Is your current notation software struggling to live up to expectations? Maybe you’re having formatting issues when exporting parts of your score or struggling with uninspiring sound samples. That’s where Sweetwater can help. We offer a comprehensive selection of band and orchestra products that cover every musical application imaginable — even scoring your school’s pep band or trumpet quartet. Here are notation software titles that every band director will love.
Best Music Notation Software:
Avid Sibelius | Ultimate
Band directors and composers across the globe trust Avid Sibelius | Ultimate for its easy and accessible scoring capabilities. Sibelius comes loaded with tons of template options to give you a solid starting point for any project. In addition to its massive range of instrument and transcription options, it will automatically warn you if you’re approaching the upper or lower range of an instrument. What’s more, you can use Sibelius to score on Microsoft Surface Pro tablets — a feature that lets you make the most of long bus rides. We’re also partial to the extensive range of key commands that make using Sibelius faster and more intuitive. Sibelius | Ultimate comes with the Lite versions of Neuratron PhotoScore and AudioScore, which let you sing or play an instrument to add notes into Sibelius, scan printed music for editing, or convert your handwriting into notation with the press of a button. Sweetwater also offers site licenses for Sibelius. Call your Sales Engineer for all the details.
Best Music Notation Software:
Steinberg Dorico Pro 3.5
Steinberg Dorico Pro 3.5 takes a pro-quality composition tool to the next level. Dorico Pro’s turbocharged user interface ensures that your workflow remains uncluttered by keeping the tools you need right up front. It also has next-level artificial intelligence that checks your notation and corrects it when you make a mistake. This way, you’ll spend more time actually composing and waste less of your planning periods on making corrections. We like Dorico Pro because it allows you to choose sounds from any virtual instrument and sound library — a massive step up from the lifeless, robotic sounds that can plague some other software. Dorico Pro includes the HALion Symphonic Orchestra library, which is packed with breathtaking samples and sounds to bring your compositions to life. Dorico Pro also offers a built-in sequencer, third-party VST3 support, and DAW functionality that make it a must-have for teaching music technology or composition courses.
Best Music Notation Software:
MakeMusic Finale 27
We all know how annoying it is to run into file-compatibility issues when exporting your score. MakeMusic Finale 27 solves that issue, letting you send out a score as a PDF, a graphic file, or a music file to be opened in other software (MusicXML, EPUB, and MIDI) or as audio files (MP3, AIFF, and WAV). And, while software compatibility is awesome, Finale is a mainstay for professional composition for far more significant reasons. It comes with ScoreManager, which makes creating, editing, and adapting complex arrangements a breeze. ScoreManager will save you untold hours over the course of a busy marching season. What’s more, the newest version of Finale supports real-time MIDI performance to capture ideas in a flash and one-click templates for almost any composition. Once the score is set, Finale’s 500+ Garritan virtual instruments and Human Playback function turn your notated music into a show-stopping performance. Site licenses for Finale 27 are also available, so be sure to call Sweetwater for pricing options.
Best Music Notation Software:
Neuratron PhotoScore Ultimate and NotateMe 2020 Bundle
Digitize your sheet music in no time with Neuratron’s PhotoScore Ultimate and NotateMe 2020 Bundle. This invaluable software lets you scan printed music — and most handwritten compositions — directly into your computer. Neuratron’s OmniScore recognition engine is so powerful that it achieves more than 99.5% accuracy when converting PDFs and original scores. Once the music is scanned in, you can edit notes and tweak music sections with absolute ease. If you’ve used Sibelius in the past, then you’ll appreciate the streamlined, Sibelius-style editing controls. With this bundle, you’ll also get Neuratron’s NotateMe music handwriting app integrated right into PhotoScore 2020. It lets you handwrite scores on your tablet, Mac, PC, or laptop and digitize it with the press of a button. PhotoScore Ultimate lets you save your music as a MusicXML or NIFF file to send directly to Sibelius, Finale, or other music notation programs.
Best Music Notation Software:
PreSonus Notion 6
Creating and composing sheet music is easy when you’ve got PreSonus Notion 6. It comes with an intuitive and user-friendly interface that helps you concentrate on making music instead of menu diving. With a MIDI device, you can take advantage of the SequencerStaff feature. SequencerStaff retains modulation, bends, and dynamics changes and automatically notates them for you as you perform a part. Notion comes equipped with a stunning sound library, including samples from the London Symphony Orchestra, a mind-blowing Steinway grand, and impressive guitar, bass, and drum sounds. Notion 6’s unmatched playback capabilities and DAW compatibility make it an excellent choice for music composition courses, too. Notion 6 is included in PreSonus Sphere, a subscription-based service with all the audio tools needed for students and band directors to make compelling music.
Find the Workflow That Works for You!
At the end of the day, the best notation software for a band director is the one that fits their workflow preferences. If you’re not sure what kind of workflow best suits your style, then try out a few different notation programs or give Sweetwater at call at (800) 222-4700. Our trained Sales Engineers will have you up and running in no time.
