Finale Allegro 2007 or Finale Printmusic?

[DoubleBlade]

After doing much research on the different brands of music notation softwares , I've decided to go with the Finale brand of music notation software.

Okay here are my requirements :

1) I compose my own melodies and songs on my piano and so as such I would like to have my melodies scored out on software.

2) Print my melodies for future references.

3) Venture into simple MIDI sequencing via music notation scoring.

4) For point 3 to happen , I would need a variety of instrument samples. I'm not really particular about how realistic sounding these in built samples are since I'm only starting out with MIDI sequencing.


From what I've gathered so far , Allegro 2007 has MIDI sequencing functions while Printmusic does not have.

Allegro retails at $300 (ordered via online) because the local distributor said that Allegro isn't a popular choice in Singapore and so as such they only bring in printmusic and Finale 2007.

Printmusic retails at $159 at Challenger.

Of course Allegro has more functions than printmusic but what I'm looking for in Allegro is the relavance of additional functions based on my requirments. I don't want to spend $300 on Allegro only to find out that I'm paying extra $141 (price difference between Printmusic and Allegro) for a bunch of extra awesome functions which will become white elephants to me.

Please advise.

Cheers

 

[Cheez]

I guess you have already looked at other competitors like Sibelius and Notion.

The truth is, I don't see too much difference between Allegro and Printmusic. I don't think the extra cost is justifiable. The only thing I see that's in Allegro that's significantly different is the ability to edit midi. But since you've already said midi is not your goal, so you should just get Printmusic and save the money. You have the choice of an upgrade later. And if I were to upgrade, Printmusic to Allegro upgrade does not seem to make much sense. I would consider upgrade to the full Finale.

So, the retailer bringing in only Printmusic and Finale 2007 is the correct and wise choice.

There are 2 ways people write music. One is pure notation (visual). People with theory background do this. The other is writing by sequencing on a controller (auditory). You seem to be the visual type. But sometime in the future, you may change. Then you'll want to consider getting a DAW instead of a notation program.

For your info, I was a pure visual guy. I made sure all my harmony is correct, all the counterpoint made sense on paper in all the instruments etc, before I sequence them. I have stakcs and stacks of scores on paper that I wrote. But later, I move to somewhere in between the two. I now sequence directly (as I can now "see" the notes in my head while listening) as it is faster. I write down the notes when I need to make sure about harmony rules and when dealing with complex orchestrations. Because in the end, it is how it sounds that matter.

 

[DoubleBlade]

Hmmm basically you write your melodies on a sheet of paper and then you can more or less visualise what it would sound like when its played via MIDI?

For me first I will sit on my piano and start to doodle around with it. When I've got a couple of melodies which I find appealing , I write them down. This is how I compose my own instrumentals.

I presume that also falls under the category of visual writing?

 

[Cheez]

No Doubleblade. I can do what you say - that's how we are being trained in theory. When I do 4 part harmony, I can hear the 4 parts in my head.

But nowadays I don't even write down my melody on paper. I hear them. At least 5 instruments parts will be in my head at any one time. I can hear and "see" them as if they are on paper. So I sequence them directly without putting them down on paper.

But if I'm unsure about whether the harmony is making sense, or if I encounter some parts that's overly complex, I would put down the parts on paper and do my homework on harmony on the parts to make sure they are correct. This is much faster.

Melodies are easy. It's when you have an entire orchestra in your head - then it can get complex.

For example, right now....I'm still finding the time to do my second Narnia piece. I've got the 4 string sections, the flutes, the horns, the trumpets, the percussion (bass drum, timpanis, cymbals) and harp in my head right now and I can "see" how they look on paper. I still need to add in other parts but they get complex - the other instruments will have to be down on paper when I actually do the piece.

 

[DoubleBlade]

Geez I wonder how Berlioz ever wrote his pieces! :lol:

Anyways I think most probably I'll get Finale Printmusic either today or tomorrow.

I guess there's not much difference between Printmusic and Allegro after all.

 

[Cheez]

The old school of music writing is still important. Depends on what you are gong to write for. Now with technology, things can move faster. Berlioz didn't have these tools at his disposal at his time. He may use them if he's born in our generation.

If you are writing for a live orchestra, then putting the score down is important. But even then, sequencing directly still has its strengths and advantages as you can hear and write at the same time. And DAW's have notation as well. I can always convert the sequences into notations and print them out. The key of sequencing directly is the speed. Nowadays, most writers write on a time constraint. Can't remember who it was, but was it Ravel who's speed writing skills was famous? He would finish one piece of sheet music, throw it out the window, somebody would catch it and transcribe it immediately. Then he would immediately write the second sheet. And I think he did a few different pieces like this at the same time simultaneously. Nowadays, we don't have to resort to this kind of stress - sequencing directly saves so much more time.

 

[DoubleBlade]

Alright I've just purchased my copy of Finale Printmusic and surprise surprise , it has almost the same features as Allegro. Even the interface looks exactly like Allegro!

 

[Cheez]

Actually, not that surprising. the interface should be the same for all the Finale products. And we already know from the specs from their website that the difference is minimal.

Anyway, congrats on your new purchase. Glad you are happy with it. That's the most important. So, are you going to give us some music?

 

[DoubleBlade]

Well in the meantime you can check out my myspace music account at

www.myspace.com/juliuschua

Don't think there will any new music coming out soon , my exam pieces takes first pirority , sad to say.

For now I'll just doodle around on my piano with whatever appealing melodies I can come up with during my free time.