Talk:Scorewriter

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Scorewriter is within the scope of WikiProject Music, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to music. If you would like to participate, you can choose to edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.

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[edit] Rosegarden

It's true that Rosegarden started life as a sequencer, but notation has been a focal point for development for some years now. Mentioning it is 'primarily a sequencer' might give the impression that the notation functionality would be sub-par, which in my opinion is not quite fair: it definitely still needs work, but I'd say it compares quite well with most other free and some other commercial offerings.

I'd propose to either remove 'primarily a sequencer', or change it to 'can also be used as a sequencer'. I won't make the change myself, as I'm a Rosegarden contributor and that'd be akward :). --Raboof 12:57, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

So removed. Michael Bednarek 13:25, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

Would somebody like to put in stubs for the missing programs?

I don't know much about some of these programs, but I suppose I could make very basic stubs. I'll give it a go in the next few days, unless someone gets there first. Wombat

We should probably have disambiguation or "see also" links from the following articles:

Agreed Wombat

I'm not convinced about the "mostly less sophisticated and lower priced" statement -- the article seems to be implying that lower priced software is usually of lower quality, which is an opinion, and not entirely compatibile with the availability of Free Software

Ojw 13:58, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)

"A scorewriter is to sheet music what typesetting software is to written text." (rather than Word processor)?

No - modern scorewriters are the equivalents of both 'typesetting' and 'word processing' programs, as are modern word processors. That is, they are not just for laying out music, but also for editing, manipulating, composing, reformatting and so on. Wombat 17:59, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Score as obsolete

As a Sibelius, Finale and Score user it is incorrect to describe Score in the past tense. It is still winning major awards for work completed within its interface. Check the Paul Revere awards list for proof. A distinction needs to be drawn between interfaces that are fundamentally designed to be used by a domestic market and high-end engraving. With intricate publication standards both Finale and Sibelius demand much more effort to complete tasks than is the case with Score. Longevity does not necessarily imply obsolescence. The future of Score is a different issue related to computing platforms and might go the way of some Amiga and Archimedes platforms - great software but no equipment to run it on. Stanford University ran a couple of weeks on Score this year as part of CCAHR and Leland Smith gave a paper on Score for Windows - so it's not quite dead yet. It also has a significant European following.

It is also incorrect to place Berlioz, Graphire and Score in the low cost category - or at least implied.

Graphire's website has been down for quite some time - gone into liquidation? AM 9:24 UTC 29 April 2005

Score is obsolescent certainly. Last time I spoke to one of Score's distributors a few years ago, he said the number of active Score users worldwide was something like 200 - presumably rather fewer now. (And hence I expect it sells no new copies.) The quality of the software isn't the question, it's how many people still use it. Besides, the article doesn't describe it as 'obsolete' - it says it was 'once a leading program', i.e. is no longer a leading program. In terms of ongoing sales and active users this is certainly true. (It doesn't say it was 'once the best program'.)
Ben Finn 17:27, 12 October 2005 (UTC) (I declare an interest - I am one of the Sibelius founders)

[edit] Compatability problems?

Huh? All the GNU/Linux scorewriters can export to LilyPond. I don't get the compatability problems.

[edit] Free programs

Are there any free programs that allow you to hear your sample...? (Please respond on my talk page.) tinlv7 21:23, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] NIFF obsolete?

I think calling the NIFF format obsolete is incorrect; just because a format isn't being developed further doesn't mean it's obsolete - cf. MIDI, CSV, etcet. AFAIK NIFF still being used by current scanning and notation programs. I propose to remove "(now obsolete)" from the paragraph mentioning NIFF.

In the same paragraph, the statement about MusicXML "(which is becoming widely supported)" seems rather dubious and unsourced. Michael Bednarek 07:19, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

NIFF is certainly obsolete. The NIFF coordinator himself, Alan Belkin, says that NIFF has been superseded by MusicXML at the NIFF project page (http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/NIFF.doc.html). NIFF was never supported by more than a handful of programs, all or nearly all of which now support the MusicXML format. The source for MusicXML becoming widely supported is available on the MusicXML page. Mdgood 06:51, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

I have now referenced the respective statements in the article with web sources. Michael Bednarek 09:55, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Free software catagory

I noticed that Scorch is listed under the free software section. Although it is no cost, it is not free as in freedom/GNU/open source. There are many no cost music viewers that offer basic score manipulation, such as NotePad from Finale, Noteworthy Composer browser plugin, etc. I suggest moving Scorch to the Commercial section or removing it altogether.--Dbolton 18:11, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. I removed Scorch - it's neither a Scorewriter nor is it "Free Software" and it doesn't have its own Wikepedia article. Michael Bednarek 00:17, 20 July 2007 (UTC)