Customer Reviews

Music Write Songwriter Edition

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

 

 

When I purchased this software, I thought writing music would be as easy as selecting the notes and pasting them on the "page." It isn't. While I'm still learning the intricacies of the software, a good portion of the difficulties seems to be caused by deficiencies in the software itself.

It is more difficult than it should be to change things in the score, such as timing. This is the first music-writing program I've ever purchased, however, so I have nothing else with which to compare it. I should have read some online reviews before I purchased it--I probably would have passed on it.

Ideally, one should try out a software package before investing any money in it. That way you know exactly what you're getting.

This software is as difficult to use as Finale, yet with fewer features than any other composing software I've ever used. I've transitioned composing software before (Encore to Finale) so I knew it would take some time to get adjusted. But eventually I gave up-- it just wasn't worth it.

In addition to the clumsy, non-intuitive controls, the "Songwriter" version of the software has crippled features: Limits on number of staves and simultaneous midi tracks it will handle at once, limits on the number of measures per line (only 4!), and limits on MIDI editing features. I found there to be simply a general lack of customizeability throughout.

There are simply too many headaches for the end result. I almost got the impression that the people writing this software had never actually written music before, and will certianly not be trying the "Maestro" version of this software. Personally, I'm testing Sibelius 2, Finale, and Overture 3 at the moment and will choose one of them. Those choices are all significantly more expensive than "Music Write", however. For lower cost alternatives I would recommend "Score Writer 2" from Geniesoft or "Finale Allegro" from Coda Software. For the price I wasn't expecting terrific software from Voyetra, however I hoped for either ease of use or robust, musically oriented features and found neither.

This software has so many fixed default auto settings (many musically incorrect) that it is essentially unusable. It interferes with entering basic notation: accidentals are assigned and cannot be changed (!!!), and the same with ties, timing, number of bars per line (even though it will claim otherwise). I'm a professional engineer and a musician with a lot of MIDI and audio equipment interface, and this has got to be the worst software program I've ever seen. Don't be fooled into "upgrading" previous versions: they were so primitive that as late as 1996 they actually still used basic program language (.pbl) printer drivers. Try aother brand. Many professional musicians use Finale, which is pricey, but you get what you pay for. As for me, paper and pencil beats Music Write.

For years and years I have used Passport's Encore package for creating and documenting music but after moving to Window XP, I could not get Encore's Text Editors to work and had to find another package.

At first I didn't care for the product because it was different. After a month of using the Music Write, I got use to using it and realized it was not bad.

The main drawback was only two lyric lines that I found annoying but I hit Voyetra Web-site and discovered another version "Maestro" that allowed up to four lyric lines plus a lot more options (and the music I had entered in the Songwriter Edition was compatible with the Maestro version.) Another small feature of the Maestro version is the comment editor, which I use to document aspects of music I create (e.g., what inspired me to create that particular of music.)

Features of the product:
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-Create musical scores on you PC
-Preview you score before you print
-Use the symbol palette to enter notes, rests, clefs, chords, and many more
-Supports all the common musical symbols (i.e., ties, triplets, and many more)
-Notate for all instruments
-Hear you music played by MIDI instruments
-Add chord names and guitar symbols
-Print your score to include your name, song title, copyright information and pick the fonts for each
-Output sheet music to a graphic file (e.g., BMP, JPEG), which can then be imported in MS Word or any other product that imports these types of graphic files

Cut, copy and paste music into you score just like a word processor

System Requirements:
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-Pentium 233MHz processor with MMX or better (Celeron 400 for Windows 2000/XP)
-32MB system RAM - 64MB recommended
-36MB hard disk space
-Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
-Quad speed or higher CD-ROM
-800x600 high color (16 bit) video display
-GM compatible 16 bit MIDI capable soundcard
-MIDI keyboard (optional)
-Printer
-Service Pack 1 or higher for Windows 2000 Professional

I bought this program, and I stopped using it within 2 months... why?

This program, at least for me, tends to bug a lot, and it does a lot of screwy things that you never intended. For example, notes that I never entered in appeared towards the end of my pieces, and there was no way that I could delete them.

Also, it would randomly bug at some times, and I would have to quit the program, losing everything that I worked hard on (wouldn't you all be frusterated if that happened?).

Also, and it may be because I didn't figure it out entirely, I couldn't have two different note heads on the same beat (example, half note and quarter note on beat one) on the same staff. It just wouldn't work.

I would strongly consider buying another notation program. I use Cakewalk Scorewriter, which is about as cheap as this, and I hope someday to get Sibelius... when I have the money to do so (...)

This program is not compatabile with many instruments. It is based mainly on certain instruments, therefore it only works on five out of twenty people

This is impossibly difficult to navigate, and many instructions in the help file, even when followed meticulously, don't work. There is no paper guide to the program; I found it totally useless and a waste of time... and money. Into the round file with it.

Music write software was a very satisfactory program and fitted my needs very nicely. My students loved the program and constantly ask me to write them music.

i neeed to get this so i can make some beats on my computer