How long does it take to make a score on Musescore? (Music is already written)
Hi, so I wrote a piece of music for a contest.
I have to send a PDF file of the score vía website (after I get my copyright certificate).
I have all the MIDI files of every instrument on a single file.
Can I drag it or imported to Musescore and work from there?
You know? Like, make some corrections if needed and so on?
Is it possible? If so, How long will it take me to finish the score?
A couple of days? 2-3 weeks? As I said, the song is alredy written.
I just need to make the score out of it.
Can it be done like I'm saying? Is there another way?
Anyway, thanks for your time and for reading!
Stay safe, stay home!
Peace!
Comments
Yes, you can open the file in MIDI, but turning it into readable notation will take work. How long totally depends on the length and complexity of the score and your skill at entry. Having a MIDI might be useful, bit realistically, MIDI doesn’t represent notation well. It would probably have been better to enter into MuseScore to begin with, as it generally takes about as long to turn MIDI data into real readable notation as to enter it from scratch.
In reply to Yes, you can open the file… by Marc Sabatella
Interesting! So, I can work from there. As long as that is possible, I'm cool. I don't mind fixing MIDI into readable notation, I'll try to make as simple as I can. The song is 12 minutes long, is for orchestra, 15 instruments. 3 movements of the song are in G an one in E. 1 Movement is in 3/4 the rest is in 4/4. Nothing "comlpex" actually.
I need to send the file next month, from the 8th to the 18th. So, that's why I'm asking…
Anyway, Thanks for your answer, man! (:
MuseScore has been designed to make music entry the most efficient possible.
There are certainly several points to improve, but when you know well how it works it can be quite quick.
Well if more than notation interests you and you want to adjust the velocity of each and every notes for playback then of course that's another story.
That being said, the part "when you know well how it works" is the most important ...
And as you are asking the question, that means that you don't know MuseScore, otherwise you would know how fast you use it.
So if your score is relatively complex I would say 90% of the time to discover "how to" and 10% to enter the score itself.
The more you neglect the learning phase, the more you take the risk to use ways to enter things that are not the fastest ones and in fact to lose time by not learning a bit more.
To come back to your initial question, we all know that "it depends" is at the same the most correct and the most frustrating answer...
So I'll risk something: I would say 10 minutes by voice by page, not taking learning phase into account, and for clefs that you know well (E.g. I'm pretty quick with treble and bass clefs, a disaster in alto clef).
In reply to MuseScore has been designed… by frfancha
I have experience with editing and programming. I'm a quick learner and I've seen tutorials on the subject, it doesn't seem "complex", I don't mean to bring bad vibes on me and having it differently in the end haha, but Yeah, I'm worried about it taking it more time that it needs. For instance, it's the first time I write music for transposing instruments. That's where I have my doubts. I've never done it, the actual transpose thing, I have my theory books but I do need some help on that subject. I get confused by it easily. But, I'll be asking around on the fórum if I get into trouble. haha
Anyway, Thanks for your time and for reading and replying! (:
In reply to I have experience with… by Eric Vera
Then I would say:
-most of actions can be done by mouse or by keyboard. If you find the explanation on how to do it by mouse look further until you find the keyboard way, a lot quicker
-make sure your transposing instruments are defined correctly before entering notes. It can be changed afterwards more or less easily, so nothing blocking by not defining them correctly before note entry, but generally it easier by using the correct setup before note entry.
In reply to I have experience with… by Eric Vera
Parts of the handbook you must read before starting:
1. Create new score to ensure you start off with the correct selection of instruments. Getting these right from the start will ensure transposition will be handled for you.
2. Note Input You wouldn't have much music without it :) If you're a programmer, I'm kind of assuming you'll be quickly familiar with using the computer keyboard shortcuts for note entry. They are imho by far the fastest way of entering music.
3. Voices Probably the number 1 FAQ on here: how to enter multiple independent rhythms within the same staff.
4. Concert pitch As you state not having really worked with transposing instruments before
But if you can spare the time, reading through the whole 'basic' section of the handbook will really pay off its investment time. You won't remember all of it, but at least will be aware of the most common options.
And most importantly ask your questions. Most questions posted to these forums are answered within the hour. It always pains me to see new users starting their posts with: "I've been trying to do this thing for days", only to see their problem addressed within the hour of posting..
Spare yourself the irritation of having to figure stuff out, this community is here to help.
In reply to I have experience with… by Eric Vera
MuseScore handles transposition for you, so as long as you are in concert pitch mode when entering / editing your notes, all should be fine.
But I will say, entering a 12 minutes orchestra piece will be a challenge if you've never done this before. Hindight is 20/20, but next time, if the goal is to get a printed score, you'd have saved yourself a ton of work by doing it directly into MuseScore. Meanwhile, though, feel free to continue to ask questions. Best to attach excerpts of the score here as you do so. You don't need to worry about copyright - according to international law, your work is already protected the moment you create it.