KVR Readers' Choice Awards 2021: Top 5 nominations for 'Favorite Software for Notation'

By KVR Audio on September 13th, 2021

The nominations for the 2021 KVR Readers' Choice Awards are in, as voted for by the KVR community. Voting is now open so make yourself heard here.

We present to you the top 5 nominations for 'Favorite Software for Notation'.

Logic Pro is a comprehensive software package that delivers everything a musician needs to write, record, edit, mix, and perform in the studio and on the stage

Complete music notation

• Real-time transcription.
• Instrument transposition.
• Guitar tablature.
• Drum notation.
• Chord symbols.
• Adaptive lyric input.
• Automatic multibar rests.
• Comprehensive palette of slurs, crescendis, and other ornaments.
• Staff Styles for easy recall of multiple stave attributes.
• Score Sets allow instruments to be combined for editing and print.
• Layout and printing of complete professional scores.

Sibelius Ultimate Key Features:

• Composing, arranging, and publishing scores and parts of any size and complexity; creating notation worksheets and exercises for education.
• Subscribe monthly or annually, purchase and own a perpetual license, trade-up from other notation software, or get network licensing.
• Compose smoothly and flexibly with cutting-edge features.
• Updated interface lets you work faster and with greater detail.
• Write music with a pen on a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet.
• Use multi-touch gestures to interact with scores.
• Compatible with the latest Mac and Windows operating systems.
• Included PhotoScore and NotateMe Lite software.
• Includes 1 year of Standard support (web support) and software updates.

YouTube.com/playlist?list=PLhCR_8aS9jOPvy871jRUESB0EdgOCD8s1

Notion bridges the gap between notation and an audio application. So now, not only can you compose and hear your notated score played back instantly with real instrument samples, you can actually perform live or produce music that sounds amazing.

Traditional Notation or Tablature – Fast and Easy:

• Easily compose, play back, and edit music.
• Perform scores using Notion as a live instrument and save your performance.
• Create a score on a Mac, Windows computer or tablet, and continue to edit on iPad or iPhone and vice versa.
• Interactive Entry Tools: Keyboard, Fretboard, Drum Pad, Chord Library (including custom chords).
• Cross-platform handwriting recognition, powered by MyScript for written entry.
• Sequencer overlay to see notation and MIDI data on the same staff.
• Windows touchscreen support... just use your finger or stylus and tap.
• Work with Notion in your native language with options for Sim. Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.

Deliver Professional Scores and Polished Performances:

• Print entire scores, individual parts, or lead sheets with chords and lyrics.
• Layout control tools: drag notes, measure lines, time signatures, and more, while avoiding accidental respacing.
• Show/hide parts independently by system for maximum readability.
• Import/export files to/from Finale and Sibelius via MusicXML or other apps via Standard MIDI.
• Export scores as PDF files.
• Export WAV or MP3 audio files.
• One-click Bounce All export of individual staves or mixed buses.
• Share music with fans instantly via SoundCloud.

YouTube.com/watch?v=1gEhDajR9YM

Finale is a powerful music notation software application that lets you express your creativity and love of music. Compose, arrange, notate, and print engraver-quality sheet music.

Dorico redefines the gold standard in scoring software. Built from the ground up with today's multi-core 64-bit CPUs in mind, Dorico will take advantage of all of your system's horsepower while the intuitive workflows help you focus on each aspect of score preparation. The beauty and balance of Dorico's output is unrivaled, with hundreds of options to control every aspect of your music's appearance. And with Steinberg's award-winning audio engine at its heart, Dorico allows you to use your VST instruments and effects to produce great-sounding playback too.

Composing, arranging — or just writing and printing out music — is made much quicker and more efficient with Dorico. Thanks to its intelligent design, it automatically adjusts the notation as you write. With nearly 1,500 sounds included, arrangements can be played back with exceptional realism and, with no workarounds needed for advanced notation, Dorico produces excellent results much more quickly than has been possible before.

Learn

With its streamlined, natural user interface, students and those with less experience in scoring can compose and arrange straight into Dorico, making learning the language of music notation much faster and more intuitive. Editing and making changes — such as instrument, time signature or key — are straightforward, with the notation instantly and correctly adapting to include them, reinforcing the learning outcome. For teachers, producing teaching materials and hand-outs that mix music and text is easy, and it's never been quicker to adapt arrangements for your band, orchestra or other school ensemble.

Publish

Dorico is the perfect tool for music engraving, publishing and copying. It automatically lays out pages of balance and beauty, with comprehensive collision avoidance and advanced algorithms that handle almost any musical context with ease. Music made with Dorico has the look of the finest traditionally engraved music, and the software provides tweaking tools to satisfy the most demanding professional. Producing high-quality, crystal-clear scores for selling or performance has never been faster or easier.

Exceptional engraving

Dorico engraves music better than almost any human can – producing beautifully clear results all by itself. And clearer results mean more accurate sight-reading, and shorter rehearsals.

We spent years consulting experienced engravers, leading music publishers, and hundreds of books and scores, to design the world's most sophisticated engraving algorithms. No other program incorporates anything like this level of expertise.

Attention has been lavished on every detail, from the meticulous design of the 3000 symbol Bravura font, to positioning rules for every notated element. Dorico can space music more tightly than any other program, tucking and kerning accidentals, etc. so that fast rhythms aren't distorted.

Read More KVR Readers Choice Awards