Editing Scorewriter (section)

==History==
The rapid growth of [[desktop computer]]s in the 1980s saw the creation of dozens of early scorewriters (see [[list of scorewriters]]). They were a boon to young composers, music educators and composition students, providing a much less expensive way to create scores and parts for orchestral music and other works. However, they were hard to use; and while scores were readable, they did not look like professionally engraved scores or parts. An exception was [[SCORE (software)|SCORE]] notation software. Developed in the late '80s, it was used mostly by commercial publishers, as its price put it out of the reach of most non-professional composers/copyists.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Selfridge-Field |first1=Eleanor |title=Beyond MIDI: The Handbook of Musical Codes |date=1997 |publisher=MIT Press |location=Massachusetts |isbn=978-0262193948 |page=252 |edition=1st}}</ref> During the 1990s, many of these early programs, such as the [[Mosaic notation program]], fell into disuse, as newer programs surpassed them in ease of use and output quality. [[Finale (software)|Finale]] and [[Sibelius (scorewriter)|Sibelius]] were released, with high-quality output and a wide range of sophisticated features that made them suitable for almost all kinds of music applications.

By 2000, the market was dominated by Finale (particularly in the US) and Sibelius (which had dominated the UK since 1993, and expanded worldwide after its [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] release in 1998). Inexpensive programs such as [[Capella (notation program)|capella]] gained a significant share of the market in some countries. Sibelius and Finale still dominated the market as of 2012.<ref>Richard Sussman, Michael Abene, Mike Abene (2012) ''Jazz Composition and Arranging in the Digital Age'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=jFYWbdWmCQYC&pg=PR48-IA16 p. xlviii]</ref>

In 2006, Sibelius was purchased by [[Avid Technology|Avid]]. In a 2012 restructuring, Sibelius's London office was closed and the development team dismissed. In February 2013, [[Steinberg]] announced it had hired the former Sibelius team to create a new scorewriter,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kirn|first1=Peter|title=FEB 20 2013 Sibelius Core Team Now at Steinberg, Building New Notation Tool|url=http://createdigitalmusic.com/2013/02/sibelius-core-team-now-at-steinberg-building-new-notation-tool/|website=Create Digital Music|access-date=17 August 2015|date=20 February 2013}}</ref> [[Dorico]], which was released in October 2016.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/steinbergs-dorico-software-promises-to-be-the-most-flexible-scoring-application-there-is-643568
|title = Steinberg's Dorico software promises to be the most flexible scoring application there is
|access-date = 2017-01-07
|last = Arblaster
|first = Simon
|publisher = musicradar
|date = 20 October 2017}}</ref> The trio of [[Finale (software)|Finale]], [[Sibelius (scorewriter)|Sibelius]] and [[Dorico]] are today's leading professional-level programs.