Can someone recommend notation software that does a decent job of creating a piano staff notation from midi input, either via real time performance or the playing of a midi file?
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions
Can someone recommend notation software that does a decent job of creating a piano staff notation from midi input, either via real time performance or the playing of a midi file?
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions
Musescore is very good and free , version 4 which is coming soon is going to be amazing. For very complex features, Sibelius is probably the most powerful notation software that exists but it take a very long time to master it because it is not intuitive.
larrycalame wrote:Can someone recommend notation software that does a decent job of creating a piano staff notation from midi input, either via real time performance or the playing of a midi file?
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions
Musescore is very good and free , version 4 which is coming soon is going to be amazing. For very complex features, Sibelius is probably the most powerful notation software that exists but it take a very long time to master it because it is not intuitive.
I've heard great things about MuseScore as well! Definitely try that out, especially since it's free.
I always found Sibelius quite intuitive to be honest, it is my preferred notation program. If you've ever tried Finale you'll soon learn about what's intuitive and what's not.
I think that you could try also the Steinberg Dorico which is very good. A demo version is possible to download to test it.
Dorico SE is free, too. No time limit for testing piano.
+1 for MuseScore. For many years I had been using Capella, but I now find that MuseScore is equal or superior in many ways, and it's so easy to use. I don't know how good MuseScore is for interpreting MIDI, though, because I don't use it that way. With any notation software I would think you'd have to start with something that's been played to a click in strict tempo (or quantized), otherwise you'd get some weird results.
Musescore is certainly very nice but probably not the best choice for "real time", there are some frustrating limits: no recording of triplets for example. If you work on a Mac, Logic Pro X is also a choice to seriously consider, especially since via Musicxml, it is possible to export files to Musescore for example.
There is already a lot to choose from for the OP, but I'd like to throw in a few options. Notion 6 from Presonus gets good reviews. There doesn't seem to be a trial version of it, at least I couldn't find it.
https://www.presonus.com/products/Notion
Notation Composer is not bad, I bought it many years ago. Still use it, and it has a trial version, though I don't know how long the trial is good for.
https://notation.com/Download.php
I remember also trying out MidiIllustrator Maestro, thought it was pretty good, at least enough for me. It had a trial version, not time limited, but you could only open it a certain amount of times, don't remember if it was thirty or fourty times.
http://midiillustrator.com/download.htm
If Musescore doesn't work for you, then the above options and other ones mentioned by others, are worth checking out.
joannchr wrote:larrycalame wrote:Can someone recommend notation software that does a decent job of creating a piano staff notation from midi input, either via real time performance or the playing of a midi file?
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions
Musescore is very good and free , version 4 which is coming soon is going to be amazing. For very complex features, Sibelius is probably the most powerful notation software that exists but it take a very long time to master it because it is not intuitive.
I've heard great things about MuseScore as well! Definitely try that out, especially since it's free.
I always found Sibelius quite intuitive to be honest, it is my preferred notation program. If you've ever tried Finale you'll soon learn about what's intuitive and what's not.
(smile) we have a different notion of ´intuitive ‘ the simple fact there are YouTube tutorials on how to enter tempo in Sibelius seems to me like a red card , given this is probably the most basic parameter in a score and doesn’t appear in the menu . If you ever try to do a piano reduction of a symphony midi file , and don’t have to consult the manual a few times then you are a star . Now I agree it is very powerful stuff when you know all the shortcuts as the logic of the menu hierarchy is questionable.
By the way, I forgot to mention that it’s not necessarily a good idea to record a live performance in a notation software because of latency . If you play live , you want the best latency in order to have the best possible playability and response as it influences your playing , so best option is to record natively from within pianoteq or within a DAW which has a low latency option such a logic . Notation software such as finale or Sibelius are not very good in that department as this is not what they are really designed for . They are not DAWs , you can enter notes with a keyboard as a way to input , but using the tool to perform the entire workflow of studio recording is not a good idea. So best record with a tool designed for that and edit and format the score with MuseScore , finale, Sibelius or anything you like the most . Best of both world . Cheers
Can someone recommend notation software that does a decent job of creating a piano staff notation from midi input, either via real time performance or the playing of a midi file?
Hi Larry,
are you aware of NCH's Crescendo?
https://www.nch.com.au/notation/index.html
It might be a good fit for your needs.
larrycalame wrote:Can someone recommend notation software that does a decent job of creating a piano staff notation from midi input, either via real time performance or the playing of a midi file?
Hi Larry,
are you aware of NCH's Crescendo?
https://www.nch.com.au/notation/index.html
It might be a good fit for your needs.
Thanks - I'll give it a look
Can someone recommend notation software that does a decent job of creating a piano staff notation from midi input, either via real time performance or the playing of a midi file?
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. That gives me a good place to start exploring.
Just to emphasize, about the only thing I care about is accuracy in generating piano staff notation from (digital piano) keyboard input. I assume that, for practical purposes, any software will require that my input be done with a metronome, and that I may also have to specify minimum quantization unit. But even then, I'm thinking it would be a challenge for the software to "know" which notes were played with which hand (I don't expect to do any crossovers of hands, but for a given piece the range of notes played by the left hand will often overlap with that of the right hand).
Notion 6 from Presonus gets good reviews.
This is the only notation software I really have any experience with. It has some nice real-time features and a display mode that overlays MIDI on notation which other apps may not (?). And it offers a tight integration with Presonus Studio One if you have interest in using it with a full-fledged DAW. With reference specifically to piano notation, however, it has some troubling quirks/omissions; the two biggies for me:
- It records/imports and converts MIDI to notation but does not render CC64 as pedal markings even if they're just simple up/down, non-continuous events.
- It's not very intelligent about splitting notes across the grand staff and doesn't allow simply dragging notes between clefs to correct.
Sanderxpander wrote:joannchr wrote:Musescore is very good and free , version 4 which is coming soon is going to be amazing. For very complex features, Sibelius is probably the most powerful notation software that exists but it take a very long time to master it because it is not intuitive.
I've heard great things about MuseScore as well! Definitely try that out, especially since it's free.
I always found Sibelius quite intuitive to be honest, it is my preferred notation program. If you've ever tried Finale you'll soon learn about what's intuitive and what's not.
(smile) we have a different notion of ´intuitive ‘ the simple fact there are YouTube tutorials on how to enter tempo in Sibelius seems to me like a red card , given this is probably the most basic parameter in a score and doesn’t appear in the menu . If you ever try to do a piano reduction of a symphony midi file , and don’t have to consult the manual a few times then you are a star . Now I agree it is very powerful stuff when you know all the shortcuts as the logic of the menu hierarchy is questionable.
By the way, I forgot to mention that it’s not necessarily a good idea to record a live performance in a notation software because of latency . If you play live , you want the best latency in order to have the best possible playability and response as it influences your playing , so best option is to record natively from within pianoteq or within a DAW which has a low latency option such a logic . Notation software such as finale or Sibelius are not very good in that department as this is not what they are really designed for . They are not DAWs , you can enter notes with a keyboard as a way to input , but using the tool to perform the entire workflow of studio recording is not a good idea. So best record with a tool designed for that and edit and format the score with MuseScore , finale, Sibelius or anything you like the most . Best of both world . Cheers
Sibelius uses ASIO drivers and works well at low latency if necessary.
Yes, obviously more advanced functions would be more complicated. I don't know what you mean about tempo though, Sibelius follows any tempo you write down. Once you realize it actually follows basically every notation you use, it's intuitive enough, at least for all the basics. You can click and drag and create and delete everything on screen. Try using Finale for an hour and see how quickly you get bored of not having selected the right tool or mode for the job.
Anyway, it's not free so there are better things to try first. I actually installed MuseScore to try it out this afternoon. Took me a while to get rid of note stems (for lead sheet purposes) and I still have to do them one at a time (in Sibelius, select the correct notehead and they're gone). I also had to google how to add a chord symbol (just CTRL+K) because I couldn't find it in any menu or "palette". YMMV.
are you talking about notation software that allows using your keyboard as an input device or actually taking a midi file and producing sensible notation from it? because if it's the latter, then there is unfortunately nothing that does a reasonable job. MuseScore will do it but the output is typically useless. it's a fine notation program, it's just the problem of producing usable notation from a free performance is not exactly solved yet.
are you talking about notation software that allows using your keyboard as an input device or actually taking a midi file and producing sensible notation from it? because if it's the latter, then there is unfortunately nothing that does a reasonable job. MuseScore will do it but the output is typically useless. it's a fine notation program, it's just the problem of producing usable notation from a free performance is not exactly solved yet.
Alas, just today I downloaded MuseScore and found that to be the case. Thanks for your comment, which likely will save me from wasting time looking for the impossible or non-existent
I wholeheartedly recommend you try the Dorico. Especially if you use only for Piano, the free Dorico SE version may fit your need well. I would say it's a good composing tool as well, not just a notation software. Really, don't miss out Dorico. Watch their start-up toturial video below and Give it a try!
I've used Finale, Sibelius, Notion, Musescore and more. I personally think it the future for composing/notation.
The Dorico SE toturial playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoya...BZNEzgej4R
budo wrote:it's just the problem of producing usable notation from a free performance is not exactly solved yet.
Alas, just today I downloaded MuseScore and found that to be the case. Thanks for your comment, which likely will save me from wasting time looking for the impossible or non-existent
i'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. but actually i think things will get substantially better in the future. right now programs can take a solo piano performance audio file and produce excellent midi files from them. i would never have dreamed this was possible, but now it seems to be no trouble at all. so i'm hopeful ...
Getting a good result from a MIDI file in Musescore assumes that this MIDI file is already quantized to the desired value; so the result is absolutely not bad at all... I use it all the time, the distribution between right hand and left hand is another story, however...
Interesting discussion! Let's hope that there will be a breakthrough in MIDI input to notation eventually, it would be a great time-saver. It's just a case of waiting for some musical boffin to develop the AI...