As a music major, one of the classes that we were required to take is “Computer Applications in Music”. The primary program that we learn to use is “Finale”. Finale is a fantastic program, but it comes with a $600 price tag. Yes, $600 if you want all of the bells and whistles. This is the program that I had access to in the computer lab while I was a student, and I loved it. On our home computer, we have Finale Printmusic, which I used to create all of the music on my free-online-sheet-music post. There are things about it that frustrate me, but lacking the money for the full-version, we have been content with it. I am just grateful to have something to create professional-looking music.
Good news, now you can too, and it’s COMPLETELY FREE! I discovered and downloaded it yesterday, and have spent this morning playing with it. It is good. It is fantastic. It is user friendly. I highly recommend this program for anyone. If you are a composer, great! If you are a parent who wants to help a 6-year-old notate their composition, you know, the one that they play every time they sit down at the piano, this program is for you. If you want to arrange a number for your choir, this program can help. Music teachers, you know what to do.
I watched all of the YouTube “Getting Started” videos, and it helped me get started. I created this file in less than 5 minutes this morning in honor of my daughter’s birthday on Saturday. I do have a lot of experience with finale, which helped, but the videos helped too. Unlike my print-music program, the spacing automatically adjusted with the lyrics to make it readable:
The start-up videos are only very basic. I quickly wanted to do more with the program, so I created a free membership and searched the forums. I am sure that as I learn to use the program, I will have more questions, but I am also confident that I can find answers in the forum, or that I will be able to have my questions answered. Open source is fantastic, this program is fantastic, and your wallet will not be compromised by MuseScore. Your musical experience will be enriched.
I will be blogging more about how to use this program, and sharing files created within this program in the future. This morning I learned how to customize the colors of the notes, but they didn’t print very well. The default colors for the notes, should you choose to use them, are for boomwhackers. I’ll keep you posted as I get past the newbie stage myself.
