MusTech.Net!

I was sent a copy of the guitar software Progression to evaluate a couple of weeks ago.  This software is made by Notion Music and hopes to gain the acceptance of guitar composer hopefuls.  I used the software over a period of a few days in order to familiarize myself with the product and learn it’s intricacies.  The cost of this software is around $100.00 U.S. (list $149.00 U.S.).

Progression does not attempt to be a full blown composition program like Finale, Sibelius or its’ sister product, Notion 2.0.  This software is more of a singer/player/songwriter type of composition software.  It focuses primarily on rhythm and lyrics, however you can add plenty of staves to accompany whatever types of instruments you might like to include in your budding composition.

Where this software shines is it’s built in sample library.  The sound library is truly sonically impressive.   It includes samples from Neil Zaza, Victor Wooten and Roy Wooten as well as piano, clavient and Fender Rhodes (as I said, the software focuses mainly on guitar and popular combo music).  For other types of sounds you have access to the standard MIDI compliment.  I did not see the option to pull in other external sample collections that you might already own (of course :(,  you can buy some sound expansion kits at their site…).  

The software offers a number of ways to input music into the score including real-time midi, step insertion midi and the standard drag/drop/note_audition methods.  The one thing I found missing was the ability for Progressionto quantize the MIDI input.  This could pose some problems for many people.  That being said, it is relatively easy to place your notation on the staves.  The note/entry palette is always visible and includes the basic arsenal of note entry options.  There are only two voicing options for input (i.e. you could have a quarter note on the staff and add a pair of eighth notes on top of it in the same beat -but not a third note element like a triplet on the same beat) but that should be enough for the target audience of this software.   I did not read if it had a staff number limitation, but I was able to get 12 staves added with no problem, which would again, be more than enough for the target audience of this software.

The VST effects library is particularly well tuned in this application.  Each staff (or channel) can have 3 separate FX libraries (each with multiple VST effect racks).  You may choose from the integrated FX libraries or amp simulators or add your own.

Writing tablature and chord tabs is particularly easy with this program (as you would expect it to be as a touted guitar product).   In addition, the software supports custom guitar tunings and a small library of percussive patterns for inclusion into your compositions.

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MakeMusic has released Finale 2008, complete with a host of new features, including an exclusive Audio Recording feature.  The new Garritan sounds are a welcome and much needed addition in my opinion.  Here are the highlights:

*New Garritan Sounds Included:

Saxophones
Jazz Bass & Drums
Trumpet & Trombone Mutes
Marching Percussion
World Instruments
Acoustic Guitar
Upright Bass
Choir Sounds
Gamelan

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Noteworthy Music Site #4: 8notes.com

8notes.com is a wonderful site that offers free sheet music, lessons and tools for musicians. From the main page you can access various tabs that link you to their offerings.  The Free Sheet Music and Lessons found on this site are availble for almost every instrument including: Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn, Flute, Bassoon Clarinet, Oboe, Tuba, Violin, Cello, Voice, String Groups, Woodwind Groups, Guitar and more!

There are a number of fingering charts available to view and also a music glossary. On the “Extra Page Tab” there are forty-six online music theory lessons that range from clefs to pentatonic scales and also there are links to music biographies.  Finally, there are a number of useful tools that include a midi to file sheet converter, Guitar Tab to Midi Converter and a Guitar Tab to Sheet Music Converter.

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One of the last assignments in Music Technology 221, for the year, was to perform a presentation about a website that the college students felt was useful to them or one that they visited frequently. The site had to be in some way related to their music field. At Grove City College, the Music Dept. offers music degrees in: Music, Music Education, Music and Religion, Music and the Performing Arts and Music Business. The following are a selection of their answers:

http://Musicanet.org
Category: Choral Music

This site was used by a student to help them with the advanced choral conducting class wherein they have to compile a list of of all the choral music they have ever sung. The site contains a wealth of choral information about songs, including publishing information, voicings, style, difficulty and more. This site is a very useful resource for music/choral educators.

http://www.trumpetguild.org
Category: Trumpet Related

Many of the music “guilds” have their own online presences. The Trumpet Guild is specifically for trumpet players. In addition to trumpet related information, it contains job information, calendar links to concerts and competitions, a youth site, and a “ask the teacher” forum.

http://teoria.com
Category: Music Theory and Ear Training

This website is full of information concerning music theory and solfeggio. The theory tutorials provided start very basic and can progress from there. Additionally, the solfeggio portion provides many different exercises of various difficulty levels.

http://www.projectplaylist.com
Category: Music Search Engine

This website is a search engine that seeks out audio files on the internet and presents them as a playable playlist. The songs are not downloadable from within the program, but you can share your playlists with others.

http://drummerworld.com
Category: Percussion Related

This website is very useful for the drummer and the music educator. It may be the most thorough online reference about specific drummers, their music and styles. It contains a massive amount of biographies that include audio and video samples.

http://www.8notes.com
Category: Music Education

8notes.com is a reference for musicians that offers fingering charts, chord charts, ear trainers, tuners, metronomes and midi to sheet music conversions. Additionally, a number of instrument free sheet music can be found there.

http://musiceducationmadness.com
Category: Music Education

The website is a music education site for all levels of musical expertise. There are many music teacher related resources that can found there including: Articles, Lesson Plans, Private Lesson Help, Advice and more.

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