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Joined: Jul 2006
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My question concerns opportunity of buying a tool like Sibelius, very expensive in Europe.
In a certain way BIAB and DAW programs as Logic, Performer, Sonar allow something less sophiticate than Sibelius,
to enter some chords, lyrics, ... Sibelius here costs more than Logic Studio for instance and you need to learn a new tool.
My goal is to keep trace for myself of some of my arrangements, not to publish them, give a copy to another musician
to play the tune with me, .... I don't compose, I only arrange tune from other people.
So what are your advises ? Go on with paper, or use what is inside BIAB or DAW, or Sibelius is more easy ???
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Try notation entry in Band in a Box. There should be a video, might be English but it's actually very easy unless you want to get complicated and write a symphony.
Ca va prendre une heure pour l'apprendre, si ca ne marche pas comme il le faut, il y d'autres logiciels qu'on peut acheter en linge.
J'ai Music Time Deluxe de Passport...en cas que j'ai besoin.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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In your search, consider Encore from gvox.com since it is far more user-friendly, in my opinion, than Sibelius or Finale.
Do not attempt to use the notation in SONAR; it is incomplete. (Otherwise, it's a great program).
And John is correct about BIAB; their notation entry method is the best I've found. Even if I don't want to hear it in BIAB, I always enter a song in BIAB first, then transfer it to a notation program if needed.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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I posted a similar question and was directed to Noteworthy Composer. Turned out to be everything I wanted at a very low price.
Make sure you understand all the notation capabilities of BiaB before you invest in any other program.
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Okay, Matt. I've always thought notation was easier to enter in Sibelius (or some other notation pgm) than biab. Guess I'll have to force myself to learn how to do it although I'm pretty fast in Sibelius at long last. Transposing and harmony seem easy to do there also.
Cloclo; I'm not sure what your goals are, but there are some free notation pgms out there (Noteworthy?) Not sure about what they are called, but you could try a Google search.
Cornet Curmudgeon
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Sibelius offers a bunch of low entry tier siblings, which might well suit your needs without costing an arm and a leg.
Martin
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Martin, I agree. Sibelius has a program that is called "Student 6" which is about $82 US on Amazon. Colo, the reason I suggest it is because I have Finale and have used those lower cost and free products. And for simple note entry with nothing like measure markers, articulations, etc the lower and free options would suffice. However, in my writing I need those tools in addition to lyric writing and others. Take Lyrics for example. In the lower end as well as Finale if you are using several verses and have a couple of notes that reach above the staff, they will crash into the lyrics on the line above. Very frustrating for me.
Again, you need to visualize what are the essentials for your needs.
I like BIAB's notation. I like the way it slices the measure into quarters for you. The only thing that bothers me is that I need to constantly clean up the notes after my first note in each measure because it automatically fills in the complete measure. I know there must be a way to remove that. I just have not had the time to find it. All in all, it is an above average (better than Finale) notation program. No offense to the Finale users out there. Just my experience and opinion speaking
RickeG
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Quote:
like BIAB's notation. I like the way it slices the measure into quarters for you. The only thing that bothers me is that I need to constantly clean up the notes after my first note in each measure because it automatically fills in the complete measure. I know there must be a way to remove that. I just have not had the time to find it.
Mac has posted extensively on this, so you can probably search on it. Basically, the only bar you should ever have to clean up is the last one.
When you enter a note, you get a 7 count note (in 4/4 time). Most people immediately jump into cleanup mode to get it to be just a quarter note, not a whole note tied to a dotted half note (I'm going from memory). BUT, all you need to do is enter the next note where it goes and the first note will automatically be shortened accordingly. Of course, then 2nd note you entered is another long 7-count note. Well, just do the same thing - enter the next note where it goes and that 2nd note gets shortened appropriately. Yes, there are times you need to enter a rest, so just click on the Rest checkmark and click where you want the rest. That too will remove the extra time in one of the long notes. Keep going this way until the end of the song, and then you should only have to shorten the very last note (which you can do with a rest). It works pretty easily and quickly once you get the hang of it.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 8TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 11TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting and construction)
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Thanks John. You explained that a lot better than the manual which I've just been reading. It seems a little like a leap of faith in some ways  . Also, I'm finding that I'm having to force myself not to be so anal that each note has to be correctly entered before moving on to the next one. Well, I guess it's time to give a shot..... Stan Update: Guess I'm a bad shot (although I shoot expert on an actual range). I couldn't get past a couple of bars. I just wanted to enter a whole note tied to a dotted 8th followed by a 16th in the 2nd bar, and more dotted 8ths, 16ths for the next 3 beats in the 2nd bar. The only thing that came out was 4 quarter notes in the 2nd bar. For the time I spent, I could have entered the whole song in half the time in Sibelius. Not knocking BIAB, but it's notation didn't work for me. Editing existing notation in it is okay though.
Last edited by Shastastan; 01/26/10 02:42 PM.
Cornet Curmudgeon
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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