efinley%ug.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Elliott Finley) (03/01/90)
I'm looking for a program for my friend that will take MIDI and
transform it to sheet music. All of the programs that I've read about
on this newsgroup have been sequencers. Is MIDI->sheet_music so
common that it just isn't talked about? Or am I trying to find
something that doesn't even exist...
Thanks in advance,
Elliotbrownd@agnes.acc.stolaf.edu (David H. Brown) (03/04/90)
[ In response to the question: how do you turn MIDI into a score? ]
A sequencer is often the first step in converting raw MIDI information
into a printed score. Before the computer can turn the MIDI into
recognizable notation, it must get the data into its memory somehow; a
sequencer is, if not ideal, at least usable for this purpose. One
sequencer/notator package we use at St. Olaf is Mark of the Unicorn's
_Performer_ (Version 3.3) and _Professional Composer_ (Version 2.1).
_Performer_ is a (rather good, IMHO) sequencer, which stores and edits MIDI
data; _Composer_ is a notator, which stores and edits musical symbols on
staves. Each progam has an option under the File menu to save its data in
a format suitable for the other's use. Some information may be lost in the
conversion process, but this is generally of little concern. After all,
you wouldn't want to see a different dynamic marking for each different Key
On velocity, would you?
There are a few programs which have, within one software application,
the ability to manipulate both the MIDI data and the notational
representation. _Finale_, by Coda, is probably the most celebrated of
these. We are using the second version (the one that's still $1K). In
actuality, though, it uses an intermediary method of storage (called
ENIGMA), which is easily converted either into MIDI or into notation. The
new manuals are worlds better than the old, but be warned... _Finale_ still
has a steep learning curve.
(So, tell me... how do I read in my .sig from op? I'm used to vi.)
Dave (brownd@thor.stolaf.edu)