Is there any reason for MIDI sequencers to include staff notation, other than for printing out for real-life musicians to use in live performances?
I've been thinking recently about how I miss staff notation in my current setup (eXT + fruity), but then I got to thinking that staff notation doesn't actually offer you anything that you can't get from the standard piano roll and velocity/CC information. Also, when you humanise a piano roll sequence, you don't notice any major changes, but humanising a song results in a complete and unwanted re-write of the staff notation.
What are the main reasons for keeping staff notation in packages Sonar and Cubase? Is it an aid to musicians coming from a traditional music background?
I'd been thinking about buying Magix Music Producer as a kind of budget staff notation sequencer to allow me to audition parts for VSTs and large multi-program SF2 files. But maybe nostalgia is just getting the better of me and staff notation is pointless in a modern app?
Question about scoring and staff notation.
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- addled muppet weed
- 111304 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
basically yep i think its about printing your music, probably has a copyright something or other too once printed if you get me?
kinda looks cool too,cept when you hand it to a musician and he crys
kinda looks cool too,cept when you hand it to a musician and he crys
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- KVRAF
- 7489 posts since 6 Jul, 2004
As a classically trained musician I would say the staff notation offered in either Cubase and Sonar is inadequate for printing out for performers. But I suspect some of my colleagues would rather sequencer using notation view than piano roll (or certainly event list). So I think that's why it's really there.
Sibelius and Finale are the only serious notation programs that tend to be widely recognised, although there are cheaper programs that also do a good job.
Personally I like to compose in Sibelius, save as a MIDI file and then importat that straight into a sequencing package like Tracktion or Reason. I can't be bothered with bloated software programs that try to be all things to all people!
Sibelius and Finale are the only serious notation programs that tend to be widely recognised, although there are cheaper programs that also do a good job.
Personally I like to compose in Sibelius, save as a MIDI file and then importat that straight into a sequencing package like Tracktion or Reason. I can't be bothered with bloated software programs that try to be all things to all people!
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1022 posts since 7 Sep, 2004
I know this is a bit of a strange question, but do you actually 'think' the music as you write it in notation software? i.e., put the notes down and try to imagine the melodies?
The reason I ask is, I started doing computer-based music back in the tracker days and I've always been used to hearing the notes as they are placed on the timeline.
I guess the notation software is designed for 'traditional' composing?
You could probably use MIDI Yoke to attach Sibelius to, say, energyXT, but is that how it's intended to be used?
The reason I ask is, I started doing computer-based music back in the tracker days and I've always been used to hearing the notes as they are placed on the timeline.
I guess the notation software is designed for 'traditional' composing?
You could probably use MIDI Yoke to attach Sibelius to, say, energyXT, but is that how it's intended to be used?
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- KVRAF
- 7489 posts since 6 Jul, 2004
It's not a case of "trying to imagine"... I can "hear" all the parts exactly as they will sound. In the same way I can look at a music score of a piece I don't know and hear in my head what it will sound like.
It's basically the same as reading a story out loud, or reading it "silently" in your head... you follow the plot exactly the same, if not better, in your head.
I hope that doesn't sound too pretentious! But it results from being a performing musician for several years. When I studied for my music degree - and then as a postgrad at the Royal College of Music - we had to do all sorts of "Aural Tests" where, for example, we would listen to a piece and have to write it down by ear. Also we learnt to analyse piece by studying the score (without listening to the piece necessarily). That kind of thing helps you to develop your ability to internalise music and hear from the notation.
Regarding Sibelius, it now comes with a Kontakt Gold Player which you can use to listen back to your score and even burn a rough demo to CD. I find it fairly limiting though, and often don't bother switching the speakers on when I'm just writing stuff. But I guess its useful to a lot of Sibelius users, and its a welcome feature.
I hope this helps.
It's basically the same as reading a story out loud, or reading it "silently" in your head... you follow the plot exactly the same, if not better, in your head.
I hope that doesn't sound too pretentious! But it results from being a performing musician for several years. When I studied for my music degree - and then as a postgrad at the Royal College of Music - we had to do all sorts of "Aural Tests" where, for example, we would listen to a piece and have to write it down by ear. Also we learnt to analyse piece by studying the score (without listening to the piece necessarily). That kind of thing helps you to develop your ability to internalise music and hear from the notation.
Regarding Sibelius, it now comes with a Kontakt Gold Player which you can use to listen back to your score and even burn a rough demo to CD. I find it fairly limiting though, and often don't bother switching the speakers on when I'm just writing stuff. But I guess its useful to a lot of Sibelius users, and its a welcome feature.
I hope this helps.