Need help getting started

Hi. My apologies in advance for asking questions that are probably very basic, but I think this'll be a useful thread for anyone who's just gotten started.

My goal is to make music totally from scratch, using just my mouse (I can write way better than I can play). I just got a new imac, and I haven't decided on what notation program to get or what DAW to get.

THe process I want to use is to write the actual parts in the notation program, then export them to the sequencing program to mix the tracks properly and replace the instruments with better sounds.

So, I think my questions are 1) what notation/daw to get that will work well together for exporting midi and/or recording from one program to another, and 2) how to I actually do that? (move the tracks from one program to the other)

I should also add, the programs I'm currently looking at are Finale, Sibelius, Lilypond, Overture ---> Logic Studio, Digital Performer.

Hi Jeffmatt! I'm going to presume you don't want it to perform live......and you're looking to make music digitally ;)

I don't really use commercial notation programs, so I can't really comment on them. However, unless you're using the score, I'd highly recommend you not to buy one - they cost a boatload of money which could be spent on other software. If you are just looking mainly for the midi, give Musescore a whirl:Download | MuseScore it's a freebie

DAWs......depends what you want. Ardour is a great free DAW, get it here: ardour - the digital audio workstation . I'm not sure whether it have MIDI Import, but if they do, then I'd suspect it'd pretty much fulfill your needs. Sadly, I've never tried it, my OS is Windows :(

And finally, you need soundfonts/VST plugins for realistic instruments if you're not getting a orchestra/band to perform it for you. However, this depends on what you're looking for, so please eleborate :) What DAW it is and a more specific aim helps people explain

Thanks for the informative reply, I had a feeling I was a bit vague. I downloaded musoscore and while it does the basics I think I'm ultimately going to get finale. It has an amazing depth of features and I've used older versions in the past. Plus at the moment I have a flexible budget.

For the DAW, I guess I don't really know which one I want. I know that I want one that can sync up music and picture (VG soundtracks and effects, short films) and one that can be used alongside finale, meaning i record the basic tracks from finale into the DAW and then mix, add VST sounds, etc. I know Logic can do that, so if Digital Performer can't, then it's Logic.

The VST sounds are probably what I'm most ignorant about, at least beyond the GPO. I'll be making classical soundtrack pieces and more modern sounding techno-ish music (think smash bros). From your experience, what plug-ins and soundfonts gave you an interesting and/or unique sound? (this is asking both Cheeselord and anyone who's had a good or bad experience with certain plugins)

Again, thanks for your help. Talking to real people is always better than searching websites; most are either too bias or just as vague as I am.

Logic is the best DAW I've used. AUs work better than VSTs and RTAS imuneucatedo, and the score mode, though weak, is helpful. Moreso, the interface and ease of use is pretty unparalleled.

Can't say I'm happy with any notation programs.

Try "Harmony Assistant". It is excellent value for its modest price. You can do all kinds of work with it. Or if you want to start with something really basic try "Melody Assistant". I started with them and when I was ready for it I bought Sibelius. For fast preliminary sketches Harmony Assistant is easier and faster. You can export musicXML (Sibelius can read but not export).

Try "Harmony Assistant". It is excellent value for its modest price. You can do all kinds of work with it. Or if you want to start with something really basic try "Melody Assistant". I started with them and when I was ready for it I bought Sibelius. For fast preliminary sketches Harmony Assistant is easier and faster. You can export musicXML (Sibelius can read but not export).

Yeah, that's the program I use. Don't you find it irritatingly buggy though? And I've been told many times that its default settings are far from a decent score... Though I'm sure there are options to change that...

I have learned to live with the bugs in HA. No problem. HA compared to Sibelius is not a problem. If you have to make an oil painting you start with a pencil and make a sketch. When you are satisfied with that you move over to the oil colors. For me HA is the pencil and when the sketch is OK I continue with Sibelius to make it into something real. In the first drafts you often want to insert or delete notes, replace a quarter with two eights or one eight or change the duration of a note in a melody. HA makes inserts and deletes a trivial thing compared to how Sibelius makes it complicated. Or there are perhaps features in Sibelius that I have not noticed.

For me Sibelius was a substantial investment but I don't regret it.

It is easy to write scripts for HA. I have written perhaps ten scripts that makes sketching fast and easy.

So my tools are HA->Sibelius->Reaper. I have looked a Logic Express as a replacement for Reaper but don't really know yet. I recently bought a midi keyboard, KeyStudio 49. I have tested it with all three programs. My preliminary feeling is that Sibelius is the best of the three for my kind of live input.

If you are still looking for a DAW then you might wanna try reaper... it's not great for MIDI kinda stuff but it's small, free, and is very economic on your computer. You can use VST's etc in it, and I THINK it has an option to use it while watching a movie or whatever, but i've never done it so i'm not completely sure. Otherwise i'll Cubase because of it's awesomeness when it comes to MIDI stuff. I love Logic Pro, but Cubase wins when it comes to MIDI for me.

Cubase vs Reaper depends partly on your budget. The cheapest Cubase seems to be around 150 while Reaper is 60. I don't know how good the midi side of that cheapest Cubase is. I mainly use Reaper for two things. 1) Envelopes to get the final balance between audio tracks exported from Sibelius. That feature in Reaper is good enough for me. 2) But my second main need is midi editing and Reaper is rather frustrating many times. If I find a cheap and good midi editing environment I will have a close look at it.

Thanks for the advice, I tried a few and ultimately settled on an easy setup. I compose in Finale, export MIDI to Garageband, reassign my instruments and set reverb and dynamic levels, and then open that file in Logic Pro for the extra mixing and mastering abilities. GB is great for a guy with minimal DAW knowledge, and Logic gives me all the extra stuff I need.