Best notation apps and software for music educators
Notation apps for desktop computer, iPads and other tablet devices – what’s currently available? Which ones are the best? What should I use if my students have Chromebooks? Or iPads?
In this episode I’ll talk about the available notation options for music teachers.
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Resources and links mentioned in this episode
Episode sponsor:
A big thank you to this episode’s sponsor SmartMusic – the learning platform that allows teachers to connect with students as they practice. The new SmartMusic is in the cloud so it works with the devices your students have today. Best of all you can use it for free.
Learn more about SmartMusic here.
Notation software mentioned:
- Finale
- Sibelius
- Dorico
- Noteflight
- Flat.io
- Notion
- MuseScore
- Notion for iOS
- Symphony Pro
- NotateMe
- Touch Notation
- StaffPad
Further reading – articles by music educator George Hess:
- Although written in 2015, hisNotation Wars article is still a useful read
- Review of new-comer Dorico
- Finale 25 review
- Notion 6review
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Midnight Music Community: special rate for MTT podcast listeners
The Midnight Music Community (MMC) is an online space for music teachers interested in learning more about music technology. There are online courses, lesson plans and lots of other resources for Chromebooks, iPads, Macs and PCs. Professional development certificates are available for all training undertaken by MMC members and I am in the Community everyday, personally answering questions and offering advice to members.
Access the special rate for podcast listeners here.
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7 Comments
Great advice, and nice with all the new stuff.
I’ll be looking into Dorico, and especially Noteflight, and at least listen to Notion, and NotateMe is interesting for the handwriting.
And that Notation Wars article is in a tab ready to be read!
You refer to the “short-URL” midnightmusic.com/13 but that doesn’t work.
Thanks Johan 🙂 I’ll check/fix the URL too – thanks for letting me know.
When I inquired about using NEW SmartMusic last month, I was told it was USA only, so I had to pay more to get SmartMusic Classic (and cut the number of subscriptions I was getting). Did they tell you something different?
Hi Mandy – SmartMusic have let me know that the “new SmartMusic” will be available outside the US soon. No firm date yet, but it’s definitely on its way. I’ve been lucky enough to have a sneak peek at it and it’s really fantastic, so hopefully you’ll be able to take a look when it’s available for you.
FYI, Notion iOS now supports handwriting, too. Works best on iPad Pro with a stylus, but it also works on other iOS devices.
Thanks George! I’ll take a look
[…] consider yourself an expert. Examples are notation software (like Sibelius, Final, Noteflight and all the others), music recording and editing software (GarageBand, Logic, Mixcraft, Abelton Live, Acid, Audacity), […]