The EM Poll

What's the Score?

Nov 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Peter Hamlin

           

Note Entry

You'll probably spend the most time in a notation program entering notes. A good set of note-entry tools is a particularly important feature in terms of work flow. Music-notation programs offer several ways to enter notes — for example, selecting note values from a palette of choices or playing the music in real time — but in my experience, the most efficient is step entry. That is called Step Time Input in Notion and Sibelius and Speedy Entry in Finale, and it's the method I'll discuss in detail.

FIG. 5: Finale’s Speedy Entry provides keyboard access to a variety of commands.

The Sibelius work space includes a floating window that depicts a computer's numeric keypad. Keys on the numeric keypad represent different rhythmic values. The center key, 5, for instance, selects a half note. One hand selects rhythms on the numeric keypad, while the other hand plays the desired pitches on a MIDI keyboard. Finale's Speedy Entry uses a similar technique (see Fig. 5).

In Notion, instead of using the numeric keypad, you use letter abbreviations for the rhythmic values. Type Q to select a quarter note, E for an eighth note, W for a whole note, and so on. These letters are much easier to learn than the number codes of Finale and Sibelius, but the keys are not as conveniently spaced under one hand (think, for example, of the distance between Q and H on the keyboard).

Articulations and Expressions

Once you have entered notes, it's time to add articulations (staccato dots, accents, and so on), dynamics (such as piano and forte markings and crescendo hairpins), expressions (tempo indications such as allegro), and other symbols. All three programs have a large set of standard symbols and allow you to customize their symbols or create your own. I'll compare how the three programs handle dynamic markings and hairpins.

In Notion, you select dynamics from the Expressions palette or use a shortcut key. For some keyboard shortcuts, Notion toggles through several values as you repeatedly press the key. When you press F, for instance, the cursor changes to mf (mezzo forte). Press F again, and the cursor changes to f (forte). Continue pressing F to cycle through ff, fff, ffff, and fffff, and then back to mf. That's a very efficient system because you have to learn only one shortcut key rather than six.

To enter a crescendo hairpin in Notion, type the shortcut key Comma (easy to remember because that is also the key for the < symbol on the standard QWERTY keyboard), click where you want to place the hairpin on the score, and drag it to the right until it is the correct size. Conveniently, when you enter crescendo hairpin symbols, other dynamic markings are automatically repositioned to avoid collisions.

In Sibelius, you add dynamic markings and other symbols through the Expression Editor, which is easily accessed by pressing Control + E (Windows) or Command + E (Mac). You can then right-click to get a customizable Word menu with a large palette of symbols, or you can type a keyboard shortcut (Control + F for f, for example). To add a hairpin, select the note above or below which you want to attach the hairpin and press the keyboard shortcut H. The keyboard shortcuts are well thought out, but you can change them if you want.

You use the Expression tool to enter dynamics in Finale. Double-click on the note above or below which you want to attach the symbol, and then select the desired symbol from a palette of choices.

Finale's Metatools give you single-keystroke access to any Expression symbol, and you can reprogram these keystrokes if you'd like. For instance, if you've assigned the F key to the f forte symbol, all you need to do is hold down the F key and click on every note where you want to place a forte symbol. This system lets you add dynamic markings very quickly. To enter hairpin dynamics, you select the Smart Shapes tool, select the hairpin from the Smart Shapes palette, double-click on the score where you want the hairpin to be located, and drag to where you want the hairpin symbol to end.

Entering articulations is similar for each program. In Sibelius, you can enter those symbols while entering notes in step-time input, which offers a speed advantage to experienced users.

Finale, with its 1-click Metatools, is the fastest for entering dynamics. Sibelius's time-saving integrated interface lets you enter articulations while you're entering notes. Notion's strength is its straightforward and easy-to-learn interface. Its toggle system can slow you down, but you don't have to remember as many shortcut keys.

Score Playback

Notion's developers have given high priority to playback. Notion comes with recorded samples from the London Symphony Orchestra, and the sample playback is tightly integrated into the program. If you enter a trill, for example, you don't get a synthetic trill created by switching back and forth between two instrument samples; you get a beautifully realistic sample of an actual trill being performed. Not all articulations are supported in this way (for instance, a string harmonic articulation won't play back as a string harmonic), but enough common ones are available to make a difference in the sound.

VirtuosoWorks has been creating additions to the sample library at a fast pace, and expanded libraries are available for strings, percussion, harpsichord, woodwinds, and brass, with prices ranging from $29 to $69. The realism of Notion's playback is stunning, and it will only improve as more sample libraries become available. For added realism, you can use Notion's Ntempo feature to conduct your score and make subtle changes in the tempo.

Finale comes with the Finale Edition of Garritan Personal Orchestra, and you can purchase the full version for an additional $189. Sibelius comes with a basic instrument set called Kontakt Player Silver, and for $149 you can purchase additional instruments in Kontakt Player Gold. Sibelius also offers the complete Garritan Personal Orchestra and its own Rock and Pop Collection as options. In Sibelius, there are noticeable delays in loading the instrument library for a large orchestral score. Web Clips 1 through 6 compare score graphics and playback for Notion, Sibelius, and Finale.

Score Layout and Parts Extraction

Notion gives you an excellent-looking score layout. It requires very little adjustment but has fewer options for customizing the score's appearance. You can't change the appearance of a staff for a few measures, nor can you move or resize individual staves. For example, you can't make one staff smaller than the others, as is commonly done. On the other hand, Notion will automatically adjust the distance between staves to avoid conflicts between very high and very low notes. Fewer features and greater simplicity will appeal to users who don't need to deviate from a standard layout.

FIG. 6: Sibelius’s seamless integration of parts with the full score is a significant convenience for anyone working with ensemble pieces.

By contrast, Sibelius and Finale give you almost limitless flexibility. Sibelius uses a concept of House Styles that lets you define or change your score's appearance quickly and easily. In Sibelius, it's extremely easy to move staves around. If you move the top staff, the entire score shrinks, maintaining the same proportions between staves. If you move a lower staff, you create a gap between that staff and the one above.

Finale's Page Layout tool offers extensive options for score layout. With the Staff tool, you can apply Staff Styles to an entire score or to any selection. Sibelius and Finale provide excellent default layouts, so you don't have to dig into all of these options if you don't want to, but the possibilities for changing score layout are endless.

Generating a set of parts from a full score is one of the most important time-saving aspects of notation software. In handwritten scores, this is a tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone task. Not having to copy parts for just one short orchestral piece is worth the price of any music-notation software. Notion and Finale both have a command to quickly extract the parts and automatically create separate files for each of them.

Sibelius offers the most elegant way to handle parts. With its Dynamic Parts (see Fig. 6), you can view any part at any time, then easily switch back to viewing the full score. You can make changes in a part that will be reflected in the score (correcting a note error, for example), and you can also make a change that will appear only in the part. (Sibelius helps you keep track of this by color coding.) Dynamic Parts is a significant advance in notation-software part handling, and a similar feature is now available in Finale 2007.