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Thread: For those who write their music out

  1. #1

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    Default For those who write their music out

    What program do you use to compose your sheets? Anyone know of any decent free programs? I had an introduction to Finale at my instructors place and as awesome as the program is it's WAAAAAAY out of my league as far as price goes.

  2. #2

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    As in drum parts? I just tab a measure or two of what I play. Guitar, etc I write out everything in tabs, the entire riff or whatever, even if it's repetitive. I don't bother with programs because all they do is mess me up and I get frustrated. I like to write out music because it helps me memorize the part and the particular part of the song I'm playing; inputting things in the computer, you forget everything almost instantaneously. I only write out parts to original stuff from my band and ideas I might have for a song, and not for songs from bands I like, etc.
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  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by jordison515 View Post
    As in drum parts? I just tab a measure or two of what I play. Guitar, etc I write out everything in tabs, the entire riff or whatever, even if it's repetitive. I don't bother with programs because all they do is mess me up and I get frustrated. I like to write out music because it helps me memorize the part and the particular part of the song I'm playing; inputting things in the computer, you forget everything almost instantaneously. I only write out parts to original stuff from my band and ideas I might have for a song, and not for songs from bands I like, etc.
    Interesting. I've never done that. I just jam and see what happens. Eventually I stumble on to something I like.

  4. #4

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    Programs? #2 pencil and blank sheet music for me. I am soooooooo too old school. lol In fact, back in the day, we were graded on our clarity and neatness in composition and theory class. I will never forget the time spent transposing Bach's Fugue In G Minor to a piece for 4 players and 2 marimbas for my final.

  5. #5

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    I have been a Finale user for a decade or so. I admit it's overkill for personal use, but I also arrange high school marching band music, so I ended up with Finale. The initial cost is steep, but worth it if you are going to do any serious arranging. If you are a student, the academic version will save you a couple hundred dollars. There is also a "lite" version called PrintMusic from the same people (Coda).

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by veafer View Post
    Programs? #2 pencil and blank sheet music for me. I am soooooooo too old school. lol In fact, back in the day, we were graded on our clarity and neatness in composition and theory class. I will never forget the time spent transposing Bach's Fugue In G Minor to a piece for 4 players and 2 marimbas for my final.
    I so wish I could write it out using a pencil - and believe me, I've tried (the heaping pile of crumbled paper falling from the waste basket as proof). My writing...well, it's just damn sloppy.

    @Shane - My instructor is in the same boat - I only see him once a week but he regularly teaches and composes for a high school in the area so Finale is great for what he needs. Honestly, it's great for what I need to just too expensive (even saving a couple hundred with the student version, the price is steep).

    I guess tentatively I'll just need to try and write better

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by jordison515 View Post
    As in drum parts? I just tab a measure or two of what I play. Guitar, etc I write out everything in tabs, the entire riff or whatever, even if it's repetitive. I don't bother with programs because all they do is mess me up and I get frustrated. I like to write out music because it helps me memorize the part and the particular part of the song I'm playing; inputting things in the computer, you forget everything almost instantaneously. I only write out parts to original stuff from my band and ideas I might have for a song, and not for songs from bands I like, etc.
    Wouldnt it be easier just to record them? my guitarist just records his riffs with his phone to remember them
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  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dagon2000 View Post
    What program do you use to compose your sheets? Anyone know of any decent free programs? I had an introduction to Finale at my instructors place and as awesome as the program is it's WAAAAAAY out of my league as far as price goes.
    Are you refering to printing out blank staff paper?

    When I feel like writing down something, I use Study Bass web site under Bass Tools link that allows you to print out blank staff paper or tab paper if thats what your looking for.....???? It's also free.

    If your looking for an actual program to compose sheet music, I don't know. As I've never really looked for that. I like using a blank staff sheet and pencil. To me it's easier although probably not as neat looking.

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  9. #9

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    Moleskin musician notebook and mechanical pencil with a good eraser.
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  10. #10

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    I use musescore. It is free and platform independent.

    It is music typesetter that can play midi of the score. It's not tabs so you will have to know how classical notation works if you want to add other instruments. With the largest set of soundfonts the drums sound pretty realistic. Printed output looks amazing.

    It is bit buggy, sometimes I have to close it and open it up to get it to go again. Also to add drum notes works different than adding pitched instrument scores and is very counter intuitive but once you get it it's not that bad.

  11. #11

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    Seems like the general consensus is to write it out w/ pencil so I suppose I'll just have to sharpen my skills with that. For those of you who do this, there's a pretty good website to print out free blank staff paper. I've included a link below.

    http://www.blanksheetmusic.net/

  12. #12

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    I use Finale for the Drumline I teach as well. I find it a bit cumbersome for drumset writing as by the time I turn on the computer, run finale, write the part, print etc... I could have scribbled it down on notebook paper and moved on.

    When I write, I really just take notes as to tempo, the first measure to be played of the groove and any road-maps in the music (as in where the chorus or bridge starts). I generally include the structure of the song. Here is a fake "song" of what I would write for refrence:

    "Song Name"
    120bps - Rock

    Intro - 4 Bars (Last 4 bars of Part A)
    Part A - 16 Bars Verse
    Part B - 8 Bars Chorus
    Part C - 16 Bars Verse
    Part B - 8 Bars Chorus
    Part D - 4 Bars Bridge
    Part B - 8 Bars Chorus
    Part A - 16 Bars Verse
    Part B - 8 Bars Chorus
    End - 4 Bars (Repeat Last 4 of Chorus)

    The only other time items that make it to the paper in my cheat sheets is if the groove changes, or the band is doing something together rhythmically where I'm not providing the beat, but following along with them. In my previous experience with big band type stuff, I actually just read the lead trumpet part as I play. That saved a lot of time with figuring out where the big hits were, and where I could fill.

    If I were to write out a full arrangement for a whole band, I would definitely use Finale, but for just me, pencil and paper is the way to go.

    Tan

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by veafer View Post
    Programs? #2 pencil and blank sheet music for me. I am soooooooo too old school. lol In fact, back in the day, we were graded on our clarity and neatness in composition and theory class. I will never forget the time spent transposing Bach's Fugue In G Minor to a piece for 4 players and 2 marimbas for my final.
    Ha! I'm the same....been transcribing for so long that by the time you muck around in a lesson to write a drum part with Finale, I can have a verse and maybe a few other parts written out legibly on manuscript paper. A number of my old drum teachers did that and still do that....if you're conversant enough with rudiments and grooves, and have the patience to go over a few seconds of music, over time your brain and ears will have the necessary reflexes to hear something and you can work it out. Mind you, I do also double check it with a program, or if I can't be bothered having the laptop out, I can step-write it and program it on a Roland drum machine, slow it down, speed it up etc to double check. But yeah, I came up in the old hard days where you had to learn to transcribe rhythms, snare pieces, etc with pencil and paper. And it's a skill I'm passing on to various students a bit at a time. Also, by being able to do this clearly with notes 'in my mind's eye', that's how I'm able to step-write a lot of keyboard, bass and other instrument parts in Reason and in earlier days, Digital Performer.

    Think of it this way, I'm conversant in a few European languages such as Italian, French, German and a bit of Russian. With Italian I done the hard work of learning grammar, how to write it, read it etc. So that's why I baffle native speakers who think that I'm 'paesan' like them, when in fact I've never even been there in my entire life! Once I learned Italian grammar, the same rules applied to French.....that's why I can jam and hang with a few of the West Africans here, because we have that common language. And Russian? Well, was able to master their alphabet in two weeks.....why? Half of it have letters of Greek origin......if you ever done maths, sooner or later you come across Greek letters......Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta.......so on.

    See? Any musician can instantly recognise patterns if they train their brain to do so in the first place. But your short term memory can only store so much. To train your long term memory in language or music, learning to write it and to recall those patterns takes time, patience and persistence. And practice. You have to start off with transcribing dead simple patterns first. Same with fills. Then you go for slightly harder pieces. (You don't, after all, have a DVD of "Learn Italian In 3 Weeks" and go for a holiday, expecting to talk native with the residents of Rome.....what happens if they ask you a question with basic words you don't know....are you going to go " Wait, lemme get my phrasebook?") Don't start off doing something progressive and slamming in shifting time signatures of 4/4, 7/8, 9/8, 3/4, 13/16, whatever with rapid-fire sextuplets going over the toms if you've never tried transcribing Don Henley's, Charlie Watt's, Phil Rudd's or Ringo's fills and rhythms first. For my students, I would say I average a new transcription every few weeks to a month or so, time permitting and depending on the style. I'd have probably the bits and pieces of 2 or 3 new songs on my music stand or one of my note folders on average, that I would work on in between students or late at night wth my electronic kit plugged in. Some songs are easy, some are not. You just have to be patient and go over stuff constantly to write things out right, but when you've done that hard work, it pays off, believe me.
    Last edited by Drumbledore; 03-31-2011 at 10:11 AM.
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  14. #14

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    Default Re: For those who write their music out

    Try this google search:

    free drum tab writing download programs

    Then check them out. As said, Sibeluis is very good and very popular. A lot of programs will also go directly to midi which allow you to hear what you've created.

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