Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    I was reading the Macintosh DMCS manual at a computer store last
    weekend.  I got the impression from the manual that DMCS is able
    to "import" files from sequencers, then render the notes as scores.
    I wasn't able to try it (DMCS doesn't seem to work on a Mac II,
    or the disk was bad) but my own experience trying to generate scores
    automatically from a MIDI stream indicates that the sheet music
    leaves lots to be desired.  There is no way, for example, to
    distinguish a fermata from a sudden change in tempo, followed by
    a sudden change back to normal tempo.  To make good-looking sheet
    music you will need to use DMCS to edit the score.
    
    Of course, DMCS may do a better job than I did.  But don't expect
    publication-quality sheet music from the MIDI stream.  Important
    pieces of information are lost when playing a score.
        John Sauter

    
    
    	Re; .0
    
    	You didn't mention whether you or your friend read music.  There
    is NO software available that is so perfect that you wouldn't have
    to edit it to some extent.
    
    	If you're rich, Mark of the Unicorn's 'Performer' plus
    'Professional Composer' produce good (not perfect) scores.
    Computers & Music (a mail order house - which I am quoting
    for no other reason that their catalog is laying on my desk)
    is asking $245 for Performer and $395 for Professional Composer.
    Hmm, I'm sure I've  seen them cheaper, elsewhere).
    
    	Op Code's 'Sequencer 2.5' allows transcription via DMCS or
    Professional Composer.  I haven't seen any examples of its output.
    
    	Southworth is another company that might have something.    

    	If you could be a little clearer about just what you (and
    your friend) are up to, I/we could be more helpful.

    						- Karl

    Does anyone know if Mark of the Unicorn has any plans to release
    their music software on the Atari ST?
    
    I've researched music software a bit and their stuff (particularly
    Personal Composer) is generally regarded to be the best stuff around
    but it's only available on the Mac and (get this) the IBM PC.
    
    I would much rather get an Atari ST (it's cheaper, faster, and
    generally better) but of course I am heeding "Fehskens rule" which
    is (approximately) "choose the software, then get the hardware to
    run it on".
    
    	db

    I'm not sure I deserve to have a rule which I have broken named
    after me!  I bought my Amiga because it had a neat architecture,
    hoping that useful software to "run" my studio would someday appear.
    It hasn't, so the Amiga mostly gets used to do neat graphics.
    Despite having purchased both DMCS and the SoundScape Pro (?!) MIDI
    Studio, I still do all my sequencing on my MC500.  Looks like a
    C64 or an IBM PC clone is in the future for me... 
    
    len.
    

    Re .2: I read music pretty well, and certainly could edit.  My very
    bright but criminally lazy friend plays original guitar music by ear
    (and doesn't correlate with any notation), and feels that she could
    play them on a keyboard.  She feels for some reason that it would
    take much too long for her to learn each of her pieces on the keyboard,
    and then transcribe--which she certainly could do since she reads
    vocal sheet music just fine.
    
    It sounds like DMCS is the right thing to get, and if it's input
    isn't flexible enough then I need Opcode's Sequencer.  Other
    suggestions would be appreciated.  I know I can get DMCS from
    MacConnection--where can I get a good price on the Opcode sequencer?
    
    	Eirikur
    

    
    	Computers & Music lists OpCode Sequencer 2.5 as $199.
    
    	Many mail-order houses are listed in magazines like MACazine,
    MacWorld, and MacUser.  I don't know if any carry the sequencer.
    
    	If transcribing your friends keyboard solos is the prime reason
    for spending your money, you need to think carefully about what's
    involved in automatic transcription.
    
    	For example, no sequencer is able to tell which hand is playing
    what note - it couldn't, could it?  You either split the keyboard
    into 2 channels or record it all as one and split it with the
    editor.  If you pick, say, middle-C as the split point, there will
    be times when either hand will cross that boundary - this will
    have to be fixed with editing.
    
    	If your sequencer doesn't have a 'metronome' to sync against,
    you will get a mess - eveything shifted over 7/32nds, for example.
    That plus the fact that no one plays perfectly strictly will give
    you some very strange looking rhythms.
    
    	She will have to play against the sequencer's metronome. Ritards
    and other 'expressive' shifts of tempo will be strictly notated.
    Meter changes will present similar problems.  Triplets will be
    quantitized away, or, if left as is, look very odd.
    
    	DSSDEV:: - where is that?  Or rather, where are you?  Perhaps
    there is someone in your area that would you and your friend try
    out the various software.  I'm in Nashua, NH and have both Performer
    and Professional Composer (and several cheaper ones, DMCS for example).
    You are welcome to visit.
    
    	Dave - Don't laugh at the IBM. Personal Composer, by Jim Miller
    appears to be a powerful (LISP processing, MACROS, great-looking
    notation) sequencer.
    						Good Luck, Karl

ComputerWare in Palo Alto has the largest Mac mail order selection I've
seen. They carry the full line of music software for the Mac, including
Opcode products. Their prices are pretty good, too. I don't know what their
price on Sequencer 2.5 is, but I have a flyer from last fall listing
Sequencer 2.0 at $159.

You can reach ComputerWare at 1-800-235-1155.

-Mark

ConcertWare+MIDI from Great Wave Software runs on the Mac and takes
MIDI input  (one voice at a time).  Then you use it to edit the score,
and it will print the results.  I am not sure what the latest version
(v4.0) goes for, but around $100, certainly less than $200.

You can use the MIDI input in real time (the Mac makes a metronome sound
and you play what you like.  The sw then quantizes to the accuracy you told
it (8th note, 64th note, etc).  Or you can just go into the editor, and every
time you strike a key a note at that pitch gets inserted, with durations
and rests being entered by the mouse or Mac keyboard.

It will handle up to 8 voices, and will play them back to a MIDI device,
or can play up to 4 voices at once with its own software synthesizer
thru the Mac's internal speaker (good for proofing).