Finale Notepad...Is it any good?

What NO one seems to be bringing up is this: yes Notepad is free, and limited...

But you said you are 16?
Which means you are in school right now.
Which ALSO means you are eligible for the student discount on all teh Finale-family products.

Finale is the top-of-the-line programme that MakeMusic publishes, however, they also have a number of less expensive (and add on your student discount - wow!) software packages, from which you can VERY easily upgrade to the full-version of Finale for a reduced cost.

Originally Posted by robinjessome

Are you serious? What is all that crap?! Please, because I'd love to see it - using Cubase: engrave and print professional looking parts for a simple string quartet.

I'm not going to get dragged into this again.

Lets just leave it as it is. Arguing over a forum is dumb. I will admit that when I thought of notation software, I accounted everything involved with composing.

QcCowboy is right. Finale is out of reach for most kids, so my favorite alternative is

Finale PrintMusic

It has a lot of the functionality of Finale, and it's a fraction of the cost. WIthout a discount it's 60-70 dollars, but if you have a music teacher you know buy it, it's half that cost.

Originally Posted by Songjun

Arguing over a forum is dumb.

Isn't that (partly) what forums are all about? And remember: If you say it isn't, you're arguing with me over a forum!

Originally Posted by Gardener

Isn't that (partly) what forums are all about? And remember: If you say it isn't, you're arguing with me over a forum!

It isn't.

Yes, I am arguing with you. (And it is dumb.)

(John Cleese voice): Yes, it is.

*clears throat* yeah...anyway...haha

Originally Posted by QcCowboy

What NO one seems to be bringing up is this: yes Notepad is free, and limited...

But you said you are 16?
Which means you are in school right now.
Which ALSO means you are eligible for the student discount on all teh Finale-family products.

Finale is the top-of-the-line programme that MakeMusic publishes, however, they also have a number of less expensive (and add on your student discount - wow!) software packages, from which you can VERY easily upgrade to the full-version of Finale for a reduced cost.

well, technically I'm 15 but yes, I'm still in school! (hooray for education! ) Wow...discounts AND upgrading?? awesome! Soooo...if I don't like Finale Notepad ... I should just get Finale Songwriter? I've heard of others, but I can't really tell which would suit me better.

Originally Posted by happilyeverrandom

I've heard of others, but I can't really tell which would suit me better.

Try them all and pick the one you like. Doesn't hurt to just try

Oh, and i recommend PrintMusic.

PrintMusic says you can have sheet music up to 24 staves. To me, that sounds kinda short. Or is that just me? What if I've come up with a 7 minute piece and it needs like 50 staves or something?

Originally Posted by happilyeverrandom

PrintMusic says you can have sheet music up to 24 staves. To me, that sounds kinda short. Or is that just me? What if I've come up with a 7 minute piece and it needs like 50 staves or something?

24 staves:

2 flutes
2 oboes
2 clarinets
2 bassoons

(that makes 4)

4 horns
3 trumpets
3 trombones and tuba

(that makes an extra 6)

timpani
a couple of percussion

(2-4 more staves)

a string section

(5 staves)

That makes a total of around 19 staves for a full symphony orchestra.
Even my very largest work, for double chorus, full symphony with woodwinds by 3s, piano, harp, and massive percussion section, doesn't take up 50 staves.


Are you maybe confusing the term "staves" with "systems"?