so that you get the best possible results, as well as how to export everything to a digital audio workstation for further fine-tuning.

More from Scoring Notes:

• “Playing” with notation software, part 1 of 2
• The “rite” way to copy old scores into new software
• Dorico and The Rite of Spring
• The [COMPRESSED] history of mastering

There are lots of ways you can manipulate a notation file for playback purposes. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald continue a two-part discussion about playback and music notation software, and share the tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years to make the most of the programs’ capabilities.

We talk about general concepts common to many applications, like score setup with separate staves for playback and notation, and how you can apply these concepts to everything from a Bach cantata to jazz rhythm charts to get music that both looks and sounds its very best. Speaking of rhythm, we drum up a discussion about percussion maps and how they roll, and we apply the concepts of expression and articulation assignments to other instruments. We look at some specific features in each of Dorico, Sibelius, and Finale, and finally wrap it up by visiting StaffPad, which might just be the best of all the options when it comes to marrying the score to the sound in a notation software app.

More from Scoring Notes:

• “Playing” with notation software, part 1 of 2
• Inside the “Scoring Notes” theme
• Manual staff visibility in Dorico
• Graphical MIDI Tools plug-in brings sequencer-like capabilities to Sibelius
• NotePerformer 3.1 update: Big improvement with Finale integration
• StaffPad acquired by Muse Group; audio support planned

StaffPad demo video: An evening with StaffPad

To celebrate Halloween, we’re looking at scary things we see in the music notation software and score preparation process, and see if we can sweeten the experience with some tricks and treats. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss the spookiness of using the mouse and how you can better become a jack-o-lantern of all trades by focusing more on keyboard commands and other shortcuts in Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico. We also look at a frightening situation that happens when laying out your music and investigate how to fix it. So don’t be afraid — we won’t ghost you as we lead you unscathed out of the haunted house of software skeletons and onto the pumpkin patch to score some tricks and treats.

More on Scoring Notes:

(Re)learning how to use music notation software

Finale:

• Quick tip: Dismiss all open dialog boxes in Finale
• Supercharge your Finale workflow on Mac with Keyboard Maestro
• FinaleScripts for faster scoring in Finale
• Articulation metatools in Finale

Sibelius:

• Using Sibelius Effectively: a guide to Sibelius Ultimate
• Sibelius from A to Z
• Use keyboard shortcuts to apply text expressions in Sibelius
• Quick keyboard access to your Sibelius plug-ins
• Add custom shortcuts for Keypad features in Sibelius

Dorico:

• Dorico from A to Z
• Customize keyboard shortcuts in Sibelius and Dorico
• Assigning MIDI commands

Notation Express:

• Notation Express for Dorico 5 released
• Stream Deck Mobile 2.0 brings native iPad support for the first time — and a whole lot more
• Notation Express for Dorico 4 released
• Notation Express for Dorico 3
• Notation Express XL is available for Sibelius and Dorico
• Notation Express demo available
• Notation Express is now on iOS with Stream Deck Mobile

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk about the news that Fender has made plans to acquire PreSonus, and dig up an interview with Jim Boitnott from the Scoring Notes archive. Jim gave an interview to Scoring Notes in 2019 in which he presciently described both the importance of playback to music notation software as well as the future of those applications on iPad, and how Notion was early to market in both respects.

We play that brief interview, which took place at the 2019 NAMM Show, and then put the news of the week in a bit of historical context and look at the larger picture of music notation and audio applications in light of current developments in the field.

More from Scoring Notes:

• Fender acquires PreSonus
• NAMM 2019: A “Notion” of music with the 6.5 update and more
• Notion iOS 2.5 and Notion 6.6 desktop updates released
• Sibelius arrives on iPad
• Dorico arrives on iPad

Marie Chupeau joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to discuss Maestria, the technology from Newzik that allows it to not just display a score, but also to understand it musically, resulting in what’s known as a LiveScore. Marie is the co-founder of Magic LEMP, the company that has worked for several years on the artificial intelligence technology that powers Maestria, and she is the head of the research and development team for the optical music recognition, or OMR project.

In our discussion, Marie tells us about how she started working on the Newzik project in the first place, and how her vast and impressive background in music and physics led her to tackle the complexities of music notation. She discusses how Maestria uses AI and aims to differentiate itself from other OMR applications by harnessing the power of AI and its algorithms to refine its results over time. We then talk about the practical use of Maestria in Newzik’s LiveScore feature, which enables a user to take an engraved score and turn it into a score that can be played on an iPad or in a web browser, or eventually exported via MusicXML to other software. Finally, we discuss the challenges the technology faces and the opportunity it provides for refinement in the future.

More from Scoring Notes:

• Newzik Maestria review: The score reader that promises to read scores
• Newzik introduces interactive LiveScores with Maestria, AI-based optical music recognition

Nicole Jordan, the principal librarian of the Philadelphia Orchestra, makes sure that the right piece of music is with the right person at the right time, in the right place — a crucial function in the fast-paced world of concert production. Nicole tells David MacDonald and Philip Rothman about how she got started as an orchestral librarian, from her early days as an intern to her current position at one of the world’s leading orchestras. We discuss the role that music notation software has in her work, and how it was essential in helping her nail the biggest audition of her career.

Then, Nicole reverses roles on the podcast and asks us about our software recommendations and gets our advice for people who are just beginning their technological journey.

More on Scoring Notes:

• An interview with librarian Lisa Dempsey Kane
• The best iPad score reader for most people
• Score preparation and production notes

Black Friday is upon us once again, and with it comes the annual post-Thanksgiving tradition of deals, discounts, and determination to make the most of your holiday spending budget. David MacDonald and Philip Rothman are here to help find the best offerings for the software most useful to you.

We start with music notation software and talk not only about the sales that extend through the season, but also why this is the best time of the year to pick up one of the products you might not already have. We also explore some of the sound libraries that work with notation software and other music applications and the various options available this year.

You’ll also want to hear our take on some easy-to-use and reasonably-priced audio editing apps and plug-ins that we think everyone working in music should have in their toolbox, and some special discounts on those that you might not know about. You could end up spending some money when you’re done listening today, but stay with us and you might just save a bundle, too.

More on Scoring Notes: Black Friday 2021 deals for music notation software and related tech

We have a party talking all about part preparation. This is one of our most requested topics from listeners, and we’re happy to oblige in this first of a two-part episode. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald use the parts preparation chapter from Elaine Gould’s music notation reference book Behind Bars as a framework for discussing this essential step in making the best performance materials possible.

We start with the staff size, and what’s too small, too big and just right, and how it relates to page size and margins. Headers, page numbers and other labels are next in our discussion, and we explore the best conventions that have developed, and why you need to always have them present. On we go to page turns, multimeasure rests, clefs, and more, and how careful consideration of all those elements contribute to making a quality part.

We span the low-tech to the high-tech in this episode — everything from the weight and thickness of paper to where to find the crucial settings in your favorite notation software. You won’t want to part ways with this episode until it’s finished, so let’s get started.

Partying with parts, part 2

Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation, by Elaine Gould

More from Scoring Notes:

• Score preparation and production notes
• Restore the link in File Info fields between score and parts in Sibelius
• A few brief thoughts about the size of music paper
• Smarter title pages for parts in Finale
• Smarter title pages for parts in Sibelius
• Working with master pages in Dorico, part 1
• Working with master pages in Dorico, part 2
• How to fix a common page numbering problem in Sibelius
• Working with page numbers in Sibelius
• View 2-page spreads in notation software and PDFs
• Go wild with text wildcards
• Three quick tips from engraving Copland

We party on in our second installment about part preparation. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald turn again to Elaine Gould’s music notation reference book Behind Bars to help guide the discussion.

Last time we left off just when things got interesting, talking all about cues, so for today’s episode we pick up there. We review the different types of cues, what they do, when to put them in, and how to control the software to make them look just the way you want.

At the risk of repeating ourselves, we then cover that very subject — repeats — and when they can help or hinder a player reading a part. Percussion is also on our list, and you’ll want to hear the dos and don’ts of getting the music for that instrument section into the software and onto the page.

Speaking of software, this episode is full of tips on how the major notation applications differ, and how they’re alike with respect to part-making, and we close the episode with some low-tech but effective advice for the final step in the quest for parts perfection.

Partying with parts, part 1

Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation, by Elaine Gould

More from Scoring Notes:

• Score preparation and production notes
• Dorico 1.2 review, part 1: Cues, new notation techniques, and other improvements
• Dorico 1.2 review, part 3: Percussion
• DJA’s Notes: Do not abuse one-bar and two-bar repeats
• Sam Solomon on writing for percussion
• Emily Grishman (revival)
• An interview with Elaine Gould, part 1: Early years at Faber
• An interview with Elaine Gould, part 2: Behind Bars

We wrap up 2021 with some new year’s resolutions in the form of tips and recommendations. We’re calling it 22 in ’22 in 22’: That’s 22 tips, for 2022, delivered to you in 22 minutes.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald spend a minute on each item, from our favorite apps, web sites, plug-ins, and techniques that we hope help with a “new you in ‘22” — at least when it comes to our favorite topic of music notation software and related tech. The clock’s already ticking, so let’s get the festivities started.

David’s items:

1. Scanner Pro from Readdle
2. Use metadata in projects (Backstage area/File tab in Sibelius, Project Info in Dorico) with wildcards, tokens, inserts
3. Change universal settings first (e.g. vertical spacing)
4. Text Styles
5. Use the “real” characters for sharps and flats (Dorico tokens, just copy/paste in other apps)
6. Special Unicode characters
7. Butterick’s Practical Typography
8. Better Touch Tool “Key Sequences” and trackpad gestures to avoid conflicts. (h/t Shortcut Detective from Irradiated software)
9. Sibelius Plugin: Delete Empty Text Strings
10. Filters
11. Organize files consistently (including file tags)

Philip’s items:

1. iPhone/iPad apps in general (Sibelius and Dorico)
2. Tokens for exploiting PDFs in score order (in Sibelius and Dorico)
3. Finale: Document > Page Format (Score… Parts…). Set this and then Redefine Pages in Page Layout tool. You may think that using the Page Size, System Size, and Edit Page Margins options in the Page Layout Tool is the right way… but no… Also, don’t “Scale System” or “Scale Page” to anything other than 100% in Page Format.
4. When to use “Absolute” or “fixed” size for anything page-related (titles, page numbers, headers)
5. Use the “real” dynamics (stylized bold italic mp, etc., not just regular expression text)
6. Make sure you use them correctly! Più mosso.
7. Schirmer Pronouncing Pocket Manual Of Musical Terms (Theodore Baker, ed. Nicolas Slonimsky, Laura Kuhn 5th ed 1995) $8 Kindle, paperback used
8. Keyboard Maestro for Mac; Similar  but not the same on Windows: AutoHotKey
9. I have to choose just one plug-in? Run them all with Run Plugins by Name
10. Plugins part 2: Filter Other in Sibelius filters key signature changes, hidden objects, quartertones, and a lot more
11. Please always use running headers (title, page number, part name) on all parts

2021 finished strong. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald pick up the news you need to hit the score running in 2022.

The StaffPad “audio update” brings new features like audio staves, tempo mapping, adaptive audio to keep your audio in sync with your score tempo, royalty-free production sounds and loops, and studio-quality effects, along with more improvements.

A major upgrade is out for Graphical MIDI Tools for Sibelius, which allows the user to manipulate MIDI information in the score in a graphical manner. It has been completely overhauled as an application that runs within Sibelius to provide a piano roll window.

We then cover what’s new in the Sibelius 2021.12 update for desktop and mobile, chiefly an easier was of entering percussion music.

If your eyes glaze over when reading about the technical but important topic of software licensing, we help by explaining the new systems that Avid and Steinberg rolled out. Their intent is to make it easier for a single user to activate and use Sibelius and Dorico on multiple computers, and we’ll share our thoughts.

Finally: a couple of time-sensitive deals on software that are worth checking out before they’re gone.

More on Scoring Notes:

• StaffPad brings live recordings into your scores with Audio Update
• Graphical MIDI Tools 2 is a major upgrade to the DAW-like plug-in for Sibelius
• Avid introduces new license activation system alongside Sibelius 2021.12 update
• Dorico 4, planned for early 2022, will be first Steinberg product to use new licensing system [updated]
• Steinberg “PSA”: Limited time discounted price for Dorico 4 upgrade path

Daniel Spreadbury returns to Scoring Notes to talk with Philip Rothman and David MacDonald about Dorico 4, the huge update to Steinberg’s scoring software.

We learn about the development team’s approach to this update, the challenges an opportunities it presented for Dorico after its release on iPad, and bringing those features and much more to the desktop version as they aim to “supercharge your workflow”.

We talk all about the new playback features that are now available directly in Write mode, like the Key Editor, and mixer. Smart MIDI input comes to Dorico 4 and we learn how that works and the benefits it brings to the music scoring process.

Engravers also see lots of benefits, too, like the new Library menu and Library Manager, which put a lot of engraving options in one place for the first time and make it easy to import house styles at a granular level, as well as creating templates for the first time.

We also each take a turn at identifying our own favorite feature in Dorico 4 and learn what’s next for the future of the software.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Dorico 4 review: Do more with your score
• Dorico arrives on iPad
• Dorico and Sibelius come to the iPad
• The history and future of Dorico for iPad
• Daniel Spreadbury on music fonts: past, present, and future

Before the personal computer revolution of the late 1970s, computers were so large and so expensive that they could only be found in universities and government departments. But almost as soon as there were computers, people were figuring out how to use them for creating and printing music.

Ben Byram-Wigfield joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald on a journey back in time and again to the present day to discuss some of the key moments of encoding music notation in the form of 1s and 0s.

We start with the huge mainframe computers of the 1950s which, despite having mere kilobytes of memory and storage capacity, were capable of creating some of the first machine-aided music.

As plotter printing technology emerged, so too did computers that could produce music on thes machines. Leland Smith’s SCORE took hold at some of the major publishing companies and was groundbreaking in the way it drew music notation without using any fonts.

Eventually, music fonts were necessary, as well as a way of sharing music amongst the varying formats that were used to encode music. Ben was a classmate of Jonathan and Ben Finn, the co-founders of Sibelius, and we race toward the present-day to look at the current landscape of music notation applications, as well as those that got left in the DeLorean’s rear-view mirror.

More on Scoring Notes:

• A brief history of music notation on computers
• Other articles on Scoring Notes by Ben Byram-Wigfield
• Daniel Spreadbury on music fonts: past, present, and future
• Michael Good, the inventor of MusicXML

From elsewhere:

• Music Printing History
• How Allegri’s Miserere should really sound (featuring Ben Byram-Wigfield)

Printing music is something that takes skill and attention to detail — both by the music preparer and the printer. When everything’s communicated well, it leads to print shop nirvana and the ideal result for everyone involved.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk through a specific project and illustrate the various steps along the way to set it up for success. No detail is too small, from the page size, to the number of copies, to the shipping methods desired. Philip relays his tips and best practices from the perspective of a professional music printing service.

Then, David gives advice for how to ensure good results if you need to take your project to a more general-service copy shop, or even if you are printing yourself, like some inventive ways to format the page size and convey the instructions to minimize the risk of errors that can be introduced and avoid miscommunication in what is one of the last, most critical steps in preparing a piece of music.

More on Scoring Notes and elsewhere:

• Chronology of a perfect music printing job
• Creating PDFs from Sibelius 7
• Export File Names Dialog in Dorico
• Name Mangler and Moom productivity apps
• On the margins: Headers, footers, and footnotes in Sibelius
• Smarter title pages for parts in Sibelius
• Smarter title pages for parts in Finale
• Working with master pages in Dorico, part 2
• How to fix a common page numbering problem in Sibelius
• PDF-MusicBinder and PDF-BatchStitch utilities for music printing

Notation Express is a custom-designed profile for the Stream Deck console, Stream Deck XL console, and the Stream Deck Mobile app for iOS, that maps hundreds of notation features to a colorful push-button interface and makes the software fun to use in a unique way.

For Dorico 4, Notation Express was been completely rebuilt — every button has been re-programmed to take advantage of Dorico 4’s new ability to receive commands directly from Stream Deck, instead of relying upon a custom key command profile as the intermediary.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk about how they developed this new version of Notation Express and the immediate benefits of the new system. We also discuss how this new API opens up even more possibilities, not only for the future of Notation Express, but also for other tools.

More on Scoring Notes: Notation Express for Dorico 4 released

If you’ve ever needed to open a Finale file in Sibelius, or a scan music in SmartScore and bring it into Dorico, or write something in StaffPad and upload it to MuseScore.com, you’ve relied on MusicXML to make it happen. MusicXML is the standard interchange format for music notation applications, and it’s what makes such robust interoperability possible between hundreds of programs. We might take it for granted now, but that doesn’t mean we should.

MusicXML was invented by Michael Good, and on this episode, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk with Michael about how he came to create such important technology more than two decades ago. He tells us the inside story of what it took to get it off the ground, and puts us in the room at pivotal moments in its development, from its humble origins all the way through to its current incarnation as part of a thriving worldwide community. We also learn what to expect in the next version, MusicXML 4.0, and how this now-ubiquitous established format is keeping pace with the newest technological changes.

This episode is an encore of the episode that first aired on March 13, 2021, with a few updates at the beginning about the release of MusicXML 4.0 and Dolet 8 for Sibelius.

Read the transcript of this episode

More on Scoring Notes:

• Dolet 8 for Sibelius adds MusicXML 4.0 support and much more
• Finale version 27 review: SMuFL and MusicXML 4.0 support
• NAMM 2017: Talking MusicXML and more with Michael Good
• MakeMusic and Steinberg transfer development of MusicXML and SMuFL to web community group
• NAMM 2018: W3C Music Notation Community Group meets; MNX is next
• NAMM 2019: W3C Music Notation Community Group meeting
• W3C Music Notation Community Group meeting at Musikmesse 2019

You may know all about writing music. But what about your rights and music? That’s what Philip Rothman and David MacDonald unpack on this episode with Jim Kendrick, one of the industry’s foremost experts on the subject. As an attorney and music publisher representing major composers and institutions, Jim has decades of experience navigating the often-complex world of intellectual property on behalf of his clients, and he deftly steers us through the intersection of creativity, copyright, and technology.

First we learn about Jim’s journey from oboist, to music publisher, to attorney. Jim then outlines the history of copyright and tells us both when copyright takes effect and what the six exclusive rights in works that copyright owners have.

We then discuss the practical effect of those rights and how they can be protected and licensed, as well as the technological changes in the industry over time in terms of producing and distributing music.

Music notation software plays an important role in the creation of musical work and we explore what rights engravers and editors might have, or not, in the process of producing a piece of music, and the concept of work-made-for-hire.

Finally, we look at ways in which the field is adapting to the reality of licensing music in the digital era, and what is — and isn’t — fair use, and the four factors that determine when it may be legally permissible to copy music.

Disclaimer: Our hosts and guest are not speaking on behalf of any clients or organizations with which they may be affiliated, and the content of this program is not legal advice. If you have a need for legal advice, please contact a qualified practitioner.

We talk a lot about fonts on the Scoring Notes podcast. But there was a time when there were no music fonts. And then, there was one.

Cleo Huggins, on the staff of Adobe in 1986, designed Sonata, the very first music font. It’s hard to imagine today, but it was revolutionary at the time, and a leading industry publication called it the “Music Product of the Year”. Sonata provided the blueprint for the core music fonts later created for use in Finale and Sibelius, but it may surprise you to learn that Sonata was created without any one particular music software product in mind.

Cleo tells Philip Rothman and David MacDonald about her early studies with some of the great typographic experts of the 1970 and 1980s, and how her work in graphic design, 3-D animation, background as a violinist, and a key meeting with Steve Jobs about the launch of the first Macintosh computer all led to her taking responsibility for creating Sonata. Cleo discusses the revolution in PostScript technology and the introduction of the laser printer, and how that made it possible for her to create a high quality music font that was unconstrained by limitations of bitmapping.

She recalls the various sources of inspiration and research she did — everything from Bach’s manuscript to the Music Writer, to Notaset dry transfer sheets — and the process of regularizing beautiful calligraphy without losing the distinctive elements of music notation. She also recalls thinking about all the minute details from careful placement to the key mapping of each character, and the feedback received from early music software pioneers eager to incorporate Sonata into their programs.

Cleo’s career moved on from Sonata to a variety of endeavors, all propelled by a deep curiosity and propensity to good, and we talk about that too — and ask her if she’d ever come back to the world of music fonts, with all of the progress that has taken place in the nearly four decades since her groundbreaking work transformed the history of music notation.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Daniel Spreadbury on music fonts: past, present, and future
• Music fonts and open standards with Daniel Spreadbury
• A brief history of music notation on computers
• Back to the future of music notation on computers
• How to make a SMuFL font

From the Finale Blog:

• Meet Steve Peha, creator of Petrucci, Finale’s first music font
• A brief history of Finale fonts

Darcy James Argue returns to Scoring Notes to talk with Philip Rothman about his role in creating the fully revamped SMuFL-compliant jazz default file and document style in the Finale v27.2 update. Darcy’s a composer, bandleader, and, as pertains to today’s topic of conversation, world-renowned music preparation expert, particularly when it comes to Finale.

Darcy’s a stickler for detail, and he tells us all about the process of overhauling the Finale Jazz defaults, with more than two decades’ worth of items on his wish list. One of those items is the addition of lower case characters to the JazzText font — something that users have been asking for since it was first introduced by Rich Sigler back in the 1990s. It’s not just an aesthetic preference; when used in chord symbols, they make it much easier to read and understand.

The chord symbols in the new SMuFL Finale Jazz Font Default are all made up of individual characters (not single-character JazzChord glyphs) and can all be typed directly into the score, and Darcy discuss the process of stripping down the original font into its most basic elements and reconstituting them to be used in as many chord symbol combinations as was practical to include.

There are also many differences under the hood in Document Options, such as tie and slur appearance, tuplet bracket appearance, margins, and layer settings, and Darcy tells us about the inspiration for those — including everything from Judy Green manuscript paper to the artful copyists of the golden age like Clinton Roemer and Bert Kosow. We also talk about what this means for Finale users now and in the future.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Finale version 27.2 adds new jazz template, native Apple silicon support
• Finale version 27.1: SMuFL burrows deeper
• Finale version 27 review: SMuFL and MusicXML 4.0 support
• Cooperating with chords in Finale
• DJA’s Notes: Left-align chord symbols
• A few brief thoughts about the size of music paper

Software updates are often blockbuster events, but sometimes they are smaller affairs that just make working in the programs appreciably better. Such is the case with the latest updates to Finale and Dorico.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald recap the Finale v27.2 update, which featured new a jazz template and document style designed in collaboration with Darcy James Argue. We also explain why it’s important Finale is now a “universal” application for Macs, like Dorico 4 is, which means that it can run natively on Apple’s newest M1-powered machine.

We then turn our attention to the Dorico 4.0.20 update, and highlight a few of our favorite improvements in this update. We discuss why the jump bar, the seemingly low-tech text-only way of working in Dorico, might be the secret to working faster in Dorico now that it returns better search results. We also discuss improvements to Dorico’s Key Editor and look ahead to what’s already been promised to come in the next update.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Dorico 4.0.20 update brings fixes and improvements; iPad version also updated
• Darcy James Argue jazzes up Finale with “style”
• Finale version 27.2 adds new jazz template, native Apple silicon support

When you work with music notation software, sometimes the greatest challenge is knowing what a task is actually called and where to find it. Plus, if you use more than one program, the same item might be implemented in different ways.

In this encore presentation, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald go on a scavenger hunt to find useful features in Finale, Sibelius, and Dorico. We’ll uncover some hidden and not-so-hidden treasures on our journey, like repitching, exploding and reducing music, multi-edit workflows, and filters. We’ll also review how to reset it all when everything goes awry, so you can feel confident experimenting with new ways to make the software work for you, and not the other way around.

Be sure to stick around to the end of the episode for a little update that covers a new feature introduced in Dorico 4: Instrument Filters. We’ll talk about that and where to find the comparable feature in Finale and Sibelius.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Re-input pitches in homophonic music
• The Sibelius 2018.1 release is smarter with multi-edit workflow improvements
• Sibelius 2018.4 released with multi-edits for text
• Dorico 4 review
• Dorico 3.5 review
• Sibelius 2020.9 update focuses on staves
• The focus is on staves with the Sibelius 2020.9 update

Working with lyrics and vocal music presents a special set of challenges and opportunities to burnish your music engraving skill set. In this first of a two-part episode, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss many of the conventions and principles that govern lyric text.

Staff position, alignment, and spacing must all be carefully considered when setting vocal text, and we sort through the best approaches for presenting the music clearly in relation to the lyrics. Beaming is an issue that has often confounded notesetters — specifically syllabic beaming, where the beams reflect the text instead of the rhythmic groups — and we talk about the change from traditional to modern notation and how best to handle melismatic passages.

Fonts, always a favorite topic of conversation on Scoring Notes, are again worthy of exploration, and why certain fonts are better than others for lyrics. We offer our suggestions there, and also discuss the topics of hyphenation and word extensions that are necessary components of any instance where vocal text is present.

There’s much more we cover in this episode, and then in the next episode, we’ll talk about where in the music notation software you can find the settings to control these various aspects and some tips to achieve good results.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Lyrics and vocal music, part 1
• Dan Kreider on hymnal engraving
• Use the Tinos font as a metrically equivalent replacement for Times New Roman

Knowing the various rules and conventions that govern the setting of lyrics in vocal music is a good start, but if you use music notation software, there’s more to learn. In this second of a two-part episode, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss how to actually apply those principles in the leading scoring programs: Finale, Dorico, and Sibelius.

There’s a surprising degree of overlap in the way that these programs approach lyrics, but also some crucial differences. We first start by talking about how the software conceptualizes lyrics, and where to find them in the program. We discuss the various ways that you can actually get the lyrics into the file: typing into the score, copying and pasting, and importing.

A few small but useful details don’t go overlooked: hard spaces, hyphens, elisions are important elements of lyrics but are special cases when it comes to inputting text.

Then, how do you edit the lyrics once they’re into the score? Lyric settings are found in a variety of places in the software — document options, engraving rules, text style definitions, default positions — and we help you find your away around and try to avoid some common pitfalls.

Hyphenation, or syllabification, is a hot-button topic and we offer up several tips of our own as well as those from podcast listeners. We also take a few questions and address those at the end of the episode.

More on Scoring Notes:

• Lyrics and vocal music, part 1
• Tricks for lyrics in Finale
• 3 helpful plug-ins for working with lyrics in Sibelius
• Differentiating staff text, system text, and lyrics in Sibelius
• Traditional lyrics beaming and slurs on melismas
• Adding extra lines of lyrics
• Making lyrics something to sing about

Elsewhere:

• The Lyric Hyphenator

As the Scoring Notes podcast approaches the two-year mark and our 100th episode, we announce some changes to the release schedule and preview what’s coming in future episodes.

More from Scoring Notes and elsewhere:

• Nicole Jordan, Philadelphia Orchestra librarian [encore]
• MOLA 40th Annual Conference
• MuseScore 4 – First Alpha Released

When using music notation software and other technology, it can be worthwhile to have a consistent workspace for a long period of time. Sometimes, though, the opportunity presents itself to start anew. On this podcast episode, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk about making those upgrades — from the desk itself, to what’s on and around it.

For a the full list of everything we discussed on this episode, and more, with links to products we describe, see David MacDonald’s companion Scoring Notes post: Upgrade your desk.

Allison Loggins-Hull and Nathalie Joachim are distinguished flutists and composers, and Flutronix, the name of their duo, says it all. Known for their unique blend of classical, hip hop, electronic programming and soulful vocals, music and technology intersect constantly in their work and music. They’re active in all of those genres and more, and yet somehow they found time to talk to Philip Rothman and David MacDonald about all of it.

We first learn about how Allison and Nathalie met and began their collaboration, and the process of creating brand new repertoire for their unique combination of two flutes and electronica. They tell us about their influences and process of composition, and how, despite various labels being applied to their music, they aim to defy genre classification and instead simply create music that they want to play and hear.

We then get into the tech, starting with, what else: music notation software. Allison and Nathalie use Sibelius and they talk about how it helps them visualize their music, both at a macro level as well as with respect to the finer details of harmony and chord structure. Their use of digital audio workstations as well as hardware and software synths play a crucial role in creating and developing their sounds, and we find our what they’re currently using and how they use it with music notation software.

Finally, we discuss the importance of music preparation and how essential well-prepared scores and parts are in rehearsal, especially when other elements like electronics are literally in the mix.

Heard on this episode:

• Life Lines, by Nathalie Joachim
• Wander, by Nathalie Joachim
• Suite pou Dantan: III. Resevwa li, by Nathalie Joachim
• Homeland, by Allison Loggins-Hull
• Brown Squares, by Flutronix

What happens when you combine custom fonts, fine-tuned engraving settings, and decades of collective music preparation expertise? The Scoring Express templates for Sibelius, Dorico, and Finale.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk with Joseph Trefler and Leo Nicholson about the creation of new template suites for Finale and Dorico, along with an update to the Sibelius version. We discuss the catalysts for creating professional, easy-to-use solutions for each application, and explore the high-level concepts of using Scoring Express along with the nerdy minutiae.

More on Scoring Notes: Scoring Express for Dorico and Finale released; Sibelius templates updated