Editing Scorewriter (section)

{{Short description|Software used for creating sheet music}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}
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A '''scorewriter''', or '''music notation program''' is [[software]] for creating, editing and printing [[sheet music]]. A scorewriter is to [[music notation]] what a [[word processor]] is to text, in that they typically provide flexible editing and automatic layout, and produce high-quality printed results.

The first modern score manipulation program was Mockingbird, written by John Maxwell and [[Severo Ornstein]] at [[Xerox PARC]] in 1980 on a [[Xerox Dorado|Dorado]] computer. It preceded [[MIDI]] so an electronic keyboard had to be modified to enable interaction (input and playback) with the program. The [[WYSIWYG]] program was envisioned as a composer's [[amanuensis]], but as it was an experimental program it never reached beyond PARC, though it influenced commercial programs which soon followed.<ref>{{cite tech report |last1=Maxwell III |first1=John Turner |last2=Ornstein |first2=Severo M. |date=January 1983 |title=Mockingbird: A Composer’s Amanuensis |institution=Xerox Palo Alto Research Center |number=CSL-83-2 |type=A "Blue and White" Xerox PARC research report }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Maxwell III |first1=John Turner |last2=Ornstein |first2=Severo M. |date=January 1984 |volume=9 |issue=1 |title=Mockingbird: A Composer's Amanuensis|magazine=Byte |publisher=McGraw Hill }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dxaEDKoTys |title=Mockingbird—A Musician's Amanuensis, lecture by Severo Ornstein and John Maxwell |last1=Ornstein |first1=Severo M.|last2=Maxwell III |first2=John Turner |date=1980 |website=YouTube |publisher=Computer History Museum |access-date=June 19, 2024 |type=Extended demo / lecture}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znmWuPFCMBY&t=7s |title=DigiBarn TV: Initial Demo of the Mockingbird Composer's tool at Xerox PARC Forum (Oct 30, 1980) |last1=Ornstein |first1=Severo M.|last2=Maxwell III |first2=John Turner |date=Oct 30, 1980 |website=YouTube |publisher=Dr. Bruce Damer |access-date=June 19, 2024  |type=Extended demo / lecture}}</ref>

Most scorewriters, especially those from the 2000s, can record notes played on a [[MIDI keyboard]] (or other MIDI instruments), and play music back via MIDI or [[Software synthesizer|virtual instruments]]. Playback is especially useful for novice [[composer]]s and music students, and when [[musician]]s are not available or affordable. Several free programs are widely used, such as [[MuseScore]]. The three main professional-level programs in wide use are [[Sibelius (scorewriter)|Sibelius]], [[Dorico]], and the now-discontinued [[Finale (software)|Finale]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Cliff|first=Tony|date=1 December 2019|title=Tech Reviews: Dorico Pro 3|work=Music Teacher Magazine|publisher=Rhinegold Publishing|url=https://www.musicteachermagazine.co.uk/review/article/tech-reviews-dorico-pro3|access-date=6 June 2021}}</ref>