SCMTME#2: Notation Software and Making Resources

03/08/18

Notation software preferences are a pretty hot topic for musicians, so there were some pretty passionate people in class today.

Exploring the different notation softwares available for different OS's (MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius, Dorico) was pretty interesting (and Dorico's ad was pretty entertaining). From hearing different classmate's comments about preferences, my current stance is that all these programs have the capability to produce quality work, but the ease of doing this differs from program to program. Programs like MuseScore and Noteflight are accessible (free), so are probably quite popular in classroom contexts - meaning I'll have to explore them a bit more so I'm comfortable with them when in that context.

As an avid user of Sibelius from early high school, I'm pretty familiar with the interface and fluent with its commands, so I managed to complete the task Liz gave us (entering a score into Sibelius) quite quickly. However, Liz demonstrated some features that will save me heaps of time as well as giving me the ability to make my resources a lot cooler.

Some tips:

- Command/Shift/H hides whatever's been selected

- Change instrument/change to "unnamed instrument - hidden" (useful for leaving gaps in resources).

- Export graphics (high resolution png file of the selected area, instead of exporting as pdf and screenshotting, hence saving me heaps of time with a better result)

- Export video (only Sibelius 7.5, which I don't have, but still cool for future reference)

Liz also showed us the new digital resource Echo, by the Australian Music Centre. It's exciting to see this ever-expanding resource grow, and I hope that it Australian teachers make use this tool to bring Australian music to life for their students!