# Best way of Keeping a "Sketch book" of ideas for Composing (Digital)



## Paul Jelfs (Jul 19, 2021)

Hey,

Hoping some one on here can help. I am looking for a solution to how I write , to store ideas, melodies, chord sequences etc - Things I will come back to. 

The issue for me is I want something between Word and Dorico - So I can create a book of ideas, with notes. Sometimes maybe a 8 Bar Melody lead sheet, sometimes maybe a 4 bar rhythm. Other times just a few ideas to jot down for orchestration. 

Staffpad could potential be possible, but it would be difficult to turn it in to an "idea book" , as I believe it is more designed to sketch out whole parts and pieces - and would not be so ideal when I was writing things that I would like to include for a piece, or just a series of Chords. 

I bet there is something out there that fits the bill, I just probably have not thought out the box enough to work it out ! 

I realise everyones different but I am looking for a place where I can get down short musical ideas quickly, and then a week later maybe add a different melody , with a different chord sheet. Something I can eventually turn to PDF. Kind of Like a Lead/Fake Sheet book, but with added lines of text below each example for notes on how I see the piece panning out. 

Has anyone else figured out an effective way to store loads of ideas in a single file, with text , without ending up with Hundreds of Documents . 
It is probably managable in Dorico , I am not sure how I would go about it though. 

Thanks for any input. 

PJ


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## Markrs (Jul 19, 2021)

Paul Jelfs said:


> Hey,
> 
> Hoping some one on here can help. I am looking for a solution to how I write , to store ideas, melodies, chord sequences etc - Things I will come back to.
> 
> ...


This is something I am also looking for. I plan to give Staffpad a go at doing this, as you can create collections where you can tag the sheet music. It is then listed under those tags. 

Another option is with Staffpad you can copy any notation and paste it into another app and it will be payed as an image. This is easier to have a sketch book of ideas using something like Microsoft One Note. The negative is you would need to recreate this in notation at a later date. This is actually the method used by the co-founder of Staffpad.


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## AllanH (Jul 19, 2021)

I generally just record a rough piano sketch and save the midi. 

I've been looking for a little mobile app that would let me capture an idea as well. I've been meaning to look at Cubasis, but haven't done so.


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## Paul Jelfs (Jul 19, 2021)

Markrs said:


> This is something I am also looking for. I plan to give Staffpad a go at doing this, as you can create collections where you can tag the sheet music. It is then listed under those tags.
> 
> Another option is with Staffpad you can copy any notation and paste it into another app and it will be payed as an image. This is easier to have a sketch book of ideas using something like Microsoft One Note. The negative is you would need to recreate this in notation at a later date. This is actually the method used by the co-founder of Staffpad.


That sounds like a good work around. I knew about pasting the image , but not about tagging. 

Would you in theory then be able to set up , say a sequence of 8 bar loops or whatever, In one project, that you could tag with different names ? 

I am surprised that someone has not come up with a solution to this , there was a program for using notation in word, but sadly it supports a really old version. 

Will try staffpad and keep on looking in the meantime


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## ism (Jul 19, 2021)

There's a sense in which this is what I use soundcloud and iTunes for. Give a noodle with at least something interesting to it, I'll either upload it to sound cloud, or export it to an album in iTunes (which then automatically syncs to the cloud so it's on my iPad etc).

I can then reference these when I'm commuting or doing dished or whatever to build a sense of the scope of the "idea book" I've been collecting.

True, this works better for the textural dimensions I'm interesting in , than things like chord progressions that are better served to the kind of notational medium you're talking about. But perhaps there's perhaps a certain overlap in the kind of medium you're angsting for.

With certain sample libraries, can be quite important to inhabit a certain sense of textures and sonorities that are very unique to the library (and not captured particularly well by conventional notation). So I've also found "colour wheel" like noodles to be valuable, just to have the sense of what's colours are available in my palette a little more at my finger tips when I eventually sit down to write. Which makes tracks the the ones on this thread useful, perhaps in something of and "idea book" form:






A tale of five flautandos (OT & Spitfire)


If you're of the "you heard one flautando you've heard em all" set, then this might not the thread for you I'm afraid. But for everyone else, here's an experiment in 5 flautandos: In order of appearance: 1. [0:00] Inspire 2 mid flautando soft sustain - only 2 dynamic layers in...




vi-control.net


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## Markrs (Jul 19, 2021)

Paul Jelfs said:


> Would you in theory then be able to set up , say a sequence of 8 bar loops or whatever, In one project, that you could tag with different names ?


Tagging is doable only on a project/file rather than in content within one, such as specific bars, though I really like that idea of tagging sections of a piece of music and being able to search or select via a tag cloud to see them.


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## Markrs (Jul 19, 2021)

ism said:


> There's a sense in which this is what I use soundcloud and iTunes for. Give a noodle with at least something interesting to it, I'll either upload it to sound cloud, or export it to an album in iTunes (which then automatically syncs to the cloud so it's on my iPad etc).
> 
> I can then reference these when I'm commuting or doing dished or whatever to build a sense of the scope of the "idea book" I've been collecting.
> 
> ...


This a really good idea!


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## Paul Jelfs (Jul 19, 2021)

These are all great ideas, but I certainly sense a market for an app / program that allows for midi input / Notation, text and ideas, Chord sequences, Colours and textures etc - I am going to try and see if I can set up Dorico to do something like that. 

Cheers


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## Paul Jelfs (Jul 19, 2021)

Yeh I think you can use text box frames too - I am just watching a video now. Dorico would be could as you can export each FLOW as a midi file or XML - I am just watching through some videos how to do it now.


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## Braveheart (Jul 19, 2021)

Maybe you can check the Songcraft website. You can use up to 5 songs for free. You can maybe use one and store your ideas there.

I’m just beginning to use it for collaborative songwriting. You can create lyrics, have some online help tools, you can put chords for playback, put audio files, etc.









Songcraft: Online Collaborative Songwriting Software


Songcraft is a creative platform for musicians. Write lyrics, chord progressions, and guitar tabs in our songwriter's pad. Become a master writer with the best songwriting tools - rhyming dictionary, voice recorder, and more. Make music online with our free songwriting tips.




songcraft.io


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## Duncan Krummel (Jul 19, 2021)

I’m not sure if it’s on other tablet OS’, but if you’re on iPad at least you should check out StaffSketchPad2. It really is simply a sketch pad with various manuscript options. For me, I still prefer pencil and paper, but this is the closest digital analog.


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## Markrs (Jul 19, 2021)

Duncan Krummel said:


> I’m not sure if it’s on other tablet OS’, but if you’re on iPad at least you should check out StaffSketchPad2. It really is simply a sketch pad with various manuscript options. For me, I still prefer pencil and paper, but this is the closest digital analog.


This looks interesting, I wonder if you can copy and paste between Staffpad?


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## sndmarks (Jul 19, 2021)

Over the years I've used various combinations of filing cabinets, moleskin notebooks, Evernote, and Voice/Music Memos. Theoretically it's terrific, but I never remember to go back to go through all the old ideas......


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## Steve_Karl (Jul 30, 2021)

On Android > At times I've just sung into my phones voice recorder and then talk about it in the next file, or dictate text into a raw text app like JotterPad and make sure to name them for the (suspected) Title. Both formats are then easily shared to PC if I want to go further with the idea.


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## erodred (Jul 30, 2021)

I use my iphone and Cubasis when I have a melody in my head. The timing may be off since I dont have a keyboard but the general pitches are there and you can easily export it into a DAW.

I did acquire staffpad to be able to do that but I still need to learn a bit about notation and ear training for that and I end up just writing a quarter note in and dragging it up and down until I hear the right pitch. A piano roll seems easier to navigate for me.


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## PaulieDC (Jan 7, 2022)

sndmarks said:


> Over the years I've used various combinations of filing cabinets, moleskin notebooks, Evernote, and Voice/Music Memos. Theoretically it's terrific, but I never remember to go back to go through all the old ideas......


Totally on board with that, lol... need to find my Moleskines!


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## PaulieDC (Jan 7, 2022)

Last to the party on this, but in the 3-hour StaffPad "here's how to use it" video by the creator, he simply uses the pen tool to write ideas in the measures into a Markup Layer, then goes back and fleshes them out. Pretty cool workflow I wouldn't have thought of. The whole video is him writing a piece start to finish and he addresses your exact question. Scrub ahead to 1:04...


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## Jimbo 88 (Jan 7, 2022)

Not sure I'm the best resource 'cause I'm not the most tech type of guy, but I use Cakewalk by Bandlab for this (It's Free now). The notation is pretty basic with no real articulations. I like that i have to keep everything simple. I have a template for song ideas with an electric piano for melodies that shows up in "Staff View" and an acoustic piano track. I set a tempo and bang away. If i have a melody with lyrics I can quickly input them. I don't worry about accuracy. I have a folder with just song ideas that have vague titles (ie: Jazz Blue, Orchestra Drive) 

If and when the song moves farther along I can export an XLM file into Sibelius or Dorico for band/Orchestra work...or into another DAW...or just finish it in Cake. If I finish it In Cakewalk the original tracks get turned into "Dummy" tracks and I use them as a guide with the staff view on a seperate monitor. I seem to have to have at least a sketch in front of me in order to play:(


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## gamma-ut (Jan 7, 2022)

Markrs said:


> Another option is with Staffpad you can copy any notation and paste it into another app and it will be payed as an image. This is easier to have a sketch book of ideas using something like Microsoft One Note. The negative is you would need to recreate this in notation at a later date. This is actually the method used by the co-founder of Staffpad.


I think right now this is about as good as it gets. Without Staffpad you can generally export to PDF or just screenshot to JPG from a desktop notation package, Logic/Cubase or Musescore, and then pull into whatever note-taking app you favour, such as Evernote or the more hypertexty things like Tinderbox, Roam or Voodoopad, as an embedded image. You sacrifice the ability to have updates to the orginal incorporated into the notebook. Though you could treat that as an advantage and just add updates as versions.

If you're using a hypertext-type organisation, it's easier to maintain direct links to the most up-to-date revisions and you can crosslink things in case one idea happens to fit better in another piece or gets pulled out into a scrapbook of things to use later.


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## waveheavy (Jan 8, 2022)

Pencil and staff paper.

Might have problems storing ideas on software because of updates, drives that crap out, new computers, new operating systems, etc. Just depends on how long you want to keep it. Paper is still one of the best ways to archive.


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