I want to compose music, but it takes FOREVER to write it down on sheet music, and I know that there's a program called "Finally" but this program is expensive!! Is there any way to compose music for free on my computer, that would be fast, and easy?

Well, there is Finale notepad which I guess is still free. But that one have its limitations. You are not allowed to do many things in it like Finale or Sibelius.

Well, there is Finale notepad which I guess is still free. But that one have its limitations. You are not allowed to do many things in it like Finale or Sibelius.


Yeah, I guess it would be pritty imposable to get as amazing as finally for free :P hum... when I searched for Finale notepad it says it costs $10. which isn't bad.... but still free is nice... I think I will try the demo of it :) thank you for your help :)

what's Sibelius by the way?

If you are really into composing, I would recommend printmusic. It's still $100, but that sure as hell beats the $600 you would pay for the full version of finale, and it can do alot more than notepad. :P

Besides, you need at least 4-6 GB of RAM for finale to run well...only gaming computers that are a bazillion dollars have that much RAM. xD This is why I haven't bought finale yet...this peice of crap I call a computer only has 447 MB of RAM, so nothing really runs fast on it. xD

Sibelius is another notation software like Finale.

Finale does not need like 4-6gbs of RAM for run smoothly, unless you are using VSTs with it or GPO probably. But Finale alone can run very well with just 1gb of RAM. The minimum is 512mbs of RAM, and I have ran it with that quantity and can work fine with it. The playback would be the only problem if you click it constantly or when working with big scores, I guess.

If you just want to made music, with saving MIDI files, I would suggest the old Noteworthy Composer & Crack XD

'Twas what I started on, but after I bought it for a few dollars, I noticed I didn't want to make unfriendly scores and MIDI files. FINALE 2007.. 'cept I'll upgrade THAT in a couple of years too.

Sibelius is another notation software like Finale.

Finale does not need like 4-6gbs of RAM for run smoothly, unless you are using VSTs with it or GPO probably. But Finale alone can run very well with just 1gb of RAM. The minimum is 512mbs of RAM, and I have ran it with that quantity and can work fine with it. The playback would be the only problem if you click it constantly or when working with big scores, I guess.

Yes, the "recommended" (according to Makemusic) amount of RAM is 1GB in order to load GPO/VST instruments. Although, I'm running with 512MB and am fine with it.

Finale does not need like 4-6gbs of RAM for run smoothly, unless you are using VSTs with it or GPO probably. But Finale alone can run very well with just 1gb of RAM. The minimum is 512mbs of RAM, and I have ran it with that quantity and can work fine with it. The playback would be the only problem if you click it constantly or when working with big scores, I guess.

Really? :think:

Either way, finale does run slow if you don't have a decent amount of RAM....:heh:

Ugh, I hate that they're making you pay for even NOTEPAD now. <_< And they took off previous versions too!

I agree with what someone said earlier: if you're really into composing, the $100 PrintMusic is the least I would get. Songwriter, while $50, is still pretty much as limited as NotePad.

If you want to compose on anything, I suggest using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). If it's traditional instruments, then a notation software should fit your needs if you were going to show your work to someone, after all that's what sheet music is intended to be. But for flexibility I highly recommend DAW if you don't need any physical means of showing your work to others on paper (there are some DAWs that have notation built right in however). Since you're impatient with inputting notes, the best and fastest way of inputting notes is through a midi keyboard. Just play it and the DAW software will record it (you can tweak it afterwards).

Of course when it comes to DAW, it costs money. Lots of it because you'll need hardware and equipment besides software. Something you should think about in the future when you have the finance to afford all these things. I believe a basic setup costs around $500-$1000.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! REALLY!!! A HUGE THANKS!!! I will have to go look into what you guys have suggested :) THANK YOU MUCHO LOVE

also, I don't have a hook in keyboarded... although I would really love one :P um... yeah, I'm getting blank sheet music for Christmas any way, so I will probably just us that :)

I'll be extra patient :)


If you want to compose on anything, I suggest using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). If it's traditional instruments, then a notation software should fit your needs if you were going to show your work to someone, after all that's what sheet music is intended to be. But for flexibility I highly recommend DAW if you don't need any physical means of showing your work to others on paper (there are some DAWs that have notation built right in however). Since you're impatient with inputting notes, the best and fastest way of inputting notes is through a midi keyboard. Just play it and the DAW software will record it (you can tweak it afterwards).

Of course when it comes to DAW, it costs money. Lots of it because you'll need hardware and equipment besides software. Something you should think about in the future when you have the finance to afford all these things. I believe a basic setup costs around $500-$1000.


ok, when I become rich and famous, I will look into that one :P ha, my guy friend is the one that kind of got me into this in case you were wondering... also my best friend gave me good feelings toward it also :)

You think that's bad? Notice how they said a BASIC setup. I know that professional quality stuff can get like, 5 times more expensive. xD

Anyway, if you aren't willing to pay for a program, I'm sure you can find notepad '08 somewhere, but I really would recommend printmusic. Yes, you still have to pay, but you are VERY limited with notepad...for example, you can't even change clefs in notepad, so you have to read a hundred ledger lines instead. XD Plus, I think you can only have like, up to 8 instruments in notepad...you can have like 20 or something in printmusic.

yeah, I will get it some time, that seems like a good program... I think I may go for songwriter instead though :)

Here's a chart comparing the Finale family products:
http://www.finalemusic.com/CompareFeatures.aspx

If you still opt for SongWriter, you could always upgrade to the next expensive product at a fraction of the price. ^_^

Or you could take a few hours of your day and download both full versions of Finale and the sound samples of your choice to go with it without paying a dime.

Or you could take a few hours of your day and download both full versions of Finale and the sound samples of your choice to go with it without paying a dime.


How? Oh, right the Demo? yeah, those are nice. Except the Demo Only last a month... :(

Wow...a mod is promoting piracy. Nice. XD

Wow...a mod is promoting piracy. Nice. XD

oh, never mind... NO I wont do that. Ever. I follow the law. Thanks though

yae well as of a few weeks (or months) ago finale's not even free anymore, u cant even download the free one, there making u buy it. So u might as well pirate it. Or even better pirate the full version :P Cuz i doubt anyone here is such a serious composer to put more than 100$ on software.

... unless they're rich

ha ha, or there parents are... my friend has song writer, but I think they are just going to stick with that.

right, cuz the rich dont pirate right? HAHAHA

well, they might, but still they could buy it :P

Finale notepad is free...


Without pirating. It's just free.
-.-

Finale notepad is free...


Without pirating. It's just free.
-.-

I searched for it on the Finale page $10..... um maybe that is the wrong site though??

uggh. wow. earlier versions than '09 were all free. Looks like theyve just started charging for it this year.

uggh. wow. earlier versions than '09 were all free. Looks like theyve just started charging for it this year.

thats dumb.... :(

I'm sure if you go on something like download.com, you could probably find notepad '08, which was free. :)

hey, smart thinking!! thanks :)

Would not be that illegal now like downloading the full version...? Edit: I noticed was '08.

And I think is ridiculous to pay $10 dollars for something that is completely limited. $10 dollars is really cheap, but the thing is totally limited. Also to turn something that was for free to make profit of it now. I see it not necessary. Unless they are receiving a low gain of their products. Or want to earn more money. Or probably was causing people to not buy their other software, which I doubt due the limitations of notepad.

Edit:

"MuseScore, a good alternative for Finale Notepad 2009?"

http://musescore.org/en/node/104

The notepad version was basically a bait for consumers to try their product, and get them to realize that they need to purchase the full version. Now they need a new bait to try the old bait to buy the final product. Since musicians more often than not are intelligent people, FinaleMusic is going to fail.

Musescore isn't better...it only comes with piano sounds, so if you try to compose for other instruments, no playback will happen at all. Plus, it's MIDI playback for piano I think...(i tried that program a zillion years ago, so I dont' remember..) As much as I hate to say it, if you do need a program, notepad probably is better than musescore, unless they decide to add more instrument sounds.

Musescore isn't better...it only comes with piano sounds, so if you try to compose for other instruments, no playback will happen at all. Plus, it's MIDI playback for piano I think...(i tried that program a zillion years ago, so I dont' remember..) As much as I hate to say it, if you do need a program, notepad probably is better than musescore, unless they decide to add more instrument sounds.

well thats dumb... oh well.

The notepad version was basically a bait for consumers to try their product, and get them to realize that they need to purchase the full version. Now they need a new bait to try the old bait to buy the final product. Since musicians more often than not are intelligent people, FinaleMusic is going to fail.

Well that same company makes the Smart Music practice program for beginners so, who knows, they might stay around for a while on the money from that. I really hope they can get their act together though, 'cause I (and at least several others, I'm sure) would not enjoy switching after just recently shelling out a bunch of money for Finale 2008.

I hope finalemusic is still around after a while as well...I don't want to learn a new program. XD If they DO fail though, I'm sure someone will buy the company and keep finale...

I hope finalemusic is still around after a while as well...I don't want to learn a new program. XD If they DO fail though, I'm sure someone will buy the company and keep finale...

with the way the economy is going right now, its not likely

with the way the economy is going right now, its not likely

I disagree with many things. Only a couple of banks and the motor companies are heavily suffering at the moment. Other tings will plunge if stuff continues, but let's get on topic now of free composition programs! :)

I hope finalemusic is still around after a while as well...I don't want to learn a new program. XD If they DO fail though, I'm sure someone will buy the company and keep finale...

I doubt Finale would go to bankruptcy. They have been active in the industry for many years and are one of the top notation software produced. Now, if that really happen, there is still Sibelius which is their stronger rival.

eh, true true. I really would like to find a free place... he he. oh well :P

Like I said download Noteworthy Composer and then download the Crack for it. XD

Like I said download Noteworthy Composer and then download the Crack for it. XD

so, um get music then scan it? right?

What about Logic 8 ? I think it might have some tonal analysis tools as well - I am Logic express 7 and I will pop into the shops soon to have a look at Logic 8 see what it has for me.

hehe, new guy on the thread :sweat: i'm not sure if any1 suggested this (cause i skiped from page 1 to page 3) but i recommend u try ahem *caught* getting it from a torrent site (since i didn't really read the rules i'm not gonna type in the address of the site i found it on [2008{with keygen}]) ... *wow i used a lot of brackets* if u want the site pm me and i'll mail it to you.
and just in case you're interested in torrent sites u need a torrent client (google utorrent-it's free and maybe the best there is)

sweet, very useful sight, and i got it to work finally as well. Thanks :)

Torrents are illegal though. It's better just to get the full version anyway, so you can get customer support and stuff...(cause you can't exactly give them your fake product key if you ever need help XD)

I feel very.. very.. lucky. o___o I use the full legal version of Finale 2004. Though old, at least it's much much better than notepad and at least it's legal. XD

eee... yeah.. ok, no illegal stuff!! Lol, I dont want to get into trouble... thanks guys for warning me :)

sweet, very useful sight, and i got it to work finally as well. Thanks :)

And I thought you was in the path already. -_^

My friend dl-ed Finale w/ keygen, but it gave his computer a virus and kept crashing it. I don't mind that it's illegal, since the FBI has better things to worry about than to monitor millions of illegal dl's a day, but the viruses scare me o_o

Yeah, I almost got the downloads, but then my com was being a little stupid (lucky for me) so I won't go looking for that site any more... he he

My friend dl-ed Finale w/ keygen, but it gave his computer a virus and kept crashing it. I don't mind that it's illegal, since the FBI has better things to worry about than to monitor millions of illegal dl's a day, but the viruses scare me o_o

The FBI actually will prosecute pirates...they did 7 raids last year on people modchipping. :eek: Granted, they were turning around and selling the pirated games and the modchips to earn loads of money, but still. It would be silly to go to jail over a program you can get for $250 at student price. XD

okay! I found a great website!

http://www.denemo.org/?q=node/4

denemo! woot! it's great! it takes some getting used to though.

not liking it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scorewriters

THANK YOU!!!! Is MuseScore Legal, and also is denemo legal?

Musescore is legal, (it's actually a community project) but it's not a very good program. The only instrument sounds it has is piano, and even that is the crap midi sounds your computer comes with. But if you can tolerate that, and the lack of features, then go for it. :P

Yeah, I tried it. It is a little yucky. I dont like it.... hum... oh well

Did you try Denemo? I haven't yet, but I'm planning to.

I did, it also is not very good. You can try it if you want though... I just didn't like it

do you want a program like Finale?

its ok

well, I can't really help you anymore if you don't want to use those programs. they are all legal, so yaa...

Yeah, I just dont want to use them because they are a bit to cheep. I would like finale, but eventually I will earn enough to buy song writer, so no worries

well, good luck!

Oh, and here's some advice:

Get the cheapest one you can find. like say, finale. finale 2002 is maybe $75 while finale 2008 is $100+. And maybe 2008 has a couple of new things, but, I'd rather get 2002.

hope it helps.

Well, if you still want it for free, and legally, you could try using a freebie site. I know this sounds stupid, but hear me out. :P

See, I use a site called prizerebel (http://tinyurl.com/775ajx) to get free stuff. I already got a game from them totally for free, so no scam here. :P (shipping was even free!) If you want to try, you can sign up and earn some points to get the program you want off of ebay as a custom prize. There's no BS like those other 'freebie' sites that make you buy stuff, these offers are totally free. They don't spam/sell your email either. XD

I would recommend downloading roboform for the survey offers so you aren't sitting there for 10 minutes filling out forms. Also, you might want to go to mailinator or 10minutemail.com for a fake email to use on offers. If you want extra tips, look on youtube for some videos. They are really helpful. :P

okay, well, I can't find a good program to write the music.

I guess I'll just have to wait until I get a credit card. :[

hum... how would I go and down load Finaly 2002? by downloadit.com?

No, you'd still have to pay for it. (a lot less though, since the program is old. probably less than $100!) I wouldn't recommend buying used software online though, since the person can just sell you the disc with the program, but no authentication key needed to actually use the program.

I saw a couple of listings like this on ebay, where people were selling just the finale '09 disc for $100, with no key. I feel bad for people who fell for this scam. :\

hum, I dont really trust online things... I tried to do that with a game once, and I got the wrong game.. so yeah... any who.

https://www.finalemusic.com/store/download.aspx?id=392

Check this out. I found the notepad '08 download link. :D I know alot of people have been without a free composing tool since makemusic decided to charge for notepad, so here it is. It's legal too, since it's the download for the last free version. :P

notepad is very limited... :/
that's sad.

Yeah, I can use the free download (for a month) if I really wanted note book. I don't like note book. Thanks for the suggestion though. I've acually heard that finale has taken away the free download for a month thing. I think thats stupid. Any way. Thanks for the suggestions

HELP! I neeed a mew world symphony for solo violin

P.S. there's something out there called pizzicato and its not that expensive and it is really complex :]

Notepad may be limited to hell and over, but even notepad beats writing out every damn note out on paper. XD

true

Notepad may be limited to hell and over, but even notepad beats writing out every damn note out on paper. XD
That is true only for some people. Finale is the number #1 composer killer in many aspects.

Musescore isn't better...it only comes with piano sounds, so if you try to compose for other instruments, no playback will happen at all. Plus, it's MIDI playback for piano I think...(i tried that program a zillion years ago, so I dont' remember..) As much as I hate to say it, if you do need a program, notepad probably is better than musescore, unless they decide to add more instrument sounds.

I actually prefer Musescore over Finale Notepad 2008. Inputting, deleting, and moving around notes seems a lot more intuitive in Musescore. I especially hate how Notepad moves things around when you delete notes instead of replacing them with rests which makes it a hassle to rewrite sections of music from scratch.

As for the MIDI playback, it's actually possible to replace the MIDI synthesizer with sound fonts of your choosing so that it can play more than just piano sounds.

Granted, MuseScore is open source so it's not as stable as Finale's stuff, but with version 0.9.4, if you save your work often, it's just a matter of getting learning what'll cause the program to have problems and to avoid them.

If you don't mind the fact that you're not working with score directly (that is you type the notes in a text form rather than inputting them into a staff), there's the Lilypond Engraver (http://lilypond.org/web/) that produces very nice typesets and can also output basic to highly advanced scores. It also helps with musical progression as you actually view the note names and what relative they're in, preventing hidden problems (though composers eventually learn how to see these things in score form). There's a bit of a learning curve, but it ultimately works out better than using a WYSIWYG engraver.

I can't really work with lilypond. it's something wrong with my computer...

\

As for the MIDI playback, it's actually possible to replace the MIDI synthesizer with sound fonts of your choosing so that it can play more than just piano sounds.

How do you do this?

I figured it out. I replaced it with steinway grand piano samplings. It still doesn't sound very real though. I have one question, how do you add sutain pedaling?

If you are using finale, click on the articulation tool, and then double-click wherever you want the pedal. There should be a picture that says "ped." For a pedal stop, there is this star-like thing, which should be next to the pedal marking. :P

Although it's not allowed, you can get it on torrent.

Wow! I hope one of you torrenters gets caught! Maybe if more people get caught, the government will get their asses moving to shut down all these p2p websites and actually enforce copyright laws.

It's so stupid to pirate finale, it's not that hard to get if you save your money. :\ Or if you use sites like the one in my signature. :P

Well the problem is that a good portion of the big sites are based in foreign countries where copyright laws might be different from ours. Its kinda hard to shut down a site that doesn't belong in the jurisdiction of your country, you know.

Yes, but if American-owned copyrights are being hosted, (which 99% of the time they are) then action can be taken. :P I hope that the trial against the pirate bay goes well and they get shut down or something, cause when I'm out working in the music industry, I don't want to lose money to pirates who are too stupid to pay a stinking dollar for a song. :\

I've been "raised" on noteworthy. I bought print music but it takes forever for me to notate in it. In noteworthy you can use arrows liberally to move up and down the staff, but in print music it's confusing to use the "hyperthingy" that lets you use arrows.

In the trial version of Noteworthy you can't save for PDF, mp3, and trying to print sheet music will give you an annoying "this is a trial version" between staves. The horizontal layout is also annoying when working with a single staff. Also, you can only save a song 10 times, but that's nothing really since you can copy and paste into a new file. It's very user-friendly though, with "intuitive" commands 'n such, not like other programs that have their own crazy jargon you have to memorize, well, that's just 'cause I'm fairly lazy when it comes to these things :)

+1 lilypond. Open source. Ultra powerful.

nwc all the way! trial version works just fine for me with nwc. amazing amount of instruments, though all midi, it gives an amazing amount of possibilities. It will take time to get use to if you're not use to using the computer keyboard to notate but I've had it for 7years now and I still use it.

It doesn't look as good as the other programs on paper if you're printing scores though.

Now, I've noticed a LOT of really good suggestions here, but I was wondering if anybody knew where I could find a program that had an input much like this (http://s494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/TheObsidianShadow/?action=view&current=3mlcleanhx4.jpg), but has a more extensive MIDI sound database? And if there IS one out there, how would I import sound effects like a Choir or a Clarinet or something like that? Oh yeah! And if there's anything out there that also incorporates Drums or instruments like that, info on that would also be appreciated. I currently have a thread up right now if anybody would want to check it and help me out here :]

Wow, 3ML. I never knew other people also used that. XD
I think what you are looking for is FL Studio...

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/porschegtiii/untitled-5.jpg

It has the Piano Roll editing style like 3ML, you can use your sound cards's MIDI sounds if you like and you can use the program's sounds or any other VST sound library.

You mean you want something with a piano roll editor (http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/6848/aspianoroll.jpg)? Then, you could try Anvil Studio (http://www.anvilstudio.com/upgraden.htm) (it's free!), as shown in the pic.

It will let you use any of the 128 midi instruments you choose.

Or for a little bit of cash (~$20+shipping (http://cgi.ebay.com/Cakewalk-Music-Creator-3-All-Intact-NEW-SEALED-BOX_W0QQitemZ280323598503QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Sof tware?hash=item280323598503&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A15%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318)) , you could grab Cakewalk Music Creator 3 or 4 (http://shop.ebay.com/items/__cakewalk-music-creator_W0QQQ5ftrkparmsZ72Q253A1205Q257C66Q253A2Q2 57C65Q253A12Q257C39Q253A1QQ_dmdZ1QQ_dmptZUSQ5fSoft wareQQ_fromfsbZQQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQ_sopZ15 QQ_scZ1). (Cakewalk let's you insert events and do other stuff Anvil Studio doesn't).

Plus Cakewalk looks a bit nicer (http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2973/cmc03.jpg), in my opinion. That's a pic of me using Cakewalk Music Creator 2003 (hey, why should upgrade if this meets all of my needs? :heh:).

Does anyone here know of Notation Composer? That's what I use and have enjoyed it more than Finale or Sibelius, but I guess that's since I'm used to it.

Is not it called Notion? Or is that another one? There is also "Personal Composer", another notation software. Maybe cheaper than Finale and Sibelius, I am not sure.

Notability? Thats the one that my university teaches us to use but no one really use it lol.

is finalemusic a safe site???

Yes, it's a safe site...if you are going to buy one of their products though, try ebay first. (only from reputable sellers though!) I got finale like $100 cheaper off of ebay. :P

I just saw this:

http://puzzle.software.informer.com/download-puzzle-music-midi/

http://www.creatingmusic.com/new/sketch/newcanvas/variations.html =p

Has anyone suggested Musescore? I think its pretty useful except when I open some other midi files there's like a bunch of staffs

Now, I've noticed a LOT of really good suggestions here, but I was wondering if anybody knew where I could find a program that had an input much like this (http://s494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/TheObsidianShadow/?action=view&current=3mlcleanhx4.jpg), but has a more extensive MIDI sound database? And if there IS one out there, how would I import sound effects like a Choir or a Clarinet or something like that? Oh yeah! And if there's anything out there that also incorporates Drums or instruments like that, info on that would also be appreciated. I currently have a thread up right now if anybody would want to check it and help me out here :]

Isn't there's a software called Fruity Loops or something like that?

I honestly think Finale Notepad is still the way to go. True, it costs $10 and it's kind of limited, but if you're just starting out I still think it's your best option.

I'm going to have to reccommend good old Cakewalk Sonar. The newest edition is around 100 US dollars, and I'd say it's worth every penny. It doesn't have the prettiest sounds in the world, given that it's only midi quality, but you can edit and compose notation, or in the piano roll, or MIDI record directly. I sound like an advertisement :P. But I've been using cakewalke since I was like 12 years old, and I'm going on 20 and I still love it.

Composing music for free is the easy part, I think. The hard part, and the one worth discussing, is making money composing. We should have a thread for that :think:

Make it then! ;)

Hey sorry about that guys:heh:, I just wanted to say thanks to all :)

Composing music for free is the easy part, I think. The hard part, and the one worth discussing, is making money composing. We should have a thread for that :think:

Here you go. (http://forums.ichigos.com/showthread.php?17754-How-to-NOT-be-a-starving-artist.-xD&p=474996#post474996) I kinda just started a discussion about the music industry in general, but it still works. xD

I recommend you to check again MuseScore, it was improved a lot since two years, I do most things I want with it ;)

Whoot! Back on after three years of not being here... LOL! SO sorry! Hope all is well over here :D

Welcome back! But I wasn't on this forum three years ago...

As for the topic, MuseScore is pretty good.

Hi Teenpower! I am a new cellist that is into anime music. You can can hear some of my previous musical pieces in the "record yourself playing thread". The thread seems to gone cold. I know I am a beginner, but let's get the thread hot again.

Alright! I hope to hear it soon! I unfortunately don't feel that my performing abilities would be up to "que" with everyone else :P. Haven't really practiced much :p

I am a beginner myself. I have gotten much better since my last post of some samples of my playing. I will post some more samples. Do the same. I am thinking of starting a "daily practice thread". I want everyone to practice and post what they are working on that day. I want to hear "out of tune", off time notes, and hear some struggle through a piece. Hey we all got to learn. We need to stop the shyness and improve together.