Transcription software
- Thread starter gadsworth
- Start date
PTravel
Senior Senior Member
I'm not a pro, but . . .
I think the term you're looking for is "amanuensis" rather than "transcription." The two most popular are Finale and Sibelius. I have both, but have decades of experience with Finale and only just got Sibelius, so I'm a bit biased. Either one of them provides a comprehensive, professional solution. They will both accept MIDI either in realtime or step-entry, they both have a complete set of orchestral sounds as VST for playback, they both have internal rules for correct "spelling" of enharmonics, they both produce absolutely beautiful printed sheet music, and they both provide an amazing amount of control of notation and printing parameters. If money is an issue for you (as if it's not an issue for everyone
), look at the "competitive upgrade" programs that both publishers offer -- you may be able to pick up an older version of one on ebay and upgrade to the latest version of the other.
Note that no program will produce a perfect transcription of music played into it in real time, though they will do a surprisingly accurate job. You'll still have to go in and do manual corrections. These amanuensis programs are analogous to word processors. To create text, you still have to type in words with word processors, whereas a program like Naturally Speaking, which does voice recognition, can just "listen" to your speech and produce a written transcription with a high degree of accuracy. Amanuensis programs can "listen" to what you play (via MIDI, though there are add-ons that attempt to do the same with music over audio), but work best as music "word processors" in which you enter notes and chords one step at a time, specifying the time value and, if necessary, individual note dynamics, for each entry. The software handles beaming, measure assignment, barring, enharmonic spelling and, of course, note spacing, system fit and other printing concerns.
Interesting piece of trivia: In the mid-80s, a few researchers from Xerox wrote an article for BYTE magazine about a crude computer amanuensis using MIDI. They concluded that there would not be a program capable of taking music played in on a keyboard and producing correctly-notated sheet music within our lifetimes. The very next year, one man, writing software at home, produced a program called Personal Composer for the IBM PC. Personal Composer was the first of a variety of amanuensis programs and did exactly what the Xerox researchers said would be impossible "within our lifetimes." Personal Composer (in regularly upgraded versions, of course) is still published and is a very usable program.
I think the term you're looking for is "amanuensis" rather than "transcription." The two most popular are Finale and Sibelius. I have both, but have decades of experience with Finale and only just got Sibelius, so I'm a bit biased. Either one of them provides a comprehensive, professional solution. They will both accept MIDI either in realtime or step-entry, they both have a complete set of orchestral sounds as VST for playback, they both have internal rules for correct "spelling" of enharmonics, they both produce absolutely beautiful printed sheet music, and they both provide an amazing amount of control of notation and printing parameters. If money is an issue for you (as if it's not an issue for everyone
), look at the "competitive upgrade" programs that both publishers offer -- you may be able to pick up an older version of one on ebay and upgrade to the latest version of the other.Note that no program will produce a perfect transcription of music played into it in real time, though they will do a surprisingly accurate job. You'll still have to go in and do manual corrections. These amanuensis programs are analogous to word processors. To create text, you still have to type in words with word processors, whereas a program like Naturally Speaking, which does voice recognition, can just "listen" to your speech and produce a written transcription with a high degree of accuracy. Amanuensis programs can "listen" to what you play (via MIDI, though there are add-ons that attempt to do the same with music over audio), but work best as music "word processors" in which you enter notes and chords one step at a time, specifying the time value and, if necessary, individual note dynamics, for each entry. The software handles beaming, measure assignment, barring, enharmonic spelling and, of course, note spacing, system fit and other printing concerns.
Interesting piece of trivia: In the mid-80s, a few researchers from Xerox wrote an article for BYTE magazine about a crude computer amanuensis using MIDI. They concluded that there would not be a program capable of taking music played in on a keyboard and producing correctly-notated sheet music within our lifetimes. The very next year, one man, writing software at home, produced a program called Personal Composer for the IBM PC. Personal Composer was the first of a variety of amanuensis programs and did exactly what the Xerox researchers said would be impossible "within our lifetimes." Personal Composer (in regularly upgraded versions, of course) is still published and is a very usable program.
And rather than dumping a bunch of money into Finale or Sibelius, first try out Musescore.
It's FREE.
I also like and use Harmony Assistant which is not free but cheaper than the other two and has a huge set of features.
It's FREE.
I also like and use Harmony Assistant which is not free but cheaper than the other two and has a huge set of features.
PTravel
Senior Senior Member
I took a look at the website and this looks like interesting software (and the price is certainly right). The software doesn't do real-time entry, but I'm not sure just how useful a feature that is, anyway (I've certainly never had occasion to use it). I'd certainly try this before investing hundreds of dollars (and, in some cases, many hundreds of dollars) in the more expensive programs.