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Which is your preferred music notation today?

imho, that world is owned by Sibelius. But depends on your needs I think. I only hand out sheet notation if specifically requested, and usually for just a single part, so Sibelius is way overkill for me. I use MuseScore, since I like the way note input works, and also handles lyrics quite well. Not that I've heavily compared competitors. There was a project where I needed to write in lyrics in Japanese, and it did the job quite well. (good control over text to note mapping) Of course, I'm of the mindset that I should spend the least amount of time transcribing these things, so the less fancy features (that one uses 2% of the time) the better.

Don't discount pencil and staff paper though. I always debate whether writing it out on paper is easier than fiddling with notation software because paper, pencil, and a good eraser really offers the bare minimum to get the job done. In many cases, that is mechanically superior to operating cumbersome software.
And you can draw strange pictures, or make up dynamics designations and have fun with the performers. I think the communication tool aspect of sheet music gets lost too many times, and it gets used merely as a set of instructions. (like a MIDI file) In the end, it is part of the toolset to make great music.

I used to use Cubase notation long ago and it was enough for my needs at that moment. Now I need to pass some written parts to several musicians, and this will be quite often, so I was thinking how the market had evolved in this particular area, and as I don’t longer use Cubase I wanted to see what I could use.

Yes, I covered my work by hand for many years, but today people ask for perfection, they are used to a high standard, so I have to comply. Just like you, I would not like to get into some crazy difficult software, I want something good enough to pass to them the ideas we have to play, and that would be all.

Perhaps Sibelius has several offers, I mean, a home version or something. I will check. I never heard of MuseScore, I’ll check it too. Thank you Ken!

I found a very good and clever review with clear points about notation sofware, here you have:

http://www.georgehess.net/notation-wars/

Dorico is best but it's not as full featured because it's new.

No other programs will import MIDI files as well as Dorico. I have tried Sibelius and Finale, the top contenders and they totally suck at importing MIDI but not Dorico.

Sibelius is the best

Sure, but "best" does not mean "better. It might be the best but not the better for me, this is what I mean. I want something much simpler than that. Sibelius I understand it is intended most of all for printing purposes, for those guys that are going to publish. I will not publish anything, I need to work with a bunch of musicians so doing it by hand would be too much in the first place. I think I will most probably end using the same one as Ken, it seems very good and very simple too.

Nestor wrote:Sure, but "best" does not mean "better. It might be the best but not the better for me, this is what I mean. I want something much simpler than that. Sibelius I understand it is intended most of all for printing purposes, for those guys that are going to publish. I will not publish anything, I need to work with a bunch of musicians so doing it by hand would be too much in the first place. I think I will most probably end using the same one as Ken, it seems very good and very simple too.

Dorico is easier.

Personally you must find the right soft for your best work flow. We are individuals. I told you what I prefer, it is maybe wrong. Just try out some demos.

Anabella, Brain, thank you!

Well, sure I have to find a solution specifically for my needs, that’s why the best is not always the better.

Is it Dorico easy to use? This is something I appreciate very much in regard with any BIG app, because I tell you I am rather tired of learning more and more and more new software or upgrading to a completely revamp app that works in such a different way that it seems a new, different app. I’m getting older… The problem with Dorico is the price, I think it is too expensive for me, I have several important things in my list like Keyscape that would get priority, but I appreciate you pointing me to this one.

It is really expensive for a notation program. I’m sure it will probably outperform all the others, but look at this:

https://www.steinberg.net/en/shop/buy_p ... orico.html

Nestor wrote:Anabella, Brain, thank you!

Well, sure I have to find a solution specifically for my needs, that’s why the best is not always the better.

Is it Dorico easy to use? This is something I appreciate very much in regard with any BIG app, because I tell you I am rather tired of learning more and more and more new software or upgrading to a completely revamp app that works in such a different way that it seems a new, different app. I’m getting older… The problem with Dorico is the price, I think it is too expensive for me, I have several important things in my list like Keyscape that would get priority, but I appreciate you pointing me to this one.

It is really expensive for a notation program. I’m sure it will probably outperform all the others, but look at this:

https://www.steinberg.net/en/shop/buy_p ... orico.html

I'm expecting a Junior version of it as there is for Sibelius and Finale. It's easier to use because it automatically avoids bad notation and you can more easily move and delete notes as in a DAW. You can also make music with no bars!

Well, let see what they offer us

Dorico was formed by Steinberg after Avid bought Sibelius and the original Sibelius engineers were disrespected by Avid. They were able by starting from scratch to create a far superior product.