Week 4 - MUED4002

This week we started off with using Musescore – something I’m very familiar with as it is the main notation software I use. After we learnt the similarities and differences between Musescore and other notation software such as Sibelius and Finale, we messed around with the software and quickly notated some music. Here is what I did.

We discussed the positives and negatives of Musescore, and how it could be implemented into the classroom, with particular focus on exporting into MusicXML, which (as long as the other notation software supports it) can mean that music written on Musescore can be transferred onto other software with minimal formatting changes. This is incredibly useful, since most students may not have Sibelius at home, and Musescore is free, meaning students can compose at home (without having to spend a large amount of money to purchase expensive notation software).

We then experimented with two other notation programs, Noteflight and Flat.io. These are also slightly different to Musescore, as they both can run through browsers, which is further useful for students who may not have enough space on their laptop to download Musescore. As I was unfamiliar with these, there was more trial and error, and I would have to use these programs more before I could comfortably say whether or not I like them.

Overall, there were many more options for notation software available than I had previously thought, especially those that were free or could be used in a browser. This will be useful for further use in assignments, as well as at schools.