Customer Reviews

Finale SongWriter

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...in his head! (Well actually he probably had the several hundred dollar professional version of Finale). This is fantastic software, perfect for the beginner or amateur songwriter or arranger. The only drawback for me is the limit of 8 staves, but that would not be a problem for your typical band, only if you want to try orchestral composition and arranging (you would need the professional version). The Human Playback feature is great, it truly sounds realistic, not like MIDI. I cannot recommend this software enough!

I purchased SongWriter without knowing how effective it would be in teaching how to read and write music. It turns out that it is excellent... especially when you have a piano keyboard connected by MIDI to the computer. Very user friendly.

This software isn't actually your excellent version of notation software, but what I mean is this: There is nothing out there that you can get this cheaply that works this well. If you are composing for an orchestra, you will need to pay a few hundred dollars and get the real thing, because Finale SongWriter can't notate for orchestra, but if you are just trying to write down some basic music for your own enjoyment or if you are trying to make your band's music look more official, this is the software for you.

As a kid, this is something that I can buy with my own money easily compared to the hundreds of dollars that I would have to save to get the real deal, and this provides about everything I need to write band songs or duets to do with friends. It's easy to use, and it does not require one to study the manual for hours to understand. Even friends of mine who do not know how to read music have had a fair amount of luck creating what they want on it.

Finale songwriter seems to have very little consideration for people who change their minds after the first set-up. I have not found ways to add an instument/voice or change the tempo gradually to the speed I like. I do not really recommend it.

Look, notation software is notoriously expensive. All musicians know that. So, when you see SongWriter and its price, it's a relief. Everything you need is in this program. I only have one complaint.

When adding an expressive dynamic (p,mp,mf,f,ff,etc.) you have to add one to EACH note to insure proper playback. That is a concern of mine since I use SongWriter to notate songs and export them in MIDI for recording purposes. It leaves an ugly looking score.

Other than that, this is the best deal on the market for what it is.

This product is great. I knew I wanted to get my music writing career started, and man, if this wasn't the perfect tool. The best thing is that you don't have to be at a piano, sounding out things...you write something, and play it back, and make changes and play it back again. If Motzart or Chopin had this, who knows what they could have come up with! The transposing is great. I don't think its cheating, because music isn't about what is on the page, its about the emotions, and what you feel from what is on the page.

Although I was originally amazed at the ability to convert a midi file to paper, I was later very disappointed in the ability to make changes to the music.

There is certainly a lot more in the program than I know of, but the handbook is poorly organized and not very helpful. It does not even explain what the cursor symbols mean. I had to call technical support for that. Their answer to my problem: purchase their other products.

For $30 more, I could have purchased a more powerful product from Intelliscore.

This is my first experience with notation software. Perhaps my expectations were a little high. Bottom line, the HyperScribe (Notate As You Play) feature is useless. There's no problem with my equipment e.g., computer, keyboard, or MIDI Interface. The software isn't capable of reproducing 'real time' play. Talk about "Lost in Translation!" Uploading data from floppy disk, CD, or a Flash Card is better, but far from acceptable. I've also tried to load music directly from the hard drive. Regardless the media used to interface with this program, your song won't come close to sounding the way you want. Get ready to spend countless hours editting your song. Even then, it won't reproduce audibly the way it's written. I'll take the hit for trying to make sheet music inexpensively, but SongWriter doesn't live up to the hype -- at all. It's fun to play with, but don't expect too much. Save your money & time. Incidentally, the problem isn't with the users. Between us, my wife & I have over ninety-years music experience.

As a retired teacher, I wanted the ability to compose a song and share it in a pristine form. Finale SongWriter does that. The lyrics find their way to the correct note. The Midi connection works and all the parts of a composition is enveloped in this software. One of the attractions for me is the cost. Finale SongWriter does not extract your final dollar from your stash. Try this program, and you will find many facets hidden that makes Finale SongWriter a positive!

This is the second Finale product I have purchased. The first was the full-blown version of the music writing software. I found it too difficult to learn to be of much use. Now several years later I thought I'd try again. Finale has fantastic capabilities in terms of what a composer can create on paper, but, again, I have found it to be rather user unfriendly. Things like an ability to use your mouse to scroll down a printer page of music appear to be absent. Ability to change the size of your document on the page (analogous to a "font" tool) are likewise missing. Thankfully, I have previous experience of working through a few basic concepts of the software to assist me with this new product.
I found the tutorial of limited value since it only covers some very basic steps while leaving the user to figure out things like how to create a pick-up measure or how to eliminate the extra measures in a document.