28
votes
Why is automatic key detection hard?
There's a few factors at play here:
Let's assume that we have a magical piece of software, which can listen to audio and tell us exactly what notes are being played. Even given this software, ...
26
votes
What music notation software allows you to code the notation?
There is LilyPond which does what you are looking for. It was first released in 1996, but it still gets updates.
LilyPond is a computer program and file format for music engraving.
One of LilyPond's ...
26
votes
Accepted
Free software to create a score from scratch
Since you're looking for software to input a score that is still under construction, MuseScore (found at musescore.org) would be my go-to application. It's a GNU-licensed graphical score editor that ...
24
votes
Accepted
How can I slow down a YouTube video I'm trying to analyze or transcribe?
There are at least two options:
Option 1: You can slow down the video by changing the Playback Speed setting
Below are browser instructions (mobile instructions are here)
Click on the Settings menu ...
21
votes
How can I slow down a YouTube video I'm trying to analyze or transcribe?
I'd probably recommend starting with the built-in YouTube controls. But for the sake of completeness here's another workflow that makes use of 3rd party software called a "phrase trainer" or ...
20
votes
Is Lilypond actively developed? Will the format become obsolete?
There are no commercial developers listed for LilyPond right now. That means that you cannot reliably throw money at a particular problem in order to make it go away while relying on the expertise of ...
18
votes
Treble Clef with optional 8 va bassa?
This is used in vocal music where the line can be sung either at normal treble-clef pitch (usually by a soprano), or at a pitch an octave below that (usually by a tenor or baritone).
It's very often ...
17
votes
Does piano tuning software actually work?
Answering the original question: yes, the most widely used professional tuning software works very well for both high level and routine tuning as well as for learning and instructional tool use.
Some ...
15
votes
Accepted
How do I notate sharps in ABC notation?
Sharp - ^
Flat - _
Natural - =
From The abc music standard 2.1 (Dec 2011)
The symbols ^, = and _ are used (before a note) to notate respectively a sharp, natural or flat. Double sharps and flats ...
15
votes
Accepted
Emulating human performance in orchestral software
I just watched a series of videos of film composer Hans Zimmer who mocks up all his soundtracks using software and virtual instruments so the directors can hear what it's going to sound like before ...
14
votes
Accepted
8 quarter notes in 4/4 time?! And how do I insert this into Guitar Pro?
There are 3 separate voices. Voice 1 is the high D-F#-A-G, voice 2 is the middle [eighth rest]-D-A-E-A, and voice 3 is the half notes.
13
votes
Is it possible to have a note that is both dotted and a triplet?
Yes it is possible to have a note that is part of a triplet and dotted for example:
In this we're using quarter note triplets. Instead of having them all be 3 even quarter note triplets the first ...

Dom♦
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12
votes
How do I notate sharps in ABC notation?
A simple google(*) finds the following tutorial:
http://www.lesession.co.uk/abc/abc_notation.htm#sharps
sharp: ^f
flat: _b
natural: =c
Note that the accidental precedes the note.
(*) When googling ...
12
votes
Does piano tuning software actually work?
I am a professionnal piano technician who started out as an aural tuner and then switched to EDT devices and softwares. The simple answer to the original question is yes: professionnal piano tuning ...
12
votes
Can you record several individual string instruments and put them together to sound like a real orchestra?
This is a great idea and as long as you record to some type of reference like a click and make sure everyone records their individual tracks at the same sample and bit rate you can mix all the ...
11
votes
Accepted
Did people use DAWs or Trackers first in the 90s?
People did use DAWs in the 90s, but in the early to mid 90s, the few DAWs that existed were generally only used by professionals. That is because the processing power of computers was not enough to ...
10
votes
Where can I find machine-readable music scores?
there's the .abc format and lilypond format. Those are about the only widely used text only score formats. But geared for making graphical notation, not analyzing scores. There's musicxml, too. ...
9
votes
Accepted
Writing sheet music on your smartphone
I don't know if this fits all the criteria you are looking for, but there is NotateMe which is available on Google Play and App Store. It allows you to write music sheets with your finger (or a pen) ...
9
votes
Does REAPER support a 4K display?
Reaper 5.40 released on 2017-03-24 introduces initial support for HiDPI (High-DPI) modes via the beta theme oriented to the zoom of 200%. The feature was previously available in prerelease versions (5....
9
votes
Is Lilypond actively developed? Will the format become obsolete?
You are looking at a page meant for people who wish to get a new feature into Lilypond (or fix a bug) and are willing to pay for it. It is named "Sponsoring" after all.
The page currently lists no ...
9
votes
How to generate the tone of a specific waveform?
The zero-skills option is to just freehand-draw the waveform in a dumb GUI editor, even Audacity will do
then copy&paste it a couple of times
and play that in a loop.
This isn't really ...
9
votes
Can you record several individual string instruments and put them together to sound like a real orchestra?
Eric Whitacre did exactly this for his virtual choir series.
He published a recording of him conducting, along with piano rehearsal tracks for all the parts. Hundreds (if not thousands) of people ...
9
votes
Mimic special midi reverb event that gets quieter the higher it is set to
The reverb doesn't change. That's just the wet/dry balance changing. First is entirely dry [100% signal, 0% reverb], last is entirely wet [0% signal, 100% reverb].
The reverb itself I'd call a ...
8
votes
Can I change the tempo midsong in Bitwig?
tl;dr Automate it from the Master channel
You could just go to your master channel, click the 3-lines/automation lanes button and click the big gray button and select Transport then Tempo. Then you ...
8
votes
Is Lilypond actively developed? Will the format become obsolete?
Furthermore, what if LP becomes abandonware in a few years? I do not worry the same as for Sibelius and Finale, since there has been a large user base.
Actually, it's interesting that you say this, ...
8
votes
Accepted
GuitarPro Notes Displaying One Octave Too Low
I figured out the answer to my own question. On the Track sidebar menu, a setting called "Transposition Tonality" needs to be set to "One Octave Lower" instead of "Same Octave". I don't actually know ...
8
votes
What's the proper notation for holding one note of a chord while playing the other notes staccato?
This is where using more than one voice comes into play.Split the bass clef into two voices one with stems pointing downwards, the others pointing upwards.
It's a common thing to do, when ...
8
votes
Accepted
How can I omit breaks and page breaks in LilyPond?
One possible way would be using tags. The basic idea is very simple: you can give tags to parts of the music and then you can choose which tags to keep.
A very basic example would look like this:
...
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