NoteWorthy Composer Reviewer's Comments

NoteWorthy Composer is a program that has all the features an average user will need to notate music. And for the price, just about anyone can dabble in music notation; however, we would have liked to see additional features like guitar tabulation and automatic note placement.

Ease of Use:  

This program is relatively easy-to-use for both novices and experts. You can enter notes using the mouse, click on the appropriate line and hit the enter key or the preferred method of navigating by using the directional arrows up and down on your keyboard then pressing enter.

The software doesn't automatically place the measure bars so you can enter an infinite number of notes on one measure, whereas other programs prevent you from entering notes that exceed the measure's time. To some, especially experts, this can be a beneficial feature enabling them to break or bend the rules in the name of art and creativity; however, to the inexperienced user and beginner, this could be seen as a hindrance.

Feature Set:  

There are many keyboard shortcuts associated with most of NoteWorthy’s features. We found experimenting with the notes and instruments to be entertaining and easy; even if the songs we wrote were awful.

This program has an import wizard that is helpful when importing MIDI files.

This program is solely for the purpose of notation. It doesn't import WAV files to make a complete score or have the ability to do drum notation or guitar tablature notation like some more advanced programs.

Ease of Installation:  

We didn't encounter any problems while installing NoteWorthy Composer

The software offers keyboard shortcuts and symbol palettes to access the editing features.

Input/Output Capabilities:  

Noteworthy has an import wizard to help you specify settings, such as chord size and import instructions, before the file is imported.

We did have some difficulty regarding sound. Even though our computer volume was all the way up the playback sound was unusually low. Including a mixer or internal volume control in the software may help those with poor sound cards.

Editing:  

At the moment, Noteworthy Composer is one of the cheaper products on the market; however, for a few extra bucks we would like to see additional features like a mixer and piano roll editor.

The software offers keyboard shortcuts and symbol palettes to access the editing features.

Help/Support:  

NoteWorthy includes a built-in help manual, an FAQ section on the manufacture’s website and an active member community.

The developer does offer an email address where you can send your questions.

Summary:  

We found that Noteworthy Composer does take some getting used to and beginners unfamiliar with this type of software may have some difficulty finding the location of all the features and their corresponding shortcuts. However, the interface is non-threatening and fun. For the price, this program is great for amateur songwriters and hobbyist.