QuickScore Elite is more than just music notation software. This easy-to-use program is really a complete recording studio software package that also lets you create professional-quality sheet music. This software package accommodates the novice and the professional musician alike. The program uses a window system that contains all of the tools you need to channel your creativity into a brilliant piece of music.
After a day of reviewing the tutorial and experimenting with the software, we felt comfortable enough to create a few jingles of our own. In no time at all you will be creating music too. A number of palettes, including the toolbar palette, object type palette and the excellent editing tools, make music composition manageable and allow you to visualize what you're doing.
The main Score Editor window displays each track of the song as a single musical staff. Use the Split Track feature to split a track’s staff into two clefs (for example, if you are notating the treble and bass clefs of a piano track). You can enter notes directly in the Score Editor using your mouse, your computer keyboard or the virtual piano.
In addition to the Score Editor, this software includes a host of other editing options that give you full control of all your MIDI and digital audio data. For example, the Mixer lets you set volume levels on each track and the Audio Editor lets you work with your recorded WAV and MP3 data. The software also lets you notate guitar tablature, guitar chord symbols and percussion instruments.
Entering notes with the mouse is a breeze. Simply select the duration of the note and click the editing pencil on the appropriate line of the staff, or use the virtual piano to click on the note that you want to add to the staff. Unfortunately, there are very few computer keyboard shortcut commands to assist with the process.
QuickScore Elite is able to accept up to 16 MIDI channels at once. This means you can input 16 different instruments at the same time and the program will notate each instrument separately.
This music notation software accepts standard MIDI files and can import MusicXML files so you can work with scores that have been created with other software packages. It is capable of saving and recording your music files in a number of formats, including WAV and MP3. You can also save scores in the BMP graphic format and then import your scores into popular graphics and word processing programs, like Microsoft Word and Corel Draw, to add graphics and other enhancements to your final score.
The version 12 MIDI edition of the software exports only type 0 MIDI files, where as the Level II edition can export type 0 and 1 MIDI files. Having that extra option is nice but it will take more from your wallet to have it. For most people type 0 MIDI will suffice.
One downside is that the software does not notate the input in real-time. The program can record what you play in real-time, but the notes do not appear on the staff until after the recording is complete. This is not as quick and easy as other notation programs that can record and notate in real-time.
The editing features of this music software are top-notch, with an erase icon that makes individual deletions quick and effortless. Palettes make replacing notes a cinch. Simply select a note or group of notes to bring up the edit menu. The edit menu has more than 50 editing options that allow you to adjust your tune how you want.
This program includes a punch record feature that allows you to replace just a few notes or an entire staff when recording in real-time. Punch recording also works with audio recordings.
This software includes a comprehensive tutorial that covers many features of the program. More specific information is available through an online manual and FAQ page. Customer service is available by phone and email.
QuickScore Elite 12 is a great buy for anyone looking for studio recording and music notation software. Whether you write music professionally or as a hobby, this program can help you get the job done. With tons of user-friendly features and really nice editing features, this software will have you composing your own melodies in just a few hours. If you are still undecided, check out our other music notation software reviews such as Sibelius First.
