Class #4

"Coronavirus sucks" ~ Emily Turner

So the COVID-19 outbreak is now worldwide and in response, uSyd have stopped all face-to-face classes to avoid further spread by promoting self-isolation. So, our lecture this morning looked a little something like this...

This subject, 'Technology in Music Education', is probably the best subject you can have online, as it is all tech based; so that is a major positive!

Notation software

Sibelius, MuseScore, Noteflight, Dorico, Flat, Notation, Finale...

There are so many types of music notation softwares out there, and some, are better than others! Take careful note of the order I listed them in above ;)

I have looked at some of these notation softwares and have noted some strengths and weaknesses of them both, along with some cool little hacks!

Sibelius 8/10

Sibelius is awesome. It's what I've always used, and I hadn't ventured into any other software until now! My favourite things about Sibelius are:

• The instruments sounds more legit than other notational softwares

• ...

The main issue I have with Sibelius brings my subjective rating down to an 8/10. When learning how to use Sibelius years back, I remember finding it very difficult to learn. It doesn't have the key musical stuff that you need to compose a piece all in the one area (like the following two softwares) and is instead spread out into following categories along the top menu bar. Despite this, Sibelius is probably my favourite notational software because I know it well, having used it over the years, and therefore I find it very easy to use.

MuseScore 9/10

MuseScore is super intuitive and very easy to pick up. It's best quality as a creator, is the side palette that literally has all the key musical stuff that you need to compose a piece, all in the one area! (I find Sibelius has everything spread across different menus, making it more difficult.)

MuseScore's best quality from a teaching perspective, is it's ability to share your composed creation with your students. You can do this a few different ways:

1. You can create a group with on the MuseScore website with your MuseScore account where you share scores for only them to see; which your students can download and edit, and share in return.

2. You could also export your score into an XML file and email it to your students to download and edit, and share them back to you via email.

There are also some super cool hacks I learnt while fiddling:

• To play/compose a note on the score; hold down a number (note duration) and a letter (note name). E.G. Hold down '5' and 'g', and a 'g crotchet' will be composed on the score.

• Highlight a passage to edit a mass of notes. To highlight a passage, you need to click the first note of the passage, hold down the 'shift' key, and click the last note of the passage. E.G. Highlight a passage and choose to staccato every note in the passage.

• Screenshot a passage with top camera quality. This is very helpful for inserting passages for assignments as a uni student, or inserting passages into worksheets as a teacher. To do this, click on the camera button on the top panel. A grey box will appear on the score, which you move and stretch to highlight the passage you want to screenshot. Then, right click the box, and choose the 'Save As (Screenshot Mode) option. E.G:

The only reason I didn't subjectively rate MuseScore as 10/10, is because after my short but somewhat investigative fiddle, it seems to have less features than Sibelius. For most people, the features on MuseScore would be plenty to get them through. However, for the more advanced and particular composers and arrangers, the extra features that Sibelius offers may be a huge benefit.

Noteflight 6/10

Oh my goodness. Noteflight was an... experience...

It is so different to the notational softwares I'm used to. I genuinely found it very difficult to use. Everything was super fiddly which made it frustrating and time consuming, interrupting the creative compositional flow. What made it most difficult was:

• To play/compose notes, you need to click on the bar to edit and select a note duration (which you need to re-select each bar or each time you go out of the current bar you're composing in). I found this very fiddly and not easy to put down the notes I desired.

• When playing back your composition, you can only select to play from the START of a bar. You cannot playback starting mid-bar.

• You can pull up a keyboard and whatever notes you play on the keyboard are transcribed into the sheet music (very cool). However, it would only transcribe the notes, and not the rhythm.

However, despite the frustration in the process of composing, it did have some cool things going for it!

• All the key musical stuff that you need to compose a piece, all in the one area, similar to MuseScore! (See left image)

• You can import an uncompressed XML file (found fro online or created in another notation software) and edit that file.

• You can post your composition or arrangement on Noteflight, and when other people use it, you make money!

While it does have some cool things about it, the fidelity of composing kept its rating low at 6/10, because that's a deal breaker for me!

What I came up with!

I fiddled around with all these notation softwares, swapping between each by using XML files. I started and finished creating using MuseScore, because it was my favourite software to use. Here is what I came up with... recording and score:

Teaching application

Composition is one of the 'big three' musical elements that need to be explored in the music classroom. This can be achieved in so many ways - improvisation, graphic notation, aural transmission, traditional notation, chord charts, and so on. These four notation softwares are awesome platforms for students to compose in traditional notation and listen back to their creation. I think for students, MuseScore is the best software to use, as it is intuitive and easy to use; while still giving plenty detail for a base-entry compositional level.