MuseScore or ... ?

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

[QUOTE=sgcim;1305477]

What operating system? Windows? MacOS?

Musehub is a program that gets installed with Musescore.

EDIT: Seems like there are only new orchestral sounds on Musehub but no guitars. But AFAIK you can use VST instruments with Musescore. Never tried it. I only use the cheap standard piano sound of the vanilla soundfont. If I want a guitar sound I play guitar.[/QUOTE
I use Windows.
You're right. I never noticed it before, but Musehub was installed with MuseScore. They go to the trouble of making a big announcement on You Tube about the improvements in their guitar sounds, but when when you click on Guitars Vol. 1, all you get is a message saying that they're sorry, but something went wrong, and to try it again later.
On the pallet, in the Guitar section, you can click on "jazz sound', but it doesn't change that awful twangy guitar sound they have. One of the reps studied with Johnny Smith, so you'd think that he would have them do something about it.
Out of the 72 charts for jazz ensemble I've written, I only used the guitar sound for one of them, and that was only for four measures. When I get them played by a few bands I'm in, I usually conduct,. and only use the guitar for solos.

I saw some videos saying that the use of VST effect and plugins is now working in Musescore. (VST is a plugin industry standard developed by Steinberg. A plugin is an external program that runs inside another program, in this case effects and instruments (synths) originally inside their digital audio workstation Cubase.)
uSD
While not being hyper-realistic this for example (180 USD) sounds maybe a little better than the sounds that come with Musescore:

Evolution Jazz Archtop :: Orange Tree Samples

These are guitar samples for the Kontakt sample player by Native Instruments. Native Instruments offers a free version of Kontakt for sample playback only.

Kontakt 7 Player: Free sample player

[joelf]

Lead sheets should be no problem for StaffPad. It can do chord symbols

Just a moment...

and lyrics

Just a moment...

(It never hurts to look into the manual of an app before you buy it. I found it under "support" on their website.)

And you can do much more complex things with it like big band arrangements and full symphonic scores.

For the text entry I would buy a bluetooth keyboard with touchpad, costs below 50 USD (or get it used) and is much more convenient than the virtual touchscreen keyboard.

The only thing you have to make sure is that your iPad is new enough to run the StaffPad app.

403 Forbidden

I'm not sure about the 'newness' or 'oldness'---or compatibility. I have the most basic model around 3 years, and not sure if it has enough juice for this. I did purchase a keyboard and stand. Not sure if it's bluetooth. (I never used bluetooth with a cell phone for fear of closeness of microwaves to the old noggin---it's fried enough as is).

There's probably a way to check this stuff on the machine itself, but I don't know how or where to look. And the box was thrown away long ago.

These waters are getting too deep and I don't wanna drown. All this is so overwhelming that I'm very tempted now to stay with the old trustworthy pencil and paper. If you haven't gleaned it already I'm not a huge fan of technology, especially the digital ilk. (I like 2 machines only: my car and microwave. I turn the steering wheel to the right and, voila, I make a right turn. I set the microwave for 5 minutes and BAM, my food is ready in 5 minutes!) Makes me feel stupid, and is the only thing in this life that does. If I must go there it's keep it simple or to hell with it...

[Ukena]

Joel: you can write your music with a pencil and paper, take a picture of it with your iPhone, and turn it into a pdf you can share with anyone you like. Or post it on YouTube.

My scoring handwriting sucks, so I bought the first Macintosh available (1984) because it promised Professional Composer. When that program eventually was available, I was thrilled to be able to print scores that actually looked like something professional, using my Macintosh 128 and an ImageWriter.

Over the years, I used Composer, which morphed into Mosaic, then Finale, then Sibelius. I used Finale until it was too expensive to update, and then the same with Sibelius.l I tried Lilypond, which for me was hardest to figure out of the bunch (and Finale's original manual was something like 5 thick books – written by David Pogue, then a conductor, now a journalist).

When MuseScore became available, I enthusiastically embraced it, and use it currently.

As a seventy-something senior, I enjoy being able to use all my electronic devices, and also interact with people face-to-face, including young people; and being able to tell when each communication method will work best for me.

[joelf]

Joel: you can write your music with a pencil and paper, take a picture of it with your iPhone, and turn it into a pdf you can share with anyone you like. Or post it on YouTube.

Amazing! So I don't have to shoot my iPhone, then throw it in the Hudson and jump in after it after all!

When you say 'turn it into a PDF' you mean 'as is', don't you? I mean it's not like magic or black magic is suddenly worked and it will look like a pro engraver did it for me, correct?

(Well. like I said before, you gotta allow for shrinkage)...

[joelf]

As a seventy-something senior, I enjoy being able to use all my electronic devices, and also interact with people face-to-face, including young people; and being able to tell when each communication method will work best for me.

Wonderful, man!

You're a real role model and inspiration. Wish there were more people like you---me, for starters...

[Alter]

If it's one thing worth learning to do with computers, it's writing scores. Especially jazz charts, where you have horns, arranging, singers, changing keys, etc, it's totally worth it. I was taught to do it by hand, then went through the very troubling period of learning how to use Sibelius (at least today there are video tutorials for everything that help!), but afterwards it is so much easier. You just write the piano voicings and the program can generate the different horn parts, you can change keys for the whole tune or change an instrument with just a click, many other aspects like that become effortless.

For programs, i have worked with schools and universities so at some point i got legal copies of most music programs that worked. I still use these and install them in every new computer i get, they are older versions, but everything works, i know them, and they are free without subscriptions etc. So its Sibelius 7, Photoshop 2015, etc... You sure miss some newer features, but most music conservatories, schools, institutions etc have extra licenses that you can often use.

[joelf]

If it's one thing worth learning to do with computers, it's writing scores. Especially jazz charts....

I became friendly with Phil Woods, after sending him my music (mostly handwritten and sometimes sloppy and rife w/various errors.) After, in a fatherly and warm-hearted way, upbraiding me for my poor 'graphical communication skills---to wit: chord symbols like C Add 2 No 3rd instead of the correct and clear C2---he dropped on me that he used Sibelius and so should I. And Phil was already in his late '60s, if not 70, and pretty damn opinionated and old school about many things but still wise enough to see notation technology's merits. Sibelius became his friend and companion, and he wrote with it for the rest of his days. (He did like the music, though, read through everything on piano and the quintet did rehearse one chart. He became an in-my-corner adviser, as Benny Golson had done earlier. These are great and generous men).

Outside of my unimportant ego-driven little bubble with this (hell, there's such little money in it, so such approbation by one's betters means a lot) here's a nice story about Phil Woods, Sibelius and the generosity of great people:

I had a friend, Chuck Clark, a super talented tenor player-composer. We played a ballad of his, Full Moon, on a recording done free at an audio tech school in NYC. I loved the tune and suggested he send it to Phil, knowing how supportive Phil was of good music and its creators. (I later heard that Full Moon had already been recorded by Clare Fischer with a vocal group, though I'm not 100% certain of the veracity of that).

I got an email from Phil.

Title line: Full Moon
Body: 'This tune is a MF!'

Then Chuck passed away at 52. I sent a mass grieving email to musos I knew, Phil included. Shortly received another email. It had an attached Sibelius lead sheet of Full Moon. Top LH corner said 'Arranged by Phil Woods in memoriam'. He had to have spent the better part of a day on this.

And Phil had never even met Chuck Clark...

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

I'm not sure about the 'newness' or 'oldness'---or compatibility. I have the most basic model around 3 years, and not sure if it has enough juice for this. I did purchase a keyboard and stand. Not sure if it's bluetooth. (I never used bluetooth with a cell phone for fear of closeness of microwaves to the old noggin---it's fried enough as is).

There's probably a way to check this stuff on the machine itself, but I don't know how or where to look. And the box was thrown away long ago.

These waters are getting too deep and I don't wanna drown. All this is so overwhelming that I'm very tempted now to stay with the old trustworthy pencil and paper. If you haven't gleaned it already I'm not a huge fan of technology, especially the digital ilk. (I like 2 machines only: my car and microwave. I turn the steering wheel to the right and, voila, I make a right turn. I set the microwave for 5 minutes and BAM, my food is ready in 5 minutes!) Makes me feel stupid, and is the only thing in this life that does. If I must go there it's keep it simple or to hell with it...

Identify your iPad model - Apple Support

[joelf]

Identify your iPad model - Apple Support

Duuuhhh.

Guess I need the serial # (but not name and rank)?

Tank-a-you...

[sgcim]

[QUOTE=Bop Head;1305483]

I saw some videos saying that the use of VST effect and plugins is now working in Musescore. (VST is a plugin industry standard developed by Steinberg. A plugin is an external program that runs inside another program, in this case effects and instruments (synths) originally inside their digital audio workstation Cubase.)
uSD
While not being hyper-realistic this for example (180 USD) sounds maybe a little better than the sounds that come with Musescore:

Evolution Jazz Archtop :: Orange Tree Samples

These are guitar samples for the Kontakt sample player by Native Instruments. Native Instruments offers a free version of Kontakt for sample playback only.

Kontakt 7 Player: Free sample player

Thanks! I'll wait around and see if MuseScore fixes the Guitar volume one program, and if they don't, I'll try VST. It's a lot better than MuseScore's guitar sound.

[jzucker]

i want to correct something that someone said. The musescore 4.2 *IS* accompanied by new guitar, strings and harp sounds. They have to be downloaded separately. If you use musehub, you can download them through musehub. They don't have a jazz guitar but the cleans body sound is very good and better than the jazz guitar sounds in most synths.

[sgcim]

i want to correct something that someone said. The musescore 4.2 *IS* accompanied by new guitar, strings and harp sounds. They have to be downloaded separately. If you use musehub, you can download them through musehub. They don't have a jazz guitar but the cleans body sound is very good and better than the jazz guitar sounds in most synths.

They won't let me download it at Musehub. When I click on get it, I keep getting the same message Unable to download Guitars Vol 1, and that a mistake was made and I should try again later. What am I doing wrong?

[jzucker]

They won't let me download it at Musehub. When I click on get it, I keep getting the same message Unable to download Guitars Vol 1, and that a mistake was made and I should try again later. What am I doing wrong?

I don't know. I just clicked on the link and it automatically downloaded and installed. Do you have 4.2 musescore installed?

[sgcim]

I don't know. I just clicked on the link and it automatically downloaded and installed. Do you have 4.2 musescore installed?

Yeah, I installed it as soon as I saw the you tube video about it, one day after it came out.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

i want to correct something that someone said. The musescore 4.2 *IS* accompanied by new guitar, strings and harp sounds. They have to be downloaded separately. If you use musehub, you can download them through musehub. They don't have a jazz guitar but the cleans body sound is very good and better than the jazz guitar sounds in most synths.

Yes, you are right. Somehow I maybe overlooked the Guitars Vol. 1 in Musehub. Download is working.

EDIT: (Windows)

[Ukena]

Yeah, I installed it as soon as I saw the you tube video about it, one day after it came out.

Perhaps this thread in the forums will help:

Musesounds guitars vol1 not working correctly | MuseScore

Or post your own thread in the forums (under the Help menu in Musescore, choose "ask for help").

[Alter]

I became friendly with Phil Woods, after sending him my music (mostly handwritten and sometimes sloppy and rife w/various errors.)

I love his music, and have learned so much from his arrangements!

[joelf]

I love his music, and have learned so much from his arrangements!

His bands always had great writing---from members like Tom Harrell; Hal Galper; himself. The charts on standards or jazz standards were happening, too, and contributions to the book came from a panoply of varied sources.

No, Phil never succumbed to market pressures, rather he kept his standards high. And, as I say, he was a true and ardent supporter of the music of good but lesser-known composers (players too).

Great guy and a jazz soldier...

[sgcim]

Yes, you are right. Somehow I maybe overlooked the Guitars Vol. 1 in Musehub. Download is working.

EDIT: (Windows)

I heard on their you tube video that you could install Guitars Vol 1 on Musehub.org website, and that finally worked. Before I was using the Musehub
site that came along with Musescore itself on my computer.
But I don't see any of the new guitar sounds on the Guitar Pallet or in the preliminary instrument choices when you start a new score.
So how do I get them into a score if they're not listed anywhere?

[jzucker]

I heard on their you tube video that you could install Guitars Vol 1 on Musehub.org website, and that finally worked. Before I was using the Musehub
site that came along with Musescore itself on my computer.
But I don't see any of the new guitar sounds on the Guitar Pallet or in the preliminary instrument choices when you start a new score.
So how do I get them into a score if they're not listed anywhere?

you get to the sounds from the mixer. i have the new sounds open in the menu on the right.

[joelf]

I'm still not convinced by all of this, impressive as it is.

In the last week or so I composed at the piano with pencil on manuscript, just like always. If erasures are too smudgy for my printer I apply whiteout. I like handwriting. I like calligraphy. By humans. That'll never change.

What does intrigue me, the convenience of not having to copy parts and other things you all know and love notwithstanding, is using synths to create a soundworld. I am continually knocked out by the synth programming Malcolm Cecil did for Stevie Wonder in the '70s. Gives me chills. So I can see making synth art, which would be a situation where I could select and mix sounds and I, not the machine, would be in control. I've heard impressive demos and would love to see what I could cook up. (Of course to convert those for a band and hand out parts from such arrangements requires an understanding of orchestration. Humans can't do what machines can and machines don't worry about breath and breaks---they'll hold a note for as long as you program it for. So maybe synth-driven pieces are and should be things unto themselves, and arranging for band could start with synths, then reconfigured.)

The notation piece I admit has to be recognized, today's world being what it is, so at some point I guess I'll cave. But playback? Yes, it can help us spot mistakes or things that could be better done. That's all well and good, especially when it saves rehearsal time that uncorrected goofs would otherwise waste. But what about hearing it in your head, trusting that, writing it down and playing it at piano with the sustain pedal so you can hear everything? Do you really need digital representations of passages you'll hear by the actual players? And the sound bank doesn't allow for individuation. Duke Ellington's parts didn't say 'alto', they said 'Johnny'. Will that die? Is it already dead? Anyway, I mostly don't orchestrate beyond a quintet, and if I can't hear what a trumpet part sounds like in advance time to sell aluminum siding. I mean this stuff is mother's milk for a composer with even a little experience and chops.

Maybe it's a door to a new world I should open and enter, and maybe I'll go in. But I'll take along those security blankets...

[sgcim]

you get to the sounds from the mixer. i have the new sounds open in the menu on the right.

Thanks! They even have the clean sound already built into the big band template, or maybe I chose it already?
Anyway, it's a lot better than the horrible, twangy guitar sound they had before.
In a way, it's good that I wrote some 71 BB charts without a guitar part in them, because some big bands have eliminated the guitar for good.

[jzucker]

I wish they had jazz guitar but the solid body cleans sound decent

[jzucker]

also, one reason to stick with muse sounds and not use 3rd party is that sometime this year, they are going to support guitar articulations for slurs, hammers, etc. I'm not sure those will be fully supported using 3rd party soundfonts...

[sgcim]

also, one reason to stick with muse sounds and not use 3rd party is that sometime this year, they are going to support guitar articulations for slurs, hammers, etc. I'm not sure those will be fully supported using 3rd party soundfonts...

Sounds good!