Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
Apple ’s GarageBand has made small fry ’s play out of music sequencing . But traditional composer , organiser , and educators do n’t need its transcription , editing , and mixing features — what they call for is notation software that allows them to quickly get the idea in their head onto the impress pageboy .
MakeMusic ’s Finale Songwriter 1.0 is aimed at this kind of person , combining Sir Frederick Handley Page - layout and euphony - sequencing features and emphasise complete control over every aspect of a printed musical score . What separate Songwriter from traditional note programs is the flexibility with which you could enter tone and the ability to hear the score do as you are composing it .
you could start with a clean weather sheet or use the Setup Wizard to maneuver you through the summons of naming your score , select instruments , and selecting pacing and time signature . Then , you’re able to enter note via MIDI keyboard , mouse , or computer keyboard on up to eight lag .
you could do most datum entry with tool palettes . The Simple Entry pallette makes entering notation as fast as entering words in a word processor , with keyboard shortcuts for choosing notes and note value , rests , accidentals , ties , and so on . you’re able to well enter lyric , guitar tab , locution , and articulation .
Of naturally , you may do almost everything I ’ve described so far with pen and newspaper . But Finale Songwriter ’s real - time transcription capability ( a feature once found only in top - of - the - line notation packages ) really sets Songwriter apart . This feature — called HyperScribe — managed to keep up with my acting , go in notes , and chord progressions about as fast as I could perform them . I tried to stump the software , give up 7th chords , ninths , augment , and atrophied chords , but it did not balk .
Variations on a theme
you’re able to try out your song in any tempo and transpose it to any key . Auto - harmonize , a feature adopted from PG Music’sBand - In - A - Box , can enrich your tune with harmonies base on the chord symbols in your musical score .
Finale Songwriter also includes a SoundFont , a sample - based software instrument that can diddle back your sexual conquest with any of 128 instruments . The instruments go OK — but they are General MIDI instruments , which are relatively low - fidelity auditory sensation sample that do n’t issue forth close to the kind of naive realism usable with more professional notation political program .
Finale Songwriter ’s Human Playback subroutine represent junction , kinetics , hairpins , and other marking so as to play back the euphony in a particular style such as authoritative , baroque , or jazz . The software system includes drumfish grooves in various styles for you to add together to your scotch .
While the PDF manual of arms is handy , I incur the QuickHelp and QuickStart videos obscure . The videos are register in Finale , not Finale Songwriter , and they show screenshots from the Windows version .
When running the software in OS X 10.4 ( Tiger ) , a bug prevented the music fonts from appear aright . ( The fix was to delete a cache data file in /Library / Caches call com.apple . ATS . ) MakeMusic has also posted an update font installer on its Web site , which set the problem .
Solid, basic tools
Finale Songwriter offer most of the basic tools you need to compose and publish music , at a price that is 100 of buck less than the top - of - the - line Finale ( , July 2004 ) . So what ’s the difference ? Finale provides high-pitched - quality instruments , including the power to use third - company instruments and to scan printed sheet music . It also facilitate plug - in support and more advanced notational system feature , admit the use of unlimited round and non - standard primal signature tune .
Just as GarageBand provide a stepping rock to the pro functionality in Apple ’s Logic Pro , time spent get word Finale Songwriter wo n’t be languish as you move up the shell to other products in the Finale family unit .
Macworld’s Buying Advice
Finale Songwriter 1.0 succeeds in supply traditional launching - degree composers with the tools they need to bring in a final printed score . The flexibility with which you may enter notes and the character of the final output makes it a clear pick over playpen and paper .
[ Lee Sherman is a San Francisco - establish technology writer and instrumentalist who publishes a web log calledMusic Matters . ]
