QuickScore Elite is more than just music notation software. This easy-to-use program is really a complete recording studio software package that also lets you create professional-quality sheet music. This software package accommodates novice and the professional musicians alike. It uses a window system that contains all of the tools you need to channel your creativity into a brilliant piece of music.
After a day of reviewing the tutorial and experimenting with the software, we felt comfortable enough to create a few jingles of our own. In no time at all, you will be creating music too. A number of palettes, including the toolbar palette, object type palette and the excellent editing tools, make music composition manageable and allow you to visualize what you're doing.
The main Score Editor window displays each track of the song as a single musical staff. You can use the Split Track feature to split a track's staff into two clefs, which would be helpful for notating the treble and bass clefs of a piano track. You can enter notes directly in the Score Editor using your mouse, your computer keyboard or the virtual piano.
In addition to the Score Editor, this software includes a host of other editing options that give you full control of all your MIDI and digital audio data. For example, the Mixer lets you set volume levels on each track, and the Audio Editor lets you work with your recorded WAV and MP3 data. The software also lets you notate guitar tablature, guitar chord symbols and percussion instruments.
Entering notes with the mouse is a breeze. Simply select the duration of the note and click the editing pencil on the appropriate line of the staff, or use the virtual piano to click on the note that you want to add to the staff. Unfortunately, there are very few computer keyboard shortcut commands to assist with the process.
This music notation software accepts standard MIDI files and can import MusicXML files, so you can work with scores that have been created with other software packages. QuickScore Elite is capable of saving and recording your music files in a number of formats, including WAV and MP3. You can also save scores in the BMP graphic format and then import those scores into popular graphics and word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word and Corel Draw, to add graphics and other enhancements to your final score.
One downside is that the software does not notate the input in real time. The program can record what you play in real time, but the notes do not appear on the staff until after the recording is complete. This is not as quick and easy as other notation programs that can both record and notate in real time.
The editing features of this music software are top notch, with an Erase icon that makes individual deletions quick and effortless. Palettes make replacing notes a cinch. Simply select a note or group of notes to bring up the Edit menu. The Edit menu has more than 50 editing options that allow you to adjust your tune how you want.
This program includes a punch record feature that allows you to replace just a few notes or an entire staff when you are recording in real time. Punch recording also works with audio recordings.
This software includes a comprehensive tutorial that covers
many features of the program. More specific information is available
through an online manual and a FAQs page. Customer service is available
by phone and email.
QuickScore Elite is a great buy for anyone looking for studio recording and music notation software. Whether you write music professionally or as a hobby, this program can help you get the job done. With tons of user-friendly features and useful editing features, this software will have you composing your own melodies in just a few hours.
TopTenReviews May 2012