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Scoring Notes

Scoring Notes

A Music Interviews , Music and Technology podcast

#32 in Music Interviews · 🇮🇪 #63 in Music Interviews · 🇺🇸
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About the show

We love music notation software and related products and technology, so that’s what we cover here. You’ll find timely news, in-depth coverage about the field, and honest reviews about products you use every day. You’ll learn about the interesting people in our field and find out our opinions on ever-changing developments in the industry.

Newest episodes

Has AI wrought the right way to write a scorewriter?

1 hr 4 min

When Dorico arrived ten years ago, a hot topic around here was whether there was room for a third professional notation program. These days new music apps turn up in our inbox almost daily, and the prospect of asking an AI to build one to your own specifications seems considerably less far-fetched than it did even a year ago. For this Scoring Notes round table, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald are joined by Ben Byram-Wigfield and Jason Loffredo. If it gets easier to build your own tools, what makes it worth paying for a program that somebody else designs and maintains? For one thing, a notation program comes with opinions. Somebody has thought about where the dynamics should go and how much space to leave between staves. We’re glad to spend less time nudging things around the page, though a player with both hands occupied might have an opinion about where the software put the page turn. There’s also the matter of whose software can read your score. Maestro and Denigma Online have given old Finale files a future we wouldn’t have predicted when Finale was discontinued. That gives us plenty to consider about MusicXML and MNX, especially if the number of programs we use to exchange music keeps growing. Even LilyPond, whose text input has long seemed a little forbidding to those of us raised on graphical interfaces, deserves another look. An AI might be quite at home writing those engraving instructions. We’d still like a say in what comes out on the page. What has changed most in your own work since 2016? Let us know in the comments. Products mentioned Notation software Dorico (Steinberg), including the free Dorico SE Sibelius (Avid), including the free Sibelius First MuseScore Studio (Muse Group) Finale (MakeMusic) (discontinued in 2024) Maestro opens Finale’s .mus and .musx files and saves in .musx format. LilyPond (open source) Mentioned in passing: SCORE, Graphire MusicPress, and NoteWorthy Composer File conversion Denigma Online is Robert Patterson’s ope...

Getting on the same page

1 hr 10 min

Opening someone else’s notation file can take a little detective work. So can opening your own file from a year ago. After two 90-minute Q&A episodes, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald return for a (slightly) shorter conversation about figuring out what’s going on in a score before you start changing it. David brings questions from helping his students; Philip brings his experience exchanging files with composers, clients, and colleagues. We start with the messages that appear when a file opens. There may be something useful in that dialog you just dismissed! Missing fonts, in particular, deserve a look before “OK fatigue” takes over. Once the file is open, what are you actually looking at? A concert-pitch score or a transposed one? Where did that instrument go? We talk about making hidden information visible in Sibelius and Dorico, and checking whether a setting applies to one item, one part, or much more than you intended. Text styles, wildcards, and tokens get some attention, as do the various ways of showing the same music in different scores, parts, and layouts. David describes a “fragile file”: change one thing, and something elsewhere breaks. That prompts a discussion of when to use the software’s more sophisticated features and when a simpler setup might be easier for a collaborator to manage. We also look at what to include when sending a file, from comments explaining an unusual choice to a reference PDF showing how it’s supposed to look, and the proofreading checks that can help before it goes out the door. There’s plenty here for students — but we’re all students here. Have you solved a notation problem whose cause surprised you? Tell us in the comments, or at podcast@scoringnotes.com. It may make it up the pneumatic tubes from the mailroom to the C-suite. Products mentioned Notation software Sibelius (Avid) Dorico (Steinberg) Plug-ins for Sibelius Check Redundancies (Roman Molino Dunn), included with Sibelius in Review > Plug-ins > Proof-readi...

Q & A(gain)

1 hr 33 min

You sent more questions than one episode could hold, so we split them in two. Part one was brought to you by two letters: AI. This is everything else in the mailbag, from the practical side of the music notation software and technology world. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald work through the rest of the mailbag: an iPad that won’t behave like a desktop, an app that has gone quiet, a singing plug-in that is rapidly evolving, world instruments that have to be taught to a notation program, a page somebody has to read at tempo, organizing a lifetime of files, keeping current with operating systems, and — perhaps the most practical question of all — our take in response to a question from a young copyist asking how any of this becomes a living. The answers range over layout options and staff sizes, expression maps and subscription libraries, file metadata and backup schemes, security updates and Apple silicon, and a set of accessibility guidelines deserving of wider recognition. Believe it or not, there are a few things here we plainly don’t know. Underneath most of it is the same instinct: keep the things you control in good order, and keep an exit from the things you don’t. Export the files. Learn the search box. Test the backup. Ask the player what size they can actually read. And never underestimate the value of a performance librarian in your corner. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. We take questions and suggestions year-round at podcast@scoringnotes.com. Products mentioned Notation software and apps Sibelius (Avid) — desktop, iOS/iPadOS, Android and Chromebook Dorico (Steinberg) MuseScore Studio (Muse Group) StaffPad Cantai (Turing Opera Workshop) forScore SheetCue Sample libraries, expression maps, and playback Spotlight Collection (Native Instruments) Phoenix Orchestra (Orchestral Tools) ComposerCloud+ and the RA and Silk collections (EastWest) Musio (Cinesamples) Soniccouture Art Conductor 26 Dorico (Babylonwaves) NotePerformer (Wallander Instruments)...

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All episodes

Has AI wrought the right way to write a scorewriter?

1 hr 4 min

When Dorico arrived ten years ago, a hot topic around here was whether there was room for a third professional notation program. These days new music apps turn up in our inbox almost daily, and the prospect of asking an AI to build one to your own specifications seems considerably less far-fetched than it did even a year ago. For this Scoring Notes round table, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald are joined by Ben Byram-Wigfield and Jason Loffredo. If it gets easier to build your own tools, what makes it worth paying for a program that somebody else designs and maintains? For one thing, a notation program comes with opinions. Somebody has thought about where the dynamics should go and how much space to leave between staves. We’re glad to spend less time nudging things around the page, though a player with both hands occupied might have an opinion about where the software put the page turn. There’s also the matter of whose software can read your score. Maestro and Denigma Online have given old Finale files a future we wouldn’t have predicted when Finale was discontinued. That gives us plenty to consider about MusicXML and MNX, especially if the number of programs we use to exchange music keeps growing. Even LilyPond, whose text input has long seemed a little forbidding to those of us raised on graphical interfaces, deserves another look. An AI might be quite at home writing those engraving instructions. We’d still like a say in what comes out on the page. What has changed most in your own work since 2016? Let us know in the comments. Products mentioned Notation software Dorico (Steinberg), including the free Dorico SE Sibelius (Avid), including the free Sibelius First MuseScore Studio (Muse Group) Finale (MakeMusic) (discontinued in 2024) Maestro opens Finale’s .mus and .musx files and saves in .musx format. LilyPond (open source) Mentioned in passing: SCORE, Graphire MusicPress, and NoteWorthy Composer File conversion Denigma Online is Robert Patterson’s ope...

Getting on the same page

1 hr 10 min

Opening someone else’s notation file can take a little detective work. So can opening your own file from a year ago. After two 90-minute Q&A episodes, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald return for a (slightly) shorter conversation about figuring out what’s going on in a score before you start changing it. David brings questions from helping his students; Philip brings his experience exchanging files with composers, clients, and colleagues. We start with the messages that appear when a file opens. There may be something useful in that dialog you just dismissed! Missing fonts, in particular, deserve a look before “OK fatigue” takes over. Once the file is open, what are you actually looking at? A concert-pitch score or a transposed one? Where did that instrument go? We talk about making hidden information visible in Sibelius and Dorico, and checking whether a setting applies to one item, one part, or much more than you intended. Text styles, wildcards, and tokens get some attention, as do the various ways of showing the same music in different scores, parts, and layouts. David describes a “fragile file”: change one thing, and something elsewhere breaks. That prompts a discussion of when to use the software’s more sophisticated features and when a simpler setup might be easier for a collaborator to manage. We also look at what to include when sending a file, from comments explaining an unusual choice to a reference PDF showing how it’s supposed to look, and the proofreading checks that can help before it goes out the door. There’s plenty here for students — but we’re all students here. Have you solved a notation problem whose cause surprised you? Tell us in the comments, or at podcast@scoringnotes.com. It may make it up the pneumatic tubes from the mailroom to the C-suite. Products mentioned Notation software Sibelius (Avid) Dorico (Steinberg) Plug-ins for Sibelius Check Redundancies (Roman Molino Dunn), included with Sibelius in Review > Plug-ins > Proof-readi...

Q & A(gain)

1 hr 33 min

You sent more questions than one episode could hold, so we split them in two. Part one was brought to you by two letters: AI. This is everything else in the mailbag, from the practical side of the music notation software and technology world. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald work through the rest of the mailbag: an iPad that won’t behave like a desktop, an app that has gone quiet, a singing plug-in that is rapidly evolving, world instruments that have to be taught to a notation program, a page somebody has to read at tempo, organizing a lifetime of files, keeping current with operating systems, and — perhaps the most practical question of all — our take in response to a question from a young copyist asking how any of this becomes a living. The answers range over layout options and staff sizes, expression maps and subscription libraries, file metadata and backup schemes, security updates and Apple silicon, and a set of accessibility guidelines deserving of wider recognition. Believe it or not, there are a few things here we plainly don’t know. Underneath most of it is the same instinct: keep the things you control in good order, and keep an exit from the things you don’t. Export the files. Learn the search box. Test the backup. Ask the player what size they can actually read. And never underestimate the value of a performance librarian in your corner. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. We take questions and suggestions year-round at podcast@scoringnotes.com. Products mentioned Notation software and apps Sibelius (Avid) — desktop, iOS/iPadOS, Android and Chromebook Dorico (Steinberg) MuseScore Studio (Muse Group) StaffPad Cantai (Turing Opera Workshop) forScore SheetCue Sample libraries, expression maps, and playback Spotlight Collection (Native Instruments) Phoenix Orchestra (Orchestral Tools) ComposerCloud+ and the RA and Silk collections (EastWest) Musio (Cinesamples) Soniccouture Art Conductor 26 Dorico (Babylonwaves) NotePerformer (Wallander Instruments)...

Q & A(I)

1 hr 33 min

We asked for your questions, and you sent so many that one episode couldn’t hold them. This is part one of two — and part one is brought to you by two letters: A and I. That wasn’t the plan; it’s just where the mailbag pointed. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald take on the growing expectation that artificial intelligence should be able to turn a scan, recording, or generated track into finished, usable sheet music. Why is that still so difficult? And where can AI genuinely help musicians and music preparation professionals today? The discussion ranges from optical music recognition and audio transcription to proofreading, house styles, sample libraries, score following, and the potential for language models to communicate directly with notation software. Along the way, Philip proposes the “Gould test” as the music preparation equivalent of the Turing test. Underneath it all are larger questions about the value of expertise, the role of human judgment, and where responsibility lies when the technology gets it wrong. The rest of the mailbag — the questions that have nothing to do with AI — is coming next month. Products mentioned Notation software Dorico (Steinberg) Sibelius (Avid) MuseScore Studio (Muse Group) Flat (Tutteo) StaffPad Scanning and optical music recognition NoteVision (Muse Group) Soundslice sheet music scanner Newzik PlayScore 2 SmartScore 64 Pro (Musitek) Opuscan (Tutteo) Audiveris (open source) Audio transcription Klang.io and Transcription Studio Songscription Basic Pitch (Spotify) (open source) Magenta MT3 (Google) (research) Playback and vocal synthesis NotePerformer (Wallander Instruments) Cantai (Turing Opera Workshop) AI arranging and orchestration ArrangementLabs NotationAI ScoreSynth Orchidea (IRCAM / HEM / UC Berkeley) Score following and page turning Tomplay Smart Page Turn Smartleggio Piascore SampleSumo Music Following Antescofo (IRCAM) MCP bridges (community projects) mcp-musescore dorico-mcp-server (also on PyPI) Mus...

Half-time report: what’s new, and a call for your questions

30 min

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald are back after a short break, and true to form, the conversation drifts from yard work and heat waves before landing on the actual business at hand: it’s time to open the phone lines again. For the third time — after 2023’s three-part marathon and last year’s round — Scoring Notes wants to hear directly from you, on any topic in the world of music notation software and related technology, or anywhere adjacent to it. Send your question as an email to podcast@scoringnotes.com, or record it as a voice memo and send it as an email attachment or file-sharing link, or drop it directly here. However you send it, questions are due by Wednesday, July 22, 2026, and the best of them will form the basis of the next episode. To get your wheels turning, the rest of the episode is a quick lay of the land for the first half of 2026. Dorico 6.1 and 6.2 brought a wave of guitar refinements and paragraph-level smart quotes, and picked up support for the Cantai vocal synthesis plug-in along the way. Sibelius matched that pace across three releases, capped by 2026.6‘s long-overdue fix for cross-staff accidentals, plus VST3 support and a restored dark theme. MuseScore Studio 4.7 rounded out its 4.x line with a much-improved ‘R’ for repeat, new parenthesis and bracket options, and its own Cantai support. For the full list of what shipped, plus lots more from Scoring Notes’ coverage of the first six months of the year, see our mid-year summer summary. Cantai itself has moved fast since Richard deCosta joined the podcast in May: it now runs across Dorico, Sibelius, and MuseScore Studio, and pricing has come down substantially to a unified $9.99/month or $149 lifetime license, with new “Ottetto” choir ensembles added along the way. Full details are in our Cantai 3.0.0 coverage. Finally, Philip previews news he’s especially excited about: the 2027 MOLA Conference heads to San Francisco, April 30 – May 3, with a reimagined Tech Fair that he’ll be producin...

Score preparation and production double-checklist

1 hr 28 min

Six years after our “Score preparation and production notes” episode — Episode No. 2 — essentially launched the podcast, 163 episodes later, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald return to the article that inspired the conversation: David’s score preparation checklist. The principles — respect for performers, readable parts, enough time for page turns — are as true as ever. But almost every specific tool reference in the original has a fuller story now. The conversation moves section by section, serving as a reminder of the timeless principles and exploring all of the meaningful changes in the technology. Dorico’s live-reference cue system has become the standard no one else has matched — and the ease of it has quietly changed how generously cues get applied. The Dorico 6 Proofreading panel represents a new category of preparation tool, while the Sibelius plugin ecosystem has its own parallel answers. The condensing and decondensing workflows now available in both Dorico and Sibelius 2025.2 have transformed what was once among the most tedious jobs in parts preparation, and Sibelius 2025.7’s Auto-Respace toggle closes a gap that used to just be accepted. Two sections are entirely new to the checklist: digital delivery — where the iPad has become as common in rehearsal as a music stand — and a pointed look at the file-organization habits that make or break a delivery package. This one’s chock-full of tips, resources and advice — with David’s updated accompanying article to come soon. Products mentioned Notation software Dorico (Steinberg) Sibelius (Avid) MuseScore Studio (Muse Group) Finale (MakeMusic) (mentioned as discontinued) Fonts MusGlyphs (available at Notation Central) NYC Music Services / Notation Central PDF Batch Utilities Desktop publishing and document tools Affinity (Canva) (now free) Apple Pages Microsoft Word LibreOffice Other tools mentioned Claude Cowork (Anthropic) (mentioned for AI-assisted file organization) Name Mangler / Renamer (menti...

Richard deCosta gives your score a voice

56 min

What if your notation software could sing? At the top of this episode, we play a short clip, performed entirely in Dorico with NotePerformer handling the orchestra, and a plugin called Cantai rendering the baritone voice. That voice is synthesized directly from the Dorico score with minimal configuration, and it marks the arrival of something the notation world has been waiting for for a long time. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk with Richard deCosta, composer, software developer, and founder of Cantai and the Turing Opera Workshop, about what it took to build it. The conversation goes deep on the technology: why synthesizing the voice is fundamentally harder than synthesizing instruments, how the phonemizer works, why Cantai renders offline rather than in real time, and what it really means to build a plugin that reads a score rather than simply receiving MIDI. Richard also explains how years of frustration with the disconnect between notation and external vocal synthesis tools — from EWQL Symphonic Choirs and WordBuilder to ACE Studio and Synthesizer V — led to the central insight behind Cantai: that the lyrics were always there in the score; they just weren’t being passed to the playback engine. We also dig into the ethical and business model Richard has built around the singers whose voices power Cantai. Every vocalist is contracted, paid a competitive recording fee, and receives an ongoing share of the product’s profits in proportion to how much their voice is used. Cantai is already live for MuseScore Studio and Dorico, and arriving for Sibelius on May 30. The roadmap — more languages, less vibrato, Broadway and jazz styles, and a thought-provoking vision for the future of real-time vocal generation — gives us plenty to look forward to. Products mentioned Cantai (Turing Opera Workshop) Turing Opera Workshop Dorico (Steinberg) Sibelius (Avid) MuseScore Studio / MuseHub (Muse Group) NotePerformer (Wallander Instruments) ACE Studio Synthesizer V (Dr...

Freshly pressed

1 hr 18 min

After a stretch away from the mic with NAMM coverage and a few product launches in the interim, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald return for an episode that, as David puts it, is “delightfully very nerdy.” To kick things off, David turns the tables and puts Philip in the interview seat, asking him about two significant sets of releases from Notation Central and NYC Music Services. On the Notation Express side, the big news is two-way communication between Dorico and the Stream Deck: buttons now light up to reflect what Dorico is actually doing in real time — active note durations, engaged accidentals and articulations, current mode, playback state, and more. Philip also walks through the new Note Tools folder, which lets users chain up to four buttons together to build a complete transposition or interval command before executing it in one shot, and touches on the Notation Express Keypad and the Virtual Stream Deck. The PDF Batch Utilities get equal time: native Apple Silicon builds that launch ten times faster, codesigning and notarization, source PDF info shown right in the file list, bookmarks in stitched output, smarter handling of one- and two-page files, and a brand-new fifth app — PDF-Counter — that drops a page-count CSV into any folder you throw at it. For the second half, Philip asks David about the utility apps that have quietly become indispensable in his day-to-day work. David talks through Dropzone, a Mac menu-bar app that makes dragging files to frequently-needed folders — or AirDrop, or a terminal window — almost frictionless, and Alfred, the customizable launcher he’s built out with custom searches (including a dedicated IMSLP search), file navigation shortcuts, and a direct line to his task manager. From there, the conversation turns back to the notation software itself, with a look at two features that deserve more attention than they get: Dorico’s Jump Bar and Sibelius’s Command Search, both of which let you find and fire any command just by...

NAMM 2026: An interview with Sam Butler and Joe Plazak

37 min

At the 2026 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. In this interview, we talk with Sam Butler, Avid’s vice president of product management, and Joe Plazak, Sibelius product owner and senior principal software developer at Avid, to reflect on the philosophy behind Sibelius’s recent development approach, how user feedback shapes prioritization, and where they believe users should most clearly feel progress compared to a year ago. We also talk about automation and AI in notation, the realities of cross-platform and mobile workflows, and what Avid wants musicians to understand about its long-term commitment to Sibelius. Be sure to check out our other conversations from the NAMM Show from earlier this month. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2026 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2026: On the scene NAMM 2026: Piascore’s bet on interactivity NAMM 2026: John Barron opens the door to Dorico’s future NAMM 2026: Sounding out the inputs with klang.io’s Sebastian Murgul NAMM 2026: Getting into a Fender-bender with Chris Swaffer NAMM 2026: An avid Sibelius discussion with Sam Butler and Joe Plazak NAMM 2026: An interview with John Barron NAMM 2026: An interview with Sebastian Murgul NAMM 2026: An interview with Chris Swaffer

NAMM 2026: An interview with Chris Swaffer

29 min

At the 2026 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. In this interview, we talk with Chris Swaffer, senior product manager of software at Fender, about how he thinks about Notion’s current phase in its lifecycle, what the Fender name signals to users today, and how decisions around refinement, continuity, and cross-platform consistency get made in practice. We also dig into under-the-radar improvements, accessibility as a core product principle, direct transfer between Notion and Fender Studio Pro, and how intelligent assistance can support — rather than replace — human musical judgment. Come back next week for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2026 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2026: On the scene NAMM 2026: Piascore’s bet on interactivity NAMM 2026: John Barron opens the door to Dorico’s future NAMM 2026: Sounding out the inputs with klang.io’s Sebastian Murgul NAMM 2026: Getting into a Fender-bender with Chris Swaffer NAMM 2026: An avid Sibelius discussion with Sam Butler and Joe Plazak NAMM 2026: An interview with John Barron NAMM 2026: An interview with Sebastian Murgul

NAMM 2026: An interview with Sebastian Murgul

33 min

At the 2026 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. In this conversation, we speak with Sebastian Murgul, co-founder and CEO of klang.io, to talk about a category that sits just adjacent to music notation — and yet increasingly intersects with it in practical, unavoidable ways: music transcription. Sebastian explains what klang.io’s tools are designed to do — and just as importantly, what they are not. We talk about why AI-based transcription has reached a point of practical usefulness now, where the hardest musical problems still lie, and how klang.io thinks about accuracy as something musicians can trust and build on, rather than a promise of perfection. We also discuss interoperability with notation software via formats like MIDI and MusicXML, real-world use cases that have surprised him, and the broader anxieties musicians understandably have around automation and AI. Come back the next few weeks for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2026 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2026: On the scene NAMM 2026: Piascore’s bet on interactivity NAMM 2026: John Barron opens the door to Dorico’s future NAMM 2026: Sounding out the inputs with klang.io’s Sebastian Murgul NAMM 2026: Getting into a Fender-bender with Chris Swaffer NAMM 2026: An avid Sibelius discussion with Sam Butler and Joe Plazak NAMM 2026: An interview with John Barron

NAMM 2026: An interview with John Barron

42 min

At the 2026 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. In this conversation with John Barron, international product specialist at Steinberg, John reflects on Dorico’s current development phase, how its underlying design principles continue to guide day-to-day decisions, and where users should most clearly feel progress compared to a year ago. We also talk about under-the-radar features, user feedback, interoperability with broader music-production workflows, playback and realism, and how automation can support — rather than supplant — notational intent. Come back the next few weeks for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2026 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2026: On the scene NAMM 2026: Piascore’s bet on interactivity NAMM 2026: John Barron opens the door to Dorico’s future NAMM 2026: Sounding out the inputs with klang.io’s Sebastian Murgul NAMM 2026: Getting into a Fender-bender with Chris Swaffer NAMM 2026: An avid Sibelius discussion with Sam Butler and Joe Plazak NAMM 2026: An interview with Sebastian Murgul

Perfect Pitch: Unlocking Jacob Collier’s musical brilliance

32 min

We’re very pleased to bring you this episode, and more to come in the future, thanks to our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that tells the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds. People with perfect or “absolute” pitch hear every single sound as precise musical notes. Is this extraordinary talent a blessing or a curse? In this episode, our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz dive into the neuroscience, pluses, and pitfalls of absolute pitch. Featuring neuroscientist Daniel Levitin and Grammy-winning musician Jacob Collier. Art by Mafalda Maia. Music featured in this episode: Hide and Seek by Jacob Collier Light It Up On Me by Jacob Collier Down the Line by Jacob Collier To Sleep by Jacob Collier All I Need by Jacob Collier Bakumbe by Jacob Collier Hideaway by Jacob Collier Colrain by Marble Run Sky Above by Jacob Collier Moon River by Jacob Collier A Noite by Jacob Collier Connect by Steven Gutheinz Count the People by Jacob Collier Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by Dallas Taylor.

A Scoring Notes holiday shopping trip

1 hr 2 min

‘Tis the season to be thankful for all of the products and services in the world of music notation software and related technology, and for the Scoring Notes audience who tunes in to hear us opine on them! We show our appreciation by bearing good tidings and do a little shopping to find some Black Friday deals and make a few recommendations for fun and productivity. Black Friday 2025 deals for music notation software and related tech post coming on Monday, November 24 Show notes: Scoring Notes Product Guide, with links to posts about Dorico, Sibelius, and MuseScore updates from the past year Black Friday products and deals: Steinberg Cyber Deals MakeMusic discounted crossgrade to Dorico Avid Black Friday Savings MuseScore Sheet Music Direct Sheet Music Plus Newzik Notation Central, Notation Express, Scoring Express, MTF Fonts, NorFonts Rogue Amoeba PDF Expert Black Friday deals Elgato Audio production deals on Reddit Adobe Creative Cloud Setapp CleanMyMac Dropzone CleanShot Soulver Forklift Affinity by Canva PopChar TRMNL Glance LED Logitech B100 Wired Mouse

Cleo Huggins, the designer of the first music font [encore]

58 min

We talk a lot about fonts on the Scoring Notes podcast. But there was a time when there were no music fonts. And then, there was one. Cleo Huggins, on the staff of Adobe in 1986, designed Sonata, the very first music font. It’s hard to imagine today, but it was revolutionary at the time, and a leading industry publication called it the “Music Product of the Year”. Sonata provided the blueprint for the core music fonts later created for use in Finale and Sibelius, but it may surprise you to learn that Sonata was created without any one particular music software product in mind. Cleo tells Philip Rothman and David MacDonald about her early studies with some of the great typographic experts of the 1970 and 1980s, and how her work in graphic design, 3-D animation, background as a violinist, and a key meeting with Steve Jobs about the launch of the first Macintosh computer all led to her taking responsibility for creating Sonata. Cleo discusses the revolution in PostScript technology and the introduction of the laser printer, and how that made it possible for her to create a high quality music font that was unconstrained by limitations of bitmapping. She recalls the various sources of inspiration and research she did — everything from Bach’s manuscript to the Music Writer, to Notaset dry transfer sheets — and the process of regularizing beautiful calligraphy without losing the distinctive elements of music notation. She also recalls thinking about all the minute details from careful placement to the key mapping of each character, and the feedback received from early music software pioneers eager to incorporate Sonata into their programs. Cleo’s career moved on from Sonata to a variety of endeavors, all propelled by a deep curiosity and propensity to good, and we talk about that too — and ask her if she’d ever come back to the world of music fonts, with all of the progress that has taken place in the nearly four decades since her groundbreaking work transformed the hi...

The lowdown on updates

1 hr 7 min

Recent updates abound in Dorico, MuseScore Studio, Sibelius, and across the Apple operating systems. Whether you use all of these products or just one of them, we help you get current with the latest features and improvements, so that you can make the most of the notation software and the operating systems they run on. More from Scoring Notes: Music notation software and macOS Tahoe Dorico 6.1: Select more MuseScore Studio 4.6 adds full SMuFL support, other engraving and playback updates Sibelius 2025.7 brings note spacing control, UI updates Sibelius updated to 2025.8 File system tools mentioned: Onyx CleanMyMac

With freelancing comes responsibility

1 hr 20 min

Freelancing is a kind of freedom. Freedom from a regular schedule, an office, or a permanent boss. But with freelance work comes responsibility. Part of your job as a freelancer is deciding what the work should be and finding the clients who are going pay you to do it. Not only are you responsible to them, but you’re responsible for yourself, your family, the tax man, and more. In the music notation software and related technology world of Scoring Notes, it’s possible to have freelance work in which those tools are used regularly. Paul Beck is principal librarian of the Milwaukee Symphony, concert librarian for Renée Fleming, and formerly librarian at, among other institutions, The Metropolitan Opera, The Juilliard School, and the Aspen Music Festival & School. Paul joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to talk all about his decades of experience both as a freelance music preparer and salaried performance librarian, and to offer a wealth of insights and practical advice for anyone seeking freedom — and responsibility — as a freelancer. This wide-ranging and detailed conversation explores the methods and manners of pursuing freelance work; the differences and similarities among being a freelancer, independent contractor, part-time employee, and full-time employee — and the benefits and drawbacks of each; managing your time and boundaries as a freelancer; the importance of mentors; essential tools; and specific advice about finances, invoices, and payment processing options. More from Scoring Notes: An interview with librarian Paul Beck Road report: Copland’s Rodeo in Milwaukee How to charge for music preparation Chronology of a perfect music printing job The tale of the tape The staples of printing self-published music

You have questions, we have answers

1 hr 11 min

We open the Scoring Notes mailbag, contemplate the musings of our audience, and try to leave no question unanswered in this fun and informative podcast episode. More from Scoring Notes, referenced in this episode: Finale’s twilight zone: Ensuring a smooth ride into the sunset Using Finale in the unsupported era Leaving Finale behind The rights stuff, with Jim Kendrick Scanning the current OMR landscape Partying with parts, part 1 Partying with parts, part 2 Working with page numbers in Sibelius Better Sibelius slurs for opposite stem direction on outer notes Marie Chupeau and the human side of Newzik’s artificial intelligence From “zero to slice”: Soundslice takes on optical music recognition with AI Sibelius 2022.5 brings multi-section headers, other workflow boosts

Send us your questions! (plus a classic episode)

1 hr 5 min

Have you ever listened to an episode of the Scoring Notes podcast and wished you could ask a question directly on the show? Two years ago, we opened up the phone lines directly, so to speak, and they were jam-packed! So much so, that we ended up devoting three episodes to answering those burning queries. You can find Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 in the podcast archives. Well, time and technology moves fast, so it’s time we do it again. Whether you’re a “long-timer” or a “first-timer”, all are welcome to ask a question about anything in the world of music notation software and related technology — or really, any one of the adjacent subjects we’ve covered on the Scoring Notes podcast or web site, and we may feature it an upcoming episode. Just record your question as a voice memo and drop it directly here, or send it as an email attachment or as a file-sharing link to podcast@scoringnotes.com. We’d love it if you provide your name (first name only is OK), where in the world you’re calling from, and what music notation software you use — or if you don’t use it at all (yes, we have quite a few listeners in that camp). If you’re shy, you can alternatively write your question in an email and send it to us. Send us your question no later than Monday, July 14, 2025. From the archive: How we don’t use music notation software (but do use related technology) The rest of today’s episode is a classic one from March 2023, and perhaps it will spur some new questions. Sometimes music notation software is perfect for the job, but other times, it’s the related technology that’s better suited to the task. Fortunately, we cover both sides of the equation on Scoring Notes — and it’s the latter part that Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss on this podcast episode. When creating scores and parts, music notation software is clearly the choice. But what about front matter — the pages of text and sometimes other markings and symbols that preface the music? For that, better optio...

MOLA 2025 conference and tech fair wrap-up

53 min

Hosted by The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the 43rd annual conference of MOLA: An Association of Performance Librarians ran from May 30 through June 2, 2025, and brought together music librarians, publishers, vendors, composers, performers, and technology enthusiasts. The 2025 conference was the first one hosted by a university, reflecting the organization’s broader membership. It spotlighted the working environments of the academic performance librarian and offered opportunities to cross-pollinate ideas across ensemble tiers and types. On the podcast, David MacDonald and Philip Rothman recap the 2025 MOLA Conference recorded in person from the University of Michigan, with a summary of the tech fair and conference sessions on broadening access, copyright, professional development, IMSLP, and much more. And, if you like your podcasts in video format, we have a special treat for you: A video of this podcast episode, recorded live. More from Scoring Notes: Road report: MOLA 2025 Conference

Daniel Spreadbury on Dorico 6: “Our largest release to date”

1 hr 19 min

Steinberg’s product marketing manager Daniel Spreadbury returns to the podcast to discuss Dorico 6 and its bevy of features for music composers and preparers. Daniel talks in-depth with Philip Rothman and David MacDonald about a few of the headline items, especially those that are unique to Dorico. The new proofreading tool continuously scans a project looking for potential pitfalls, and the cutaway scores feature makes quick work of what was once a tedious effort. We explore those key elements of Dorico 6 along with cycle playback, grids, fill view, chord symbols, and more, learning more about their origins and what’s planned for the future. We also reflect with Daniel about the software’s trajectory in the past decade. Dorico has gotten ever more capable in the audio area in recent years, more deeply integrated with Cubase, Steinberg’s digital audio workstation, and Daniel takes us behind the scenes to tell us about the decisions and development plans in those areas. Finale’s end has also brought challenges and opportunities for the Dorico team, and we discuss how Steinberg’s partnership with MakeMusic and its endorsed path to Dorico has influenced the product’s direction over the past year. More from Scoring Notes: Dorico 6 review: Proof positive

Tune Tech: Distortion, sequencers, Auto-Tune, and more

39 min

We’re very pleased to bring you this episode, and more to come in the future, thanks to our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that tells the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds. From electric guitars to samplers to drum machines and beyond, the music we love is only possible thanks to the technology used to create it. In many ways, the history of popular music is really a history of technological innovation. In this episode, Twenty Thousand Hertz partnered with BandLab to unpack four inventions that changed music forever. Featuring author and journalist Greg Milner. Music featured in this episode: Original music by Wesley Slover Prelude by Ghostnaut To Little, With Love by Elvin Vanguard And All the Rest by Dream Cave Subtractions by Epocha To Find You (with KYAND) by Modera Out Linear by Sweet Stare Grumpalo by High Horse Grand Theft by Katori Walker One Day by Ten Towers Hopscotch Bop by Stan Forebee I Feel You by Yuppycult Swing Step by iamalex Here With You by Super Duper Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by Dallas Taylor.

Holding court with Brian McBrearty, forensic musicologist

54 min

If you hear the term “forensic musicologist” and conjure up detectives with fingerprint dusters and a magnifying glass, well, metaphorically you’re not far off. The job of a forensic musicologist is to  apply musical knowledge to questions around copyright, explain  musical facts, and put them into context so that a court can arrive at a decision with the best information available. Brian McBrearty is a forensic musicologist, and he joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to discuss real-world cases of music infringement and the multi-dimensional approach that he takes in his analyses. We tackle the question of music notation and how it plays a role in Brian’s process, and talk tech — including the acceleration in artificial intelligence, both as a potential means of forensic analysis, and as a creator of potentially infringing content. More on Scoring Notes: The rights stuff, with Jim Kendrick

NAMM 2025: An interview with John Barron

29 min

At the 2025 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. This podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with John Barron, the international product specialist for Dorico. NAMM offers representatives like John the opportunity to meet with customers from both the notation and audio sides of the music community. We spoke about the new Dorico-powered score editor in Cubase that appeals to a large cross-section of users, and how Dorico fits into the wider world of Steinberg and Yamaha products. We also discussed industry developments and what he’s hearing from Finale users as they explore the officially-endorsed migration path to Dorico. Be sure to check out our other conversations from the NAMM Show from earlier this month. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2025 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2025: On the scene NAMM 2025: Decondensing Sibelius with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: Imbibing transcribing with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: Musing on software and design with Martin Keary NAMM 2025: On with the show with Steinberg’s John Barron NAMM 2025: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: An interview with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: An interview with Martin Keary

NAMM 2025: An interview with Martin Keary

35 min

At the 2025 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. This podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with Martin Keary, the head of software for Muse Group. Martin spoke with me about the conversations he had at NAMM about some of the exciting possibilities for MuseScore collaborations and integrations with other app makers in the future. More practically, we also discussed recent MuseScore development efforts and some of the new features we can expect to see in upcoming releases, as well as the role that industry changes like the end of Finale played in the road map for the software. Come back next week for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2025 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2025: On the scene NAMM 2025: Decondensing Sibelius with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: Imbibing transcribing with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: Musing on software and design with Martin Keary NAMM 2025: On with the show with Steinberg’s John Barron NAMM 2025: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: An interview with Oriol López Calle

NAMM 2025: An interview with Oriol López Calle

32 min

At the 2025 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. This podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with Oriol López Calle from My Sheet Music Transcriptions, a service that he founded in 2011 that has since grown to employ dozens of people and serve tens of thousands of customers. Oriol told us about his company’s approach to their work, which includes not only transcribing but a full range of music preparation tasks. We also discussed technological innovations that have already transformed the business and those that we expect to do so in the future. Come back the next couple of weeks for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2025 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2025: On the scene NAMM 2025: Decondensing Sibelius with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: Imbibing transcribing with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: Musing on software and design with Martin Keary NAMM 2025: On with the show with Steinberg’s John Barron NAMM 2025: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler

NAMM 2025: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler

25 min

At the 2025 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. This podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with Sam Butler, Avid’s director of product management. Sam talked with us about the new decondensing parts feature in Sibelius that Avid previewed at NAMM, and he celebrated the award that his team received for last year’s release of the Android app. He also shared his thoughts on the industry’s developments over the past year, the direction that he anticipates for the future, and what it all means for Sibelius customers. Come back the next few weeks for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2025 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2025: On the scene NAMM 2025: Decondensing Sibelius with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: Imbibing transcribing with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: Musing on software and design with Martin Keary NAMM 2025: On with the show with Steinberg’s John Barron

From cylinders to streaming

40 min

This episode was written by Andrew Anderson. We’re very pleased to bring you this episode, and more to come in the future, thanks to our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that tells the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds. The history of recorded sound stretches back over a hundred and fifty years, starting with a device that could “record” a voice on a piece of paper. Today, we can enjoy lossless streaming anywhere we go… but getting here wasn’t easy. In this episode, our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz worked with Qobuz, the high quality music platform, to chart the history of audio mediums, from cylinders made of tin foil and wax, to vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CDs, and mp3s. Along the way, they explore the innovations and quirks of each format, with memories sent in from their listeners and the 20K team. Featuring Adam Tovell from the British Library Sound Archive. Then, stay tuned afterwards as David MacDonald and Philip Rothman tie all of this “related technology” back to the “music notation” portion of the Scoring Notes mission, and explore how music notation and recorded sound are complementary sides of what makes a song a song. Further reading: What Is a Song?, by Ben Sisario from The New York Times, about the copyright questions raised in the lawsuit involving Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and Ed Sheeran’s song “Thinking Out Loud”. Further listening: The [COMPRESSED] history of mastering Music featured in this episode: Original music by Wesley Slover Steppin Intro by Sound of Picture Paraphrase on Sleeping Beauty by Paul Pabst Greylock by Skittle Lonely Summertime by The Rockin’ Berries Ding Dong by Niklas Gabrielsson Bebop Blues by Vendla Living Memories by Golden Age Radio Gin Boheme by Vermouth Forever in Love With a Ghost by PÄR You Oughta Know by Rockin’ For Decades Back in Time by They Fall Pink Gloves by J.F. Gloss Dreamweavers by Sven Lindvall & Daniel Fridell No One Knows But Me by Torii Wolf Tou...

A snapshot of music scanning apps, and picturing the future

55 min

Music scanning technology, or optical music recognition (OMR) if you like, has been around for decades, and yet in many ways is still barely out of infancy. But that could soon change as classic algorithm-based desktop programs converge with newer mobile apps and web-based machine learning tools. Steve Morell joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to discuss his review of six of those products that run the gamut of those technologies: Newzik, Soundslice, PlayScore 2, Sheet Music Scanner, SmartScore 64 Pro 64 NE, and ScanScore Professional. He takes on through his process of testing each of them from the common perspective of a user wanting to get a quick and accurate scan for exporting via MusicXML to other software such as Sibelius, Dorico, or MuseScore. However, those applications have many other use cases. We explore those as well, and how each of the products may be suited to one particular use or another in their own way. We also envision where the industry is headed and how these technologies could potentially evolve in the future. Read the full Scoring Notes review: Scanning the current OMR landscape

Stock ‘n shop

1 hr 22 min

‘Tis the season to be thankful for all of the products and services in the world of music notation software and related technology, and for the Scoring Notes audience who tunes in to hear us opine on them! We show our appreciation by bearing good tidings in the form of a summary of all of the updates to MuseScore, Dorico, and Sibelius over the past year. Then, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald do a little shopping to find some Black Friday deals and make a few recommendations for fun and productivity. Black Friday 2024 deals for music notation software and related tech Show notes: Scoring Notes Product Guide, with links to posts about MuseScore, Dorico, and Sibelius updates from the past year Black Friday products and deals we mention: MakeMusic discounted crossgrade to Dorico Steinberg Cyber Deals Avid Black Friday Savings PDF Expert Black Friday deals Acon Digital Black Friday sale Muse Hub StaffPad on iPad and Windows Notation Central, Notation Express, Scoring Express, NorFonts Bambu Lab Black Friday Sale Studio Neat Mark pens Sidekick Notepad from Cortex Matthew Maslanka’s Beam Slants Reference Poster Henle engraving plate Samsung T7 SSD, T7 Shield SSD, T9 SSD Xkey 25 MIDI controller Nektar SE25 and Se49 MIDI controllers Logitech MX Keys S – Windows and MX Keys Mini – Windows Logitech MX Keys S – Mac and Logitech MX Keys Mini – Mac

On the record about higher education

53 min

Music education isn’t just learning how to read alto clef and knowing your intervals anymore. The evolution of music technology education, the changing attitudes of students towards music production, and the importance of teaching foundational skills alongside technology have made the collegiate experience in music more diverse than ever. In this episode, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald engage with guest Ben Fuhrman, a composer and music tech professor at Montana State University. They explore the preparation and skills students bring to music tech programs, focusing on music notation software, DAWs like FL Studio, Pro Tools, and Ableton Live, and the influence of high-profile artists on student choices. Skills that may seem trivial like file management are actually very important, complementing the understanding of concepts in preparing students for diverse careers in music technology. We also touch upon the evolving nature of music careers, the necessity for students to have both technical and traditional musical knowledge, and the impact of collaborative learning environments in fostering empathy and curiosity in the rapidly changing landscape of music technology. More from Scoring Notes: Sample rate, bit depth, bit rate, and you(r ears) Katie Wardrobe on music tech in education [encore]

Finale’s coda

1 hr 10 min

Finale, the legendary music notation software program, has been discontinued 36 years after its groundbreaking release in 1988 from Coda Music Technologies. MakeMusic, the company that now owns Finale, has partnered with Steinberg to sell its Dorico application at a specially discounted price directly to Finale users. Jason Loffredo joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald in a comprehensive discussion about the facts, the business analysis, and the way forward for customers. More on Scoring Notes: MakeMusic ends development and availability of Finale; partners with Steinberg to sell Dorico directly [updated] Finale version 27 review: SMuFL and MusicXML 4.0 support Finale v27 and the SMuFL shuffle Finale version 27.1: SMuFL burrows deeper Finale version 27.2 adds new jazz template, native Apple silicon support Finale version 27.3 adds eight powerful JW tools, fixes some linked part issues Finale version 27.4 supports macOS Sonoma, true black printing, other fixes Jason Loffredo’s “Conquering Finale” video tutorial series

MOLA 2024 conference and tech fair wrap-up

53 min

The 2024 conference of MOLA: An Association of Performance Librarians recently concluded in Cleveland, Ohio, and by all accounts it was a rocking success. The conference began with the second annual Tech Fair, a gathering of librarians, product specialists, and vendors, with demonstrations and exhibits bookended by panel discussions about technology as it relates to the performance librarian. The remainder of the four-day long conference featured plenary sessions, breakout groups, and lots of excellent spontaneous sharing of knowledge and experience about a crucial role in the music-making process. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald recap the conference with a podcast episode recorded in person from Cleveland, with a summary of the tech fair and the rest of the event: from the intricacies of percussion setup to licensing, copyright, and commissioning agreements, and much more. And, if you like your podcasts in video format, we have a special treat for you: A video of this podcast episode, recorded live. More from Scoring Notes: MOLA 2024: Cleveland rocked MOLA morsels: Conversations from the 2024 conference Videos from the MOLA 2024 Conference: MOLA 2024: Welcome! MOLA 2024: Putting Technology Into Practice in the Music Library MOLA 2024: Notion’s Chris Swaffer MOLA 2024: Avid’s Justin Tokke, product designer for Sibelius MOLA 2024: Steinberg’s John Barron, product specialist for Dorico MOLA 2024: The Cleveland Orchestra’s Michael Ferraguto MOLA 2024: Alastair McKean, MOLA President 2023-2024 MOLA 2024: Conference and Tech Fair Wrap-up

Print perfect (encore); MOLA 2024 preview

50 min

Printing music is something that takes skill and attention to detail — both by the music preparer and the printer. When everything’s communicated well, it leads to print shop nirvana and the ideal result for everyone involved. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald talk through a specific project and illustrate the various steps along the way to set it up for success. No detail is too small, from the page size, to the number of copies, to the shipping methods desired. Philip relays his tips and best practices from the perspective of a professional music printing service. Then, David gives advice for how to ensure good results if you need to take your project to a more general-service copy shop, or even if you are printing yourself, like some inventive ways to format the page size and convey the instructions to minimize the risk of errors that can be introduced and avoid miscommunication in what is one of the last, most critical steps in preparing a piece of music. Also: A preview of the 2024 MOLA Conference and Tech Fair. More on Scoring Notes and elsewhere: Chronology of a perfect music printing job Creating PDFs from Sibelius 7 Export File Names Dialog in Dorico Name Mangler and Moom productivity apps On the margins: Headers, footers, and footnotes in Sibelius Smarter title pages for parts in Sibelius Smarter title pages for parts in Finale Working with master pages in Dorico, part 2 How to fix a common page numbering problem in Sibelius PDF-MusicBinder and PDF-BatchStitch utilities for music printing

Video killed (it with) the notation star

55 min

With music notation work often intersecting in some capacity with music production and scoring to video, it’s important to know when your software of choice is the best option for a particular need within a project, and when it’s not. When it comes to fine-tuned formatting and engraving decisions, we can’t move from one notation software product to another without losing that important detail work. However, with the underlying composition itself, the information can be moved quite effectively with MusicXML or MIDI to and from to other software when a particular tool is needed elsewhere. Steve Morell joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to take a look at how video, tempo, and time are handled with the four most popular desktop music notation software options — Dorico, Finale, MuseScore, and Sibelius — and how they compare to the unique notation/DAW hybrid approach from the tablet app StaffPad, as well as other solutions available. More from Scoring Notes: Video, tempo, and time (oh my!)

An interview with Steinberg’s Daniel Spreadbury

1 hr 13 min

We last visited with Steinberg’s product marketing manager Daniel Spreadbury on the podcast upon the release of Dorico 4 in January 2022, and more recently last summer in Berlin at the MOLA conference in a panel discussion with his colleagues and competitors in the music notation software industry. Although Dorico didn’t have much of a presence at the 2024 NAMM Show, we welcome the opportunity to visit with Daniel here in a similar manner that we did with many of those colleagues and competitors at NAMM. We start not by focusing on the latest Dorico features, although we do discuss those. Instead, we speak with Daniel about how the Dorico community influences product development, to what extent Steinberg prioritizes customer requests and specific features, and how they balance those with some of the more long-term vision that they may have for the product. He gives us a sense of Dorico’s role within these companies, from a strategic, philosophical, and technical perspective. We explore how much of what they’re doing is done with the other products and services in mind, how those decisions are made, and how Dorico users benefit. We also talk about industry changes and how those philosophies end up shaping what customers see on their screens and even what kind of music they create. If you didn’t hear our NAMM wrap-up episode, and interviews with NAMM CEO John Mlynczak, Avid’s Sam Butler, MakeMusic’s Jason Wick, and Muse Group’s Jack Sutton, check those out in the Scoring Notes podcast feed. More from Scoring Notes: Dorico 5 review: Moving the music forward Dorico 5.1: Filling the gaps Dorico 5.1.10 update is available Dorico 5.1.21 update is available NAMM 2024: An interview with Muse Group’s Jack Sutton NAMM 2024: An interview with MakeMusic’s Jason Wick NAMM 2024: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2024: Wrap-up and interview with CEO John Mlynczak NAMM 2024: John Mlynczak on his first show as president and CEO NAMM 2024: Muse Group’s Jack Sutton on Hal...

NAMM 2024: An interview with Muse Group’s Jack Sutton

37 min

At the 2024 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. Today’s podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with Jack Sutton, Muse Group’s head of communications. Jack’s first visit to NAMM coincided with the company’s first official presence at the show as the parent company of Hal Leonard, which they recently acquired. We spoke about some early fruits of that deal and the longer-term plans that they have for the future of their combined business, which brings together cutting-edge digital products with a vast library of published content. We also discussed MuseScore and the latest developments with their flagship notation product, and specifically the improvements they’ve made, and plan to make, in the areas of guitar and percussion music, as well as the overall quality of output that they hope to achieve with MuseScore in the future. If you didn’t hear our NAMM wrap-up episode, and interviews with NAMM CEO John Mlynczak, Avid’s Sam Butler, and MakeMusic’s Jason Wick, check those out in the Scoring Notes podcast feed. More from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2024: An interview with MakeMusic’s Jason Wick NAMM 2024: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2024: Wrap-up and interview with CEO John Mlynczak NAMM 2024: John Mlynczak on his first show as president and CEO NAMM 2024: Muse Group’s Jack Sutton on Hal Leonard, MuseScore development and more NAMM 2024: MakeMusic’s Jason Wick on MakeMusic Cloud, Finale, and more NAMM 2024: Avid’s Sam Butler on upcoming Sibelius features, Android app, and more NAMM 2024: Exhibition mission

NAMM 2024: An interview with MakeMusic’s Jason Wick

34 min

At the 2024 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. Today’s podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with Jason Wick, MakeMusic’s director of product development. Jason talked with me about their MakeMusic Cloud product, including their Practice tool, Sight Reading Studio, a free online composing application, and their classroom suite. We also discussed MakeMusic’s tight integration with the Alfred Publishing side of their company, the future of Finale, and more broadly considered the company’s values and strategies in today’s landscape of industry consolidation. Come back next week for another great conversation from the NAMM Show. And if you didn’t hear our NAMM wrap-up episode, and interviews with NAMM CEO John Mlynczak and Avid’s Sam Butler, check those out in the Scoring Notes podcast feed. More from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2024: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2024: Wrap-up and interview with CEO John Mlynczak NAMM 2024: John Mlynczak on his first show as president and CEO NAMM 2024: Muse Group’s Jack Sutton on Hal Leonard, MuseScore development and more NAMM 2024: MakeMusic’s Jason Wick on MakeMusic Cloud, Finale, and more NAMM 2024: Avid’s Sam Butler on upcoming Sibelius features, Android app, and more NAMM 2024: Exhibition mission

NAMM 2024: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler

34 min

At the 2024 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. Today’s podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with Sam Butler, Avid’s director of product management. Sam talked with us about the new Sibelius features that Avid previewed at NAMM, the new Android application, and Sibelius Cloud publishing improvements. Come back the next couple of weeks for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And if you didn’t hear our NAMM wrap-up episode, check that out in the podcast feed — David MacDonald and Philip Rothman review all the industry news and analyze what it means for you. More from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2024: Wrap-up and interview with CEO John Mlynczak NAMM 2024: John Mlynczak on his first show as president and CEO NAMM 2024: Muse Group’s Jack Sutton on Hal Leonard, MuseScore development and more NAMM 2024: MakeMusic’s Jason Wick on MakeMusic Cloud, Finale, and more NAMM 2024: Avid’s Sam Butler on upcoming Sibelius features, Android app, and more NAMM 2024: Exhibition mission

NAMM 2024: Wrap-up and interview with CEO John Mlynczak

51 min

The 2024 NAMM Show was full of exciting news, products — and, most of all, the interesting people that create the news and products. Especially as it pertains to the Scoring Notes beat of music notation software and related technology, there was a lot to cover, and many miles were logged in service of bringing as much of the experience back to our audience. David MacDonald and Philip Rothman review each of the major interviews that took place for Scoring Notes during the show with representatives from Avid, MakeMusic, and Muse Group. We also more generally analyze the experience, the information, and what it means for the year ahead in the field. Concluding this episode is a special interview with John Mlynczak on his first show as president and CEO of NAMM in which we discuss his roots in the music notation field and its importance to the philosophy of the organization. Stay tuned all this month to the Scoring Notes podcast feed, where each week we will bring special bonus coverage of interviews with Avid’s Sam Butler, MakeMusic’s Jason Wick, and Muse Group’s Jack Sutton, as they each talk about their respective products and companies, and discuss their strategies and approaches to their business. More on Scoring Notes: NAMM 2024: John Mlynczak on his first show as president and CEO NAMM 2024: Muse Group’s Jack Sutton on Hal Leonard, MuseScore development and more NAMM 2024: MakeMusic’s Jason Wick on MakeMusic Cloud, Finale, and more NAMM 2024: Avid’s Sam Butler on upcoming Sibelius features, Android app, and more NAMM 2024: Exhibition mission

The staples of printing self-published music

1 hr 1 min

It’s easier than ever to publish your own music — but that doesn’t mean it’s a simple proposition. Even though a lot of music is made available digitally, there is still a significant demand for printed material. The logistics of printing physical copies and shipping them to customers can be tricky to navigate. It’s important to not be “toner-deaf” to the challenges that come along with the opportunities you “drum” up by making your music available. In this conversation with Garrett Breeze of the Selling Sheet Music podcast, Philip Rothman and Garrett first discuss the ways in which you can work with services that will handle the printing and fulfillment for you. We also talk about what’s needed if you want to actually set up your own operation, and finally review some tools that can help you prepare your music for both specialty print services and conventional copy shops, so that you can find a smooth path towards getting the material out and avoid any paper jams along the way. More from Scoring Notes: Muse Group acquires Hal Leonard Chronology of a perfect music printing job Print perfect Name Mangler and Moom productivity apps On the margins: Headers, footers, and footnotes in Sibelius Smarter title pages for parts in Sibelius Smarter title pages for parts in Finale Working with master pages in Dorico, part 2 How to fix a common page numbering problem in Sibelius PDF-MusicBinder and PDF-BatchStitch utilities for music printing Quickly scale many PDFs with PDF-BatchScale Make booklets and 2-ups with PDF-BatchBooklet File renaming and PDF batch utilities

A December to remember

1 hr 28 min

With the Muse Group acquisition of Hal Leonard, and Dorico, MuseScore, Sibelius, and Finale all freshly updated, 2023 is going out with a bang. We gather round the fire and discuss all the news, as we get ready for the year ahead in music notation software and related technology. More on Scoring Notes: Muse Group acquires Hal Leonard Dorico 5.1: Filling the gaps MuseScore 4.2 adds more guitar features and improves scores with parts Sibelius 2023.11: Sonoma support, more system object positions, better Keypad Finale version 27.4 supports macOS Sonoma, true black printing, other fixes

Black Friday deals are music to our ears

1 hr 11 min

Black Friday is one of the best times of the year to get new stuff at low prices. But in the world of music notation software and related technology, it can also be a chance to reflect on the way you work and create, and to acquire the tools that will complement your skills. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald summarize the best deals we’ve found to that end, review some of the newest features that make spending holiday cash a worthwhile investment — and offer up a few of our favorite low- and hi-tech stocking stuffers. Also: Check out Scoring Notes on Monday, November 20 for a comprehensive post with details on all the deals mentioned in this episode, and much more.

StaffPad updates go beyond just keeping the lights on

1 hr 10 min

David MacDonald and Philip Rothman talk with David William Hearn, the co-founder and lead designer of StaffPad, about everything from product updates to what it was like making a live demo for Apple in 40 minutes, along with the implications of AI, industry changes, the Muse Group acquisition, and much more. More on Scoring Notes: StaffPad “captures” the imagination — and your piano performance StaffPad audio update, Graphical MIDI Tools, and software licensing StaffPad brings live recordings into your scores with Audio Update Daniel Ray “muses” about Audacity and StaffPad StaffPad acquired by Muse Group; audio support planned David William Hearn and StaffPad StaffPad wows with long-awaited iPad release and new free StaffPad Reader

Tricks and treats [encore]

40 min

To celebrate Halloween, we’re looking at scary things we see in the music notation software and score preparation process, and see if we can sweeten the experience with some tricks and treats. Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss the spookiness of using the mouse and how you can better become a jack-o-lantern of all trades by focusing more on keyboard commands and other shortcuts in Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico. We also look at a frightening situation that happens when laying out your music and investigate how to fix it. So don’t be afraid — we won’t ghost you as we lead you unscathed out of the haunted house of software skeletons and onto the pumpkin patch to score some tricks and treats. More on Scoring Notes: (Re)learning how to use music notation software Finale: Quick tip: Dismiss all open dialog boxes in Finale Supercharge your Finale workflow on Mac with Keyboard Maestro FinaleScripts for faster scoring in Finale Articulation metatools in Finale Sibelius: Using Sibelius Effectively: a guide to Sibelius Ultimate Sibelius from A to Z Use keyboard shortcuts to apply text expressions in Sibelius Quick keyboard access to your Sibelius plug-ins Add custom shortcuts for Keypad features in Sibelius Dorico: Dorico from A to Z Customize keyboard shortcuts in Sibelius and Dorico Assigning MIDI commands Notation Express: Notation Express for Dorico 5 released Stream Deck Mobile 2.0 brings native iPad support for the first time — and a whole lot more Notation Express for Dorico 4 released Notation Express for Dorico 3 Notation Express XL is available for Sibelius and Dorico Notation Express demo available Notation Express is now on iOS with Stream Deck Mobile

Chris Swaffer’s Notion of where music notation software is headed

55 min

Notion is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous music notation software products available today. With its roots stretching back to Musicprinter Plus, a program invented in the 1990s, to today, with native apps on virtually all major desktop and mobile operating systems, Notion has always been at the vanguard of music notation software. Notion was one of the first applications to include high-quality orchestral samples with their software, and appeared on the iPad more than a decade before we saw Dorico and Sibelius release iPad versions of their products. Notion’s product manager Chris Swaffer has been there for most of those developments, and he joins Scoring Notes podcast co-hosts Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to tell us more about what Notion is, who it’s for, and where it’s headed — particularly in the aftermath of its acquisition by Fender, Notion’s second such move, after first being acquired by PreSonus. We first learn about Chris’s early days in the field and how he came to work on Notion, and how his experience as a composer and conductor informs his very important role. We also hear how Notion has been steadily upgrading its codebase to align with its Studio One DAW, and why its versatility is important for the product’s strategy in a very crowded marketplace. More from Scoring Notes: Music notation platforms: an industry perspective A Notion of the future Notion iOS 2.5 and Notion 6.6 desktop updates released NAMM 2019: A “Notion” of music with the 6.5 update and more Notion 6.2 released with more integration with Studio One Notion 6 released

Asked and answered, part 3: Back to school

54 min

Listeners responded to our “call for calls” with some terrific questions about music notation software, related technology, the business of music preparation, and more. On this episode, Philip Rothman and David MacDonald celebrate the beginning of the academic year by answering questions about the music notation software, tools, and services best suited for education. Whether you’re a student, educator, amateur, or professional musician, you’ll learn something about the wide variety of products we cover in response to the many terrific inquiries submitted by the Scoring Notes audience. The third of a multi-part episode — because we got so many questions that we didn’t have enough time to fit them all into one sitting. More from Scoring Notes: Asked and answered, part 1 Asked and answered, part 2: In awe of the DAW High fidelity audio comes to Zoom Better music experiences come to Zoom with high fidelity audio Share video and audio of music notation software via Zoom Noteflight, education, innovation, and inspiration Paperless composition lessons with iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Teaching and teaming up with tablets and tech StaffPad acquired by Muse Group; audio support planned Daniel Ray “muses” about Audacity and StaffPad Dorico and Sibelius come to the iPad

Music notation platforms: an industry perspective

58 min

For the first time ever, MOLA, An Association of Performance Librarians, devoted an entire day to technology that featured vendor exhibits, presentations, discussions, and meetings. Bookending the day were two panel discussions; one moderated by David MacDonald on the subject of music reader tablet experiences, and one moderated by Philip Rothman with representatives from the music notation software platforms. The concluding discussion, heard here, is entitled “Music Notation Platforms: An Industry Perspective”. It brought together the representatives of a cross-section of notation software solutions: Adrian Holovaty of Soundslice; Bradley Kunda of MuseScore; Daniel Spreadbury of Steinberg (Dorico); and Chris Swaffer of PreSonus (Notion). These “ABCD”s of the music notation software field engaged in a lively back-and-forth interchange about the philosophy behind their product development, their relationships with their user bases, and how their programs co-exist in a crowded space. More from Scoring Notes: The tech trek to the 2023 MOLA conference Half Notes: A comparison of tablet music reader technology experiences

Behind “Behind Bars” with Elaine Gould

1 hr 13 min

If there is one book that anyone working with music notation needs to have, either on their desk, or on their device — or at least in a library within walking distance of their home — it’s Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation. Published in 2011 by Faber Music, Elaine Gould’s 700-page volume quickly became the preeminent reference for music engravers, providing an exhaustive collection of rules, traditions, suggestions, and conventions for how to set music in the clearest way possible. It’s those “general” conventions that take up first third of the book — starting from what Elaine calls the “ground rules” such as the appearance of the staff, clefs, noteheads, and more — and continues on for another 200 pages or so, before the book moves onto the areas of instrumentation and layout. Elaine joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to tell us about the new publication of that first section, Behind Bars: General Conventions, as a stand-alone edition suitable for slipping into your bookbag, where it won’t break the bank, or your back. In this wide-ranging conversation, Elaine talks with us about her early background and how she came to the profession of music preparation and editing. We uncover the seeds that eventually became Behind Bars, and the decades-long journey from meticulous refinements to its eventual publication and virtually overnight success. Elaine gives us her practical tips for working with composers, performers, and publishers, the realities of time pressures and budget restrictions, and the inevitable revisions that occur with new music, and tells us how she’s navigated the often-conflicting goals of the  engraving ideal and the necessity of deadline-driven production. She also has advice for those that are just starting out in the field, and naturally, given our focus on music notation software and technology, she opines on what the computer’s strengths and weaknesses, the crucial differences between looking at music on a screen and...

Half Notes: A comparison of tablet music reader technology experiences

40 min

For the first time ever, MOLA, An Association of Performance Librarians, devoted an entire day to technology that featured vendor exhibits, presentations, discussions, and meetings. Bookending the day were two panel discussions; one moderated by David MacDonald on the subject of music reader tablet experiences, and one moderated by Philip Rothman with representatives from the music notation software platforms. We’ll bring Philip’s discussion to you later this summer, but first, we hope you enjoy the discussion that David had to kick off the tech fair, about the real-world challenges and benefits of using tablet readers in orchestral performances. His co-moderator was none other than Mark Fabulich, assistant librarian of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the co-chair of MOLA’s Technology Committee. The distinguished panelists they spoke with were three librarians, each of whom primarily use different reader apps: Julia Pestke of the West German Radio Orchestra, who uses dimusco; Luke Speedy-Hutton of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, who uses Newzik; and Signe Marie Steensland of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, who uses forScore. More from Scoring Notes: The tech trek to the 2023 MOLA conference The best iPad score reader for most people [2023 update] Justin Bianco, forScore, and more

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