Music editing software
NoteWorthy Software
It was while I was adding a book review to the UK Reviews page that I noticed that, while I have reviews of both the MagicScore Maestro and SharpEye programs, I don't have a review of NoteWorthy Composer. This is a sad omission, as I have been using this excellent program for years, in both its original and Version 2 guises.
OK - I know that you know that I can't read music, but that doesn't mean that I can't write it - and often have to in the course of editing this magazine ... not to mention swapping tunes amongst the members of the band. This information should make it clear to you how simple this program is to use!
As you can see from the above screen shot, almost everything you might wish to do is available from icons; what you can't see is that pretty well all of them are also available via keyboard shortcuts which, once you're used to the program, can speed note entry and editing enormously. Furthermore, all the toolbars can be docked at the top, bottom, left or right of the screen - enabling you to set it up in the most ergonomically appropriate arrangement for the sort of work you do most often. And if you're competent on a piano keyboard, you can enter your notes via the on-screen keyboard.
Over the years I've recommended NoteWorthy to numerous friends, whose unanimous responses have praised its ease of use, its intuitiveness, and its cost. Because NoteWorthy Composer 2 costs just $49 - equivalent to about £30.39 - as a download ... which is rather different from most of its competotors! About the only thing the program won't do is to show bowing marks for string players.
As well as the Composer itself, there's also a free NoteWorthy Reader you can send to friends to see your music, even if they don't need the Composer, and it also includes a browser plugin that can be used to view NoteWorthy Composer files directly within your Web browser. Finally, there's a NoteWorthy Composer Winamp Plug-in, allowing *.nwc music files to be added to a Winamp play list.
There has to be a downside, of course ... NoteWorthy Composer 2 is only avaialable for PCs at present - however, it has been confirmed to work with the Virtual PC products on a Mac.
Available from : http://NoteworthySoftware.com Highly recommended.
Rod Stradling - 28.10.13
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