
I have worked on and off for a major publisher over the past few years, producing and editing charts for what has become perhaps the most popular legal fakebook series in the jazz world. This is one of several compositions for which the MuseScore version is actually a significant improvement over the earlier Finale version. Although it might not be obvious, this score also presented a number of layout challenges in order to fit it on two pages while keeping it at a readable size. All of this is easily accomplished in MuseScore. This arrangement demonstrates the basics of melody, chords, and lyrics, but also shows off more advanced features like switching between single and double staves, notation of accompaniment rhythms using slash notation, time signature changes, etc.
#Musescore red notes full#
Kudos to the developers of MuseScore for creating such a powerful and eminently usable application!Īs an example of one of the more complex lead sheets I created, check out the first page of Down (click the image below to see it larger, or click here to view the full chart on ): The simple scores were simple to create - easier and faster than with Finale - and the complex scores never required me to compromise my musical intent for the sake of notatability on account of any limitations in MuseScore. I am pleased to report that MuseScore did not disappoint.
#Musescore red notes plus#
The compositions involved range from simple blues heads to multi-page scores of some complexity, incorporating both lead sheet and grand staff (piano) notation as well as some non-traditional notation styles, plus the use of background figures, irregular and multiple meters, and other elements that had pushed the capabilities of Finale when I created them originally. In honor of the occasion, I would like to share a little about my experience with this project. I finished just this weekend, and as I have been taking advantage of the score sharing site to post these charts online, I can post a link to the full set for your perusal and enjoyment: Over the course of the past few months, I have been replacing these with MuseScore versions. My "book" consists of more than fifty original compositions that had previously been scored in lead sheet form with Finale. With the 1.1 release, I felt confident enough in MuseScore to undertake the task of going through my existing charts and re-creating them with MuseScore. Based on this, I was motivated to work with the developers in implementing some significant improvements for the 1.1 release, as described in a followup article and also in a tutorial I put together. Version 1.0 had shown tremendous promise, and I described my impressions very favorably in my initial article on MuseScore.
#Musescore red notes software#
As related in a couple of previous articles, I have become something of an evangelist for MuseScore, the free and open source music notation software that is positioned to completely replace Finale for me.
