Encore Reviewer's Comments

Those who dabble in music notation may be interested in our #3-ranked product "TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award" winner, Encore. This software package provides a simple way of notating and editing music and creating original scores of melodies.

Encore doesn't offer some of the advanced features the gold and silver award winning products offer like a mixer and time display.

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Ease of Use:  

We found Encore to be a straightforward program to use; with the number of palettes available, you can accomplish just about any music notation goal. However, with so many palettes comes the need to dedicate some time learning what each palette does.

It also takes some time to figure out where each palette is located as they are in a number of different screens.

Feature Set:  

Encore has a strong feature set including guitar tablature notation and the ability to view notes in real-time as you input music from a MIDI device.

The 64 staves per system give the average composer enough room to notate all of their instruments.

We were surprised that a high-caliber program like Encore doesn't have a time display used to keep track of the time while the score is playing and also show where selected notes are at in the score.

Ease of Installation:  

We didn't encounter any problems while installing Encore.

Input/Output Capabilities:  

Encore has a unique feature that displays a keyboard window used to enter notes by clicking on the keyboard.

We had some minor difficulties with the step-time using a MIDI keyboard, but the real-time entry from the MIDI keyboard was straightforward.

As with most notation software, the input and output settings of the MIDI device must be set correctly for the notation to work.

Editing:  

The editing tools in Encore can delete, copy and replace notes, but having a mixer and control editor would be helpful in creating a score.

Help/Support:  

Encore supports most operating systems available including Mac.

The Encore software offers helpful information in a knowledge base search and comes with a manual. Consumers can reach customer service via phone or by filling out an online form with any questions or comments.

Summary:  

Encore provides many consumers with all of the tools they need to notate music. On the other hand, if you're serious about music notation and composition, you may want a program that has a mixer and the ability to import WAV files.