# Quickest way to produce conductor scores?



## brandowalk (Jan 15, 2020)

My problem: it takes me forever to produce a conductor score with my current workflow. I recently produced a full orchestra score for a 2 min piece at it took WAY too long to be practical. 

My workflow currently is using Protools for midi inputting and quantizing, and then export to Finale for the score and then parts.

I like writing with pad and pencil - but it is too slow going for me. I can write, orchestrate, and produce an orchestral audio mockup very quickly by inputting straight midi data into my DAW (Protools). I've been using Finale since the 90s and am well versed with it. MiDI out of PT and into Finale worked okay, but not great. I almost think I would have been faster just inputting manually after all of the midi editing.
*
1. What works best for you folks that produce scores quickly? 

2. Also - any thoughts (good or bad) on Staffpad (and porting to Finale to finalize)? *

thanks, Brandon


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## sbarrettmusic (Jan 16, 2020)

I do a lot of clean up in the DAW before exporting midi to help speed up the process. The time needed for cleanup increases as the complexity of the music increases, there is no way around that, but this is what I do to speed up the process. 

Regardless of what DAW the midi was produced in, I always do the cleanup in Digital Performer for reasons I will explain below. The first thing I do is import the midi into DP, save it as a DP project and then import the audio and stems if I have them and make sure they line up with the midi.

The next big step is quantizing. One huge reason for using DP is that it has a feature called Smart Quantize which intelligently quantizes both the start AND the end of each note to the appropriate note value. It's pretty good at figuring out what should be a quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note, etc. I don't know of any other DAW that can do all of this in one click. I literally highlight all of the midi at once, click Smart Quantize, and it generally gets me 90-99% where I need to be. The accuracy depends a lot on how the midi was performed, for example samples that have long attacks like CSS will often end up quantizing an eighth note before the downbeat if that's how it was performed to get the samples to speak on the correct beat. So then I will go through and hard quantize as needed. It's pretty easy to open the piano roll and comb through and see where the notes lie against the grid. I'll typically focus on a section at a time to speed this up (strings, WWs, brass, etc.). And since I have imported the audio and stems, I can listen to the audio while looking at the midi to see if everything is looking and sounding right.

The next thing I do is consolidate tracks. If there are multiple tracks for one instrument, like violin 1 legato, violin 1 trem, violin 1 pizz., for ex., I will consolidate all of those tracks onto one MASTER Violin 1 track which I can easily copy/paste into my Sibelius template. It's much easier and quicker to consolidate in the DAW than it is in Sibelius, and another nice thing about Digital Performer is that it has a feature called Chunks which allows you to have different versions of the cue in the same project. It's similar to Alternate Versions in Logic, or Playlists in PT (except playlists are alternative versions of an individual track while chunks are alternate versions of the entire project). I always keep a separate chunk of the original midi before I start quantizing and consolidating in case anything goes wrong.

Once everything is quantized and consolidated, I export the midi from DP and open it in Sibelius. First I will go through my consolidated tracks and add in tremolo articulations, pizz./arco text, etc. to the MASTER track using the original tracks as a reference. Then I copy everything from the cleaned midi file into my template which already has all the instruments I need, text styles, formatting and spacings that I want, etc. Then it's time to respell accidentals as needed, explode notes from multis onto individual staves, add dynamics, yadda, yadda.

Another huge time saver is my Stream Deck. I have created my own Stream Deck profile that has buttons for pretty much everything I need to do. Unless I have memorized the key command for a function, then I most likely have created a button for everything I do in Sibelius and DP in my Stream Deck. I also use Keyboard Maestro to create macros that automate more advanced tasks, like creating touch-4 harmonic notation for example. So everything is either a key command, or a couple taps away on the Stream Deck. Time spent menu-diving is time wasted so I prefer to have everything organized and quickly accessible. Before I got the Stream Deck I had a TouchOSC template that served the same purpose, but what I like about Stream Deck is it is much more compact and customizable with the ability to add custom icons and organizing buttons in folders.


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## brandowalk (Jan 31, 2020)

*sbarrettmusic - *Wow! Thank you for your detailed response. Sorry for the delay to respond. 

I'm embarking on a conductor score today for something I wrote last year. Your post is very helpful in prepping and getting organized for it. I do many of the things you mentioned, but you have given some great tips that I will use for sure. I don't have DP, but PT does quantize note ons and offs. I'm guessing the quantize is not as smart as DP though. 

For my next orchestration, I'm going to try inputting into StaffPad first and later into DAW and try that route. 

Brandon
musicbybrandonwalker.com


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## Rodney Money (Jan 31, 2020)

How do I do scores quickly? Hyperscribe in Finale. Boom, done.


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## dcoscina (Jan 31, 2020)

brandowalk said:


> *sbarrettmusic - *Wow! Thank you for your detailed response. Sorry for the delay to respond.
> 
> I'm embarking on a conductor score today for something I wrote last year. Your post is very helpful in prepping and getting organized for it. I do many of the things you mentioned, but you have given some great tips that I will use for sure. I don't have DP, but PT does quantize note ons and offs. I'm guessing the quantize is not as smart as DP though.
> 
> ...


Lemme know how you get on with StaffPad. I tried it a few years ago and it was so painfully laborious that I went back to using Notion on iPad to sketch ideas and then Sibelius (now Dorico).


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## sbarrettmusic (Feb 1, 2020)

brandowalk said:


> *sbarrettmusic - *Wow! Thank you for your detailed response. Sorry for the delay to respond.
> 
> I'm embarking on a conductor score today for something I wrote last year. Your post is very helpful in prepping and getting organized for it. I do many of the things you mentioned, but you have given some great tips that I will use for sure. I don't have DP, but PT does quantize note ons and offs. I'm guessing the quantize is not as smart as DP though.
> 
> ...


Glad I could help, good luck with it!


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## JohnG (Feb 1, 2020)

I usually export to MusicXML, which seems to work well with Sibelius.


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## bryla (Feb 1, 2020)

I get MIDI-files from composers along with an mp3-bounce. I might seem to be doing it the wrong way as opposed to many others but I do not get quantized MIDI-files and I never quantize. Never start of notes nor end of notes. I something doesn't look right when I open the MIDI-file in Sibelius I simply write it anew.

I copy each section from the MIDI-file in to a clean Sibelius-file. That way I can clearly label if it's pizz or arco that I'm importing for example. I check of course with the mp3 as I go along. I seem to work a bit faster if every articulation is on a separate track but if it's consolidated I simply need to look out for keyswitches.

Never use Stream Deck. Hot keys in Sibelius are way faster.

It might not be what everybody else is doing but every composer I have ever worked with is surprised at the speed of delivery.


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## brandowalk (Feb 4, 2020)

dcoscina said:


> Lemme know how you get on with StaffPad. I tried it a few years ago and it was so painfully laborious that I went back to using Notion on iPad to sketch ideas and then Sibelius (now Dorico).


 Good to know. I'll check out Notion as well. Thanks!


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## brandowalk (Feb 4, 2020)

bryla said:


> I get MIDI-files from composers along with an mp3-bounce. I might seem to be doing it the wrong way as opposed to many others but I do not get quantized MIDI-files and I never quantize. Never start of notes nor end of notes. I something doesn't look right when I open the MIDI-file in Sibelius I simply write it anew.
> 
> I copy each section from the MIDI-file in to a clean Sibelius-file. That way I can clearly label if it's pizz or arco that I'm importing for example. I check of course with the mp3 as I go along. I seem to work a bit faster if every articulation is on a separate track but if it's consolidated I simply need to look out for keyswitches.
> 
> ...


 You make a good point about not quantizing... it may be simply faster to tweak in Finale or re-input using hyperscribe tool as Rodney Money mentioned previously.


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## sbarrettmusic (Feb 4, 2020)

I couldn't imagine having to tweak every single note in Sibelius, or manually re-inputting, that's a huge waste of time. I find it much faster to tweak the midi in the DAW so it imports nicely into Sibelius. You do have to be comfortable looking at the piano roll, though, but I guess that's why I am able to work on 6 projects at the same time


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## bryla (Feb 4, 2020)

I don't know why that suddenly should be a parameter, but 6 projects at the same time is quite usual for me with the above mentioned workflow. Depends on your speed of precise exxecution. I have chosen the workflow that for me is least error prone done the quickest.


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## sbarrettmusic (Feb 4, 2020)

bryla said:


> I don't know why that suddenly should be a parameter, but 6 projects at the same time is quite usual for me with the above mentioned workflow. Depends on your speed of precise exxecution. I have chosen the workflow that for me is least error prone done the quickest.


Well, it should be a parameter since the speed you work directly affects the amount of work you can get done within a specific time frame, and OP mentioned that his workflow felt too slow. But I don't bring that up to imply that my workflow is correct and yours is wrong. If something works better for you that is fine. The projects I work on are often highly demanding, large ensembles, short deadlines, tons of music, etc. and this is the workflow that I find to be quickest and most accurate.


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## bryla (Feb 4, 2020)

My projects as well. Arranging, orchestrating 2 hours of symphonic music every month is the usual and my workflow still suits that  my clients know what to expect from the ‘competition’ and still are surprised by delivery every time.


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## brandowalk (Feb 4, 2020)

In some areas, using the existing midi and quantizing makes a lot of sense for speed and I did for about the first third of the 10 min piece I am working on. Unfortunately, I'm discovering that I took some liberties when programming with tempos, ritardandos and holds, etc to make sound more natural. Also I made some audio only edits to tighten some of these changes up when I was mixing down, etc. Doing conforms on all these midi tracks is driving me nuts and I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I may just take a section at a time and use the midi or redo. Wish me luck.


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## sbarrettmusic (Feb 4, 2020)

brandowalk said:


> Unfortunately, I'm discovering that I took some liberties when programming with tempos, ritardandos and holds, etc to make sound more natural.


If by this you mean you recorded midi off the click, you could try beat mapping to get the midi back on the grid. In PT you would make sure your midi tracks are set to Samples instead of Ticks, then use Tab to Peak to go through and tab to a midi note that should land on a downbeat and then Command-I (Identify Beat) and type in the measure number the note should land on.


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## brandowalk (Feb 5, 2020)

sbarrettmusic said:


> If by this you mean you recorded midi off the click, you could try beat mapping to get the midi back on the grid. In PT you would make sure your midi tracks are set to Samples instead of Ticks, then use Tab to Peak to go through and tab to a midi note that should land on a downbeat and then Command-I (Identify Beat) and type in the measure number the note should land on.


Good tip, thanks! I will try this out. 

I had used some odd meters (ie. 5/4) to help fine tune with some of the hold lengths, so now I have to fix some of these for the score. Won't be doing that again next time I program and will use proper tempo changes instead. We learn.


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## bryla (Feb 5, 2020)

When producing synchronized scores I always see if I can do with a meter change first. As a conductor/player it’s much easier to keep the same pulse and add or skip a beat rather than trying to catch a new tempo.


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## brandowalk (Feb 5, 2020)

bryla said:


> When producing synchronized scores I always see if I can do with a meter change first. As a conductor/player it’s much easier to keep the same pulse and add or skip a beat rather than trying to catch a new tempo.


Bryla - great tip. I will remember this. In this case, the piece I'm working on is for concert orchestra. Would you still use this technique, ie. for a lesser experienced orchestra?


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## bryla (Feb 5, 2020)

In concert music I would keep the time signature musically true and use poco rit, meno mosso (or English equivalents) and other moderators sparingly.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Feb 5, 2020)

As already mentioned, it's all about knowing how far you can take the midi and what needs to be done to minimize the work in Finale. I think one very important part of it is having a large enough screen so that you can look at both the raw midi file and the actual Finale you're copying it into. You should constantly be comparing them to make sure you didn't miss anything and have them both open to easily copy between them. Also helpful to have your DAW open in the background as well.


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## brandowalk (Feb 6, 2020)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> As already mentioned, it's all about knowing how far you can take the midi and what needs to be done to minimize the work in Finale. I think one very important part of it is having a large enough screen so that you can look at both the raw midi file and the actual Finale you're copying it into. You should constantly be comparing them to make sure you didn't miss anything and have them both open to easily copy between them. Also helpful to have your DAW open in the background as well.


Thanks Gerhard for the tips. Do you sync Finale and your DAW? ie. using Rewire? I'm trying to do this to work but can't get working yet.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Feb 7, 2020)

brandowalk said:


> Thanks Gerhard for the tips. Do you sync Finale and your DAW? ie. using Rewire? I'm trying to do this to work but can't get working yet.


No, I never play anything out of Finale. One useful thing is to have a control surface with transport control so while you're editing in Finale you can be starting and stopping your DAW without having to look at it.


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## bryla (Feb 7, 2020)

When doing mockups for synchronization I use rewire to play from Sibelius in to Logic in perfect sync. Have you looked for a tutorial between Finale and ProTools? It can be a bit tricky to check the right boxes and do it in the right order.


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## JJP (Feb 7, 2020)

I sync Finale to Pro Tools almost daily on a Mac. I spend a lot of time transcribing and notating audio files.

Send PT MIDI clock to an IAC bus and have Finale receive sync from that bus. It's pretty simple.


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## JJP (Feb 7, 2020)

As said by others here, when going from MIDI to notation, much is to be gained by first cleaning up and quantizing the MIDI before moving it to your notation program.

However, I find there is still work to be done with articulations, slurs, revoicing, etc. Sadly, many people today think that orchestration is just about cleaning up the MIDI to make a score, which results in a lot of bad orchestration... but that's another discussion.

Regarding the tempo/time signature discussion, it's good to remember that tempo BPMs are of little use to performers. As Bryla mentioned, terms such as "ritard.", "molto accel.", "ritenuto", etc, are much more useful. If you change tempo and only give a number, you are forcing the player to remember what the old tempo was and then determine if the new tempo is faster or slower and by how much. Things like (+8) often don't help much either. That's a minor change at 250 bpm but markedly faster at 60 bpm (3% faster versus 12% faster). Don't ask players to do math while performing. That's not fair. 

His advice about time signatures being better than tempo changes for recordings is also well-heeded. It is so much easier for a performer to simply count and odd bar than have to accurately match a change in the tempo of the click. For concert performances it can be a bit different because you have rehearsals. You need to assess the quality of the ensemble, conductor, amount of rehearsal time and the musical effect desired to determine the best option. There's no single answer there.


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## brandowalk (Feb 10, 2020)

bryla said:


> When doing mockups for synchronization I use rewire to play from Sibelius in to Logic in perfect sync. Have you looked for a tutorial between Finale and ProTools? It can be a bit tricky to check the right boxes and do it in the right order.


I can't get Rewire to show up in my PT plugin draw-down. I've tried deleting the plug- installation file twice to no avail. I'll keep working at it.


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## brandowalk (Feb 10, 2020)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> No, I never play anything out of Finale. One useful thing is to have a control surface with transport control so while you're editing in Finale you can be starting and stopping your DAW without having to look at it.


Sounds like a good enough reason to justify the Avid dock and S1!


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## brandowalk (Feb 10, 2020)

JJP said:


> I sync Finale to Pro Tools almost daily on a Mac. I spend a lot of time transcribing and notating audio files.
> 
> Send PT MIDI clock to an IAC bus and have Finale receive sync from that bus. It's pretty simple.


Is this done with or without Rewire?


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## brandowalk (Feb 10, 2020)

JJP said:


> As said by others here, when going from MIDI to notation, much is to be gained by first cleaning up and quantizing the MIDI before moving it to your notation program.
> 
> However, I find there is still work to be done with articulations, slurs, revoicing, etc. Sadly, many people today think that orchestration is just about cleaning up the MIDI to make a score, which results in a lot of bad orchestration... but that's another discussion.
> 
> ...


JJP - thank you for your wisdom here.


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## JJP (Feb 10, 2020)

brandowalk said:


> Is this done with or without Rewire?



There is no need for Rewire. MIDI clock can be sent through the Mac OS Core MIDI Driver:

In the Audio MIDI Setup app




on your Mac, choose Window > Show MIDI Studio.
In the MIDI Studio window, double-click the IAC Driver icon.
In the IAC Driver Properties window, select “Device is online” to turn on the driver.
Select a bus in the Ports list, specify the number of MIDI input and MIDI output connectors, then click Apply.

Within Pro Tools you can then send MIDI clock to that IAC bus and have Finale receive MIDI sync from that same bus. When you hit play in Finale it will wait until Pro Tools starts playing and sending MIDI clock to that bus. Note that Finale considers pickup bars as bar 1 for MIDI playback. You will have to start Finale from bar 2 if you have a pickup bar.


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## brandowalk (Feb 10, 2020)

JJP said:


> There is no need for Rewire. MIDI clock can be sent through the Mac OS Core MIDI Driver:
> 
> In the Audio MIDI Setup app
> 
> ...


Sweet! Thanks


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## ChrisHarrison (Jun 17, 2020)

I've been using Cubase to Dorico for my first big project. 

I honestly just quantize in the DAW (save as a new project)

Then I export just the midi to Doric. 

Comes in really pretty. Usually I have to adjust the note display to a small value to fit it all on there. 

Then it's on to articulations and dynamics. I find, entering these in the score editor in Dorico, super fast and really easy! The tools are all to the right. 

I've used every notation software and Dorico literally whoops their asses in my opinion. 

I'm currently lusting after staff pad. Would be sick to export midi and then hand draw in stuff. Probably still faster in Doric though.


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## M Abela (Jun 17, 2020)

Staffpad for scores - hands down - especially for dynamic writing. It has cut down my workflow time by more than half, not to mention portability.


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## JJP (Jun 17, 2020)

M Abela said:


> Staffpad for scores - hands down



How is going from a score in Staffpad to parts?


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## mducharme (Jun 17, 2020)

I have done this before, and here is the method that I used.

1. Composed in my Cubase template, where I have an exact 1:1 relationship between the tracks and the staves on a score. Expression maps are used two switch between all articulations. If need be, I will add auxiliary tracks in case I need to layer articulations for playback-only purposes, but those will not be exported with the score.

2. Open the staves in the Cubase score editor, fix the settings (ex. clefs), and then begin adding "Display Quantize" values. This allows you to quantize the piano roll for display purposes only, while not quantizing the actual playback along with it.

3. After all staves have been corrected and display quantize values added, the score will now appear not only with basically the correct notation, but also with the techniques printed above the staff (ex. pizz.) thanks to the expression maps. I will then do a final check just to make sure everything looks right before exporting to MusicXML.

4. Import the MusicXML into notation. Since my expression maps were already set up, most articulations (pizz., staccato dots, accents, trills) will already be present. I simply need to add slurs and dynamics at this point, and go through all of the articulations and make sure that it handled them properly.

So it is quite a bit like @ChrisHarrison above, except in my case it can be kept in one file (since I am not quantizing the piano roll data itself, only applying "display quantize" in Cubase score editor. So I get both proper notation and non-robotic playback at the same time. I also get most articulations already present due to the Expression Maps, which means less work to get the notation looking right.


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## M Abela (Jun 18, 2020)

JJP said:


> How is going from a score in Staffpad to parts?



Absolutely love it. A little tweaking here and there to potentiate things upon export to Cubase, but with the in-app Berlin libraries the output is really stunning for sound, fidelity to what you have written, and excellence of interpretation. Staffpad has really cut down my workflow time in front of Cubase - it is literally saving me hours if not days. Once you get used to its handwriting recognition quirks, it is easy to get the results you want. Dorico / Sibelius and I never really clicked.


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## brandowalk (Jun 18, 2020)

Since my original post, I have gone the way of StaffPad as well. What used to take me 2 months (input midi parts to DAW, edit MIDI DAW data, export to Finale, cleanup in Finale, look at Finale manual online frequently to remember how to do something, etc) now takes me 1 to 2 weeks. I believe my writing has improved significantly as well using SP. 

For the 9 min piece that prompted the original post, I did clean up the MIDI data first in DAW and then refined with dynamics and articulations, etc in SP. The audio output and "performance" was improved over my original keyboard input into my DAW. Here is the output of the score and audio. 

I no longer dread (or panic) re producing a conductor score. It can't do everything that Finale can of course, but gets me I believe 90% there. Good enough for most of my current notational needs. I'm hoping coming improvements to SP will keep me out of Finale for good (ie. better facilities with grand staffs, harp notation, non-key signatures, etc).

Hope this helps,

Brandon
musicbybrandonwalker.com


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## JJP (Jun 18, 2020)

I guess I need to understand the purpose of these scores. Is it simply for personal reference or is it meant to be something that can be printed and put on a podium in front of a conductor and performing musicians? (Hence my question about going from score to parts - musician readable parts.)

If it's the latter, that video shows that Staffpad still is not ready for that type of precise work.


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## Saxer (Jun 18, 2020)

I use Logic as my DAW and is has a good note editor. I do everything I can in Logics note editor like most note length, oberlap correction, respelling, even articulations. From there I can export MusicXML to Dorico and don‘t have to deal with note length quantization and other midi file stuff. Another pro of working this way is that I still have the structure available and can copy/paste repeating parts which otherwise I had to edit multiple times in Dorico.

I don‘t know how useful ProTools note editor is but maybe it helps.


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## brandowalk (Jun 18, 2020)

JJP said:


> I guess I need to understand the purpose of these scores. Is it simply for personal reference or is it meant to be something that can be printed and put on a podium in front of a conductor and performing musicians? (Hence my question about going from score to parts - musician readable parts.)
> 
> If it's the latter, that video shows that Staffpad still is not ready for that type of precise work.


The purpose of these scores are to get the opportunity to have played by a real orchestra. If selected, I would likely do final parts and placement of some objects in Finale, like I've done in the past. Still, I'm thinking this is minor work vs getting to this point. 

The video of the scrolling score is not the score output but what you see when you are playing back. You print or pdf the score and parts separately - or export xml to another program. If of intestest, I can post an example of a page of score and parts sometime soon for a better comparison. 

I've also done another pass on the notation since I posted that video and is improved with string bowings, harp glisses, tempo markings, and cleanup of other items not needed for playback.
Sure, it's probably only 80% quality vs Finale, but I'll take that for the 80% inverse of time to get there!


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## brandowalk (Jun 18, 2020)

Saxer said:


> I use Logic as my DAW and is has a good note editor. I do everything I can in Logics note editor like most note length, oberlap correction, respelling, even articulations. From there I can export MusicXML to Dorico and don‘t have to deal with note length quantization and other midi file stuff. Another pro of working this way is that I still have the structure available and can copy/paste repeating parts which otherwise I had to edit multiple times in Dorico.
> 
> I don‘t know how useful ProTools note editor is but maybe it helps.


Sounds like you have have a good workflow that works for you. The ProTools editor is okay, not as good as Logic and some other platforms from the sounds of it. I just found it all dull work and not rewarding to be editing midi data vs writing music out in the first place. I still use PT for doing final balancing of levels and mastering.


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## J.T. (Jun 18, 2020)

brandowalk said:


> If of intestest, I can post an example of a page of score and parts sometime soon for a better comparison.



I'd like to see that.


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## brandowalk (Jun 18, 2020)

J.T. said:


> I'd like to see that.


Here are sample outputs for conductor score and Violin 1. There are some basic settings that can be quickly changed (# of bars per system, margins, page size, zoom%) but better or worse, much of the magic is that the program takes care of most of the tedious page settings that frustrate in Finale. 

There are spacings or things I might want to change, but I'm okay to give up some of this control to greatly speed up my productivity. If I really need that extra quality, I would do the final output in Finale.


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## J.T. (Jun 18, 2020)

Thanks a lot for posting these examples.

Looks pretty good for something you can do on a tablet.

Does the app allow for the text size to be altered?

Also, does it play sul G samples when you mark it sul G as you did?


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## brandowalk (Jun 18, 2020)

J.T. said:


> Thanks a lot for posting these examples.
> 
> Looks pretty good for something you can do on a tablet.
> 
> ...



Thanks J.T. Yeah, it's not copyist quality, but I like to think it's acceptable enough for most initial score submissions. 

No, there is no provision for changing the individual text sizes. I believe the program tries to intelligently do some of this for you to make more important items larger, etc, but it needs improvement. SP is still in its infancy in some ways, so I can imagine that things will only get better. That said, the primary focus of the program is a compositional tool, so having more control and options might not necessarily be the best thing in this regard if it distracts from this focus. ie. I don't expect or want it to be as complex as Finale. 

Sul G... [sigh] no. I understand from dialog from DWH that coming software updates will allow more functionality, opening up more articulations. Hopefully this is one of them since I know they exist in the Kontakt library.


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## mducharme (Jun 20, 2020)

These slurs should be on the outside:





That is something they really should fix, as the way they have it is just plain wrong, and looks terrible. Everything else in your excerpt ranges from OK to marginal/poor.

Also, if you do have to make parts from this, are you going to have to manually extract the fl. 1,2, ob. 1,2, or does staffpad already handle that somehow?


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## brandowalk (Jun 22, 2020)

mducharme said:


> These slurs should be on the outside:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for your feedback and comments. Those slurs on the wrong side may have been a poor choice by me, not necessarily the software. I sometimes struggle with the divisi back and forth to a2 and I will fix those. 

So I can continue to improve, are you able to be more specific what looks "marginal/poor" to you? music spacing? placement of items? text? etc

No, there is no ability (that I am aware of) to auto split the individual voices for parts printing. That said, like Finale, you can hide from printing in the conductor score any staffs that you don't want. So you could have a combined staff as well as two individual staffs for parts in SP and only print out what you want.


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## JJP (Jun 22, 2020)

brandowalk said:


> So I can continue to improve, are you able to be more specific what looks "marginal/poor" to you? music spacing? placement of items? text? etc



Okay only because you asked, here are a few things I see just from an initial quick look....

Score

The handling of slurs are pretty ugly in general with lots of collisions. 
Alignment and collision of dynamics and hairpins are a problem. 
Spacing of ties and their noteheads with ledger lines is problematic. 
Placement and alignment of tempo markings is confusing.
Part

Note spacing is poor and make it harder to instantly decipher rhythms.
Tempo mark placement is confusing.
Tempo, expressive, and technique text sizes are too small.
Proper use of italics could be helpful to distinguish different types of text indications.
Notehead sizes are too small for my taste.
Line breaks and overall part layout don't follow the phrasing of the music.
Page break on p.2 is is a bad location.
Too many lines per page causes part to be too small - especially for 8.5"x11" size.
Use of text for articulations rather than articulation marks is less clear.
Boxed measure numbers are lower, less prominent (smaller?) than other numbers.
Overall, it creates a lot of eyestrain because many elements are too small, too similar, and not aligned in an easy-to-read way. Nothing leads the eye through the part. Instead there is a lot of visual noise and the eye doesn't know where to settle.


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## brandowalk (Jun 22, 2020)

JJP said:


> Okay only because you asked, here are a few things I see just from an initial quick look....
> 
> Score
> 
> ...


JJP - appreciate your comments and taking the time to provide this detail. Considering you are likely a professional (given your knowledge and lines and dots slogan), I am fortunate to get this feedback!

Given these issues, I suppose I'll stick to Finale for final outputs, at least for anything that will be read by a musician. The next chapter for me in this, will be to see how much time it takes to refine StaffPad outputs in Finale using the XML transfer.


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## mducharme (Jun 22, 2020)

I see JJP responded above - also I noticed a typo - you have a tempo mark "allegro ma non trappo" instead of "troppo", so instead of instructing the musicians to play fast but not too fast, you are instructing them to play fast but not a trap.


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## brandowalk (Jun 22, 2020)

mducharme said:


> I see JJP responded above - also I noticed a typo - you have a tempo mark "allegro ma non trappo" instead of "troppo", so instead of instructing the musicians to play fast but not too fast, you are instructing them to play fast but not a trap.


lol. Good catch!


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## JJP (Jun 22, 2020)

brandowalk said:


> Considering you are likely a professional



I do make my living doing orchestration, music transcribing and copying. Please don't think less of me. 😉


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