Editing Scorewriter

{{Short description|Software used for creating sheet music}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}
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| image1 = Musescore 4 Screenshot.png | caption1 = MuseScore
| image2 = Forte Screenshot.png | caption2 = Forte
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| caption          = Different scorewriters
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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>

==Comparison with multitrack sequencer software==
[[Music sequencer|Multitrack sequencer software]] and scorewriters typically employ different methods for notation input and display.

Scorewriters are based on traditional music notation, using [[staff (music)|staff lines]] and round [[Notehead|note heads]], which originates from European [[classical music]]. They use symbols representing durations in [[sound]] and [[silence]], [[Dynamics (music)|dynamics]], [[Articulation (music)|articulations]] and [[tempo]]. Some also allow users to import and/or create their own symbols. Multitrack sequencer software typically uses a multitrack recorder metaphor as the main interface, with multiple tracks and track segments. Individual tracks can be edited using [[graphic notation (music)|graphic notation]] in the form of a "[[piano roll]]"-guided input for the control of [[MIDI]]-based hardware and software instruments.

A third approach has also emerged that combines the first two input methods into a [[digital audio workstation]], allowing users to score parts using traditional notation, the graphic notation of the piano roll, and recording [[Acoustic music|acoustic]] or [[Electronic musical instrument|electronic instruments]] in [[Real-time computing|real time]] alongside the existing scores. With all three methods, the [[computer keyboard]], [[Computer mouse|mouse]], and a [[MIDI]] [[musical keyboard]] can be used to enter music that can then be edited with traditional or piano-roll-based notation.

==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.

==Functionality==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2018}}
All scorewriters allow the user to input, edit and print [[music notation]] to varying degrees of sophistication. They range from programs which can write a simple song, piano piece or [[tablature|guitar tab]], to those that can handle the complexities of [[Orchestra|orchestral music]], specialist notations (from [[early music]] to [[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]]), and high-quality [[music engraving]].

Music can usually be input using the mouse, computer keyboard, or a [[MIDI]] keyboard. A few allow input by scanning scores using [[Music OCR|musical OCR]]; by playing or singing into a microphone; or by using a touch screen.

Most scorewriters also allow users to play the music back, using MIDI or virtual instruments such as [[VST instrument]]s. The screen can show at one time both the score and, by changing the colour of keys on a [[virtual piano]]'s keyboard, the notes being played. Although [[music sequencer|sequencers]] can also write some musical notation, they are primarily for recording and playing music. Scorewriters can typically write more complex and sophisticated notation than sequencers can.

Some scorewriters allow users to customize and fine-tune the printed output to a considerable degree, as is required by publishers to produce high-quality music engraving and to suit their individual house style.

A few scorewriters allow users to publish scores on the [[Internet]], where they can be (for example) played back, transposed, and printed out, perhaps for a fee.

Most scorewriters provide other musical functions such as transposing; producing separate instrumental parts from a full score; or applying musical transformations such as [[retrograde (music)|retrograde]]. Some can automatically create instrumental exercises and student worksheets. Some support [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-ins]], often developed by users or other companies. Other features may include version control, change tracking, graphics import and export, Post-It-like sticky notes, etc.

==File formats==
Almost all scorewriters use their own file formats for saving files. Hence, in order to move notation between different scorewriters (or to/from other kinds of music software such as [[Music sequencer|sequencers]]), most scorewriters can also import or export one or more standard interchange file formats, such as:

*[[Standard MIDI File]] is supported by almost all scorewriters. However, as this format was designed for playback (e.g. by sequencers) rather than notation, it only produces approximate results and much notational information is lost in the process. If the score is to be presented, a [[WAV]] file (rather than MIDI) may be made from the score to give a more natural and accurate rendition of the written score.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}
*[[MusicXML]] has in recent years (as of 2012) become the standard interchange format for accurate notation.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.makemusic.com/musicxml/community/software
|title = MusicXML Software
|access-date = 2012-07-07
|date = 7 July 2012
|publisher = MakeMusic, Inc}}</ref>
*[[Notation Interchange File Format]] (NIFF) is a now-obsolete file format that was supported by a few scorewriters.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/NIFF.doc.html
|title = The Current Status of NIFF
|access-date = 2007-11-06
|last = Belkin
|first = Alan (NIFF coordinator)
|date=February 1992
|quote = Niff has now been superseded by MusicXML. |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071031231009/http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/NIFF.doc.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-10-31}}</ref>

This [[Comparison of scorewriters]] details which score writers can import and export to [[PDF]], text ([[ASCII]]), picture ([[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]], [[Scalable Vector Graphics|SVG]], EMF) and sound ([[Vorbis|Vorbis OGG]]) file formats.

There are also human-readable text-based formats such as [[ABC notation]], [[LilyPond]], [[ASCII tab]] and [[NoteWorthy Composer]] text files. These are easily rendered as speech by screen reading software. The {{self-reference link|:mw:Extension:Score|Score extension}} to [[MediaWiki]] can render, and generate an audio preview of, the first two formats.

==See also==
*[[Comparison of scorewriters]]
*[[International Music Score Library Project]] (IMSLP)
*[[Player piano]]
*[[wiktionary:scorereader|Scorereader]]
*[[List of music software]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.music-notation.info/en/compmus/notationformats.html Musical notation codes] – information on most known musical notation file formats
*[https://elbsound.studio/music-font-comparison.php Comparison of 200 Music Fonts from Standard Notation Software]
*[[scores:IMSLP:Typeset Music formats|List of typeset music formats]], [[International Music Score Library Project]]

{{Scorewriters}}
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[[Category:Scorewriters| ]]
[[Category:Music software]]