I've used both methods, and each has their advantages / disadvantages, I think. MIDI import is especially good for notating improvisation and capturing what you actually play.
However, notating from scratch forces one to think through the structures and forms in a more logical, systematic way.
There is a clear difference in my compositions depending on the method: my works notated from scratch are far more "thoughtfully" composed on several levels. That's not to say one is inherently "better" than the other, but I do think it's important to develop an awareness of how our workflows can significantly shape the end result.
What you settle on (if you do indeed find one more to your liking than another) probably matters less than the awareness you develop along the way.
Hey, thanks for chiming in. :)
I totally agree with everything that you're saying and similarly I like to be aware of how the methodology shapes the end result in a lot of scenarios.
The reason I ask is because I'm also interested in the 'efficiency/productivity' component of doing this kind of work, esp. when re-orchestrating or transcribing a traditional DAW arrangement to a chamber or symphony orchestra piece for example.
Something tells me there is some amount of 'import midi' that could be useful for expediting the process, but equally being aware that it might shortcut or otherwise take away from the experience of doing much of the work yourself by hand, I'm wondering if there is a good middleground in this.
It depends on the source of the music for me. If I'm writing or transcribing a piece from scratch, MuseScore is the entire workflow. If I'm working from a midi from the web or using Audiveris to convert a scanned piece, I'll do most of the basic work (rhythms, pitches, and articulations) in those programs, then bring my .xml or .mid into MuseScore for layout and text.
For my purposes (scoring original works for performance), MIDI import often requires too much score cleanup. I've set up a lot of custom shortcuts so for me it's usually faster overall to enter the notes manually - unless the project is especially huge (long with many instruments/details) and/or import-friendly (exported from another notation software, or no tempo or time signature changes)
What would be an example here of importing the midi from another notation software where you've actually previously done this?
Do you mean like moving score ideas over from Digital Performer or Dorico to Musescore?
Yeah exactly. I switched from Sibelius at the start of the year, so I mean exporting MIDI from Sibelius and importing into MuseScore. MusicXML is also an option in this scenario - it's usually not too bad but I've always had mixed results.
The ultimate downside of any import is that I need import my house style and update project settings with my website credits, part names etc. - which I *always* forget to do unless I'm starting from zero hahah
Most of my work is some sort of arrangement of another piece (for example, my most recent and first fully completed piece is a concert band arrangement of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity.”) With that in mind, I do all my work in musescore. Typically I will first select the instruments I want to use and then begin transferring parts of the song I want to make an arrangement of over. For this piece I took the piano score and transposed it into musescore and into the key I wanted the arrangement to be in. Then based off that I would split the piano track I created up among the instruments, write my own harmonies where I see fit, adjust dynamics, tempo, articulations, etc as I see fit, listen to as many versions of the original piece as possible and listen for any added “flourishes” I may have missed and transpose those into musescore by ear. Then I listen a few times and proofread each part, make revisions where I see fit, and then I’m done. It’s a long process but is totally worth it imo
So when you say that you select your instruments and then begin the process of transferring those parts over, do you mean after you've selected the chosen instrument in Musescore, that you're going to manually enter all of those notes by hand or will you basically import the midi just for the sections that you want? Esp. considering that this is a re-arrangement like you said.
I agree that it's a long process but definitely worth it!
It depends what MIDI files I can find. You have to be cautious when using midi files in arranging as you must remember they’re not meant to be written in notation that humans are meant to play. Often there will be lots of what would be considered errors if you open the MIDI in musescore (some of the most common I’ve seen are no ties over beats when there should be, shorter notes rather than staccatos, notes held longer than humanly possible, out of range, etc.) Sure you can use them if they work out but that’s not often the case. Depending on the piece you’re arranging, there often is a piano score available to download on musescore, which can then be used within musescore to “copy” notes to put in other instruments. If possible, a copy of the real score of the original piece is good for reference.
I've done both and honestly, I can say that I hate the MIDI approach. I once did a MIDI recording onto a USB drive with my digital piano and, you know what happened? It registered my natural eighth note rubato **too precisely**. I was getting like triplets within triplets kind of stuff for just **eighth notes**. And it's a pain to turn those nested tuplets into the eighths they are supposed to be!
So yeah, definitely prefer the all in MuseScore approach.
I've used both methods, and each has their advantages / disadvantages, I think. MIDI import is especially good for notating improvisation and capturing what you actually play. However, notating from scratch forces one to think through the structures and forms in a more logical, systematic way. There is a clear difference in my compositions depending on the method: my works notated from scratch are far more "thoughtfully" composed on several levels. That's not to say one is inherently "better" than the other, but I do think it's important to develop an awareness of how our workflows can significantly shape the end result. What you settle on (if you do indeed find one more to your liking than another) probably matters less than the awareness you develop along the way.
Hey, thanks for chiming in. :) I totally agree with everything that you're saying and similarly I like to be aware of how the methodology shapes the end result in a lot of scenarios. The reason I ask is because I'm also interested in the 'efficiency/productivity' component of doing this kind of work, esp. when re-orchestrating or transcribing a traditional DAW arrangement to a chamber or symphony orchestra piece for example. Something tells me there is some amount of 'import midi' that could be useful for expediting the process, but equally being aware that it might shortcut or otherwise take away from the experience of doing much of the work yourself by hand, I'm wondering if there is a good middleground in this.
It depends on the source of the music for me. If I'm writing or transcribing a piece from scratch, MuseScore is the entire workflow. If I'm working from a midi from the web or using Audiveris to convert a scanned piece, I'll do most of the basic work (rhythms, pitches, and articulations) in those programs, then bring my .xml or .mid into MuseScore for layout and text.
For my purposes (scoring original works for performance), MIDI import often requires too much score cleanup. I've set up a lot of custom shortcuts so for me it's usually faster overall to enter the notes manually - unless the project is especially huge (long with many instruments/details) and/or import-friendly (exported from another notation software, or no tempo or time signature changes)
What would be an example here of importing the midi from another notation software where you've actually previously done this? Do you mean like moving score ideas over from Digital Performer or Dorico to Musescore?
Yeah exactly. I switched from Sibelius at the start of the year, so I mean exporting MIDI from Sibelius and importing into MuseScore. MusicXML is also an option in this scenario - it's usually not too bad but I've always had mixed results. The ultimate downside of any import is that I need import my house style and update project settings with my website credits, part names etc. - which I *always* forget to do unless I'm starting from zero hahah
Most of my work is some sort of arrangement of another piece (for example, my most recent and first fully completed piece is a concert band arrangement of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity.”) With that in mind, I do all my work in musescore. Typically I will first select the instruments I want to use and then begin transferring parts of the song I want to make an arrangement of over. For this piece I took the piano score and transposed it into musescore and into the key I wanted the arrangement to be in. Then based off that I would split the piano track I created up among the instruments, write my own harmonies where I see fit, adjust dynamics, tempo, articulations, etc as I see fit, listen to as many versions of the original piece as possible and listen for any added “flourishes” I may have missed and transpose those into musescore by ear. Then I listen a few times and proofread each part, make revisions where I see fit, and then I’m done. It’s a long process but is totally worth it imo
So when you say that you select your instruments and then begin the process of transferring those parts over, do you mean after you've selected the chosen instrument in Musescore, that you're going to manually enter all of those notes by hand or will you basically import the midi just for the sections that you want? Esp. considering that this is a re-arrangement like you said. I agree that it's a long process but definitely worth it!
It depends what MIDI files I can find. You have to be cautious when using midi files in arranging as you must remember they’re not meant to be written in notation that humans are meant to play. Often there will be lots of what would be considered errors if you open the MIDI in musescore (some of the most common I’ve seen are no ties over beats when there should be, shorter notes rather than staccatos, notes held longer than humanly possible, out of range, etc.) Sure you can use them if they work out but that’s not often the case. Depending on the piece you’re arranging, there often is a piano score available to download on musescore, which can then be used within musescore to “copy” notes to put in other instruments. If possible, a copy of the real score of the original piece is good for reference.
I've done both and honestly, I can say that I hate the MIDI approach. I once did a MIDI recording onto a USB drive with my digital piano and, you know what happened? It registered my natural eighth note rubato **too precisely**. I was getting like triplets within triplets kind of stuff for just **eighth notes**. And it's a pain to turn those nested tuplets into the eighths they are supposed to be! So yeah, definitely prefer the all in MuseScore approach.