Re: [LAU] Simple, fast, easy notation software?

On Tuesday 18 August 2009 20:55:03 Ken Restivo wrote:
> I'm looking for a simple, fast, easy notation software. The goal is that I
> can very quickly input a melody line or riff, maybe overlay chord symbols
> on it, when learning new songs or writing them, so that I don't forget
> them.
>
> Something where I could scribble down "Fake Book"-style charts. Of course
> there's pencil and paper, but then I have to deal with a music stand and
> shuffling leaves of paper around. Since I have the laptop sitting in front
> of me anyway, if I had all my charts in there, I could just page through
> them, use find to search for them, etc.
>
> Rosegarden and the lilypond stuff is probably way too much overkill. It's
> not critical that it have MIDI in/out either, since the output device is
> going to be eyes-brain-fingers anyway. denemo confused me way too much;
> couldn't figure out how to do basic stuff in it at all.
>
> I've played around with nted, and it seems the easiest and closest to what
> I want, but even it tries to be too "smart" and sticks in things like
> dotted rests and stuff where I don't want them, and I can't figure out how
> to move notes in time once it decides to put them there-- frustrating.
>
> Any other options?
>
> Again, the typical usage is that a bandleader will sing or show me the
> melody and I need to note it down very quickly.

Try rusty trusty noteedit. Problem with most newer programs is that they
impose too much theory (often misplaced for what you want to do). Notedit will
let you edit anything you want, worry about rebarring or rebeaming later.

Nted is the closest successor. Denomo is difficult to use and along with
mscore and others, too rich for us lead-sheeters.

You might also try a lead-sheet based program that also does notation such as
improvisor. It is slow on slower machines and its MIDI play can be
problematic. If you have patience, it can generate some interesting
improvisations.
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Received on Wed Aug 19 00:15:10 2009