Music Score progams.

[Douglas Tate <100576.3265@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A little while ago I posted about score progs.  There have been a lot of private
and public replies and observations ALL of which have been informative and
interesting.  

I think there was an element missing from the original message of mine (as usual
... I WRITE the perfect letter,  its only when I read it later that I realise
the author is a pratt!)

I teach Info Tech (used to be 'Computer Studies') and have been associated with
writing progs, using them, designing the hardware etc for nearly 45 years.  In
my present 'job' I am supposed, according to the rose coloured view of my Lords
and Masters (Mistresses has too many connotations for use here) to be able to
instantly come up with a definitive answer as to what is happening at any level
within over 700 commercial, educational, and scientific programs. (no
exaggeration!)  One comes to appreciate a program which is not only
comprehensive in its function, but elegant in its interface conception (WOW,
Jargon ... sorry)  It has got better.  Word processing now takes a 10 minute
introduction to the average student instead of a school term.

Most harmonica players want to blow their guts through a narrow orifice and say
their soul to the world, that is the purpose of this forum, to *enable* people
and swap experiences.  There is not time or inclination to learn convoluted,
archaic, non-standard and non-intuitive software to, as Winslow put it  ' do the
job in only twice the time it takes to do by conventional methods" 

I normally take a day or less to come to grips with unfamiliar software,
including monumental edifices like Corel Draw and Sons.  Finale I have been
using for TWO @#>?L%4& YEARS and I still spend more time searching through the
three manuals than writing my elegant and precious musical thoughts down.  But
it is such a comprehensive and high-level wall that I keep bashing my head
against it.   

This is why I get excited when I come across a music score writing prog (with
midi stuffed in there as well,) (Personal Composer) which not only works but
works well and is easy enough to pick up in a few minutes.  My 13 year old
daughter got to the disc (NOTE ...singular) before I did, installed it and wrote
and printed her first page of music while I went to the local garage to get some
petrol! (mind you, she sussed out Pagemaker without the books when she was 10
ish because she wanted to do Christmas cards for the family.)

FINALE ... I've only got another 30 - 40 years, don't think ther's time !!

Douglas T