Where to start …

I’m a beta tester for Notion and formerly a tester for Encore. All the notation programs do pretty much the same thing but how they do it can be quite different and the most important thing is to try them to see which fits your interface and workflow preferences. I don’t happen to like MuseScore for data entry but I’m very impressed with the new font they use for printouts. Finale and Sibelius were always dreadful to work with and the reason we put up with it was for extreme control over the printed output.

Notion by Presonus has indeed concentrated on the free mobile version of Notion, and notation in Studio One. That doesn’t mean there won’t be an upgrade to Notion 6 for desktop, even though it is several years old now. Notion is now my favorite notation program. If you have a specific question you cannot get answered, let me try. If I don’t know, I’ll get it to the developers.

Notion 6 is still not subscription. Even my Studio One 7 was not subscription; you can buy it standalone.

Notation in Studio One and Notion Mobile is the direction that they are going but it is lacking a few features that are special in Notion 6 for Desktop, notably the ability to control playback tempo on the fly.

Finally, the free Notion Mobile runs on most platforms and is especially good on tablets (where it recognizes my Apple Pencil handwritten notes). The files are interchangeable with the desktop version. As an example, I frequently write in Notion 6 but switch into Notion Mobile to use one-click erase, then go back to desktop.

BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.